Teenagers in their mid-teens are at the crossroads of an important turning point in their lives, but at the same time, they are embracing the most vibrant eighteen years of their existence, as radiant as a blooming flower. No matter how cold the winter days get, nothing can dull their energetic spirit.
The countdown to the college entrance exam is posted in every prominent place around the campus, yet during breaks, you can still spot students playfully chasing each other with snowballs around the school building.
Laughter fills every corner.
They are all striving, chasing their dreams—what’s a few more minutes?
The heavy snow that had lingered over Ningchang City for half a month stopped the day Lin Shen was discharged from the hospital.
When Lin Shen walked into the classroom for morning self-study, the noise and cheers from his classmates hit him like a wave, so suddenly that his legs almost gave way. A small firecracker that Jiang Bowen had bought at the school gate went off with a ‘bang,’ and golden pink confetti slowly fluttered down, covering Lin Shen from head to toe.
“Damn you…”
Zhao Youyou slammed her hands on the desk and jumped up, grabbing a book from her side and throwing it with precision at Jiang Bowen’s back. “We’ve got a checkup on Monday, you two idiots better clean this up! Hurry up and get to it!!!”
In Class 7, the duty roster is on a rotating basis, so there isn’t a designated cleanliness monitor.
But Zhao Youyou has a strong obsession with cleanliness and a particular passion for maintaining the class’s hygiene flag. She’s always in charge of supervision. Thankfully, with her around, Class 7 has always been on the list during the annual hygiene evaluation in the third year.
Lin Shen, still standing stunned at the door after the surprise, couldn’t help but feel innocent.
“Why’s this my problem?”
Though he said that, deep down, Lin Shen felt happy with the warm welcome from his classmates. Even though Jiang Bowen insisted there was no need to help, Lin Shen still cheerfully grabbed a broom to join in the cleanup.
The book that was tossed earlier dropped at Lin Wangye’s feet. He bent down to pick it up and hand it back to Zhao Youyou. As he was about to turn away, he heard Zhao Youyou ask:
“Xiao Lin, do you have any news on when Xu Suinian will be discharged?”
The ditch where Lin Shen and Shi Yuan had fallen into had been full of water, but later dried up and turned into a pit, which was covered with a layer of silt due to years of accumulated rainwater and other factors.
It was precisely because of this that they were lucky enough not to be severely injured.
Lin Shen had fallen unexpectedly and suffered a mild concussion along with some external abrasions. Shi Yuan had reacted a bit faster and managed to protect his head, but in the process of adjusting his posture, he had accidentally twisted a ligament in his leg.
He couldn’t walk properly and was certainly going to be discharged later than Lin Shen.
“He’ll still need to wait a few days…” Lin Wangye, looking disheartened, sighed softly. “The cast has already been removed, but he still needs to rest and can’t do anything too strenuous. He wants to get back to school as soon as possible, but the doctor won’t allow it because they’re worried about potential aftereffects.”
Zhao Youyou: “Well… there’s nothing we can do about it. At least they found someone to cover his medical expenses, or the pressure on him would’ve been too much.”
At this mention, Lin Wangye sensed that Zhao Youyou knew something more and turned in his chair to face her directly, asking, “Zhao, does his family have it really tough?”
“Yeah,” Zhao Youyou nodded. “His dad’s a gambler. He even came to the school and caused a scene before.”
“Really?” Lin Wangye was shocked, glancing around the room and then giving Zhao Youyou a look. “Let’s talk outside.”
They walked one after the other to the hallway, where Lin Wangye immediately asked, “What’s going on?”
Zhao Youyou crossed her arms in frustration, clearly upset.
“His dad is a piece of work. He’s addicted to gambling and has ruined everything his family had. His mom tried to divorce him but couldn’t, so she left Ningchang to file for divorce, but before she could even succeed, she died in a fire. What’s even worse is that as soon as his mom died, his dad took the biggest death insurance payout and blew it all on gambling in one night!”
From the moment Lin Wangye heard that Shi Yuan’s father was a gambler, his brow had furrowed deeply.
As Zhao Youyou finished speaking, his breath caught in his chest.
A crushing feeling of suffocation immediately filled him, his chest tightening as his heart ached with sharp pains.
Though Lin Wangye didn’t outwardly show it, Zhao Youyou continued, “After losing everything, his dad found out Xu Suinian still had some money left and came to school demanding it from him. It caused a huge scene, everyone knew about it. Our school’s security was stricter after that. Now, even the adults, including the staff, need to show ID to enter.”
