“Chen, Chenchen?”
Qiao Chen was so shocked that she began to stutter. She felt the gaze of the Fu family members falling squarely upon her, especially Mrs. Fu; that look was so blatant it was almost an overt expression of disdain.
Forcing herself to hold the tray, she squeezed out a smile that looked more like a sob than a grin, coaxing him softly, “Do you not like the little rabbit? That’s okay, big sister can carve a little kitty or a puppy instead. I’ll carve a new one for you. Which one would you like?”
“Do I look three to you?”
Ye Qichen gave her no pleasant expression; his youthful face held nothing but impatience. Although he wasn't three, he was clearly only five!
He had seen her that day while he was struggling in the river. This woman had stood on the bridge, watching coldly and pointing fingers at him, and now she had come running to curry favor.
Qiao Chen did not give up. She secretly and somewhat forcefully pushed the fruit tray toward him, her smile appearing hollow and insincere. “Chenchen, don't be willful. You're sick and need to get more vitamins. Just have one piece, okay?”
“Are you annoying or what!”
Ye Qichen directly flipped the tray that had almost reached his lips. The pears instantly scattered across the floor. His face darkened with anger as he rolled over and shouted to the room full of people, “Get out! Everyone, get out! I want to sleep!”
Mrs. Fu immediately pulled her away, her expression grim. “Look at what you've done!”
Qiao Chen had tried to be clever but had only made matters worse. Having lost face in front of the Fu family, she felt both depressed and wronged. Her face turned deathly pale instantly, and she didn't even dare to make a sound when her finger was cut by the tray.
It was Fu Ge who took her hand and whispered hurriedly, “Let’s go, Chenchen. Let’s get out of here first.”
*
South Garden, 6th Floor.
After handing the meat lingzhi to Auntie Chen, Qiao Nian spent a while chatting with Uncle Chen in his hospital bed. Seeing the exhaustion on the man's sallow face, she stood up and said to Chen Yuan, who was standing silently nearby, “Come with me.”
The ward door was left slightly ajar.
“Come here. Walk further away.”
Qiao Nian led him all the way to the far end of the corridor. Only after ensuring the couple in the ward wouldn't hear them did she stop. She opened the corridor window and, feeling irritable, pulled a piece of gum from her pocket and tossed a small pellet into her mouth.
It was very sweet.
A sweetness tinged with the tartness of orange.
She squinted her eyes and leaned against the window, her dark, deep eyes falling upon the person who had followed her.
Chen Yuan still had a bandage on his arm, and his face bore the lingering injuries of a fight; he looked quite disheveled.
Qiao Nian merely narrowed her eyes and asked, “How does it feel, running around in the streets?”
Chen Yuan turned his head away, muttering sullenly, “It has nothing to do with you!”
She laughed, the corners of her eyes lifting with a hint of irritation. Changing her stance, she said, “If it weren't for Auntie Chen and Uncle Chen, do you think I’d care about you?”
“...I never asked you to care!” Chen Yuan turned his head away, seemingly wounded in his pride.
Qiao Nian didn't bother wasting words with him and got straight to the point. “You said you were going out to make a name for yourself in the world, and then you left. Three months have passed, and it's proven that you've achieved nothing. Now, you should honor our agreement: go back to school and study properly. Don't make Auntie Chen and the others worry about you anymore.”
Chen Yuan couldn't understand why she was always so calm, as if she were a ship that had weathered a thousand storms—no matter how violent the sea became, she remained steady and unmoving.
She clearly looked to be the same age as him!
He forced a mocking smile. “You think I can just go back to school if I want to?”
Having forcibly taken a three-month leave of absence, returning would be difficult.
Qiao Nian raised an eyebrow and asked, “Which school did you attend before? I'll find someone to talk to your school.”
“It won't help even if you do,” Chen Yuan said, though he told her anyway. “Raocheng No. 1 High School. I was in Class A. No. 1 is strictly managed, and the Class A homeroom teacher is very forceful; she won't agree to let me back and lower the class average.”
His grades used to be decent, ranking in the top five of his class, and Shen Hui had treated him well. But he knew that while Shen Hui had been lenient before, that didn't mean she would be now.
The corners of Qiao Nian's mouth twitched, and she said expressionlessly, “What a coincidence. I'm also at No. 1, and I'm also in Class A.”
(End of Chapter)