Chapter 97: You Can't Even Make Money, So Who Will Follow Me in the Future?

The next morning, Chen Yansen dressed neatly and went downstairs to the restaurant.

As soon as he entered, he saw Song Yuncheng sitting alone by the window, holding half a fried dough stick in her hand, with a bowl of tofu pudding before her and a suitcase at her feet.

She wasn't wearing yesterday's white blazer; instead, she had on that patched pink down jacket, her hair tousled and tied in a high ponytail, revealing a smooth forehead.

Chen Yansen casually grabbed some breakfast, carried his tray over, and approached.

"So early, what time is the train?" Chen Yansen sat down and asked softly.

"9:30," Song Yuncheng looked up at him, casually making up a train number.

"What time do you arrive in Lucheng?" Chen Yansen asked again.

"I-I didn't check." Song Yuncheng hadn't even bought a ticket; how could she know the arrival time? She could only lower her head to avoid his gaze.

"Did you know? People say that when lying, their expressions subconsciously become unnatural, though this instinctive reaction can be suppressed through training."

Chen Yansen took in her expression, speaking mockingly.

"Is that so?" Song Yuncheng gave a dry laugh, picked up her milk, took a sip, tactically avoided the topic, and changed the subject: "By the way, are you going back to school today?"

"I'm going to Lucheng."

Chen Yansen stared at Song Yuncheng and spoke slowly.

"You're going to Lucheng too?" Song Yuncheng's eyes lit up, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and a look of joy unconsciously spread across her face.

But immediately she realized Chen Yansen had probably seen through her lie long ago; he was going to Lujiang, most likely to send her home.

"Yeah, sending a unlucky soul home," Chen Yansen nodded in response.

"I wanted to try my luck at the long-distance bus station," Song Yuncheng muttered softly; she understood what Chen Yansen meant but didn't want to interact with him too much.

She feared sinking deeper.

"With university holidays in Hu City these past two days, tickets at the bus station are hard to come by," Chen Yansen added, completely cutting off Song Yuncheng's hopes.

At 9:30, the two left the hotel and got into the car.

Chen Yansen sped along the outer ring road; before long, he merged onto the highway. Glancing at Song Yuncheng, who was lost in thought, he said, "Put on a song."

"Ah? Okay." Song Yuncheng snapped out of it and obediently agreed.

Song Yuncheng fiddled for ten minutes before connecting to the car's Bluetooth, scrolled through the songs on her phone, and felt none of them matched Chen Yansen's personality.

After hesitating for a long time, she chose "Luzhou Moon," which actually fit the scene quite well.

"As a child, whose light did I steal by chiseling the wall? For days I didn't comb my hair, suffering ten years of cold window study..."

"Now, reading idly under the lamp, with a red sleeve adding fragrance; a half-life of floating fame is but a delusion..."

Chen Yansen hummed along, his voice low and carrying a raspy magnetism.

Song Yuncheng was slightly stunned; after months of getting along, she had almost forgotten that Chen Yansen, like her, was a post-90s generation, and in fact, she was even a year older than Chen Yansen.

"He actually listens to Xu Song's songs," Song Yuncheng thought secretly, unable to help but smile; this was the first time she had seen another side of Chen Yansen.

No!

The pattern on Chen Yansen's underwear was also completely out of place with his usual dignified appearance.

Thinking of this, her cheeks flushed red.

Song Yuncheng leaned back in the seat, gazing at the scenery rushing by outside the window, thinking: You really have no backbone; Chen Yansen just flicked his finger, and you hopped into the car eagerly. Didn't you say you'd only treat him as your boss, as your master?

She recalled that an hour ago, some inexplicable force seemed to push her into the car.

"Is it because I like him?"

Song Yuncheng stole a glance at Chen Yansen; his features were sharp and distinct, his facial features exquisite. The girls who liked him alone in Class 10 of the News Department could form a whole soccer team, let alone the entire Xu Yuan.

"Say he's bad, and besides Meng Jie, he seems to only take advantage of me; say he's good, yet he eats from the bowl while eyeing the pot—scum."

Song Yuncheng stayed silent, her mind wandering with random thoughts, her face turning red and then pale in turns.

Chen Yansen drove skillfully, going straight from Hu City to Jin Ling without stopping once along the way.

After eating lunch at a rest area, they set off again half an hour later.

At 3 PM, Chen Yansen exited the highway, drove for an hour on a provincial road, then turned onto a rural road.

