Chapter 103 Yan… Yan Beicheng, There’s A Man Standing Outside…Outside the Orphanage (1/2)

Chapter 103: Yan… Yan Beicheng, There’s A Man Standing Outside…Outside the OrphanageTranslator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Chu Xi’s dimmed eyes lit up when she got a whiff of the fragrant smell and sensed the kindness extended by Lin Chu and the others. The warm indoors softened her further, and she wagged her tail as an experiment.

“It’s wagging its tail!” Shi Tou yelled in excitement.

Lin Chu caressed Chu Xi’s head. “Don’t worry. You don’t need to be afraid. You’re hungry, aren’t you? This is for you.”

Chu Xi seemed to understand her words. Instead of starting to feed on its food, it approached them and rubbed its head on their feet as a show of closeness before it turned back and licked the plate of milk experimentally. Getting a taste of the fragrant milk, it started to drink ravenously.

Lin Chu got up to prepare dinner. The New Year Eve’s dinner was simple. The old principal had braised beef, tripe, and pig offal in advance, smoked a fish and made pigskin jelly. On her way here, she also bought a roast chicken. These would be ready to serve after cutting and plating. All that was left was to cook some shrimp, steam fish, stir fry some veggies, and toss some ham, cucumber, and rice noodles together to make a salad — simple but a fan favorite of the children. Lastly, she made a fruit salad.

She and the old principal were the only two adults present, and the children tend to not eat a lot. They would already be unable to finish off these few dishes.

Just as she finished cutting up the braised meat, she got a call from Wang Jinglin.

Lin Chu raised her brow at the call. Cheng Ziming’s parents should have detested her to the core after the fiasco at the wedding. True to that, they had not contacted her at all till this day. This probably was not to wish her a happy new year.

Lin Chu washed her hands and picked up the call. She said coldly, “Aunt.”

“Lin Chu, are you not going back for the New Year today?” asked Wang Jinglin in the phone.

Lin Chu raised her brow and asked, although she had already known the answer, “Going back where?”

“Lin Chu, why have you become like this? You know where I was referring to. You were once kind-hearted, but you are now calculative and scheming for money. You disappoint me.” Wang Jinglin sounded grievous.

Impatience flicked on Lin Chu’s face. She wanted to hang up immediately, but then she heard Wang Jinglin say, “The Lin family raised you, just for you to ruin Ziming and Yuwen’s wedding, and now you’re not even going back for the New Year! Why have you… why have you become so cold-hearted?”

“Is this any of your business?” sneered Lin Chu. She did not bother to play nice with Wang Jinglin any longer.

She did not care about pissing off Wang Jinglin. If she continued to treat Wang Jinglin courteously, the woman would keep on pestering her, subjecting her to those annoying self-centered tirades.

She did not want to know if the couple knew of Cheng Ziming betraying her. Based on her current attitude, it was evident that they had known. Also, Yan Beicheng would not like it if she kept contact with her ex-boyfriend’s family.

Those people were not worth making Yan Beicheng uncomfortable.

“Your family is in-laws with the Lins, but it didn’t extend to meddle in the Lins’ family affairs, did it? Whether I return for the New Year, where I choose to spend it, if I’ve let down anyone or not… is all of this any of your business? As you said, I’m so cold-hearted that I’ve cut off all contacts with the Lins. Why do you think I should still listen to your reprimands? What grounds do you have to dictate my qualities?” said Lin Chu unceremoniously.

“You…” Wang Jinglin trembled with fury. She glanced around her house. The house should be bustling with activity on the New Year’s Eve, but it was now empty.

Her son had married, but he seemed to be doing everything backward, running off to the Lin family home for the New Year instead, leaving her and Cheng Jindong at home. She had prepared an entire table of dishes, but nobody returned to eat them.

His son might as well not marry.

Tears were about to fall from Wang Jinglin’s eyes. She said in a weeping tone, “Lin Chu, are you getting revenge on our family too? You had asked Yan Beicheng to threaten the Lin family so that they wouldn’t annoy you during New Year or call you to return home. Barring the fact that your reputation would be affected when the news spread, you have also made Ziming unable to spend the New Year at home. Mr. and Mrs. Lin are the only ones at home because you didn’t return. Yuwen didn’t have the heart to leave them alone, and so she went home for the New Year with Ziming in tow. Have you thought about our family? There’s only me and your uncle left now. I…”

“How is this any of my business?” asked Lin Chu coldly.

Wang Jinglin was taken aback. “What?”

