Driving out of Ciling Town, arriving at the provincial capital Hefei when it was dark and Shen Ke led Zhou Jiyou to stay in a five-star hotel on the side of the road.

The next day, he asked the driver to drive back to Nanxiang first, and took Zhou Jiyou from Hefei to Huangshan, where he stayed for five days, eating, sleeping, and playing every day, and no one mentioned going home.

It wasn't until the housekeeper Lao Cai called that he lazily responded and slowly booked a ticket for the next day.

When I returned to Shen's house, it was already a week later in the evening.

Lao Cai's wife, Aunt Lin, cooked the meal and put it on the table, and waited for Old Man Shen to come downstairs to eat.

Zhou Jiyou walked behind Shen Ke and passed the restaurant, and Jiang Ruhui, who was already seated at the table, said lightly without squinting: "I'm back." ”

Shen Ke paused, turned his head to look over, and pretended to be surprised: "Sister-in-law is here, I didn't pay attention to it just now." ”

Jiang Ruhui sat elegantly with her eyes sideways, her gaze swept over Shen Ke, and she threw it at a certain position where she was blocked by his figure and could barely see people: "Don't you say hello to me?" ”

Zhou Jiyou took a step forward and walked out, facing her, except for indifference, there was no extra expression: "Mom, I'm back." ”

Jiang Ruhui's eyes suddenly sank: "You haven't learned a lesson yet?" ”

Zhou Jiyou didn't seem to hear it, and ignored it.

Shen Ke glanced at the unruly look on her face, felt helpless, smiled, and said, "Sister-in-law, Xiaoyou and I will go up to take a shower and change clothes first, and then talk to her when you have anything to say." ”

Half-pushed Zhou Jiyou upstairs, and before he took two steps, footsteps sounded on the solid wood stairs, and both of them couldn't help stopping.

Shen Guoan turned around and continued to go downstairs without hurrying, his eyes swept at Zhou Jiyou coldly, and then he looked at Shen Ke with a solemn and stern expression. When he walked past Shen Ke, he dropped a sentence even more gloomily: "Come to my study after dinner." ”

Zhou Jiyou squinted at Shen Ke, he raised his eyebrows at her like nothing, pushed her forward with the hand on her shoulder, and hugged her upstairs.

Turning to the corner of the second floor, Zhou Jiyou asked in a low voice, "You went to pick me up without his consent, right?" ”

Shen Ke didn't answer directly: "Girls should be stupid." ”

Zhou Jiyou sneered in disagreement and said: "It's not likable to be so smart, and being stupid is not even more despised." ”

Shen Ke shook his head and sighed: "Little ghost, it's cute to be stupid." ”

Zhou Jiyou was still the arrogant one who sneered, and snorted coldly: "Why." ”

Shen Ke patted her on the shoulder, "The old man likes to be cute and docile." ”

Having said that, he knew very well in his heart that Zhou Jiyou would never be cute and docile. She is a small wild wolf with sharp fangs and a heart that wants to wander the grasslands.

***

Unlike in Dashan, Shen Mansion has many large and small rooms, and Shen Xin can stay in any of them at will. But it's a pity that, as she expected, her bedroom was passive, and Shen Xin didn't stay in the guest room, but lived in her room.

The inside and outside have been thoroughly cleaned, and if it weren't for the long black hair left under the pillow, there would be no trace of Shen Xin living here for a month.

In the dark twilight, Zhou Jiyou sat cross-legged at the end of the bed, feeling a little bored.

Could it be that her life in the mountain courtyard will also cease to exist?

So, what exactly is the point of her living there for a month?

Two unrelated parallel lines intersect at one point and return to their respective places, who is it and who bother?

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was only a symbolic knock twice, and the door was pushed open from the outside.

Jiang Ruhui stepped in and closed the door with her backhand.

Zhou Jiyou watched her approach step by step and didn't move.

She stood on the side of the bed with her arms crossed, looked at her condescendingly, picked up the topic she had talked about in the restaurant before, and asked in a cold voice, "Don't you know what's wrong?" ”

When Zhou Jiyou heard this, he immediately lowered his head indifferently and went to play with his nails.

Jiang Ruhui's face was slightly stunned, and her tone was restrained: "Can't you see that he is warning you something?" This time it's a rural area, and the next time it's a shelter. ”

Zhou Jiyou still looks like he doesn't care.

Jiang Ruhui hated that iron could not become steel, and sighed short and heavy, tougher than the other: "You can endure it, you are not afraid of heaven and earth." But can you think about it for me? Do you think you're the only one under the fence? Do you know how hard your mom is? ”

Zhou Jiyou raised his head, Jiang Ruhui's well-maintained face could not see the thoughts and care that a mother should have when facing her daughter who had not returned home for a long time, on the contrary, it was full of disgust.

She really didn't understand, since she hated her, why did she take her here from Beijing in the first place, and her conscience was uneasy?

She replied in an almost indifferent tone: "I'm sorry, I don't see how hard you're doing. ”

Jiang Ruhui waved her right hand and slapped it on the left side of her face.

