Chapter 5, Undercurrents

Wishing that Xiao Cheng could not let go of the identity of a wealthy wife, she could only maintain her marriage in a half-hearted manner until it became unbearable. Eventually, she did something quite bizarre.

It is a pity that although she appears to be exquisite on the outside, she is filled with flaws on the inside. Apart from being coy and vain, she possesses no other strengths, and her luck is not particularly good either. She married a wealthy man, but that wealthy man is a significant scoundrel.

Indeed, it is a testament to one's background as a lawyer

Wu Tao cursed under his breath: "Damn, my hairstyle!"

Cai Jing: "Old Huang asked me to help him organize some things in my spare time, you know?"

"Old Huang" is their Chinese teacher, an elderly gentleman who has been rehired. He is very kind and cherishes Cai Jing's talent. After learning about his family's situation, he always tries to find ways to help him earn some money, often asking Cai Jing to assist him in organizing manuscripts to accumulate some books. The tasks are not heavy, and the compensation is quite generous.

Just as he was thinking, his phone rang; it was a local landline.

Overall, Xu Xilin did not have deep ties or conflicts with them, and they maintained a relationship of mutual non-interference.

Wu Tao felt quite uncomfortable, but Xu Xilin had already extended an olive branch. He weighed it in his mind and felt that this minor discomfort was not worth creating a conflict with Xu Xilin. Thus, he lowered his brows and hesitantly accepted the offer, saying: "... ... Mango, please. Mangosteen is a hassle"

His parents separated early on, and his mother never explained the reasons in detail, merely stating, "Your father no longer wants to be with us".

However, as much as he thought about it, Xu Xilin did not confront Wu Tao directly. He merely said, "Let's just forget it. You don't know, today in the office on the third floor, Qilixiang specifically targeted me. I see that kid is now her favorite, so let's not cause any trouble."

Being a surrogate mother to someone, wishing Xiao Cheng not to be too bad, being a godmother, she can score one hundred and twenty points—anyway, Xu Xilin took the gift and ran away, leaving his mother Xu Jin to listen to her crying and chanting.

The two families have been close friends since their grandfathers' generation, and their relationship was very good in the past. When Xiao Cheng was young, her parents were unable to take care of her due to work reasons, so they sent her to live with the Xu family for more than a year.

The two individuals have considered this matter to be settled

Carrying a backpack weighing over 10 kilograms every day... This is simply a thought born out of illness

Despite the fights during the day and the minor conflicts with Wu Tao at night, Xu Xilin's mood remained quite good on Friday when he returned home, as his mother had come back from her business trip

"Alright, then I will bring a box to your dormitory on Monday," Xu Xilin said as he ruffled Wu Tao's short hair, "Make sure to wash it clean and wait for me on the bed."

Xu Jin sized up the tall and burly little brat, feeling that hitting him would only hurt his own hand, so he said: "I will record this and let your homeroom teacher listen to it"

Li Bozhi from the athletics team? Xu Xilin paused on the stairs, as this Li Bozhi had a very bad reputation. Last semester, he got into a conflict with students from the repeat class and was penalized for fighting outside of school.

Xu Jin was momentarily taken aback and said, "... ... Indeed, I really don't know; she hasn't mentioned it to me."

Xu Jin said: "Your godmother has returned to her home country and is currently having a tumultuous time with her husband over a divorce. The situation at home is chaotic, and she wants to send the child to stay with us for a few days. Is that alright?"

"Oh my, your nails are too sharp!" Xu Xilin complained, "Don't worry, I've taken care of it, Qilixiang won't cause you any trouble... hiss!"

At that time, he indeed could not understand the content of those words, but the malice implied did not require intellectual comprehension; it could be sensed even by the nose

Xu Xilin: "Hmm, what is it?"

He has indeed heard some rumors coming from the dormitory area, but since he has not seen it with his own eyes, it is not appropriate for him to meddle and ask Wu Tao too much

Xu Xilin's mother, originally named Xu Xiaohui, changed her name to Xu Jin after the divorce. She was previously a lawyer

Xu Xilin turned to glance at Dou Xun's desk. Most people, due to the abundance and weight of their belongings, would only take home what they needed, especially during non-holiday periods or when not preparing for exams. Consequently, most books and items would remain in the classroom. However, Dou Xun's desk was completely empty, not even a scrap of paper was left behind, as if it had never been used.

