My Teacher Passed Away, and I Became Her Stand-in - Chapter 3

The driver was still waiting at the entrance.

Jin Kaiyu left the courtyard and bent down to get into the car.

When the driver asked where she was going, she realized she actually didn’t know where Zhao Choucheng’s parents lived; she truly was dazed from exhaustion.

Regarding Zhao Choucheng’s matter, she hadn’t had time to notify the two elders yet. She felt she needed to tell them in person.

Zhao Choucheng was born after her parents were over forty and their careers were stable. She had two older sisters with a large age gap between them, so she was very pampered. For white-haired parents to see off their black-haired child—the youngest daughter—was something anyone would find hard to accept.

But there wasn’t much time to waste. Out of her own cowardice, she had delayed this for a long time. The fastest way was to ask Qu Qiushuang.

So she sent a message to Qu Qiushuang: “Please send me the address of Teacher Zhao’s parents.”

Qu Qiushuang replied several minutes later: “You don’t need to go. I will handle things on the elders’ side.”

Jin Kaiyu shook her head, typing rapidly without thinking: “How can that work? You don’t understand many of the circumstances. If the elders ask, you won’t be able to answer.”

“Besides, I must go pay them a visit.”

Despite saying this, her heart was full of trepidation. She had some understanding of Qu Qiushuang, but she had never interacted with Zhao Choucheng’s parents.

Qu Qiushuang stopped trying to block her and only said: “I’ll go with you.”

Qu Qiushuang: “Location”

Qu Qiushuang: “Wait for me at this gate, we’ll go in together.”

Jin Kaiyu took a look and instructed the driver to turn around: “Then I’ll come pick you up.”

After she sent this, Qu Qiushuang didn’t reply again. Jin Kaiyu took it as tacit consent.

Sitting in the back seat, Jin Kaiyu repeatedly weighed how to express things calmly. She had never experienced such a guilty moment in her life.

When the car was about a hundred meters from Qu Qiushuang’s home, the speed slowed, and she looked out eagerly.

The drizzle was fine, the mist was hazy; the medieval-style gate behind them, the lush green trees, white flowers blooming among the branches, and the layered clouds formed an exquisite picture frame background.

Qu Qiushuang’s black silhouette had its boundaries blurred by the rain and mist, looking like a classical and elegant court lady from an oil painting.

Graceful, yet lonely.

Jin Kaiyu withdrew her gaze.

The car stopped beside Qu Qiushuang, and the driver got out to open the door for her.

Qu Qiushuang sat next to Jin Kaiyu, carrying a very slight scent of damp tide and a faint fragrance of white flowers.

Jin Kaiyu didn’t speak. She glanced at her; she had applied light makeup, and her extremely haggard complexion was well hidden, though there was exhaustion in her eyes, and they were a little swollen.

Jin Kaiyu handed a shawl, warmed by the heater, to Qu Qiushuang.

Qu Qiushuang whispered a “thank you.”

Skyscrapers flew backward rapidly, and Jin Kaiyu’s gaze followed the flow.

Qu Qiushuang didn’t speak after taking the shawl, draping it over her legs. Her pale hands gradually regained some color.

For Zhao Choucheng’s convenience in going home, the old family mansion wasn’t far from their marital home—about a thirty-minute drive.

Halfway through the journey, the car remained silent, both women had their own thoughts.

Qu Qiushuang looked out the window. The familiar scenery held no lingering affection, passing by never to return.

She tilted her head. Jin Kaiyu still looked heavily burdened. She brushed aside a stray strand of hair and asked, “Are you very nervous?”

Hearing the question, Jin Kaiyu slowly turned her head toward her. Nervous? Indeed, she was.

Jin Kaiyu gave a very slight nod.

Her eyes were cast down, looking weary. Her nod was slow, but the innocence in her features added a touch of childishness.

Qu Qiushuang sighed. She didn’t say any words of comfort but simply reached through the shawl to hold her hand. Warmth was transmitted through the thin cashmere.

The car reached the guard post, and the security guard performed a routine check. Qu Qiushuang rolled down the window. Seeing it was her, the guard opened the barrier.

The car stopped at the entrance, and both got out. Jin Kaiyu checked herself in the car’s side mirror. Qu Qiushuang patted her shoulder, and Jin Kaiyu followed half a step behind her into the house.

Zhao Choucheng’s mother, Cong Yun, was tending to flowers and plants. Seeing Qu Qiushuang arrive with someone following behind her, their figures overlapping.

She wasn’t wearing her glasses and couldn’t see clearly. Thinking it was Zhao Choucheng, she instinctively smiled, put down her shears, and called out loudly to the interior: “Old man, Chengcheng is back!”

Qu Qiushuang’s footsteps faltered, her brows furrowing slightly.

Cong Yun came from a prestigious family; she was proud and possessed great self-restraint. She was usually gentle, elegant, and soft-spoken, rarely showing such obvious joy.

Jin Kaiyu was standing to Qu Qiushuang’s right. Hearing those words, a dull pain throbbed in her heart, making it hard to lift her feet. She saw Qu Qiushuang also turn her head toward the right.

