Chapter 12: Softhearted
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The spring rain in Harbor City came without warning, as though it meant to swallow everyone whole.
In the middle of the night, Wen Zhi opened the Wen family’s gate with an umbrella in hand, only to find Chen Su drenched from head to toe.
She froze. “What happened?”
Hurrying to shield Chen Su with her umbrella, she led her back to her bedroom.
After taking a shower and changing clothes, Chen Su said nothing. She simply sat on the sofa with her knees drawn up, staring blankly into space.
The last time Wen Zhi had seen her like this was eight years ago.
“Susu.” Wen Zhi moved closer. “Don’t be like this. You’re scaring me.”
Eight years ago, just after Chen Su had been admitted to high school, Qu Bonan—who ordinarily doted on her as though she were the most precious thing in the world—had suddenly seemed to become a different person. He had even begun appearing everywhere with Shen Zhiwei.
No matter how unreasonable Chen Su became or how many tantrums she threw, nothing helped.
After their fiercest quarrel, Chen Su disappeared.
When they finally found her, Wen Zhi learned that she had locked herself in the studio and had not stepped outside for an entire week.
That was when Wen Zhi discovered that something was wrong with her mentally.
What followed was three years of treatment, along with medication taken intermittently.
Of course, all of it was hidden from Qu Bonan’s parents. Or rather, it was less that they kept it from them than that Qu Bonan’s parents had devoted themselves entirely to their son and had no one left to care about Chen Su.
Wen Zhi had even wondered whether Chen Su’s illness had not been caused solely by Qu Bonan.
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More than anything, it may have been the result of her status as someone living under another family’s roof.
Having never experienced love, she had unconsciously clung to Qu Bonan when his affection appeared, until matters eventually spiraled beyond control.
In the end, Qu Bonan had withdrawn in time to protect himself, but all he left Chen Su with was three long years of damp, lingering sorrow.
“I’m not afraid, so what are you afraid of?” Chen Su curved her lips. “Are you afraid I’ll return to the state of mind I was in during high school?”
Wen Zhi hesitated. “Will you?”
“No.” A smile rested on Chen Su’s face, but her voice carried a distant, hazy bewilderment. “I’m trying, little by little, to drive Qu Bonan out of my world.”
Perhaps it would take a long time, but she knew that day would eventually come.
One day, she would no longer need him at all.
“Oh, right.” Chen Su seemed to remember something. “Wenwen, do you remember the painting I made when I locked myself in the studio for a week back in middle school?”
Wen Zhi nodded. “Of course. When you needed money for university, didn’t you ask me to help you sell it?”
At the time, the painting had caught the eye of a mysterious businessman, who bought it for the astonishing price of one million yuan.
That one million had covered every expense of Chen Su’s four years at university.
As for the bank card the Qu family had given her, she had never used it.
Chen Su hummed softly. “I need money to rent a place now. I’ve nearly spent everything I had before, so I was hoping you could help me sell a few more paintings.”
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Wen Zhi agreed at once. “Of course. Your painting is so good that I could sell them all just by posting them on my social feed.”
“But… does Qu Bonan agree to you moving out?”
She arched a brow. “When we played ball yesterday, he seemed pretty possessive.”
Chen Su lowered her eyes. “Whether he agrees or not isn’t important. If I want him to withdraw from my life, I have to move out of the Qu family’s home.”
Wen Zhi sighed. “All right. Looks like I was worrying for nothing.”
That night, Chen Su lay awake in the Wen household, her eyes open until dawn.
The next day, Chen Su and Wen Zhi arrived at the university together.
Although they were both majoring in oil painting, they were not in the same class, so they had to part ways at the entrance.
With graduation approaching, and Chen Su being so diligent, she had essentially completed all her coursework. Only a few practical classes remained. The instructor for those classes was a retired old man rehired by the university, and his lectures were dry and tedious. Not many students attended.
The moment Chen Su walked in, she saw a familiar figure.
She froze.
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