Chapter 47 Belongings

Chapter 47: Belongings

Did someone in his family send him living expenses by mistake, transferring the money to the wrong account?

The bank accounts were all opened by the school, and mistakes where money goes to the wrong account aren't that rare.

"What's wrong?" Nie Hang turned back and asked in a voice only Zhu Shinian could hear. "You want me to swipe my card?"

Nie Hang was much more attentive than Chen Yueming. He probably thought Zhu Shinian didn’t have enough money on his card and kindly turned back to ask him.

Although Nie Hang also came from a poor family, both his parents were still alive, so his situation wasn’t as tough as Zhu Shinian’s.

"I've already bought my meal," Zhu Shinian replied. "There's an extra thousand silver coins on my card. Maybe someone transferred it by mistake."

Nie Hang paused for a moment, as if thinking.

"I ran into Xiao Zhao from the mechanics class during my morning elective. He said his card also had an extra thousand silver coins. It should be a subsidy. Let's eat first and check our email when we get back."

Subsidy?

Zhu Shinian was stunned. He'd been at this school almost two years, but he'd never heard of any subsidy being handed out.

Nie Hang and Chen Yueming pulled him back to eat. After finishing the meal in a daze, Zhu Shinian received an email.

No one had sent money to the wrong account. That money was a private subsidy from Jiang Huaiyan for underprivileged students.

A thousand coins every month.

Enough for a student from a poor family to afford three balanced meals a day, covering all costs for materials and electricity.

The email said they hoped this money would help you live a bit more comfortably. If possible, they hoped the students wouldn't have to exhaust themselves with part-time jobs or meaningless tasks but instead focus on reading, understanding society, and doing more meaningful things—that was the purpose of university.

At that time, Jiang Huaiyan was just a newcomer in politics. Many criticized him for buying off students with small amounts of money, calling it disgraceful.

But for Zhu Shinian, that money was a godsend. Whether it was a bribe or an attempt to build a reputation, he couldn't help being grateful to Jiang Huaiyan, who had genuinely helped him.

He watched every single speech Jiang Huaiyan gave, got so familiar he could almost recite them.

.......

"Does seeing me upset you and mess with your rest?" Jiang Huaiyan asked.

Zhu Shinian looked at him, finding it hard to say no.

The admiration from his youth was real, and Jiang Huaiyan being blameless was also true.

But he couldn't help hating Jiang Huaiyan. He couldn't just smile and let bygones be bygones, rationally saying it wasn't his fault.

Of course it was his fault.

If it weren't for Jiang Huaiyan, his brother would still be alive back home, working hard, earning money, and eating Grandma's cooking every day.

But now, he didn't even have a grave to mourn him.

The grave he often visited belonged to a stranger he'd never met, while Zhu Cheng's body was left in the flames—charred, rotting, unrecognizable, and unburied.

Before all this, the best outcome Zhu Shinian could imagine for himself and Jiang Huaiyan was never seeing each other again.

No matter how fierce the battle between the two armies, the artillery wouldn't ever hit the Council building in the capital. Jiang Huaiyan was too smart. He moved effortlessly between commoners and nobles, and no matter what, he'd never end up in a really bad spot.

Why did he have to come here?

"Not talking—so seeing me really does put you in a bad mood," Jiang Huaiyan answered for him.

But he wasn't considerate enough to leave the room right away. He peeled an orange and handed it to Zhu Shinian.

Zhu Shinian didn't take it. Jiang Huaiyan held it out for a moment, then gave up.

"…I brought it back from the capital. It'll go bad if we don't eat it soon. It's very sweet—you can't find oranges this sweet here."

Zhu Shinian thought Jiang Huaiyan was acting weird today. Or rather, ever since he had killed Ning Ye at the Gu family estate that day, Jiang Huaiyan had been inexplicably odd.

He didn't hate Zhu Shinian for killing his father, nor did he seem sad or regretful about Ning Ye's death.

Ning Ye had been willing to do so much for him. There should have been some affection between father and son.

He said the resistance army could better realize his political ideals… but he was already the Council President of the Empire. If he had always believed the resistance army could better achieve his goals, why did he scheme for years to become Council President?

Zhu Shinian couldn't wrap his head around it. He realized he had never truly understood Jiang Huaiyan.

"Give that fruit to someone else," Zhu Shinian said, glancing down at the peeled orange, its pith carefully removed. "I know it's a good orange. Anyone you give it to will appreciate it."

"The resistance zone really needs someone like you to manage it. They—we—welcome you to join the resistance."

"The front line will keep pushing south," Zhu Shinian continued, not looking at him, trying to keep his voice calm. "Once my injury heals, I'll follow the main forces south. From now on, we probably won't have much work overlap."

