From Rural Roots to City Lights Chapter 2

Ethan Chen came out cautiously. They were talking about something. Owen Gao smiled at him and motioned him to sit aside. Then no one paid any attention to him.

Ethan Chen didn't know what they wanted to confirm with her, and since they didn't tell her, Ethan Chen didn't dare to ask. There was no way to eliminate the uneasiness in her heart.

Ethan Chen sat on the soft sofa in the direction Owen Gao pointed to him. On the glass table in front of him were delicious snacks like the ones he saw in picture magazines. Ethan Chen suddenly felt very hungry. They were talking about topics that Ethan Chen could not understand at all, as if Ethan Chen did not exist at all. Ethan Chen was uneasy and did not know what time it was. Ethan Chen, who had not lived outside the school since junior high school, was somewhat more anxious and hungry. He did not have time to eat lunch and he vomited in the morning and his stomach was empty. The more he thought about it, the hungrier he became. Seeing that they were not paying attention, Ethan Chen ate a few pieces of food. They were soft, sweet and delicious.

The soft sofa, the warmth in his stomach, and the laziness of having washed away all the dirt on his body made Ethan Chen unable to resist. He held on for more than an hour before falling down and falling asleep.

It was a really comfortable sleep. The ground beneath my body felt soft as if I was floating in the clouds. It was so comfortable. Ethan Chen, who had always slept on a hard bed, had no idea that a bed could be so comfortable. It was a bit like the embrace of her mother that she had almost forgotten in the depths of her memory.

When Ethan Chen opened his eyes, he saw the person who was very close to him. It was the only person who didn't speak that night and whose name he didn't know. That person leaned on his neck just like that day, and he almost completely nestled in his arms, with his toes entangled. Ethan Chen was stunned for a moment. That's right, this is this person's room, and he should sleep in this person's bed. Ethan Chen has lived in the school for many years and has many brothers. In the coldest months of winter, the two brothers would squeeze together under the quilt to keep warm. Many of the good friends in the same dormitory would spend the coldest days like this. Ethan Chen didn't find it strange, but was embarrassed to occupy someone else's bed.

He woke up as soon as Chen Suli moved.

He woke up quickly, as if he had not slept at all, his eyes were calm. He looked at Ethan Chen who was close by, turned around and got out of bed to look at the clock beside the bed. It was 6:30 in the morning. Ethan Chen, who had lived in a dormitory for many years, had a strict biological clock.

There was a separate bathroom in the room. He was shaving and brushing his teeth, and he grew a layer of green beard in just one night. Ethan Chen squinted and found her glasses on the bedside table. Seeing him, she couldn't help touching her smooth chin. Maybe it was because she was from the south, Ethan Chen had very little body hair. Ethan Chen had used Aaron Chen's shaving once or twice, and didn't see any difference from before and after shaving. But most of her classmates were like this, so Ethan Chen didn't care anymore. It was only when she went to school in the north and took a shower in the bathroom that she realized the many differences between the north and the south.

He came out of the shower. To be honest, Ethan Chen hadn't heard him speak yet. All those people who came yesterday were talking and laughing, but she didn't hear him speak either. He took out the phone to ask someone to send breakfast, and his voice was cold and metallic.

Ethan Chen hurriedly rinsed her mouth, washed her face and urinated. Today was the day to report for class and she had classes in the afternoon. The mirror reflected the brand new single clothes that Ethan Chen had changed into yesterday. Ethan Chen looked for her own clothes but couldn't find them.

Ethan Chen searched the bedroom very carefully but couldn't find it. She opened the door and saw him eating breakfast in a very Western style.

"Excuse me--where are my clothes?" Ethan Chen asked cautiously.

He raised his eyes and glanced at Ethan Chen, then at the chair opposite. The commanding look made Ethan Chen sit down at the table. There were two breakfasts. In silence, Ethan Chen ate his first pure Western breakfast in his life, which consisted of milk, bread, and eggs, a style that Ethan Chen did not recognize at all.

He ate four times as much as Ethan Chen did and finally put down his knife and fork. Ethan Chen sat upright and he was about to speak.

"My name is Adrian Wang"

Ethan Chen nodded lightly to indicate that she heard it.

"I don't like beating around the bush. I've suffered from insomnia for many years. I haven't slept normally, but I can sleep when I hold you. From today on, you'll live with me."

