“…Dad?”
Old Wen’s forced smile, with no warmth behind it, was a bit unsettling.
Knowing she’d need Old Wen to take the fall again next time, Wen Ying pulled out a red envelope she’d prepared in advance from her bag and handed it to him respectfully with both hands.
“This month’s allowance for you!”
Wen Dongrong started the car and casually tossed the envelope under the centre console.
Judging by its thickness, it probably held 500 yuan.
After two days of exhaustion, Wen Dongrong instantly felt recharged by that 500 yuan.
Yes, the boost was nice, but it didn’t fully satisfy him.
He’d thought he’d only have to sleep in the car for one night, but Chen Ru’s anger was unusually fierce, making him sleep out there for two nights!
Two whole nights!
The first night, he could still pretend he was staying in a five-star hotel suite in Rongcheng to cope. By the second night, no amount of self-delusion worked. A car was a car, and a second-hand Fukang wasn’t some luxury vehicle worth hundreds of thousands. The seats were just so-so. After two nights, Wen Dongrong’s back and waist ached!
Could a mere 500 yuan soothe such hardship?
Wen Dongrong didn’t even want to pick her up from the airport, but if Wen Ying didn’t come home, Chen Ru’s anger would keep targeting him.
Five hundred yuan couldn’t ease his suffering, and even adding a leather jacket wouldn’t… Wait, Wen Ying was dragging a small suitcase home. Did it have his leather jacket? This clueless girl—had she forgotten to buy it or was she deliberately not mentioning it?
Deep down, Wen Dongrong wanted to ask, but the dignity of the head of the household stopped him from saying it outright. All the way home, no matter what Wen Ying said, he responded with grunts and hums through his nose.
In the end, Wen Ying gave up talking to him.
A deal’s a deal, right?
She’d promised 500 yuan a month for his personal stash, and she’d delivered. Old Wen had agreed to the terms. Was he now trying to raise the price mid-deal?
No way!
Though Wen Ying could afford to increase the allowance to 1000 yuan, she couldn’t let Old Wen get too greedy on their first collaboration.
Wen Dongrong could tell from her expression what she was thinking.
Fine, let’s see who outlasts whom. When they got home and she faced the music, he definitely wouldn’t plead on her behalf!
Father and daughter, each with their own calculations, returned home. Chen Ru was reading. Wen Ying’s steps were heavy as she climbed the stairs, but she made them deliberately light at the door.
“Mum, I’m back!”
Chen Ru ignored her. Wen Ying tossed her suitcase aside and sidled up to Manager Chen.
Good heavens, Manager Chen must be furious. She’d left her postgraduate English study materials blatantly on the table, not even trying to hide them.
Manager Chen would never make such a mistake normally!
Though the couple’s English tutoring classes were an open secret at home, as long as the facade wasn’t broken, they could keep up the charade.
Tonight… was it time to lay cards on the table?
Wen Ying would have to be a fool to stir the pot now. Seeing the English materials, she pretended to be blind.
—Ha, I didn’t see!
“Mum, you’re still mad?”
Wen Ying cozied up to Chen Ru, lowering her head to apologise. “I admit I was sneaky, calling Dadie instead of you because I was afraid you’d stop me from going to Hunan. I know I was wrong. Please forgive me this once!”
Chen Ru gave a light scoff, “Oh, I wouldn’t dare. You’re so independent now, making money. How could I possibly be your mother?”
Wen Dongrong plopped onto the sofa, ready to enjoy the show, but Chen Ru turned her fire on him, “And you! You’re both Wens. You two can look out for each other from now on. I’m done dealing with you!”
Wen Dongrong’s backside had barely touched the sofa before he stood up again.
“This really isn’t my fault—”
“Not your fault? She went to Hunan with your approval, didn’t she? I don’t know what you two are scheming behind my back, but I’m staying out of it. Don’t bother me with it later!”
