Chapter 56: Showed No Signs of Being Able to Take Good Care of Himself…

In the days that followed, Jiang Shi was busy, and so was Cheng Ye.

Jiang Shi was busy improving his math and science composite scores, while Cheng Ye was busy setting up the small studio he had mentioned. Jiang Shi didn’t understand the specific process; he couldn’t comprehend a single term Cheng Ye used. Only when he couldn’t sleep would he ask Cheng Ye to explain the so-called “business plan” to him.

Its hypnotic effect was comparable to a physics class on a summer afternoon.

That freak Cheng Ye was truly a freak. Despite being so busy, he still managed to rank first in every exam. When asked, Jiang Shi learned that this guy had already finished all the third-year high school curriculum back in his second year. He had even, without a sound, completed a full round of review while writing notes for Jiang Shi.

This infuriated Jiang Shi so much that he gave him a kick.

However, the gap between the two of them was a bit too wide, so Jiang Shi couldn’t bring himself to feel competitive. He focused solely on his own scores, which were slowly climbing up.

Having suffered through the hardships of studying, Jiang Shi lost a lot of weight. His already sharp chin became even sharper. No matter how much Cheng Ye fed him, he couldn’t seem to gain it back.

It wasn’t just Cheng Ye who felt heartbroken; Jiang Xue also felt a pang of heartache whenever she saw him on his occasional visits home.

It rarely snowed in Lincheng’s winters, but there would be months of light rain. The weather was misty and foggy, and the cold air seeped in through every crack. The temperature on the thermometer didn’t look that low, but the cold chilled you to the bone.

Jiang Xue’s heart ached for Jiang Shi. Knowing he was coming home, she caught a chicken, killed it, and stewed it into a soup.

The charcoal in the stove was burning brightly. The two of them sat around the stove. Outside, a misty rain was falling, and the light inside wasn’t very good.

A year had almost passed. Jiang Shi hadn’t tanned much. His lowered eyes were dark, his hair soft.

Jiang Xue knew he didn’t like to eat meat with skin or bones, so she picked out a piece of boneless meat and put it in his bowl. “Don’t just eat vegetables, eat more meat. Your head teacher called me. She said you’ve been improving very quickly recently, you can even get into the top ten in your class now.”

She rambled on, “If you ask me, don’t take this whole university thing so seriously. If you can get in, get in. If you can’t, going to a vocational college or something is also very good. Your health is the most important thing. If you wear yourself out, you’re the one who suffers.”

“Although your father and I didn’t have much schooling, we know that studying is not easy. We don’t ask you to be exceptional, as long as you are healthy and happy.”

Jiang Shi gripped his chopsticks, his slightly longer hair hiding the expression in his eyes. “I know, I have a sense of proportion.”

Jiang Xue put another piece of meat in his bowl. “It’s good that you know. The weather is getting colder. I’m not busy lately, so I’ll take you into town next week to buy some winter clothes.”

Hearing this, Jiang Shi looked up at her. “No need to buy any. I have some.”

Only then did Jiang Xue notice that the clothes he was wearing were all new. Jiang Xue couldn’t tell the material of the black down jacket Jiang Shi was wearing, but with the boy’s sharp chin tucked into the collar, the black against the white made his face look even more handsome.

She paused. “Where did you get your clothes?”

“I bought them a couple of days ago.” After saying that, Jiang Shi added in a poor attempt to cover his tracks, “I don’t spend much at school, so I saved up and bought them.”

It was true that he didn’t spend much money, because he never had the chance to spend it. He didn’t know when it started, but Cheng Ye had taken care of everything for him, big and small. It was also true that he had saved the living expenses Jiang Xue gave him, but he hadn’t used them to buy clothes. He had no opportunity to buy clothes either, so he could only put the money in a box and save it.

After hearing this, Jiang Xue immediately glared at him. “Save what? Just the other day, your aunt was complaining to me that her Xinhe’s five hundred yuan a month isn’t enough, and he’s always pestering her for money. With the little living expenses you get, what kind of good clothes can you buy with what you save?”