Ethan Chen felt something was wrong and said quickly, "But I need to go to school, and I'm not a doctor---"

"I'm not discussing this with you," Adrian Wang interrupted Ethan Chen sternly, his eyes cold, "Don't test my patience. Locking you up here is just a trivial matter for me. I don't have time to ask for your opinion, and I won't interfere with your schooling. You just need to live here."

Ethan Chen froze. If she hadn't experienced what happened that night, she would have sneered and ignored this kind of person. She would have calmly told him that he was sick and mocked him for not growing up. However, after experiencing the incident that night where the body was almost "destroyed and destroyed", Ethan Chen could see that they really didn't care about a life! This person was definitely not threatening, but just giving orders. The choice was definitely not in Ethan Chen's hands.

Ethan Chen was afraid of this person, afraid that this person lived up to his name.

Adrian Wang handed Ethan Chen a stack of 100-yuan cash with a bank seal still on it: "Go and find someone to live on campus and move all your things over here." Adrian Wang was not negotiating but ordering, and he only used an imperative tone.

Chen Shuwang's stack of one hundred yuan, was that one thousand yuan? Ten thousand yuan! Chen Sujian had never seen such a large sum of money as ten thousand yuan before, so she waved her hands in panic. The Chen family still had its family motto. Mother Chen was always competitive. Even if she was short of money, she would pay back the money as soon as possible. No matter how short the time was, she would pay a few yuan in interest. She would not sleep until she paid it back. She taught her children that they should be grateful for what they had received, and should not be soft-hearted. They should not take other people's things for free, let alone money!

Ethan Chen refused to accept it, and Adrian Wang did not ask.

Ethan Chen couldn't find any clothes and guessed they were thrown away. He picked up a few pieces and gave them to Ethan Chen. Ethan Chen had no choice. She couldn't go back wearing only single clothes. Although the weather had warmed up, it was not time to wear single clothes yet.

She wore a snow-white sweater, a light blue coat, and blue jeans with three rolls at the bottom. Ethan Chen got in his car, a silver-white sedan. They were just young people, so how could they have a car? He dropped Ethan Chen off at the back door of the school and left.

Ethan Chen was very carsick. As soon as she got off the car, she vomited all the breakfast she had just eaten. She had been wanting to vomit in the car but didn't dare to. Once she got off the car, she couldn't stop vomiting.

Ethan Chen returned to the dormitory in a daze. When the classmate who brought his lunch box asked him about what happened the day before, Ethan Chen had to lie and say that fellow villagers from the same county came to a party to hang out with him. Although it was not very convincing, he had no choice but to lie like this.

From the morning to the evening when he came back, Ethan Chen was weighing what to do. Go? Not go? The facts were in front of him. He was definitely not someone to be trifled with. Ethan Chen clearly remembered the moment when he grabbed him with one hand and threw him into the air. The cold wind blowing past his ears, the pain of his wrist being crushed, and the pain in his shoulder after landing. How could Ethan Chen not think about it? Besides, Leo Liu caught him at the door of the dormitory. He could run away, but he couldn't. He couldn't give up his studies for this! Thinking of this, Ethan Chen decided to deal with it for a few days to see how it went, and then find a folk remedy to cure insomnia to solve his insomnia. Wouldn't that solve all the problems? Thinking of this, Ethan Chen finally felt a little relieved.

After changing back into her own cotton-padded clothes, she folded the clothes Adrian Wang gave her and put them into her schoolbag. Standing at the school gate, Ethan Chen was thinking about where Adrian Wang lived. Yesterday, he was kidnapped and got on the car without noticing. Today, he got on the car with his head down. He was about to vomit when he got out of the elevator. How could he pay attention to where he was? Ethan Chen thought hard for twenty minutes but got no results and had to go back to school.

Ethan Chen went to evening self-study with trepidation and remained silent all night. The next day was the same and nothing happened. At noon on the third day after school, when Ethan Chen was taking her lunch box to go to the cafeteria to get food, she saw Adrian Wang.

There was no doubt that Adrian Wang was like a person who had walked into the wrong door. He was so out of place in this campus. Seeing Adrian Wang's sharp shadow, Ethan Chen wanted to escape at that moment, but he could run now, but he could not run away from the college.

In disbelief, Ethan Chen fell to the ground holding her stomach. Without any warning or sign, Adrian Wang kicked Ethan Chen's stomach with his leather boots. Before Ethan Chen could react, he grabbed one of Ethan Chen's hands, lifted her up and dragged her out. People on the side of the road stopped to watch but no one cared about such trivial matters.

