You Guys Wouldn’t Have Taken My Casual Acting Seriously, Right Chapter 62

The entire month of October in Jincheng was filled with thunderstorms. Yet the weather remained unbearably hot. The sticky, muggy air was enough to irritate anyone.

Because he couldn’t go outside, a match he had planned to attend was canceled, Jiang Shu was in a bad mood. A lollipop hung from his mouth as he sat cross-legged on the carpet playing video games, gripping the controller so hard it seemed ready to fall apart.

Wang Xuanheng stared at his controller in agony. He wanted desperately to save it, but didn’t dare snatch it back from Jiang Shu. All he could do was keep sucking in sharp breaths. “Can you be gentler? I just bought that limited edition controller from Germany.”

Jiang Shu replied casually, “As if you didn’t spend my money on it.”

Wang Xuanheng immediately stiffened.

The last time they’d gotten caught together because he had run too slowly, his family had cut off his allowance completely. Now, even buying a game card required borrowing money from this young master.

When you lived off someone else’s generosity, you had no choice but to endure the pain.

So Wang Xuanheng silently watched his controller being destroyed.

Outside, thunder rumbled. At that exact moment, the phone rang.

“Young Master Jiang, are you ready? It’s time to pick someone up.” Assistant Zhou’s voice came through the receiver.

Wang Xuanheng froze. “Pick someone up? Is a relative of yours coming today?”

Jiang Shu looked annoyed. “How would I know? Why are you asking me?”

Hearing that the deafening game sounds were still blaring inside the room, Assistant Zhou frowned. Holding his phone, he knocked and entered. “The rain is heavy outside. The old master specifically called and told me not to let you be late. He doesn’t want them waiting too long.”

Jiang Shu was already irritated beyond belief. He threw the controller aside. “Can’t you go by yourself?”

Although he was only sixteen years old, there was already a fierce edge to his expression whenever he lost his temper.

Even Wang Xuanheng instinctively shrank back and scooted farther away, carefully protecting his remaining controller.

Assistant Zhou truly lived up to his reputation. Standing calmly at the doorway, he acted as though he hadn’t heard Jiang Shu’s complaint at all. Unhurriedly, he said: “The old master specifically ordered that you go personally. They’ve just arrived in Jincheng. If no one from the Jiang family greets them in person, they’ll inevitably feel slighted.”

Of course, that wasn’t the real reason.

The real reason was that the old master was worried Jiang Shu would secretly sneak out to attend the competition today so he deliberately found something to occupy him.

“If Young Master doesn’t want to go, that’s fine.” Assistant Zhou held out the phone. “But you’ll need to personally call the old master and explain it to him.”

He extended the phone another inch. “Would you like me to dial for you?”

Jiang Shu glared fiercely at him.

After several seconds of silent confrontation, Jiang Shu admitted defeat.

Of course it wasn’t because he was afraid of Jiang Shu himself, it was because he was afraid of the old man behind him.

Old Master Jiang was decisive and ruthless. If provoked, he might actually record a video of himself chasing Jiang Shu around the courtyard with a broom and then send it to Jiang Shu’s school for the entire student body to watch.

Jiang Shu was only sixteen. No matter how arrogant or lawless he acted, his skin was still pretty thin.

“Tell me her name,” Jiang Shu said, getting to his feet with a sour expression.

“Shen Fu,” Assistant Zhou replied. After a pause, he asked, “Didn’t I already send her profile to your phone last night? You didn’t look at it?”

Why would Jiang Shu be interested? Whether she was a fish or a shrimp had nothing to do with him. Hadn’t the Jiang family’s relatives pulled this kind of thing countless times before? Last year, an aunt returned from overseas and insisted that Jiang Shu accompany her relative’s daughter to a bookstore. She claimed the girl wasn’t familiar with Jincheng and needed someone to show her around, but in reality she was trying to bring them closer together.

And Old Master Jiang never stopped such schemes. He thought Jiang Shu’s personality needed polishing. He was always worrying that no one could rein in this little devil. Now that a troublesome relative had conveniently appeared, why not let her keep him occupied so he wouldn’t have time to sneak off to car races?

Jiang Shu couldn’t even be bothered to make excuses or be polite. Usually, he would just turn his back and leave.

But this time was different. Somehow the old man had suddenly become enlightened and figured out how to threaten him, with embarrassing videos.

