“Break up? What breakup!”
Liang Zhuo looked at his empty hands, then at Zhong Lingyu’s retreating figure.
He felt a pang of disappointment.
“It was all given to me, why take it back?”
Liang Zhuo realized he really wanted that chocolate pie.
Zhang Xueen patted Liang Zhuo’s shoulder, comforting him, “I ate one of those chocolate pies too, they were delicious! It’s such a pity you didn’t get any.”
It was less of a consolation and more of an attempt to annoy him.
Liang Zhuo and Zhang Xueen had been in the same class since their first year of high school. He knew his classmate’s somewhat clueless thought process well and didn’t take it seriously.
“What’s his name? He seems pretty aloof.”
Zhang Xueen patted his chest, and then, from this seemingly innocent classmate’s mouth came something truly astonishing.
“This is my newly adopted dad! He’s the heir to the Zhong Group! Pretty impressive, right?”
Liang Zhuo gave him an approving look. “I didn’t expect you to be the first one among us to realize this. Not bad, you’ll save yourself so many years of hard work.”
Boarding students have evening self-study until 9:40 PM, while day students can leave one period early.
Luhua’s dorms are nice, but a bit pricey. At the time, the family was facing difficulties and couldn’t even afford that much money. Later, they finally managed to borrow some, but missed the application deadline, so the siblings had to take the bus back and forth.
At 8:50 PM, Song Chan and Zhong Lingyu walked across the vast campus towards the back gate.
It was during class time, and the campus was quiet and deserted. Zhong Lingyu’s phone kept beeping.
It was Zhong Xin complaining.
【Dad, I don’t want to stay in the dorm! Dad, can’t you find us a driver?】
【Dad!】 [The hot water in the dorm stopped at 10 PM, and the bed is so hard I feel itchy all over!]
[Dad, come save me! There’s a cockroach, a huge one!]
It’s one thing for the spoiled daughter to complain, but even the usually calm and mature son…
Zhong Cheng: [Dad, after much thought, I’d like to offer you some honest advice. First, I agree with your idea of training my willpower, but the reality might be slightly different from what you imagine. Below, I will describe my current situation in detail.
[The dorm conditions are quite harsh, and the environment is rather noisy, making it difficult for me to concentrate on studying. Also, the student on the upper bunk isn’t very clean; his underwear is hanging right above my bed. The student opposite me, who just finished playing basketball, is now sitting on his bed picking his toes, seemingly with no intention of showering. The level of harmful bacteria in the dorm is probably already excessive.
[To try and get closer to me, a student surnamed Li is holding a magazine and winking at me. The cover features vulgar, naked European and American women; your pure son is being corrupted. [Given the above, please prepare a clean and spacious apartment for me, Dad. It doesn’t matter if it’s far from school; Dad can arrange a car to pick me up and drop me off. I would be extremely grateful. Goodnight, dear Dad.]
Song Chan, hearing the incessant message notifications, kindly reminded Zhong Lingyu.
“Um… your phone keeps ringing.”
A solitary lamp, a secluded path—what a warm and cozy time spent walking side-by-side.
But there were two inseparable third wheels.
Zhong Lingyu pretended to have just heard it, taking out his phone. “Sorry, I forgot to turn it off.”
He took out his phone and saw a screen full of chat windows, instantly feeling dizzy.
Too lazy to read the long “reports,” Zhong Lingyu replied simply and bluntly.
[My dear son and daughter, I have no money.]
Fatherly love and filial piety, but not much.
Only after hearing Zhong Lingyu’s words about turning off the phone did Song Chan belatedly realize the ambiguous atmosphere.
Walking home with a handsome male classmate on a quiet, deserted street—is this something straight out of a romance novel?
Usually, male classmates are very careful to avoid suspicion from female classmates in these situations. Is Zhong Lingyu unaware of this, indifferent, or…?
Song Chan suddenly tensed up, trying to make conversation: “The road in front of the school is under construction, so teachers and students have to walk from the back to leave the school, adding more than twenty minutes to the walk. That road is also a bit narrow; your car probably can’t get up there.”
Zhong Lingyu: “No wonder. My homeroom teacher emphasized that I should travel in a group.”
Song Chan: “It is indeed a bit dark. Zhong, you should be careful. You can have your driver park the car and pick you up. It will definitely be much more reassuring to have an adult with you.”
Zhong Lingyu didn’t comment on Song Chan’s suggestion.
“How long does it take you to get to school by bus?”
“About an hour.”
“If I remember correctly, morning self-study starts at seven, so you have to leave at six and get up at five-thirty?”
“About that.”
Song Chan smiled wryly.
“You go to bed at one or two in the morning and get up at five-thirty in the morning, Song Chan, you get almost four hours of sleep! This is very harmful to your health!”
Zhong Lingyu’s sudden seriousness made Song Chan a little flustered.
“What high school student isn’t like that? Once you get into university, you’ll be free.”
Zhong Lingyu looked away from Song Chan’s optimistic smile.
“I really don’t know what to say to you.”
He was carrying a backpack, but his arms were crossed, and his tone was lecturing. His school uniform seemed like a suit, and his white sneakers looked like leather shoes.
Song Chan scratched her head, a little embarrassed.
She knew Zhong Lingyu was worried about her, which was why he strongly disagreed with her schedule.
