Returning to High School to Save My Wife - Chapter 27

There were no lights on in the hallway, leaving it quite dim, and a faint smell of cigarette smoke lingered in the air.

Jiang Yuan pulled her keys from her backpack, preparing to open the door, when a deep, heavy voice rang out from behind her.

“Yuan Yuan?”

Her movements froze instantly.

She whipped her head around and saw a tall man standing by the stairwell, smoking. It was her father, Jiang Wangjie.

It had been nearly a year since they last met. In her memory, Jiang Wangjie seemed much thinner than before, but his sharp features and the temperament she shared with him hadn’t changed at all.

Jiang Yuan’s expression shifted, a flicker of vigilance appearing in her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Wangjie flicked some ash, looking at her with restrained emotions hidden in his dark eyes. “Where is your mother?”

Jiang Yuan furrowed her brows, her voice thick with resistance. “What does that have to do with you? Mom has me and Mu Mu; she doesn’t need your concern.”

Hearing this, Jiang Wangjie frowned deeply but didn’t answer her directly. Instead, he stared into her eyes and asked insistently, “Did something happen to your mother?”

Jiang Yuan coldly repeated her previous words: “I said, it’s none of your business.”

Perhaps because the light was so dim, the sharp angles of Jiang Wangjie’s face seemed even more somber. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke, “I saw Jiang Mu go to the hospital.”

Jiang Yuan gritted her teeth, her voice tinged with resentment. “You followed him? What did you say to Mu Mu?”

“I only asked him to tell me about your mother,” Jiang Wangjie’s eyes flickered with unstable emotions. “I thought it was strange when I saw you on the 616 bus the other day. It was the weekend; why weren’t you at home studying instead of running around outside?”

“Must I be at home studying on the weekend? What’s wrong with going shopping with a classmate?”

“Do you even believe that yourself? Jiang Yuan, have you ever done something like that before?” Jiang Wangjie’s face darkened. “No matter what, your mother shouldn’t have let you take a job. You’re still students. If you were short on money, why didn’t you tell me?”

“We don’t need anyone else’s money,” Jiang Yuan stood firm. “I can earn money myself. I don’t need to owe you any favors.”

An unpleasant look crossed Jiang Wangjie’s brow. “Favors? What favors? Jiang Yuan, must we interact like this? You and Jiang Mu are my children, after all. Just because your mother and I are divorced, does that mean I can’t look after you anymore?”

Jiang Yuan sneered. “Did you ever care about my mother? Have you looked after us at all in the last six months? If not, why show up now?”

“Jiang Yuan!” Jiang Wangjie crushed his cigarette butt, his attitude becoming impatient. “Ask yourself, is it that I’m not looking after you, or that you won’t let me? Look at your attitude. Even if I divorced your mother, I haven’t done anything wrong to you two, have I?”

“You haven’t?” Jiang Yuan found it laughable, and she didn’t hesitate to strike back. “You just abandoned my mother and didn’t check on us for three years, letting your new girlfriend come to our house to cause trouble. If you actually wanted to look after us, none of that would have happened!”

Xu Chengyu and Jiang Wangjie had been married for over ten years and had always had a good relationship. However, four years ago, a medical dispute occurred at the hospital where Xu Chengyu worked. A car accident victim had lost too much blood. Although the resuscitation was successful, the patient died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage a few days later, and it happened to be Xu Chengyu’s shift that night.

The patient’s family harassed the hospital constantly, blaming Xu Chengyu’s care for the death and sparking an outcry online. Eventually, the hospital paid a settlement and fired Xu Chengyu to quiet the situation.

At the time, Jiang Wangjie was still a police officer. When he went to pick up Xu Chengyu after work, he happened to stop the patient’s family from attacking someone with a knife. Somehow, the family discovered they were married and accused the police department of failing to recuse themselves from the case. The online backlash became overwhelming, and Jiang Wangjie resigned due to the pressure.

After the situation settled, Jiang Wangjie couldn’t find work for a long time. He became increasingly silent and withdrawn at home, even ending up in the hospital for alcoholism.

It just so happened that the nurse looking after him was Yi Ping, a former colleague of Xu Chengyu whom she didn’t get along with. In less than a month, the two developed feelings. Jiang Wangjie kept it a secret, but after returning home, he became increasingly cold to Xu Chengyu, leading to their divorce.

Less than half a month later, Jiang Wangjie married the colleague and found a job as a security guard with his father-in-law’s help. Perhaps out of guilt, he occasionally tried to give Xu Chengyu money, but she refused it all.

During that time, Xu Chengyu was in a bad state but kept it from her children to protect their studies. It wasn’t until the colleague found out Jiang Wangjie was still in contact with Xu Chengyu and came to their house in a rage that Jiang Yuan found out.

Since then, Jiang Wangjie hadn’t contacted them for three full years, only speaking a few words to Xu Chengyu after a chance encounter on the street a year ago.

“Jiang Yuan, I didn’t handle things well back then, but your Aunt Yi Ping promised not to trouble your mother anymore. It’s all in the past. Why do you have to keep holding onto it?”

“It’s all in the past? That’s easy for you to say. How did that woman treat my mother at the hospital? You knew they didn’t get along, yet you still got close to her. How could you do that to my mother?”

“I am sorry for what I did to your mother, but our relationship was already over then. Your Aunt Yi Ping didn’t exactly ‘take advantage’ of the situation. Don’t blame her.”

“Jiang Wangjie,” Jiang Yuan suddenly interrupted, her voice rising, “do you think marriage comes with no responsibility?!”

The hallway fell into total silence.

