A Young Woman's Heart

The phone booth was like an oven in the sweltering summer heat. Lu Bolun went in, made a call, said a few words to his father to let him know he had arrived, and then hung up.

Although he still had a dollar's worth of talk time left, he didn't want to stay inside any longer.

"Should we look for a hotel first? What if we can't find one for tonight?"

“Sure.” Wang Jiale twirled his umbrella. “It’s a good idea to put my things down first and then go shopping.”

"Hmm, let me see. It doesn't need to be in a very bustling area, just a little off the edge, and I'll find a cheaper hotel..."

"Does it even show the hotels?"

"We have some of the larger ones, and they even have reference prices. How about this one? It's seventy yuan a night."

"It's a little expensive."

"Anyway, it's only for two nights, and it's not far from here."

"This will do then~" Wang Jiale touched her wallet, "My saved allowance should be enough..."

Unable to find a suitable bus, the two simply took a taxi to the hotel entrance.

The hotel lobby was very quiet, with several guests sitting on the sofas with their eyes closed, resting.

There was also an auntie mopping the marble floor until it shone.

Interestingly, this auntie also had a cell phone, or more accurately, a PHS phone. As soon as her PHS phone rang, she hurriedly answered it and then moved to a corner where she wouldn't disturb others.

Lu Bolun was choosing a room with the receptionist, while Wang Jiale glanced curiously at the cleaning lady mopping the floor.

"Even the cleaning lady has a mobile phone, no wonder it's a big city." She muttered to herself, but Lu Bolun next to her did not hear her.

Although the aunt had tried to lower her voice, her words were still clearly audible in the quiet hall.

"How is Chen Cheng doing lately?"

"You said you went to see him again...?"

"Ugh."

"You have a girlfriend? Hmm, that's good, but... supporting a girlfriend costs more money, right? Are we giving you enough?"

"Hmm... Oh... Your girlfriend is working, that's great, she's a good girl. Doesn't she go to school?"

"Oh...no wonder...hmm...maybe he was a pitiful person too...sigh."

"Sigh, it's good enough that he can get into Yukong High School. Don't always think he's bad. He's smart, but nobody's keeping an eye on him...sigh."

"Want to open a shop? I don't have much savings... I give him most of my money every month."

"Ugh……"

"Even if you ask me... sigh, maybe he can understand, but... sigh..."

The woman seemed to be sighing the whole time.

However, Wang Jiale seemed somewhat puzzled.

Chen Cheng, it's not surprising to have the same name, but Yu Kong High School?

Of all the people she knew, there seemed to be only one, Chen Cheng.

Are there any other students in other classes with this name?

But isn't it said that Chen Cheng's parents are divorced and have each started their own families, and both are big bosses?

Why is his mother working as a cleaning lady here?

"Lele, Lele."

"Hey? What's wrong?" Wang Jiale only came to his senses when he heard Lu Bolun's voice.

"Uh... should we book a double bed or two beds...?" He scratched his cheek, seemingly a little shy.

"Two beds...and a double bed? Hmm~ so it's a room with a large bed, right?"

"Yes, cough, I mean, should we sleep in the same bed... or... separate beds?" Obviously, Lu Bolun preferred a double room, but he was too embarrassed to say it directly. In fact, being able to stay in the same room was already a good thing.

"Hmm... just one room?"

"Yes, yes...isn't too much a waste..."

Two single rooms are more expensive than one double room, that's for sure.

"Then, two beds will do... um..." Wang Jiale muttered softly, then pinched Lu Bolun's arm hard. "What mischief are you thinking about again?"

"No, no...!"

But her attention wasn't actually on Lu Bolun at that moment. When she turned to look at the aunt again, she found that she had already left.

Is that person... really Chen Cheng's mother?

……

Chapter 113 You're also 'meddling' in other people's business?

Thursday morning at eight o'clock.

Inside the hillside park.

The day was so hot that there were hardly any visitors in the park. Although it was still morning, you could already feel the scorching heat of the ground through your shoes.

Behind the moss-covered maze, there is a large banyan tree, and under the banyan tree is a dilapidated wooden bench.

The lush foliage shielded the blazing sun overhead, transforming the hot winds into gentle breezes.

Li Gutao and Shi Haiming, who had been summoned by Mo Xueyao, were currently lying behind the maze, peeking at her through the cracks in the maze walls.

At that moment, Chen Cheng walked over from the doorway.

"Hey, is Xiaoyao on a date with someone else?" Shi Haiming nudged Li Gutao, who lost his balance and fell to the ground. The moss on the ground was cool and comfortable to sit on, so he simply sat there.

"How should I know? But inviting us over can't be as simple as a date, right?"

"What else could it be but a date? It can't be that we're preparing to fight, can it?"

“That’s quite possible. Maybe there’s some kind of conflict. If they can’t reach a consensus, they’ll probably fight. Otherwise, why would they call us here?” Li Gutao stroked his chin. The two of them had just arrived. Mo Xueyao hadn’t had time to tell them the whole story before Chen Cheng arrived. So for now, they could only squat here and guess.

"Seriously? Fighting a woman? That's so unmanly! Tsk tsk, he's quite tall, but he looks like a pretty boy." Shi Haiming clicked his tongue.

"Huh? You talk as if you're not a gigolo yourself." Li Gutao glanced at him sideways. "How dare you talk about others like that?"

"Let me tell you, I'm very good at judging people. This guy is obviously a scumbag, the kind who's slept with a lot of women. What's this compared to him? I'm openly advertising my price, doing business, okay? He's just cheating people out of money and sex."

