The Scheming Ex-Husband's Courtship-Chapter 614 - 532: The Goddess in His Heart

Chapter 614: Chapter 532: The Goddess in His Heart
"I just didn’t want to come back." Jian Si sat down next to him and reached over to embrace the Persian cat raised by Jian Hedong.
"Zhengzheng, come here, let your big brother have a look." Jian Chuan pulled Zhengzheng over to his side and sized him up. "Good lad, you weren’t this tall the last time your sister video-called me, and now, in no time at all, you’ve shot up."
Zhengzheng said, "Big brother, it’s called a growth spurt when a boy turns eighteen."
Jian Chuan laughed, "Is that a saying?"
"Zhengzheng, come and give me a hand." Jian Hedong called from the kitchen, and Zhengzheng scurried over with his little short legs.
In the courtyard under the apricot tree, only Jian Si and Jian Chuan were left. Jian Si held the cat, stroking its long white fur.
"Sisi, about Uncle’s passing, I have deep regrets. When I got the news of his death, I was in the middle of a crucial point in a project. I asked for leave, but they wouldn’t let me go." Jian Chuan’s eyes reddened as he spoke. When Jian Hedong had called him, he had cried an entire afternoon in the laboratory.
He grew up in a poor household, with Jian Hedong barely looking after him, and Li Ronghua always finding ways to make things difficult for him. Only his grandparents treated him as if he were their own child; they even paid for his education abroad. Such kindness, he would never forget. Yet, fate is unpredictable. They were taken from this world by a car accident, without leaving him a chance to repay them.
"I understand. You shouldn’t blame yourself. It’s not so easy to just come back from so far away," Jian Si comforted him.
Jian Chuan shook his head, "Once my job here is stable, accompany me to pay respects at Uncle and Aunt’s graves. I have a lot to say to them."
Jian Si acknowledged with a sound.
"Has the culprit from that year been found?"
"It’s as if he vanished into thin air. I handed his sketch over to the traffic police, and they promised to help with the investigation, but after so many years, despite my frequent reminders, there’s still no news whatsoever."
"Does Zhengzheng know that you’re his...?"
"I don’t want to tell him just yet. If he can be happy this way, I’m willing to never let him know. That was a mistake I made when I was young, and he’s innocent." Jian Si glanced toward the kitchen, where Zhengzheng was being held up on the cooking counter by Jian Hedong, mouth open, eating ribs he was fed.
"Sisi." Jian Chuan sighed and then hesitated as if he had more to say.
Jian Si knew what he wanted to ask and took the initiative, "Piaopiao?"
At the mention of these two syllables, Jian Chuan grew embarrassed, his cheeks unnaturally flushing, "Yeah, how has she been over the years? I haven’t contacted her since I went over there."
What should Jian Si say? Telling the truth would surely hurt someone.
Feng Piaopiao dropped out before finishing high school and started hanging out with a ruffian from the streets, riding around on a Harley-Davidson every day and living it up. She didn’t stay with the ruffian long before she took a fancy to a hair salon owner, frequently changing her hairstyle, even working as an assistant in his salon. But that didn’t last either, as the owner was arrested for drug use. She immediately threw herself into the arms of a bartender. Over the years, she changed boyfriends faster than clothes, wearing branded apparel, frequenting luxurious spots, and mingling with rich second-generations and official second-generations.
"She’s living quite comfortably," said Jian Si.
After much thought, Jian Si chose the word "comfortably." Indeed, Feng Piaopiao seemed to be living carefree, with no concerns for food and clothing, and an endless supply of money and luxury handbags.
"Really? As long as she’s happy." Clearly, Jian Chuan had misunderstood the word.
Comfortable doesn’t equal happiness, for Jian Si had never seen a smile resembling happiness on Feng Piaopiao’s face.
"By the way, Chuan, is your job all lined up?"
"It’s all set. I’ll be working as a forensic in Peace District’s police department."
"Peace District? That’s the same department as Nan Yu." Jian Si said joyfully, "Nan Yu is in the criminal investigation division, he’s my friend."
"Good, I’ll visit him once I officially start working."
The two chatted about all sorts of things until Jian Hedong stuck his head out the window and called them to dinner, and everyone happily gathered around the dining table.
"I have an appointment with Piaopiao this afternoon." Jian Si was ready to leave after eating, "Uncle, you keep Zhengzheng here to play. I’ll come pick him up later."
"Sure." Jian Hedong agreed with a smile, then suddenly remembered something, "The Piaopiao you mentioned, isn’t that the delinquent girl?"
"What delinquent girl?" Jian Chuan immediately looked over.
"It’s Sisi’s friend. So young, yet always heavily made up, mingling with different men every day. If it were my daughter, I’d break her legs." Jian Hedong snorted with indignation, "Xiaochuan, I warn you, you better not associate with such girls. I can’t control your sister, she doesn’t listen to me, and I fear she’ll be led astray sooner or later."
