chapter 2

chapter 2

Ever since I was little, the education I received was to endure.

It was a matter of upbringing. If I wanted to laugh out loud, I held it in.

I had to learn to be strong. If I wanted to cry, I held it in.

I had to keep my figure. If I wanted to eat, I held it in.

If I was bullied or wronged at school, I held it in.

If I was afraid of the dark, afraid of ghosts, afraid of thunder, I held it in.

They needed a perfect eldest daughter of the Cheng family, Cheng Yangyang.

The thing I had heard most often all my life was: “Yangyang, just endure it a little longer and it will be fine.”

For the first time, someone said to me, “There really aren’t that many things in this world worth you enduring.”

Sure enough, I did not hold it in. Tears fell one after another, and for no reason at all, I felt terribly wronged.

Cheng Lin visibly panicked a little.

My brother froze too. “Yangyang, isn’t it just a can of chocolate…”

Cheng Lin cut him off viciously. “Shut up!”

My brother shuddered from her shout.

The voice in her heart became especially anxious.

—”Aaaaaah, does she really love eating chocolate that much! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have snatched it.

—”I’m so pissed. Why do I have to follow the villainess’s plotline?

—”Can someone tell me.

—”If the villainess gives half of the chocolate she snatched back, will she still seem villainous?

—”Stop crying, sis. You’re my sis, okay?”

She was trying to dance on my funny bone again.

I was just about to laugh through my tears.

From the side came a man’s magnetic, low voice. “Tsk. How did this turn into crying?”

I looked up and saw a man in a suit sitting on the sofa. I had no idea how long he had been watching.

His features were somewhat like Feng Yan’s, but sharper and colder, an extremely aggressive kind of handsome.

I stopped my tears and greeted him politely. “Uncle Feng.”

Of course, he was not mine.

I only called him that because Feng Yan did. He was Feng Yan’s youngest paternal uncle, the youngest son of the Feng family. He was also a rising star in the business world in recent years, having doubled the Feng family’s assets again and become famous for a time.

At the same time, I heard Cheng Lin screaming in her heart.

—”Holy flying fuck!!! Why is the second male lead here?”

Second male lead?

So this was the second male lead Cheng Lin kept thinking about?

I found it absurd.

Feng Cishu and I had nothing to do with each other. He was not someone I could casually get involved with.

Calling him a “heaven-sent prodigy” was not an exaggeration at all. Though still young, he had stirred up storms in the business world on his own merits. In the past, when we met, apart from greeting each other, we had had no interaction. He was more than eight years older than me. The circles we moved in were fundamentally different.

But speaking of which, why was he at our house?

I wanted to hear whether Cheng Lin knew anything.

In the end, her inner voice really was talkative and dense.

It took me a while to make it out.

—”So handsome, so handsome, so handsome. This man is damn sexy.

—”Isn’t this way more attractive than Feng Yan, that three-second man!

—”Heroine, look at him!

—”A suit-wearing brute, a cold-faced cool guy, bending only for you, one delicate little flower. Surely no delicate flower could stay unmoved, right? Right? Right? Right?

—”My roommate’s dying wish is to see you two locked together.

—”My roommate is a basic shipper. So am I.

—”Woof woof!”

Fine. All nonsense.

I was just thinking that maybe I should excuse myself and go out, when I saw my brother step forward toward Feng Cishu. Only then did I remember he and Feng Cishu were around the same age.

“Brother Cishu,” my brother and Feng Cishu had gone to the same high school, “after we ran into each other in Chile last time, you said you’d come visit my house. I thought it would be a while. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

For some reason, I felt Feng Cishu’s gaze on my brother was a little cold.

But then I thought about it.

No, that was not right. His gaze was cold when he looked at everyone.

There was ice hidden in this man’s eyes.

He spoke lazily. “Oh. In Chile, I heard you mention a chocolate shop that was good. I ended up buying too much, so I thought I’d bring some over. Isn’t this just perfect…”

Feng Cishu’s gaze paused on me for a moment.

“The little girl is so upset after losing her chocolate.”

I froze.

Only belatedly did I feel somewhat embarrassed. The entire process of me shedding tears just now had been seen by him clearly.

I should still excuse myself. Staying here was awkward.

Cheng Lin beside me had already lost the ability to speak like a human. It was all the barking of a basic shipper.

I was also afraid that if I stayed a little longer, I would fail to hold it in and laugh out loud.

“Thank you, Uncle Feng.” I put on a proper smile. “It’s just that I have to go to school right away. Those chocolates will have to wait until I come back before I savor them slowly. I won’t disturb you any longer. Goodbye.”

After saying that, I turned to slip away.

Who knew Feng Cishu would call after me from behind.

“You and Feng Yan go to the same school? A University?”

I turned back and answered, “Yes.”

He stood. “I’m passing by anyway. I’ll give you a ride.”

I was startled and hurriedly waved my hands. “No need to trouble yourself, no need. Someone at home can take me.”

Who knew Cheng Lin would get anxious the moment she heard that.

“Sister still doesn’t know. Uncle Liu promised to take me to the mall later.” She seemed dissatisfied and pouted. “He can’t take you.”

Uncle Liu was the family driver.

Then I heard Cheng Lin’s inner voice instantly transform from a basic shipper’s barking into impassioned cheering.

—”Second male lead, charge for me!

—”Even if the heroine gets on a bus today, I’ll drag her off and stuff her into your car.

—”I swallowed the car keys.

—”The kind you can’t pull back out.”

Me: 6

But she had said something today that struck me, and I was very happy. I also hoped I could make her a little happy.

I looked at Feng Cishu. “Then I’ll have to trouble you, Uncle Feng. Will it delay you?”

He picked up his suit jacket, his face showing no emotion.

“No.”

Amid Cheng Lin’s basic shipper barking, I left with Feng Cishu.

Just now, Feng Cishu had opened the car door for me.

I felt that this was something I could brag about in the future.

After all, judging by the current upward trajectory of his career, he was certain to become a titan in his field.

Probably many years later, I would brag to the grandchildren gathered around me.

“When your grandmother was young, Feng Cishu once opened a car door for me.

“I even called him Uncle Feng.

“Yes, he is my relative.”

Then my grandchildren would ask me with innocent faces:

“Grandma, how could the richest man have a poor relative like you?”

My thoughts drifted far away.

It was Feng Cishu who interrupted the retirement life in my fantasy.

“Want to listen to music?” he asked me.

That made sense. Otherwise, in the atmosphere between two people who were not exactly familiar with each other, there would be more or less some awkwardness.

“Sure.” I nodded.

“What do you want to hear?”

I named one at random. “One Meat Dish and One Vegetable Dish.”

Feng Cishu paused, said nothing, and Mao Buyi’s “One Meat Dish and One Vegetable Dish” began playing through the speakers.

I saw his fingers tap on the steering wheel with a trace of irritation.

I listened quietly.

After a while, Feng Cishu suddenly said, “Do you like Feng Yan that much?”

Scary.

Was even such a successful person this nosy?

Speaking of which, I did indeed like Feng Yan. I would not deny that.

From the time I was little, I knew he would be my husband in the future. Liking him was only natural.

But saying I liked him “that much” seemed a little excessive.

Still, the two of them were family. No matter what, I had to say something nice.

Say something elders liked to hear.

I was just thinking about how to answer when I heard Feng Cishu let out a shallow breath.

“Forget it.”

He suddenly lost the urge to gossip.

Impressive. This was probably the study of success. If he could even suppress the desire to gossip, then there was nothing in this world that could tempt him.

But why had the air pressure in the car suddenly dropped?

The air-conditioning clearly was not on, so why was it a little cold?

Perhaps that chill had poured into my brain, because I suddenly remembered what Cheng Lin had said just now.

“There really aren’t that many things in this world worth you enduring.”

Exactly. Why think so much?

My marriage with Feng Yan was about to fall through anyway. Why did I still have to consider whether my words sounded pretty?

“I don’t like him that much, I guess,” I said honestly. “I like his looks and his brains. That’s about it.”

Feng Cishu slammed on the brakes.

I jumped, thinking I had said the wrong thing.

He gave a light cough, his expression somewhat discomfited.

“A bird flew past,” he explained.

Maybe it was my imagination, but I saw the corners of Feng Cishu’s mouth lift. See? I really had been startled. How could Feng Cishu possibly smile?

“This bird is pretty good,” I began spouting nonsense. “You can tell its soul is very free. It doesn’t fly the usual path.”

This time, I clearly saw the corners of Feng Cishu’s mouth lift.

He actually could smile?!

Mystery solved. Feng Cishu was not an AI.

“As for Feng Yan…” Feng Cishu tapped his fingers against the steering wheel again, very lightly. “His looks and brains are indeed not bad.”

Approval from an elder.

He continued, “However, there are better ones than him.”

What a modest family. Once again, I was impressed.

I felt solemn respect. “Uncle Feng’s words always benefit me greatly.”

“I will learn from you.”

He seemed to choke on that, the expression on his face as if he were helpless.