CJLTNS Chapter 20

At 8:00 a.m., Yu Xin’s alarm went off right on time. After yesterday’s scare and the car trouble, it was already 11 p.m. by the time he finally got home.

He hadn’t slept well the night before, and all the accumulated exhaustion from the day finally caught up with him. He slept straight through till ten in the morning, dreamless. After splashing cold water on his face, he thought his dark circles looked a little lighter.

Nodding to himself, he ordered takeout. After lunch, he planned to attend Jiang Ran’s parent-teacher meeting, then drop by Zhao Xun to show off a little. He had eaten and slept well, after all—maybe if Zhao Xun stopped nagging for once and rewarded him with a pot of chicken soup or a bowl of seafood congee, that would be ideal.

Yu Xin washed his hair and changed his clothes, feeling like his whole body was radiating the scent of money. That’s the power of designer brands—expensive, yes, but damn, they looked good.

Unfortunately, his secondhand Bora was now a busted mess and couldn’t be driven. So Yu Xin called a ride to Jiang Ran’s high school. Thankfully, she didn’t attend the same school that he and Jiang Chong had gone to back in the day, or no matter what, Yu Xin wouldn’t have dared to show his face.

At 2 p.m., Yu Xin stood at the school gate, took two deep breaths, and began mentally preparing himself: I’m Jiang Ran’s brother now. I’m the parent. Gotta channel that parental authority.

After registering at the security booth, he was allowed in. It was between classes, and students in their early teens were running all over the place. Even 29-year-old Yu Xin could feel the freshness and innocence in the air.

He asked a student for directions and found Jiang Ran’s homeroom teacher’s office. Straightening his back, he walked in with confidence—only to find that the teacher was a young woman who looked like she’d just started working.

“Hello, Teacher Zhang. I’m Jiang Ran’s older brother.”

Teacher Zhang stood up and looked at him. All the other parents she’d seen were middle-aged uncles in their forties and fifties—she hadn’t expected Jiang Ran to send her brother instead.

Yu Xin had fair skin and youthful features, already looking like a college student to begin with. Today, he’d dressed especially sharp. Teacher Zhang’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she coughed softly to compose herself and slip back into teacher mode.

“Jiang Ran’s brother, I called you here today mainly because her physics is really weak. Look at her test paper.”

She had a student go call Jiang Ran from the classroom. When Jiang Ran entered the office and saw the spruced-up Yu Xin, her eyes lit up and she discreetly gave him a big thumbs-up.

Teacher Zhang found Jiang Ran’s test from the pile and handed it to Yu Xin. The paper was covered in big red Xs. Yu Xin’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Back when Jiang Chong was in school, he’d been first in his grade from elementary through college. Same parents—so how had Jiang Ran ended up doing even worse than Yu Xin, the self-proclaimed academic flop?

Yu Xin gave an awkward cough. “Uh… yeah, it looks like Jiang Ran’s grades aren’t… great.”

“Not just ‘not great’—she’s clearly not putting in the effort. Last semester she still scored fifty. This semester she’s dropped to the twenties.”

Even though Teacher Zhang hadn’t been working long, she already had the precision of a veteran teacher—every word hit right on target. Yu Xin couldn’t even get a word in edgewise. All he could do was keep nodding.

“Bang bang bang!”

“Mr. Zhang, hello, I’m Jiang Ran’s…”

That voice sounded oddly familiar — no, wait, it was Jiang Chong’s voice! Yu Xin lifted his head and locked eyes with Jiang Chong. He panicked and immediately slapped his hands over his face, fooling himself into thinking maybe Jiang Chong wouldn’t come in.

“B-Brother… Brother!”

Jiang Ran’s teeth were chattering, her voice trembling. She couldn’t wrap her head around why Jiang Chong would show up.

Jiang Chong stepped into the office. Teacher Zhang looked puzzled. “And you are…?”

The moment Jiang Chong walked in, he understood exactly what was going on. Jiang Ran really had guts — she actually dared to have someone pretend to be her guardian? And this sly fox Yu Xin really went along with her? Thank goodness he’d gotten that call from the teacher yesterday, or he’d never have uncovered their little scheme.

Jiang Ran forced out a polite, decent smile. “Hello, Teacher Zhang. I’m Jiang Ran’s older brother — you called me yesterday.”

Teacher Zhang’s expression froze a bit. She pointed at Yu Xin. “And you are…?”

There was no escaping this. Yu Xin braced himself, lifted his chin stiffly, and said, “Hello, Teacher Zhang. I’m Jiang Ran’s cousin.”

“Hmph!”

In the silent office, Yu Xin clearly heard Jiang Chong let out a cold snort. Whatever courage he’d just mustered instantly vanished. He felt like he was sitting on needles — the room suddenly felt stiflingly hot, sweat starting to bead down his back.

“Yes, that’s right!” Jiang Ran quickly chimed in from behind Yu Xin and Jiang Chong. “One is my cousin, one is my brother. I didn’t do well on my exams this time, so I asked both of them to come along to show how seriously I take this.”

