Chapter 18 (2/2): Home invasion

He Dongli acted like she was just listening, saying nothing.

Zong Chi wasn’t pleased, “You think I won’t get four As, don’t you?”

She shook her head but still said plainly, “Zong Chi, why don’t you want to live with your parents? Why stay in China for high school?”

“Because whether I’m here or in the country they want me in, the frequency they see me is the same.”

“They only come when they have time, fly over to see me once. And some people, if I leave, I won’t see them again.”

He Dongli looked up.

Outside, the bell rang for the end of class.

She had skipped out of gym free time.

The bell’s alternating proximity unsettled her.

Just then, she heard Zong Chi say, “I mean Lin Jiaoyu and the others.”

“I have to go back to class.”

“What about swimming?”

“I don’t want to learn swimming, and besides, I can’t swim right now.”

“You’ll get through your period.”

Zong Chi assumed she was making an excuse.

He Dongli touched the gauze on her spine.

It was much better now, already scabbed over, her mother had said when changing the dressing.

Yu Xiaohan had finally lost patience with the Xu siblings over this, showing no mercy to Xu Maosen either.

She said she had endured for appearances’ sake, but things had gotten so bad, they might as well just give up.

People thought she was pitiful, a woman who couldn’t live without a man and only after wealth and comfort, following Xu Maosen for pleasure.

But if anyone slandered her daughter, she’d fight all of them fiercely.

He Dongli suddenly understood — her mother’s attitude was either truly clean-cut or just holding Xu Maosen at bay.

In the end, they agreed not to sign a marriage contract.

The villa where Xu Maosen lived was now a gift to Yu Xiaohan, and he stayed at his girlfriend’s place.

The children lived separately, no interference.

Xu Xilin was very dissatisfied.

She said everything in the Xu family should belong half to her mother.

Why should a third party steal their home?

Xu Maosen didn’t fight with his daughter but attacked his son, saying he was already an adult and should know limits when speaking for his mother.

“What belongs to your mother will be left to you two intact. But I’m still alive, I have the right to choose my partner and manage my money. If you don’t agree, hire a lawyer with your allowance or your mother’s inheritance.”

Last night, Xu Xize picked up his sister after late study and stopped He Dongli to chat briefly, snorting that she’d had a stroke of luck—falling down but gaining a house.

Quite a bargain.

He Dongli smiled, amused by the siblings’ lingering spirits, and by herself.

Xu Xize coldly asked why she was laughing.

“Yes. Maybe I’m half-paralyzed from her push but will gain even more because of it!”

Xu Xize’s face froze, then he mock-aimed a finger gun at her forehead and stormed off in anger.

They say a healed scar forgets its pain.

That day by the closed swimming pool, maybe because her scar wasn’t fully healed, He Dongli’s hatred for the Xu siblings and the shame they caused overwhelmed her reason.

Or maybe it was because Zong Chi mentioned that periods pass, a limited comfort, but she didn’t reject it.

Or maybe the pool was just stuffy and oxygen-deprived…

“Zong Chi, I can’t promise you’ll get four As.”

She hesitated before saying it.

He smiled, “But you’ll try your best, right?”

“Yes. I’ll supervise you with all my strength. In return, don’t teach me swimming—just give me money, tuition or hourly wages, either works.”

Hearing this, Zong Chi’s face fell, and he sneezed heavily several times.

“Hey, you’re really short on cash. Earning money from classmates now?”

“Yes, I am.”

He Dongli admitted honestly.

She probably had many years of schooling ahead.

She needed money and wasn’t ashamed to trade knowledge for it.

Zong Chi stared at her without blinking.

She handed him a tissue from her pocket, urging him to go wash and change.

The next day, during break after morning exercise, Zong Chi appeared at He Dongli’s classroom doorway in uniform.

He came to get her Student Card to top up her pay.

At lunch in the cafeteria, news spread quickly that Zong Chi wasn’t leaving because He Dongli agreed to help him get four As.

For rich kids, how many As mattered?

He Dongli was quite amusing—girls taking initiative really changed everything.

Jiang Xingyuan heard this and, indifferent, remarked how well Xu Xilin hid family secrets.

It wasn’t surprising she liked Zong Chi — many loved and hated him.

She might not even like him, seeing him like a high-end jewel in a display case.

Without the name Bvlgari, maybe she wouldn’t even like the window shopping.

Regarding the widely rumored campus couple incident, Jiang Xingyuan vaguely felt Zong Chi’s connection to He Dongli was because she unexpectedly showed up at the pool.

Without her, they might have truly drifted apart across time zones and oceans.

“But only Zong Chi knew you went to the pool. He stayed—why did it spread?”

He Dongli was getting her change of clothes, ready to shower, and only admitted one undeniable fact — she was the direct reason Zong Chi chose to stay in China.

After the Four Minor Subjects exam, Zong Chi got the four As he wanted.

He said it was a bet to stay.

In senior year, he took a leave of absence but occasionally returned for team training.

He was tutored privately by his parents’ arrangements and had to get four As there too.

He didn’t take the national college entrance exams, but on those days, he messaged He Dongli online, calling her “He classmate,” wishing her As.

This became their Morse Code for mutual support in that final year.

Before leaving the country, Zong Chi confessed the four As at Yizhong were to prove he wasn’t as good or as bad as she thought.

The four As with the tutoring agency were to reassure his parents.

“By extension, you’re equal to my parents’ weight.”

“He Dongli, understand?”

His mother was urging him inside, and Zong Chi pressed He Dongli for an answer.

She remained silent and only said she was leaving and urged him to hurry to the airport.

On a sudden impulse, Zong Chi took off the baseball cap from He Dongli’s head and said, “He Dongli, I trust you.”

“Trust me what?” she asked, bewildered.

“Trust your order, your exclusivity, that you wouldn’t cut in line or play both sides.”

Jiang Xingyuan laughed, saying, “Who even confesses like that, so very Zong style.”

He Dongli said, “That’s not a confession.”

“Then what?”

“A home invasion.”

Jiang Xingyuan laughed hard, “Why’d he take your hat?”

“No idea. Probably forgot sunscreen that day and just grabbed the closest thing he was confident the owner wouldn’t sue him for.”

Jiang Xingyuan was charmed by He Dongli’s sharp tongue, laughing until her jaw ached.

“Even expired candy is kinda sweet, huh?”

He Dongli felt her long story was just to deepen the friendship with Jiang Xingyuan, since she wasn’t one to share private matters openly.

But even her closest friends only understood so much, which felt unfair.

Jiang Xingyuan disagreed, “Knowing every detail is love. Who remembers their ex that well? I’ve forgotten where I had my first kiss with mine.”

“You wanted to hear it,” He Dongli argued.

“I want to hear how you chased Zong Chi. You never chased him at all. So who spread those rumors? And your memory’s too good — you remember every detail that gives people goosebumps.”

He Dongli neither confirmed nor denied.

Yes, a good memory isn’t always a blessing.

Jiang Xingyuan’s phone rang.

She answered, spoke a few words like business, and He Dongli went to shower.

Afterwards, wrapped in warm dampness, returning to her room, Jiang Xingyuan suddenly announced, “Do you know who just called me?”

“Someone named Huang? She’s in Hong Kong now, back to Shanghai early tomorrow. She said she’s read our public account articles, qualifications and details, and invited me for an interview tomorrow afternoon. My contact info came from her boss. Guess who her boss is?”

He Dongli thought, no need to guess.

Whatever it was, it was good news—for both her and her friend.

At least someone kept their word and wouldn’t let her be smeared forever.