“I’ll come,” Jian Chi said, regaining his senses, “I’m also a member of the swimming class.”
If Jian Chi remembered correctly, Thursday was the swimming competition that Gao Yan mentioned. Wen Chuan’s reaction after hearing this answer was not enthusiastic, and he gave a nonchalant ‘en’, as if he was just asking casually.
Half the class had passed and Jian Chi could still feel the eyes focused on his back. After thinking about it, it was impossible for Zhang Yang who was forced to change seats, so he lowered his voice euphemistically: “Bai Shuyun seems to be looking at you this entire time.”
“He’s annoying,” Wen Chuan said with a hint of impatience in his voice, “don’t pay attention to him.”
Jian Chi was stunned for a moment, and then reacted after. After Wen Chuan was acknowledged, he should have met with the Bai family. The upper class in Chuanlin was not big or small, and most of them had business dealings with each other. Jian Chi couldn’t help think, does Wen Chuan know Bai Xiyu’s true identity? If he knew from the beginning, his indifference to Bai Xiyu also seemed to be explained.
But these were Jian Chi’s guesses. The descriptions in the book become extraordinarily one-sided in comparison with reality. From the perspective of the protagonist Bai Xiyu, everything had been put in a beautifying filter. However, stripping this layer of perspective, not everything can be explained so one-sidedly and simply.
After class, Jian Chi picked up the books on the table, and Bai Shuyun walked behind him at some point, and said with a smile, “Wen Chuan, long time no see, why did you ignore me when I greeted you just now?”
At this time, Bai Shuyun lost the closeness he had when facing Shao Hang, and there was a shallow smile on his small face, as if he really couldn’t understand Wen Chuan’s indifference. Jian Chi noticed that many people were looking over. Wen Chuan picked up the textbook without looking at it, got up and left.
“Uncle Fu has something to tell you, but I can’t get in touch with you,” Bai Shuyun stopped him, “Wen Chuan, things at home can’t be ignored casually. Before I came, I went to your house with my brother to walk around, and I happened to meet him. Big Brother Fu, he said…”
“Are you finished?”
Wen Chuan’s eyes seemed to be filled with cold sharp knives, especially when he heard the words ‘Big Brother Fu’. His disgust was so thick that it almost overflowed. For the first time, Jian Chi realized that Wen Chuan’s eyes from before were nothing at all. When he was really angry, just standing there would make people tremble from their heart.
The smile on Bai Shuyun’s face faded and he looked at Wen Chuan’s back with inexplicable meaning, his tone filled with dissatisfaction: “I just wanted to tell you with good intentions.”
Jian Chi, who was sitting in the seat, didn’t have time to look back and was caught off guard when he met Bai Shuyun, who turned around. A smile burst into his eyes, as if he had forgotten his initial ignoring of him. After approaching, he resumed his close tone: “Jian Chi, do you know Wen Chuan too?”
The word ‘know’ was a bit difficult to define. Jian Chi hesitated for two seconds and nodded without saying anything.
“His temper is really hard to handle. It’s better to be careful with him. Uncle Fu and Big Brother Fu can’t handle him. I really don’t know who can make him obedient in the future.”
After Bai Shuyun complained, he suddenly remembered something, and blinked his eyes curiously: “But Jian Chi, it turns out that you, Ah Hang and Wen Chuan are friends. I have never seen a special enrollment like you appear around them.”
He had a well-behaved smile on his face, and every word seemed to come from the heart. Jian Chi sometimes reacted a little slower, but he was not completely unaware of the maliciousness of others.
Bai Shuyun’s approach was very clever. When these originally harsh contents were matched with innocent expressions and voices, they would weaken the real power when they fall into his ears. It wasn’t until he left that Zhang Yang came up, looking like he had been granted amnesty, “Oh my god, it was the most torturous chemistry class I ever took. It was the first time I sat so close to Bai Shuyun. He was too fussy. A little bit into the class, when I was taking notes, he said that I was typing too hard on the keyboard. When I laid down to rest, he said I was ugly when I was sleeping. Am I ugly? Where am I ugly? He also said it with a smile. I thought he was joking at first. But the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable it became, isn’t he just scolding me?”
Jian Chi didn’t refute, acquiescing to Zhang Yang’s words. Although Bai Shuyun didn’t say anything excessive from beginning to end, he, like Zhang Yang, had an inexplicable feeling of being shot at as a target.
“Did you hear what he said to Wen Chuan just now? I guess the few people who didn’t leave the classroom just heard it,” Zhang Yang frowned. “This is good, now the original news of Wen Chuan being the Fu family’s illegitimate child have now confirmed Wen Chuan’s identity, I wonder how it will be discussed in tonight’s forum.”
Jian Chi finally figured out where the out of sorts sense just now came from. Others didn’t know the plot and Wen Chuan’s identity as early as he did. Before Bai Shuyun said those words, most people were still guessing and were afraid of Wen Chuan. But this state was completely broken half an hour ago, and soon everyone would know that Wen Chuan was an unrecognized illegitimate child.
To say whether Bai Shuyun said this on purpose, it was difficult to come to a conclusion, but Jian Chi who knew Shuyun leaned towards him doing it on purpose. Although Jian Chi can’t guess Bai Shuyun’s intention on doing this.
The HS in the evening really spread the news about Wen Chuan as Zhang Yang said. Some posts were saying that Bai Shuyun was returning to school. Most of the replies were very harmonious, and it was rare that it was not full of gossip. Maybe it was because of the background of the Bai family and the face of his eldest brother who protected his shortcomings.
Main Poster: Let me tell you the truth. I have been uncomfortable with Wen Chuan for a long time. Every day, I put on a dead face and look at the person like charity. Who knew, he was an illegitimate child who was not on the stage. What if he is a BC? In the end, he won’t even get a portion of the family’s business. I don’t see anyone in the Fu family paying attention to him.