“How could I not have looked? I did,” Jiang Shu said dismissively. “Let’s go.”

Since the host was leaving, it didn’t seem appropriate to continue hanging around the Jiang residence. Assistant Zhou went downstairs first to get the car ready. Wang Xuanheng got up as well and descended the spiral staircase alongside Jiang Shu.

“Sounds like a girl’s name,” Wang Xuanheng said curiously. “What does she look like? Is she pretty?”

“How would I know…” Jiang Shu hadn’t even opened the file.

Before they had even met, Jiang Shu was already feeling resistant toward the girl. At the entrance hall, he crouched down to tie the laces of his beloved white sneakers. Thinking about the race he was definitely going to miss today, then looking at the muggy rain outside and his shoes, he felt even more irritated.

“A relative of yours and you don’t know?” Wang Xuanheng asked.

Wang Xuanheng desperately wanted a girlfriend. Several of his buddies were already dating in secret, and without a pretty girlfriend of his own, he had nothing to show off. No one even sat on the back seat of his motorcycle.

The people surrounding Jiang Shu weren’t bad-looking either, but Jiang Shu seemed to have no concept of the opposite sex whatsoever. He was ferocious toward girls.

Even dogs would take a detour when they saw him.

A person’s future could often be seen in their youth. Wang Xuanheng felt that although Jiang Shu’s family was rich and, well… although not quite as handsome as himself, he had still been voted the school heartthrob, so he must be decent-looking. But with that awful temperament, he would probably stay single forever.

“Where would I get so many relatives?” Jiang Shu frowned. “She’s just the granddaughter of one of the old man’s former friends. I’d never even heard of her before this. Who knows where she suddenly came from?”

Wang Xuanheng was surprised. “Then why is she suddenly moving into your house? Did her parents go abroad and she’s staying temporarily? Doesn’t she have any other relatives?”

“How would I know that much?” Jiang Shu snapped irritably as he opened his umbrella. “Move.”

Wang Xuanheng quickly stepped aside to avoid getting poked by the umbrella.

Looking again, he saw the teenager stride away and slip into the car with his long, lean frame.

They were supposed to pick her up at the station, but when they arrived, she was nowhere to be found. Private cars couldn’t enter the station area, so they had to park farther away. Jiang Shu sat in the car, listening irritably to a live race broadcast with his eyes closed, while Assistant Zhou went into the station with an umbrella to look for her.

Jiang Shu waited in the car for about half an hour. Just as he was getting impatient enough to call Assistant Zhou, the man finally came hurrying back.

Soaked through, he got into the car, folded his umbrella, and said, “I couldn’t find her. Maybe she didn’t see us and took a taxi to the house first.”

Jiang Shu frowned. “Then why are you in such a hurry? Can’t we just go back?”

“Young Master, you don’t understand. There are a lot of illegal taxis around here.” Assistant Zhou looked genuinely anxious. “She left the station half an hour ago. If she’d gotten into a legitimate taxi, she should already be at the Jiang residence by now. But I just called Aunt Li, and she said no one has arrived.”

Jiang Shu asked, “What about her phone? She’s not answering either?” 

Assistant Zhou shook his head.

A knot formed in Jiang Shu’s stomach. He truly disliked this “little sister” he had never met, especially since she had already caused him so much trouble. But that didn’t mean he wanted anything bad to happen to her.

“Then what are you standing around for?” Jiang Shu barked. “Go find her!”

Assistant Zhou drove away from the station. Jiang Shu made several phone calls, sending people out in different directions to search. If necessary, they would contact the police.

The thunderstorm had arrived with incredible force. In the blink of an eye the rain eased a little, but the sky remained oppressively dark. It was only a little after three in the afternoon, yet it looked more like six or seven in the evening. Traffic was difficult, and the windshield wipers swept back and forth nonstop.

Assistant Zhou drove along the route back home, hoping they might spot a suspicious vehicle.

“Send me a picture of what she looks like,” Jiang Shu said. Assistant Zhou froze for a moment. “Didn’t you say you read her profile last night?”

Jiang Shu felt a touch embarrassed and irritated. “Less talking.”

Assistant Zhou pulled up Shen Fu’s photo on his phone and handed it back to Jiang Shu in the rear seat.

Jiang Shu’s gaze landed on the photo and paused slightly.