“I said, Lin Yuwen bringing Cheng Ziming along for the New Year because she didn’t want her parents to be lonely, leaving the two of you alone at home… How is this any of my business? Lin Yuwen is your daughter-in-law. If you’re dissatisfied, please talk to her. Cheng Ziming’s your son, and if you’re unhappy because he left his parents alone in his efforts to suck up to his in-laws, talk to him. Saying that I’m the one who caused you trouble is hilarious. I refuse to bear the responsibility of causing this because I didn’t want to return to the Lin home. I haven’t gone back last year, and it’s going to be the same this year. The Lins only want me back because of my relationship with Beicheng. Why should I give them the satisfaction? Beicheng did this for me because he didn’t want me to feel down when I’m celebrating New Year, and I’m glad he did. You think that I’m cold-hearted and ruthless. If that’s so, why would I sympathize with you just because you called me?”

“I won’t. Mrs. Cheng, don’t call me in the future. I won’t answer your call even if you did, because apparently, I’m that cold-hearted. It is none of my business regarding your family and the Lin family’s issues. If you want Beicheng to threaten your family and Cheng Ziming’s future, then you’re welcome to call,” Lin Chu said unceremoniously.

“You… You…” Wang Jinglin’s face turned pale at Lin Chu’s threat. Her lips trembled, teeth chattered and her tongue straightened. She was so furious that she found it difficult to speak. “How could you talk to me like that? I’m… I’m your senior!”

“Sorry, I’m hurrying to my New Year’s dinner,” said Lin Chu. She hung up without a goodbye so that Wang Jinglin would not persist on uttering her undecipherable words.

…

After dinner, when the shows the children disliked were broadcasted, she brought them to the garden for fireworks, which heightened their spirits exponentially. Chu Xi, afraid of the sound of firecrackers, had run to the kitchen in fear with her tail between her legs. The old principal wrapped it in a blanket and comforted it with a hug. Chu Xi, being the clever creature it was, burrowed itself into the principal’s embrace affectionately, delighting her.

As midnight arrived, Lin Chu went to cook the dumplings. Her phone vibrated in the pocket of her jeans. She fished it out while looking over the pot. She was worried that it was another call from the Lin family or Wang Jinglin, but it was actually from Yan Beicheng. The corners of her mouth pulled up at the sight of his name.

He had not called her for the entire day, and she assumed that he had forgotten to do so amidst the hustle and bustle.

“Hey.” Lin Chu picked up the call. She had wanted to throw a little tantrum and let him know that she was a little annoyed at him for not contacting her for an entire day. For unknown reasons, her voice was gentle when she spoke, so gentle and obedient that it was the furthest thing from being angry.

The sound of firecrackers reduced significantly when it reached the kitchen, but it still hindered her listening to some degree. She barely made out Yan Beicheng chuckling on the other side of the phone.

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to be the first one to wish you a Happy New Year,” Yan Beicheng’s magnetic and gravelly voice fell on her ears.

She heard faint echoes of explosions of firecrackers and fireworks on the other side in what she felt was a lively atmosphere.

Hearing his voice and the explosive sounds from the fireworks, her heart was warmed even during the late night.

“Happy New Year! Am I the first one to wish you?” asked Lin Chu.

“Mm. I dashed away to call you before any of them could wish me,” Yan Beicheng replied with humor lacing his voice. Lin Chu laughed imagining the scene played out.

Yan Ningbai’s holler pierced through from the other side of the phone. “Elder Nephew, quick, come and eat your dumplings!”

“Go. I’m almost done here too. We’re getting ready to eat.” Lin Chu said.

Yan Beicheng hung up.

Lin Chu did not ask about him threatening the Lins. She only thought of him being a little stupid, doing all these without telling her. Who knows what else he had done for her with this intention in mind?

Chu Xi was a little shy at first, but it had the short-term memory which was characteristic of a puppy. After seeing that the people in the house had treated it with kindness for a while, it shed its shyness and started to run around them.

“I ate one with cake filling!” Tiantian said happily, her cheeks squirreled up.

“I ate one with white sugar filling!” Shi Tou said, eyes narrowed from the sweetness.

“I ate one with dates!” Mo Jinxi spat the kernel out.

“Aiyo,” The old principal called in surprise, “I bit on a coin.”

This riled the children up. They started to plow through their bowl of dumplings, eyes fixated on the platter in the middle. They wanted to know if the dumplings in their bowls had coins in them, but they also did not want to puncture them with their chopsticks accidentally. They did not want to miss the elation and surprise from biting on a coin.

Their gazes were adorably anxious.

Tian Tian was the youngest, and so she was not as skilled in using chopsticks. She had picked up a dumpling, but then it slipped to the floor. With an exclamation of surprise, Tian Tian got ready to pick it up, but then Chu Xi dashed toward it and snatched it away with its mouth before she could.

It then swallowed the dumpling without chewing, as if it was afraid of someone snatching the treat and ran away quickly with its tail between its legs. Halfway through, it got scalded on the tongue by the hot dumpling and detoured to its water bowl and drank the water in it with all its might. After that, it stretched its tongue and couldn’t stop panting. It gazed towards the dumplings everyone was eating plaintively.