Jiang Wangjie was left speechless by her retort, his expression becoming awkward. After a moment, he stiffly changed the subject. “Jiang Yuan, I only came because I was worried about you and your mother. I have some money here; it should be enough for her.”

“I don’t need your money,” Jiang Yuan refused without hesitation. “I didn’t want it today, and I’ll never want it. If you actually cared about my mother, you’d stop coming to our house to cause trouble.”

“Jiang Yuan, don’t be so stubborn,” Jiang Wangjie said with a complex tone. “The convenience store where you’re working is owned by your Aunt Yi Ping’s family. If you take this money, you won’t have to go there anymore. If your mother knew you were working there, do you think she’d allow it?”

“Don’t you dare say anything to my mother,” Jiang Yuan looked at him obstinately, her eyes full of hostility. “I found that job myself. I do my work honestly and don’t owe anyone anything.”

“Jiang Yuan! Do you have to?”

“You don’t need to say anything else,” Jiang Yuan turned the key to open the door. “You aren’t welcome here. Go back.”

She paused, then added, “And don’t come back again.”

As she pulled the door open, hurried footsteps sounded beside her. Jiang Wangjie grabbed her hand, but she violently shook him off.

She pressed her lips together, her eyes slightly red, but her words were sharper than before: “You haven’t been my father for a long time.”

With that, she slammed the door shut without mercy.

The living room was very dim. The space, which wasn’t large to begin with, felt exceptionally empty because she was alone.

Jiang Yuan didn’t turn on the lights. She put her backpack on the table and leaned against the cold wall, suddenly feeling a loneliness she had never experienced before.

The faint light from a streetlamp passed through the screen window, casting a long shadow on the worn tiles, making her already thin figure look even more fragile and desolate. The room was devoid of life—quiet, cold, and even a bit gloomy.

Jiang Yuan lowered her head, feeling utterly wretched for the first time.

She knew her family was different from many others. Others could enjoy the warmth of a family, but she couldn’t. Others had parents to protect them when things went wrong, but she didn’t. Others could focus all their energy on studying, but she had to work part-time to earn money.

She was used to being strong and didn’t dare show weakness in front of others. She had to survive, but she also needed her self-respect. No one is born inferior or meant to live on the charity of others. But no one is born meant to carry such a heavy burden, either.

Jiang Yuan slowly sat down against the wall, hugged her knees, and buried her face.

She sat there on the floor for two hours. The sunset faded, and the last traces of light were swallowed by the night.

Finally, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from outside.

Jiang Yuan snapped out of it and hurried to stand up, realizing it was time for Jiang Mu to come home. Just as her fingers touched the handle, Jiang Mu pushed the door open.

“Sis, I’m ho—” Jiang Mu stopped mid-sentence. “Huh? Why are you at the door? Why aren’t the lights on? What are you doing in the dark?”

“I,” Jiang Yuan was flustered but managed to calm herself immediately, explaining, “I heard the noise and thought you were back, so I came to open the door.”

“Then why is your backpack in the living room?” Jiang Mu put down his bag and asked while changing his shoes. “No homework today?”

Fearing he would notice something, Jiang Yuan awkwardly made up an excuse: “I haven’t had a chance to write it yet. Sister Yan called earlier.”

With a click, Jiang Mu turned on the light. He was about to ask more when he sensed something wrong with Jiang Yuan. He froze, his tone suddenly changing. “Sis, have you been crying?”

Jiang Yuan’s skin was very pale; if her eyes were even slightly red, it became very obvious under the light. Jiang Mu saw it instantly.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Jiang Yuan didn’t admit it, giving him a look and urging, “It’s late. Go back and finish your homework.”

“Oh,” Jiang Mu was skeptical. “I wrote some at the hospital already.”

“Go finish it. Don’t procrastinate even if there’s only a little left. After that, preview the next lessons yourself. By the way, is Mom okay?”

“Mom is fine. She keeps saying she wants to be discharged, but I didn’t dare agree. I came back as soon as I could.”

“Let Mom stay in the hospital. Don’t let her overthink things.”

“I know. I’m not a kid anymore; how could I forget something like that?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan felt slightly relieved. She watched him head to his room, then suddenly called out to him. “Mu Mu.”

Jiang Mu: “What is it, Sis?”

Jiang Yuan hesitated, then asked, “Did Dad go to see you?”

Jiang Mu froze at the name, then quickly explained, “No. I don’t know how he found the hospital, but he kept asking where Mom was. I said I was going to find the security guard, and then he left on his own.”

Jiang Yuan was relieved. “Alright, I understand. Don’t worry too much; I’m not blaming you.”

“Hehe, Sis, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m very smart.”

“Yes, yes, you’re the smartest. Go do your homework.”

After watching Jiang Mu return to his room, Jiang Yuan tidied up the living room. Seeing the clock on the wall, she realized she hadn’t eaten yet and reached for her phone to order some takeout.

As she pulled her phone out of her bag, the Maneki-neko charm came out with it.

Jiang Yuan froze, remembering it was a gift from Liang Qi. A warmth rose in her heart, and she suddenly felt an impulse to message Liang Qi.

She pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes, opening her WeChat chat with Liang Qi before ordering food.

[Yuan: Remember to buy another Maneki-neko.]

After sending the message, Jiang Yuan’s heart suddenly beat very fast, and a blush she didn’t even notice crossed her pale cheeks. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly. She held the phone to her chest, feeling like her whole world was in a beautiful chaos because of this spontaneous step.

The phone vibrated with the familiar WeChat notification. Jiang Yuan quickly checked it. When she saw Liang Qi’s reply, her breath stopped for a moment.

[Cookie Biscuit: Already ordered it.]

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