“…”
The cold air rushing into his lungs made every nerve in Lin Wangye’s body shiver. He stood there, staring blankly at the school gate not far away, his throat dry as he tried to speak but couldn’t produce a sound.
In his past life, Lin Shen had never made many demands of his son, but gambling was one hard rule he set.
Lin Wangye knew just how dangerous gambling could be.
So even though some of the rich second-generation students around him might casually spend pocket money on it, he never touched it.
Once someone gets addicted, no matter how rich they are, it’s easy to lose everything.
Let alone someone from an ordinary or even poor family.
Having a father like that, Lin Wangye couldn’t even imagine the kind of life Shi Yuan must have had since birth.
As he thought back to the appearance of his uncle in his previous life, matching those memories to this person, Lin Wangye could almost feel his heart breaking into pieces, bleeding.
“If it weren’t for our school’s Class A scholarship and special grants in some cases, he might not even be able to afford tuition. Otherwise, why would I have recommended him for a part-time job when you asked? He’s worked all kinds of jobs to make some extra money in his free time. He even tutored my younger brother in math, and he’s just a kid in elementary school,” Zhao Youyou explained.
“…Is that man still making things difficult for him?” Lin Wangye asked.
“No, not anymore,” Zhao Youyou replied, letting out a sigh of relief. “Two months ago, his dad got arrested for causing trouble. No one’s there to bail him out, so he won’t be getting out anytime soon.”
Lin Wangye relaxed his clenched fist, feeling the blood return to his fingers as they trembled lightly. “What illness did his sister have?”
Zhao Youyou sighed deeply. “Acute lymphoblastic leukemia.”
“Leukemia…” Lin Wangye quickly processed the information in his mind, reaching a swift conclusion. “It’s treatable, but it costs a lot.”
Zhao Youyou nodded. “Yeah, it’s not untreatable, but it’s insanely expensive. And his mom didn’t leave anything behind—no savings, no nothing. Most of the death benefits went to his dad, and whatever was left probably wouldn’t even cover the basics…”
Lin Wangye exhaled heavily, feeling every nerve in his body tremble with the weight of it all.
At that moment, the English teacher arrived.
The two turned back and entered the classroom, starting their first two English lessons of the morning.
Sitting in class, Lin Wangye couldn’t help but get lost in his past memories.
When he was very young, he didn’t actually see Shi Yuan much.
Since he started remembering things in his childhood, Shi Yuan had gone to Sigwell for further studies, and during that time, he rarely came back to China.
But Shi Yuan had never missed a single day of his life.
The first time the heir of the Lin family appeared in front of the public was on his first birthday.
As a rising star in business, Lin Shen held a grand and unexpected birthday banquet for his son.
When he held the child in his arms and greeted the guests, even the rich businessmen who had been trying to push their daughters into his arms the day before, as well as family and friends, were left speechless.
It was also the first time Shi Yuan had seen Lin Wangye.
When the child, during the highly publicized ‘Zhua Zhou’[mfn]Zhua Zhou is a Chinese ritual held at a child’s first birthday party, when the child is 1 year, i.e. typically twelve months since birth.[/mfn] ceremony, crawled past items like the seal, gold coins, and brush, and slowly and firmly made his way to Shi Yuan’s feet, hugging his legs, it felt as if everything had already been destined.
Shi Yuan’s fondness for this child wasn’t something unexplainable.
Since Lin Wangye started babbling, Shi Yuan had always been there, playing with him, countless times laughing and cluelessly being soaked in urine as the child smiled.
So even though Lin Wangye didn’t remember it at all, that sense of dependency had been deeply ingrained in him, untouched by time or memory.
Over 10,000 kilometers of distance, a 12-hour time difference.
The long-distance calls to that faraway country, Lin Wangye had been making them for many years.
Shi Yuan never missed a single call.
It wasn’t until Lin Wangye entered middle school that Shi Yuan, who had already achieved great success, returned to his homeland.
At that age, when Lin Wangye saw this person again after more than a decade, something indescribable and unexplainable stirred deep within his heart.
He never truly understood Shi Yuan’s past.
No matter the time, Shi Yuan always showed him a gentle, thoughtful, perfect, and mature side, someone who could handle any problem with ease.
At this very moment, Lin Wangye couldn’t imagine how painful those past experiences must have been for Shi Yuan back then.
And how much pain it must still bring to Xu Suinian now.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