He would really lock himself up. Ethan Chen realized this immediately with her survival instinct. At the same time, she was horrified and confirmed again that this man had no patience. Ethan Chen shouted in panic: "I will go, but I don't know where you live. I really don't know where you live."

Adrian Wang stared coldly at the fearful and trembling Ethan Chen. As soon as Adrian Wang loosened his hand, Ethan Chen fell back two steps. The bones in his right arm were pinched and hurt a lot.

"Go clean it up," someone interrupted slowly. It was Owen Gao. "Go quickly."

Ethan Chen went to get some clothes and her lower abdomen ached so much that she was sweating profusely. Her roommates were frightened and wanted to take her to the infirmary, but she declined.

I didn't dare to delay and came down as soon as possible. Adrian Wang was gone. Owen Gao was leisurely reading the posters at the door. He turned around and looked at Ethan Chen's pale and painful face and said kindly: "Don't be timid. As long as you don't go against him and do what he says, your life will be easy. As long as you don't violate his rules, it will be fine." Owen Gao drove: "Adrian Wang is a person who doesn't sleep. He had never slept before he met you. He only asked you to accompany him to sleep. There is no other meaning. Adrian Wang is not interested in men."

Not interested in men? Ethan Chen was stunned for a moment. He had never thought about this kind of thing. Ethan Chen must know the idiom of "Duanxiu Dividing Peach". It would be difficult for him to tell Ethan Chen the source of the allusion. It was a distant historical event for Ethan Chen.

Before going to Adrian Wang's residence, Ethan Chen had a severe stomachache. Owen Gao sent him to the hospital halfway and prescribed a lot of medicine in the hospital. Ethan Chen was really afraid of Adrian Wang.

Ethan Chen drank the thin porridge for two days, and she finally recovered except for a temporary bruise on her stomach. During this time, Ethan Chen was also convinced that Adrian Wang really didn't sleep. Every time she woke up in pain in the middle of the night and opened her eyes, she would see Adrian Wang reading or playing on the computer. She never saw him sleep once. It must be very uncomfortable to be unable to sleep, so Ethan Chen had no choice but to stay.

There are some inconveniences in staying in a hotel. It is too far from Ethan Chen's school in the suburbs. Ethan Chen suffers from severe motion sickness and is not used to the weightlessness of the elevator. She vomits every time she comes. On the fourth day, Adrian Wang changed his residence to a place next to Ethan Chen's college. Ethan Chen only needs to walk 20 minutes to school. It is on the third floor and there is no elevator. This is the first time that Ethan Chen has seen the houses of people in big cities up close. The kitchen, toilet, bathroom, bedroom and living room are all together. This is trendy for Ethan Chen. The house is very big for Ethan Chen. It has two bedrooms and two living rooms, and is fully equipped with electrical appliances and furniture. It just lacks popularity and is spotless, just like a sample house.

When I gave Ethan Chen the key, I also gave her an aluminum bank card, which she could use to withdraw money when she needed it. The password was the first five digits of a simple number. Ethan Chen had never used this kind of foreign-style thing before. I heard that foreigners all used it. It would automatically spit out money when you put it in the bank machine, but it was easy to be targeted by thieves. Once stolen, nothing would be left. So after Ethan Chen took it, she put it in the glasses case in the drawer of the bedside table. Ethan Chen, who was too foreign-style, couldn't keep up with the trend. She would not use other people's money. She still had some self-respect.

Ethan Chen came after school at 4pm, holding a bunch of keys in her hand. From now on, Ethan Chen will live in this city dweller's house. The refrigerator, color TV, long dining table, high-backed chairs and various furniture, in short, everything is very new to Ethan Chen. Is this the life of city dwellers? Ethan Chen's family is considered a wealthy family in the village, but the annual tuition and living expenses for three sons are not a small amount. The Chen family built a cement building the year before last, but there is nothing in the house. It is still the old wooden bed, old table and piles of sacks of food.

Ethan Chen walked around the empty room for half an hour before she calmed down and took out the book she had brought to read.

The house was new and seemed to have everything, but Ethan Chen soon discovered that there was almost nothing inside. First of all, there was no food. There was nothing in the refrigerator, and there were not even pots and bowls in the kitchen. Fortunately, there was a stall selling steamed buns downstairs. Ethan Chen spent five cents to buy three steamed buns and ate them in two meals. They could be eaten with fried vegetables. Ethan Chen ate only when he was full.

