Can I still be saved? [Transmigration] - Chapter 36.2
He was more than happy, but Wen Yanlai was not. She despised Fu Hanzhou, if it weren’t for him, her wedding wouldn’t have been ruined, and Su Yunjing wouldn’t have been forced to transfer back.
“What do you think about him transferring?” she asked seriously.
Su Yunjing felt a bit awkward, and didn’t dare to answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Why’s he suddenly transferring?”
Wen Yanlai gave a cold snort.
From Wen Yanlai’s words, Su Yunjing learned the whole story.
In order to be able to transfer schools, Little cool cub had, just last night, admitted his mistake in front of Shen Nianyun and even apologized to Wen Yanlai.
With Shen Nianyun present, even if Wen Yanlai was seething inside, she couldn’t actually let it show.
After Wen Yanlai pretended to forgive him, Fu Hanzhou slyly seized the moment to propose that he wanted to transfer to Henglin No. 2 High School.
Shen Nianyun had a father’s doting eyes — even if Fu Hanzhou committed the worst offense imaginable, he still believed his son could change for the better.
What’s more, it was rare for Fu Hanzhou to lower his head and take the initiative to ask him for something.
As a father, and a somewhat unqualified one at that, Shen Nianyun would undoubtedly agree.
Fu Hanzhou then requested to stay at Wen Yanlai’s home for a few days, until he became familiar with the new school environment, and then move into the dorms.
He also said he wouldn’t stay long — just a week at most.
Seeing that Fu Hanzhou still wanted to stay at her house, Wen Yanlai was a hundred thousand times unwilling in her heart.
But in order not to affect her relationship with Shen Nianyun, she couldn’t directly step in on this matter.
“Cici, I heard him say your relationship with him is pretty good now. A few days ago, he even came to the house to apologize to you in person. Is that true?”
Su Yunjing answered stiffly, “Mm. He did come, and he did apologize.”
He felt exactly like some miserable husband stuck between his birth mother and his wife.
On one side, he had to soothe his birth mother, whose anger bar had already maxed out; on the other, he had to clean up the mess his “wife” had caused.
Both sides needed pacifying, so the big problems would shrink into small ones, and the small ones disappear altogether.
Wen Yanlai, who had been in the entertainment industry for many years, understood people heart.
The moment she heard Su Yunjing’s tone, she knew he’d been swayed over to the enemy’s side.
Wen Yanlai said, “Normally, I wouldn’t interfere in what kind of friends you make but Fu Hanzhou is absolutely out of the question.”
The first time Wen Yanlai met Fu Hanzhou she already felt he was no ordinary child. After the wedding fiasco, her suspicion was confirmed. Now he’d done something else to impress her — publicly apologized. Fu Hanzhou was someone who would bend and stretch, using any means necessary to achieve his goals.
Not to mention that, in just a few days, he’d managed to turn her son against Wen Ci and completely side with him.
At seventeen, Fu Hanzhou’s maneuvers were unsettling — Wen Yanlai felt a chill down her spine.
“He absolutely can’t stay in our house. If he moves in, who knows what other nonsense he’ll stir up. Your grandparents are old; they can’t handle it.”
Su Yunjing opened his mouth to say something, then hesitated and lowered his eyes. He softly said “Mm,” and agreed to Wen Yanlai’s demand not to let Fu Hanzhou stay in the house.
Wen Yanlai’s call had two aims: to find out whether Fu Hanzhou had really come to their home and whether he and Su Yunjing were truly close — and to get Su Yunjing to refuse Shen Nianyun on her behalf.
Although Fu Hanzhou was seventeen, Shen Nianyun still treated him like a child. If Wen Yanlai wanted to continue her marriage, she had to accept his son, just as Shen Nianyun had accepted Su Yunjing as Wen’s child. Romance is between two people; marriage is the union of two families.
Shen Nianyun had taken the first step by being understanding. So Wen Yanlai couldn’t back down now.
Even if Wen didn’t believe Fu Hanzhou had truly repented, she couldn’t show that disbelief publicly. The only one who could justifiably refuse Fu Hanzhou staying at Wen’s home without causing offense was Su Yunjing — the ‘child’ in the family, whose ‘immaturity’ could be used as a shield.
If Su Yunjing firmly refused, Shen Nianyun would accept it, he wouldn’t blame Wen Yanlai. Su Yunjing was the best person to play villain for this.
Even if Su Yunjing believed Fu Hanzhou had really changed, he still had to heed Wen Yanlai.
From Wen Yanlai’s perspective, her stance was perfectly justified. She was thinking of her family and wanted Fu Hanzhou — the little demon — as far away as possible. That was fair. The one who needed to accept the consequences of misdeeds was Fu Hanzhou.
Although Su Yunjing knew Fu Hanzhou was at fault, he didn’t know how to bring up the subject with him directly. Wen Yanlai told him they would return together in a few days, to see Guo Xiuhui and Wen Huaishan, and to talk to the school about the transfer. The transfer was a foregone conclusion. Although Wen Yanlai didn’t want Fu Hanzhou in Henglin, there was nothing she could do about it; as long as he didn’t stay at her home, he could go wherever he pleased.
Su Yunjing planned to wait until Fu Hanzhou and Wen Yanlai returned and then talk to him face to face.
Fu Hanzhou had asked to transfer to Henglin and hadn’t gone to Nan Middle School after that; he was waiting for Shen Nianyun to handle his new school’s enrollment.
They flew to Henglin on Thursday afternoon together.
Guo Xiuhui had received a call from Wen Yanlai the previous night. She’d already prepared the dishes Wen liked and waited for them to come.
After Wen Yanlai made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, she moved several times to prevent her family from being disturbed by fans and the media. None of the neighbors knew her daughter was a celebrity.
Wen Yanlai kept a low profile this time, even Shen Nianyun was dressed casually.
Fu Hanzhou followed behind them wearing a baseball cap. When Wen Yanlai knocked on the door, the usually quiet Fu Hanzhou removed his cap and politely greeted with a warm “Grandma.”
Shen Nianyun: “…”
Wen Yanlai: “…”
Seeing Fu Hanzhou, Guo Xiuhui was surprised and delighted. “Xiao Fu, you came?”
Wen Yanlai introduced, “This is Nianyun’s son, Hanzhou.”
The unexpected turn of events stunned Guo Xiuhui. “This…”
She mildly scolded them: “You kid, you didn’t explain clearly the last time you came, and Cici didn’t tell me either. I really thought you were just ordinary classmates.”
Fu Hanzhou didn’t make excuses and simply admitted his mistake.
Seeing Fu Hanzhou so obedient warmed Shen Nianyun’s heart. He hadn’t seen Fu Hanzhou approach someone actively in years. The last time he acted like this was with the Lu family.
Back then, he had just recognized him, and Fu Hanzhou was not talkative, let alone acknowledging others. Only when he was on the phone with the Lu family’s kid named Lu Jiaming would he smile, looking well-behaved and sensible.
But as soon as he hung up the phone, his smile faded, and he returned to his ignoring-everyone attitude.
Guo Xiuhui liked Fu Hanzhou and didn’t really blame him.
When she heard he was transferring to Henglin No. 2, Guo Xiuhui was a little surprised. “Isn’t it said that the teaching quality in Kyoto is good? Why did you transfer here for no reason?”
“My grades are average. Back at school I sat next to Cici, who often tutored me. I thought transferring here would let me study properly with him,” Fu Hanzhou answered plainly.
Fu Hanzhou’s eyes were clear, and his voice was the clear, sharp voice of a teenager.
Shen Nianyun: “…”
Wen Yanlai: “…”
Wen Yanlai was shocked by his shamelessness. Even Shen Nianyun felt embarrassed. If he and Wen Ci are so close, why make a scene at the wedding? But the father couldn’t very well undercut his child now.
Guo Xiuhui and Wen Huaishan were unaware of the inside story, and were pleased to hear that he was so ambitious and had a good relationship with Su Yunjing.