With an extremely loud slap, Zhou Jiyou's head was tilted, and he kept his posture and didn't move.

"I really regret that I gave birth to you in the first place, you father and daughter are as selfish as you are, and you never think about me!"

Zhou Jiyou licked his cheeks with the tip of his tongue, his eyes drooped, and he didn't say anything.

Jiang Ruhui took two short deep breaths, and said one last sentence before leaving: "Don't be so twisted in temper, you can learn to obey him, and our mother and daughter will have a good life." ”

The room finally returned to quiet.

Zhou Jiyou lightly touched his cheek and moved slightly. It's not the first time I've been slapped, I'm used to it.

She leaned back on the bed, looking up at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

There is no bunch of rampaging rats here, just an imperious and unreasonable old man of the emperor, and a thief's mother who shouts to catch the thief.

She suddenly missed the night in the mountain village, where there was a natural cool breeze and a simple family.

If you can call it family.

***

Shen Fei was introduced by distant relatives to work as a temporary worker in a hotel near the county bus station.

The specifications of the hotel are not big, but not small, the catering department and the guest rooms are separated, and there is a special reception hall for hosting the wedding banquet. Shen Fei served food and washed dishes in the catering department during the day, and helped deliver food to a food stall on the street at night.

It is still summer vacation, although it has reached the end of August, but there are still parents of college entrance examination candidates in the hotel who come to make an appointment for the teacher appreciation banquet. They also hired a master of ceremonies to make the atmosphere of the banquet hall lively.

Shen Fei pushed the food delivery cart towards the staff aisle, his eyes involuntarily attached to the long bright and eye-catching banner above the stage.

――Congratulations to Maochang Zhu for being admitted to the University of Science and Technology of China

University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, not far away.

It used to be a dream of his.

But none of this has anything to do with him now.

[You said you were saving for your sister's tuition, but what about you? 】

A girl's voice flashed in my mind.

Shen Fei's footsteps froze, and his body stiffened.

He won't go back to school, he has to shoulder the burden of the family and earn money for his sister's education.

He pushed the cart to the door, and once again looked back at the stage surrounded by flowers and balloons, a pair of parents who smiled from ear to ear and a young man with glasses about the same height as him stood side by side, the master of ceremonies made witty remarks, and the audience applauded thunderously.

An unspeakable cry of sorrow rose in his heart.

Gritting his teeth, he strode away.

***

At the beginning of the school year in September, Zhou Jiyou was promoted at the beginning of the school and planned to stay on campus for accommodation.

Jiang Ruhui has no opinion, she doesn't live at home, she doesn't have to fight with Old Man Shen, she can save her a lot of heart.

This is Zhou Jiyou's own decision, and Shen Ke naturally will not object. On the contrary, it was the supreme ruler of this family, Shen Guoan, who exercised his veto power without hesitation. He disagreed, categorically disagreed.

Shen Guoan was a weird bad old man in Zhou Jiyou's eyes, and from the first day she arrived in this family, he often looked at her coldly with a gaze that was not vicious but gloomy enough.

He despised her and hated her, but he tried in vain to control her.

Zhou Jiyou is not a simple little girl, and he will not foolishly imagine that he likes to meddle in and control her because he actually values her very much in his heart. Because Shen Guoan has a dictatorial attitude towards everyone at home and outside the family, he does not allow anyone to disobey his will, let alone anything beyond his control.

Outside, he is the chairman of the group, and the employees obey him and look up to him; Inside, he is the emperor of the Shen Mansion, and everyone serves him and depends on him.

Aunt Lin came and knocked on the door and said that the old man had told her to go to the study.

He should have been looking for her a long time ago, and she had been waiting for him to "summon" when he came back from Ciling Town. He deliberately hung her, and only then did he think of her, probably because he saw her twisting with him again, and he couldn't hold back his temper.

Sure enough, she knocked on the door three times and entered, and he sat behind the large desk of rosewood and rosewood, his eyes shooting coldly.

Zhou Jiyou pulled out the chair opposite and was about to sit and listen to the training, and suddenly-

"Who's going to sit down?"

She didn't hear it, so she sat down calmly and leaned back casually.

Shen Guoan's face was as black as iron at once, and he said in a deep voice: "It seems that you haven't had enough time to reflect in the countryside. ”

Zhou Jiyou calmed down: "You can send me back again." ”

The atmosphere dropped to freezing point in an instant.

Zhou Jiyou is not afraid of him, everything she does in front of him is wrong, since this is the case, why bother to make compromises.

Although Shen Guoan is over sixty years old, he does not look old. He pays attention to maintenance, but also pays attention to health. Jiang Ruhui is a well-known nutritionist, who has written columns, published books, and often appeared on TV, and she personally formulates the recipes for every meal at home. In Zhou Jiyou's opinion, her mother is like the imperial food manager next to the emperor.

So what is she?

She rummaged through the cabinets in her mind, and finally thought of an identity that barely matched.

She is a rebel against the following offenses.