Pampered by the School Bully-Chapter 212 - 206. Yes, he won’t despise her! (3)

Pu Sangzhi and Chen Huifen were keeping her grandma company in the hospital ward when Huo Feng finally found a café inside the hospital and began drinking coffee.

As he leisurely sipped his coffee, he scrolled through his phone, looking at the photos he had secretly taken of Pu Sangzhi over the past few days, his thin lips curling into a smile of pure joy.

While scrolling, suddenly, a call came in on his phone.

The moment he saw the caller ID, Huo Feng’s brow furrowed deeply, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes, thinking to himself: What bad luck!

Because the caller ID displayed: "Convenience Store Fat Auntie."

If the fat auntie from the convenience store was calling him, there could only be one reason—the man at the entrance to the alley!

Huo Feng had been waiting for this man to show up for quite a while now—how could his luck be so bad!

And it had to be at a time when he couldn’t make it over...

Huo Feng answered the phone with not the best of moods, and sure enough, as soon as the call connected, the fat auntie said, "Young man, that man has come again! He’s squatting there smoking! Are you coming over?"

Huo Feng really wanted to laugh bitterly.

He sucked in a breath of cold air, suppressing his anger, and said, "Sister, I’m really so sorry, I’m in Wenzhou right now, I can’t make it over."

"Ah? You’ve gone to Wenzhou?"

The fat auntie sounded somewhat regretful, "Alright then, let’s leave it at that for now."

"Hey, sister, wait a moment..."

Huo Feng suddenly thought of something and quickly spoke up, "Sister, could you keep an eye on him and let me know when he leaves? If he leaves, give me another call, will you?"

The fat auntie didn’t understand, "Why though?"

Because Huo Feng was afraid that when the three of them went back, they might run into that man at the entrance of the alley.

If that man really was their creditor, one who had been searching for the mother and daughter they had hidden away for so long, it could directly lead to danger.

Therefore, Huo Feng needed to be cautious.

But he couldn’t tell the fat auntie the real reason and could only put on a coquettish tone, "Just do me this favor, please, sister~"

Though the fat auntie had no idea what he was up to, she couldn’t withstand Huo Feng’s cajoling and quickly relented, "Alright, alright, I’ll call you back later then."

"Ah, thank you, sister. I’ll come buy something from your store next time," Huo Feng said cheerfully.

"Got it, I’m going to hang up then."

"Ah, goodbye, sister."

And with that, the call ended right there.

After hanging up, Huo Feng irritably ran his hands through his hair.

Missing another opportunity to catch that man put Huo Feng in a very bad mood.

It wasn’t often that man showed up, Huo Feng didn’t always get calls from the fat auntie.

So every call from her seemed incredibly valuable.

And each of these opportunities was just as precious to Huo Feng.

Huo Feng really wanted to figure out that man’s identity as soon as possible to see if he was indeed a dangerous individual or not.

If he wasn’t, he could give both the mother and child their freedom sooner.

If he was, he could teach that man a lesson and then discuss further strategies with the mother and daughter.

But of course, he had to first ascertain the man’s purpose for appearing there.

If he continued to miss opportunities like this, when would the issue ever be resolved?

Huo Feng disliked this dragging and lingering pace the most...

He sighed, his brows tightly knit together; his pleasant mood from a few minutes ago was completely ruined.

...

Around 9 o’clock, Pu Sangzhi and Chen Huifen came out of the ICU and met up with Huo Feng, and the three of them went home together.

Huo Feng had booked the car through an app, and on the drive back, the three of them barely spoke, perhaps because they all weren’t in a great mood...

Huo Feng did greet them both at first, but their responses were indifferent, showing little desire to talk, so Huo Feng wisely chose to say no more.

The entire way home passed in silence.

By the time they arrived home, it was almost ten o’clock, and Huo Feng took special care to check the alley entrance—no sign of that man.

Still, he guarded them home with utmost caution.

After getting home, Chen Huifen stopped working.

She didn’t even take a shower, just went straight to her room and locked the door, looking like she was in a very bad mood.

Huo Feng didn’t know what the two of them had gone through, he just knew that he couldn’t afford to upset them at this crucial time.

So he spoke as little as possible, or not at all.

In the end, it was Pu Sangzhi who initiated a conversation with him.

Pu Sangzhi asked him, "Are you going to take a shower?"

Huo Feng shook his head, "Later perhaps."

Pu Sangzhi said, "Then I’ll go first."

Huo Feng: "Oh."

Of course, that was the extent of their conversation.

In that brief exchange, Huo Feng could feel that she wasn’t very happy either.