But Song Chan secretly thought that Zhong Lingyu would definitely follow her example in the future. After all, being in such a high-pressure learning environment would inevitably have an influence; after all, perseverance makes one invincible.
Twenty minutes later, Song Chan saw a black luxury car parked at a wide intersection.
A familiar figure, with his rear end sticking out, was peering furtively from behind the car.
Song Chan recognized him as her silly younger brother.
“Song Qing, what are you doing!”
Song Qing adjusted his backpack strap, crouched down, and ran to Song Chan, winking and making faces. “Song Chan, look! A Rolls-Royce! What kind of school requires the young master to come in person?”
Zhong Lingyu looked at his younger brother-in-law in front of him, his tone flat: “Coming to school in person does indeed have many advantages.”
Song Qing thought, “Going to school can have advantages?”
“Song Chan, are you my classmate? Tsk tsk, the top students in Class One are really something else. I always feel out of place because I’m not crazy enough.”
The window of the Rolls-Royce rolled down, and the driver, Mr. Chen, wearing white gloves, waved to Zhong Lingyu. “Lingyu, get in.”
Song Qing looked back, then forward, and finally around. “Who’s he calling?”
Song Chan looked at her clueless younger brother with a sorrowful expression. “Little brother, when I have money, I’ll take you to see a neurologist.”
Zhong Lingyu almost laughed at this.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you home.”
Offering the invitation naturally, Zhong Lingyu walked ahead.
Song Chan, flattered, said, “No, Zhong! We’ll take the bus!”
Before she finished speaking, she saw the figure in front of her dash away like an arrow.
“Should I sit in the front or the back?”
Song Qing, like a dog seeing a bone, scrambled into the car in the blink of an eye.
Song Chan: “…”
My brother could be a track and field athlete.
Song Qing, who had been made to sit in the front by Zhong Lingyu, chatted with the driver about the car the entire way. The spacious and comfortable luxury car was incredibly noisy, even more annoying than a crowded subway car during rush hour.
Song Chan felt extremely embarrassed and looked apologetically at Zhong Lingyu: “Sorry, my brother, he’s so talkative.”
Zhong Lingyu laughed.
“Your brother is very lively.”
“It’s good that you don’t find him noisy. I’ve been used to his antics since I was little, so I don’t find it a problem.”
Zhong Lingyu really wanted to say that he was actually used to his “talkative” brother-in-law.
Although her brother-in-law was more trouble than he was worth, he had a kind heart and doted on Song Chan’s two children. He always remembered them, going out of his way to find toys for them from all over the world.
Zhong Cheng was sensible and never caused his parents any worry. The mischievous Zhong Xin, however, was quite different. The little girl always loved to bully her silly uncle. Before she was three, she would ride on Song Qing’s shoulders, showing no respect for her elders, often pinching him until he was covered in bruises, while he just laughed it off.
While chatting, the driver asked from the front, “Lingyu, how’s your first day of school?”
Zhong Lingyu: “Yes, I’m very happy.”
Hearing this answer, Song Chan secretly felt a surge of joy.
She was the person who had helped Zhong Lingyu the most today.
Song Qing chimed in, “So you’re a new transfer student too! There are two in our class, too!”
Song Chan was also surprised, “Are there transfer students in your class too?”
Look, she was just thinking about how her uncle dotes on his niece and nephews, and now they’re talking about it.
Song Qing: “Yes! They’re twins, just like us! And they’re incredibly good-looking! They look like celebrities.”
Song Chan: “Then I’ll have to find some time to go see your class.”
Song Qing: “You probably won’t be able to squeeze in.”
Song Chan: “Why do you say that?”
Song Qing: “You don’t know, they’re very famous. As soon as they heard that a pair of high-value twins had arrived in Class 7, everyone rushed to see them. Our classroom windows and doorways were almost overflowing. It was full of boys and girls from other classes.” Song Chan: “That’s exaggerated?”
Song Qing: “Absolutely! Almost every boy in the grade is thinking about how to talk to Zhong Xin. Today, a senior from the repeat class even publicly proposed to her with flowers.”
Zhong Lingyu suddenly stood up. “What!?”
Song Qing was startled: “…What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”
Song Chan also looked bewildered. “Zhong, did you bump your chin just now? Doesn’t it hurt?”
Looking at Song Chan’s worried eyes, Zhong Lingyu immediately calmed down.
“And then what happened?”
Song Qing: “Zhong Xin didn’t agree. After all, she’s so beautiful, how could she possibly be interested in that guy?”
Zhong Lingyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew Zhong Xin; his daughter was proud and always had very high standards.
But he couldn’t blame her for her high standards; he should blame her father. So handsome, gentle, and wealthy, he made his daughter think that all men in the world were as excellent as her father.
But how many men are as outstanding as Zhong Lingyu in every way? Not every girl in the world is as lucky as her mother, Song Chan.
People shouldn’t meet such stunning men when they’re too young, including her father.
Thinking of this, Zhong Lingyu looked at Song Chan.
Song Chan looked at him too, tilting her head, her eyes full of confusion.
Song Qing then said, “Later, all the boys in the grade started waiting for Zhong Xin to break up.”
Zhong Lingyu jumped up again, “Break up? Break up what?!”
Song Qing: “When Zhong Xin rejected that boy, she said she already had a boyfriend.”
Zhong Lingyu almost vomited blood.
When did this happen? How come he didn’t know! What man in the world could be more stunning than her father!