The flames of conflict spread to Wen Dongrong. For a moment, he nearly caved and considered handing over the “dirty money” for peace, recalling the two nights he’d slept in the car to earn it. He cleared his throat, “Wen Ying, explain properly to your mum. I’m innocent here. You didn’t even give me a chance to say no before hanging up.”
Talk about flimsy father-daughter bonds.
Wen Ying secretly rolled her eyes, then looped her arm through Chen Ru’s, “How could you not be my mum? Didn’t you give birth to me? Everyone says we look alike. I know why you’re upset—you’re worried I’m distracted by other things, that it’ll hurt my studies and keep me from a good university. If it comes to it, I’ll do as you say, use Aunt Wu’s connections, beg her to pull strings, and take the discounted admission spot for the New Concept Essay Contest. Isn’t that enough?”
Closeness builds bridges.
But saying what Manager Chen wants to hear is the real killer move!
Wen Ying had compromised!
Since last year’s high school entrance exam, when Wen Ying started demanding independence and equal dialogue, her compromises had been rare. In Chen Ru’s eyes, she was getting harder to manage.
That made Wen Ying’s concession all the more precious.
“You mean it?”
Chen Ru was half-skeptical. Wen Ying was a hair short of swearing an oath, “Why would I lie? I’m not stupid. If I can’t get into a top school, why would I refuse a discounted admission? But I see it as a last resort. Until I see the results of my own efforts, I don’t want to take that final path. I’ve got over two years left. I really want to try! Mum, do you truly think I can’t get into a top school on my own?”
Chen Ru didn’t respond.
With Wen Ying’s current grades, without the discounted admission route, she’d have no shot at a top school.
The provincial key high school had a high undergraduate admission rate, with countless students entering top-tier universities yearly, but in Chen Ru’s mind, only the top ten universities in China counted as “top schools.”
Wen Ying wasn’t without a chance, but with her focus scattered on things outside studying, how could she succeed?
Wu Chunqin had advised Chen Ru to let things take their course, to give Wen Ying space, and Chen Ru had tried.
But her patience was nearing its limit.
Using this incident, Chen Ru voiced her deeper concern, “Why are you in such a rush? Whether it’s doing business with others or screenwriting, you could do all that in university, after you’ve crossed the gauntlet of the college entrance exam. Once you’re through, I won’t care what you do!”
What’s the difference between two years earlier or later?
Business opportunities won’t vanish.
Screenwriting won’t vanish.
With real talent, pursuing these “hobbies” or “careers” in university would still be in time!
Wen Ying lowered her head, silent.
Having been reborn, Wen Ying didn’t need to be in such a hurry.
But thinking of Xie Qian’s uncertain future, with their friendship growing stronger by the day, how could she remain indifferent to his tragic fate?
What she was doing now might not change Xie Qian’s destiny, but doing nothing, living a carefree high school life like an ordinary student, was something Wen Ying couldn’t bear.
Even setting Xie Qian aside, ignoring the “Shrimp King” business, just her dream of being a writer—pent up across two lifetimes—waiting another two years to start writing? Wen Ying couldn’t stand it!
These thoughts couldn’t be shared with Chen Ru.
Wen Ying looked up at Chen Ru, choosing another approach, “Yes, I’m in a rush. I’m eager to prove myself—not just to you and Dad, not just to gain a voice at home, but to everyone around me. Who am I? How far can I go? Why can’t my youth be bold and vibrant? If I can do it, I will!”
A dull, self-doubting youth was her past life.
Now reborn, why not live brilliantly?
If she hadn’t changed so much after the entrance exam, Wen Ying doubted her relationship with her parents would have improved.
Her past life taught her to handle family dynamics like an adult. She’d mastered it, so why should she play the naive teenage girl again, following the same path as her previous high school years? If so, why bother being reborn?
Rebirth wasn’t her choice; it was thrust upon her by fate.
Since it was given, she’d make the most of it!
Some things she could compromise on, but others, Wen Ying refused to budge.
