HC Chapter 5

HC Chapter 5: I Fear You (IV)

She glanced at her densely packed notes and circled a few important questions.

“Dong Ci,” her desk mate Zhang Yiyi called, wanting to say something. As soon as Dong Ci turned her head, she saw an advertisement for a new clothing store’s opening that the other girl was holding, and her eyes widened with surprise.

“Tomorrow is the weekend. All you keep thinking about is studying – why don’t you take a day off and go to relax with me?”

Dong Ci thoughtfully nibbled on the end of her pen, then shook her head and softly explained: “I want to get into the ‘A’ class.”

Although Dong Ci’s grades weren’t the best in class, they were still in the top three. Zhang Yiyi couldn’t understand what the other girl was worried about. She grumbled with slight dissatisfaction:

“Your grades are so good – you will definitely be assigned to class ‘A’ in the next semester. Why be so uptight about it?”

“I’m sorry, I really don’t have time tomorrow,” Dong Ci refused more firmly. She had no time to go shopping. As soon as she thought about the many exercises that still weren’t completed, Dong Ci felt a headache coming up.

The ‘A’ class was an elite class where all of the best students gathered. Their teacher once explained that only the top 30 students in the whole grade would be admitted there. However, Dong Ci’s grades always hovered somewhere between 28 and 32 places, so her current position was dangerous. Before, she was unable to get into this class, but she was determined to succeed in the next semester.

Because it was Friday, there were many students in the dessert shop. When Dong Ci arrived for her shift, she quickly changed into her work clothes and took over the cash register at the counter – starting the busy day at work.

In fact, she didn’t have to come today, but she had some questions to ask Shi Ze about her homework, so the two of them agreed to meet in the shop.

“Your order is ready, please be careful on your way.”

After servicing the last customer, Dong Ci tiredly leaned against the table and relaxed her body. When Shi Ze finally came, he found a spare chair and the two of them settled behind the counter.

“I have studied almost half of the notes you gave me previously, but I am not very clear on a few points. The teacher didn’t elaborate, so I wanted to ask you,” Dong Ci explained while taking out the booklet from the schoolbag and a clean page of white paper from the table.

She was clearly prepared to listen to Shi Ze’s lecture.

This was the habit that they developed over the past two years, so it came very naturally to them.

Opening the spectacle case, Shi Ze took out his glasses and placed them on the bridge of his nose. Then he looked over the questions that were circled with a bright pencil, and naturally extended his hand:

“Give me your textbook.”

“Oh, alright,” Dong Ci obediently put the textbook into his hand and handed over a red pen.

She became motivated to study only halfway through the school, so some of the basic knowledge wasn’t solid. Shi Ze, on the other hand, put in effort from primary to high school. He was also naturally intelligent and was quick to understand new concepts – never stumbling into a block on his road of learning.

He was also handsome enough. Although he had to wear a pair of rimless glasses when he was reading, they didn’t diminish the handsomeness of his face. In fact, the effect was the opposite – he looked more gentle and mature with them on.

It’s just that his character was too quiet, and he didn’t like to laugh much. As a result, many girls liked him, but few dared to talk to him.

Perhaps, because they had known each other since childhood, Shi Ze was closer to her than any other person their age.

Ding ling ling-

The wind chimes made a clear and pleasant sound, but the two teenagers were so immersed in their discussion, that they didn’t hear it. This made the person who just came in slightly pause in his stride.

“Is that how you greet the customers?” a cold voice reached the ears of the two.

Dong Ci was startled. She subconsciously apologized and quickly stood up from the chair, preparing to take an order.

“Excuse me…”

She raised her head and saw Jing Rong’s smiling face. The deliberately suppressed memories instantly poured out like a tide in her mind, making her expression turn ugly.

“One cup of milk tea with bitter melon flavor,” Jing Rong ordered, his gaze slowly sweeping through the pair behind the counter. Finally, his eyes stopped on Dong Ci, piercing her like a sharp blade shining brightly in the darkness of the night, and making her feel very uncomfortable.

“Sorry, we don’t have bitter melon flavor.”

“Then change it to chili flavor.”

“I’m sorry, there’s no such thing,” Dong Ci answered shortly, her nails unnoticeably digging into her palm. She tried to calm her emotions, fearing that Shi Ze would notice that something was wrong.

“So… is there a durian flavor then?”

“No,” Dong Ci replied, completely forgoing any politeness.

Her temper has always been gentle, but today Shi Ze felt the instability of her mind and the way she seemed to be repulsed by the boy in front of her. He decided to intervene:

“All of the store’s flavors of milk tea can be found on the menu, you can…”

“You have nothing at all – what kind of shop is this?” Jing Rong interrupted, his eyebrow rising slightly.

He lazily leaned against the cash register, and when no one paid attention, he suddenly grabbed Dong Ci’s shirt and pulled her closer. Slowly leaning towards the girl’s ear he whispered something. His voice was very small, and only two of them could hear it.

Dong Ci stiffened as the collar of her shirt tightened, and her chest became slightly stuffy.

“What are you doing?!”

Shi Ze quickly stepped forward and threw Jing Rong’s arm away, while his other hand hurriedly pulled her back. His usually calm face carried an unfamiliar expression of barely contained rage. Shi Ze briefly glared at Jing Rong, before turning to the girl in his arms.

“Xiao Ci, are you alright?”

Jing Rong coldly smiled as his eyes took in the sight of Shi Ze holding Dong Ci. He idly swirled his car key around his finger a few times, watching them until he could no longer bear it – and turned away.

Ding ling ling-

He was gone, but what he said still echoed in Dong Ci’s ears.

‘Watch, how I will clean you up later.’

Her face was pale, and she couldn’t seem to brighten her mood until it was time to close the shop.

