“Uncle, I can get back on my own later. It’s really close to the apartment complex from here; a taxi would just be the base fare.”

“That won’t do. President Jiang instructed me to bring you here, so I have to stay with you the whole time. Otherwise, if something were to happen, I’d be in big trouble…” The driver stood by the car, wringing his hands a little nervously.

“But Uncle, don’t you need to buy a gift for your kid? Shengda is probably about to close.”

‘If I go now… I should be able to make it,’ the driver, Old Yan, thought, troubled. The trip to the East City Outskirts and back would take a little over an hour without traffic. He’d originally figured he’d have plenty of time to go after dropping off Chen Yuan.

But he hadn’t expected the problem with the elevator at the complex, which caused another delay.

He didn’t strictly need to buy this Snowman gift, but his daughter had mentioned it, and he’d taken it to heart.

‘It’s not absolutely necessary… Maybe a different gift would be okay, but it wouldn’t be as much of a surprise.’

His daughter was young; she’d see whatever was trending on short-form videos and excitedly ask for it. The Snowman toy looked like something from a cheap street stall, yet it came in “commemorative,” “premium,” and even “idol-signed” editions. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Chen Yuan saw the struggle in the driver’s expression. After a moment’s thought, he said, “How about this? You go ahead. I’ll take my time eating. If you get back late, I’ll just wait. I don’t have anything else to do tonight anyway.”

“Well…”

A light sparked in the driver’s eyes. “Thank you so much, Yuan! I’ll head out right now, then?”

“Go on, Uncle.”

“Alright!”

The driver turned, got into his car, started the engine, and slowly pulled away from the restaurant entrance.

The corners of Chen Yuan’s lips curved into a warm smile.

‘Dads all over the world have it tough. All they think about is how to make their kids’ lives better, how to make them happier…’ Chen Yuan thought of his own two dads. ‘Heh, I’m actually pretty lucky.’

He turned and walked into the restaurant.

After taking a seat, Chen Yuan loosened the waistband of his jeans. He was determined to feast tonight, and it would be best if he could time it so he finished right around when the driver returned.

Otherwise, the driver would just be anxious and apologetic again when he got back.

Chen Yuan was still young and didn’t understand the art of managing others.

A child raised in a small county town is distinctly different in this regard from one raised in a wealthy family, because he had been brought up to be too simple and naive. He was always considering the feelings of others, even to the point of neglecting his own. This people-pleasing mindset was precisely what Jiang Zhengfeng disliked, and it was the reason he had taken him in in the first place.

He was used to reading people’s expressions—his parents’, his teachers’, everyone’s. Most children grow up that way.

Jiang Zhengfeng had been that kind of child himself, and he hated it.

There was nothing good about it; it was just a sign of a morbidly distorted personality.

When Jiang Zhengfeng gave speeches at universities, he often lamented that such a cruel society could produce such “soft” children. He did not want Chen Yuan to have to read anyone’s expression.

He shouldn’t have to please anyone, whether deliberately or subconsciously.

This was the very meaning behind all of Jiang Zhengfeng’s efforts. Otherwise, why had he worked so tirelessly, day in and day out, for a decade?

“Waiter…”

In the restaurant, the rich, meaty aroma in the air made Chen Yuan’s mouth water.

He ordered his food, picked up the white cloth napkin to wipe his utensils, and a moment later, pulled his phone from his pocket.

Jiangg Yao still hadn’t replied after all this time.

Chen Yuan stared at the long string of his own messages on the chat screen. ‘Jiangg Yao is probably just too busy,’ he thought. ‘There’s a lot to prepare for the New Year, and a prominent family like hers probably has a lot of elders to visit and a lot of rules to follow.’

‘It’s probably rude to be on your phone in front of elders.’

In any case, Chen Yuan didn’t let his mind drift toward worst-case scenarios. He readily accepted that she hadn’t replied for several hours. Since he was bored with nothing to do, he opened a video app on his phone and put on one of his favorite sci-fi movies.

He turned on the bullet comments and settled in to enjoy the show.

Chen Yuan never considered that if *he* were the one who hadn’t replied for a few hours, Jiangg Yao would have probably messaged him several times already. She might have even called, and the first thing she would have said upon him answering would have been, “Why aren’t you replying to my messages?” This was the difference between guys and girls. Chen Yuan always tended to make excuses for the other person, his first instinct always being to consider his girlfriend’s feelings.

In truth, if he had paid a little more attention to his own needs, the lie spun by Jiangg Ning and Jiangg Yao would have seemed like a gaudy, insubstantial bubble.

So fragile that a single poke…

Even a light touch would have shattered it.

If he wasn’t always so focused on his girlfriend’s feelings, he wouldn’t have gone behind the sisters’ backs to find a cure for her illness. If he didn’t think a sick person’s emotions were so fragile, he wouldn’t have arranged for the doctor to come and met them himself, rather than having the sisters go.

Their deepening feelings and shared experiences, over time, had gradually compressed that initial lie into a bomb on the verge of detonation.

…

Jiangg Ruxue was a little drunk, a distinct rosy flush coloring her cheeks.

She gazed out at the Lanjing nightscape. The city lights were just beginning to glow, weaving the streets below into a tapestry of traffic. She no longer had the mental energy to care about the tiresome minutiae of her company; she had delegated everything to her assistant, who was rushing back to Lanjing.

The sudden elevator accident… Thinking of it now still sent a wave of fear through her!

For an accident to happen that easily, Jiangg Ruxue couldn’t help but suspect the complex was a shoddily constructed, unregulated dump. A wave of resentment washed over her at the thought of the two sisters renting an apartment there.

Ningning and Yaoyao did everything without consulting her, their own mother. They deliberately shut her out, as if terrified she might discover some secret. It truly chilled her to the bone.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep