Chapter 12: Hanzheng Street

　　A tribunal of three.

The court was called to order with a drum roll.

Jasper Lee was led into the living room.

Pascal Lee handed over the metal hanger.

"Speak!" Cherry Adams took the hanger and slammed it down on the coffee table. "Where have you been all this time?"

Jasper Lee was shocked that Pascal Lee was doing as he was told. "I was...working."

　　"You went to work, but what about leaving your brother with me?" There was still a pile of thick envelopes on the coffee table. Cherry Adams picked them up and counted them. She was surprised and said, "What kind of work can earn 4,000 yuan a month? You're not..."

　　Cherry Adams' face fell as she realized something. "Jasper Lee, I'm telling you, if you think of those crooked ways again..."

Pascal Lee was also shocked and grabbed his brother's sleeve. "Brother, we must never touch anything illegal!"

"No," Jasper Lee said helplessly. "I'm going to be a tutor in Xiangyang and teach the elementary school math Olympiad."

　　Cherry Adams sneered again, "What qualifications do you have? You haven't even graduated from junior high school, and you went out there to make a fool of yourself. Do the students' parents trust you?"

Jasper Lee saw that Cherry Adams had put down the coat hanger, so he sat down next to her and pulled his award certificates out of his pocket: "These are the proofs that I have participated in math competitions since I was young. Although I lost the originals, there are still copies on the official website, which I have printed out."

　　Cherry Adams stared at the certificates spread out on the table, including the Mathematical Olympiad and Hua Luogeng Cup certificates. It was then that she remembered Jasper Lee of the Lee family. He was quiet, dark, and sharp, and was disciplined by Lee's mother just like Pascal Lee, but he was even more outstanding than his younger brother.

Cherry Adams thought to herself that she had also been driving like crazy.

In fact, she had forgotten that Jasper Lee was a true academic.

　　As the saying goes, knowledge is power. A person with true ability will shine wherever he goes.

Cherry Adams was a little embarrassed. She only earned 7,000 yuan a month as a driver, and this boy Jasper Lee had only taken a few classes and already earned 4,000 yuan. She couldn't hide her jealousy and said in a sarcastic tone, "You go away and come back with that money. What's the point?"

Jasper Lee bowed deeply, "This is for you.

　　That's very thoughtful. Cherry Adams asked, "Thoughtful of me?"

"Thank you for taking care of my brother for me," Jasper Lee said, "I'm going to work away from home alone, and it's not appropriate to bring him with me. He's not feeling well and needs to rest. I want to discuss something with you. I'll send you money every month, and you can take care of my brother.

"Don't I work? Don't I earn money? It's as if I can't take care of him."

　　"You have seen this month, Pascal is very obedient, he can take care of himself and he listens to you. You're usually busy at work, so you don't have to worry about him."

"He's very obedient," Cherry Adams scoffed, crossing her arms. I'm sure his foster parents will like him very much too.

Pascal Lee immediately became restless, "Sister, no, didn't you say you wouldn't send me away?

That useless guy can't even tell when someone is being sarcastic!

　　Cherry Adams' face immediately turned dark.

Jasper Lee said, "You see, now Pascal has feelings for you, too, and he doesn't want to leave this family.

After all this, and with the money already paid, Cherry Adams really couldn't make a fuss. "Fine, just remember to send the money every month on time. Dare to be late for one day, or if you lose contact with me again, I'll throw your brother out."

　　The deal was done, and Jasper Lee felt a great weight lifted. It was a cold December day and he was sweating.

Pascal Lee walked over and said pitifully, "Brother, I thought you were never coming back.

　　Jasper Lee had missed Pascal Lee, of course, and understood how helpless his younger brother would be without him. But some things just couldn't be done if you hesitated. To be honest, Jasper Lee wasn't sure if Cherry Adams would let him stay, but luckily Pascal Lee was a good boy.

"No," Jasper Lee touched his forehead, "from now on you just stay home and don't cause any trouble for your sister, okay?"

　　"Brother, you're not going to leave again, are you?"

Jasper Lee nodded and said he would come back to see him next month.

Pascal Lee's eyes filled with tears, but Jasper Lee stopped his younger brother with a look. Be good,' he said, looking at Cherry Adams. If he doesn't behave, you can hit him.

"I've hit him plenty. I'm not his mother, I can't bring myself to do that. I believe in a firm hand here... Are you going now? It's dark outside."

　　Jasper Lee looked at the sky, "Tomorrow, it's too late today... I'll find a place to stay."

