Forced into a Secret Marriage with the Villain, We Now Have a Child - Chapter 28

It was midday, and the sun shone brightly through the layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Jian Chun adjusted her earphones as her father’s voice boomed through the line.

“Daughter, have you eaten?” Jian Fanghua sounded incredibly energized.

“I have, Dad! Have you?” Jian Chun’s own mood lifted instantly.

“Yes, yes. I’m resting now since the sun is too hot. I’ll head back out later.” Her father’s voice was loud and hearty. “I saw the scores you sent. You did great in Chinese and Math!”

“Only four subjects are out so far… Chinese, Math, and English are all around 100. But I barely passed Biology; I got a lot wrong.”

Jian Chun had shared her scores with him specifically. While the rest of the class was suspicious of her sudden improvement, she wanted to share the news with someone. Her stepmother, Yan Shan, would certainly be unhappy, but her father was a different story.

“That’s excellent!” Jian Fanghua cheered.

Jian Chun rubbed her nose, feeling a strange sensation. She had never been praised by a parent like this before. The validation she had craved in her past life was finally becoming a reality.

“What do you want as a reward? Do you have enough money? Want some new clothes or a dress?”

“I’m okay, but I want to buy some study materials. I might be a little short on cash for that.”

“I’ll transfer some money to you now. Just don’t waste it.”

A moment later, her phone chimed with a 2,000-yuan transfer. Her father added a voice note: “Don’t tell your mother, or she’ll stop giving you your allowance. Don’t buy useless things.”

Echoes of the Past

As she looked at the transfer, memories of her previous life flickered. She remembered a silent man sitting on a sofa, smoking, looking at her report card and telling her that her high grades were a “burden” on the family. She remembered her mother saying that too much schooling was useless for a girl and that she should learn housework instead.

Back then, her home wasn’t a home; it was a monster that swallowed her dreams. But here, in this breeze, the voice note was real. Her eyes welled up. She wasn’t a sentimental person, but the feeling of being acknowledged was overwhelming.

As she wiped her eyes under the tree, she noticed two people standing by the supermarket entrance: Zhu Feifei and Yu Siyi.

Zhu Feifei was watching her suspiciously. “Is she counting ants?” she wondered aloud, convinced that Jian Chun’s “brain problem” was contagious. She pulled Yu Siyi’s arm, wanting to leave immediately.

Jian Chun turned away, embarrassed to be seen in such a vulnerable state. She took a deep breath, realizing that today, all her previous frustrations had been canceled out by her father’s pride.

Suddenly, Yu Siyi walked toward her. Jian Chun’s first instinct was to run, but she stood her ground.

Yu Siyi stopped a meter away and held something out. “Here. Returning the favor.”

It was a pack of tissues. Jian Chun took them, her mind a bit fuzzy. “Oh.”

Yu Siyi turned to leave, but Jian Chun called out, “Wait—”

Yu Siyi paused, looking back with a questioning gaze.

Jian Chun raised an eyebrow. “You think a pack of tissues is enough to pay me back for the umbrella?”

Yu Siyi looked at Jian Chun’s red eyes, wet lashes, and pink nose. With her bangs soft against her forehead, Jian Chun looked less like a “bad girl” and more like a soft creature that had shed its protective shell.

Yu Siyi’s eyes flickered. Her tone turned sharp as she reached out. “If you don’t want them, give them back.”

Jian Chun pulled her hand back instantly. Finders keepers.

The Ranking Wall

Back at school, the official ranking list was posted. Students were crowded around it, memorizing every name.

“Jian Chun is 45th in the class?” “Look at her grade rankings… she jumped dozens of spots in every subject.”

The “bad student” who hung out with thugs was suddenly rising. Some classmates were frustrated; they were fine with everyone being at the bottom together, but Jian Chun’s “counter-attack” felt like a personal insult.

Jian Chun ignored them and went to the office. Her teacher, Ms. Ke, was beaming. “I wanted to talk to you about your progress. I’ve looked at all your scores.” She gave Jian Chun a healthy dose of “encouraging soup.”

However, as she left the office, she ran into the chemistry teacher, “Old Lady” Zhang.

“I’ve been looking for you!” Zhang said, her plump face breaking into a smile. “Bring your exam and notebook. You’re doing your homework in my office today.”

Jian Chun hung her head. She had failed Chemistry. It was the one subject she couldn’t fake her way through, and now she was being “detained” for extra study.

The “Sea King” Encounter

On the first day of the National Day holiday, Jian Chun went to school early to study in the empty classroom. She had spent hundreds of yuan on reference books and felt a sense of security.

While taking a break outside the teaching building, her phone pinged. A contact named “Leng Yujie” messaged her.

Leng Yujie: “Chun-jie, where are we hanging out for National Day? Internet cafe? KTV? Skating rink?”

Jian Chun remembered him. He was a “cannon fodder” character from the book—a boy who liked the original Jian Chun and would eventually go crazy trying to take revenge on Feng Xue.

“I’m studying,” Jian Chun replied. “Studying? Don’t be like that. Just because I confessed to you doesn’t mean you have to ignore me. If you keep ignoring me, I’ll go bother that little scholar (Feng Xue) instead.”

Jian Chun sighed. To save him from his own doom, she agreed to meet him at the school gate.

At the gate, Leng Yujie arrived with flashy hair and bright pink pants. Jian Chun felt her eyes burning just looking at him.

“Listen,” Jian Chun said. “First, I don’t care about Feng Xue. Second, me not liking her doesn’t mean I like you. Third, I’m busy. Don’t ask me out again.”

Leng Yujie looked stung and angry. He assumed Jian Chun was trying to “act superior” now that she was studying.

As Jian Chun turned to go back inside, she saw a figure walking toward her. It was Yu Siyi, wearing a cold-blue off-the-shoulder dress that made her look both pure and sharp.

“Friend?” Yu Siyi asked, looking at Leng Yujie.

“I’m her future boyfriend,” Leng Yujie declared. “And you are?”

Jian Chun winced, warning Leng Yujie with her eyes. Yu Siyi, however, suddenly let out a small smile. She leaned in and whispered to Jian Chun:

“Have you ever heard of a certain term?”

Jian Chun waited.

Yu Siyi’s expression turned cold. “Sea King (Player).”

With that one word, she walked away gracefully.

Jian Chun stood there, fuming. She had said she was “pursuing” Yu Siyi to get Feng Xue off her back, and now Yu Siyi was calling her a player for standing next to a boy?

Fine, Jian Chun thought, forcing a smile. I don’t care.