"You've never even met anyone else, what are you guessing?" Li Gutao pressed his head down. "You just love to talk nonsense. Alright, alright, come here, don't talk, just watch quietly."

These two were like bodyguards behind the scenes, secretly observing and rushing out to stop anything that seemed amiss.

Meanwhile, Mo Xueyao, who was sitting in a chair waiting for Chen Cheng, slowly raised her head, pretending that she hadn't noticed him before.

"You're here?" She coughed lightly and forced a smile to ease the awkwardness.

"Hmm, what's up?" Chen Cheng looked at her curiously. He had been told about this by Zhuang Lianlian, so he didn't need to worry about his girlfriend being jealous. But he was still very curious about what she wanted from him.

Mo Xueyao was, after all, a beautiful mixed-race person, possessing the advantages of both European and Asian races, especially her pair of sky-blue eyes, which were particularly eye-catching.

In addition, she has a very easygoing personality, and almost no one can dislike her. Moreover, boys generally like pretty girls, so Chen Cheng also had a bit of a crush on her.

Boys are generally more patient when they are around pretty girls.

There's nothing we can do; that's just the reality.

"Huh, where is he?" Just then, Lin Huihui passed by. She had gone to the restroom and couldn't find Li Gutao.

Li Gutao quickly picked up a pebble and threw it through the crack in the wall, and Lin Huihui turned around in confusion.

He quickly made a 'shush' gesture, and the latter obediently nodded, then excitedly circled around into the maze from the entrance.

To Chen Cheng, this was just a stranger on the street, so he didn't pay any attention to him.

Mo Xueyao breathed a slight sigh of relief and stood up from her chair, but even so, her gaze could not meet Chen Cheng's.

"Chen Cheng, I have something very important to tell you." Mo Xueyao thought of many tactful ways to say it, but in the end she chose to get straight to the point.

"Hmm? You're not going to say you like me, are you?" Chen Cheng said with a rather narcissistic smile. "Although I am indeed very handsome, there's no need for you to be so infatuated with me, right? Besides, I have a girlfriend, and at least I still like her a lot right now."

"Now? You won't like it anymore later?" Mo Xueyao asked, somewhat displeased, as the topic was quickly steered off course.

"Who knows what will happen in the future?" Chen Cheng flicked his bangs, looking like a carefree playboy, making you want to punch his handsome face.

"Can't you have a little sense of responsibility? Are you even a man?"

"I just can't predict what will happen in the future," Chen Cheng chuckled softly. "Maybe I'll fall for you someday? You still have a chance."

"I didn't come here to talk to you about that." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at him. "You're disgusting. All those people have been so good to you."

His expression wasn't very good, but since he was the one who said those self-righteous things first, he couldn't blame Mo Xueyao for retorting.

“We’re not actually that close, but Zhuang Lianlian works at the grocery store next door, so we’re fairly familiar with each other. This matter itself has nothing to do with me, but since I’ve seen it, I should help out, and... it’s also something I’ve asked her to do.”

"What is it?" Chen Cheng glanced around instinctively. "Who are you talking about?"

"Who do you think I'm talking about?" Mo Xueyao crossed her arms and stared into his eyes. "Do you know how many things you've done wrong? You're too arrogant. Do you always think you're the one suffering the most? Do you always feel like everyone owes you something?"

"Just say what you want to say. Did you call me out just to start a fight? Why are you like Li Wanyan, always meddling in other people's business?"

Mo Xueyao was taken aback. It seemed that spending too much time with Li Wanyan had indeed made her prone to meddling in other people's business. Logically speaking, Chen Cheng's family affairs, which she wasn't very familiar with, were none of her concern.

But then she thought about it and realized she should also get involved, since Old Chen was her father's friend, and Zhuang Lianlian was also a friend of hers...

So she became self-righteous once again: "Your father is my father's friend. Do you know how miserable he is now?"

"Misery? Why didn't he think I was miserable when we got divorced? What do I care how I'm doing now?" Chen Cheng sneered. "This is just karma."

"The divorce was supposed to be to protect you from the very beginning, what do you even know?!" Mo Xueyao clenched her fists involuntarily. "You always blindly believe what you think, can't you even try to understand your parents? Do you think the world has to revolve around you? Who do you think you are?!"

Mo Xueyao, who usually has a good temper, is unusually intimidating when she gets angry. Even Chen Cheng, who usually seems rebellious, subconsciously avoids her gaze: "They should have revolved around me when they gave birth to me. Otherwise, why did they bring me into this world? It's not like I wanted to be born!"

He still didn't want to listen, and what he said was still fallacious reasoning.

“Okay, it’s not your fault that you didn’t know before. Now I’ll tell you the truth!” Mo Xueyao took a step forward, tilted her little face up, and stared intently into Chen Cheng’s eyes. “Your parents divorced because they had business problems and were heavily in debt. Your father didn’t want to burden your mother, so he chose to divorce her and gave all his assets to her in advance. Just in case, he also transferred the property to your aunt’s name. When you grow up, this house will be transferred to you!”

Mo Xueyao took a breath and, without giving Chen Cheng a chance to speak, continued like a barrage of bullets: "And he himself took on a huge debt, was arrested and imprisoned, and has only been out for a little over a year. All your expenses were earned by your mother working in Shanghai! Why Shanghai? Because although it's hard work there, the wages are high!"

"After your dad got out, he took on several part-time jobs to pay off the debts and earn some pocket money for you, easing the pressure on your mom!"