Chapter 46: Calm Down

Chen Jin and the others were waiting in the private room when, after a while, their uncle came over, pushed the door open, and waved at Gu Minmin, calling her out. Everyone else wanted to follow and see what was happening, but no one dared to act rashly.

“It’s better to wait for the elders to discuss first,” they thought. Since this concerned Gu Minmin’s interests, it made sense for her to go, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to follow.

Chen Yongan felt frustrated. Why did every family gathering this year have some kind of issue? During Qingming, it was Chen Ting’s relationship matter, last time the village party secretary hosted a meal and they found out Zhang Leye was cheating, and now they’re dealing with the “good news” from their aunt’s family.

Chen Yongfei gave him a slap on the head. “Eat more. I’ll take you back to school later.”

“Have Third Sister take me,” Chen Yongan demanded with confidence. His brother wasn’t as good as his third sister, who would buy him snacks at the school gate and even slip him pocket money.

Chen Jin clicked her tongue and looked at him. “I’m telling you, don’t think just because you’re preparing for the college entrance exam you can act up.”

After saying that, she sighed in annoyance, “Hurry up and eat!”

“Okay!” Chen Yongan chuckled and went on to eat two more bowls of rice. Half of the dishes on the table were still untouched since no one had much appetite earlier. But he had to eat—he still had evening self-study sessions at school, and there wasn’t much food available there. For a senior student burning brainpower, hunger left his head feeling empty, and walking felt like floating.

Not only did he eat until he was full, but he also went out to find a server and asked for some takeout containers, packing up two servings of rice and two boxes of dishes.

Seeing Chen Jin looking at him like he was a “bottomless pit,” he quietly explained, “That classmate I told you about last time—he only eats one meal a day when he’s at school on Sundays. Anyway, it’d be a waste to leave all this food, so I’m bringing him a portion.”

“Hmm, that dessert can last overnight. Go grab two more takeout boxes.”

As time ticked away, there was still no movement from the other private room. Chen Jin checked the time and decided not to wait any longer.

She stood up and called Chen Yongan to follow, “I’ll take him back to school. Jiajia, do you want me to drop you off too?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I’m not going back.” Chen Jia waved her hand, “I’ve already asked my counselor for leave. I’ll be staying home for the next couple of days.”

Fine, only dropping off one person was still okay.

As they passed by the door of the neighboring private room, Chen Jin slowed her pace and perked up her ears, but didn’t hear a sound. The soundproofing in this restaurant was pretty good.

When she saw Chen Yongan sneakily pressing his ear against the door to listen, Chen Jin couldn’t bear to look, so she quickly dragged him away.

Who was the one going to school here? He had no sense of urgency at all.

When they reached the area near No. 11 Middle School, they saw someone pushing a cart on the side of the road selling fruit. Chen Jin pulled the car over, went to a nearby supermarket, bought a bunch of bread and biscuits to fill his stomach, and then bought a bag of fruit. She drove the car to the open space in front of the school and parked.

Chen Jin handed him fifty yuan as pocket money. “The two bags in the back are for you. Study hard.”

Chen Yongan grinned. He knew something good would come from going out with his third sister! His parents didn’t give him much money, afraid he’d spend it recklessly. As for his brother, he was even poorer than him now. But when he looked at the two big bags of stuff, he was surprised. “You bought so much? I’m going home again this weekend.”

“Then share some with your classmates.”

“Oh! Thanks, Third Sister!” Chen Yongan slung his backpack over his shoulder, took one heavy bag in each hand, and walked a short distance before suddenly spotting someone. He immediately broke into a run. “Hey, wait up for me!”

Before starting the car again, Chen Jin called her third cousin to ask what was going on. He said the gathering had already ended and their uncle had stormed off in anger.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t surprising. Her aunt wasn’t the type to listen to advice. She and her uncle were probably just focused on having that “son” she was carrying. But weren’t the hospital tests not always accurate? After all, when Chen Wensong’s new wife went to see the doctor, she ended up giving birth to a daughter, not a son.

In this “happy event,” the one who would be most hurt was Cousin Minmin. Once she really had a younger brother, not only would the things promised to her be gone, but even her parents’ love and attention would shift to him. All she’d be left with would be responsibilities and trouble.

The only one who’d “win without losing” was her uncle. To put it bluntly, if something happened to her aunt, he could have as many sons as he wanted later. If her aunt successfully gave birth to a son, then he’d have an heir and no regrets. For him, there was no hardship to endure and no risk to bear—all he needed was for her aunt to charge ahead for him.

Chen Jin really wanted to curse. The men her mom and her two sisters found were worse and worse. In marriage, it was usually the woman who suffered.

So why even get married in the first place?

“Hey, Chen…” Shen Baichuan saw Chen Jin walk right past him without looking back. He was starting to wonder if she had some kind of machine that automatically blocked out his voice. She never seemed to hear him.

Watching her enter a building, he glanced up at the building number, then turned to head toward the one next door.