As she spoke, she put down her chopsticks and reached out to feel the down jacket Jiang Shi was wearing. The moment her hand touched it, she was stunned. Not only was the material excellent, but the down filling inside was incredibly fluffy.

Jiang Xue had never worn very good clothes, but not having worn them didn’t mean she couldn’t feel the quality.

The look in her eyes deepened. She withdrew her hand. “Did you really buy this with the money you saved?”

Jiang Shi couldn’t very well say that Cheng Ye had bought it. He hemmed and hawed for a long time before finally stammering, “I… guess so. It was on sale when I bought it, very cheap.”

Jiang Xue didn’t speak, her eyes scanning Jiang Shi up and down.

After entering his third year of high school, Jiang Shi rarely came home. Sometimes he would just come back wearing his school uniform. It wasn’t that she hadn’t asked him if he had enough money, but every time, the answer was always that he had enough.

Compared to other children, Jiang Shi really saved her a lot of worry. The moment she noticed he was sick, Jiang Shi would have already taken medicine. When the weather turned cold, before she could even buy him thick clothes, he would have already put them on himself. But most of the time at home, he was lazy, even needing her to urge him to eat. He looked completely incapable of taking good care of himself.

Not only were the clothes new, but Jiang Xue also noticed that his pants and shoes were new as well.

Jiang Shi was careless and just came back as he was. Jiang Xue thought back carefully and realized that every time he came back, the clothes he wore were different, all clothes she had never seen before.

With the little living allowance she gave him, how could he save enough to buy so many clothes?

At this thought, Jiang Xue’s hand, hanging by the side of the table, clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She forced a smile. “Look at you. If you want to buy clothes, just tell Mom. Don’t save money. I’ll transfer another five hundred to you later. Spend it when you need to, you know?”

Jiang Shi couldn’t find a reason to refuse at the moment, so he could only bite his chopsticks and agree.

After the meal, Jiang Shi went back to his room to sleep, while Jiang Xue took out five hundred yuan from under her bed and went to the street.

It wasn’t market day, so the street was very quiet. But in recent years, the economy had developed relatively quickly, and a few clothing stores had opened on the once-desolate street.

The owner was sitting in the shop, warming herself by the fire. Hearing the movement at the door, she stood up to greet the customer. “Come in and have a look. What are you looking to buy? Clothes or pants?”

Jiang Xue looked around. “Do you sell down jackets here?”

“Of course…” The owner tossed the sunflower seed shells in her hand. “They’re inside, all new styles, very warm. Are you buying for yourself or a family member?”

“My child,” Jiang Xue added. “Third year of high school.”

“Third year is tough. Studying is so hard, you really should buy a nice piece of clothing.” The owner used a pole to take down a black down jacket from the rack. “How about this one? The style is classic, and it’s filled with high-quality duck down. I sold five of these in a week.”

Just by looking at it, Jiang Xue felt it was a far cry from the one Jiang Shi was wearing. Unwilling to give up, she reached out to feel it. Not only was the fabric rough, but the filling inside was also stiff. When she squeezed it, it left a dent that took a long time to bounce back.

She asked the owner, “How much is this?”

“We’re all neighbors from the same town, I won’t rip you off. Three hundred yuan and it’s yours.”

“Three hundred!” Jiang Xue exclaimed. “That’s too expensive.”

“Expensive? Feel this material, feel how warm it is. How about this, I’ll give you a little discount. Two hundred and fifty and you can take it.”

Jiang Xue didn’t want her clothes. Instead, she asked the owner, “Do you sell the kind of clothes…” She gestured with her hands. “That has a few English letters on it, something like ‘a’…”

Listening to her descriptions and gestures, the owner finally understood what kind of clothes she was talking about. “Oh, that… brand-name stuff, it’s expensive. How could we have it here?”

“Expensive? How much?”

“At least seven or eight hundred.”

Jiang Xue’s expression gradually turned grim. “It should be cheaper if you buy it on sale, right?”

“What sale?” The owner put the down jacket back in its original place. “It’s a new style. You might not even be able to get your hands on it if you try. How could it be sold at a discount?”

