Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Husband?" Zhou Tianshu gaped in disbelief at Tian Ruan, who was now pulled into the man's embrace.

Tian Ruan: "..."

Yu Jingmo threw out this line coldly and domineeringly, not bothering to explain further. He bundled Tian Ruan into the car and slammed the door shut. Then, he strode around to the other side, barked at the driver, "Let's go."

The Bentley slowly started and drove out of the gates of Deyin Academy.

In the rearview mirror, Zhou Tianshu still wore that same frowning, doubtful look.

Tian Ruan couldn’t meet his eyes, though inside, both anger and anxiety churned with something unnameable in his chest, making him afraid to meet Yu Jingmo’s gaze.

"Your classmate?" Yu Jingmo asked indifferently.

"We met in geography class," Tian Ruan answered honestly.

"What a dumbass."

In dialect, "dumbass" meant someone thick-headed.

Tian Ruan nodded in agreement.

That was the end of it—Yu Jingmo didn’t bring it up again, and Tian Ruan saw no need to say more.

Upon returning to the estate, the butler stood ready. He opened the car door for Tian Ruan while Yu Jingmo stepped out from the other side. The butler stepped aside and said, "Sir, Elder Yu and Yu Er are here."

Tian Ruan guessed it was about that "Maodan" cousin.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered, they heard Yu Er’s crackling old voice shouting, "You ungrateful brat! That’s your eldest cousin! You hounded his father to death and then threw him in prison—is that any way to treat your own brother?"

Yu Jingmo seemed accustomed to these verbal attacks, showing no expression, his tone calm and unruffled. "Su City has laws, you know. He brought this upon himself."

Yu Er: "He’s your only cousin! Your uncle’s only son!"

Yu Jingmo: "The family line won’t die out."

Yu Er’s old face purpled with frustration. "Dad, listen to what he’s saying!"

Elder Yu sighed. "Jingmo, he’s still family."

Tian Ruan: "..." So the name "Maodan" really had a double meaning.

Yu Jingmo remained expressionless. "I’ve heard this eight hundred times already."

Yu Er: "Even if it’s eight hundred times, you’ll listen! Get your cousin out now—don’t make your grandfather sad."

Yu Jingmo looked at Elder Yu. "Grandfather, would you be sad if Yu Maodan hadn’t tried to kill me?"

Elder Yu’s face darkened as he leaned on his cane. "How could I ever think that way? He needs to learn his lesson—a sentence of two or three years is enough."

Tian Ruan couldn’t help but interject, "And after two or three years, he’ll come out and hire another assassin?"

Elder Yu glared at Tian Ruan. "Adults are talking. Children should stay quiet."

"I’m Yu Jingmo’s lawful spouse. If his safety is threatened, of course I’ll speak up for him."

Before Yu Er could start berating him, Tian Ruan preemptively added, "Besides, if anything happens to Yu Jingmo, none of the Yu family will be spared. Think about those vultures circling outside—even business partners might want a bite out of your carcass. The moment Yu Jingmo falls, you’ll be next on the hit list."

The statement was delivered so forcefully that Yu Er was rendered speechless for once.

Elder Yu pondered for a long while before finally sighing, "What you said isn't without merit."

Yu Jingmo glanced at Tian Ruan, the corner of his lips curling slightly. "As long as I'm here, the Yu family won't collapse."

Family or not, who could ignore what's at stake when faced with such immense gains and losses? Yu Maodan was destined to eat prison food.

Sometimes those involved couldn't see clearly, but Tian Ruan had spotted the key point.

After seeing off Elder Yu and Yu Er, Yu Jingmo said to Tian Ruan, "Your quick thinking is impressive."

Tian Ruan: "Of course. Who doesn’t love money, especially in the Yu family?"

Yu Jingmo chuckled. "You little gold-digger."

"...But I don’t have any money."

Yu Jingmo said after a pause, "Didn’t you see the bank card in the nightstand? The password is your birthday. A 10,000 yuan allowance is deposited every month."

Tian Ruan was shocked. "Really?"

"Too little?"

"No, no, not at all." Tian Ruan beamed. "I could never earn that much on my own."

