Volume 1: The Beginning Chapter 13: Sudden Change

  "Little brother, don't bother, go sit down quickly." Seeing Xia Wenjie carrying dishes and rice, Zhou Huiru waved her hand repeatedly.

  "Yes, Wenjie, come and watch TV. A man who likes to do household chores will not have a great future." Xia Wenhao floated over with a casual remark in the living room.

  Xia Wenjie was delighted, he couldn't figure out where his brother's brain came up with those absurd ideas. As he set the bowls and chopsticks on the dinner table, he said: "Brother, there's something I want to discuss with you."

  "Oh." Seeing that the dishes were almost all served, Xia Wenhao stood up, stretched his back, and walked to the dinner table. He sat down, first scanning the dishes on the table, then sniffing them with his nose, feeling quite satisfied. Only then did he ask: "Wenjie, what's going on?"

  "It's about the application intention."

  "Haven't you already filled out your college application?"

  "Yes, I think I'll change it."

  "What's changed? What's been changed?"

  "I don't want to attend business school anymore, I plan to take the police academy entrance exam."

  "What? Applying for a police academy? Do you want to be a policeman in the future?" Xia Wenhao furrowed his brow, staring straight at his younger brother.

  Remembering Yu Yao-hui's warning to himself, Xia Wen-jie didn't dare reveal the truth about the audit. He shrugged and said: "Being a cop isn't bad either..."

  "What's good? You think being a police officer is that easy? Isn't it dangerous? Besides, if you become a police officer, how will you come and help me after graduation? Can you still take the MBA exam or something?"

  "MBA." Xia Wenjie added in a low voice.

  "I don't care if it's an MBA or MBB, just come and help me after you graduate. You're not allowed to be a police officer."

  I knew it would be like this. Xia Wenjie sighed, he had long expected that his brother would definitely oppose his application to the police academy, and it was not an easy task to persuade his brother!

  "Wen Hao, little brother has grown up, some things you also have to let him decide for himself." Zhou Hui Ru put the last dish on the table and sat down beside Xia Wen Hao.

  "Shut up, it's just us two brothers talking now." Xia Wenhao rebuked with a gloomy face.

  "Despot." Zhou Huiru muttered under her breath, then added a piece of chicken to Xia Wenjie's bowl and said, "Little brother, whatever you think in your heart, just do it. Sister Huiru supports you."

  Upon hearing this, Xia Wenhao's eyebrows stood on end in anger, just as he was about to speak, Xia Wenjie preempted him and exclaimed: "Sister Huiru's cooking is really delicious, almost comparable to mom's skills back then."

  He said one sentence, and Xia Wenhao's anger that had just risen was instantly extinguished. He picked up his chopsticks and muttered to himself: "Is it really that delicious..."

  In fact, Xia Wenhao is not a picky person, and his principles for finding a girlfriend are very simple, with only two requirements: first, his girlfriend must love him; second, his girlfriend must also love his younger brother.

  It's just these two simple principles, but many women are unaware of them and can't do them, while Zhou Huiru is the first to realize it, and she has indeed done it.

  He took a bite, Xia Wenhao didn't say it was good or bad, he just kept eating several more bites in a row.

  Just by looking at his reaction, Zhou Huiru knew that the meal she had prepared today was a success. She turned to Wenjie and asked: "Little brother, why did you suddenly want to take the police college entrance exam again?"

  "I'd like to get rid of the harm for the people." Xia Wenjie said with a half-joking tone.

  Zhou Huiru was amused by him and burst out laughing, Xia Wenhao almost choked on the food in his mouth, shaking his head and saying: "Still claiming to be a hero for the people? Be careful that you'll be the first one to get eliminated. Being a police officer requires integrity, many people can't hold on?"

  "So, this big pot of muddy water needs a clear stream flowing in. I'm not talented, but I'm willing to be that clear stream."

  "Take a break! You're still pretending to be a noble person. With your personality, I think you'll become a dark horse in the future."

  "It's fortunate that I'm a blind wanderer, not a rogue; otherwise, the honor of our ancestors would be lost because of me."

  "Wenjie, you're really not planning on letting me have a good meal today, are you?"

  "Eat first, eat first. We'll talk about the college entrance examination later." Xia Wenjie changed his tone and picked up his bowl to start eating with big mouthfuls.

  He said so with his mouth, but he had already made up his mind about what to do. It was also a good opportunity to test Yu Yaohui's ability. At worst, he would just waste a year.

  Zhou Huiru couldn't help but laugh and cry as she watched the two brothers, who looked like heaven and earth on the outside, one rough and one gentle. In reality, their personalities were very similar, both being the kind of people who would stick to a path until it was pitch black and not even ten cows could pull them back.

  On Monday evening, Xia Wenjie was still in school for supplementary lessons when his mobile phone started buzzing.

  He took a look and found it was a call from Xu's mother. He couldn't help but frown, as Xu's mother rarely called him, especially at this time. Could something have happened to Xiaojing? A bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.

  He hung up his phone first, then stood up and said to the teacher who was lecturing on the podium: "Teacher, I don't feel well in my stomach. I want to go home first."

