Chapter 21: Love Is Unreasonably Biased

The Snow Garden cafeteria was crowded.

Ji Zhen Tang was queuing for curry chicken.

She thought of Zhao Siqi’s rude remarks again.

Zhong Heng’s warning was somewhat useful; Zhao Siqi hadn’t caused trouble during this time. When they bumped into each other in class, he acted as if she were invisible. At least in this campus, he probably wouldn’t dare to do anything to Ji Zhen Tang—perhaps “dare” was a bit strong, but anyone with a bit of situational awareness wouldn’t want to pay the price for such a small conflict.

After all, no matter who reported him, if he came out unscathed in the end, it would be best to calm things down.

Just as she was thinking about this, a familiar, sweet voice came from beside her: “Didn’t we plan to eat out today? Why did we suddenly come to the cafeteria?”

“Not been here before, thought we’d try something new,” Zhong Heng said.

Ji Zhen Tang: “…” She wouldn’t presumptuously think that Zhong Heng changed his mind because of her, but she hoped they could keep their distance.

The voice behind her was getting closer, and Su Yunli said sweetly, “The curry in Snow Garden is pretty good. Do you want to try it?”

He lazily replied, “Sure.”

The line wasn’t long, and they stood at the end. There were two or three people between them and Ji Zhen Tang. She probably hadn’t noticed Ji Zhen Tang and said coquettishly, “Stop giving me gifts. I have so many, I can’t even use them all. It feels like I’m being kept.”

Zhong Heng said, “Then give them to your mom, sister, little sister, and aunt. How could you not use them?”

Su Yunli chuckled at his words and said, “Well, I’m quite afraid of others finding out.”

Zhong Heng asked, “Afraid of what?”

“I don’t even mention it in the dorm. I’m afraid… it will make things awkward with Tang Tang.”

“Did I tell you not to mention it?” His tone was cold and indifferent.

She quickly apologized, “Okay, I’m sorry, don’t be mad.”

Zhong Heng was a bit speechless. “Not mad. Don’t be so sensitive.”

After a pause, he added meaningfully, “And don’t be awkward. You don’t owe her anything.”

Su Yunli muttered, “That’s true.”

After pondering for a moment, Zhong Heng spoke again with implications, “The one who should feel awkward isn’t you. Some people, always thinking highly of themselves, actually have no ability at all. Clearly, they already have a backer, yet they insist on pushing away. Greedily wanting more, but in the end, they lose everything.”

Ji Zhen Tang: “………………”

Su Yunli was afraid of awkwardness, and Ji Zhen Tang was quite afraid too. But the most awkward one was obviously not them. If it weren’t for Su Yunli, Ji Zhen Tang would have confronted him verbally.

Su Yunli was puzzled, “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” Zhong Heng turned to ask her, “Do you like the necklace?”

She thought for a moment and said, “It’s scary, gives me nightmares.”

“So serious? Then don’t wear it.”

“It’s okay, as long as you like it.”

After a silence for a while, Zhong Heng said, “Actually, I don’t like it that much either. You can take it off.”

Ji Zhen Tang wondered in her heart, would they reach the end?

Zhong Heng should be quite satisfied with this adored relationship, allowing his dignity to be restored. But his expectations for love were contradictory; he liked some individuality but couldn’t tolerate too much. He wanted the other person to obey but disliked a too submissive attitude.

To put it bluntly, it’s boring.

Boring in every way.

Such a person would still drift in romance for a long time. Su Yunli probably wasn’t his final destination either.

Thinking of the entanglements that might happen between them, Ji Zhen Tang felt inexplicably lonely and sympathetic. But she couldn’t express any complaints about this moth-to-flame kind of love; some people were born for love.

“Eat here or take away?” Finally, they reached the front of the line.

Ji Zhen Tang didn’t hesitate, “Take away!”

—

This weekend, Ji Zhen Tang had an appointment. After dressing up happily, when her roommate asked if she was going on a date with a man, this time she could proudly say, “Having dinner with dad.”

Ji Huan’s car couldn’t enter the school, so she quickly rode her bicycle to the school gate, where Ji Huan waved to her from his Audi car.

“Dad.” Ji Zhen Tang got in, and there were only the father and daughter in the car. “Have you been waiting for me for a long time?”

“Just arrived,” Ji Huan said, “we need to go to the school first to pick up your aunt and your little brother.”

Ji Zhen Tang nodded and asked, “Why suddenly decide to have dinner together?”

Ji Huan smiled, “Can’t the family gather together?”

She replied, “Of course, I thought there was some good news.” After all, such family dinners were rare for her.

“Bought a new house.” Indeed, there was good news.

Her eyes brightened, and she eagerly asked, “Where?”

“A villa on Fangshan side.”

“Are you going to move there?”

Ji Huan thought for a moment, “Not necessarily, let’s leave it for now. The school district housing here is more convenient for the kids to go to school.”

Ji Zhen Tang nodded happily. On the way to the school, she gradually fell silent, thinking about many things.

