Chapter 36: Such Was the Heart of a Parent

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Chapter 36: Such Was the Heart of a Parent

Business hours for the morning were over, and Chen Yuan was sprawled on the sofa at home, texting Yu Shenliu.

He had seen that Yu Shenliu was facing a minor calamity related to peach blossoms, probably about as serious as the bloodshed calamity last time. He just hadn’t expected Yu Shenliu to actually get hit on the shoulder by a falling peach tree branch.

He knew he should have felt sympathetic about something like this, but whenever he imagined the look on Yu Shenliu’s face after his peach blossom calamity had turned into something like this, Chen Yuan couldn’t help wanting to laugh. He simply couldn’t hold it back. After replying to Yu Shenliu’s latest text and waiting for a response, he shifted around and settled into a more comfortable position.

Then his phone suddenly rang.

A call?

Who would be calling him?

Chen Yuan stared strangely at the number displayed on the screen. It seemed somewhat familiar. There were only a handful of people in his phone contacts, but since no name was displayed, it was clearly not one of them. So where did this sense of familiarity come from?

In any case, Chen Yuan answered the call.

“Hello, may I ask who you’re looking for?”

A woman’s voice came from the other end. “Hello…” She spoke only that one word, then fell silent.

“Hello?” Chen Yuan frowned. The voice sounded familiar too. Who was it again? After thinking for a moment, he finally remembered. Wasn’t this the woman who had originally brought her daughter to him for a fortune reading, then refused to pay him because she didn’t like the result, and whom he had later run into again when he was buying the shop? The reason the number seemed familiar was that he had called it once when he was buying the shop.

“Madam, is there something you need?” Now that he knew who it was, Chen Yuan asked.

Her breathing sounded unsteady on the other end. After a long pause, she finally replied, “I… I have something I’d like to ask for your help with.” She clearly spoke in her usual commanding tone, yet at the moment it sounded weak and hesitant.

At the sound of her voice, Chen Yuan immediately understood what had happened. He had encountered situations like this before. Some customers, like this woman, would maintain a hostile and distrustful attitude toward him no matter what. Even after going through all sorts of things, they would refuse to lower their proud heads. But when something extremely important to them came up, something they had no choice but to rely on him to deal with, they found themselves caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, they were too embarrassed to face him; on the other, they worried that their previous attitude had angered him and did not dare come looking for him. In the end, though, they still had to ask him for help.

That was all there was to it. Chen Yuan did not care in the slightest and answered her directly. “The shop above your store is mine. Come there and we’ll talk. I’ll be there shortly.”

Chen Yuan was not the sort of person who would hold a grudge against someone over a little unpleasantness. Generally speaking, if something could make a person with a temperament like this woman’s swallow her pride and lower her head, then it had to be extremely important to her. If it was something that serious, Chen Yuan would help if he could.

In life, apart from life and death, what was truly a big deal? What kind of grudge was worth holding forever? Was he really supposed to remember someone for the rest of his life just because they had thrown a few barbs at him? That would be far too childish.

That was how Chen Yuan saw it.

The woman did not thank him over the phone. She simply hung up. Chen Yuan knew that she still could not bring herself to swallow her pride, but he was certain she would come to the shop.

Putting away his phone, Chen Yuan grabbed his keys and headed for his store.

By the time Chen Yuan arrived, the woman was already standing in front of the shop. Her head was slightly bowed, and she looked rather dejected, practically like a defeated rooster.

When Chen Yuan came over, she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something. Her expression was stubborn, and her brows were tightly furrowed. Chen Yuan saw this but pretended not to notice anything. After saying, “Wait a moment,” he took out his keys, unlocked the shop, and only then said to the woman, “Come in and talk.”

The woman hesitated noticeably, but in the end, she followed Chen Yuan inside and passed through the circular screen before sitting down in one of the armchairs.

Chen Yuan sat down opposite her. After a brief pause, he asked, “What happened?” His manner was completely free of resentment. In fact, Chen Yuan genuinely didn’t care about the conflicts he had had with the woman before. They had all been one-sided on her part. As far as he was concerned, she was simply a customer now. Nothing more.

The woman rested her hands on her knees, brows furrowed and lips pursed, looking as though she didn’t want to say anything at all. She already had a history of conflict with Chen Yuan, and had always felt that there was nothing particularly impressive about him. Having to swallow her pride and come to him for help was difficult enough. She hadn’t intended to seek him out in the first place, but given the current situation, she absolutely couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Thinking of her daughter, the woman’s heart softened. What was a little embarrassment compared with doing it for her child?

She opened her mouth, and in the end, forced herself to speak.

“…Her father and I paid to get our daughter into Zhuowen Academy.”

As expected, Chen Yuan had already known that the girl wouldn’t have been able to get into a particularly good school through the entrance exams alone. So now he knew that her parents had paid to get her in. And today, Yu Shenliu had gone to Zhuowen Academy, hadn’t he? What a coincidence.

“Zhuowen Academy was supposed to be a good school. It’s the best among all the private schools in Jincheng City, and it even has advantages over many public schools. I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore after that.” As the woman spoke slowly, her tone sounded much gentler than her usual domineering manner, revealing a certain grace of her own.

“But I never thought Zhuowen Academy would really be that strange!” Her voice immediately rose when she said this, her tone becoming agitated. “I’d heard students talking about it before, but I thought it was all made up. They said a lot of students at Zhuowen Academy jumped to their deaths, and a lot of them developed depression too. And all of these cases were strange and completely inexplicable. I really thought it was all nonsense.”

“But after my daughter entered Zhuowen, how many days had even passed before she actually developed depression!”

“How could she possibly develop depression? She’s always been lively and outgoing. I’m her mother. How could I not know? There has to be something wrong with Zhuowen Academy!” The woman was so agitated that she was practically shouting.

Lively and outgoing? Not necessarily. Chen Yuan remembered the girl’s physiognomy from the last time he had seen her and had already reached his own conclusion. But parents were never people who could be judged by ordinary standards. In a parent’s eyes, their child was always wonderful. So there was nothing particularly strange about the woman describing her daughter as lively and outgoing.

Still, such was the heart of a parent. Someone with the woman’s personality probably wouldn’t come looking for him even if something happened. In her mind, doing so would mean admitting defeat and swallowing her pride. She wouldn’t change unless it was for her child. And ultimately, she truly cared about her daughter.

With a sigh inwardly, Chen Yuan said nothing and continued listening to the woman.

“I went to the school, but they said it was the student’s own psychological problem and simply refused to take responsibility. I wanted to bring my daughter home, but she said she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep up with her studies and refused to come back no matter what. I’ve taken her to so many psychologists, but none of them have helped at all.” By the time she finished, there was already a tremor of tears in the woman’s voice. She was proud and domineering, but when it came to her children, she was simply an ordinary mother.

“What am I supposed to do? I heard that severe depression can be fatal.” The woman wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She was genuinely at a loss, or she wouldn’t have come to Chen Yuan in the first place.

“If you can do anything, please help me. I’ll be grateful to you for the rest of my life!” She had gone so far as to say something like this, practically trampling her former pride underfoot. At this moment, she was completely helpless.

Chen Yuan sighed silently, pulled a stack of tissues from the cabinet, and handed them to the woman so she could compose herself. Then he sat back down. “I’ll do my best.”

It sounded like the problem lay with Zhuowen Academy. He could ask Yu Shenliu about it when he came back today and find out whether there was anything strange about the academy, then go take a look himself.

Just then, Chen Yuan’s phone rang. He picked it up and glanced at the screen.

It was a text from Yu Shenliu.

[I just heard some rumors. Apparently, there’s something strange about Zhuowen Academy. Students often jump from buildings there, and there are frequent cases of depression. Interested?]

[I happen to have the madam from last time here. Her daughter goes to Zhuowen Academy and has developed depression, so she came to me for help.]

[That shrew?]

[…Be polite. Whatever else she may be, she’s worried about her daughter. But it looks like there really is something wrong with Zhuowen Academy. I’m probably going to take a look. By the way, how’s your shoulder?]

[Dislocated. They put it back in place already. It’s just a little weak. But the moment I got to the hospital, a bunch of people came rushing over after hearing about it. Right now, I’m holding a stack of letters from parents asking the city government to deal with the suicides and depression cases at Zhuowen Academy. The petition alone has two pages of signatures.]

[So?]

[I think I’ll have to leave this matter to you in the end. But this is a matter for the city government, so the city government will pay you.]

Seeing that message, Chen Yuan curled his lips into a smile. He looked up at the woman, who had stopped crying but was still sniffling, and gently told her, “Don’t worry. The city government has gotten involved in this matter as well. I’ll go take a look and find out what exactly is going on at Zhuowen Academy. But please prepare a fee of one thousand yuan first.”

Payment from the city government was one matter. This was another, and the two still needed to be kept separate.

The woman, having been put in a vulnerable position in front of someone with whom she had always been at odds, and having just broken down crying in front of him, felt extremely embarrassed. Without saying a word, she pulled out some money from her pocket and counted out fifteen hundred yuan for Chen Yuan.

Looking at the stack of bills, Chen Yuan shook his head. “That’s too much.”

“For the first time, when you read my daughter’s exam results,” the woman said quietly.

Chen Yuan shook his head. “I’m not being overly particular. Since I already had you make up the fee by doing three good deeds, I have no grounds to charge you extra. If you work in this business, you have to follow its rules.” As he spoke, he took one thousand yuan from the stack and handed the remaining money back to the woman.

The woman looked at Chen Yuan with some surprise. After making sure he wasn’t joking, she bit her lip, stood up, and bowed to him. “About before… I’m sorry. I’m entrusting my daughter to you.”

At least she knew how to let go when necessary. She wasn’t beyond saving. Chen Yuan gave a slight nod.

Once the woman left the shop, Chen Yuan picked up his phone again and sent a text.

[How about we go undercover at Zhuowen Academy together tomorrow?]

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