It was an ID photo with a blue background, not especially clear. The girl’s eyes had a hazy quality to them. She was the kind of striking beauty people would remember at first glance.

Jiang Shu was about to forward the photo to the people helping him search when his eyes suddenly caught sight of a figure on a bridge. “Stop the car.”

Assistant Zhou instinctively hit the brakes. “Young Master Jiang, what…”

Before he could finish, he also noticed the figure standing beneath the canopy umbrella of a roasted sweet potato vendor.

Shen Fu had an umbrella, so she wasn’t very wet. She sat on a small stool provided by the vendor, crying while eating a roasted sweet potato. Every few bites she would hiccup. A suitcase sat beside her. It wasn’t shabby, but her clothes were very plain, and she was still wearing school uniform pants. Resting in her lap was a large man’s wallet that looked stuffed with cash. Beside it was her cellphone, decorated with a pink charm, its screen already shattered.

While crying, she pulled money out of her bag and said to the vendor, “Another one, please.”

Assistant Zhou: “…”

Jiang Shu put down his phone and glanced in her direction, his tone chilly. “So she stood us up at the station just to come here and buy food.”

Jiang Shu was the type to hold grudges over the smallest slight. He had come out in the pouring rain to pick her up, spent ages circling around the station, completely missed today’s race, and not only failed to find her but had also been left waiting for nothing.

Seeing the dark expression on his face, Assistant Zhou knew he was in a bad mood and was about to say something when the young master had already pushed open the car door and stepped out beneath a black umbrella.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shen Fu noticed a pair of white sneakers stop in front of her.

She instinctively looked up. A tall, handsome boy with cool, indifferent features was looking down at her from above.

He wore a black jacket and held a large black umbrella in one slender hand. The gloomy sky behind him made his pale complexion appear even colder. His entire presence felt overwhelmingly imposing.

He pulled one hand from his pocket, removed an earbud wire, then expressionlessly took out a tissue and bent down to hand it to her.

For a brief moment, Shen Fu froze. She almost thought she had stepped into one of those illustrated stories where a demon spirit transformed into a handsome human boy.

As he approached, she caught a faint scent from him, a mixture of wild grass and trees, carrying a feeling that was both proud and forceful, yet vibrant and youthful.

Without thinking, Shen Fu reached out to take the tissue.

The next second, the boy bent down beside her and used the tissue to wipe his own sneakers, which cost tens of thousands of yuan.

Shen Fu: “…”

Assistant Zhou in the distant car: “…”

Having successfully avenged being stood up, Jiang Shu slowly straightened, visibly pleased with himself. Casually tossing the tissue into a nearby trash can, he slipped one hand into his jacket pocket and leisurely turned back toward the car under his umbrella.

The moment he sat down, his phone screen lit up. With a slight curl of his lips, he casually swiped it open, only to unexpectedly see the second page of Shen Fu’s profile beneath the photograph.

Jiang Shu’s expression instantly froze.

Even Assistant Zhou couldn’t help complaining. “Young Master, the girl isn’t familiar with Jincheng. Running around by herself isn’t exactly a terrible crime. Usually it’s one thing when you act difficult, but knowing her family situation and still…”

He didn’t know.

How could he have known?

So the tears hanging on that fair, bun-like little face earlier weren’t because her hair had gotten wet or anything else. They were because…

He might be a terrible person, but if he had known what situation she was in, there was no way he would have kicked her while she was down.

Jiang Shu ripped off his earphones, crushed them into a ball, and tossed them onto the back seat.

Feeling irritated, he said, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Assistant Zhou: “…” I sent you the complete profile last night. You were the one who said you’d read it.

Jiang Shu glanced in her direction again before pushing open the car door and stepping out.

Soon Shen Fu saw the exquisitely handsome boy from before returning. It seemed he had forgotten to take his umbrella. Standing in front of her completely drenched, he looked like a drowned rat.

Shen Fu wiped away her tears. “…?”

“I’m Jiang Shu.” He looked down at her, still as arrogant as ever.

But because of what he had done earlier, he felt somewhat guilty.

Should he apologize?

But when had he ever apologized to anyone in his life?

Looking at Shen Fu, he relaxed his brows and tried hard to make himself seem less fierce. After a pause, he handed her another tissue. “I came to take you home.”

Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 5+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)