svetikya Chapter 58 Choice
Chapter 58 Choice
Hu Lin'er was torn. On one hand, she had to rely on Dai Shengxi and be on good terms with the Dai family to get through the crisis for the sake of her family. On the other hand, she didn't want to treat Qian Yuhan like this, as it was unfair to him.
The former is for the sake of family, the latter is for the sake of love. Choosing the former would make Qian Yuhan a toy to be played with, while choosing the latter would be tantamount to disregarding the family that gave her life and raised her.
Hu Lin'er is now faced with these two choices. How should she choose? It's not too late to make a decision...
Hu Lin'er wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and walked out of the Martial Soul Forest.
Hu Lin'er walked along the path in the college, resting on the benches by the roadside whenever she wanted to. Looking at the picturesque scenery around her, she felt it was all so ordinary and mundane.
Hu Lin'er was only nine years old. She thought that learning to use an abacus would be enough to help with small chores at home. Who could have imagined it would turn out like this? The fate of the entire family depended on her, and she was forced to help Dai Shengxi deal with the boy she liked so much. She even had to agree to his childish idea, all to save her enormous family... It was utterly ridiculous.
I hesitated between these two choices the whole way, and before I knew it, I had arrived at Angel Square.
Sitting in Angel Square, I stared blankly at the statue of Elder Qianmo, the Judge, in the center of the square. How should I decide? Can anyone help me…?
Hu Lin'er's first thought was Qian Yuhan, but he was an orphan now, abandoned by his father, and homeless during holidays, forced to take care of himself. Fang Ya? She had a good relationship with Fang Ya, and she'd heard she was a young lady from a prominent family. If she could help the Hu family, they wouldn't have to endure Dai Shengxi's blackmail anymore! Yes, she'd go find Fang Ya.
Hu Lin'er sat in Angel Square for the whole morning, and then went straight back to her dormitory to rest without having lunch. She planned to talk to Fang Ya again in the afternoon.
After Qian Yuhan finished class, Mu Chen waited for her at the door of Class 1.
Mu Chen asked, "Is get out of class over?"
"Mm," Qian Yuhan nodded in response.
"Hey, I wasn't asking you, fourth brother, I was asking Fang Ya."
Mu Chen grinned and looked at Fang Ya behind Qian Yuhan.
Qian Yuhan rolled her eyes at Mu Chen and walked right past him.
"Hey, fourth brother, look at you getting all worked up. I was just kidding. I was waiting for you. I have something to tell you."
"Oh?"
"Let's stop talking here and go eat first. We can talk while we eat."
Qian Yuhan, Mu Chen, and Fang Ya went to the cafeteria together. Class 4 had a theory class in the classroom, and the cafeteria was between the classroom and the Soul Fighting Area, so the three of them didn't go to the classroom to find the two of them and thought they would meet in the cafeteria.
After the three of them finished ordering their lunches, they found an empty table and sat down. As soon as they sat down, Qian Yuhan asked Shang Muchen what he wanted to say.
Seeing the anxious Qian Yuhan, Mu Chen stopped teasing him and said, "We didn't have class this morning, so I wandered around outside. Guess who I ran into?"
"Hmm, who?"
"Lin'er!"
"Lin'er??" Qian Yuhan and Fang Ya asked in surprise at the same time. They were in the same class as Hu Lin'er, and Hu Lin'er hadn't come to say that she had asked for leave today because of family matters.
"Yeah, that's Lin'er. I saw her sneaking into the Spirit Forest, wandering around and around, and I just lost her. Hey, Fourth Brother, did you two have a fight?"
Qian Yuhan shook her head and denied it, "No, we were studying together in the library last night, but she looked very tired and listless. Maybe she was too busy at home during the holiday and got tired from too many things, so I told her to go home and rest. But this morning she asked for leave because she had something to do at home."
"Why would you go to the Martial Soul Forest if something happened at home?" Mu Chen asked, puzzled.
At this moment, Fang Ya promptly reminded her, "Did Lin'er meet someone in the Martial Soul Forest?"
Mu Chen looked like she suddenly understood: "That's right, I think what Fang Ya said is very likely. Asking for leave because of family matters is definitely just a pretext. But who is Lin'er meeting with?"
Qian Yuhan listened to Mu Chen and Fang Ya's conversation without saying a word, focusing on her meal while pondering: Who did Lin'er see? Did her family come to the academy to see her? Or was it some other friend from the academy? Lin'er has been acting strangely lately…
"Lin'er has been acting strange lately, she seems distracted. Yesterday she told me that when we were in the infirmary, Third Brother, you mentioned that I was going to start a playing card business, and she asked me to talk to her about it. I was thinking that she has a lot going on at home right now, and I was worried that this would affect her. After she told me this, I was initially thinking of asking her to help me invest some money, but then I thought I'd better not. She's busy enough already, I don't want to add to her troubles."
Mu Chen scratched his head, thinking to himself: Did I tell Hu Lin'er? I seem to remember telling Fang Ya.
Fang Ya then said, "If you want to invest, it's not difficult. Earlier in the infirmary, Mu Chen mentioned this to me, and on the first day of my holiday, I talked to my brother about it again. He said there were no problems and it seemed okay, then he left in a hurry, I don't know what he was doing. Maybe he went to discuss it with his family. You can also talk to me if you want to invest..."
Qian Yuhan nodded: Anyway, when he told Mu Chen and the others, he only gave them a general framework and didn't mention any other details. If they really needed Fang Ya's help, he could tell her the details without delaying anything.
……
Mu Chen and Qian Yuhan went back to the men's dormitory to rest, while Fang Ya went to the library to read for a while. The three of them parted ways at the entrance of the cafeteria.
"Fourth brother, Fang Ya has an older brother? Do you know him?"
"Yeah, his name is Fang Qing, he's a chubby guy. He's a year older than us, he's a second-year student now. We've met a few times before and chatted."
As if remembering something, Qian Yuhan asked again, "Third Brother, do you know if there's a family steward surnamed Fang in the Spirit Hall?"
Listening to Qian Yuhan's words, Mu Chen seemed to be recalling in his mind: "It seems there really is! The vice minister of the Ministry of Finance seems to be surnamed 'Fang', what's his name—oh, I can't quite remember."
Fang Qing had mentioned before that his family had some connections within the Spirit Hall, and he'd said it more than once. Qian Yuhan guessed that Fang Qing must be someone of considerable influence, which explained his arrogance. He pretended to say "some connections, you know," but was actually just showing off his family background. This kind of person wasn't worth getting close to. Therefore, Qian Yuhan hadn't actively sought out Fang Qing. Each time, Fang Qing would just bump into her and they'd chat about this and that.
Fang Ya was different. Unlike her brother, she didn't constantly boast about her family's connections or influence. Instead, she remained an ordinary student, living a simple and unassuming life. This was similar to Qian Yuhan, who also greatly admired and appreciated Fang Ya, albeit in a purely platonic way.
When the two arrived at the dormitory, they saw that Tang Xuan and Tang Chen had not returned yet, and since there was nothing more to say, they went to bed and drifted off to sleep.
In the afternoon, the theory class began. Hu Lin'er didn't sit with Qian Yuhan today; instead, she went to sit with Fang Ya. Mu Chen sat next to Qian Yuhan, glaring at him angrily: "Look what you've done! Your girlfriend ruined my plans!!"
……