Wen Huaishan said with great enthusiasm, “That’s great! Xiao Ci doesn’t have any brothers either, so you two can just treat each other like real brothers.”
Guo Xiuhui smiled and sighed, “Exactly. As the saying goes, people who aren’t from the same family won’t enter the same door—these two kids are truly fated.”
Wen Yanlai’s face was a little grim, but he couldn’t get angry in front of so many people.
Shen Nianyun coughed lightly at Fu Hanzhou, as a reminder that it was enough, he was pretending a bit too much.
If not for that scene at the wedding, even Shen Nianyun might have been fooled by Fu Hanzhou’s show of brotherly warmth.
Shen Nianyun felt embarrassed for him.
But Fu Hanzhou seemed to have no shame at all, and he coaxed Guo Xiuhui and Wen Huaishan into a good mood.
Guo Xiuhui was even a little unhappy when she heard that Fu Hanzhou was going to live on campus.
“Just live here. If you don’t want to share a room with Cici, we’ll vacate the study for you. If that doesn’t work, we can move. We have another apartment.”
This apartment was the one Wen Yanlai had bought which had three bedrooms, one living room, kitchen and bathroom. One master bedroom and two secondary bedrooms. One secondary was occupied by Su Yunjing, the other had been turned into Wen Huaishan’s study.
Whenever Wen Yanlai came home she either stayed in a hotel or stayed in that big apartment. She used to be busy and came home rarely.
Wen Yanlai could hardly bear it anymore and sat on the sofa in silence.
When Su Yunjing came home from school, he saw a strange scene.
Wen Yanlai leaned against the kitchen door with a sullen face, while Shen Nianyun was talking on the phone on the balcony.
Fu Hanzhou was helping Guo Xiuhui cook in the kitchen, and the atmosphere between them was quite harmonious.
Wen Yanlai looked at Fu Hanzhou coldly.
There are many sisters like this in the entertainment industry who are not in harmony with each other. Wen Yanlai has been fighting all the way here, what kind of people has she not seen? It has been a long time since anyone could really make her angry.
Seeing Fu Hanzhou pretending to be a hardworking and cute boy, Wen Yanlai smiled but her eyes were cold.
“Hanzhou, go watch TV.” Wen Yanlai smiled with a knife in her heart, “Mom, you too, how can he know how to do this kind of work? He doesn’t do it at home.”
Su Yunjing just walked in and heard Wen Yanlai’s words, and he stopped in his tracks.
Something was wrong.
Fu Hanzhou said with a simple move, “I usually eat in the school canteen. Once I move in, I’ll often help you.”
Wen Yanlai couldn’t help but sneered, haha.
With Wen Yanlai and Fu Hanzhou sparring in the kitchen, Su Yunjing didn’t know whether to go in or stay out.
Wen Huaishan, who was sitting on the sofa watching the news, was unaware of everything. When he saw Su Yunjing standing at the door, he asked him, “What are you doing standing at the door?”
Su Yunjing smiled awkwardly but politely, and walked in with his scalp tingling.
Seeing him come back, Wen Yanlai gave him a look. The meaning was obvious, to make Fu Hanzhou leave.
When Shen Nianyun finished his call and Wen Yanlai left the kitchen, no longer keeping a hawk’s eye on Fu Hanzhou, she went over and sat down on the sofa.
With a heavy heart, Su Yunjing passed by the kitchen and saw Fu Hanzhou helping Guo Xiuhui fry fish. He was wearing a blue apron, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, a wok spatula in his hand.
The scene was full of homely warmth, yet when he looked over at Su Yunjing, the corners of those beautiful phoenix eyes tilted up and out.
The smile in his eyes rippled like flowing waves of light, rich and vivid in its intoxicating allure.
Su Yunjing’s breath hitched, his eyes momentarily dazzled by that smile.
But remembering that Wen Yanlai wanted him to drive a Little cool cub out, he no longer had the mood to admire any beauty.
Forcing a faint smile in return, Su Yunjing went back to his room.
