The moment the words left her lips, Cen Jin knew that aside from her compassion, this was also a willful outburst and a reckless gamble—a challenge directed squarely at Wu Fu.
The existence he treated with indifference would receive the highest regard in her hands. She couldn't help but fixate on this stubbornly, attempting to use it to defy her husband.
On her way here, Cen Jin had no clear idea how to help Li Wu. Perhaps this long journey would only amount to seeing the pitiable child and handing him some cash.
But now, she changed her mind—she would help him to the very end.
Objectively speaking, her circumstances and the boy's were worlds apart, yet she felt they were tied to the same rope, sharing the same fate and breath—both discarded like worthless trash by Wu Fu. Li Wu had been implicated because of her.
Only when he succeeded in his studies and passed the imperial examination could the imbalance in her heart be righted, proving she was the ultimate victor.
Yet, regardless of her motives, Cen Jin's decision transcended rational thought.
Not only was Li Gugu taken aback, even she herself was somewhat surprised.
So when the middle-aged woman stared at her in shock, she didn't bother with her exaggerated reaction.
It took Li Gugu a long time to regain her composure and confirm her intent: "You mean, you came today to take Li Wu to the city to study?"
Cen Jin paused, then nodded.
"What?" The aunt found it absurd. "Why?"
Cen Jin tapped her ring finger lightly on the edge of the table. "I'm his sponsor. It's my obligation."
The aunt retorted, "Well, I'm his aunt, his guard—" She stumbled over the word, struggling to recall it: "Guardian!"
Cen Jin said, "That's why I'm seeking your consent."
"On what grounds?" The woman's politeness only made the aunt raise her voice. "You think you can just take my family's child? Who do you think you are? Stop paying tuition and still want to take the kid away? Dream on! There's no such good deal. Our Li family has a perfectly healthy boy, not some cripple. You think he'll just follow you? Wishful thinking."
Cen Jin frowned almost imperceptibly. "Then I'll have to reclaim Li Wu's grandfather's card. That card was specially opened by my husband and me. The money in it is strictly for their living expenses and tuition. The contract clearly states that I'll support Li Wu until he enters university. If the recipient drops out without valid reason, I have the right to take back the card."
The aunt's face flushed red. "Where's the contract? All you have is your word."
Cen Jin thought for a moment. "I was in a hurry today and didn't bring it, but Yan Village Chief has a copy, probably at the village committee."
The aunt gritted her teeth secretly. "If I give him to you, how will my son and I get by?"
"However you managed before, you'll manage the same way after. Li Wu hasn't been with you since childhood," Cen Jin tried to keep her tone even. "As you said, with him gone, there'll be one less mouth to feed and clothe."
The aunt stiffened her neck. "My nephew is young and strong. Shouldn't he help support the family?"
Cen Jin marveled at her own patience. "There should be limits to what he does and how much. Your own child is eight years old and still needs him to feed him. Is that necessary?"
The aunt snorted heavily. "I knew it. That boy is full of schemes. He must have complained to you plenty."
Cen Jin laughed dryly. "He doesn't even have a phone. How could he complain to me?" Her lips quickly tightened. "I have eyes. I can see."
Li Gugu rolled her eyes but refused to yield. "Letting my nephew go with you for free? Impossible."Cen Jin's lashes dipped slightly before she lifted her gaze. "Just say it. How much do you want?"
"Is this about money?!"
"If it's not about money, then what is it?" Cen Jin no longer bothered to maintain a pleasant expression, speaking bluntly, "If you truly considered Li Wu family, your own child, you would support his education. Our financial aid is more than enough for his tuition—doesn't it cover his living expenses? As his aunt, you just want to keep him tethered at home like a dog, squeezing every bit of value out of him. You see learning as worthless, but for Li Wu, it's his only chance to make something of himself. I can't stand seeing a good kid being treated like this. I just want to help him, that's all."
"Who do you think you are?!" Li Gugu completely dropped all pretense, raising her voice. "Are you trying to take him away? Steal a child just because you have some dirty money? What gives you the right? Is this how city people behave?"
Though her words were crude and her face flushed with anger, to Cen Jin, she was nothing but a paper tiger bluffing. "If I were really trying to take him, I wouldn't be sitting here. Tomorrow, I'll contact a lawyer. We'll review the previous contract properly. Either I advance some money and take Li Wu with me first, or you follow the rules and return the bank card to me."