The country road was harder to drive than the highway; the surface was uneven, and when meeting other cars, they had to borrow space from the field ridges.

The sun hung above the birch branches, offering no warmth.

The early winter wind was biting, sweeping up a few withered leaves and blowing them toward a distant dark canal.

"Going home to see your parents?" Chen Yansen suddenly asked.

"No," Song Yuncheng shook her head, but quickly added, "To see my brother."

"Your brother must have graduated and started working by now," Chen Yansen, not thinking much of it, continued asking.

"My brother can't graduate anymore," Song Yuncheng said with a bitter smile, a trace of guilt flashing in her eyes.

Chen Yansen turned to look at her and asked, confused, "Expelled for failing courses?"

"My brother won scholarships every year and never failed a single course," Song Yuncheng sighed, forcing a small smile.

Chen Yansen gave a sheepish laugh, shrugged, and thought: I didn't fail any courses either.

Every subject got exactly 60 points!

Even English was 99 points!

The principal and the dean had both given instructions, so the subject teachers could only grit their teeth and change Chen Yansen's papers, which scored only a dozen points, all to 60!

Chen Yansen listened in a daze and didn't ask further details; he was interested in Song Yuncheng, not in her brother.

A dozen minutes later, the car stopped beside a two-story small building.

"Is this your home?" Chen Yansen looked it over and asked curiously.

The house before them had courtyards of several dozen square meters both inside and outside, and the living area on both floors was equally spacious.

This was much bigger than his own family's house; it seemed Song Yuncheng wasn't as poor as he had imagined.

He had originally thought that, given how stingy Song Yuncheng was, her family must be so poor they were ringing like bells.

"Want to come in for a drink of water?" Song Yuncheng didn't answer, asking instead.

She actually didn't want Chen Yansen to enter the house; there were too many issues to explain, and she didn't want him to know her too well.

But Chen Yansen had driven all the way to bring her back; not letting him in for a drink of water would make her seem heartless.

"Best if we can have a meal too." Chen Yansen was not at all polite.

Taking his luggage from the trunk, Chen Yansen stepped forward and walked ahead; to an uninformed observer, one might think this was his own home.

"Chen Yansen, walk slower." Song Yuncheng jogged to catch up.

As soon as Chen Yansen entered the door, he bumped into a woman in her thirties, who looked at him in shock.

"Who are you?" the woman frowned, her face full of confusion.

"Auntie, I'm back." Song Yuncheng stepped out from behind Chen Yansen, smiling and greeting her.

"Oh, Sister Chengzi, I was just planning to call you to ask where you were; your uncle was even worried you wouldn't be able to buy a ticket." Auntie pulled Song Yuncheng, saying with a smile.

"Who is this young man?" After speaking, Auntie turned her gaze toward Chen Yansen.

"He is my..." Song Yuncheng hesitated, having not yet decided whether to say classmate or boss.

Chen Yansen stepped forward proactively, smiling and saying, "Hello, Auntie, I am Sister Chengzi's boyfriend, Chen Yansen; just call me Xiao Chen."

"Hey! Chen Yansen, don't talk nonsense!" Song Yuncheng panicked, standing on tiptoes, trying to cover Chen Yansen's dog mouth.

Besides, only family members could call her by the nickname Sister Chengzi.

Chen Yansen, shut up for me right now!

Fearing Auntie would misunderstand, Song Yuncheng hurriedly tried to refute.

"Auntie, Sister Chengzi is shy; you understand," Chen Yansen explained with a smile.

"Sister Chengzi, Auntie isn't an old stick-in-the-mud; having a boyfriend is a good thing; Xiao Chen, right? Come in and sit quickly."

Auntie merely thought Song Yuncheng had thin skin; she warmly welcomed Chen Yansen into the main hall and busied herself finding tea leaves to brew tea.

"Chen Yansen, why are you talking nonsense? Auntie even believed it!" Song Yuncheng kicked Chen Yansen, her face full of displeasure.

"You confessed to me last time, I agreed; aren't we just boyfriend and girlfriend?" Chen Yansen brought up the old matter, a wicked smile on his face.

Just then, a tall, slender young man walked out of the bedroom; seeing Song Yuncheng, he immediately grinned.

"Sister Chengzi, you're finally out of school; play Flying Chess with me?" The young man bore a three-tenths resemblance to Song Yuncheng, his tone strange, his smile innocent.

"Brother, I brought you toys and workbooks." Seeing her brother, Song Yuncheng ignored bickering with Chen Yansen, hurriedly opening her suitcase and taking out the prepared items.