Yu Jingmo smirked. "Ask me for more if it’s not enough."

Tian Ruan’s eyes sparkled as he nodded eagerly, then hurried upstairs to find the bank card—with that much spending money, he'd struck gold!

...

Dinner was made from the leftover birthday ingredients, but under Liu Ma’s "magic touch," it turned out exceptionally delicious.

After dinner, the butler said regretfully, "It’s my fault for not providing fresh ingredients for Sir and Madam."

Yu Jingmo: "I'm docking your bonus this month."

"Please don't..." The butler instantly deflated, coughing awkwardly. "How was school today, Madam?"

Tian Ruan popped a strawberry dipped in cream into his mouth. "Pretty good."

"Did you join any clubs?"

"No."

"With your stunning looks, joining the modeling club could really go places."

"Not interested."

"What about the art club? Deyin’s art club has award-winning young painters..."

"My drawings are awful."

"How about musical instruments? Is there any instrument Madam is interested in?" The butler was losing his cheerful demeanor.

Tian Ruan thought for a moment. "I like singing."

The butler brightened. "The Opera Club it is! What songs can Madam sing? Give us a sample."

Tian Ruan cleared his throat and opened his mouth, "Aaaah~ Aaaaaaah~"

The steward waited, "That's all?"

"And the birthday song."

"..."

Tian Ruan asked innocently, "Can I join the Opera Club?"

The steward replied, "Of course, of course! Your voice is strong and clear, with great raw talent. With a little training, you’ll surely wow the whole school."

Wowing the whole school was beyond Tian Ruan’s imagination, but it would at least kill time—otherwise, weekends were too boring. He turned to Yu Jingmo and asked, "Can I join the Opera Club?"

Yu Jingmo hesitated slightly, "If you like it, go ahead."

So the next day during lunch break, Tian Ruan went to the student council to ask Yu Shang about it, and Xie Tangyan led him to check in with the opera troupe.

They coincidentally ran into Yu Ti, who had slipped over.

The two girls, only two years apart in age, started chatting right away.

Yu Ti, ever the social butterfly, asked, "Is there any way I can come here often?"

Xie Tangyan replied, "Sure, just join a high school club. I remember the Go Club and the Guqin Club both have middle school divisions."

Yu Ti decided on the spot, "Then I’ll join the opera troupe too."

Xie Tangyan laughed, "As long as you like it."

Tian Ruan watched the girls chat, couldn’t get a word in, so he stayed silent. Then he spotted a familiar face and couldn’t help calling out, "Lu Qiuyan!"

Lu Qiuyan was carrying sports equipment and walked over, holding dumbbells weighing twenty kilos apiece, "What's up?"

Yu Ti curiously eyed the cool guy.

Tian Ruan said, "I’m joining the opera troupe."

"Oh, okay," Lu Qiuyan responded, "I’m moving these."

"Need help?"

"You?" Lu Qiuyan glanced at Tian Ruan’s slender arms and legs.

"..." Tian Ruan said, "Not me. I’ll call Yu Shang and have him help you."

Xie Tangyan giggled, "Why ask the president to do it?"

"Why not? He’s crazy strong anyway."

Lu Qiuyan said, "Nah, it's just up ahead."

Tian Ruan pulled out his phone and called Yu Shang, "Yu Shang, Lu Qiuyan is struggling with the equipment. Come help—we’re at the Music Talent Building."

Then he hung up without waiting.

Lu Qiuyan was stunned, "I can carry it!"

Tian Ruan tutted, "What if you hurt yourself or drop them? Yu Shang would feel bad."

"...What nonsense are you talking about?" Lu Qiuyan didn't know how to respond, his face flushed with anger.

Xie Tangyan eyed him suspiciously upon hearing this. "So you and the president have that kind of relationship?"

"No!!"

Seeing the situation turn awkward, Tian Ruan bolted without a second thought.

Yu Ti: "??? Wait for me!"

Xie Tangyan: "Chill out, classmate. If you have any issues, take it up with the president." And with that, she slipped away too.

Leaving Lu Qiuyan alone, steaming like a storm cloud.