As for Xu Xilin, the reason he likes Zhu Xiaocheng is quite simple: first, she is a stunning beauty; second, the stunning beauty never comes empty-handed, bringing limited edition sneakers, watches, electronic products, and so on. Whatever he likes, she buys for him

Wu Tao's expression changed, and the other boys around him exchanged glances and fell silent

By the way, Mom, Xu Xilin casually asked, "How old is the child in the Cheng family? Is it a boy or a girl?"

I stayed in Old Huang's office for a while. Just as I was about to leave, I remembered that I had left a math test paper in our class, so I went back to retrieve it. Cai Jing said, "In the hallway, I heard Brother Tao talking with that tall guy from Class Six..."

Wu Tao, unwilling to accept the situation, cast a sidelong glance and deliberately provoked Xu Xilin: "Qilixiang? That woman is nothing at all—I'm not saying this lightly, brother, if you can tolerate this, your temper is truly remarkable"

Wishing Comrade Xiao Cheng the best as she leaves her family and career behind, taking her scoundrel husband's credit card to run off to the United States to worship Buddha, seeking a clean break from it all

She is of medium build and has a strong personality. After winning that verbal battle decisively, she simply left her burden of a child to her mother to take care of, resigned from the law firm, and rolled up her sleeves to strive for success.

Ms. Xu Jin has long seen through that children without fathers will not be looked down upon, but it is the children of poor fathers who will be.

When Xu Xilin was returning home, Xu Jin had just finished a phone call and waved for him to come over

Xu Xilin answered, "Hello?"

Xu Jin pressed hard on the bruise on his chin and said: "If I hear you giving the teacher a nickname again, I will..."

As she entered middle age, she became disinterested in her career and did not care to manage her family. Gradually, she lost common ground with her peers, leading to inevitable feelings of loneliness and distress. She increasingly regarded Xu Jin as her exclusive confidant—because of her perceived failure in marriage, she felt a deep sense of empathy with Xu Jin.

"Orange" is a nickname, while her full name is "Zhu Xiaocheng". She is the goddaughter of Xu's grandmother and the godmother of Xu Xilin

Xu Xilin actually comes from his mother's surname. In his family, there is a mother, a grandmother, an Aunt Du, and a dog named Doudou. Except for himself, who is male, the entire family, including the dog, is female

This matter, when mentioned, is filled with bizarre points of contention, regardless of the time, place, or characters involved; it is something that ordinary people cannot accomplish, except for Zhu Xiaocheng

Every time Xiao Cheng returns to the country, even if he does not go back to his own home, he must first seize the opportunity to confide in Xu Jin about the loneliness he feels inside

As the company's performance improved, the living conditions at home also continuously enhanced, allowing them to move out of the old neighborhood that had three rats and four eyes. Their current environment is very pleasant, the neighbors are all very polite, and they know how to maintain distance. Xu Xilin has no longer been subjected to anyone's pointing and criticism.

I, "Cai Jing's voice sounded from over there, low and pressed, "I used a public phone to call, to discuss something with you."

Xu Xilin casually asked: "How should we deal with it? Should we give him a beating?"

In the early years, "divorce" was quite a sensational matter that could stir the neighborhood. Xu Xilin remembers that there were many expert gossipers in the community who would often stroke his dog's head and spout a string of condescending remarks filled with "sympathy" for his family—this was when he was around three or four years old. At that age, a child's memory is incomplete; Xu Xilin could not even recall what his biological father looked like, yet he inexplicably remembered the faces of those people and the words they had said.

"Beating him up is too cheap for him," Wu Tao, who stands out from the crowd, said casually

However, Xu Xilin then stood up again, casually wrapping her arm around Wu Tao's neck, smoothly bringing the situation back to normal: "It's a nice weekend, why do you keep bringing up such a downer—my mom came back from a business trip in the south this week and brought some fruit, do you want mango or mangosteen?"

Could it be that anyone would still touch his pile of junk

Xu Xilin felt very happy upon hearing Cai Jing's voice, and with a natural smile in the corner of his eye, he asked, "Why does everyone want to tell me something today? What is it?"