"You're a minor, you have no ID, where will you stay?" Cherry Adams asked again, "By the way, how did you stay in Xiangyang?"

　　"There are black Internet cafes near the bus station. You can stay there for 15 yuan a night, and you don't need any ID."

"You..." Cherry Adams frowned. I've got you figured out, Jasper Lee. You're always full of ideas. Can't you just do something the law allows?

Jasper Lee said he had no choice. He even hitchhiked to Xiangyang without an ID and as a minor. He was also asked where the SIM card in his phone came from, and he said he bought it from someone in a black Internet cafe.

　　"Do you know what kind of people are in those Internet cafes? It's a mixed bag," Cherry Adams said, slapping the table. "Don't ever live there again!

Jasper Lee lowered his eyes and explained, "I thought it wouldn't be expensive to live there, I could save more money, and it's also close to where I usually go for tutoring, so it's not a hassle to travel."

　　"No hassle, no hassle! When the time comes, if someone else snatches you away, it won't be any trouble to pay for a kidney or a cornea!" Cherry Adams glared at him, her lecturing posture very full. I'm too old to live in a place like this, and you're still going to get yourself killed!

"I know, I'm not going to live there anymore," Jasper Lee hesitated for a moment, "then where am I going to live?

"You don't have to rush to leave in the next few days."

Pascal Lee's eyes lit up at this news.

　　"To change from temporary guardian to appointed guardian, we need to register you at the street office." Cherry Adams was most concerned about the orphans' basic living expenses. Children under the age of 18 receive a monthly pension of 1,800 yuan, or 3,600 yuan for two people.

Jasper Lee said yes with a smile that was neither deep nor shallow. Cherry Adams looked at him and said, "Always trying to be clever...are you so happy to get what you want?"

　　Jasper Lee immediately suppressed his smile and whispered an apology.

Unexpectedly, Cherry Adams couldn't help but laugh and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't be serious, I was praising you."

"Come on," she said as she took out the car keys, "let's go to the supermarket and buy some necessities for you and your brother."

Jasper Lee got up in his thin clothes, and Pascal Lee went to his room to put on his new white down jacket.

　　Jasper Lee noticed: "You bought him that down jacket? How much did it cost? I'll pay for it."

"No need, we'll just take it out of your pension," Cherry Adams said indifferently.

Jasper Lee quickly agreed: "We don't have a bank account, so you can just administer our pension."

"Okay. We'll go to Hanzheng Street later and buy you some thick clothes, too. You'll wear them like paper."

　　Pascal Lee was so excited to go out that he couldn't stop jumping up and down and talking. Cherry Adams put on a scarf and gloves, and then some fluffy bear earmuffs.

Jasper Lee said sternly, "Pascal Lee, be quiet.

Pascal Lee paused for a moment.

Cherry Adams wasn't dressed warmly herself, but she was used to the cold, so she took out another mohair scarf and handed it to Jasper Lee:

　　"You wear it, you won't catch cold."

Jasper Lee took it and put it on using the method he had learned before. Cherry Adams snorted, "It's strange that he doesn't let the wind in when he's wrapped up like that. She reached out and in three quick moves wrapped him up like a dumpling, just like Pascal Lee.

"The way you wear it looks good but is not practical. It's all show and no go."

The words were crude, but the reasoning was not.

　　Cherry Adams took them to Zhongbai Shangchu and bought all the slippers, sheets, and bedding they would need.

　　When they reached the corner of Hanzheng Street, Cherry Adams said, "It's going to be cold in Wuhan this year, so you need to buy a down jacket, fall clothes, fall pants, and cotton pants. Oh, and do you need underwear?"

Jasper Lee's face flushed with embarrassment, but he said he already had some. Cherry Adams told him to buy a few more pairs to take turns wearing, and led him into a men's clothing store. "Take whatever you need. The wholesale prices here are pretty cheap, and the quality is good."

　　The clerk asked Jasper Lee what he needed, but Jasper Lee was so shy that he stood in front of the shelves without moving. Cherry Adams couldn't understand why he was so shy, because he was so small, she wasn't even sure if he was growing. If he hadn't been so big, Cherry Adams would have taken him to the children's clothing store.

　　Jasper Lee picked out his clothes, and Cherry Adams paid for them, letting the two children carry them themselves. After buying warm cotton boots, Pascal Lee crouched in front of a street stall selling pets.

"Sister, look!" Pascal Lee held up a small puppy, "So cute."

