Quick Transmigration: What to Do When the Male Supporting Character You Saved Becomes Obsessed with

Chapter 328 Obedient and Clingy Younger Brother (39)

Jin Shuhe was taken aback; he hadn't heard from Aunt Chun for quite some time.

Specifically, it happened after Aunt Chun's current husband used her phone to send her a message last time.

The next day, Aunt Chun called her: "Xiao He, come over for a meal." She said the same thing.

Jin Shuhe gave the same answer.

But Aunt Chun's tone was clearly more sincere.

“I’ve settled down now. Why are you so stubborn, child? Do you intend to pretend you don’t know me anymore?” Aunt Chun’s tone was somewhat urgent.

But Jin Shuhe could still keenly detect a hint of nervousness and unease in her voice.

Jin Shuhe knew why.

She left him there that day, and rarely contacted him afterward, because she didn't know how to face herself...

She had been burdened by a child for many years, and out of a sense of responsibility and kindness, she couldn't abandon him and leave him behind.

Jin Shuhe remembers that when his father had just passed away, he heard Aunt Chun making a phone call.

Jin Shuhe doesn't know who's on the other end of the line anymore; he can't quite remember now because many years have passed.

All I can remember is that Aunt Chun mentioned the orphanage at the time.

At that time, Jin Shuhe was very scared.

He had no means of survival and no control over his own life. He could only be manipulated by others, letting people he knew and didn't know, familiar and unfamiliar, make decisions for him.

But for some reason, Aunt Chun didn't send herself away in the end.

Over the years, Jin Shuhe has done everything in his power to avoid causing trouble for Aunt Chun.

But he knew perfectly well that his very existence was a problem.

The moment Aunt Chun and that man left, Jin Shuhe felt a huge sense of relief.

In any case, Aunt Chun has finally been relieved of her burden.

From childhood to adulthood, Jin Shuhe had wanted to tell her many times: send me away, send me to an orphanage, or just stop caring about me altogether.

But in the end, neither of them said it.

Jin Shuhe felt that he was selfish and cowardly. Because it would benefit him, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Aunt Chun chattered on the other end of the phone for a few more minutes.

When Jin Shuhe didn't answer, she suddenly fell silent. After a few seconds, she asked, "Xiao He, are you still blaming me?"

No, I think I'm the one who should apologize...

"No, Aunt Chun, how are you doing these days?"

"It's alright, it's just one day at a time. I'm already this old, I just want to live a peaceful life." Aunt Chun sighed. "Come visit me for the New Year. Your uncle's children aren't coming back, it'll just be the two of us." She explained softly.

Jin Shuhe cleared her throat, trying to make her tone sound light and cheerful: "No need, Aunt Chun. I'm not in Pucheng right now."

"If you're not in Pucheng, where did you go?"

“I went to Sister Li Ruan’s house for the Chinese New Year.”

"You child..." Aunt Chun was taken aback, wanting to say something, but the words stopped halfway through.

Why bother them so much?

Jin Shuhe thought for a moment and said, "Sister Li Ruan is a very nice person, and so are your uncle and aunt. I'm very happy here."

On the other end of the phone, the woman with short hair and light makeup, sitting on the sofa, seemed completely different from before.

The dark circles under her eyes were gone, and her whole demeanor became gentle and peaceful.

Aunt Chun looked at her phone screen. It wasn't a video call, but she could almost see what her child, who had lived with her for so many years, looked like.

But I couldn't imagine his expression.

Over the years, it seems like I've never heard that child say when they were happy.

I don't know if it's true or false...

Aunt Chun couldn't deny that on the day she left, an overwhelming sense of relief welled up within her, despite her guilt.

But what followed was endless guilt.

She even thinks about that child every day.

When his father passed away, he wanted to send the child away.

But when I asked around about the welfare home, all I heard was how pitiful the children sent there were.

She thought to herself that it wouldn't be appropriate to send the child away now that his father had just died, so she kept him by her side for a while longer.

I left some time, then left some more, and before I knew it, a year or two had passed.

Aunt Chun has no children of her own, so she can no longer bring herself to send him away.

But his child was definitely not his own.

His father ruined his own life, and now this child is ruining his own life too.

She treated the child more like a routine than a mother.

Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are irrelevant to her; all she needs is a full meal and a place to stay.

Aunt Chun felt she had done everything she could.

But after the child actually left her, she began to feel a little regretful.

Especially when she saw what her current husband and their two grown-up children were like, and what kind of life they were living.

Their childhood photo albums filled a cabinet at home, containing all the toys they played with and the rooms they lived in. All the traces were from their childhood, adolescence, and youth.