From the time she moved in here, Ethan Chen went to and from school only between the two places. She was used to living on campus before, and would go back to the dormitory after classes. She had no other hobbies, and at most she would read books in the bookstore for free. Ethan Chen brought here the remaining 700 yuan from that day. She shouldn't have taken it in the first place, and it was better to have it returned now. She felt much calmer. Ethan Chen had been feeling uneasy ever since she put the 700 yuan in the suitcase, and now that she had returned it, she felt much more relieved. It was true that one should not take other people's things for free.

When Adrian Wang came back, he just went to sleep. Ethan Chen felt awkward at first, but after two or three times, she didn't feel anything anymore. She followed Adrian Wang's requests and didn't go against his words. Adrian Wang was basically easy to get along with. Adrian Wang didn't ask about Ethan Chen's life and personal affairs. It was just that when she needed to sleep at night occasionally, she had to have such a person by her side. This house was a place for Ethan Chen to live, not Adrian Wang's home.

Because of Adrian Wang's cleanliness, Ethan Chen made progress in hygiene. Adrian Wang was an extremely clean person, which could be seen from his appearance.

The bathroom was ready, and you could take a shower by turning on the water heater. Taking a shower every morning would make you feel refreshed all day. It didn't take long for Ethan Chen to get into the habit of taking two showers a day. Sure enough, personal hygiene habits are indeed related to basic living conditions. After living there for a month and meeting Adrian Wang less than ten times, she gradually got used to this kind of life. She would walk 20 minutes to the college every day, have classes, eat in the cafeteria, wash her lunch box, and buy a sweet steamed bun for 50 cents as a midnight snack and the next day's breakfast.

Although the house is big, Ethan Chen is still used to doing homework at the dining table. The midterm exam will be in two weeks, and Ethan Chen is trying hard to do well. If she does well in the midterm exam and the final exam, she can get a scholarship this year. This is a matter of honor. Ethan Chen, who has never been better than others in academics, has a small wish to get a scholarship. Now that the learning environment is so good, he wants to work harder to improve.

The door opened and Adrian Wang came back.

Leo Liu and Owen Gao were also here for the first time. The person who came in later was Marcus Song, whom Ethan Chen met for the second time. The glances in his eyes always gave people a gloomy aura that made Ethan Chen stay away from him.

Under their gaze, Ethan Chen hurriedly gathered the books on the table and walked to another room. Ethan Chen did not have the talent to get along with these people, so he avoided them whenever possible.

They were talking in the living room, and Ethan Chen didn't stay there for long. She had to take in the quilts that were drying on the balcony. Although the house had heating, the quilts still had to be dried in the sun to keep them warmer and smell the natural fragrance of the sun.

After going back and forth several times but no one paid any attention to him, Ethan Chen spread out the quilt and went out to study.

"Aren't you going to cook dinner?" It was getting late. The temperature has been rising fast these days, and the time difference in the north is later than in my hometown. Leo Liu turned around and asked him.

Cooking dinner? Ethan Chen subconsciously looked at the plastic lunch box placed at the corner of the dining table. Inside was the handmade sweet buns made in the school cafeteria. This was Ethan Chen's dinner and breakfast. I'm not bragging. Although Ethan Chen was born and raised in the countryside, and was the most ordinary son of the Chen family, he had never been involved in school. Since he was a child, he had been studying all the time. The smart and capable mother Chen had a strong idea of   favoring boys over girls. After the youngest daughter finished elementary school, she helped with housework at home. Of course, this was also related to Chen Jie's inability to continue her studies.

During the busy farming season, the three brothers naturally stayed at school. Ethan Chen had no interest in cooking. Eating from the big pot in the school cafeteria was much easier and less laborious. He only had to wash his own bowl. How great! It was here that Ethan Chen spent a long time trying to learn how to use natural gas to light a fire and boil water.

They opened the refrigerator and found nothing in it except the two bottles of drinks. The kitchen was as white as new from top to bottom as always, without the slightest smell of fireworks. "Where do you usually eat?" Adrian Wang asked with a frown. In fact, they had been waiting for the time to come, thinking that Ethan Chen would call them to eat.

"School canteen"

They immediately gave a twisted look to fully express their extreme contempt and disgust for the school cafeteria. "Go buy some vegetables for dinner." Adrian Wang commanded with two fingers to draw a few hundred yuan, and Ethan Chen was driven out of the house to buy vegetables.

This bunch of evil capitalists! A bunch of Gao Yanei who deserve to be killed! Ethan Chen went downstairs silently in her heart like Ah Q.