"Xiao Chen, you can see it, right? Sister Chengzi's brother has a problem here." Auntie, holding hot water, gently placed it on the table, gesturing for Chen Yansen to drink tea, while pointing at her own head.

"Is it caused by illness?" Chen Yansen asked.

Song Yuncheng had mentioned that her brother had attended university and won scholarships every year; he certainly wasn't like this from birth.

"Sister Chengzi hasn't told you?" Auntie paused for a moment, but after thinking, she felt that since Song Yuncheng had brought Chen Yansen home, she probably didn't intend to hide it from him.

Chen Yansen nodded; now he understood why Song Yuncheng was so frugal; even with a monthly salary of four or five thousand, she still made herself malnourished.

"The year Sister Chengzi was in her second year of high school, the home's wiring aged, and a fire broke out in the middle of the night; by the time we discovered it, Sister Chengzi was lying alone outside the door."

Speaking of this matter, Auntie's eyes naturally reddened; after choking twice, she continued, "Yunuo woke up early that child; he carried his sister out first, then went back into the room to save mom and dad, but inhaled too much toxic gas. The doctor said it was toxic encephalopathy; now his intelligence is about the same as a six or seven-year-old child."

"Then Sister Chengzi's parents?" Chen Yansen asked in a low voice.

"They couldn't be saved." Auntie directly gave the answer.

Chen Yansen looked at Song Yunuo; seeing his face washed very clean, his clothes not high-end but fitting and neat, it was obvious that in these past few years, it was Auntie who had been taking care of Song Yuncheng and her brother.

"Sister Chengzi is a determined child; she started part-time work at school in her sophomore year; it's just that her boss is no good, arranging a bunch of work all day, keeping her so busy she can't even find time to eat." Auntie cursed angrily.

Every family has its own difficulties; Song Yuncheng understood clearly that Auntie's family relied entirely on Uncle driving a truck in the city to support the family, plus two children in elementary school; how could she eat and stay for free.

With parents deceased and brother seriously ill, Song Yuncheng, who originally studied well, finally only scored for a second-tier university.

Uncle and Auntie advised her to repeat the year, but Song Yuncheng did not agree.

Hearing this, Chen Yansen smiled knowingly; with Song Yuncheng's dog-like temper, it was normal for her not to accept.

"Auntie doesn't oppose you two dating; I'm telling you this for two reasons: first, to let you be mentally prepared, and second, to tell you that if you can't accept Sister Chengzi's burdens, just tell her directly; don't make her too sad." Auntie sighed deeply, seriously advising.

She understood in her heart that her niece's burden was too heavy; whoever married her would have to additionally raise a 'son'; ordinary families simply wouldn't agree.

She didn't want Song Yuncheng, when it came time to discuss marriage, for Chen Yansen to suddenly regret it; putting the ugly words out front was good for everyone.

"I understand." Chen Yansen didn't say much, waving his hand at Song Yuncheng.

"Brother, play by yourself for a while." After coaxing her brother, Song Yuncheng walked up to Chen Yansen.

"You two talk slowly; I'll go to the school to pick up Wang Yun and Wang Yu." After speaking, Auntie left the main hall for the two of them, mounted her electric scooter, and rushed toward the town elementary school.

Wang Yun and Wang Yu were Song Yuncheng's younger female cousin and younger male cousin; the school was less than eight hundred meters from home, one in sixth grade, one in fifth grade; why would they need picking up.

Auntie did this simply to leave some space for the two of them to talk.

"I never thought about dating, nor did I think about getting married; my life was saved by my brother; I have to take care of him." Song Yuncheng looked at her brother, speaking softly.

Song Yunuo squatted on the ground, playing Flying Chess by himself, ignoring the commotion nearby.

"He definitely doesn't want you to live like this forever." Chen Yansen's tone was certain.

"But I can only live like this forever." Song Yuncheng chuckled softly, tears welling in her eyes.

"Life isn't as bad as you think; help me make money properly, and in a year or two, I guarantee you'll save a few million."

Chen Yansen comforted her with a smile.

This time, he didn't say words like "be my part-time girlfriend, I'll give you x ten thousand per month."

He was just wicked, not a beast.

"Last month Zhang Yifeng only earned fifty thousand; how could I earn a few million in two years." Song Yuncheng felt warm inside, but didn't believe it with her mouth.

"You are my Number 1 employee; if you can't make money, who else will follow me in the future?" Chen Yansen retorted, pouting.

(End of this chapter)