“Oh my goodness — one of them is handsome enough on his own, but then there’s another one? And they’re totally different styles! One’s fresh and sunny, the other’s mature and striking… it’s a double kill, double kill!”
Teacher Zhang took a deep breath, pushing those chaotic thoughts out of her mind and pulling herself back to her professional teacher’s role.

“Jiang Ran’s two brothers, please take a look at her test papers. Her recent performance really hasn’t been great.”

Teacher Zhang truly lived up to her reputation — she analyzed everything thoroughly, from grades, to attitude, to study methods. Yu Xin just nodded and nodded non-stop like a bobblehead, showing he fully agreed with everything she said.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chong’s face stayed dark the entire time, his furrowed brow never relaxing.

After talking for an hour straight, Teacher Zhang finally wrapped up. “Jiang Ran’s brothers, you really must pay more attention to her studies. Don’t let work get in the way of looking after her.”

“Yes, yes, absolutely!”
Yu Xin nodded so hard his neck almost gave out. His face was stiff and miserable — now he finally understood how bitter it must’ve been for his dad to attend parent-teacher meetings back in the day. No matter how big of a shot you were outside, no matter how much money you had, once you sat in front of a teacher for this, you could only behave like an obedient kid yourself.

If heaven gave him another chance, he swore he’d never in his life come to a parent-teacher conference for Jiang Ran again — especially not with her real big brother there too.

By three thirty in the afternoon, Yu Xin, Jiang Chong, and Jiang Ran finally walked out of the school. Jiang Chong’s black Cullinan was parked right by the gate. Yu Xin, wanting to slip away, quietly turned to head in the opposite direction from the Cullinan.

“Yu Xin!”

Yu Xin froze when he heard Jiang Chong’s voice. He had no choice but to turn around stiffly. “I… I have something to do, so I’ll just head off first.”

“Hmph, what a nice cousin. How come I never knew Jiang Ran even had a cousin?”

Yu Xin awkwardly scratched his hair. “Well, that… um… that…”

Normally, Yu Xin had a silver tongue, but under Jiang Chong’s oppressive stare, he was suddenly tongue-tied, completely unable to explain himself.

Jiang Chong opened the passenger door and looked at Yu Xin. “Get in the car.”

Jiang Ran stepped forward to get in first, but Jiang Chong stretched out an arm to block her. “You sit in the back.”

On any other day, Jiang Ran would’ve thrown a fit on the spot, but today she knew she was in the wrong, so she could only shuffle to the back seat looking pitiful.

Under Jiang Chong’s gaze, Yu Xin had no choice but to lower his head and climb into the car stiffly.

The Cullinan’s interior was spacious, but Yu Xin curled himself up as small as possible, trying to keep as much distance from Jiang Chong as he could.

“Seatbelt.”

Jiang Chong leaned over, grabbed the passenger seatbelt, and — click — buckled it for Yu Xin.

From the back seat, Jiang Ran watched Jiang Chong’s movements — using the seatbelt as an excuse to lean in closer to Yu Xin. Silently, Jiang Ran thought that Jiang Chong was just a big bad wolf — in front of Yu Xin, he just couldn’t help himself with these little gestures.

Jiang Chong drove while secretly watching Yu Xin through the rearview mirror. Today, Yu Xin was wearing a white dress shirt tucked into suit pants. The crisp collar made his fair skin look even paler, giving him a bookish vibe.

The shirt tucked neatly into his trousers highlighted his slim waist, and the straight, tailored pants showed off his long legs. Jiang Chong glanced again and again — no matter how he looked, Yu Xin was just good to look at.

“Where are we going?” Yu Xin asked.

“Home.”

From the route they were taking, Yu Xin knew they weren’t heading back to the Jiang family’s villa in the hills, but to Jiang Chong’s private place.

Back when Jiang Ran lived with Jiang Chong, she treated that place like her own home. Six years had passed, and Jiang Chong was still living there. Now, going back to Jiang Chong’s place out of nowhere made Yu Xin feel a bit nervous.

With a soft click, the electronic lock to Jiang Chong’s place opened. Yu Xin and Jiang Ran followed him inside.

Jiang Chong’s place was still decorated in that same minimal style — all black, white, and gray. Back then, Yu Xin had teased him about his taste: What is this, a factory? Why make it so dead serious?

Later, when Yu Xin moved in, he’d added pops of color — light green curtains, cute plush toys, a pale yellow tablecloth, and tons of houseplants, which had all brought some life into the space.

Now, Jiang Chong’s home looked almost the same as it had six years ago. Some traces of Jiang Ran’s old touches were still there — the light green curtains were still up, the fox plush on the couch looked a bit worn but was still sitting there.

Yu Xin and Jiang Ran sat down on the sofa. Jiang Chong stood in front of them, arms crossed, looking like he was about to interrogate them.

“So. Whose bright idea was this today?”

Based on Jiang Ran’s decade-plus of experience, she knew one thing for certain: when you’re facing Jiang Chong, never even think about lying. Any lie would be seen through immediately — but if you told the truth honestly, you might still have a chance to survive.

Jiang Ran lowered her head and stretched out her hand. “Brother, it’s me.”