Fu Hanzhou was someone who was very sensitive to emotions but he usually didn’t care about others, so he couldn’t be bothered to notice their emotional shifts.
Su Yunjing, however, was not ‘others’ to him.
Fu Hanzhou’s brow furrowed slightly before he cast a glance toward Wen Yanlai, who was sitting in the living room talking with Shen Nianyun.
Guo Xiuhui’s voice called from behind him, “Xiao Fu, flip the fish over, or it’s going to burn.”
Fu Hanzhou withdrew his gaze and turned the fish.
That dinner was eaten in a rather awkward atmosphere.
Shen Nianyun had only been to the Wen household once before—back when he and Wen Yanlai were engaged, they’d returned home together for a visit.
Shen Nianyun had only been to the Wen family once, when he and Wen Yanlai went home together to visit before they got married.
The last time they met was at a wedding, and such an embarrassing thing happened.
Originally, it was the Wen family who was embarrassed, but now Shen Nianyun is more embarrassed than them.
After all, Fu Hanzhou is the culprit of the wedding farce, and now he wants to live in someone else’s house.
Shen Nianyun didn’t know what Fu Hanzhou was thinking.
Still, seeing his attitude toward the Wen family stirred a hint of guilt in Shen Nianyun’s heart.
Was it because the Wen household felt so warm and welcoming that Fu Hanzhou longed for it—just like how, as a child, he’d especially liked spending time at the Lu family’s home?
In the end, it still came down to him being an unfit father.
In fact, Shen Nianyun knew that Wen Yanlai didn’t want Fu Hanzhou to live in the Wen family. On one side is his son, and on the other side is his wife, he found himself in a difficult spot.
Shen Nianyun lifted his head and glanced at Fu Hanzhou and Su Yunjing.
The two were sitting quite close. Fu Hanzhou picked up a piece of fish, separated out the bones, and placed it into Su Yunjing’s bowl.
The fish was cooked by Fu Hanzhou under Guo Xiuhui’s guidance.
He seemed to really like this place, putting away his previous laziness of not caring about anything, his eyebrows and eyes were gentle, and there was a faint smile on the corners of his lips.
Shen Nianyun hadn’t seen him so happy for a long time, and couldn’t help but be a little dazed.
Su Yunjing was even more entangled than Shen Nianyun; no matter what he ate, it all tasted like nothing.
Guo Xiuhui and Wen Huaishan were very happy to see that the two of them had such a good relationship.
“Why don’t we have Xiao Fu stay over tonight?” Guo Xiuhui suggested.
“Alright,” Fu Hanzhou agreed without hesitation.
Wen Yanlai was not pleased. She lifted her gaze toward Su Yunjing, hoping he would say something.
Su Yunjing pretended he hadn’t caught the signal, keeping his head down and eating the fish in his bowl.
He would speak, of course he would, but when they were going to bed later, which would be the perfect time to have a talk with Fu Hanzhou.
Guo Xiuhui, oblivious to the undercurrents at the table, went on making arrangements for the night’s lodging.
“Yanlai, you and Nianyun can stay at a hotel if you want, or go back to the other apartment, it’s all been cleaned for you,” Guo Xiuhui said.
After finally finishing dinner, Wen Yanlai and Shen Nianyun stayed to chat for a while. It wasn’t until nine-thirty that they left.
Before leaving, Wen Yanlai reminded Su Yunjing over and over again that he absolutely had to drive Fu Hanzhou out.
Her stance was firm, there was no room for negotiation. Su Yunjing let out a sigh.
After seeing Wen Yanlai and the others off, Su Yunjing and Fu Hanzhou helped tidy up the living room.
Guo Xiuhui waved them away. “Don’t worry about this. Go wash up and get some sleep and Cici, you still have to go school tomorrow.”
“Do you want to shower first, or should I?” Back in the room, Su Yunjing handed Fu Hanzhou a set of pajamas as he asked.
“You go first,” Fu Hanzhou replied.
Su Yunjing didn’t refuse. He grabbed another set of pajamas and went into the bathroom.
