Chapter 65 Jiang Xuli also thought of his father…
Chapter 65
After finishing the seafood buffet and returning to her room, Jin Ran belatedly realized that her conversation with Jiang Mingxu was not yet over.
I quickly took out my phone and explained to the other party. After a while, the other party replied with "okay," seemingly not minding anything.
Jin Ran felt relieved and turned to the small group chat to talk about her plans for the next few days.
As night fell and the sun moved to the other side of the world, the temperature on Yushan Mountain finally showed its proper coolness.
Stepping out of the hotel, a sea breeze greeted me, ruffling my clothes and easily dispelling the daytime heat. The sound of waves crashing in the distance, mingled with the hustle and bustle of the night market, made the whole city seem to awaken completely at that moment.
Xu Zhen's plan was comprehensive, encompassing food, scenery, culture, and society. The three of them first went to a nearby snack street, where they ate Yushan's local specialties: spicy stir-fried clams and mackerel dumplings, and also drank beer-flavored milk tea. However, in order to try something new, they bought very small portions of each item.
Jin Ran and Xu Zhen were used to it; in order to eat all kinds of different foods at the school cafeteria, they often pooled their money to buy food together.
Jiang Xuli, however, felt somewhat uncomfortable.
It's not that I dislike them, but seeing their intimate behavior, I felt a little envious.
He recalled eating at Chen Xunliang's house when he was a child. Chen Xunliang was a picky eater, and he often left more than half of his food in his bowl. Although Chen's mother would scold him angrily every time, she would eventually finish the leftovers silently.
Later, he would deliberately leave food uneaten during meals. At first, his father didn't notice at all, but when he did, he thought he was being picky and had the housekeeper take away all the food, leaving him hungry all night.
Since then, Jiang Xuli has never again used underhanded tactics to test Jiang Mingxu.
Because his father didn't care at all.
A hint of self-mockery and bitterness flickered in his eyes. Suddenly, a bamboo skewer with grilled fish stuck in it appeared in front of him.
"This capelin tastes great, the roe is plump, and it has a popping sensation when you eat it."
Before anyone knew it, Jin Ran had another snack in her hand. After tasting it with Xu Ya, she casually handed it to Jiang Xuli, who was standing next to her.
"Try it, and describe it to Chef Wang when you get back. Maybe we can replicate it."
The movements were so natural, as if they were something commonplace, that Jiang Xuli had no time to feel sentimental about autumn.
Faced with the irresistible aroma of the food, he wanted to refuse firmly, but in the end, he succumbed to the fragrance and silently lowered his head to accept it.
I took a bite, and it seemed pretty good.
Witnessing this scene, Jin Ran subtly curled the corners of her lips.
She actually handed it to Jiang Xuli on purpose.
As the saying goes, a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home. This young master could eat four or five bowls of rice in one meal, but after coming here with the two girls, he didn't eat much. Jin Ran was certain that he was not full.
Besides that, she couldn't ignore what she saw when she turned around.
Amidst the bustling city streets and the clamor of voices, only the young man hung his head, his handsome face etched with loneliness, resembling a large dog abandoned by its owner. In that instant, the softest spot in her heart was touched.
Cats and dogs should be treated equally.
With Jin Ran actively "feeding" him, Jiang Xuli indeed revealed his true appetite.
Even Xu Zhen, a food connoisseur, was stuffed, but he acted as if nothing had happened, eating as much as he was given, accepting everything from sour, sweet, salty, and spicy, like a rice-eating machine.
So Jin Ran felt reassured and bought even more things.
Midway through, Xu Zhen's phone suddenly rang. The night market was noisy, so she had to walk to the side to answer it. She rushed back a moment later: "There's an urgent matter at school. I need to go back to the hotel to deal with it."
"School?" Jin Ran was taken aback.
"They're not Wang Pingping's parents, are they?" Xu Zhen's tone was a little harsh.
Jin Ran had heard Xu Zhen complain about this several times. There was a girl in their class whose parents favored boys over girls, often beating and scolding their child and not feeding her properly. Xu Zhen had seen her faint from low blood sugar several times: "Their family is a bit poor, but not so poor that they can't afford to eat. Wang Pingping's younger brother is as fat as a little pig. Now it's even more outrageous. They actually plan to send their child to work in the south during the summer vacation."
"They said they were going to visit relatives to earn some money, but who knows if they'll be able to come back after school starts?"
The call was made by Wang Pingping. The young girl trusted the new Chinese teacher a lot and didn't know who to ask for help when she encountered a problem. Xu Zhen sighed, "In any case, we can't ignore this." She felt a little apologetic, "I promised to take you around properly, but now I have to break my promise."
Jin Ran laughed: "I'm not a child, and your guide is so detailed, we can explore on our own without any problems."
There are priorities, so she didn't say she would accompany Xu Zhen back. After all, she wasn't that student's teacher and shouldn't interfere easily. On the other hand, she also knew that things weren't urgent yet: "If there's anything you need, you can tell me."
"Yes, don't worry, I definitely won't hold back."
Xu Zhen returned to the hotel early, while Jin Ran and Jiang Xuli stayed behind to continue shopping.
After wandering around the food street, Jin Ran opened her itinerary and saw that there was a Western-style church and cultural square nearby. So, after eating all the food she wanted, she decided to take Jiang Xuli there to check it out.
However, once you actually get there, you'll find that the popular tourist spots are packed with people, tourists everywhere are holding selfie sticks, and the streets are crowded with souvenir vendors. If you look closely, you'll see that they are all identical twins!
This disappointed Jin Ran somewhat.
She prefers the natural scenery of Yushan Mountain to man-made tourist attractions.
However, adhering to the principle of "since we're already here," she decided to do as the Romans do and take a good look around.
For example, although the small commodities sold on the roadside have a high rate of repetition, they have a certain commemorative value.
Considering the local specialties Jiang Mingxu brought back from his last business trip, shouldn't I reciprocate by bringing him some local specialties in return?
Jin Ran thought of Jiang Mingxu, while Jiang Xuli thought of his father.
Xu Zhen spoke without keeping it to herself, so Jiang Xuli naturally overheard what Wang Pingping was saying. The pampered young master, raised in luxury since childhood, had a strained relationship with his father and always felt that his father treated him badly and never cared about his thoughts and needs.
Now that I know there are parents in the world who don't feed their children, I suddenly realize that I'm actually doing pretty well.
He even recalled the scene at the hospital. At the time, Jiang Xuli thought his father was deliberately scolding him, but now, looking back, he realized that what his father said was actually true.
He could act so recklessly simply because he was relying on the "Jiang family" name. If his father hadn't been supporting him, could he still live such a life?
A sense of bewilderment welled up in the boy's heart.
Could it be... that he was really wrong?
Or rather, he shouldn't have come here at all?
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