“Are you okay?” Shi Ze asked after locking the shop. When he turned around, he noticed that she was warily looking around.

“Yes, I’m alright. Maybe just a little tired,” Dong Ci weakly smiled and made up a casual excuse.

She was slightly afraid that Jing Rong would be waiting for her somewhere around, but it seemed that she thought too much. Dong Ci pulled up her schoolbag and turned to Shi Ze:

“Hurry up to the bus stop. Otherwise, you might miss the last bus.”

The place where she used to live before was very close to Shi Ze’s family – just across the street. But when her family moved away, the direction of returning home changed. So it was inconvenient to go together.

At this time, the sun has gone down, and the sky seemed to be somewhere in between dusk and night. Many lamps were shining dimly around them, but Dong Ci still felt uneasy.

“Wait, Shi Ze!” Watching his cold back getting further away, Dong Ci suddenly felt an impulse to shout.

“What happened?” Shi Ze turned around, feeling a little surprised. Watching as Dong Ci kept hesitantly gripping her clothes, he frowned and asked a little uncertainly, “You… are afraid to go home alone?”

In his impression, Dong Ci wasn’t a timid girl. She had always been very independent and calm, always walking by herself at night and not scared of anything. There were several times when he offered to send her home, but she always refused with a smile.

What’s going on today?

Shi Ze suddenly remembered the boy who came to the store not too long ago. He was about to ask, but a bus suddenly appeared not far away, coming in his direction.

“Ah, the bus is coming. Go, or you won’t be able to catch it,” Dong Ci quickly said.

She noticed that Shi Ze was still standing on the same spot, frowning while looking at her. Inhaling a fresh breath of air, she quickly went over and pushed him to the bus stop.

“Brother Shi Ze, please go home. I just remembered a question that I forgot to clarify today. I will ask you again next time, so hurry up and go.”

Shi Ze always went home by bus, but she didn’t need it. This was also the last bus – how could she be so selfish and ask him to take her home?

Since the death of her father, Shi Ze’s family has helped Dong Ci and her mother so much. Besides, Shi Ze’s college entrance examination was coming up soon, and she didn’t want to trouble him at this critical time.

The sky was completely dark, and the dim street lights gradually turned brighter. Dong Ci sighed as she watched the bus leave.

You should learn to deal with your own problems.

The location of the dessert shop wasn’t far from her home – it could be reached in a few minutes. Dong Ci walked slowly, cautiously looking around every corner. But as she couldn’t see anything unusual, she gradually relaxed her vigilance and sped up slightly.

She pursed her lips in thought – Jing Rong must have deliberately come to scare her.

Crunch crunch-

Dong Ci reached the street where her apartment was located and accelerated her pace. But at that moment, she heard a faint sound of footsteps approaching, which made her heart sink. She was just about to raise her feet and run, but her arm was unexpectedly caught.

“Who are you, let me go!”

Two burly men in black suits instantly caught her, and her weak strength wasn’t of any use as she struggled, only to be dragged away by them, anyway.

The door of her home was so close, but it got further and further away now…

Dong Ci was dragged by the two men into a remote street corner, where a black car was waiting.

“Wu…” her mouth was covered by someone so that she could barely make any sound at all. She whined, her expression both, startled and angry.

Jing Rong indifferently smiled as he watched her. His eyes, illuminated by the street lights, were beautiful and dangerous.

“Bring her into the car.”

The black car soon disappeared from the street, as though it had never been there in the first place.

Dong Ci was kidnapped.

To be more precise, she was taken away by Jing Rong.

The car drove all the way up a mountainous area, finally stopping in front of a luxurious mansion.

As Dong Ci was forced out of the car and into the house, she barely noticed that Jing Rong had disappeared. Instead, an elderly woman came forward to lead the way, with two bodyguards following behind.

The inside of the mansion was unbelievably gorgeous, with the interior decoration biased towards the Western-style. As Dong Ci looked around, she noticed that both sides of the hallway she was passing were covered in golden-framed paintings.

Splendid and cold, this whole house seemed to lack vitality – this was her first impression.

Dong Ci bowed her head and followed the woman to a spacious dining room, where a long table was already filled with food.

“Miss Dong, you don’t have to be polite. You can eat as you please,” the woman explained while gesturing to the table. Her way of speech was slightly exotic and, looking closely, she didn’t seem to be Chinese.

“Where is Jing Rong? I want to see him,” Dong Ci requested, trying to keep calm.

“I’m sorry, I am not aware of where the young master is at the moment,” the woman apologized and introduced herself, “My name is Sally. If you require anything else – you can ask me.”

“I want to see Jing Rong!” Dong Ci demanded more fiercely. She didn’t care about this woman’s name, she just wanted to go home. Her eyes slowly filled with mist as she looked up at the clock on the wall.

Finally, Dong Ci could no longer wait – she anxiously stood up to leave.

“Looking for me?”

As soon as she turned around, she saw Jing Rong standing by the doors. He changed his clothes into comfortable home-wear, while his hair looked slightly messy as it lightly brushed against his cheekbones. His whole body expressed laziness and casualness that strangely fit in with the atmosphere of the house.

“Sit down and eat.”

Jing Rong walked over to the dining table and sat down in his seat.

Seeing that Dong Ci still hasn’t moved from her spot, he narrowed his eyes slightly, supported his chin with a hand, and lazily said, “Dong Ci, be sensible. You were tied up and brought to me at my command. So, are you sure that you want to anger me on my own territory?”

T/N: I think, when Jing Rong was ordering all those unpalatable milk tea flavors, he was expressing his extreme dissatisfaction with Dong Ci. So, for those, who are curious about those flavors, but not aware of what they are (like I was, before I translated this chapter):

Chinese bitter melon – why the polarising 'gentleman's vegetable ...