The light rain outside grew heavier. Jiang Xue wrapped her clothes tighter and left the clothing store. She went to the only delicatessen on the street, bought half a jin of pork head meat, and carried it to Gao Xinhe’s house.

Gao Xinhe’s family was all at home. Smoke rose from the chimney, potatoes were roasting in the stove inside, and Gao Xinhe was grinning while watching TV.

His mother, Liu Yuying, was crocheting a wool slipper. Hearing a knock, she went to open the door. Seeing Jiang Xue, she quickly pulled her inside. “It’s so cold today, what are you doing here?”

Jiang Xue patted the light rain from her clothes, stomped her feet at the entrance to get the mud off her shoes, and let out a puff of cold air.

“Brother Quan helped me fix the pigsty a couple of days ago. I just happened to be on the street, and I saw that the pork head meat at that shop looked pretty fresh, so I bought some to bring over.”

“Oh, you…” Liu Yuying gave her a light push. “We’re all family, why be such a stranger? Are we short on food from you? Hurry up and take it back.”

“Don’t.” Jiang Xue said, “I left some at home. My Jiang Shi doesn’t eat this stuff anyway, so if there’s too much, no one will eat it.”

Unable to refuse, Liu Yuying had no choice but to accept it and invited her to sit and eat potatoes.

The skin of the potatoes had been roasted black in the stove. Peeling off the blackened skin revealed a golden and crispy inside.

From the cold to the heat, Jiang Xue’s face flushed red. Holding a half-peeled potato, she chatted idly with Liu Yuying for a few sentences before her gaze drifted to Gao Xinhe nearby. “Xinhe’s watching TV, huh? When you have time, come over to my place and play with your cousin. He’s at home all by himself every day with no one to keep him company.”

Gao Xinhe smiled cheerfully. “Okay, I’ll go play with my little cousin when I have time.”

Liu Yuying pushed the chili powder toward Jiang Xue. “Don’t mind him. If he goes, he’ll just be a bad influence on Jiang Shi. He comes home and doesn’t even do his homework, just watches TV all day.”

At this, Jiang Xue also sighed. “It’s good to have a balance between work and rest. Look at my Jiang Shi, I haven’t seen him in a month, and he looks so much thinner.”

“Xinhe…” Jiang Xue said, “Jiang Shi usually seems quiet and doesn’t like to go out and play. You’re in the same class as him. Tell Auntie, what kind of friends has he made at school? Has he been bullied or anything?”

Gao Xinhe grabbed a freshly roasted potato. It was so hot that he tossed it from hand to hand, hissing through his teeth. Without thinking, he answered, “How could anyone bully him? He’s with Brother Cheng every day. With Brother Cheng’s build, who would dare to bully him?”

The smile on Jiang Xue’s face instantly froze.

After a few seconds, she managed to pull at the corners of her mouth as if nothing had happened. “Is he still on very good terms with Cheng Ye?”

Gao Xinhe rubbed his blackened hands. “Huh? Haven’t they always been on very good terms?”

Jiang Xue could no longer maintain the smile on her face.

Liu Yuying noticed something was wrong with her. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

Jiang Xue stuffed the potato into her mouth, unable to taste anything. After finishing one whole, she suddenly stood up. “It’s too cold. Jiang Shi doesn’t know how to start a fire, so I’ll head home first.”

Without waiting for a reaction from the people in the room, she pushed back her chair and left. At the door, as if unwilling to give up, she turned back to Gao Xinhe and said, “You’re in the same class as your cousin. You should spend more time studying together when you’re free. Don’t always stay at your own house. You don’t live that far apart, why act like such strangers?”

With his mouth full of potato, Gao Xinhe nodded dumbly. “I know, Auntie Jiang. I’ll go look for my little cousin in the future.”

Jiang Xue left the Gao family’s house.

The cold wind and rain slapped against her face. She wiped her face and walked home.

Before she even reached her own doorstep, Jiang Shi walked toward her, holding two test papers.

He seemed to have just woken up. A faint blush hung on his cheeks, his hair was a little messy, and he looked very soft.

Jiang Xue asked him, “Where are you going?”

Jiang Shi was taken aback.

“Ah… to find Gao Xinhe to study.”