Chapter 644: Chapter 644

By that time, when he finally heard the true nature of those incidents, Ye Xi was indeed heartbroken!

For those years, he had always thought that the days he spent with his mother and sibling were the toughest.

They got divorced when his father’s career was at its peak.

To keep custody of their two children, his mother only asked for a small amount of money and then took him and his sister back to Rui’an from Shanghai.

During that period, as a boy, Ye Xi naturally took on the responsibility of caring for the two women in the family.

Ye Xi had always thought his father’s greatest transgression was abandoning his wife and children, but he didn’t know that his father had committed these other senseless acts! Utterly without conscience! Pushing him to a dead end...

Ye Xi couldn’t understand...

How could such a once happy family be so easily intruded upon? So easily destroyed?

Tonight, the deepest sorrow in Ye Xi’s heart had been unearthed.

Knowing so much, he was extremely grateful that he had brought a bottle of wine with him this evening.

Fueled by the alcohol, Ye Xi had cried hard in Pu Wenhua’s arms.

He was always a man who seldom shed tears, gentle yet strong.

But tonight, certain truths truly wounded his pride and shattered the once towering figure in his heart.

His father had fallen in his heart...

That was the true death.

Was the father in his heart... dead.

Therefore, Ye Xi tonight, like a wounded child and a regretful adult, cried his heart out, which was understandable.

Pu Wenhua had been there all along, comforting him, still the same gentle image as always, unchanged over the decades.

Since childhood, Ye Xi had enjoyed being around Pu Wenhua.

Because the genteel uncle next door had always been his idol, and Pu Wenhua had taught him by example as well as by words.

That’s why Ye Xi had always possessed a demeanor cool as jade.

Ye Xi respected Pu Wenhua and trusted him even more than his own father.

It had been so in the past, was so now, and he believed it would continue in the future.

The next day was a typical Monday, yet an extraordinary one.

At Longxiang Campus, Pu Sangzhi continued his routine school life, living his consistent, straight-forward existence.

Meanwhile in Shanghai, Pu Wenhua carried his luggage and boarded a plane to Heilongjiang Province.

Before boarding the plane, Pu Wenhua sent Pu Sangzhi a message, asking him to call and chat with Ye Xi, preferably today.

Because he had cried severely last night...

Of course, the fact that he had cried severely, Pu Wenhua did not tell Pu Sangzhi.

Pu Wenhua merely mentioned to Pu Sangzhi that Ye Xi had signed a ten-year indenture for the Pu Family, and that Ye Xi was a lifelong benefactor whom the Pu Family should be thankful for.

After seeing Pu Wenhua off, Ye Xi then saw Xu Hui and Chen Huifen onto a plane back to Wenzhou, and afterwards, he sat alone in the airport until the early hours, waiting for the plane to Beijing.

That day, Ye Xi was once again left alone with his thoughts, giving himself a day off...

Pu Sangzhi called him around 10 PM, specifically to express her gratitude.

During the call, her repeated thanks made Ye Xi feel deeply ashamed.

Ye Xi stood in the airport terminal, his gaze distant as he looked out through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the planes on the tarmac, while continuing this call...

Latter, he simply didn’t hide anything from Pu Sangzhi anymore and told her everything his father had done.

As Pu Sangzhi thanked him, Ye Xi, with a heavy heart, also said to Pu Sangzhi, "I’m sorry, it was my family that harmed yours..."

On the other end of the phone, after Pu Sangzhi heard everything and his apology,

she felt a complex mix of emotions.

Then, she collected her thoughts and finally said, "Brother Ye Xi, I think you are mistaken. It wasn’t your family that harmed mine, but your family who saved mine. I don’t want to hear your apologies; you did nothing wrong. You are the best Brother Ye Xi, you haven’t done anything to harm me or my family. You even sold ten years of your life..."

"You forgave me that easily?"

Listening to her words, Ye Xi took a deep breath, his palm resting on the floor-to-ceiling window, sighing, "Uncle Pu doesn’t blame me either. We owe your family so much, I even feel ashamed to apologize..."

"Brother Ye Xi, it’s not your family, it’s your father."

Pu Sangzhi had to remind him, "The elder has passed away, let’s not talk about this anymore. Brother Ye Xi, haven’t you taught me to look forward? Let’s both look forward now. I’ll be heading to Tsinghua soon to see you, I will definitely get into Tsinghua, and you must wait for me there."

Ye Xi blinked in response, his heart warmed by her statement to wait for him, feeling as if bathed in the spring breeze, "I’ll wait for you at Tsinghua."

On the other end of the phone, Pu Sangzhi suddenly said with a laugh, "Also, you better find a girlfriend soon."