1L: Doesn’t the Fu family have another son studying in Boros? Why haven’t I heard from him, what is his attitude towards this?
2L: I have returned to China early, and the news was very well hidden. My friend met him while drinking before, and he kept scolding him there after he was drunk. Wen Chuan’s return seems to have something to do with this Fu Boyu.
3L: You don’t know what kind of virtue Fu Boyu has? He plays too dirty and he had killed someone by racing a car before. His old man had always been behind him helping him deal with his matters or else he would have long died. He probably couldn’t stand it anymore, yet who would have expected that there was a ready-made illegitimate child outside. They hurriedly caught it, in a rush to cultivate it, otherwise how could Fu family’s big industry be handed over to that lunatic Fu Boyu?
52L: I heard that the Fu family’s attitude is actually very vague. The purpose of bringing Wen Chuan back is not to cultivate him, but to stimulate Fu Boyu and make him feel a sense of crisis. To put it simply, Wen Chuan is a tool. The Fu family will provide financial resources, but the family’s real estate will not be distributed to him. It can be seen from the fact that he has not changed his surname for a year after he was acknowledged. The Fu family does not want to admit it at all.
53L: No one really knows, right? Wen Chuan is a b*stard who came out of the slum, who knows how he lived in the past ten years? Or if he came across anything dirty? Fu family must have given him a lot of benefits.
54L: This move is also high, I don’t know if Fu Boyu can support the wall.
Jian Chi frowned all the way, and finally turned off his phone.
He couldn’t understand the remarks in the post. Wen Chuan had always been alone, and was said to be ‘pretending’. Wen Chuan never mentioned his identity and was said to be ‘scheming’. The name of an illegitimate child was indeed disgraceful, but isn’t the one who should be blamed for abandoning him, his parents be responsible? These people pointed their finger at Wen Chuan, as if he had done something terribly wrong. In the end, it was just because he was an unacknowledged illegitimate child.
After hearing this, Zhang Yang said, “It’s too normal, I’ll bet that more than half of the families in Saintston have illegitimate children. No one likes to run half a marathon then suddenly have someone competing with them for a family property. Seeing Wen Chuan’s matter so similar to their own, they would definitely be stunned. I have met a worst one. There were seven brothers and sisters in the family, and several mistresses still lived together. To fight for the inheritance, they fought life and death. Car accidents, framing and poisoning… You think it’s exaggerated on TV, in fact, the reality is ten thousand times scarier, but to such an irreversible level, no one will let these things out on the surface.”
Despite such a big turmoil, Wen Chuan still went and did his own thing, ignoring the eyes of the people around him, full of malice or watching a show. Perhaps because of his identity as a BC, most people would not say anything ugly in person, but once Jian Chi walked into the locker room and heard undisguised laughter of two PCs. The words could be heard inside and out, both thoroughly demeaning and even contained personal attacks.
Jian Chi didn’t know what kind of mood he was in. He closed the locker door with force and interrupted: “Can you guys be quiet?”
Both of them stopped, and when they realized that the words were from a special recruit, their faces became ugly. They were about to say something when Wen Chuan’s appearance caused the atmosphere to fall into a stalemate for a while.
He didn’t seem to know what just happened inside, and changed his clothes with the same expression, without saying a word to Jian Chi. Back at the dormitory in the evening, Jian Chi’s HS received a message from an unknown person with two short words: Thank you.
Jian Chi accepted the unfamiliar friend application, and tentatively sent a sentence: Wen Chuan?
W: En.
The chat stopped there.
In fact, Jian Chi was not a very kind person, but it was a coincidence that every time he couldn’t stand it and wanted to help, Wen Chuan’s figure would be around, making many of those mistakes. This seemed to slowly make Wen Chuan think something else and Jian Chi wanted to explain, but didn’t know where to start.
The venue for the swimming competition was in an open-air swimming pool. There were many members in the audience who were not a member of the swimming lessons. The list of entries was always posted on the bulletin board. The purpose of these people was self-evident.
Jian Chi pulled Zhang Yang to watch the competition together. Zhang Yang was very interested in these sports events and chatted with great interest before it even started. A shadow suddenly appeared beside him, and before Jian Chi turned his head, he was the first to hear a sloppy voice: “Why didn’t you reply to the message last night? I said that if you didn’t reply within a minute, I would come to you. Must you wait for me to come and fulfill it?”
Shao Hang’s natural posture made Jian Chi not react for a while. Bai Shuyun, who came with him, sat on the other side of Shao Hang, stuck his head out and gave Jian Chi a slight smile, a weak and cute appearance.
“Jian……”
Just as Jian Chi was about to answer, he heard someone call his name halfway, behind him, and the second half stopped hurriedly in his breath.
Looking back, Bai Xiyu appeared at an unknown time. Two bottles of mineral water in his hands were unconsciously pinched and deformed. He stared blankly at Bai Shuyun beside Shao Hang, as if he had seen something terrifying. Eyes dodging everywhere, just as he was about to step back, he was suddenly stopped by Bai Shuyun.
“Are you calling Jian Chi?” Bai Shuyun blinked his beautiful and innocent eyes, as if he didn’t know Bai Xiyu in front of him at all. He tilted his head and smiled, “Since we are all friends, why don’t you sit down? There is just one vacant seat beside me.”
Shao Hang didn’t even look at Bai Xiyu, taking everything that happened behind him as air.
Jian Chi, who silently weakened his sense of existence, swept over the unconcealed panic on Bai Xiyu’s face, as well as the strong aim in Bai Shuyun’s smile. He suddenly felt that the undercurrent in the audience was more exciting than the upcoming match.