A servant nearby looked closely and reminded Cong Yun in a low voice: “Madam, it isn’t the Third Miss.”

Hearing this, Cong Yun quickly fumbled for her glasses and put them on. Zhao’s father also came out upon hearing the noise.

Cong Yun put on her glasses and saw Qu Qiushuang’s complexion. Her heart skipped a beat, her steps becoming a bit frantic. Then she looked at the attire of the two—black from head to toe.

Zhao’s father supported her, his majestic gaze sweeping over Qu Qiushuang and the Jin Kaiyu beside her. He said to Qu Qiushuang in a heavy voice: “Why are you the only one here? Where is Chengcheng?”

Jin Kaiyu saw Qu Qiushuang’s figure stiffen. She clenched her fists and stepped in front of her. Without pleasantries or self-introduction, she tried to keep her voice as calm as possible: “Teacher Zhao, she…”

She took a breath and finished the sentence: “Teacher encountered a typhoon at sea and tragically passed away.”

The moment these words were out, Qu Qiushuang furrowed her brows and looked at Cong Yun.

Cong Yun flew into a towering rage as if some taboo had been stepped on. She broke free from Zhao’s father’s grip and rushed in front of Jin Kaiyu in a few strides. Without even looking, she slapped Jin Kaiyu across the face.

Her voice was shrill: “Who are you? What nonsense are you talking? How dare you curse Chengcheng?”

When people are in a rage, they can burst forth with unusual strength, even a woman in her seventies.

This slap made Jin Kaiyu’s ears ring. Seeing Cong Yun raise her hand again, she only stood there woodenly with her head bowed, neither dodging nor hiding.

Another slapping sound rang out, but it wasn’t crisp like the last one; it was very dull. The expected pain didn’t hit Jin Kaiyu’s face, instead, she was pushed to the side.

She looked up abruptly and found that it was Qu Qiushuang who had reached out to push her. Cong Yun’s slap had landed squarely on Qu Qiushuang’s shoulder.

Qu Qiushuang’s frail body swayed, nearly falling to the ground. Jin Kaiyu quickly supported her, half-blocking her body.

Cong Yun realized she had hit the wrong person, but she didn’t stop. Noticing Qu Qiushuang’s actions, her anger flared even hotter, her eyes sharp and cold: “I’m calling Chengcheng right now and telling her to divorce you!”

Qu Qiushuang brushed Jin Kaiyu aside and whispered: “I’m fine.”

Then she pursed her lips and faced Cong Yun, her throat trembling: “Mom, Zhao Choucheng, she…”

“Don’t call me Mom!” Cong Yun interrupted quickly. She pushed Zhao’s father, her voice shaking slightly: “Old Zhao, go call the security guards and drag them out.”

Jin Kaiyu hadn’t expected such a violent reaction. She curled her lips in a bitter smile—perhaps this was normal? Looking at Qu Qiushuang’s shoulder slightly blocking her, her heart was a mess of emotions for a moment.

Seeing Zhao’s father make no move, Cong Yun’s anger spread to her husband: “Why aren’t you moving? You don’t actually believe what she said, do you?”

Zhao’s father was always calm. Seeing his daughter-in-law’s face and this girl’s state, he knew. What she said was likely true.

He turned to look at his wife. Though she was burning with rage, she couldn’t hide her terror and panic; her eyes were already filled with tears.

Mother and daughter are connected. Cong Yun had said two nights ago that her heart felt uneasy, though she didn’t know the cause. Her youngest daughter loved drifting about; it was common for her to be out of contact. Out of palpitations, she had even gone to the temple to burn incense yesterday.

But that heart-pounding sensation had not dissipated.

A single spark could ignite accumulated dread. Seeing these two today, she understood they came with ill intent, but she couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it, and could only vent her rage on an unrelated person.

Zhao’s father put his arm around his wife and led her to sit on the sofa, patting her back. Cong Yun finally burst into loud wailing.

The majesty and sharpness Zhao’s father had just shown vanished; he seemed to age ten years in an instant. The two well-maintained elders now looked no different from old people worn down by life.

He used a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his own eyes and then wiped his wife’s. His voice sounded like a leaking bellows: “Tell us… what happened? How… could this happen?”

Jin Kaiyu looked at the elders who were overwhelmed by grief, a piercing pain in her heart. She wiped a trace of blood from the corner of her mouth and orally recounted the events written in the report.

This could be considered the second time Qu Qiushuang had heard it. She remained silent, had her back not been trembling, one might have thought she was truly indifferent.

After Cong Yun finished crying, she raised her eyes to look at Jin Kaiyu, her gaze full of scrutiny.

Jin Kaiyu lowered her head, avoiding her gaze, and placed another USB drive containing the video on the coffee table.

Zhao’s father sat to the side, saying nothing, only staring at Jin Kaiyu with a cold, frozen gaze.

Cong Yun spoke coldly: “Why is my daughter dead, while you came back alive?”