Huo Feng couldn’t soothe Chen Huifen, but he was still inclined to try and cheer up Pu Sangzhi.

He planned to sneak into her room later that night and have a chat with her for a while.

At that time, in the other room, Chen Huifen found the property deed in the wardrobe.

Her hands trembled as she held the deed, tears glistening as she looked at the name on it, pressing it to her heart.

On her way home, Chen Huifen had thought a lot about the future, about Pu Sangzhi’s life...

About the two of them, mother and daughter, and about the man who still hadn’t given any sign of himself...

Money was really important.

Money could bring so many things.

In the end, Chen Huifen still accepted that property deed. Call it selfish if you must, but she had to accept a reality: she and her daughter needed money.

At the same moment, in the bathroom taking a shower, Pu Sangzhi cried quietly under the cover of the running water—she was secretly weeping.

After accepting her grandmother’s help, Pu Sangzhi suddenly felt incredibly pitiable.

Her family background, their debts, along with various other reasons, made her feel as if her current self had become too poor to maintain any dignity.

Had she bowed down for a mere five measures of rice?

Was she really this lowly now?

Was reality indeed that cruel?

Pu Sangzhi suddenly thought back to her time in Shanghai, when her formerly friendly classmates changed overnight.

Just after her family’s bankruptcy hit the news, when she went to school the next day, she found that those so-called friends didn’t want to talk to her anymore, all trying to distance themselves from her, all afraid she would ask them for money...

It seemed that poverty could stratify relationships between people.

And in the cognition of some, the poor were not worth associating with.

No matter how good her grades, the city’s top honors, or the title of outstanding student... none of it seemed to bring her any pride or self-esteem anymore.

Because the inferiority brought on by poverty crushed everything.

As Pu Sangzhi showered and wept, the sound of the water drowned out her crying, so nobody in the household knew she was crying.

...

At 11 pm, Pu Sangzhi lay exhausted in bed, clutching her covers, her expression numb.

Just as a heavy wall of sorrow oppressed her heart, Pu Sangzhi discovered that her period had started...

She consoled herself, reasoning that part of her current emotional state might be due to her menstrual cycle.

Maybe things would get better after a few days.

Maybe these feelings were just temporary...

Huo Feng quickly took a shower, rushed into her room with haste and noisiness.

He was as impolite as ever, barging in without even knocking on the door.

No...

It was only after he entered that he realized he hadn’t knocked, so he stepped back out, knocked twice, and then asked, "Beauty, may I come in?"

Pu Sangzhi lay quietly in bed, glancing down at him without a word.

Seeing that she didn’t speak, Huo Feng took it as a yes, he entered the room and closed the door, then eagerly sat down beside her bed.

Seeing her look as desolate as a lost soul, he reached to touch her forehead, "What’s wrong? Are you feverish?"

Pu Sangzhi slapped his hand away, hugging the covers and scooting further into the bed, "No... my stomach hurts."

Huo Feng immediately tensed, "What happened? Did you eat something bad?"

Pu Sangzhi replied, "No, it’s just... my period."

Huo Feng nodded in sudden understanding, "Got it, it’s your second period this month."

Pu Sangzhi: "What do you mean ’second time’..."

Huo Feng replied, "Didn’t you have it last time? Dandan said you’re irregular, you get it twice a month."

Pu Sangzhi: "..."

Right...

She remembered that not long ago, Huo Feng had misunderstood that she was on her period, and she hadn’t corrected him.

Let the misunderstanding persist, she thought.

She couldn’t be bothered to explain the last time, nor this time.

Huo Feng said, "I’ll make some brown sugar water for you, it’ll help you feel better."

After speaking, he stood up, ready to leave.

However, before he could take a step, Pu Sangzhi reached out and grabbed his sleeve...

This action successfully kept Huo Feng there!

Clutching the covers, Pu Sangzhi pursed her lips, timidly opening her mouth, "Huo Feng, I’m really poor..."

Huo Feng turned his head with raised brows, "Hmm?"

After a struggle within, Pu Sangzhi dared to continue, "I’m really very poor... don’t you disdain me at all?"

Huo Feng was surprised by her question.

In his eyes, she who had always stood so high, suddenly appeared before him in a form filled with insecurity.

At that moment, without overthinking, all Huo Feng wanted to do was to protect her self-esteem, so he joked, "I’m not exactly a rich second generation either, but a wastrel. Do you disdain me?"

Pu Sangzhi shook her head.

Huo Feng nodded, "Well then. You don’t disdain me for not having money, I don’t disdain you for being poor, can’t we be together?"

With that one sentence, he made Pu Sangzhi curl her lips and start to smile...