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Chapter 27 – Sent to the Bus Stop

Lin Tingjun was afraid of being seen by more people, so he strode forward quickly. With his tall build and long legs, Xu Jingchu couldn’t keep up even though she was half-running after him.

“Slow down, wait for me,” Xu Jingchu couldn’t help calling out. Her soft, sticky-sweet voice carried a hint of complaint along with a trace of breathlessness. “I can’t keep up, you’re walking too fast.”

She muttered under her breath, “If you don’t want to walk me there, you don’t have to. Nobody asked you to.”

“What did you say?” Lin Tingjun turned around, and Xu Jingchu bumped right into his chest. Startled, she instinctively took a step back. In this era, relations between men and women weren’t so casual, and Xu Jingchu definitely didn’t want to get herself into trouble.

Lin Tingjun froze. A faint, refreshing fragrance lingered in his arms. The soap they used was all bought by Zhang Qiuyun, but he himself never smelled that nice. What the hell?

“Nothing. I just said you should slow down. If you’re busy, I can get to the bus stop on my own.” Since Lin Tingjun’s attitude was unclear—she wasn’t sure whether she had managed to coax him back into a good mood—Xu Jingchu didn’t dare provoke him further.

“No. If something happens to you on the way, my parents will hold me responsible. I don’t want to get scolded because of you.” Lin Tingjun’s reasoning was airtight, leaving Xu Jingchu unable to argue.

Fortunately, he slowed his pace, so she no longer had to rush frantically. She even had the leisure to look around at the scenery of the university campus.

The lush greenery, the lively students, the scholarly atmosphere… this was the place she had longed for in both her lives. Xu Jingchu swore to herself that she would study hard.

Getting into Lin Tingjun’s university might be difficult, but she could get into another one. One way or another, she would realize her dream of attending college.

The two of them strolled slowly until they reached the bus stop, where a bus had just departed. Xu Jingchu waved desperately at the driver, but still missed it.

Heaven knew how badly she wanted to avoid being alone with Lin Tingjun.

“Tingjun-ge, you should head back. The bus won’t come for a while. I can wait here by myself,” she tried again to send him away.

“No. Given your track record, who knows how many men might suddenly appear to surround you, asking all sorts of questions. Like I said, I can’t shoulder that responsibility.” Lin Tingjun’s face was expressionless, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Wait a minute… his words seemed to carry another meaning. The more Xu Jingchu listened, the more off it felt. He was clearly hinting at what had happened earlier—imagining wild scenarios in his head and wrongly accusing her.

“They came up to talk to me first. I couldn’t just ignore them.”

“They didn’t say anything inappropriate, and neither did I. It was a perfectly normal interaction between men and women.”

“Tingjun-ge, I know you’re concerned about me. But if something happens, could you ask me first instead of making assumptions?”

Xu Jingchu, having once done business, was skilled at reading people. She calmly laid out the facts, then explained her stance. Even when pointing out the other person’s faults, she began with affirmation.

Sure enough, the highly intelligent but socially clumsy Lin Tingjun seemed to waver. He gave a short grunt in reply.

“Thank you for worrying about me, Tingjun-ge.” She delivered the finishing blow, making it impossible for him not to feel guilty. And once he felt guilty, asking him for help with questions in the future would be much easier.

“The bus is here, I’ll head up. Remember to go home when you have time—Uncle Lin and Auntie Zhang miss you a lot. And Tingyu talks about you all the time.” Xu Jingchu reminded him before boarding.

She was someone who repaid kindness. Since Lin Tingjun tutored her, she did her best to ease his relationship with the Lin family. Before they discovered he wasn’t their biological son, she wanted to prevent his life from becoming even lonelier.

“Jingchu-jie, you’re finally back! Where did you go?” The moment she stepped inside, Lin Tingyu rushed at her like a bolt of lightning, nearly startling her. He didn’t need to be that enthusiastic.

“I just went out to buy some books,” Xu Jingchu lied smoothly, without batting an eye.

