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Chapter 4: Great Aunt and Father

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Regarding the rumor that disgraced her ‘innocence’, Xiao Tu was furious. She pondered for a whole day on how she would get revenge on Ling Chao, but unfortunately, when school was over, she still hadn’t thought of a method.

Feeling injustice, Xiao Tu ran home like a wisp of smoke without paying attention to Ling Chao.

She ran all the way to the courtyard gate, only to remember that she had forgotten her key this morning, unable to enter the house.

Xiao Tu paced back and forth in front of the entrance for a bit, wondering if she should climb the wall to get in. Then, she saw that Ling Chao had slowly and unhurriedly caught up with her.

“Hey, did you bring your keys?” She asked in a blunt tone.

Ling Chao touched his pockets and shook his head.

Xiao Tu was already angry and this made her even angrier. Pulling up her sleeves, she prepared to climb the wall.  But suddenly, she calmed down, turned her head and meaningfully sized up Ling Chao.

At that moment, Ling Chao was leaning on a tree, preparing to wait for the adults to come back. Sensing that Xiao Tu’s eyes were flickering with the radiance of a plot, he vigilantly asked, “What are you plotting?”

Xiao Tu pointed at the wall while speaking to him, “Climb the wall and help me open the door.”

Ling Chao looked at the wall that was easily the height of two people, and resolutely refused, “I won’t climb it.”

Xiao Tu said: “If I don’t go inside,  Little Green will starve to death.” Little Green was the green turtle she was raising.  

“It’s a tortoise, it won’t starve to death.”

“No! I need to go and feed it!”  Xiao Tu displayed her shamelessness clearly.

Ling Chao knitted his brows, “Why aren’t you climbing it then?”

“Because I’m a girl… ” When Xiao Tu said this softly, she did indeed look like a girl.  

Ling Chao bit his lips, seeming to want to say something, but hr didn’t say it.  After a while, he put his backpack down and walked towards Xiao Tu.

“You go up, I’ll act a pad down here.” Said Xiao Tu, as she crouched down.

Ling Chao hesitated for a bit, but in the end, he stepped on Xiao Tu’s shoulders.

“Don’t move around randomly.” This was his first time climbing a wall, and he inevitably felt nervous. His voice appeared to lack confidence.

Xiao Tu verbally agreed, but her body still swayed side to side.

“Don’t move!” Ling Chao yelled.

“I know already, just hurry and climb!” Xiao Tu urged.

Ling Chao groaned while clenching his teeth. He wanted to put his arm on the wall to pull himself up.

Suddenly, the person under him unexpectedly swayed for a moment.

“Ah!”

He called out, as his body was unable to maintain its balance.

After a muffled sound, both of them fell onto the ground. The difference was that Xiao Tu was sitting on the ground with a satisfied look on her face from achieving revenge. And Ling Chao was lying on the ground, tightly gripping his ankle with both hands. His face showed that he was in so much pain that he couldn’t endure it.

That’s right, he broke his leg.

Later, when the adults returned, they immediately took Ling Chao to the nearby hospital. When the X-ray came out, the doctor said that Ling Chao’s right ankle had a fracture, and he would have to wear a cast for half a month.

This time, Xiao Tu knew that she had gotten herself in trouble. She wanted to go and curry favor with him, but he ruthlessly glared at her instead.

It was hard to avoid Ling Chao’s anger. He was supposed to participate in an important IMO in the city as the school’s representative. However, now that he was wearing a cast, was it possible that the test papers would just fly to him so he could do them?

Despite his anger, when Mrs. Ling asked how he had gotten injured, he still didn’t tattle on Xiao Tu. In a split second, this generous action of his revealed the narrow-mindedness in Xiao Tu’s heart. For a while, she felt ashamed and she was unable to show her face because of her childish actions for revenge. After returning home, to make it up to Ling Chao, she took the initiative to request to accompany Ling Chao to and from school.  

All the adults were very glad, saying that Xiao Tu had grown up, and was being sensible. And that was able to take care of her little god-brother now. In fact, only Xiao Tu’s heart knew that she was actually atoning for her actions.

Every day, Xiao Tu supported Ling Chao to and from school. Later on, this incident was spread around the school gossip network. Everyone believed that Xiao Tu was Ling Chao’s girlfriend even more firmly now. The few girls that were interested in Ling Chao no longer dared to go up to him using the excuse of asking him to tutor them. Thus, Ling Chao expectedly found that things were much more peaceful  

Afterward, the IMO in the city was held. But because it was too far and Ling Chao was wearing a cast, he couldn’t go. Xiao Tu’s heartfelt apologetic, and she thought of how to make it better. Finally, she decided to give her treasure, Little Green, to Ling Chao.  