The Opera Club was located on the fourth floor of the Music Talent Building. To train students' physical endurance, there were only stairs to climb. By the time he reached the top, Tian Ruan was gasping for breath, while the two girls behind him acted like it was nothing.

Before even reaching the clubroom, they could faintly hear a piercing female voice singing—in Russian, upon closer listening.

Knocking would be pointless with the loud singing, so Xie Tangyan simply pushed the door open. Yu Ti and Tian Ruan listened quietly for a while, their eardrums throbbing, heads ringing from the intensity.

When the solo finally ended, a blond foreign boy approached, speaking fluent Chinese: "Hey, Supervisor Xie, what brings you here? And who are these new faces?"

Xie Tangyan: "They're here to join the Opera Club. This is Yu Ti from ninth grade, and Tian Ruan from eleventh grade. This is Yevgeny, the head of the opera troupe."

Yevgeny lit up with excitement: "That's fantastic! I was just running low on members. Let’s hear you sing something."

Yu Ti went first: "Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you..."

Tian Ruan joined in: "May you always be happy, may your joy never fade~"

Yevgeny clapped: "Bravo, my dears!"

"..."

Xie Tangyan waved her hand. "Well, I'll leave them to you. Keep rehearsing the opera—I'll come watch next month's performance."

As soon as the clubroom door closed, the members mobbed them: "Newbies! You smell nice~"

Tian Ruan: "..."

Yu Ti hid behind Tian Ruan in alarm. "I regret this."

Yevgeny quickly reassured her: "No need to panic, dear. They're just too excited to see new faces. You know, the opera troupe has always been pretty dead—most people prefer piano or violin clubs."

With that, Yevgeny clutched his chest theatrically, swaying his hips as he belted out: "Oh! How tragic!"

The members followed suit, moaning dramatically: "Ohhh~"

Tian Ruan was certain—this was just a bunch of bored weirdos.

During afternoon tea, Tian Ruan chose to stay in the classroom and read instead of joining the so-called social gathering in the tea lounge. Wang Weiqi, for some reason, also stayed behind and started chatting about nothing in particular with him.

"Honestly, I don’t want to go to the tea lounge either. My family’s new money, you know?" Wang Weiqi said bluntly.

Tian Ruan: "Hey, new money still means you got lucky."

"At least you get it. Those trust-fund kids sneer at me. I don’t want to hang out with them either."

A figure lingered hesitantly at the classroom door, peering in hesitantly. It was Wang Weiqi who noticed first and called out: "Who’s that?"

The person stepped inside and looked at Tian Ruan, saying, "I'm looking for him."

"?"

The person was Zhou Tianshu. Tian Ruan asked curiously, "What do you need from me?"

"We need to talk," Zhou Tianshu replied.

Tian Ruan felt it was time to clarify things, so he put down his book and stood up, walking with Zhou Tianshu to the planter box outside the classroom. The daisies in the planter box were in full bloom, their brightness matching the boys' youthful energy.

"I know you misunderstood, but what you saw yesterday was indeed my legal husband," Tian Ruan said.

Zhou Tianshu couldn’t believe it. "You're just a high schooler. Even if you got married, you'd have to be at least twenty."

"I am twenty."

"Impossible."

Tian Ruan sighed and pulled up his ID on his Alipay app. "I really am twenty."

Zhou Tianshu studied it and went pale. "You must've faked your birth year..."

"Doesn't matter - legally I'm twenty," Tian Ruan interrupted. "Zhou, I really am married."

"…………"

Zhou Tianshu went from shocked to defeated, scratching his head. "I was going to convince you to change your mind..."

Tian Ruan found this odd. "You really don’t know Yu Jingmo?"

"Yu Jingmo? That’s Yu Jingmo?"

"Yes."

Though Zhou Tianshu had never met him, he had certainly heard the name. He stared at Tian Ruan in disbelief. "So you’re that gold-digger who slept his way to the top?"

Tian Ruan: "..."

Zhou Tianshu realized his mistake. "I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that the rumors don’t match up. You look so wholesome—how could you be a gold-digger?"

The more they spoke, the more uncomfortable things got.

Tian Ruan said, "Let's keep it to classmates, nothing more."

