Chapter 55 Unwilling to Let Go

Having tutored him for such a long time, the number of times she had seen Zou Kai's parents at the Zou residence could be counted on one hand.

The Zou household was vast, yet desolate.

Aside from Housekeeper Fu, who prepared Zou Kai's three meals, no one else seemed to care about him at all.

She would always remember the sorrow on his face on the day of his birthday, when he took her to the cemetery to visit his biological mother.

She also remembered that on that same birthday, Zou Kai's parents did not return to celebrate with him. He ate the longevity noodles she cooked for him—and although he thought they tasted awful, he still finished every last bite.

This showed just how deeply he craved warmth and affection.

Yet all of this was something his parents apparently failed to give him, or at least, failed to give him in sufficient measure.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Zou Kai's current personality had been shaped.

He was so sensitive and fragile; she could hardly imagine what kind of intense reaction he might have if he were summoned by a teacher for a reprimand and felt he had been wronged.

Shi Zhaodi returned to the classroom to retrieve her schoolbag and saw Zou Kai sitting in his seat, as if waiting for her.

With her head lowered, she walked into the classroom, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed outside.

Zou Kai followed closely behind her.

"Zou Kai, from now on, let's not walk home together anymore!" Upon reaching the bicycle shed, Shi Zhaodi said to him in a low voice.

"Why?" Zou Kai demanded instantly, his face chilling as he stared at her.

"I don't want other people to misunderstand us," Shi Zhaodi explained.

"If they were going to misunderstand, they would have done so long ago; there's no need to wait until now. Besides, so what if they misunderstand? I don't care at all." Zou Kai took on a completely nonchalant attitude.

"But I care!" Shi Zhaodi bit her lower lip, and after a long moment, spoke in a barely audible whisper.

Zou Kai froze, staring intently at Shi Zhaodi.

Keeping her head down and not daring to meet his eyes, Shi Zhaodi walked into the shed, pulled her bicycle out, and rode straight toward the school gates.

Shi Zhaodi had no idea how she managed to make her way back to the Jiang residence.

After parking her bicycle, she kept her head down and walked toward the small annex where the domestic staff lived.

She failed to notice that someone was standing ahead of her, watching her approach.

As she walked, she ran right into him.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention just now—" Shi Zhaodi hurriedly raised her head to apologize, but her voice died in her throat the very next second.

She stared in a daze at the person blocking her path.

Biting her lower lip tightly, she found herself utterly unable to utter the word "Brother," a term of address she usually loved to use the most.

"I waited for you after school—" Jiang Haoen looked at her quietly and said slowly.

"Brother!" Tears instantly streamed down Shi Zhaodi's face as she cried out in a choked voice, reaching out to wrap her arms around Jiang Haoen's waist, refusing to let go no matter what.

Jiang Haoen allowed her to hold him, and after a long while, he finally raised his arms to pull her into his embrace.

"Brother, did you need something from me?" Calming down a little and realizing what she had just done, Shi Zhaodi hurriedly released her grip, looked up, and asked.