Still Frame Chapter 31
byChapter 31: The Wrong Crush (2)
Jiang You ordered a lot of food, but she only ate two chicken wings before stopping, packing the rest up and handing it to Zhang Liuxin. Zhang Liuxin rubbed his temples: “Why did you buy so much if you couldn’t finish it?”
“For this,” Jiang You said, shaking the limited-edition collaboration merchandise in her hand.
Zhang Liuxin didn’t understand but respected her decision. Jiang You asked him about his plans for the weekend and if he wanted to study at the library together. Zhang Liuxin replied, “I have to go back to the Zhang family. It’s Ms. Ren’s birthday this weekend.”
It was likely going to be another extremely awkward occasion. Jiang You patted his shoulder and said earnestly, “Good luck.”
Zhang Liuxin brushed her hand away. “Thank you, but I probably won’t be lucky.”
From the moment he was born until now, nothing good ever happened when the Zhang family was involved.
But he hadn’t expected the bad luck to arrive so suddenly. The moment he got out of the car, he saw the jigsaw puzzle he had collected being thrown out like trash.
He rushed over immediately and demanded, “What are you doing?”
The Zhang family servants had always looked down on him. One of them, with a sneer, said, “Throwing out trash. Madam’s birthday is tomorrow, so the house needs to be decorated.”
Zhang Liuxin’s carefully framed puzzle was carelessly discarded nearby, glass shards scattered everywhere. Passersby had stepped on it several times, turning it into a pitiful pile of garbage whose original form was unrecognizable.
“You went into my room?”
Zhang Liuxin clenched his fists, his shoulders trembling violently, his voice shaking as he asked, “Why did you need to enter my room to decorate?”
“Why? Because this is my home, of course.”
Zhang Qiannan walked over. The servants who had been so arrogant moments ago respectfully called him Young Master. Zhang Qiannan stepped on the last intact piece of the puzzle, crushing it, and then intimately draped an arm over Zhang Liuxin’s shoulder. “In my house, I can do whatever I want, naturally.”
“You ordered this?” Zhang Liuxin’s lips were white. He brushed Zhang Qiannan’s arm away with extreme disgust. “Zhang Qiannan, how can you be so sickening?”
“How dare you speak like that, you bastard?” a nearby servant scolded.
Zhang Qiannan continued to smile, his eyes curved, his voice as gentle as water. “Calling him a bastard is too crude. This is my brother. Come on, Brother, it’s time for dinner.”
He glanced lightly at the pile of ruined puzzle fragments. “Get rid of this trash quickly. It looks very dirty.”
With that, he lifted his chin and walked into the house.
“Move aside quickly. Don’t block us from working. Madam will be back tonight to inspect.”
The servant pushed Zhang Liuxin aside. Anger and resentment coiled within him. He tightly gripped his fists, his knuckles white from the excessive force. His vision nearly blackened. Finally, leaning against the wall, he slowly and numbly walked back to his room.
Back in his room, sure enough, there were signs of things being rummaged through everywhere. How many times had this happened? Zhang Liuxin sat amidst the chaos and wondered. He had thought that once he went to college and didn’t return to the Zhang family often, he would be forgotten.
In the reflection of a broken mirror shard, his eyes were bloodshot, the green color looking grotesque and frightening. Zhang Liuxin closed his eyes in despair, exhaled deeply, then pushed up from his knees, searching for things that hadn’t been completely destroyed, preparing to take them back to school.
How much longer would he have to live like this?
Looking out from the small window, he saw the butler directing people to arrange expensive floral decorations. Outside, everything looked harmonious.
Would this last a lifetime?
This was the two hundred and thirteenth time Zhang Liuxin had asked himself why Zhang Jiming had acknowledged him. Knowing that he was like a rotten tooth to this family, why did he allow him to continue suffering?
Wiping his face, Zhang Liuxin tidied his bedroom again. He took out his phone and saw a message in the small group chat.
Qu Shuhua was asking if he wanted to visit the botanical garden to help write their investigative report.
As Zhang Liuxin typed, he realized his fingertips were trembling uncontrollably. He mistyped several words in a row, finally throwing the phone aside in self-defeat and burying his face in the pillow.
The phone kept vibrating, annoying Zhang Liuxin almost to the point of irritation. Once his breathing calmed down, he picked up the phone and saw the profile picture that rarely appeared in the group chat had popped up.
Senior Wen Jin said: “The botanical garden on Mount Luopu has a very complete collection of species.”
Qu Shuhua replied: “I tried to book that one too, but it seems to be private. We can’t get an appointment on a weekday.”
Wen Jin said: “It’s my friend’s. I’ll speak to him. You guys set a time.”
Qu Shuhua seemed shocked for a moment, then asked in the chat: “I’m free Tuesday and Wednesday. How about you, Liuxin?”
Damn rich people.
Zhang Liuxin stared at Wen Jin’s profile picture for a long time, wondering if he possessed worries that Wen Jin would never have in his entire life. This was probably the only area where he was richer than Wen Jin.
“Can we do Wednesday afternoon?” Zhang Liuxin replied slowly.
Qu Shuhua said: “I can. Senior, how about you?”
Wen Jin sent a location pin: “Meet at the entrance then.”
Zhang Liuxin replied “Okay” and didn’t continue the conversation. He exited the group chat and clicked into the contact Wen Jin had added for him. They had never chatted before, and probably never would. Zhang Liuxin sat by the window, staring at the rain on the screen, wondering if Wen Jin liked rainy days.
