Chapter 38 Rebellion
◎“Can I stay in your room tonight?”◎
Lin Yujing was awakened by Chen Jingshu's snap of his fingers again. She slapped his hand away in annoyance and muttered, "Childish."
"What are you thinking about?" He seemed afraid that she would fall into a self-isolated state of mind, preferring to cry and scream hysterically in front of him rather than keep all her thoughts to herself.
"What are you planning to do after that?" Lin Yujing asked.
Chen Jingshu pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I will remain silent until the Jiang family responds."
It's not about sticking to the status quo, but rather that each of the two families is facing different crises at this moment.
Chen Jingshu's responsibility is to uphold morality and honor. Even if the whole world makes him a laughing stock, he cannot stand at the forefront and attack the Jiang family.
Lin Yujing rested her chin on her hand, finally asking the question that mattered most to her, "Then... what about the Chen family?"
“Grandpa will probably be fretting over social obligations this Spring Festival. As for my father, he's in the middle of an election campaign, so he's probably the one suffering the most. The engagement is definitely off.” Chen Jingshu said, reaching out to hold her ankle, but Lin Yujing dodged first. “But since they're family friends, they definitely won't announce it now. Otherwise, they'll subtly make this incestuous relationship between siblings a done deal.”
"Moreover, Huaren is also a victim. As long as it does not affect the stock market, losing some face is within an acceptable range."
Lin Yujing stared blankly at Chen Jingshu's hand, which was fiddling with her bed sheet, and murmured softly, "But actually, only you are losing face."
This public opinion battle, which is mixed with various violations of social norms and public order, has resulted in the Jiang siblings bearing moral condemnation, while Chen Jingshu has to bear the ridicule following the loss of his male dignity.
Chen Jingshu scratched his head and said dismissively, "I don't like Jiang Yingli anyway, so consider this hat a gift to the Chen family."
"..."
Chen Jingshu looked at her, suddenly pushed over the low stool, stepped forward and knelt on the bed, not giving Lin Yujing any time to react, and once again held her against his chest, saying, "But if it were you, I would definitely go crazy right now."
Lin Yujing frowned and pushed him away. "If it were me, your name would definitely be next in line. So the people being condemned today would be you and me."
Chen Jingshu sighed, "I really admire Miss Jiang; she did something I wouldn't dare to do."
"Ah Shu, be serious." Lin Yujing threw the pillow in her arms at him. "You can think I'm selfish, or that I'm never willing to compromise for you even a little bit. But my life isn't like Miss Jiang's, where someone would clean up the mess after she did whatever she wanted. I have to be like a train that can't derail, moving forward along the track I've set for myself."
Chen Jingshu caught her pillow, took a step back off the bed, and seemed to have given up like a deflated helium balloon. "Jingjing, since I promised you that I would respect all your decisions, I will not force you in a cruel way."
"But my only request is that you don't kick me out of your world. I really can't live without you."
Lin Yujing smiled helplessly, "A-Shu, in this world, there's no such thing as someone who can't live without someone else."
"Then you can try leaving me now and see how many years my heart can survive on its own." He looked into her eyes without any extreme behavior, and even his tone was calm and indifferent.
"What if we don't win in the end?"
"Jingjing, when have I ever let you lose?"
From the moment they met, it seemed that Chen Jingshu's existence was solely for her.
He protected her, made countless compromises without any bottom line, and was willing to give her the whole world for anything she wanted and he had.
All her achievements, fame, and wealth were hard-won.
Chen Jingshu could guarantee that his love would always be something she could obtain effortlessly.
"Ah Shu, have you ever thought that even without Miss Jiang, given your current status, there won't be any more Miss Zhou or Miss Gao in the future?"
She knew that Chen Jingshu possessed a stubbornness in love that other young men in Beijing's entertainment circle lacked, which stemmed from his statement that he hadn't been influenced by the culture behind this circle.
Deep down, he still carries the simple and sincere emotions instilled in him by Chen Xuan and Peng Zhen.
But now that he has returned to the Chen family, the only thing between them is the insurmountable class difference.
It is an emotional resonance that living beings cannot produce. As time goes by, he will become immersed in it, and that will be the moment when their story faces its unfinished judgment.
She was so proud that even when she was always mired in the mire, she never lost her way for a moment.
Naturally, one cannot be someone who needs to depend on a man's love to survive.
If that was a pyramid she was destined never to climb, then lingering for a moment at the scenery halfway up the mountain would be incredibly precious.
Looking back now, Chen Rongqing probably chose her to go to Pengzhen to get close to Chen Jingshu because he was certain of her proud nature.
She wouldn't tiptoe for anyone, nor would she allow anyone to bend their back for her.
"Forget it, there's no reasoning with someone as stubborn and inflexible as you. You're only suited to be an artist; leave everything else to me." Chen Jingshu turned around, took her clothes from the hanger, and threw them onto the bed. "Stop thinking about it. The engagement won't be settled before the end of the year. And Miss Zhou and Miss Gao, whom you're worried about, won't be here right now."
Chen Jingshu: "Instead of arguing over something so trivial, why don't we take this time to explore Penghu?"
Lin Yujing: "Hmm?"
Chen Jingshu: "Would you like to visit Pengzhen No.1 High School?"
Lin Yujing's thoughts were diverted by him, and she no longer focused on the marriage. "I wanted to visit the school on the day I arrived, but I was stopped by the security guards."
“There will definitely be no one at the school on the first day of the Lunar New Year this year.” After saying that, Chen Jingshu thought to himself, “Even if the main gate is no good, there’s still a side path that can surely get you in.”
Lin Yujing nodded. "Then you can go out now. I'm going to change my clothes."
Chen Jingshu crossed his arms, showing no intention of moving an inch. "It's not like I haven't seen it before. Just treat me like I'm invisible."
"roll!"
-
Columbus, the capital of Ohio, United States.
As dusk approached, Jiang Yingli was only wearing an ankle-length wool coat. The thin man stood shivering in the cold wind, glancing around from time to time while pulling his beige knitted wool hat down low.
Finally, just when the young lady was about to give up, a red Ferrari pulled up in front of her.
Yun Yuedi lowered the car window and saw Jiang Yingli's slender figure, which even his bulky winter clothes could not conceal.
Her oval face was completely devoid of color, her delicate features were deathly pale, and her lips were as white as paper.
"Miss, get in the car."
Jiang Yingli was very sensitive to the cold, so as soon as he got in the car, he turned the air conditioning and seat temperature to the highest setting.
Yun Yuedi was one of Jiang Yingli's few close friends and the only one who knew about her relationship with Jiang Yingzhi.
When I saw her today, I was quite anxious. "Young Miss, you've really gotten yourself into big trouble this time!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yingli simply took off his shoes, stepped barefoot onto the cashmere carpet, and asked, "Did my brother call you?"
“I thought you didn’t care about anyone,” Yun Yuedi said. “Ten minutes after you updated your Instagram, Jiang Yingzhi started calling me non-stop. He threatened me to tell him immediately if I contacted you.”
"That's all he knows how to do," Jiang Yingli sneered.
Yun Yuedi sighed helplessly, not to scare her, but to say, "My dad said your family is in complete chaos. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, all the directors were urgently recalled to Beijing."
"Honey! Do you know that this reckless behavior has caused a major black swan event?" and that it is a low-probability event that is unpredictable, extraordinary, and even causes a chain reaction of negative market reactions, subverting public perception.
Jiang Yingli leaned against the car window, looking lifeless, and said faintly, "I just want to live. But they don't care about me, even my brother wants to abandon me, so I have to fight for myself."
In Jiang Yingli's mind, her parents were not as loving and well-matched as the outside world perceived them to be.
All they ever did was argue, insult, and fight.
The villas and castles that everyone envies are often in a mess.
Over the years, she was only disciplined by her mother, while Jiang Yingzhi was only disciplined by her father.
The couple even had a clear division of labor when it came to taking care of their child, like the Chu-Han border.