Ling Chao’s eyes flashed with a hateful look while holding onto the fish tank with the green turtle inside it. He really disliked reptiles, especially this type of creature that was slimy and had green algae all over its body.

However, seeing the expectant expression on Xiao Tu’s face, in the end, he still took Little Green and accepted it.

“Let’s settle things first. If it dies, I’m not taking responsibility.”

“Okay… ” Xiao Tu looking at the tortoise felt some unwillingness, and added a comment, “You’re so smart, there’s no way it will die, right?”   

The corners of Ling Chao’s mouth twitched, not saying anything.

After that, the tortoise really didn’t die, and it lived peacefully until Xiao Tu got married. Of course, that is a story for another time.

The school that Xiao Tu went to, had both elementary school and middle school combined. Ling Chao smoothly ascended to seventh grade, and Xiao Tu finally became a sixth grader.

A lot of things changed unconsciously during sixth grade, including changes in a girl’s body. Xiao Tu’s first period during some afternoons in the first semester of sixth grade.

At that time, the school had gone over a few lessons on health and physiology, Xiao Tu more or less understood what had happened to her body, but not knowing what to do, she just sat in her seat, not daring to stand up.

Later, after school, when everyone had finished cleaning and left. Xiao Tu still didn’t dare to get up, until Ling Chao came to the classroom looking for her.

“Why are you still sitting there?” Ling Chao grabbed her backpack from the desk, planning to leave.

“Wait a moment!” Xiao Tu shouted out. Wrinkling her brow revealed the embarrassment she was feeling.

Ling Chao discovered something, and walked over: “What happened? Not feeling good?”

Xiao Tu chewed her lips, hesitantly and unsure how to tell him: “I… my… came…”

Ling Chao stared blankly for a moment, after which he understood what she meant. He walked over, put the two school bags down, took off his school uniform and handed it to her.

“Take it.”

Sitting there, Xiao Tu stared at the uniform that was being offered to her with a restless expression. Hesitating and not daring to take it.   

“Don’t tell me you want to stay in the classroom until tomorrow, right?”

She clenched her teeth, and she finally took the uniform from Ling Chao’s hand.

Xiao Tu tied the uniform around her waist. Luckily, it covered the wet parts of her pants. Afterward, Ling Chao, wearing only a t-shirt and carrying the two bags, accompanied her home.

When they reached home, there was a car parked in front of the courtyard gates. One look and you could tell it was the high-class type. Quite a few people stood by the gates while looking and quietly gossiping about it.

When Ling Chao and Xiao Tu walked over, a busybody quietly told Ling Chao, “Your dad came back.”

That’s right, it could be said that that day was a day when relatives visited for both Xiao Tu and Ling Chao. However, the difference was that for Xiao Tu, it was her great aunt. But for Ling Chao, it was his father who had disappeared six years ago, and now he had appeared.

As Ling Chao entered the courtyard, he remained silent, while his complexion didn’t look too good.

He didn’t go home straight away. He sent Xiao Tu to her house instead, telling her to pay attention to her body. Then, he carried his bag and went home.

Seeing Ling Chao’s back as he left, Xiao Tu suddenly started to worry.

She knew that Ling Chao didn’t like other people mentioning his father. During fourth grade, he had once gotten into a conflict with the bully of the class when he was collecting homework. Later on, that bully gathered people around the school entrance and stopped him, pointing at his nose and cursing him as a bástãrd without a father.

This was the only instant that Ling Chao had gotten into a fight with someone. Afterward, if it wasn’t for Xiao Tu running to get the security guard, Ling Chao’s forehead wouldn’t only have such a faint scar.

This matter caused Ling Chao to be fiercely punished by his mother. But ever since then, no one in the school dared to mention Ling Chao’s father in front of him, nor did any teachers say he was refined. Because everyone had discovered that when this small cat started something, he was even more fierce than a tiger.

Mr. Ling’s return had caused the tranquil atmosphere in the courtyard to become tense.

That night, Xiao Tu’s parents had stayed at Ling Chao’s house until really late. Xiao Tu had been ordered to stay at home, and she wasn’t not allowed to leave. She could only miserably place her ear on the wall, and try to listen what was happening next door.

There wasn’t any crying noises or fighting. There were only intermittent sounds of talking. Because of the wall, she couldn’t hear it very well.

Later when her parents returned, their expressions didn’t have the heavy feeling of before.

Even later, Mr. Ling moved back to stay. The high-class car wasn’t brought back with him. It is said that it was parked at a newly constructed high-class parking lot. The parking fee is high enough to the point that it could scare people.

Many years later, Xiao Tu thought of the incident and asked her mother about what had happened that night.

Her mother refused to say anything about it, and she only indifferently said: “Actually, your godmother is the most intelligent woman I’ve seen.”

Indeed, only an intelligent woman would understand how to use a lenient heart to capture all of a man’s love.

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