But that child doesn't seem to have had a single photograph taken. Aunt Chun can't even remember what he looked like when he was little.

For such a long time, neither of them ever thought of taking the initiative to get closer to the other.

When even basic necessities like food and clothing become a struggle, emotions seem to become unnecessary.

Aunt Chun thought of the girl next door; she had seen her more than once, and it seemed she was quite happy when she was alone.

Once, she was carrying a bag of snacks, happily talking on the phone, and skipping along.

"You...you have to be obedient and not cause trouble for others, understand?" Aunt Chun didn't know what else to tell them, so she could only say this.

A while ago, Jin Shuhe might have just listened, but now, a thought popped into his head: Sister Li Ruan... didn't think I was causing trouble.

The thought surprised even Jin Shuhe himself. He didn't know where his confidence came from, but subconsciously, that's what he felt.

This was the first time he had ever felt this way, moving between different families.

If Lu Liruan knew what he was thinking, she would definitely feel gratified.

After so much effort, I'm finally seeing some results, which has helped the child start to face himself instead of constantly retreating and feeling inferior.

"Aunt Chun."

Jin Shuhe suddenly felt the words well up in his throat: "I'm sorry."

He finally mustered the courage to say, "I've caused you so much trouble over the years. If it weren't for me... you... would definitely have a better life."

"I've been so selfish, always taking advantage of your sacrifices," Jin Shuhe said, trying to express her true feelings.

“You’re still a child, why are you thinking so much! These are adult matters!” Aunt Chun interrupted him firmly.

Just like when she told the man: I must take him with me.

"Why do you have such a heavy heart at such a young age? The things of the previous generation, the things of your father and me, have nothing to do with you. I raise you because I am happy to do so."

"Back then, you begged me to leave you, and I couldn't leave you, so I became selfish...thinking nonsense..." Aunt Chun seemed to suddenly revert to the way she used to be when she was with Jin Shuhe.

The vague sense of unfamiliarity and distance that had been building between the two of them suddenly vanished.

"I used to call you a little burden, and you still hold a grudge? You're quite vengeful!" Aunt Chun scolded.

"I'm not……"

“I know you saved up your own money. You didn’t come with me back then, and I thought that once you ran out of money, you would still have to come and live with me. But now it seems that I was overthinking it.” Aunt Chun suddenly became frank.

"When you get back to Pucheng, come see me. I'll come see you too. Since you really don't want to be with me anymore... I'll give you some more money."

Women are always straightforward.

"I'll come to see you, but please don't give me any more money. I have enough."

"We'll see! You little ingrate... I thought you weren't going to acknowledge me as your aunt for the rest of your life!"

"Xiao He! Dinner's ready!"

Li Ruan's voice came from inside the house, and Jin Shuhe realized that he had been standing on the balcony for about ten minutes.

"Go on, go on, they're calling you!" Aunt Chun heard it too and urged him on.

"Yes, Aunt Chun, Happy New Year."

Jin Shuhe hung up the phone.

Looking at the northern winter sky, so high and sunny yet so cold, he had never felt so exhilarated.

Sister Li Ruan is right. Just say what you think. If you don't take the initiative to express yourself, how can you hear what others are thinking?

Treat others with honesty and sincerity, and they will treat you the same way.

Sometimes, after keeping things bottled up inside for a long time and thinking about many things, you might only realize in the end that your thoughts were flawed when you finally talk to someone about them.

After Aunt Chun left, he actually didn't really want to face it.

After he returns to Pucheng this time, he should go and see Aunt Chun.

"Xiao He!" Aunt Lu called again.

"You're here!" Jin Shuhe opened the balcony door, and a warm fragrance enveloped him once again.

On the 28th, Lu's mother went grocery shopping, and on the 29th, she started buying things for Lu Liruan and Jin Shuhe.

Lu's mother found Xiao He more and more pleasing to the eye. At first, she was somewhat polite, but later she started to find fault with Jin Shuhe from head to toe.

The sweater material is bad, and why are the pants so thin? Just like Lu Liruan, both of them are dressed in drab gray clothes for the New Year!

So on the 29th, I took Lu's dad and the two kids to the mall for a big shopping spree.

Compared to young people who prefer online shopping, Lu's mother prefers offline shopping, where she can see how clothes look on her directly.

Fortunately, the shopping mall remained open until noon on New Year's Eve, allowing Lu's mother to indulge her shopping desires.

The mall was crowded, but Lu's mother, with her two beautiful children, walked around with an air of confidence and pride, daring to try on any clothes they could find.