The Samoyed in his hands had a pink nose, dark sparkling eyes, and fluffy beige fur.

　　The salesman was also persuasive, "How cute, kids like them too, it's the New Year, buy one to take home."

Cherry Adams knew this routine and pulled the corners of her mouth, "Yeah, buy a sick dog to take home."

"Hey, don't talk nonsense, all our stores have medical examination reports, this dog is definitely not sick!"

"What if it gets sick after being fed, will you take responsibility?" Cherry Adams sneered repeatedly.

　　The salesman didn't say anything. Cherry Adams called to Pascal Lee, "Let's go, what's there to see in a dog?"

Pascal Lee was reluctant to leave, looking back every step of the way, but Jasper Lee tugged at his arm and dragged him away.

"I told you, don't make trouble for people," Jasper Lee scolded in a low voice, "don't waste money."

"I was just looking, I wasn't going to buy it..."

　　"It's not a waste of money, and I didn't say I wasn't going to buy it," Cherry Adams didn't turn around, "I've bought these kinds of street kittens and puppies before, and they were all alive and healthy when I bought them. But they all died within two days, and when I took them to the vet, they were all diagnosed with parvovirus.

"...And then what happened?" Pascal Lee held his breath.

"They died. It cost more than 4,000 yuan, but they couldn't be cured."

Pascal Lee said nothing.

　　"I took the sick dog to the merchant to ask for an explanation, but they said it was my own fault for not taking good care of it, and it had nothing to do with them. They just sold it and didn't compensate me." Cherry Adams pointed blankly down the street, "It was that peddler, the same person. He didn't recognize me, but I still remembered him.

Cherry Adams' hands naturally hung down as she told the story.

Pascal Lee trotted a few steps and came up to hold her hand.

　　Cherry Adams did not resist and let him hold her hand as they walked on. Jasper Lee was half a step behind, feeling a little smothered, as if his heart had been covered with cotton wool.

For Cherry Adams, for this person who was nominally her sister but not really related by blood.

She had her own place where she had lived for many years and her own emotional past. They did not understand her.

This feeling of distance always remained.

　　Fine white snow falls from the sky.

Some people shout, some look up, some shake hands, all with smiles on their faces. This is the first snowfall in Wuhan.

Wuhan usually doesn't get snow in December every year, which means that this winter will be very cold.

　　Cherry Adams holds Pascal Lee, who is wearing a white down jacket and is also a snow-white chubby mass.

The fine snow falls on Jasper Lee's red nose, which is completely numb, and he belatedly realizes.

This is his first winter in Wuhan.

Chapter 13: Iron Hangers

　　It is snowing.

Cherry Adams says she wants to eat lamb to keep warm.

"It's good for Pascal Lee's health," she says.

So the three of them go to a hot pot restaurant and eat a big bowl of lamb hot pot. They sweat profusely.

Cherry Adams can't drink because she's driving, so she doesn't order wine, but the owner still gives her a bottle of MaoPu bittersweet buckwheat.

　　The owner is a friend of Xie Xue's and knows that Cherry Adams went to the capital the year before last, but doesn't know that she has returned.

When asked how the two children got here, Cherry Adams has a meaningful expression on her face, doesn't say anything, and just points to the sky.

The owner knows what's going on.

"Unfortunately, it's also bad karma to be so young," the owner said sympathetically, "just tell me if you have any problems. I have also watched you grow up."

　　"I don't have any problems right now," Cherry Adams said as she paid the bill, "problems are caused by poverty. People here are good at everything except being poor.

Poverty is a disease," the boss laughed.

"Don't pay, I'll treat you."

"Nobody's doing well in business this year,"

but Cherry Adams paid the bill anyway.

　　Back at home, Cherry Adams asked Jasper Lee to carry the new bedding and pillows upstairs and asked Pascal Lee to mop the bedroom floor again.

She herself was lazy, tilting her feet to watch a short video and smiling as she chewed her teeth. It wasn't until Jasper Lee came over and said the floor had been mopped that Cherry Adams gestured to him, "Spread your mattress out on the floor.

It's the end of the bed where Pascal Lee used to sleep, and it's a little more spacious."

　　"No way, where will Pascal Lee sleep?"

"In the bed," Cherry Adams said matter-of-factly.

"He sleeps in the bed? Where will you sleep then?"

"What do you mean? I sleep in the bed too!"

"Pascal Lee sleeps with you?"

