Chapter 113: Persuasion

After May began, the weather started to heat up. There was no air conditioning at home, so Chen Xin went to the café to take advantage of its cool air and study more effectively.

At this time of year, the mornings and evenings were still bearable, but noon was rather stuffy and hot. That was also when the café did its best business. University students from nearby and office workers would come in to sit for a while, escaping the most oppressive stretch of the day.

Chen Xin chose a single table in the corner on the second floor to read. The space was not large, and neither was the table, so few customers ever came over. Since Chen Xin had been occupying it exclusively lately, the staff would instinctively avoid seating people there. It had practically become her reserved table.

Wei Guangzhu, the victim’s cousin, came in during that time.

“Why are you thanking me? I really didn’t help with this matter. You and Officer Yi’s team did all the hard work gathering evidence, so there’s no need to thank me.”

Wei Guangzhu did not see it that way. In his search for the truth, he felt that most of the help he had received had come from Chen Xin and the others. Although Chen Xin said she had not done anything, if she had not drawn the Tao family’s attention and helped Officer Yi’s team cover their movements, the evidence collection might not have gone so smoothly. Now that Tao Min had been sentenced and Wei Guangzhu’s wish had been fulfilled, he wanted to leave and return to the country where he had studied to find work.

“Why leave?” Chen Xin did not quite understand his thinking. “You said you work in the Internet industry. Our country’s Internet sector is in desperate need of talent right now. If you enter the field at this point, you might even become one of the leading figures who help usher in its golden age. Why leave and go work for someone else?”

Wei Guangzhu tugged at the corner of his mouth and smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes.

“Do you know? I only found out after I came back that my uncle and aunt each had lovers outside the marriage.” Deep creases furrowed his brow, as though he had been dwelling on the matter for a long time. “After my brother’s accident, a lot of the evidence pointed to Tao Min, but my uncle and aunt didn’t take it seriously. My aunt even thought I was meddling when I tried to find my brother’s killer. Later, an old classmate of mine told me privately that they both had second families and other children, while my brother had simply been left to fend for himself.”

That alone could not be the reason for his heartbreak and disappointment. Could there be something else?

Sure enough, after a moment, Wei Guangzhu let out a cold laugh.

“While I was investigating my brother’s death, I also had someone look into my parents. My mother is fine, aside from her fondness for gambling and shopping everywhere. My father, though, keeps a mistress in the south. She gave birth to a daughter for him last year, and I heard she’s pregnant again this year. She’s probably hoping for a son so she can force my father to make her his official wife.”

Chen Xin blinked, at a loss for how to comfort him. Fortunately, he was not asking her to.

“I hinted at some of it to my mother. Do you know what she said? She told me she had known for a long time and told me not to worry—that no one could take away my position as heir. Is that what I’m worried about? Do I look like I can’t even support myself?” Wei Guangzhu tipped his head back, forcing the dampness from the corners of his eyes away.

“I understand now. Once men have money, they turn bad. I don’t want to become like my uncle or my father, so I want to live somewhere else. As for my mother, at least she still has me. I’ll never let her go hungry.”

After hearing Wei Guangzhu’s words, Chen Xin understood why his fate before her rebirth had been so tragic. Most likely, no one had helped him back then, and with his family the way it was, he had probably become disillusioned with society as well.

“How about a drink?”

“Huh? Oh, no. I don’t drink.” Wei Guangzhu shook his head. He was highly self-disciplined and touched neither tobacco nor alcohol.

“I didn’t mean alcohol. I meant a cup of coffee. This is a café, not a bar. Even if you wanted a drink, I wouldn’t have any to offer.”

Chen Xin laughed and asked him to sit in the booth next door. She would bring it over at once.

The previous spot was too cramped, and Chen Xin’s books were piled on the floor, making it inconvenient to prepare coffee there. But seeing Wei Guangzhu in this state, she thought he could use a cup of coffee and a chance to vent his troubles. She could serve as a listening ear once in a while.

She chose pour-over coffee. The set of coffee equipment had been brought back from Japan by a friend of Cheng Jie’s.

Chen Xin chose whole beans and handed the task of grinding them to Wei Guangzhu. He often drank coffee while abroad, but this was his first time making it himself. Whether Chen Xin’s emotional guidance had worked or grinding coffee possessed some mysterious magic, he discovered that as he talked and worked the grinder, much of the negativity he had been carrying gradually dissipated.

After taking out the equipment and rinsing it, Chen Xin placed a paper filter in the dripper. The carafe beneath it was a delicate two-person serving pot. She plugged in the kettle, and once the water boiled, poured it into the gooseneck kettle before adding the freshly ground coffee to the filter. She first wet the grounds with a small amount of water, allowing them to bloom fully, then poured in a steady stream while moving in circles. Tiny brown ripples began to blossom in the glass pot beneath the dripper.

Once enough coffee had filtered through, Chen Xin removed the dripper. She poured Wei Guangzhu a cup, then pushed the creamer and sugar bowl toward him.

Lately, Chen Xin had developed a liking for Americanos, occasionally adding a little sugar. She was an expert at staying up late and needed pure black coffee to keep herself alert.

Wei Guangzhu rarely found such authentic coffee in the country, and this cup tasted quite good.

“I’ve taken up so much of your time. Let me pay for the coffee.”

“No need. I said I’d treat you, so I will. Isn’t there a saying? I have the liquor, and you have the story. But I don’t have any liquor today, so coffee will have to do.”

Wei Guangzhu was not the sort to quibble over every little thing. Since Chen Xin had put it that way, he readily accepted her kindness.

“But seriously, I suggest you stay. This is the best possible time. You work in the Internet industry, so you should understand that. If you don’t want to stay with your parents and the rest of your family, you can develop your career somewhere else. Your parents probably aren’t powerful enough to control everything. Go somewhere beyond their reach, build yourself up, and then look back at them later. You’ll feel differently by then.”

Wei Guangzhu rubbed his face, looking conflicted. “I… I’ll go back and think it over. I need some time to consider it.”

Watching him leave with a troubled expression, Chen Xin raised her eyebrows, had someone come over to clear away the equipment, and then returned to struggling with the original-language book.

She wondered whether Teacher Cao had been transformed from a demon. Before the May Day holiday, Chen Xin had submitted her assignment with more than a little pride, only to receive the new reading list from Teacher Cao before the holiday had even begun.

The list contained half as many books as before, but the difficulty had increased by at least two levels. On top of that, Teacher Cao had given her another assignment: translate fifteen classical essays and submit them to him!