At the mention of "lawyer," Li Gugu was instantly terrified. Her aggressive demeanor faded, and she nearly jumped to her feet in panic. "Why call a lawyer? Are you going to sue me?"
Cen Jin pursed her lips faintly. "If necessary, it's not out of the question."
"I don't think it's necessary," Li Gugu stammered, her eyes darting nervously as she settled back into her chair. "I'm just a country bumpkin, can't even read a single character. Who knows if I'll be cheated?"
Cen Jin remained composed. "Then tell me, how should we handle this?"
Li Gugu squinted, thinking for a moment, then glanced over and asked, "So if you really take Li Wu to the city, how much will you give me and my son? My nephew is only seventeen." Her tone was as practiced as if she were haggling over livestock.
Cen Jin felt a wave of irony. "How much do you want?"
Li Gugu thought for a moment, then tentatively suggested, "Thirty thousand?"
Cen Jin let out a mocking laugh but said nothing.
Li Gugu's scalp prickled. "Who knows if he'll ever come back?"
"I hope not," Cen Jin silently prayed for the boy, but blood ties were hard to sever. She could only offer a compromise. "It's up to him."
"What? So he'll just abandon us?" Li Gugu counted on her fingers. "If he really leaves us, isn't it like giving him to you for free? Building a new house alone would cost more than that."
Cen Jin took out her phone and placed it calmly on the table.
Li Gugu bristled. "What do you mean? Are you calling someone?"
"Either a lawyer or Secretary Cheng," Cen Jin raised her phone, presenting the options. "Miss Cheng should still be on duty. I can ask her to witness this. What do you think?"
"You're threatening me now? What a robber."
Cen Jin glanced casually at the screen. She had already shown enough patience. "It's almost eight. I need to get back."
Li Gugu, sensing that Cen Jin was well-off and not someone to trifle with, decided not to push her luck. Thinking it best to secure some immediate benefits, she pretended to be magnanimous. "Fine, thirty thousand it is. We're uneducated, can't read a word. You say what you want, and I'll agree. I'm not as sharp as you, so I'll just take this loss."
Cen Jin smiled faintly. "It's good that you understand."
Li Gugu gritted her teeth, seething with anger but not daring to speak another word.Cen Jin got through to Cheng Lixue on the phone, briefly explained the situation, then handed the phone to Li Gugu and stood up to find Li Wu.
The soundproofing in the house was poor, so Li Wu had heard at least eighty percent of their conversation outside.
Thus, he was somewhat distracted and had only solved half of a major problem.
It wasn't until Cen Jin knocked on the door that he snapped out of his daze and set down his pen.
"May I come in?" the woman asked.
Li Wu hurried over to open the door for her.
As soon as their eyes met, Cen Jin frowned: "It's so dark in here. Can you even see the words clearly?"
Li Wu said, "I can see them."
"You might already be nearsighted," Cen Jin muttered skeptically as she walked in.
Li Wu followed behind, his gaze drifting over the woman's shoulders and back. She had a slender figure, yet carried an air of quiet pride, like a pristine white lotus standing gracefully—something to be admired from afar.
He consciously kept a considerable distance between them.
Li Wu's math handout was spread out on a low table, with a rough, uneven wooden stool in front of it. The height was suitable for a four-year-old to practice writing or doodle, but for Li Wu, it felt no different from chopping down a tree, stripping it of its branches and roots, and forcibly planting it in a miniature flowerpot.
Cen Jin sat down, pushed the pen aside, and lowered her head to look at his writing.
Li Wu's ears suddenly turned red.
Cen Jin didn't linger long on the test paper, instead raising her eyes to look at him: "I want to take you to Yi City to study. Are you willing?"
Li Wu wasn't one to smile easily, and his brows often gathered dark clouds. His voice was hoarse: "You have to give Aunt thirty thousand yuan, right?"
"You heard all that," Cen Jin clasped her knees, a slight smile curling at the corners of her lips. "What else can we do? It's impossible to get a proper education here. An aunt who'd sell you off for such a paltry sum—do you really want to stay with her?"
Her cutting words, delivered with a friendly tone, were nothing but the stark truth.
And the amount she described as insignificant was, in his eyes, an astronomical figure.
"Yi High School offers a much better education than here. I plan to have you study there as a boarding student. There's no need to transfer your household registration or student records—it'll save trouble. You'll live on campus, and I'll cover your tuition and living expenses. All you need to do is focus on your studies. I think that's what you want most, isn't it?"