"...Fine."

That settled it.

Tian Ruan felt some regret, but there was no changing it. Their short friendship was over.

On his way home from school, Tian Ruan passed by an ordinary middle school. Inside, teenagers were laughing and roughhousing like carefree kids.

But sometimes, there was that teenage melancholy.

As Tian Ruan was lost in these thoughts, Yu Jingmo asked, "Which classmate of yours died? You've got that look."

"...None."

"Then who's dying?"

"No."

"Broken heart?"

"No!" Tian Ruan glared at Mr. Yu in embarrassment—what a cold-hearted jerk. But Mr. Yu's interruption completely distracted Tian Ruan from his melancholy.

Teenage angst comes and goes quickly.

Mr. Yu shot a frosty glare at the pouting, handsome youth and lightly flicked his forehead. "You're being rebellious."

Tian Ruan instantly lost his steam, turning his face away in silence.

"I'll take you out to eat something good."

"What kind of good food?" Tian Ruan was immediately diverted.

Mr. Yu curved his lips. "Braised shark fin, lion’s head meatballs with crab roe, and bird’s nest and partridge congee."

Shark fin! Bird’s nest! Tian Ruan had rarely eaten such delicacies—this was truly getting a taste of the high life.

As they entered, it was an exclusive dining club tucked between skyscrapers, only serving three tables a day. The owner recognized Mr. Yu and would always make an exception to personally prepare a table whenever he visited.

The courtyard house decorated with the owner’s own landscape paintings and calligraphy was surprisingly impressive.

There were few customers, but the owner seemed unconcerned, leisurely fanning himself with a woven fan as he greeted them. "Long time no see, Mr. Yu."

Mr. Yu asked, "Are you hot?"

The owner replied, "Yeah, just came out of the kitchen. Your table’s ready—your usual private room."

Mr. Yu nodded without introducing Tian Ruan, leading him through the covered walkway toward the west wing.

The owner looked Tian Ruan up and down for a moment before guessing, "This must be your distinguished son?"

"..."

"Distinguished" was an honorific for Mr. Yu, and "son" was... well, son.

Tian Ruan glanced down at his school uniform and fell silent. Did he really look like Mr. Yu’s son?

Mr. Yu shot the owner a frosty glare. "If you kept up with the news, you wouldn’t be such a clueless old man."

The owner: "???"

Mr. Yu: "He's my husband."

The owner: "..."

Tian Ruan smiled politely. "I’m still a student."

The owner’s expression slowly cracked. Mr. Yu married a high school student??

The restaurant was elegant, the dishes exquisite, and Tian Ruan thoroughly enjoyed the meal. "It's as good as Liu Ma’s cooking."

Mr. Yu: "A change of taste now and then is good. This place is an excellent alternative."

"But with only three tables a day, reservations must take forever."

"You can drop my name."

"Really? How much does this table cost?"

"Over ten grand."

"...I'm not that picky, actually. Liu Ma’s cooking is better."

Yu Jingmo couldn’t help but chuckle. "Your allowance is more than enough."

"Yeah." Tian Ruan agreed absentmindedly, but in his heart, he had already crossed this place off his list. He planned to save his allowance until their divorce three years later. He needed money for his own education and to support Sha Meijuan in her old age.

Besides, he really didn’t spend much at school. All his expenses were arranged by Yu Jingmo, including the lunchboxes Liu Ma made extra—just a quick heat in the school cafeteria’s microwave, and they were delicious. He could even get his meal money back.

Saving at this rate, twenty thousand a month would add up to 240,000 a year, and 720,000 in three years. With another 200,000 from Yu Jingmo after the divorce, he’d have nearly a million. Then he could spend 500,000 on a house and another 500,000 on further education...

The more Tian Ruan thought about it, the more delighted he became, and he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

"What’s so funny?" Yu Jingmo asked.

"In three years, when we get divorced..." Tian Ruan blurted out.

Yu Jingmo’s chopsticks paused. "You're that excited about divorcing?"

Suddenly, a vague, hopeful feeling sprouted in Tian Ruan’s heart, like a seed breaking through the soil. He asked, "Doesn't it make you happy?"