Once the bathroom door closed, Fu Hanzhou’s smile faded. He opened the bedroom door and slipped out.
When Su Yunjing finished showering and came out, wiping his wet hair, he saw Fu Hanzhou sitting on the bed with a Chinese textbook in hand, memorizing it.
It was rare to see a little cool cub studying, and Su Yunjing was a bit surprised. “What’s with you reading a Chinese textbook all of a sudden?”
Fu Hanzhou lifted his eyelids, light spilling into his dark pupils like scattered stars.
The boy spoke as if it were only natural. “Didn’t you say we should apply to take the Beijing University entrance exam together? My foundations aren’t very good.”
Su Yunjing choked for a moment, feeling a bit uncomfortable inside.
He could see that Fu Hanzhou was trying to change for the better, yet no one was willing to believe him.
Su Yunjing sat down next to Fu Hanzhou, pondered for a moment, and finally forced out the words to send him away.
“You should just stay in the dorms.”
Su Yunjing said through gritted teeth, waiting for Fu Hanzhou’s reaction.
It wasn’t easy to say, and once the words were out, his heart was pounding like he was the one who’d done something wrong.
But after a while, Fu Hanzhou didn’t really react, he just gave a quiet “Mm.”
Su Yunjing could feel the drop in his mood and wanted to comfort him, but when he opened his mouth, the words came out clumsy and blunt.
“What you did last time was over the line. If you can’t accept your dad remarrying, you can talk to him about it, but you can’t just stab straight at the heart like that.
“Even though, yeah, this whole thing is my aunt—uh, my mom’s fault, it’s been so many years already. Even if you wanted to tell your dad , you still shouldn’t have embarrassed the two of them like that.”
Su Yunjing had meant to comfort Fu Hanzhou, but as he went on, his words had somehow turned into stating the facts and correcting right and wrong.
He shut his mouth.
Fu Hanzhou lowered his eyes, a faint shadow beneath his lashes. “Mm, I was wrong.”
“It’s good that you know you were wrong.”
Su Yunjing: Cao, what am I even saying!
Yes, Fu Hanzhou had been wrong, but he hadn’t wanted to rub it in. His original plan was to persuade Fu Hanzhou to stay in the dorms first, then in a few days talk things over and straighten out Little cool cub’s worldview a bit.
He forced an explanation. “I mean, it’s okay to make mistakes—” Actually, it’s not that okay.
“But as long as you behave well and let everyone see you’ve really changed—not just lip service—one day they’ll change their opinion of you.”
“You stay in the dorms for now. Let’s study hard and behave ourselves…”
While Su Yunjing was still racking his brains for the right words, Fu Hanzhou suddenly leaned in, resting his forehead against Su Yunjing’s shoulder.
It was a gesture of dependence.
“I shouldn’t have treated you like that. I was wrong.” His voice was soft, like a leaf falling onto the surface of water, sending ripples through Su Yunjing’s heart until all his words got stuck in his throat.
“I never sleep well at night. There are so many voices in my head, they’re always arguing.”
Fu Hanzhou clutched a corner of Su Yunjing’s shirt, his fingertips trembling as they quietly tightened.
“Only when I sleep beside you do those voices go away.”
He turned his head, resting it on Su Yunjing’s shoulder and burying his face in the crook of his neck, as if absorbing the warmth from Su Yunjing’s body.
“Don’t be mad at me. I know I was wrong.”
His breath was light, but it felt like a branding iron against the crook of Su Yunjing’s neck. Su Yunjing felt a sharp pain in his heart.
When Little Cool-and-Petty cub was being infuriating, he could be really infuriating.
But sometimes… he was just painfully endearing.
“I’m not mad at you. But don’t do that again.” Su Yunjing patted his back.
“You stay in the dorms for now. After a while, I’ll see if I can apply for a room too.”
“Alright?” Su Yunjing asked.
Fu Hanzhou wrapped his arms around Su Yunjing’s slim waist, rubbing the tip of his nose against the crook of his shoulder. “Alright.”