CHAPTER 3: Maybe This Is Love

The Su family’s villa looked a lot like a self-built countryside home—spacious, empty, lavishly decorated yet completely lacking in taste. They even had to burn coal for heating. It was a far cry from the Ji family’s European-style mansion with over a century of history.

At the root of it, it came down to their backgrounds. The Su family was nouveau riche. Old Su had caught the right wave at the right time, making his first bucket of gold by trading in small commodities and home appliances. Realizing how easy it was to earn money, he didn’t hesitate to expand—buying land, building a factory, starting his own brand.

But in his haste to expand, Old Su ran into financial trouble. He had large orders in hand but couldn’t deliver, and was facing a hefty penalty for breach of contract. The business teetered on the brink of collapse.

In the business world, sentiment doesn’t count for much. No one was willing to help him out; they all just wanted to swoop in and buy out his factory at a low price.

It was at this point that Old Su met Ms. Sun. She fell for his tall, handsome looks at first sight. Ms. Sun’s father also took a liking to this young man who had built something from nothing. After all, no matter how much demolition compensation you get, there comes a day when it runs out. Sitting idle and living off that money would never do.

So Ms. Sun married Old Su, bringing along five million yuan in demolition money. Not only did she resolve his financial crisis, she also gave birth to a beautiful pair of twins. Old Su was a man who valued relationships. He was deeply grateful to his father-in-law for lending a helping hand back then, and even more grateful to Ms. Sun for bearing his children. Even though he and Ms. Sun didn’t see eye to eye on many things, he always tried his best to be a good husband and respected her slightly rustic lifestyle habits—like heating the house with a boiler.

On the other hand, when it came to the Ji family, one had to mention Ji Jing’s mother, Song Shanquing.

Song Shanquing came from a prestigious scholarly family—three generations of her ancestors were figures featured in elementary school textbooks. A true blue-blooded lineage. That European-style villa was the most insignificant part of her dowry. Marrying Ji Hanhua had been marrying down.

It was precisely because of this that when she grew tired of Ji Hanhua and had an affair with a foreigner during their marriage, Ji Hanhua didn’t dare utter a word of complaint. He could only take his frustration out on Ji Jing. Moreover, no one wished more than Ji Hanhua to see Ji Jing turn into a spoiled, extravagant, useless playboy. That way, he’d have a legitimate reason to take control of the assets Song Shanquing had left for their son.

Su Jiasui would rather die than let Ji Hanhua get his way.

After finishing her dumplings, she pulled Ji Jing into her room. “Did you memorize your English vocabulary today?”

Ji Jing flopped onto his girlfriend’s bed and lazily replied, “I’ll do it tonight. I’m so full, I just want to sleep.”

“One, two—”

“Okay okay! I’ll do it! I’ll memorize it, alright?!”

“You said twenty words a day! How will you have time if you leave it for tonight?”

Su Jiasui tossed the vocabulary book at him and sat down at the desk to work on her exercises.

Ji Jing wasn’t big on studying, but he never disturbed her either. He found a comfortable position lying on the bed, furrowed his brow, and began silently reciting vocabulary.

Not long after, Su Jiahe pushed the door open with a stiff expression. “Sis, Mom’s driving Aunt Jiang to the supermarket to buy bedding for her nephew. She’s asking if you want anything.”

“Is there any yogurt left at home? Bring some back.”

Su Jiahe turned and shouted downstairs, “Yogurt!”

Ms. Sun responded with an “Alright!” from below.

Task complete, Su Jiahe didn’t leave. He folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “Sis, why do you have to let Aunt Jiang’s nephew stay at our house? It’s so inconvenient.”

“What’s inconvenient? That small room is just sitting empty anyway.”

“Where will the guy who heats the house with the boiler stay in winter?”

“You can do it,” Su Jiasui finally looked up. “With your measly two-hundred-something score, you’re not getting into university anyway. Might as well work full-time heating the house.”

“…You’re just like Mom—worshiping academic achievement. The moment you hear someone has good grades, you throw everything else out the window. What if he’s a terrible person?” Su Jiahe tried to rally support. “And besides, he’s a guy. Aren’t you worried your boyfriend will get jealous?”

Su Jiasui nudged the floor with her toes, swiveling her chair toward the bed. “Ji Jing, do you mind?”

Of course Ji Jing minded, but he knew full well that once his girlfriend made up her mind, there was no changing it. Teaming up with his future brother-in-law now would only make her mad. “Ahem, Jing-ge’s got confidence. My Sister Sui wouldn’t be interested in just any guy.”

Su Jiahe couldn’t stand Ji Jing and delighted in stirring the pot. “He’s not just any guy. He’s a top student who’s never even been to a cram school and still ranks first all the time.”

Ji Jing’s expression twitched slightly. Then he looked pitifully at Su Jiasui.

“Instead of worrying about other people, why don’t you go do a practice set?” she said.

“….”

He looked like a poor son who’d been painstakingly raised, only to be forgotten the moment his daughter got married. Dejected, Su Jiahe slouched off.

Ji Jing pressed his lips together and chuckled silently—only to get caught by his girlfriend. “Still laughing? Go memorize your vocab, I’m going to test you later.”

“Okay—”

Honestly, lying on this bed made it hard to concentrate. Ji Jing glanced at the vocab book, then looked up at his girlfriend’s back.

Her high ponytail curled slightly at the ends, sleek and shiny.

Before dating Su Jiasui, Ji Jing never paid attention to girls’ hair—much less felt the urge to reach out and touch it. But he didn’t want to be a scumbag who took advantage of a young, naïve girl just because she was his girlfriend.

