Chapter 3188: Chunshu Alley Bitter Summer 31

Zhang Jianguo privately sought out Jin Chen; he had no other way out, the evidence gathered by Lawyer Su could not be denied, so he could only yield.

He asked Jin Xiumei to pass along a message, saying he knew he was wrong—they're all family, why let it come to this?

Jin Xiumei came to knock on the door, eyes red and swollen, voice hoarse, as if she had cried for days; she stood at the doorway, gripping the door frame, her tone stiff as she said to Jin Chen, "Your uncle said the money can be repaid; as long as you withdraw the lawsuit, everything is negotiable..."

Jin Chen sat on the sofa, holding the hot water Chenshu had poured for him, watching the steam rise in the cup, "I won't withdraw the lawsuit; let him go through legal proceedings to compensate."

Jin Xiumei's suppressed emotions flared again, "If he goes in, what will become of this family?"

Jin Chen looked up, puzzled, "When he took the money, he never thought about how this family would fare, Aunt—aren't you angry?"

Jin Xiumei couldn't speak; she didn't want to discuss Zhang Jianguo's affair at all, turned and left.

Xu Hong also came once, blocking Jin Chen in the stairwell, lowering her voice to a sharp threat: "I know everything about you and that man! If you insist on pursuing this to the bitter end, don't blame me for exposing everything—see how you'll manage afterward! You pervert!"

Jin Chen, completely unfazed, fell silent for a few seconds, then said, "How do you plan to expose it? Do you need my cooperation?"

Xu Hong: "……"

Probably because the effect of that remark was too obvious, Xu Hong couldn't think of another way to threaten for a while; Jin Chen carried a bag of popsicles for his brother and continued upstairs, feeling somewhat regretful.

Faced with Jin Chen's unyielding attitude, while terrified of going to prison, Zhang Jianguo could only grit his teeth and sell the apartment near Jiangbei Station.

The market was poor; after listing it for days with no inquiries, he rushed to sell, but the agent pressed the price down, and the final transaction price was far lower than what he'd paid, forcing him to borrow heavily from relatives in his hometown—some families lending 30,000, others 50,000—after countless calls and forced smiles, he barely scraped together 500,000.

But after he transferred the money to the designated account, Lawyer Su called, tone polite, saying he still needed to repay interest for the use of the funds.

According to legal provisions, the money had been occupied for ten years, and the interest amounted to a significant sum.

Zhang Jianguo yelled into the phone, "This is robbery!! I only used his 500,000! Why should I have to pay extra?!"

Lawyer Su spoke calmly, "This is the legal provision, Mr. Zhang; if you have objections, you may raise them in court."

Zhang Jianguo was furious to the point of near collapse, and could only add another sum.

Even so, Lawyer Su clearly told him that this merely transformed the felony risk into a misdemeanor circumstance and civil liability. Since Jin Chen was unwilling to issue a criminal pardon, Zhang Jianguo still found it difficult to fully avoid criminal responsibility; even if he secured a suspended sentence, a record would remain.

On this point, Zhang Jianguo and Xu Hong had a huge argument.

They blamed each other; Zhang Jianguo scolded her for being greedy, insisting he give money to Zhang Kaille to buy a house, while Xu Hong accused him of being useless, unable to handle even a mental illness; the argument ended without resolution, and they both rushed to Chunshu Alley, blocking the entrance to Jin Chen's home.

This time Zhang Jianguo was truly desperate, speaking without regard for face.

He shouted loudly in the stairwell, pointing at the door and cursing: "Jin Chen! Come out! All these years Zhang Yue has been close to you—if I end up with a record, will you just watch her future narrow? Can you live with your conscience?"

Jin Xiumei spent the whole day washing her face with tears.

She sat in the living room, talking to herself before the empty house and the tightly closed door of Zhang Yue's room, weeping over Zhang Jianguo's heartless affair, over Jin Chen's cold indifference, and over how this home had become what it was.

Jin Xiumei also told the neighbors who came to comfort her, "I raised him for ten years—ten years, and this is how you treat me!"

It seemed as if she had forgotten how Jin Chen had been treated in this household—the smashed bowls and plates, the nights he was called a madman, the evenings he was scolded over a few dozen or hundred yuan in tuition. Those memories had been wiped from her mind, leaving only her own sacrifice and grievance.

These past few days, Zhang Yue had shut herself in her room, thinking a lot; when Zhang Jianguo came again demanding that Jin Chen issue a pardon, she placed herself in front of him.

"Dad." Zhang Yue called out to stop Zhang Jianguo, who was making a scene in the stairwell; there were obvious dark circles under her eyes.

"My brother is right—don't use my situation to pressure him."

"Whether you had an affair or go to prison, that's your own doing—it has nothing to do with my brother."

Zhang Jianguo turned to look at her, as if wanting to scold; Zhang Yue stepped forward two more paces, standing before Jin Chen and Chenshu, her back to them, facing Zhang Jianguo, and said, "Go on, Dad. I don't want to see you again either."

Zhang Jianguo was sent away; Zhang Yue looked at Jin Chen, wanting to speak but hesitating; Chenshu saw this and softly said, "Come in and talk."

Zhang Yue stood in the living room, head lowered, voice hoarse: "Brother, I've been thinking these past days—you've always yielded to me so much, from childhood on. I never thought it was wrong; I assumed it was… supposed to be. But Dad took your money to spend on my aunt and brother, and I'm still using your family's money to study… I… am sorry."

She cried so hard she couldn't speak, her shoulders shuddering.

Jin Chen reached out and patted her hair, "These things have nothing to do with you."

Zhang Yue lifted her head to look at him, her tear-blurred vision seeing no emotion in his dark, deep eyes, but in that moment she realized—her brother no longer cared about this family, and this was how it was.

——

Having obtained Zhang Jianguo's 500,000, the day Jin Chen and Chenshu would leave was approaching.

Jin Chen did not ask Jin Xiumei to return the 200,000 she kept. That evening, he made his final entry into the home where he had lived for ten years.

Jin Xiumei stood at the kitchen doorway, clutching a rag; seeing him enter, she remained rooted, staring.

Jin Chen bade her farewell, mentioning the 200,000 that need not be repaid, and after speaking haltingly for a while, finally said, "From now on I owe you nothing for your upbringing, and you owe me nothing for my support—we are even."

"Being even" is truly not an easy matter.

Upon hearing this, Jin Xiumei finally understood completely—she could no longer keep Jin Chen by her side.

She thought that as long as she stayed silent and countered with coldness and tears, Jin Chen would eventually soften, but he did not.

Jin Chen even contemplated leaving Lingcheng… and Lingcheng turned out to have no way to keep him.

Jin Xiumei, dazed, asked, "Where are you going?"

"Didu." Jin Chen said.

To the people of Chunshu Alley, Didu was truly far away—so distant it seemed like a place name that only appears on TV news.

Jin Xiumei stopped speaking, turned her back so as not to look at Jin Chen, raised a hand to wipe her face, forcefully wiping away the tears that welled up again, and responded to everything Jin Chen had done during this period with silence and coldness, not uttering a single decent word.

Jin Chen stood there a while, then turned and left.

Zhang Yue peered out from the crack of her room door with half a face, voice muffled: "Brother, go to Didu and take good care of yourself."

Jin Chen paused at the doorway, glanced back at her once, and nodded.

After the departure date was set, Chenshu also began saying goodbye to the past with his grandmother.

The pothos and mint on the balcony grew side by side; he stood on the balcony looking down at Chunshu Alley, watching the people coming and going in the lane, and watching the branches of the old camphor tree sway in the wind.

He was deeply grateful for the house his grandmother left behind; without moving here, he would never have met Jin Chen. But no matter what, he would never return to this city.

After reflection, Chenshu still, in accordance with his grandmother's pre‑mortem will, sold the house.

The follow‑up matters were entrusted to his good friend Wen Anhe, who would continue to stay in Lingcheng, following the master he had sought far and wide to learn traditional crafts, and would not leave in the short term.

In the year Jin Chen turned twenty, he chose to go far away with his partner, bidding farewell to the past, to this summer that would never return, and to Chunshu Alley.