　　It's better not to say it, but as soon as Cherry Adams heard it, she was furious: "What's wrong with your brother? He has to pee two or three times a night! And he keeps kicking the covers! Do you think I want to sleep with your brother? It's not like that. The old Chinese doctor said we shouldn't sleep on the floor because of the dampness and the risk of a weak spleen and stomach. I told him to sleep on the sofa, but he said it was too cold. I said I would sleep on the sofa, but he didn't want to either. Tell me, why is he so hard to please?"

　　"And you took him to a Chinese medicine practitioner?" Jasper Lee knows how to avoid the important questions. Did it work? What else did the old Chinese doctor say?"

"What else? By the time you get back, your brother will be as good as dead. Cherry Adams rolls her eyes. "What can a Chinese medicine man say? Isn't it just taking the pulse and prescribing Chinese medicine? We're almost out of the stuff in the fridge. Oh, by the way, the cost of the medicine will be deducted from your compensation."

　　"...Okay." Jasper Lee had no complaints, "Thank you for taking Pascal to the doctor. Pascal was never willing to take Chinese medicine before."

How could Cherry Adams not know that when they lived with the Lee family, a bunch of servants would chase after Pascal Lee to give him medicine at mealtimes. But she was different:

"Look at this iron hanger on the coffee table. Come on, count the number of places where the paint is peeling?"

　　Jasper Lee picked up the hanger and noticed that it was bent. Cherry Adams: "As soon as I picked it up..."

Pascal Lee, who had just come out of the bedroom, saw this and thought that Cherry Adams was going to hit Jasper Lee, so he got scared and his legs went weak.

"Don't hit my brother! Don't hit my brother! Don't hit my brother!" Despite his fear, he unwaveringly protected Jasper Lee: "If you want to hit someone, hit me! Hit me!"

　　"Look!" Cherry Adams clapped and laughed.

She threw the coat hanger back at Jasper Lee. Jasper Lee took it with a complex look on his face, and after a long silence, he gently set it aside.

Pascal Lee looked left and right before realizing he had thought too much: "I told you, brother, you're so good, how could you get hit?"

　　"Come on, your brother and I will both get beaten up." Cherry Adams folded her arms, "What? You like your brother so much? Then are you going with him?"

"I'm not going, I'm not going," Pascal Lee laughed and came over to give Cherry Adams a shoulder massage.

Jasper Lee watched the young and old being so witty, and for a moment he actually had the illusion that he was an outsider.

　　To be fair, Cherry Adams is the kind of person who is easy to like, even if she doesn't think she is. Cherry Adams is a sharp-tongued person, but she has a particularly soft heart.

For a young master like Pascal Lee, there have been too many people who have been polite and respectful to him in the past, and Cherry Adams is the only one who has a bad attitude like that - a good person who suddenly becomes bad will make you hold a grudge against them, but a bad person who suddenly treats you better will make you feel closer to them.

　　Cherry Adams is the latter.

Not to mention that although Cherry Adams has a sharp tongue, what she says is basically the truth.

For a long time, Pascal Lee's perception of his sister was that she knew everything and could do anything.

This perception lasted until the beginning of puberty, when he began to form his own opinions about the world around him, and gradually faded.

　　It's getting late, so Cherry Adams tells Pascal Lee to go to bed. Pascal Lee says his brother isn't sleeping either, and Cherry Adams immediately reaches for the coat rack.

Pascal Lee reluctantly goes back into the bedroom.

Cherry Adams says to her brother, "Look at your brother's manners.

Jasper Lee smiles back, his dark eyelashes quivering slightly.

Cherry Adams is moved to say, "You are like your father, especially when you smile.

　　Jasper Lee said that everyone said the same thing, and that Pascal Lee was more like her mother.

"Your father..." Cherry Adams thought for a moment, then changed her words, "I think our father has an attitude of wanting his children to succeed in life when it comes to you two brothers.

Jasper Lee nodded, "He's always been very strict with us, regularly setting goals for us, but he doesn't get overly critical when we don't achieve them.

"That's right, he usually gets critical with your mother."

　　Jasper Lee didn't know this and asked, "Really?"

"You must not know, how would you know when your parents are fighting?" At this point, Cherry Adams' advantage as an outsider came into play, and she gave a logical analysis.

"From your father's perspective, you are the one who will inherit the family business, and you still have to work hard among your peers, especially your younger brother. From your mother's perspective, she sacrificed her career to take care of the family, so it must not have been easy."

Those past events.

　　Jasper Lee rarely thought about them.

"Back then..." Jasper Lee said, "Don't blame us, Pascal and I both hated you. It would have been easier for us if our parents had been colder to you. I just don't understand why they treated you like their own daughter."