“Jiang Ran, if Teacher Zhang hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t even have known. Jiang Ran, you’re getting bolder and bolder — you actually dared to have someone impersonate your guardian.”

Jiang Chong’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was laced with danger. Jiang Ran kept her head down, lips pouting, looking like she might burst into tears any second.

Yu Xin had always treated Jiang Ran like his own little sister. Even though the Jiang family parents had spoken harshly to him later on, none of that had anything to do with Jiang Ran. Yu Xin couldn’t stand seeing Jiang Ran look so pitiful.

“Jiang Chong, what are you getting angry about? If you weren’t always so bad-tempered, would A’Ran have come to me? Besides, A’Ran is my sister too — it’s only right that she comes to me.”

“You… you…”

Jiang Chong took a deep breath, tongue-tied by Yu Xin’s retort. Yu Xin had watched Jiang Ran grow up — her first steps, her first words, her first day of school — he’d been there for all of it.

Ever since she was little, Jiang Ran loved following Yu Xin around. Compared to Jiang Chong, Jiang Ran was much closer to Yu Xin.

“You two — you did wrong, yet you don’t feel any remorse? Go write me a self-reflection. A thousand words.”

It was an early June afternoon — the sunlight was just right, and a gentle breeze lifted the pale green curtains. If it weren’t for the matter of self-reflection, this would have been a perfectly beautiful afternoon.

Yu Xin and Jiang Ran sat at opposite ends of the dining table, both hunched over, locked in battle with their thousand-word reflections.

For Yu Xin, writing self-reflections was as easy as eating or drinking water. Whether it was climbing trees to steal birds’ eggs or getting into fights with classmates, whenever he misbehaved, his father couldn’t bear to beat him, so he’d make him write reflections instead. Over the years, the sheer number he’d written could probably fill an entire “Compendium of Self-Reflections.”

Yu Xin always felt that his choice to become a journalist later on was partly thanks to those reflections — after all, writing a good one did take some talent. A good reflection had to state the facts, ooze genuine remorse, and drip with blood, sweat, and tears — only then could it truly move people.

Jiang Chong stood at the island counter, drinking water while quietly watching Yu Xin scribbling away. Yu Xin’s eyebrows curved like a crescent moon, his eyes clear and bright. His pen would occasionally pause as he furrowed his brow for a few seconds, then continue dancing across the page.

With his head lowered, the back of Yu Xin’s neck was exposed. His skin was so fair — Jiang Chong had known that since they were kids. Back then, Yu Xin was often mistaken for a girl.

Years ago, Jiang Chong’s mother and Yu Xin’s mother got pregnant around the same time. The two families had even talked about arranging a child betrothal, but when both babies turned out to be boys, that idea was dropped.

When Jiang Chong and Yu Xin got together later, they didn’t hide it from their families. Jiang Chong had braced himself for his parents’ objections — but surprisingly, they hadn’t opposed it at all. They even encouraged the two to get along well. To them, Yu Xin finally becoming part of their family made up for not having that childhood betrothal.

Yu Xin lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck. From Jiang Chong’s angle, he could clearly see a scar — about four or five centimeters long, red and swollen.

Jiang Chong set down his glass and walked over to the dining table. He said to Jiang Ran, “A’Ran, go write in the study. I need to talk to Yu Xin.”

Jiang Ran was already feeling stifled. Now that she had the chance to escape Jiang Chong’s line of sight, she couldn’t have been happier to slip away. She grabbed her paper and pen, bolted into the study, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Yu Xin put down his pen and handed the finished self-reflection to Jiang Chong. “Here. Done.”

Jiang Chong set the paper aside and walked over to Yu Xin, pulling open the collar of his shirt. “The cut on the back of your neck is swollen.”

It was from a shard of car window glass yesterday. Xu Yuanyuan had stuck a band-aid on it at the time, but when Yu Xin showered at home later, he’d just torn it off.

Yu Xin flinched a bit and said nonchalantly, “It’s nothing. Just a tiny cut.”

Because his skin was so pale, the inflamed wound stood out starkly — an eyesore to Jiang Chong. He went to the cabinet, took out the first aid kit, and got ready to treat the wound.

“Unbutton your shirt. I’ll put medicine on it for you.”

Yu Xin had been about to say no, but seeing Jiang Chong already holding a cotton swab, he swallowed his protest.

He undid two buttons, and his collar opened wider, revealing the clean lines of his collarbones. Jiang Chong gently tugged the collar aside and saw that there wasn’t just one cut — there were four. The longest was six centimeters, all red and a bit swollen.

Jiang Chong dabbed iodine on the cuts to disinfect them, then covered them with gauze and medical tape so the iodine wouldn’t stain Yu Xin’s clothes.

His touch was so gentle that Yu Xin didn’t feel the slightest pain. Jiang Chong leaned in close as he applied the medicine; Yu Xin could feel his warm breath against his skin, almost too warm, then almost scorching.

“All done. Don’t get it wet for the next couple days — it’s hot out, you don’t want it getting infected.”

Jiang Chong tossed the used swab into the trash. Yu Xin awkwardly buttoned up his shirt. “It’s just a scratch. I’m fine.”