"After all, I killed your father, and your father killed my brother. This way… it's better for both of us…"

"He's not my father." Jiang Huaiyan suddenly looked up.

Zhu Shinian stared at him blankly.

He didn't understand what Jiang Huaiyan meant. Was he saying he didn't acknowledge what Ning Ye did, that he didn't think Ning Ye deserved to be his father?

But now, whether Jiang Huaiyan recognized Ning Ye's actions or not, what did it matter to Zhu Shinian?

As if realizing that himself, Jiang Huaiyan knew he'd said too much. He stood up silently, turned his face away, and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"These are painkillers. Take one a day, after meals. Stop when the pain is gone. This is an omega suppressant—you can't find it in the 26th district, and it won't harm your body."

"There are also some fruit, cookies, and supplements. If you don't want them, you can give them to your family. These egg-flavored cookies aren't too hard, so even an elderly person can chew them. They were quite popular in the capital a while ago."

Zhu Shinian was always more responsive to kindness than pressure. He pursed his lips, a little at a loss.

"…What you said makes sense. I'll stay in the 29th district. If you don't want to see me, I'll skip any events you're at as much as I can. But I hope you'll accept these things."

"If I disgust you, then just give them to your grandmother. Just think of it as me wanting his family to live a little better."

Jiang Huaiyan seemed to have no reason to stay any longer. He stood up and walked to the door, then stopped before opening it.

"In a few days, when Tao Juan comes to see you while you're sick, I might come along too. It's unavoidable. I still have some things I sorted out…" Jiang Huaiyan's voice grew softer, as if unsure how to refer to that person. "…his belongings. I'll bring them to you then."

Zhu Shinian's head shot up.

"The place that caught fire was my family's vacation villa. We don't live there normally. There were still some things of his. After he left, I kept them. Returning them to you now is just giving them back to their rightful owner."

"There's nothing… very valuable," Jiang Huaiyan added quickly, seeing the look in Zhu Shinian's eyes, afraid he'd be disappointed. "Some clothes, a diary—my father checked it daily, so he must have known what was in it. It probably doesn't have anything too heartfelt. If you don't find what you're hoping for, please don't be upset."

What else could Zhu Shinian possibly want to see?

Now, anything that reminded him of his brother was precious. And what Jiang Huaiyan could give him would never bring Zhu Cheng back. How could he even be sad or disappointed over that?

Being able to have a little more of something of his and know how he had been doing over the years was already the greatest comfort for Zhu Shinian at a time when nothing could ever be undone.

Zhu Shinian wanted to say thank you to him, but Jiang Huaiyan was already standing by the door. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and closed the door behind him.

The peeled orange rested on the whole orange peel, which had been torn into several segments, looking like a small white flower blooming in the sunlight.

Zhu Shinian wasn't going to take his frustration out on the neatly peeled orange. He reached for it and ate a small segment.

It was very juicy and sweet.

The Resistance Zone didn't lack fruits, but it rarely had fruits that were this sweet and juicy.

Fruits shipped from the south were never that fresh. Quality fruits were expensive, and so were seeds. Most people couldn't afford them, so fruit farmers wouldn't go out of their way to grow them.

But Grandma would probably like them. Zhu Shinian remembered when he was about six, his mother went to work in the Twelfth Zone and brought back over a dozen local tangerines from the Twelfth Zone in her backpack. Both his older brother and grandma loved them.

It seemed like his older brother and grandma rarely had things they liked. Usually they would buy Zhu Shinian lots of snacks, but whenever he wanted to share, they always said they didn't like them.

Zhu Shinian got three bright yellow tangerines. He only ate one small segment, then said the tangerines were too sour and he didn't like them.

Grandma thought the tangerine he got was sour and wanted to swap with him, so she came over and ate a small segment, but it turned out not sour at all.

She asked Zhu Shinian to try again. He pouted and said, they weren't good, they were sour, and that he still preferred orange-flavored soda.

"Sour, I'm not eating them," Zhu Shinian repeated. "I don't like them."

"Mom," his mother said with a smile, as if she guessed what Zhu Shinian was thinking, and glanced at Grandma. "He doesn't like them. You and A-Cheng can split them."

"He's young—he has plenty of years ahead to enjoy good food. Since I'm usually not around, I know you two must be giving him all the good stuff."

Zhu Shinian had a feeling his mother was calling him a little brat, but he magnanimously pretended not to hear and lowered his head to play with the orange peel.

He tore the peel into several segments, forming a small flower with five petals—white on one side and orange-yellow on the other.

Author's note: