Stunned, Wang Zichen couldn’t help but look up at Jian Ai. “What?”
“To drink. Otherwise, is it for you to wash your face?” Jian Ai smiled and said, “I already saved you. There’s no need to be like before, right? You’re the same. It’s not like I don’t know what you’re like usually.”
Wang Zichen frowned when he heard that. “I usually treat you like that. Why did you help me?”
“Who asked me to be unlucky?” Jian Ai stuffed the Coke into Wang Zichen’s hand and sighed. “No matter how we don’t get along, you’re my cousin and my aunt’s son. I can ignore other things, but I have to give face to my aunt. I can’t just watch her son get beaten up.”
At the mention of Jiang Chunfen, Wang Zichen felt deflated. His hands holding the Coke were a little uneasy, and he looked nervous.
After a while, he said weakly, “Jian Ai…”
Jian Ai raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to continue.
Wang Zichen slowly looked up at Jian Ai and quickly lowered his head. He muttered, “Ah… Can you not tell my mother about this?”
Jian Ai curled her lips. At least he had a conscience and knew not to let her worry.
Letting out a breath, Jian Ai nodded. “Sure, but you have to make things clear to me. I have to say this first. I don’t want to interfere in your business, but because I helped you, I have to know the cause and effect. Why did these people hit you?”
Jian Ai was indeed curious.
Wang Zichen’s family background might not be outstanding in a noble school like Erzhong, but in Yizhong, he should be considered a child of a rich family.
Children like him who did not lack pocket money should usually have many good friends.
Wang Zichen’s leg hurt badly. He immediately walked to Jian Ai’s side and sat against the wall on the lawn.
Seeing his attitude, Jian Ai knew he was going to tell the truth.
Jian Ai didn’t rush him. She leaned against the wall beside Wang Zichen and waited for him to speak.
Wang Zichen seemed to think about what to say. After a long time, he slowly said, “They’re on the same level as me. They’re considered bad students in school. They often ask for money from other students.”
“In the past, when they asked me for money, I gave it to them because I knew that students who didn’t give money would get beaten up in the end.”
“However, in the past, they always asked for thirty to fifty yuan. Later on, they asked for more, and the intervals became shorter. When school started this semester, they asked for two hundred yuan.”
“I didn’t want to give them anymore, so they called me here to beat me up.”
Jian Ai could tell from Wang Zichen’s tone that he was not lying. The story was very ordinary. It happened in almost every school.
Wang Zichen was pampered at home, so he naturally had a lot of pocket money. It was not surprising that others would notice him.
However, thirty yuan and fifty yuan were not small sums in this era. When these people saw that Wang Zichen was easy to talk to, they asked for two hundred yuan. It had to be known that some high school students did not have two hundred yuan a month.
“You did the right thing,” Jian Ai suddenly said.
Wang Zichen looked up at Jian Ai in shock, as if he didn’t expect her to say this to him.
Jian Ai looked at him expressionlessly and repeated, “You did the right thing.”
In the next second, Wang Zichen suddenly smiled. “It feels strange coming from you.”
“Just because I said that doesn’t mean that my impression of you has changed. I’m just stating the facts. Just this alone, you did the right thing,” Jian Ai said. She looked at her watch. It had been over twenty minutes since she ran out to buy water.