But then again, Wen Jin’s rainy days didn’t involve worrying about getting his pant legs wet on the way to school, or worrying about traffic jams on the bus, or worrying about the cheap stalls outside the school gate disappearing because of the rain.
For Wen Jin, a rainy day was probably just a day when the air became humid.
Unconsciously, he was thinking about Wen Jin again. He decided to find a book to clear his mind and began reading.
The next day, he was woken up very early. Relatives of Ren Shuyun had arrived. The butler gave him a set of new clothes that looked very presentable. Zhang Liuxin didn’t know why he was doing this—perhaps Zhang Jiming instructed it—but dressing nicely was futile when appearing before the Ren family. The Ren family’s expressions when they looked at him were no different from looking at a gaudily dressed mangy dog.
Sure enough, Zhang Qiannan’s maternal grandfather looked away as soon as he saw him, as if he were bad luck. Yet, Zhang Qiannan still pretended to be affectionate, leaning close and calling him “Brother” in a sickeningly sweet voice.
Predictably, the grandfather’s face darkened further.
Zhang Jiming had lost face in front of his in-laws. He knew very well that Ren family assistance was largely responsible for elevating the Zhang family to its current position, so he kept pouring tea and asking solicitously after his in-laws.
After a while, Zhang Qiannan’s maternal grandmother pointed at the fruit platter on the table and said, “This isn’t fresh, is it? It looks disgusting.”
The fruit had been air-freighted, still on the tree just hours ago. What truly disgusted her must be someone else.
Zhang Liuxin sighed internally, thinking, You people disgust me too. He forced a smile and stood up. “Dad, I’ll go help Uncle Lin check if the dishes are ready.”
Zhang Jiming smiled awkwardly and told him to hurry up and go, and not to think about being lazy the moment he returned home.
Before Zhang Liuxin walked far, he heard Zhang Qiannan’s grandmother complain about why he still came home so often now that he was an adult. He should just live at school.
Ren Shuyun said, “Mom, don’t talk about it. The house is big anyway. I received two boxes of bird’s nest from Mrs. Wang. I’ll have someone load them into the car later for you to take home…”
Zhang Liuxin returned to his small room and only came downstairs when more guests arrived in the afternoon.
Zhang Qiannan was dressed like an exquisite figurine, standing in the foyer. Everyone who passed by praised his good looks and temperament, noting that he was also an academic genius, clearly inheriting traits from his parents. Zhang Jiming modestly said no, no, it was all the child’s own effort. Ren Shuyun gently stroked Zhang Qiannan’s arm, smoothing out an invisible wrinkle in his jacket.
In that moment, they were a healthy and harmonious family of three, and Zhang Qiannan played the part of the exemplary, high-achieving son.
Zhang Liuxin withdrew his gaze. He smelled the aroma of the sponge cake the kitchen had baked today. Most of the guests were here for socializing. The young masters and ladies disdained eating such simple things. Zhang Liuxin picked up a tray, selecting a beautiful piece of sponge cake and a fragrant lemon mille-feuille.
He hid in a corner to eat. Many people walked past. Some cast strange glances at him, watching him for a few moments before whispering loudly that Zhang Jiming really didn’t know how to behave, letting the mistress’s son wander around during his legitimate wife’s birthday banquet.
Zhang Liuxin wanted to say that his mother was not a mistress; she was also Zhang Jiming’s legitimate wife. Most people actually knew that Zhang Jiming had registered their marriage and eloped with his mother before abandoning his wife and child to return and inherit the family fortune and marry a wealthy socialite. Zhang Jiming simply refused to admit it. As the Zhang family prospered, everyone turned around and claimed his mother was the home-wrecking mistress and Zhang Jiming was just a poor rich boy who fell into a woman’s honey trap.
As the rumors spread, everyone believed the gossip was the truth. Zhang Liuxin had tried to refute it, but the result was a beating from Zhang Jiming, who had lost face, and a stern warning never to mention the name Bourne Forest or “that woman” again.
To Zhang Jiming, she was “that woman.” To Zhang Liuxin, she was the mother who gave birth to and raised him.
Zhang Liuxin finished the last piece of sponge cake, feeling a lump in his throat.
A few young people walked past him. Zhang Liuxin remembered they were Zhang Qiannan’s friends—or rather, the group that fawned over Zhang Qiannan. Since their family backgrounds couldn’t compare to the Zhang family’s, even if they were older than Zhang Qiannan, they were only fit to flatter Young Master Zhang.
The blonde girl complained discontentedly, “We’ve been here so long, and Zhang Qiannan hasn’t even come over to say hello. What does he mean by that?”
“It’s his mother’s birthday. Didn’t you see how many influential people came? How could he bother with us?” said the boy in the light brown suit. “Tsk, my mom was just telling me that the guests at Auntie Ren’s birthday this year are completely different from last year. Last year, families like the He family or the Xiang family wouldn’t have paid them any mind.”
“Lower your voice,” the blonde girl made a fake shushing gesture. “Do you know why?”
“Why? It can’t be that CEO Zhang has latched onto another family, right…”
Zhang Liuxin couldn’t help but smile slightly. Zhang Qiannan’s friends were even more vicious than he was.
“Of course not,” the blonde girl lowered her voice, making it sound muffled to Zhang Liuxin across the distance. “It’s Zhang Qiannan. I heard he’s going to marry Wen Jin.”