At this point, Bo Qin was somewhat angry, his tone was very harsh.
Jian Dan wanted to say no, it wasn’t like that.
But the fact of the matter was laid out right in front of her. Acting clever with Bo Qin simply didn’t work.
Her jaw was pinched by Bo Qin to the point of discomfort. The young girl with her lips pursed, mumbled unclearly, "Hurry, my jaw hurts..."
Bo Qin let go, allowing her to break free from his grip. Seeing that her jaw had reddened, he rubbed it with a bit of heartache, "Don’t be sly, speak properly, no excuses. Why aren’t you spending the money I gave you?"
Jian Dan didn’t know whether she should tell the truth.
But under Bo Qin’s piercing gaze, she didn’t dare to lie. Instead, she lifted her eyes fearfully towards Bo Qin, "Uncle Qin, I don’t want to talk about it right now, can I not say it?"
If it were any other day, Bo Qin might have just nodded in agreement, but today was different. The young girl was drawing such a clear line between them; finding such an opportunity again would not be easy.
So, he smiled faintly, looking at her shallowly. Jian Dan knew what he meant—no.
Jian Dan didn’t know what to do. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Can I take some time to think about where to start?"
Ten minutes later, Bo Qin was still sitting next to her, seemingly determined not to leave until he heard the end of it. Jian Dan also didn’t know how to begin, so she picked out what she thought was a safe place to start, "Uncle Qin, my tuition, clothing, food, housing, and transportation are all being paid by you. Actually, it doesn’t cost much, and the credit card you gave me has such a large limit, I’m scared to spend it."
"Keep making up stories."
She expressed this sentence, and for the sentences that followed, Bo Qin didn’t believe a single word. He had not realized it before, thinking her merely reticent and quiet, but now he saw she had many careful thoughts indeed, all aimed at him.
He really didn’t know what to say to her.
Jian Dan shrank her neck, closing her eyes, steeling her heart, and bluntly blurted out, "If you want to know, I don’t want to use your money, out of fear that you might find me too expensive to maintain, and after a while, you’d get rid of me."
This was the raw truth. Bo Qin had never given her a sense of security, so her worries were not at all strange. They were not just plausible but highly credible. Bo Qin was a man, and his thinking wasn’t so precise and infallible. Giving her such a misunderstanding also wasn’t surprising.
Bo Qin stared at the girl whose head was almost buried in her chest. For a moment, he didn’t know what to do. He reached out and ruffled her messy hair, "Sorry."
Why was he apologizing to her?
Jian Dan didn’t intend for Bo Qin to apologize to her and hurriedly waved her hands, "Uncle Qin, you don’t need to apologize to me. You know, I didn’t have..."
Bo Qin stopped her, "I understand what you mean. You didn’t say those things to make me feel guilty. But it doesn’t cover up the fact that I’ve neglected you all these years. Even though I brought you to the capital, I actually didn’t care for you that much. I have not done well enough."
Jian Dan shook her head slightly, "No, Uncle Qin, you’ve done better than my own family. What my family is like... even now the thought is unbearable to me. You are just my dad’s friend, and you’ve treated me so well. I am very grateful. Not using your money is one reason because I’m afraid you’ll find me hard to support. The second is that the money my father left me is enough for my everyday expenses."
"I don’t have to worry about food or housing; it really doesn’t cost much. I have more than two hundred thousand left from my father’s money, enough to get me through to the end of university."
"So you’ve planned it all, intending to leave me after you graduate college?"
Jian Dan shook her head, her gaze towards Bo Qin was somewhat complicated. Bo Qin felt he had caught a glimpse of something, but it flashed by and he couldn’t grasp it. When he tried to look deeper, Jian Dan had already averted her gaze. He didn’t press further and let it go.
Before Jian Dan could continue speaking, he said, "Jianjian, I want you to understand one thing: my home will always have a place for you, no matter if I get married or whatever happens, you will still be part of my family."
Hearing the word "marriage," Jian Dan’s heart trembled, and a wave of sadness surged. She nodded with her eyelashes lowered, "I understand, Uncle Qin. I’ll go to sleep first. I will make gradual changes, okay?"
Bo Qin always felt she was still hiding something. Seeing that it was getting late, he relaxed and said, "Go ahead."