“Books? Jingchu-jie, you really love studying!” Lin Tingyu gave her the compliment, then immediately stated his real request. “I took the hawthorn snowballs you made to school and shared them with my classmates. They didn’t get enough and are clamoring to come over.”

Xu Jingchu immediately understood. This kid wanted to show off and was hoping she’d make more hawthorn snowballs. Children’s thoughts were simple and easy to guess.

“So you want me to make hawthorn snowballs for everyone?” She pretended to realize belatedly, and the little carrot-heads all nodded eagerly, afraid of being the last to do so and missing out.

“All right, all right, I’ll make them.” Xu Jingchu put down her bag and headed straight to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Lin Tingyu boasted to his friends, “See, I told you! Ever since my Jingchu-jie came to live with us, my belly’s gotten rounder.”

The recipe for hawthorn snowballs wasn’t complicated, just sugar-intensive. Luckily, this was the Lin household. If she’d made such treats back in Hongzao Village, she wouldn’t even need Zhang Guifen to scold her—half a dozen aunts would jump out to say she was wasteful and couldn’t manage a household.

But here, the kids picked hawthorn from the trees and even played with them. Xu Jingchu only thought up this method because she was afraid they’d hurt themselves.

Lin Jianbai and Zhang Qiuyun not only didn’t scold her for wasting sugar, but praised her for caring about the children’s safety. Zhang Qiuyun even tasted one and complimented the flavor.

Such a wonderful family… how had Qin Yajuan managed to make such a mess of things? And how could she have given it up so easily?

Xu Jingchu didn’t understand and didn’t care to. People could be insatiably greedy.

Lin Tingyu’s friends happily got their hawthorn snowballs—some even took a few home—and left satisfied. Xu Jingchu quickly turned back to making dinner.

When the dishes were served, Lin Tingyu and another boy were watching TV. “Tingyu, is your friend staying for dinner today?” Xu Jingchu asked.

If he was, she planned to add another sweet dish that children liked.

“Thank you, Jingchu-jie, but I’ll eat at home,” the boy replied politely before Tingyu could speak.

“Yeah, Jingchu-jie, he’s just hanging out here because it’s boring at home. His brother’s like my brother—all he cares about is studying. His parents are both frontline doctors and too busy to look after him.” Tingyu explained.

“Then he should definitely eat here! Otherwise, what will you do about dinner?” Xu Jingchu remembered clearly how Lin Tingjun once left Tingyu to fend for himself.

Like Lin Tingjun, this boy probably also had to take care of a studious, self-absorbed older brother.

“No need, Jingchu-jie, I’ll come back tomorrow.” Shang Liyan declined again—his parents had taught him it wasn’t polite to eat at other people’s houses.

“Is Shang Liyan here?” A refined-looking man appeared at the Lin family’s door, exuding scholarly air.

“Ge! You finally remembered me. Did you bring me food?” Shang Liyan rushed over to him, then politely waved goodbye to Xu Jingchu and Tingyu.

“Tingyu, your little friend’s life is pretty rough too, huh?” Xu Jingchu teased.

“It’s not so bad. His brother’s more responsible than mine. He used to take care of him really well. But after failing to get into his dream university last year, he’s been especially focused on studying, so sometimes he neglects him.” Tingyu spoke with surprising fairness—even though his brother was good, someone else’s was better.

“Oh right,” Tingyu suddenly remembered, “Jingchu-jie, you could study with Liling-ge! You’re preparing for the same exams.”

She had already thought of that herself, but she wasn’t sure if it would be too much trouble for him…

“Wouldn’t that be asking too much? His time is valuable. For me to take up his time with questions…” Xu Jingchu hesitated.

“What’s wrong with that? I think it’s a great idea. Who knows when my brother will ever come back? Relying on him is like waiting until the Year of the Monkey. You and Liling-ge could help each other out.” Tingyu, though young, was sharp and thorough in his thinking.

Xu Jingchu had to admit, she was persuaded. Besides, she hadn’t been all that firm in her resistance to begin with…

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