With finals approaching, most classes were wrapping up, and the extra time he had was spent handling other matters. Moving to live in Hanlin Garden was convenient, and on his first day there, he ran into Chen Jin.

But when he got home and thought back on it, Chen Jin had seemed upset. Did something happen to make her unhappy?

However, Shen Baichuan didn’t run into Chen Jin again over the next few days in Hanlin Garden.

Chen Jin was busy too. Once the renovations on the apartment in Splendid Community were finished, she arranged for the furniture to be moved in, and she was still the one running errands and overseeing the process. Her third cousin’s travel agency was taking shape, but he and his two friends were running all over the city, scouting out hotels and restaurants.

Seeing how busy he was, Chen Jin thought it might actually work out, but their third uncle and aunt weren’t so optimistic. They felt he was being a bit irresponsible and thought he should get a proper job or at least manage the family’s rental properties and be a “rent collector.”

So, her third cousin came looking for her, talking about getting her to invest.

They’d discuss that once the travel agency was more established.

Chen Jin’s mood had been a bit affected by the unpleasant family gathering a few days ago, so when the manager of the minimalist clothing store called to say they had some new items in stock, Chen Jin said she’d go take a look.

But then she got a call from Yang Qian, who had also heard from the manager. Guessing that Chen Jin had gotten the call too, she insisted they go shopping together, and she even called Lin Xinran to join them.

After hanging up, Chen Jin stared at her phone. Somehow, she had become Yang Qian’s shopping buddy. Add Lin Xinran to the mix, and the three of them hadn’t managed to be study partners at school, but now they had formed a shopping trio after graduation.

But, well, it was fine.

Chen Jin hadn’t paid much attention to her aunt’s family’s affairs, but news kept coming in from her second cousin:

The day after her aunt’s family returned home, her aunt went to the hospital for a full check-up and hired a live-in nanny who was good at taking care of pregnant women.

On the third day, Gu Minmin had a big argument with the family, which angered her aunt to the point where she felt unwell and spent two days in the hospital. But her uncle’s parents and brothers went to visit her aunt and scolded Gu Minmin, with her uncle even slapping her and threatening to kick her out. So, Gu Minmin really did leave home and moved into the teachers’ dorm at her school.

“What a mess. Do you think we should go check on Minmin?” Her second cousin wasn’t sure what to do. If Gu Minmin had the same close relationship with her siblings as Chen Jin did, there’d be no hesitation in comforting her. But since they weren’t that close, he wasn’t sure if he should step in to help.

Chen Jin stood on the balcony, looking down while holding the railing. She tapped the wind chime hanging on the balcony, and a crisp, ethereal sound rang out, making her feel as if her mood had been somewhat purified.

“What did Uncle say?”

“My dad has been going to Bisheng Law Firm for consultations these past few days,” the second cousin paused and then continued, “He plans to wait until Auntie’s situation stabilizes a bit, then have a lawyer talk to her and get things settled in advance. That way, if anything really happens, the assets won’t fall into Uncle’s hands, and whether they can still go to Minmin is uncertain.”

That was indeed preparing for the worst.

Uncle had thought things through very carefully.

However, Chen Jin pressed her temples, “If Uncle really brings a lawyer to talk to Auntie, Auntie will definitely be furious, right?” Would Auntie agree to something like this? She doubted it.

Even if Auntie recognized that Uncle’s plan was reasonable, it didn’t mean she would agree. If the baby in her womb was born successfully, retrieving the assets meant for cousin Minmin could be problematic.

The second cousin sighed as well, “No need to say it, of course, she’d be angry. My dad’s really acting out of anger right now.” So he wasn’t being entirely rational yet.

Chen Jin stayed silent. Uncle had always been great to them as the younger generation. Even though cousin Minmin wasn’t particularly close with their grandparents’ side of the family, when something serious happened, Uncle was still running around trying to help her secure her interests.

But who knows what cousin Minmin thinks. As outsiders, they could only help so much, but she also needed to take a firm stance herself! Last time, when she mentioned that she should fight for what she deserved, cousin Minmin seemed tempted, but she was still struggling—perhaps considering the many years of feelings for her parents and not wanting to break ties with them.

“Let’s wait until cousin Minmin finishes this semester’s work. You should tell Uncle to calm down. Everyone needs to cool off for a while, anyway, the baby won’t be born that soon. Once everyone’s head is clearer, then we can have a proper conversation.”

“Uncle isn’t trying to grab Auntie’s assets for himself; he’s sincerely concerned for her. He might have spoken harshly that day, and Auntie felt humiliated and got mad. Right now, she won’t listen to anything anyone says.”

“Also, all this thinking on our part doesn’t matter—it’s up to cousin Minmin. If she doesn’t want to act, all our efforts will be in vain.”

After a while, the second cousin let out a long breath, “Alright, I’ll try to talk to my dad like that. If he doesn’t listen, I’ll just say it was your idea.”