That incident also put Su Lang and Lin Zhilan on their guard, and made them regret raising their daughter to be too sheltered and obedient.
Su Lang secretly made a note to himself: once Linlin went to the capital for school, he would have Jiang Chengzhou keep an eye on her and make sure that pack of boys didn’t sweet-talk her.
If Chengzhou was too busy, he could always leave it to Yan Yuan and Shen Man.
Linlin would soon be heading to the capital for school.
Jiang Chengzhou had already made preparations there.
Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng were getting on in years and had stopped living in the little Western-style house long ago. They had moved directly into a veterans’ rest facility.
The facility had a clinic, a communal dining hall, and an activity room specially equipped for the elderly, making it much more convenient than the little house.
Jiang Chengzhou was originally supposed to graduate this year, like Yan Yuan and the others.
But after being specially assigned elsewhere, he had missed classes, tactical exercises, outdoor training, and closed-book examinations. He would have to make up all of them, which meant his graduation would be delayed by a year.
The little house was registered in his name, but he found it troublesome and had always lived in the dormitory. He had never actually moved back there.
Now that Linlin was coming to the capital for school, Jiang Chengzhou planned to clean up the house so she could live off campus.
The school dormitories housed eight students to a room, all furnished with standardized iron beds. In winter, if you wanted a cup of hot water, you had to queue at the boiler room to collect it, and the only place to bathe was the school’s large communal bathhouse.
Winters in the capital were especially cold, and Linlin was used to living on an island. Jiang Chengzhou was worried she wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Besides, the little house was only two streets away from her school. He had already made all the arrangements for her.
Deng Jing was worried that, as a young man, he might overlook some things, so she specifically went to inspect the house. To her surprise, she couldn’t find anything that needed her help.
Jiang Chengzhou had tidied the little house perfectly. He had even pulled out all the weeds growing in the yard and bought several potted plants from a state-run nursery to place beneath the veranda. The long-vacant house instantly came alive.
Deng Jing went upstairs and downstairs, but she simply couldn’t find anything wrong.
She had originally planned to help arrange the place, but in the end, she found that all she could do was prepare some everyday necessities for a girl.
Deng Jing hung the items in Linlin’s wardrobe and reminded him, “Chengzhou, I think you should move in here too. Linlin will be living alone, and I’m worried she might be scared.”
Jiang Chengzhou smiled. “That’s what I was thinking too. But I don’t know where I’ll be assigned after I graduate next year. When that happens, you and my second uncle can move in and keep Linlin company.”
The little house had been given to him by his grandparents. He wasn’t possessive about it. When his grandparents moved out, he had already discussed with his second uncle and aunt the possibility of their family moving in.
Naturally, Deng Jing and Su Jue had refused, so the house had simply remained empty.
Now that Linlin was coming, it finally had a use. But the house was too large and empty, and it would be lonely for one person to live there. It would be better for his second uncle and aunt to move in.
After all, his second aunt had always treated Linlin well, and his second uncle got along especially well with her.
Deng Jing shook her head. “That won’t do. Your second uncle and I already have a place to live. This house belongs to you, and you can use it after you get married. What would it look like for your second uncle and me to live here?”
Deng Jing had already been assigned an apartment through her work.
After Su Jue returned to the capital, the research institute had also assigned him a spacious apartment, one that was hardly inferior to the little house.
Besides, the house had been given to Jiang Chengzhou by his grandparents. Deng Jing knew that Zhilan and Xiao Lang certainly wouldn’t object, but there were plenty of eyes watching from outside.
There was no need to invite trouble.
Seeing that his second aunt still refused, Jiang Chengzhou didn’t press her any further. He thought that if all else failed, once he graduated and was transferred elsewhere, he could ask Shen Man to live with Linlin.
Shen Man had taken the national master’s entrance examination the previous year and would continue studying for her master’s degree at the same school this year. If Linlin had no one to keep her company, Shen Man would certainly agree.
Just as he was thinking this, Deng Jing suddenly asked, “Chengzhou, your second uncle asked me to find out whether there’s a girl you like.”
Jiang Chengzhou came back to himself. “What do you mean?”
Deng Jing smiled. “The last time you went to the research institute to see your second uncle, one of his colleagues took a liking to you and wants to introduce his daughter to you.”
It wasn’t merely Deng Jing’s biased affection for her nephew. Jiang Chengzhou’s excellence was plain for all to see.
He was a top student at a prestigious university, with a bright future ahead of him, and he was handsome and dignified.
That was only what people could see. In private, Jiang Chengzhou had an excellent temperament, treated his elders with thoughtfulness and courtesy, and even knew how to cook and do housework. There was practically nothing to fault him for.
If he hadn’t been her own nephew, Deng Jing would have wanted a son-in-law like him herself.
Jiang Chengzhou shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m very busy with school right now, and I don’t have the time or inclination for that. Ask my second uncle to turn them down for me.”
“Should I tell your little aunt?”
Su Pei would be graduating next year as well.
Once her daughter reached marriageable age, Deng Jing had suddenly begun worrying about her love life—afraid that she might start dating, yet also afraid that she might not date at all.
And if she did start dating, Deng Jing would then have to worry about whether the man was any good.
It was enough to drive her mad.
Jiang Chengzhou was two years older than Su Pei, so Deng Jing wondered whether Zhilan was worrying about him too.
After putting everything away, Deng Jing closed the door to Linlin’s room. “You don’t date anyone, and you don’t even know whether your little aunt is worried.”
Jiang Chengzhou walked beside her and couldn’t help smiling. “My aunt definitely isn’t worried.”
“How can you say that?” Deng Jing asked, sighing. “You young people don’t understand how adults think. If you got married, your aunt would consider one major task completed.”
Jiang Chengzhou followed helplessly behind her as they went downstairs. “Second Aunt, you’re overthinking it. My aunt doesn’t interfere in whether I date. She says that if I’m determined to remain single, then I can go ahead and remain single—she won’t meddle.”
That was exactly how Lin Zhilan felt.
She had never considered her children’s marriages to be her responsibility.
Jiang Chengzhou was already an adult. He knew perfectly well what was good for him and what wasn’t, what he wanted and what he didn’t.
Deng Jing was amused. “Your little aunt really does have a healthy outlook.”
Jiang Chengzhou smiled. “Second Aunt, you should learn from her and take things a little more easily.”
Deng Jing thought about it and decided he had a point.
One’s surroundings could have a powerful influence.
In the past, whenever the children were on summer break and there was nothing pressing to do, she would take them both to the island to visit Zhilan.
As soon as she arrived on the island and fell into Lin Zhilan’s rhythm, Deng Jing felt as though time itself slowed down.
After she talked through her worries and anxieties with Zhilan, they somehow seemed to fade away. Zhilan always gave her the feeling that even if the sky fell, someone taller would be there to hold it up.
Over the past few years, however, Deng Jing hadn’t visited the island because both children had been taking their college entrance examinations one after another.
Her friends were all around the same age, and their children had reached the stage of finding jobs and getting married. Everyone was anxious, and their anxiety had rubbed off on Deng Jing.
Su Jue wasn’t worried, but he was terrible with words. All he could do was repeat the same two empty reassurances, which solved nothing.
Lin Zhilan was supposed to bring Linlin to the capital for school this year. Normally, the two sisters-in-law would have had a chance to see each other.
Unfortunately, Yaoyao was also starting university this year, and her school was in another part of the country. Deng Jing and Su Jue would have to take her there, so the two families would miss each other after all.