Once in a casual chat, Lin Guixue asked her how many properties she owned. Ji Zhen Tang was surprised by the question and replied, “How could I afford to buy a house? You overestimate me.”

Lin Guixue was also surprised, “Isn’t it your dad who owns several, but none in your name?”

Ji Zhen Tang said blankly, “Dad’s houses are the result of his hard work, not mine.”

Lin Guixue realized, “Oh, you have a younger brother, right.”

She lightly replied, “Yes,” and didn’t delve too deeply into the topic, both understanding each other’s unspoken thoughts.

Ji Zhen Tang advocated relying on her own efforts, but behind this clear-headed proposition lay the fundamental reason: she couldn’t obtain. Because she couldn’t obtain, she had to desperately let go, not all parents should unconditionally give gifts to their children.

Always depending on Dad, wouldn’t that make her a parasite?

She thought to herself, nodding in agreement.

Soon she knew that today’s good news was not just one thing.

Ji Huan booked a private room in a hotpot restaurant to celebrate his son Ji Chen’s birthday.

Ji Chen was about to enter junior high school this year, at a very irritable and sharp age. Plus, boys were always spoiled by their parents, wherever they went, they behaved like little tyrants. Ji Huan indulged him to eat hotpot and even awkwardly invited a dancer to the room to dance, but halfway through, Ji Chen drove her out, bluntly saying it was ugly and he couldn’t stand it.

After the dancer left, the rest quietly ate hotpot.

Ji Huan talked about work and mentioned a business trip, “The warehouse is stocking up these days.”

Xu Qiang asked, “Where are you going this time?”

“First to Sri Lanka, then to Kenya, in Africa.”

Xu Qiang smiled, “Your business scope is so wide now?”

Ji Huan looked at Ji Zhen Tang and said seriously, “Thanks to my girl, she introduced a client to me.”

Xu Qiang smiled even more deeply, “Impressive, Xiao Tang. Your classmate has quite a network.”

The girl mentioned hesitated for a moment, quickly chewed the spinach in her mouth, and smiled dryly, “Yes.”

Ji Huan then said to her with emphasis, “If you don’t want to work in the jewelry industry in the future, after graduation, come to Dad’s company. I’ll arrange something easy for you to do, don’t be too anxious.”

Ji Zhen Tang nodded, “Okay.”

A little care sounded touching, but also somewhat superficial. It was like a gratitude, for the deliberately expressed “thanks to my girl.”

Because of his daughter’s help, he got a potential client. So when she had no way out, he would also reserve a place for her.

Human relationships always rely on exchange, which was not inappropriate, but when the object of the exchange was Dad, Ji Zhen Tang felt a bit awkward.

Although she had never been loved, she had read books and watched movies. In the countless stories, the core interpretation was that love was unreasonably biased, not giving to get back, and when getting back, always thinking of ways to return.

She was about to scoop up the food from the ladle but was preempted by Ji Chen. He shouted, “It’s cooked!”

…Clearly, she was the one who ordered it, shameful!

Ji Zhen Tang’s hand froze in the air, Ji Huan helped his son take the ladle, put it aside, and said, “It’s just out of the pot, why are you in such a hurry? Eat slowly and don’t burn your mouth.”

Forget it, the birthday boy comes first.

She pursed her lips, impassive, and continued chewing the spinach.

“Tasty, isn’t it?” Xu Qiang asked politely.

Ji Zhen Tang smiled, “Delicious!”

The truth and essence, two very cruel words. They were things she couldn’t change no matter how hard she tried.

At this moment, her parent-child relationship was like dry bones under splendid clothing, covered with heavy lifelessness.

Love couldn’t be gained by pleasing others. How different was she from Su Yunli, who was always anxious and having nightmares?

She didn’t know how long it would take for a person to accept the fact that their parents really didn’t love them.

Maybe a few days, maybe a lifetime.

—

On Zhong Yu Bai’s day off, he was watching a movie at the Zhong Mansion.

In the basement, in a dim movie theater.

Ding Jialing sat beside him. Zhong Yu Bai had invited him as a guest, but he ended up working tirelessly.

Zhong Yu Bai was dressed casually. When he didn’t express any emotion, his face was slightly cold and stern. He looked at the big screen in front of him, holding a cup of floral tea in his hand. Steam rose gently from the glass, and he looked from the fragrant smoke to the English version of the movie title on the screen: Howl’s Moving Castle.

“You see, is this the boy?” Ding Jialing found something and handed the tablet over to him to take a look.

Zhong Yu Bai glanced lightly and saw a daily photo of a boy, with small eyes and tall stature.

Ding Jialing continued to introduce, “He’s the eldest son of the Zhao family, named Zhao Siqi, still in school. He registered his personal jewelry brand, Serein, a year ago and is preparing to go public this year. Boyang has invested some funds, and there are plans to continue funding after going public.”

After listening, Zhong Yu Bai remained quiet for a while, somewhat incredulously asking, “Did I invest?”