Xu Xilin : `` ... ... ''

Wu Tao smiled gently, like a superhuman harboring an extra secret. He was accustomed to being on the periphery in class, and at this moment, those "margins" seemed to have found their own reasonable justifications, all transformed into "extraordinary".

The "father" had disappeared from Xu Xilin's life before he had any clear memories of him

Zhu Xiaocheng is a great beauty, as lovely as a flower. Even after turning forty, her charm remains as captivating as in her youth.

Xu Jincai was too lazy to share her sympathy with her. In fact, she had been quite annoyed by Zhu Xiaocheng since childhood. Every time she entertained this person, the usually eloquent Ms. Xu would turn into a mute gourd, only able to utter "mm mm mm" or "good good good," and she would change her sitting posture every three seconds on average, as if she were in urgent need of a restroom.

After resigning, she leveraged the network she had built over the years to gather a group of professionals from various fields and established her own company, which specializes in providing legal consulting and related solution design for cross-border mergers and acquisitions, floating around the world all day long

He realized that Wu Tao was merely looking for trouble, but he did not have a valid reason to act, so he used him as an excuse. He indeed found Dou Xun very annoying, but that was a separate matter. Xu Xilin had no intention of letting a group of idle students looking for trouble use him as a pawn. Moreover, even if he truly wanted to deal with Dou Xun, would he need someone else to take revenge for him?

During the day, Wu Tao plays with Xu Xilin and the others in class, and they have a good relationship. His home is far away, so Xu Xilin occasionally brings him some food to the dormitory to improve his living conditions. Over time, he has become familiar with that group of athletes. Those individuals are very polite to Xu Xilin; they greet each other when they meet. When they are not training, Wu Tao sometimes invites them to join in playing basketball, and they have also gone out to eat together.

It seems that every time Xiao Cheng pours out her heart to her, she manages to stay on topic without digressing, unwilling to stray even slightly from her own suffering, yet she never once mentions the child

Xu Xilin shook his head and wagged his tail at her with a mischievous smile: "Are you going to hit me?"

Let me tell you something... Xu Jin clearly saw his face, his voice paused as he pinched his chin, "What happened? Did you get into a fight with someone?"

Once, gossip was overheard by Xu Xilin's mother, who immediately charged forward in her 8-centimeter high heels. Without resorting to foul language or repetition, she engaged in a verbal battle with a group of women, achieving a legendary victory against the odds.

It seems that he wants to target Dou Xun and even mentioned you. Cai Jing said softly, I noticed that you seemed quite unhappy when he brought up this topic today, just wanted to let you know

For Xu Xilin, his grandmother, who raised him since childhood, is the closest and most doting person in his life. However, children and adolescents have an innate admiration for strength, and the decisive and vigorous Xu Jin has had a more profound influence on him

Xu Xilin's expression darkened.

Unfortunately, her own troubles are of no use; both her biological mother and her biological son favor Zhu Xiaocheng

Later, the two families experienced different fortunes and were separated by distance. In the past, transportation was not very convenient, which gradually led to a decrease in their contact. It is only in the last three to four years that they have rekindled their relationship.

Xu Xilin suddenly felt a bit annoyed by Wu Tao's expression, and for a moment did not speak, thinking to himself: "You are so impressive, but back then when those loan sharks blocked Cai Jing outside, I didn't see you step up either"

Xu Xilin: "What is it, beautiful?"

Xu Xilin shook his head, feeling that being reborn as Zhu Xiaocheng's child must mean that in his previous life, he had committed numerous heinous acts, which is why he is suffering such misfortune in this life

Wishing Zhu Xiaocheng to be sweet and well-behaved in her childhood, compared to the particularly rebellious Xu Jin, she is truly a "thoughtful little cotton-padded jacket". Xu's grandmother raised Zhu Xiaocheng for over a year, treating her as her own and being extremely fond of her.

He spoke in a joking tone, yet concealed a subtle jab within his words. Although he left both parties an out, it was still evident that he was somewhat angry.

"Sure, it's quite pitiful." Xu Xilin nonchalantly set down his backpack and readily agreed

I can't handle that girl by myself; do I have to cry and shout for help from outside?" Xu Xilin looked at Wu Tao with a half-smile and said, "Brother Tao, I usually treat you so well, don't you ever take my place when there's nothing going on?