Before she was ten years old, she and Jiang Yingzhi were more like a couple proving their own greater success.
Each exam score, and the rating assessments for various competitions.
Both are siblings, and it's a fierce competition between them.
Whoever falls behind will be taught a lesson.
Her punishment was to be locked in the study by her mother to copy books, including the Three Character Classic, the Tao Te Ching, and the Thousand Character Classic, which she could almost recite backwards.
Later, I started copying Shakespeare's works, in various languages and with various interpretations, enough to fill an entire wall.
Jiang Yingzhi will be taken out of the house by her father, and when she returns, she will receive a new set of clothes and an extra toy.
This puzzled the little girl, and after silently comparing them, she felt jealous.
She thought her mother was really annoying, and guessed that her father must have taken her brother out shopping all day. She was always the only one in the family who was punished.
Until one summer before the start of the new school term, she stole Jiang Yingzhi's summer homework and hid it under her bed.
The ending is that the literature professor, who is usually gentle and polite to outsiders, sits on the sofa and makes sarcastic remarks, implying that Jiang Ci does not know how to educate children.
Jiang Yingzhi's fate after growing up was the same as his—to become a habitual liar.
That day, in front of everyone, Jiang Ci slapped Jiang Yingzhi hard across the face as he tried to defend himself.
The force was so great that Jiang Yingli still remembers it vividly.
The boy's glasses shattered on the ground, and blood was seeping from his mouth and ears.
Despite his desperate pleas, Jiang Ci still dragged him out of the house.
Jiang Yingli stood trembling in the living room, but when she met Shi'er's gaze, she immediately stammered, "Mom, I promise I won't lie like my brother."
Shi'er didn't even glance at her, but picked up her handbag and walked away arrogantly as if she had won a battle.
For several days in a row, he did not go home.
Jiang Yingzhi had a low-grade fever for several days after returning home that evening.
Being young, he couldn't help feeling guilty after making a mistake. When Jiang Yingli ran up to the third floor for the first time and hid behind the door, he saw the nanny who had taken care of Jiang Yingzhi since he was a child crying and complaining, "Your father is really heartless. How can he use his own son to test drugs?"
Jiang Yingli immediately recalled that she had gone to the laboratory of Jiang's Pharmaceutical Company with Shi'er before.
She witnessed a man in a white coat insert a syringe as thick as her forearm into a white mouse, and within seconds, the mouse died right before her eyes.
The little girl was instantly terrified and burst into tears, hiding in Shi'er's arms, too scared to come out.
It was only that day that she learned where Jiang Yingzhi went each time she was taken away.
He was like a lab rat, lying in the laboratory, being injected with various drugs.
She only dared to sneak in after the nanny left.
Indeed, this was the first time he had approached Jiang Yingzhi.
Jiang Yingzhi seemed unsurprised by her arrival and even asked her gently with a smile if she was hungry.
Jiang Yingli felt extremely guilty and took the initiative to apologize, "Brother, I'm sorry, I stole your homework."
She thought Jiang Yingzhi would clear her name as she expected, but to her surprise, he said, "I know you did it."
"Then why didn't you tell Mom and Dad?"
"If I tell you, you'll be the one punished."
Jiang Yingli's eyes immediately reddened. "But this is how we should compete."
"Silly Xiaoli." Jiang Yingzhi pulled her hand and looked at her fingers, which were severely deformed from copying books. "You are my sister, and a brother's duty is always to protect his sister."
That was the first time in her life that someone had said that protecting her was their innate duty.
From then on, the two seemed to have secretly formed an alliance.
If Jiang Yingli falls to second place in the exam, then Jiang Yingzhi will definitely make a mistake at the same time.
The two people will either be forgiven together or punished together.
In the dead of winter, the brother and sister were forced to kneel in the courtyard where the temperature was below zero.
She was freezing, so Jiang Yingzhi took off his coat and wrapped it around her, then hugged her tightly in his arms.
They were only allowed to carry the two of them back when they nearly froze to death on a winter night.
