Chapter 43: Friends Only Become Her Weakness

The interior of the car fell silent once again.

Without a word along the way, Uncle Li parked the car at the Jingda gates.

Shi Kezhen and Shi Yanzhou opened their respective doors and got out of the car, then walked toward the school gates at the same time.

After walking a few steps, Shi Yanzhou suddenly turned his head to look at Shi Kezhen, who was not far away.

“Hey, don’t forget what I told you before.”

“When we are at school, you’re not allowed to hover in front of me!”

Shi Kezhen didn’t pay him any attention at all, continuing to walk forward.

Shi Yanzhou: “…”

***

After resting for an entire night, Shi Kezhen’s body was still a bit frail; her stomach no longer ached, but her legs were weak, and she lacked strength.

Therefore, on her first day back at school, she skipped both mandatory morning classes directly.

It wasn’t out of rebellion, but because she truly couldn’t hold on; she was afraid that if she sat in the classroom, she would collapse on her desk before even finishing a single lecture.

‘In that case, it was better to lie in the dormitory.’

At this hour, everyone with morning classes had left the dorm; when Shi Kezhen walked into her room, there was no one inside, and the other three beds were empty.

She changed into her pajamas, kicked off her shoes, climbed into her bed, pulled her curtains shut, and slept comfortably for the entire morning.

When she woke up again, she was disturbed by the voices of her roommates.

Sometime past eleven, her roommates gradually returned after finishing their classes.

“Kezhen? You’re back?”

Cai Jiaqing was the first to spot her shoes.

“Mm,” Shi Kezhen replied, parting the bed curtain slightly to reveal a still somewhat pale face.

“Our counselor said you requested a long leave of absence; what happened?”

“Are you feeling unwell? Or did you catch some illness?”

Luo Tingting also leaned in, holding a cup of freshly poured hot water in her hand.

Pulling a bag of biscuits from her bag, Li Yanman tore it open and spoke as she did.

“There were even rumors in class that you were preparing to go abroad; I thought you weren’t coming back.”

Shi Kezhen propped herself up to sit, leaning against the headboard; her hair was a bit messy, but her spirits were better than in the morning.

She pulled the curtain open a bit wider.

“I felt a bit unwell some time ago, so I took a sick leave.”

“No wonder your complexion looks a bit poor; is everything fine now?”

Cai Jiaqing asked.

“Yes, everything is fine now.”

“By the way, have you eaten lunch?”

Cai Jiaqing asked.

“Not yet.”

“Then let’s go to the canteen together,” Luo Tingting invited warmly, her eyes bright and her smile friendly.

Shi Kezhen looking at their three sincere faces, she felt she was quite fortunate; her three roommates were all very, very good people.

She gave a faint smile, maintaining her distance.

“You guys go ahead first; I’ll go by myself in a bit.”

The three roommates exchanged a glance and did not force her.

“Alright, then remember to eat, and don’t starve yourself.”

“Mm.”

The door closed, and the sound of footsteps slowly faded away, leaving the dormitory quiet once more.

Shi Kezhen leaned against the headboard; after ten minutes or so, she slowly got out of bed, washed her face, changed out of her pajamas, picked up her clutch, and left the dormitory alone, walking unhurriedly toward the canteen.

Although she didn’t plan on acting obedient and submissive in front of the Shi family anymore, she still had no intention of making friends.

Having learned her lesson before, friends would only become her weakness, tools for Mother Shi to manipulate her.

‘Only by being entirely alone, with nothing but a cheap life, would I be devoid of any weaknesses.’

‘No matter how displeased Mother Shi is with me, as long as I stay obediently and behave myself in the Shi family, she won’t be able to do anything to me.’

***

Because she had deliberately avoided matching schedules with her roommates, it was already late by the time Shi Kezhen arrived at the canteen.

It was the peak dining hour, and long queues snaked in front of the food serving windows.

Shi Kezhen randomly ordered a few light dishes, carried her tray, and found an empty table against the wall to sit down.

Even though she was no longer putting on an act, her dining habits of many years had already formed; she picked up her chopsticks, eating in small bites with her back perfectly straight, chewing soundlessly.

She looked entirely out of place amidst the surrounding students who were devouring their food while chatting and laughing.

At a table not far away, Shi Yanzhou and Li Yunshu were sitting opposite each other.

As they ate, Li Yunshu spoke about something with a bright smile on her face.

Shi Yanzhou nodded absentmindedly, his gaze darting toward the right-front direction from time to time.

He saw Shi Kezhen.

She sat there alone, quietly eating her meal.

Shi Yanzhou’s chopsticks paused; he stared in that direction for a moment, then set them down.

“I’m full,” he wiped his mouth and spoke to Li Yunshu.

“I have some business; you go back first.”

Li Yunshu was currently sipping soup; hearing this, she raised her head, her smile still hovering on her lips.

“What business?”

“I’ll accompany you.”

“No need,” Shi Yanzhou’s voice was somewhat stiff.

“I am going to speak with Kezhen about something; it’s inconvenient for you to be there.”

Li Yunshu’s smile froze; she set down her soup spoon, her gaze following Shi Yanzhou’s line of sight from earlier, and happened to spot Shi Kezhen dining alone.

‘Shi Kezhen again.’

This woman had pestered Shi Yanzhou every single day before, and she had gone through a lot of trouble to get him to promise that he would never stay alone with Shi Kezhen again.

Yet, this woman had only vanished for two weeks, and now she was back.

She hated Shi Kezhen, loathing her from the very first glance, and she had always felt the relationship between Shi Kezhen and Shi Yanzhou was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

“Don’t you only see her as a sister?”

Li Yunshu suppressed her churning emotions, her voice relatively steady, but her tone inevitably carried a hint of interrogation.

“Then if you are talking to her, what could be inconvenient for me, your girlfriend, to hear?”

“It’s family business.”

‘Family business?’

She was his girlfriend; they had been together for so long, yet she hadn’t even entered his family’s front door.

Yet as an adopted daughter—someone with no blood relation to the Shi family—what family business could he possibly have to chat about with her?

“I don’t care,” Li Yunshu pulled Shi Yanzhou’s hand willfully.

“In any case, you promised me that you wouldn’t spend time alone with her.”

“Be good,” Shi Yanzhou’s tone had already begun to turn impatient.

“You go back first; I will only speak a few words with her.”

Li Yunshu held onto his hand tightly, refusing to let go.

“No, I won’t!”

“You are my boyfriend; what family business of yours is there that I cannot listen to?”

“Could it be that you treat me as an outsider?”

Shi Yanzhou’s face darkened.

“Li Yunshu, if you continue to be unreasonable like this, I am going to get angry.”

“You actually called me unreasonable?”

Li Yunshu had a look of utter disbelief; this was the very first time Shi Yanzhou had spoken to her in such a harsh tone since they had officially begun dating.

“I said we are chatting about family business,” Shi Yanzhou pushed his tray forward and stood up.

“Even if you are my girlfriend, you still need to pay attention to boundaries.”

‘He’s talking about boundaries with her?’

As her boyfriend, he spent every day coming and going with Shi Kezhen—the sister with no blood relation—attending school together, returning home together, and even choosing the exact same major.

‘Where are his boundaries?’

Li Yunshu’s chest rose and fell violently; she wanted to throw a temper tantrum, wanted to go over and tear Shi Kezhen’s calm face to shreds.

But she held back because she knew throwing a tantrum would only push Shi Yanzhou further away.

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