"They were good to me just because they weren't close to me."

Cherry Adams looked at Jasper Lee and saw that he didn't understand. Normal, for a fourteen-year-old.

　　She made a guess: "Have you ever wondered what would have happened if your family hadn't gone bankrupt?"

Jasper Lee froze for a moment.

Back then, he had been the Lee family's eldest son, the Rising Sun, and the family had pinned all its hopes on him. And Pascal Lee? He also carried a heavy burden.

Only Cherry Adams hadn't been with them from the beginning to the end, and the only thing she was sure of was that she wasn't part of the plan.

　　"See, the reason they're being nice to me is because I'm not important," Cherry Adams knows for sure. "I am not important, so a lot of things can be said to me. Look at your parents, from what I know, if I told them, who wouldn't be embarrassed?"

　　"You have no idea what the servants at home gossip about: power, inheritance, power struggles..." Cherry Adams laughed unrestrainedly, "They don't dare say anything in front of you, but in front of me, they can talk about whatever they want, because I can't even understand what they're saying.

After that, Cherry Adams felt ridiculous herself.

"Forget it, what's the point of talking to a kid like you?"

Jasper Lee pursed his lips and whispered, "I'm sorry.

　　Cherry Adams was surprised that Jasper Lee would apologize at that moment and then said, "No need. The adults are wrong, and it is always the children who apologize.

"Let's not talk about this nonsense," she began to get down to business, "I asked a friend who studies at Xiangyang University. She rents an apartment outside and has extra rooms where you can stay." After another pause, "She's a girl, so you have to be careful and don't talk about such nonsense.

　　What nonsense? Jasper Lee looked up at her.

"Just don't touch other people's things, don't ask personal questions, and behave yourself under the same roof," Cherry Adams frowned, "Do I really need to teach you these things? And don't be home late, no later than 10:00, 10:30 at the latest, got it?"

Jasper Lee nodded, "I know all that.

　　"In the future, you don't have to pay me the 4,000 yuan. Keep it for yourself. I have your pension, so that's enough... Don't you still want to send your younger brother to school? Save some for tuition. It also costs money to transfer school records. By the way, have you looked at any schools yet?"

Not yet. Cherry Adams told him to hurry up and find out.

"Okay, I'll go tomorrow," Jasper Lee agreed.

　　"And..." Cherry Adams tapped her head, which had taken in too much information, "unplug the SIM card in your phone. I'll take you to the phone store tomorrow to get your own number. You know who uses black numbers? People who commit fraud! You really need to learn something!"

"I'll also get your ID card during this time, which will be convenient for taking the bullet train, buses, etc. And don't take rides from strangers anymore!"

　　Jasper Lee continued to lecture.

Cherry Adams thought, okay, that's it.

She got up to go to bed in the bedroom, and Jasper Lee followed her.

"Eww, it's dirty," Cherry Adams said, pinching her nose. It smells like motor oil. What kind of car did you take?"

"A truck," Jasper Lee said, at a loss for words. He had never been considered dirty before.

　　"Go take a shower, go take a shower." Cherry Adams was behind him, ordering him again. "By the way, since you're back, I'll leave the job of keeping your brother awake at night to you. Don't sleep too much at night either. Get up and see if your brother has kicked off the covers and caught a cold."

　　Okay. Jasper Lee agreed immediately. He turned to get some fresh clothes and tiptoed into the bathroom.

He washed himself inside and out, and when he thought of Cherry Adams' disgusted expression, he washed again.

The small bathroom was filled with fog.

Jasper Lee looked at his body.

It was very thin and bony.

He was still a child.

　　When would he grow up?

He stared into his dark eyes.

Jasper Lee didn't dare use the hairdryer for fear of waking Cherry Adams. He dried his hair in the cold living room before returning to the heated bedroom. Cherry Adams slept on the left side of the bed while Pascal Lee slept on the right, wrapped in thick blankets like a caterpillar.

It was obvious whose work it was.

　　He didn't want to judge Cherry Adams right now. But there had indeed been a lot to go through, from getting close to her to relying on her.

　　Jasper Lee had never looked at her so closely before and discovered that Cherry Adams had a beautiful, plain face.

She usually frowned and smiled a lot, and her pale face was hung with frivolous mercenaryism. So when she slept, she was so different from her usual self, and her gentle demeanor was shaky.

Jasper Lee knew in his heart that she was his elder sister.

That was why he had called softly, "Sister.