Even though Jiang Yingzhi was not fully conscious, he always remembered to hold his sister tightly and never let go, repeatedly emphasizing that the only duty of a brother is to protect his sister.
She nestled against Jiang Yingzhi's chest, listening to the couple's fighting and arguing outside the room.
On that same day, the brother and sister finally learned a long-standing secret about their origins.
Jiang Yingzhi covered her ears, afraid that she would be sad.
She only looked at him, her mind filled with thoughts of how her brother's duty was to protect his sister.
Now that she's not his biological sister anymore, does that mean he won't protect her anymore...?
"Jiang Li, have you ever thought about whether Jiang Yingzhi will really abandon you after this comes out?"
A single tear finally rolled down her cheek; it was the tear she hadn't dared to shed when she learned the secret of her origins as a teenager. "I'm not his biological sister, so he has no responsibility to protect me. He won't care who I marry or whether I'll be happy. Why should I care about him?"
Yun Yuedi glanced at her sickly appearance, unsure how to comfort her, only feeling that Jiang Yingli's mind became more and more twisted as she grew older.
“There’s a car following us,” Yun Yuedi said. “It looks like your brother’s. He’s trying to force me to stop.”
Jiang Yingli immediately turned around and, through the rear window, saw Jiang Yingzhi's gloomy, dark face reflected in the windshield. "Yue Di, I can't let him take me away."
-
Unlike the chaos in the United States, Penghu has always maintained a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.
Lin Yujing and Chen Jingshu went to Pengzhen No.1 Middle School and found that although there were no security guards on duty at the school gate, the newly replaced iron gate was too high and there was no way to climb over it.
The two had no choice but to circle around the wall and eventually find a secluded low wall.
Chen Jingshu stopped, pointed to the wall, and said, "Go in from here."
Lin Yujing looked up, her face filled with disbelief. "Are you sure?"
As he spoke, Chen Jingshu had already leaped onto the low wall. "Give me your hand."
Lin Yujing had no other choice but to hand him a hand, and then Chen Jingshu pulled her up against the low wall.
Once she was settled, Chen Jingshu climbed over the wall.
“Jingjing, jump down, I’ll catch you.” He stood under the low wall, opening his arms to her.
Lin Yujing gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and actually jumped towards him.
As a result, the two of them were too bulky in the winter, and the moment Chen Jingshu caught her, they both fell to the ground.
She nestled in Chen Jingshu's arms, held tightly by him.
At the same time, at such close range, Chen Jingshu couldn't help but stare at her lips, while his other hand cupped the back of her head, and a kiss was about to land on her lips the next moment.
In a flash, Lin Yujing hurriedly pushed him to her feet, "What are you doing!"
Faced with her questioning, Chen Jingshu remained completely calm, only clutching his heart and repeatedly crying out in pain, whether it was real or not.
"..."
Seeing her expression gradually soften, Chen Jingshu reached out his hand, "Give me a hand?"
Lin Yujing glared at him reproachfully, but too lazy to argue, she reached out and pulled him up.
Unexpectedly, after Chen Jingshu grabbed her hand, he refused to let go.
"Don't do this!"
"Jingjing, my heart hurts. Please let me help you walk for a while."
Lin Yujing bit her lip, completely at a loss with him, and could only say, "Then let's make a three-point agreement: no more intimate actions than holding hands."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jingshu leaned closer with a cheeky grin, "Jingjing, in my world, holding hands is the most intimate gesture."
Lin Yujing was speechless for a moment.
Then Chen Jingshu continued, "So, according to you, does that mean I can stay in your room to sleep tonight?"
A note from the author:
I was afraid there would be too many National Day greetings, and you wouldn't see mine. I was afraid the National Day firecrackers would be too loud, and you wouldn't hear my wishes. I was afraid the National Day dishes would be too delicious, and you wouldn't see my message. So I chose to send you my National Day greetings now. Happy National Day, everyone!
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Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-09-29 23:49:58 and 2023-09-30 23:38:43!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Linxi (4 bottles); Shandianwhy (2 bottles); Xixiuqiangwei (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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