As she spoke, Cen Jin suddenly felt like laughing. She realized she didn't sound like a proper persuader at all—more like the head of a pyramid scheme. But she didn't know how to strike the right tone either, as this young man seemed stubborn yet straightforward, not the type to make impulsive changes without hesitation.
Li Wu remained silent, standing quietly like a slender, elongated shadow.
"Li Wu?" Cen Jin studied him for a moment, then tentatively called out: "Should you think it over? I can come back in a couple of days?"
"No," he finally spoke, this time with more determination: "I'll pay you back."
Cen Jin relaxed and smiled: "I know." Uncomfortable with the atmosphere, she deliberately lightened it: "Will there be interest?"
Li Wu asked seriously: "How much?"
Cen Jin was taken aback, a wave of guilt washing over her: "Silly boy, can't you tell I'm joking? Just repay me with your college entrance exam results."
Seeing the boy about to speak again, Cen Jin cut him off: "Shouldn't you start packing?"
Li Wu, for once, showed a spark of liveliness befitting his age, asking in disbelief: "Right now?"
"Of course," Cen Jin stood up and glanced around: "I don't want to come back to this place a second time."
—
Having lived under someone else's roof, Li Wu didn't have much luggage. It didn't even fill one bag and weighed less than the backpack on his shoulders.Cen Jin happened to have five thousand yuan in cash, which she had withdrawn from the bank before coming. Originally intended for Li Wu, it ended up being used as a deposit to silence his aunt's sharp tongue.
The middle-aged woman counted the money with glee, her grime-filled nails starkly contrasting against the pink bills.
An hour later, in the quiet mountain village where only dog barks could be heard, Cheng Lixue was forced to act as a third-party witness, reading aloud the contract Cen Jin had hastily drafted word by word to everyone present.
When it was time for the three to sign and fingerprint the document, Cen Jin grew uneasy and asked for a pause. She then called Yan Village Chief to seek his opinion.
Yan Village Chief was somewhat surprised and spoke separately with Cen Jin, Li Aunt, and Li Wu.
After learning the whole story in detail, the grassroots official could only sigh helplessly and made an exception to approve the matter.
The remaining twenty-five thousand yuan was transferred directly from Cen Jin's phone to the aunt's account.
With Secretary Cheng supervising, Li Aunt felt reassured. Before leaving, she hypocritically admonished Li Wu a few words and then headed home, not forgetting to mock him on her way out, saying he was about to live the good life.
Li Wu listened in silence, watching her depart.
Finally free from the noise, Cen Jin relaxed as if granted a reprieve. She remotely popped open the trunk, signaling Li Wu to load his luggage.
Li Wu halted abruptly, his eyes dazzled by the sudden flash of the dazzling taillights.
The boy's heart burned with shame—his inconspicuous backpack and the woven bag in his hand felt like a desecration in comparison.
After a moment's hesitation, he carefully placed them in a corner.
He turned back to Cen Jin and asked if she could wait for him awhile, as he wanted to visit one more place.
Cen Jin curled the car keys into her palm: "Where?"
Li Wu said, "My grandfather's grave."
Cen Jin paused, then tilted her chin toward the door: "Go ahead. I'll be right here."
Cen Jin got into the driver's seat and watched the boy turn and leave. He walked faster and faster, breaking into a run until he melted into the night.
Cen Jin felt completely liberated. She let out a weary yawn, stretching her limbs; every muscle in her body was exhausted to the core.
...
Afraid of keeping Cen Jin waiting too long, Li Wu ran back.
He knew every path in the mountains by heart; even on a pitch-black night, he could navigate them as if walking on flat ground.
The round trip took just over ten minutes.
Turning into the courtyard, he saw Cen Jin's car still parked there, like a gleaming, pristine snow hut in the wilderness.
Li Wu's heart inexplicably calmed, his breathing softening.
He slowed his pace and approached.
The reading light inside the car was on—a warm hue, neither too bright nor too dim. The woman leaned against the seat, her head tilted, eyes lightly closed. Her sleeping face behind the glass appeared exceptionally serene, like a flawless doll in a display window.
Li Wu didn't knock on the window or even move. He just stood outside, waiting quietly.
As the wind drifted by, he noticed the half-open window beside Cen Jin.
The boy walked over and stood with his back to the gap, gazing at the distant, hazy dark mountains. He held his breath almost entirely, as if tending to a fragile candle flame.
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