Ethan Chen had never cooked before, but he knew the seven necessities of life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea. One thing Ethan Chen was sure of was that there was not a grain of rice, a drop of oil or an ounce of salt in the kitchen. So Ethan Chen took 500 yuan and went back and forth four times in the all-day vegetable market one stop away. After checking the quality, comparing prices and shopping around, he bought a 20-jin bag of rice, which northerners call stalk rice, a pot of oil, a bag of salt, a jin of sugar and a bottle of soy sauce. He also didn't forget to buy plastic boxes for these condiments, a chopping board, a basin for washing vegetables and a rag for rinsing dishes. Ethan Chen bought as many as he could and when it seemed like he had enough, he went to buy some vegetables, tofu, radish and cut two kilograms of meat. After looking around, it seemed like everything was there, but...

How to transport it back was a problem. There was a cart outside the market that would deliver it to your door for five yuan. Chen Sulin remembered to buy ginger and onions when he got on the cart.

The migrant worker moved everything into the kitchen. When Ethan Chen wanted to return the balance to him, she suddenly remembered something extremely important that he had completely ignored: he didn't buy a wok or even bowls and chopsticks.

Half an hour later, Ethan Chen brought back the iron pot, spatula and a dozen bowls in the evening wind and confirmed one thing again. He didn't buy the rice cooker and even forgot to buy the plates to serve the dishes. Why did he have to go buy them again?

"Let's go out to eat." They were already hungry, but they were just curious about how much Ethan Chen would buy with the 500 yuan. The kitchen floor was already full of things.

They went out, and Ethan Chen ate the sweet steamed buns left over from lunch for dinner. However, the lettuce and meat she bought kept Ethan Chen busy for a while. Fortunately, she had a refrigerator, so she just stuffed the food into it and the problem was solved. The Chen family's small department store had a freezer that sold popsicles every summer, so the vegetables that could not be eaten at home could be put in the freezer within a week.

Adrian Wang didn't come back until midnight. Ethan Chen had fallen asleep long ago. The things continued to pile up in the kitchen. On the dining table was a detailed shopping list and the remaining 163 yuan.

As soon as Adrian Wang got up the next day, he gave instructions. He asked Ethan Chen to take apart and wash the bed sheets, and change those that were more than three days old. He also asked them to throw away all the inferior pots and pans in the kitchen. Someone would deliver a full set of high-end kitchenware in the afternoon. Finally, he ordered Ethan Chen to buy a new set of clothes, change her glasses, and throw away her dirty sneakers.

Ethan Chen looked at Adrian Wang. He bought these sneakers for 90 yuan and only wore them for two months. It was Ethan Chen's fault for not cleaning them in the past two months. Rural people don't care about the shoes on their feet. But they can't just be thrown away. This pair of shoes can be worn for three to five years at most. He got new glasses after the incident last month. They are much better than the previous pair he used for four years. Clothes? Why buy new clothes? It's not the New Year. How can I spend less than 300 yuan a month on clothes like a girl?

Adrian Wang asked Ethan Chen to throw away the clothes hanging in Adrian Wang's closet. They were new clothes that had only been worn once or twice and had never been washed. Ethan Chen was not a person who took shortcuts and had a bit of backbone, but he was reluctant to throw away new social wealth. There were also several unopened sweaters among them. It was really unwise to compare his backbone with this kind of person who lived in big hotels and drove a car at any time. Ethan Chen could not help but say: "Let me wear the clothes you don't wear. It's too wasteful to throw them away. They are still new." B92E3孤:) Reprinted with permission

Adrian Wang glanced at Ethan Chen and said nothing, which seemed to be his agreement.

Adrian Wang was over 1.9 meters tall, while Ethan Chen was only a little over 1.7 meters tall, a whole head shorter than him. Naturally, not many of his clothes fit him, especially his pants and shoes. As he was not tall, his feet were small. Adrian Wang's leather shoes looked like small boats on Ethan Chen's feet. Ethan Chen was planning to pack up and take everything back with her during the summer vacation. The Chen family had many brothers.

All the clothes that Ethan Chen brought were thrown out of the balcony by Adrian Wang. It was really uncivilized behavior!

Ethan Chen also knew Adrian Wang's character. He was a typical willful and arrogant person!

She felt sorry for him because of the money. At the same time, she was surprised that he seemed to have no parents. She had never heard him mention it once. Although she was curious, she would not ask for trouble. She never paid attention to other people's affairs. She was indifferent to things beyond her own life.