Jian Hedong strongly disapproved of Jian Si being friends with Feng Piaopiao, afraid that the young ruffian would be a bad influence on Jian Si. Although Jian Si generally heeded Jian Hedong’s words, she wouldn’t compromise on the issue of Feng Piaopiao. After a few ineffective attempts of interference, Jian Hedong let it be, but every time he heard Jian Si was going out with Feng Piaopiao, he couldn’t help but issue a warning.
"I’m heading to the city too, so I can give you a lift on the way." Jian Chuan picked up his car keys, and walked out shoulder to shoulder with Jian Si amidst Jian Hedong’s disapproving look.
Jian Chuan’s car was purchased when he returned. Over the past years, he had saved up some money. The small courtyard where Jian Hedong lived was quite far from the downtown area and inconvenient for travel, so he bought a car for getting around.
"Cars are more expensive than I thought in the country." Jian Chuan turned the car key, "This Audi A4 is cheaper by more than a hundred thousand overseas. I really should have brought a car back with me."
"You haven’t seen the housing prices yet. I guarantee you’d want to immediately buy a plane ticket and run back."
Jian Si knew that Jian Chuan’s offer to drive her was actually because he wanted to see Feng Piaopiao. After all, a youthful crush, a goddess in his heart, holds a position that no one else can replace. And all these years, Jian Chuan had never encountered another girl who made his heart beat like Feng Piaopiao did. His love, along with his youth, had become sealed away.
From a distance, Jian Si saw Feng Piaopiao standing by the roadside, wearing an off-shoulder white T-shirt with a short hem that only reached above her belly button, a pair of ripped denim shorts that barely reached the roots of her thighs, white Adidas sneakers, black sunglasses, with her burgundy curly hair. Standing there, she immediately attracted countless second glances.
"Piaopiao." Jian Si waved from the car window.
Feng Piaopiao, carrying a small cross-body bag with a metal chain, walked over with a light step.
"Wow, you’ve got a private car to pick you up. Didn’t you say you didn’t have a boyfriend? Quite capable..." Feng Piaopiao pushed her sunglasses up to her forehead. Upon seeing the tall man stepping out of the driver’s seat, the rest of her sentence turned into a mutter: "Pretending."
She would have never expected to see Jian Chuan again. It had been so many years since their last encounter. She only saw that slightly youthful face in her dreams, and now that face was gradually overlapping with the one in front of her, yet there were many differences. He had grown taller, more solidly built, and his features even more handsome.
"Piaopiao." Jian Chuan, seeing the woman standing before him, also took a long time to regain his composure. His last impression of her was her singing by the lake in a white strappy dress. He had remembered that scene clearly for so many years. And now, Feng Piaopiao, vibrant and stunning, seemed very different from the girl in a white dress, but no matter how she changed, she was still the Feng Piaopiao he once liked.
Old friends meeting naturally involves catching up. The three of them picked a café to sit down. Jian Chuan was a very talkative person, especially with Feng Piaopiao there, he began to share some interesting stories from his study abroad days, which made the two girls laugh nonstop.
"The foreign guy whistled at me upon seeing my Eastern face. I smiled and told him ’Go to your mother’s’, and he actually gave me a thumbs up and said ’GOOD’."
Jian Si couldn’t hold back her laughter and burst out laughing, only to be interrupted by her phone ringing halfway through her laughter.
"I’ll take this call." Jian Si saw the caller ID and hastily stood up.
"Whose call is it that you even have to step outside to take it? Got something to hide?" Feng Piaopiao curiously tried to snatch her phone.
"Stop it, it’s important." Jian Si smiled at the two of them and left with her phone.
On the bustling street corner, outside the warmly decorated café, Jian Si stood next to a carved flower basket, looking at the tightly clustered flowers in it.
"Hello."
"Where are you?" The man’s voice carried a hint of displeasure.
"I’m at a café with friends."
"What friends?"
Jian Si frowned slightly. Wasn’t he being too nosy? What did it matter to him what kind of friends she was having coffee with?
Sensing her thoughts, Nan Zhan snorted coldly: "Miss Jian, don’t forget, you are currently a suspect on bail pending trial. I have the right to know where and what my client is doing."
Jian Si lifted her gaze from the flowers in front of her and looked around the café, feeling somehow that he was nearby, watching her.
"I’m having a drink with my older brother. Does this answer satisfy Lawyer Nan?"
Hearing her slightly annoyed voice, Nan Zhan seemed to pause for a moment, but quickly threw over two words: "Satisfied."
After hanging up the phone and looking through the car glass, Nan Zhan once again glanced at the café. He happened to be here on business today and just saw Jian Si laughing and walking in with a man. When opening the door, the man’s hand was even resting on her waist.
So it was her older brother. Since when did she have an older brother? It was probably worth investigating this "older brother’s" background.
Nan Zhan lit a cigarette in the car when his phone rang. The call was from Captain Chen of the criminal investigation team.
"Nan Lv, we’ve identified one of the bodies."
Jian Si returned to the café, still annoyed by Nan Zhan’s words earlier. Before meeting him, her life had always been free. Now, this man restricted her in all aspects, she naturally felt upset.
Not long after sitting down, she received a message from Nan Yu: The identity of one of the bodies has been clarified. **