With too many eggs in one basket, he forgot where he still had eggs.

Following that, he spoke in a deep voice, “Let’s withdraw.”

“What?”

Ding Jialing was taken aback and tried to persuade, “This young lad might have some entrepreneurial talent. Who knows, he might be a success in a couple of years. We haven’t invested much anyway, so let’s consider it like buying a lottery ticket.”

Zhong Yu Bai simply stated, “His capability has reached its limit.”

Reaching the limit of capability meant that he couldn’t achieve further success.

Ding Jialing couldn’t comprehend and didn’t know how he had come to this conclusion. He continued, “But I think this small investment isn’t much for Boyang. However, if we decide not to inject capital, his listing plan might have to be shelved.”

Implicitly, wasn’t this putting obstacles in his way?

Zhong Yu Bai didn’t care much about this small amount of money, which was crucial for the early stage of Zhao Siqi’s entrepreneurship.

Without further explanation, Zhong Yu Bai glanced at him and lightly said, “Let’s show some compassion.”

Ding Jialing realized her slip of the tongue, well, business is business! “OK.”

Zhong Yu Bai watched the movie, seeing him looking like a workaholic, he intentionally interrupted his thoughts and asked, “Have you seen it?”

Ding Jialing glanced up, unexpectedly feeling a bit embarrassed, “I watched it with my girlfriend. They say it’s Hayao Miyazaki’s most handsome male lead.”

Zhong Yu Bai smiled.

In a gentle tone, he said, “Me too, many years ago with someone.”

Due to his parents’ divorce, he had spent his early years with his mother in Xingzhou.

He had watched this movie, the English version of “Howl’s Moving Castle,” many times. Each time, there was a child earnestly explaining it to him.

To this day, Zhong Yu Bai still remembered her expression and the crisp, pure voice when she spoke. An innocent child, like the clear spring water in the mountains. Playful and lively, yet full of vitality.

“In fact, Howl is a big bird, so he can fly and walk with Sophie on the roof. But when he doesn’t turn into a bird, he’s a handsome prince.”

Sixteen-year-old Zhong Yu Bai sat on the sofa at home, listening to the eager voice explaining the plot, smiling absentmindedly, casting a glance at her.

Meeting those ethereal amber eyes.

She looked earnestly at the TV, then at him. Sitting beside him, a bit shorter, so she had to look up at him.

Then, pointing at the TV, she said with a somewhat childish voice, “This is the secret garden that Howl gave to Sophie, it’s especially beautiful. And this is his little hut, where he grew up when he was young.”

“In fact, Howl knew Sophie when he was young, so he recognized her at first sight. So, at the beginning, the first thing he said to her was: ‘I finally found you!’”

“But Howl has always been fighting wars. He left the castle, and enemies were everywhere. Fortunately, in the end, when he was about to die, it was Sophie who found his childhood heart and put it back into his body, so Howl could be revived.”

In the movie, the female lead slowly placed the male lead’s childhood heart back into his body.

Zhong Yu Bai smiled and looked at the child’s round head, her hair tied into two braids, with a parting made by her mother’s comb in the middle. Outside, the saturation of trees under the summer sky was high, everything was peaceful. The movie, watched so many times, was no longer enough to captivate him. He responded to her words with a faint smile and a casual “Hmm,” “Is that so,” “I see.”

At the end of the film, as the castle slowly flew away, the male and female leads sweetly kissed on the castle.

The story ended, and the child had already fallen asleep on his legs, her small hand, with its warm touch, against his knee, curled up gently. If he inserted a finger, she would tighten her grip, holding it lightly.

She murmured softly in her sleep, “I have a castle too, flying here and there… always flying, in the sky…”

Auntie Qin came over, preparing to wake her up.

Zhong Yu Bai made a gesture for silence and whispered, “I’ll carry her back later.”

And so, he indulgently let her lie on his legs for a long time. Until the afternoon passed, time flowed silently and warmly to its end.

The same movie scenes played out before him, but the person beyond the story seemed to have lost that warm smile, leaving only a pair of calm eyes like a ancient well without ripples, the heart inside no longer beating, leaving a dry gap, waiting to be filled.

In the afternoon, they went out.

Under the infinitely beautiful evening sunset after the rain, Zhong Yu Bai sat in the black car. When he saw the rainbow, he slowly rolled down the window.

“I see it, Mr. Zhong.”

In the center of the tarmac, the renovated executive jet, now sporting a brand new look, was welcoming him.

Looking over, a row of pink English characters sprayed on the fuselage filled the entire length, clear and moving—

Jane’s Moving Castle.

Under the rainbow after the rain, the “castle” quietly stood still, as if waiting for its Sophie and prince.

Ding Jialing praised endlessly, “It’s so beautiful, so wonderful. Should we invite Miss Ji to visit together?”

The window was halfway down, and the man in the back seat revealed a pair of eyes, calmly gazing at the scene.

Zhong Yu Bai neither nodded nor shook his head, just smiled gently, “She’ll see it.”

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