  Xia Wenjie's grades have always been good, to be precise, he is among the best in his class and even in the whole school. Although he often asks for leave and finds all sorts of reasons not to come to school, his grades have never dropped.

  The teacher in the school naturally likes such students the most. When he said his stomach hurts, the teacher came over with concern and asked: "Is it serious? If not, go to the hospital."

  Xia Wenjie cleverly said: "Thank you, teacher, for your concern. I'll just go home and take some medicine, and I should be fine." As he spoke, he quickly began to pack up his schoolbag.

  "The college entrance exam is coming up soon, can't afford to have any health issues, better be careful and go to the hospital for a check-up."

  Before Xia Wenjie could speak, Hu Binbin, who was sitting in front of him, stood up and said: "Teacher, I'll take him to the hospital."

  "Oh... alright." The teacher thought for a moment, nodded and reminded them: "You two be careful on the road."

  "Got it, teacher." Hu Binbin also started packing up his backpack.

  Xia Wenjie furrowed his brow and muttered to himself: What a bother!

  He walked out of the classroom first, and Hu Binbin followed soon after.

  Xia Wenjie walked through the corridor, down the stairs, and out of the teaching building. He stopped in his tracks and waited for Hu Binbin to catch up with him. Turning around, he said, "You go back, no need to follow me to the hospital."

  Hu Binbin stared at him without blinking, and his face didn't show any signs of pain. She asked in doubt: "Aren't you having stomachache?"

  "It hurt badly just now, but it's much better now."

  "Hu Binbin hummed and said, as if he had caught his little tail, 'I know, you want to skip class again, right?'"

  Xia Wenjie chuckled and said slowly: "Anyway, I won't go to the hospital. Now I want to go home. You wouldn't think of following me home, would you?"

  Hu Binbin was taken aback at first, then his face suddenly turned red and he said angrily: "Who wants to go home with you?"

  "Then you can go back and continue your classes." Xia Wenjie threw out a sentence, then turned around and walked towards the school gate without looking back.

  Hu Binbin stood still in a daze, watching his back with a complex expression.

  She can't remember when she started paying attention to Xia Wenjie, maybe it was when she found out that no matter how hard she tried, her grades couldn't surpass his.

  Hu Binbin's grades were always good, and she was always among the top in her class, but she had never taken first place because there was always another name ahead of hers, Xia Wenjie.

  She has been paying attention to Xia Wenjie for a long time, and Xia Wenjie is very gentle in his dealings with others. The impression he gives people is that of a good student who is neither hot-tempered nor arrogant, and gets along well with both teachers and classmates.

  In Hu Binbin's impression, he seemed to have never quarreled with anyone, except for herself.

  However, if you observe more carefully, you will find that Xia Wenjie, this good person, is actually the most difficult to contact and approach in the class.

  Around him there seemed to be an invisible wall that isolated him from the crowd, you could only see his surface but never touch his inner self.

  Hu Binbin's own conclusion is that Xia Wenjie's exterior is like water, but his interior is like ice. Even if the outside water has been heated to a boil, the inside ice remains solid and frozen.

  Xia Wenjie could still feel a fiery gaze watching him as he walked out of the school gate, but he didn't know what Hu Binbin was thinking and he didn't want to guess, for him, she was just someone who had nothing to do with him.

  As soon as he walked out of the school gate, he took out his mobile phone and dialed Xu's mother's phone number. After a while, the call was finally connected, and a sobbing voice came from inside: "Is... is Wenjie?"

  "Aunt Xǔ, it's me. What's wrong? Is... isn't Xiǎo Jìng eating again?"

  "Xiao Jing... Xiao Jing jumped off the building and killed herself..."

  This sentence was like a thunderclap on a clear day, making Xia Wenjie's head buzz. He swayed twice and felt a little unsteady, slowly sitting down on the curb at the side of the road.

  He sat on the ground, holding his phone in a daze, motionless.

  "Today, Xiaojing was very well-behaved all day, and she was fine in the evening too. She even ate more than usual for dinner... who knew... who knew this child would..." Madam Xu couldn't continue speaking, and only heartbreaking sobs could be heard from the phone.

  As for what Mrs. Xu said next, Xia Wenjie didn't hear a single word, his entire brain seemed to have stopped working, and in his heart there was only one thought: Xiao Jing had committed suicide, Xiao Jing had also left him...

  Jin Erming is already dead, Xue Song and her enemy Jin Erming have already avenged each other, so why choose to commit suicide? Is it because of something she did wrong?

  He couldn't understand it and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't figure out what this was all about!

  It wasn't until he heard his mother's voice calling out his name continuously from the receiver that he suddenly woke up with a start.

  He felt a coolness on his face, and when he raised his hand to touch it, he found that his face was already covered with tears. He sniffled and asked in a choked voice: "Auntie Xǔ, I'm here... where's Xiǎo Jié now?"

  "In the emergency ward on the third floor of Central Hospital..."

  "I'm going right now." Xia Wenjie hung up the phone, stood up shakily, feeling dizzy and almost fell back to the ground.