Ye Xi frowned slightly upon hearing this, but still asked in a light-hearted manner, "You’re managing that sort of thing now?"

Pu Sangzhi on the other side was laughing, "Because, I’m afraid that when Huo Feng and I come to see you, you’ll feel too lonely seeing us as a couple!"

Ye Xi’s lips curved slightly, "Not really. I’ve been single since birth; freedom feels awesome."

Pu Sangzhi added, "Anyway, find someone soon, or else I’ll have to set you up in the future."

Ye Xi laughed, "Are you that idle? Living by the sea?"

Ye Xi: "Got it. I might as well find someone to get you off my back..."

Then, the Ye Xi on the phone laughed.

He had chatted with Pu Sangzhi for a long time, and the atmosphere over the phone was great, making their relationship even stronger.

Ye Xi believed she had never changed, always the naive and romantic girl next door.

Yet, he still felt a sense of loss...

He understood that he had no chance anymore.

Time quietly slipped by in a calm and comfortable life, and in the blink of an eye, a semester had passed.

A lot had happened this semester, and they were all significant events.

Fortunately, each significant event was resolved perfectly, and Pu Sangzhi’s life was gradually getting back on the right track.

After Huo Feng returned to school, his sense of responsibility towards his studies had greatly increased.

He began to autonomously plan his studies, though, of course, these plans were quite diluted.

After he had made his plans, Pu Sangzhi would revise them, perpetually stuffing and bulking them up to the brim before letting Huo Feng carry them out.

Although his self-discipline wasn’t high, under the heavy tasks arranged by Pu Sangzhi, he worked extremely hard for more than half a semester.

Having initially slid to beyond the 70th rank, his grades surged in the latter half of the semester, and at the end of it, Huo Feng obtained the second-best score in his cohort!

He surpassed Chen Ruixiang, who had always been the second in the cohort, by three points!

On the day the final scores came out, the high school section’s notice board displayed the top 100 names.

Many students paused by the board, lifting their heads to look for familiar names.

Thus, right below Pu Sangzhi’s name was Huo Feng’s, which shocked all their classmates!

That day at the crowded notice board, Huo Feng’s ten brothers stood shoulder to shoulder, staring up at Huo Feng’s name, everyone gaping in awe...

"Not bad, it’s second..."

"I never imagined seeing these two names so close together, not at a wedding ceremony but on the top hundred list..."

The brothers each said a line, their words filled with envy, and a bit of sorrow in their hearts...

Thinking of the semester they had also spent revising, although they had all made some progress, none was as fast as Huo Feng’s, and they were still far from the top hundred ranks. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽

This semester, Huo Feng had really... the effect of his forgetfulness of friends for fame was too good!

"Oh, look at daddy’s rank."

Huo Feng quietly joined his ten brothers from behind, saying this as he wrapped an arm around Pan Bo’s neck and pinched Pan Bo’s chubby face, "This rank really makes you hateable... I might start making enemies from now on! I know, right now, many people must be jealous of me!"

Pan Bo squinted his eyes, shooting a sharp glance at him.

The other brothers felt much the same, each one looking unfriendly, sorely tempted to punch Huo Feng.

"Look at the height of my name."

Huo Feng patted Gu Yang’s shoulder, "Yangzi, isn’t your neck tired from looking up?"

Gu Yang straightforwardly said, "Huo, it feels like a dream, can I punch you?"

After he spoke, Huo Feng punched Gu Yang in the chest, causing him to shriek in pain and quickly clutch at his chest, "Huo, are you crazy!"

Huo Feng laughed, "Does it hurt? Not a dream! Daddy is second in the cohort! Hahaha!"

Huo Feng laughed with the sinister tone of a villain in a drama...

This moment of triumph proved that his reading of over 300 essays this semester wasn’t in vain, the practice of over 50 essays wasn’t useless, the four weekly library visits weren’t pointless, and every study plan was worth it!

As they say, no pain, no gain...

Today, the tears Huo Feng had shed over his studies finally bore fruit!

Huo Feng hugged Pan Bo, leaning his head against Pan Bo’s, overwhelmed with joy, the tears streaming freely, "Buddy, it’s been so tough, so tough... At this moment, I can’t help but want to share a word from deep within my heart..."

No sooner had he spoken than the nine brothers dispersed in every direction, leaving behind in perfect understanding a single word: "Goodbye!"

Only Pan Bo, still caught by Huo Feng, couldn’t move away...

But Pan Bo said, "Huo, I really don’t want to hear you brag..."

Huo Feng: "Just two sentences, just two, you should listen to what the boss says, be good..."

Then, Huo Feng, grabbing onto Pan Bo, bragged for a full 15 minutes!