So annoying.

When would he finally be grown-up enough?

By the time Su Jiasui finished her exercises and turned around, Ji Jing had already fallen asleep on her bed. Over 1.8 meters tall, hugging a bunny plushie, his sleeping face looked sweet and childlike. He was still clutching the vocab book in his hands, making it hard for her to even stay mad.

She draped a light air-conditioning blanket over him and tiptoed downstairs.

Ms. Sun’s car was parked in the courtyard, trunk open and piled with a messy load of daily necessities.

“Mom?”

“I’m here.”

Ms. Sun poked her head out of the small room, her eyes crinkling with a smile. “Aunt Jiang said her nephew’s getting off the train tonight. If we tidy up now, he won’t have to squeeze in with his parents. There’s no room at their place anyway.”

Normally, aside from cooking, Ms. Sun never lifted a finger. Yet now she was wearing an apron and plastic gloves, helping the aunt clean up the room.

Su Jiasui eyed her a bit suspiciously. Before she could say anything, Ms. Sun grew guilty and pulled her aside to whisper: “Your Aunt Jiang asked me how much the rent was. I figured—why charge rent? It’d be such a waste not to make good use of this opportunity. So I casually mentioned letting her nephew tutor Jiahe in exchange for rent.”

“Ah… that might not be a good idea. Now he can’t really say no. Third-years are already under enough pressure. Where’s he going to find time to tutor someone else? And just because someone’s good at studying doesn’t mean they’re good at teaching. I mean, I can’t even tutor Jiahe.”

“What are we supposed to do then? At this rate, Jiahe won’t even get into college. We can’t seriously send him abroad, can we? What if he goes astray?”

“This whole sacrificing-others-to-make-yourself-feel-better mindset of yours deserves to be criticized.”

“I—I…” Su Jiasui’s strong sense of justice always left Ms. Sun speechless with guilt. After a long pause, she muttered, “We’ll see how it goes. If it’s too hard for him, then forget it. But if he’s a good tutor, I’ll just give him extra money for the lessons. Hey, where’s Xiao Jing?”

“In the room, sleeping.”

“You didn’t set the air conditioner too low, right? Don’t let him catch a cold.”

Ms. Sun wasn’t the least bit worried about a young man and woman being alone in the same room. First of all, she trusted Ji Jing’s character. Despite looking like a delinquent playboy, he was actually very well-behaved deep down. Second, as for her daughter… Heh. The first time Su Jiasui brought Ji Jing home, she’d thought the two kids were swearing blood brotherhood or something.

Su Jiasui hadn’t even realized what romantic feelings were.

“I tucked him in already, it’s fine,” Su Jiasui said, stretching lazily. “Do you guys need help with anything?”

Aunt Jiang stepped out of the small room just in time to hear this and quickly said, “It’s all done, all done. Auntie really has to thank you, Sui Sui.”

“No need to be polite. Oh right, there’s no air conditioner in the small room. It might get hot, so there’s a fan in the storage room—go ahead and use it.”

“Ai! I was just thinking about buying one later. Such a thoughtful girl.”

Ms. Sun said, “If you need anything, just say the word. Senior year is the toughest. We adults can’t help much with the studying, but we can at least take care of the logistics.”

Aunt Jiang waved her hands quickly, “We don’t need anything. This is already more than enough—better than the house back home.”

The room was small, but everything was there: a single bed in the corner with fresh bedding, an old desk from Old Su facing a sparkling clean window. The sunlight through the glass scattered over the spotless wooden floor, giving the space a cozy and bright feel.

Aunt Jiang was deeply satisfied. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “My brother and sister-in-law both work on construction sites. To save money, they live in the workers’ dorms—just a bed with a curtain around it, and that counts as home. There’s no way the kid would have a place to stay if he came here.”

Ms. Sun comforted her, “No need to worry. That kid has a bright future. In a few years, the tough days will be over.”

Aunt Jiang, for once not modest, nodded firmly. “Yes, exactly. We’re all hoping for that day.”

Just then, a black Mercedes slowly pulled into the yard. Old Su, in a sharp suit, stepped out and immediately opened his arms to Su Jiasui.

“Dad—!”

“My precious daughter!”

The father and daughter embraced as if they hadn’t seen each other in years.

And then, one second later, they were at odds again.

“Dad, Ji Jing’s here. Can he stay over tonight?”

“No!”

“Aiya, come on—”

“Aiya, nothing. Tell him to get out!”

Old Su’s grudge against Ji Jing went back to the time Su Jiasui almost smashed a wine bottle over Ji Hanhua’s head.

Ji Hanhua had been thoroughly scolded by his son’s little girlfriend and nearly clocked with a bottle. He couldn’t swallow the insult and looked into Su Jiasui’s background. As it happened, one of the Ji family’s subsidiaries had business dealings with Old Su. It was a profitable deal—Old Su made good money off it every year.

After the incident, Ji Hanhua immediately canceled the partnership, causing Old Su a significant loss. Unaware of the reason, Old Su had tried to salvage the business by inviting Ji Hanhua to dinner, only to be humiliated in front of everyone—accused of raising a daughter who seduced his son for the family’s wealth, or something to that effect.

Old Su had been absolutely furious. Since then, his attitude toward Ji Jing had been all nose and no face. If Su Jiasui hadn’t stood her ground harder than most fathers, he would’ve broken them up long ago.

Ji Jing was afraid of Old Su too. Every time he saw him, he’d scurry along the wall like a mouse avoiding a cat.

Every time Su Jiasui saw Ji Jing acting like that, her heart ached. She thought, Maybe this is what love is.