"Mom! You're going to dress us up like adult dolls!" Lu Liruan quickly stopped her mother when she saw that her mother had just bought each of them a red sweater and was now looking at other bright colors.

Xiaohe's ability to stop her mother is zero. Wherever she goes, she's like a silent clothes rack, letting others dress her up as they please.

At first, Jin Shuhe was worried that his aunt would spend money and even tried to refuse, but Lu Ma shut him down with, "Auntie has money! I'm only happy to spend money during the New Year!"

"Mom, don't buy him a green coat! Red and green together, you're going to put on a big show for him!—I don't want a purple dress either! Red and purple don't look good together either! Mom, stop looking, stop looking... Dad, say something!"

Mr. Lu, who was also given a red sweater, dutifully carried things on the side.

Hearing her daughter's complaints, she advised, "It only happens once a year, why don't you ask your mother to buy it!"

After finally finishing her shopping, on her way to dinner, Lu's mother noticed the crowded jewelry store and became interested again.

"Ruan Ruan, Mom will buy you a gold bracelet!"

"Mom, really, you don't need to!"

"You child, how can you not know its value?" Lu's mother asked casually, then went inside to check the gold price and inquired about the New Year's discount before decisively buying one for herself.

"Hey, that's more like it! We need to be adorned with jewels for the New Year!" said Aunt Lu with satisfaction.

"Actually, it was her own idea to buy it..." Lu Liruan whispered in Jin Shuhe's ear.

"She loves it! Remember to remind me that before Mom's birthday, we'll go pick out a gold ring for her!"

"Okay." Jin Shuhe carefully wrote it down and made a memo on her phone calendar.

When giving gifts, you should always choose something that the recipient likes.

On the 30th, the whole family obediently followed Lu's mother's arrangements and wore red sweaters.

In Lu Liruan's words, "We were all sitting at the table, and it was so bright that we could barely see each other..."

"If you say anything unlucky today, I'll sew your mouth shut!" Aunt Lu warned as soon as she heard her muttering.

“You and Xiaohe definitely have something in common.” Lu Liruan pouted.

“They know their place and value tradition!” Lu’s mother ladled another bowl of porridge for Jin Shuhe with satisfaction: “With you by my side, I feel much more at ease.”

"mom!"

Why is it the other way around? Shouldn't it be the parent looking after the child?

Before the New Year's Eve dinner even started, the sound of firecrackers being hung could already be heard crackling in the courtyard downstairs.

The local custom is to set off a string of firecrackers before the New Year's Eve dinner.

After getting dressed, Lu's father took Lu Liruan and Jin Shuhe downstairs. A faint smell of smoke filled the air outside.

It can only be smelled during the Chinese New Year; it seems that this smell is also part of the festive atmosphere.

"May our lives be prosperous this year! May Ruan Ruan's work get better and better, and her business be booming. May Xiao He achieve good results in the college entrance examination! May Ms. Qin and I be safe and healthy, and not cause you any trouble."

After finishing his rambling, Lu's father lit a fire.

Staying up late on New Year's Eve, I made Lu Liruan's favorite chive and shrimp dumplings. As soon as the New Year's bell rang, Lu Liruan's phone was flooded with New Year's greetings.

As Lu Liruan was replying to messages, she saw her mother walking over with two red envelopes in her hand.

"Come on, come on, here's your New Year's money!"

Jin Shuhe was surprised for a moment: "Auntie, I'm already eighteen..."

"It's a family tradition that children receive lucky money before they get married!"

Lu Liruan took the initiative and said, "I'm prepared to never get married and live off my mom's New Year's money for the rest of my life!"

"After thirty, there's nothing left to say!" Aunt Lu pretended to be stern.

"It's okay, I'll give you both red envelopes after you turn thirty~" Lu Liruan said with a grin: "Take them! We'll give each other red envelopes every year, I'll be thirty, and you'll be twenty-four that year, so you'll have to give them red envelopes when you graduate from university!"

"Don't listen to her nonsense!" Lu's mother was all smiles after being coaxed by Lu Liruan. She stuffed red envelopes into their hands and went to cook dumplings.

Lu Liruan leaned over to see how much money was in Jin Shuhe's red envelope.

Then I saw that it contained a thousand dollars and one coin.

One thousand and one yuan.

Lu Liruan: ...

Mom, do you think that people usually give 10,001 yuan as a red envelope when they first meet their child's partner, to symbolize that they are one in a million, which is why you chose this number?

The first meeting with her adopted younger brother wasn't as grand as other people's weddings, but it was still a very respectful occasion...

That's a really great idea.