Chapter 37

"Are you leaving now?"

Seeing the two of them stand up, Lu Yibo asked halfway through singing, "Lu Bai, you only sang one song."

"That's right, are we just going to play for a little while?" Yin Li shouted at them, "Don't lose the money you deserve for A!"

Lu Bai waved his hand without explaining, but Zhang Xiaotian behind him smiled at them.

"Let's go." Zhang Xiaotian said and followed Lu Bai. As for Lu Yibo's question "Where are you going?" no one answered.

After they closed the door, Yin Li turned to look at Han Chengcheng. She had wanted to ask them where they were going and why they left so early, but Han Chengcheng was tugging at her sleeve.

"Stop it," she said. "You're not going to say anything about that again, are you?"

"Didn't you believe it last time?" Han Chengcheng said, "Besides, this time is really different!"

"I went home and thought about it again, but I still couldn't believe it." Yin Li frowned. "Besides, what's different this time? Why didn't I see it?"

Han Chengcheng explained, "When we used to go out to sing, Lu Bai was always the first one to rush to the song request booth. Think about it, he was always the first one to sing. One time, he didn't get the first song, so he pushed all his own songs up, and even said that he was protecting his dignity as a microphone tyrant."

Yin Li was confused. "Really? I don't remember anything... But does this have anything to do with what you're talking about?"

"How come it's not related?" Han Chengcheng slapped her thigh anxiously, "Look what Lu Bai is doing here today?"

"No, I didn't notice..." Yin Li hesitated.

"Oh." Han Chengcheng tried to remind her again, "Do you still remember what you said this morning?" Han Chengcheng reminded her.

"What did I say?"

"Did you forget?" Han Chengcheng said anxiously, "You said Lu Bai was pestering Xiaotian all the time, and Xiaotian would get annoyed sooner or later, and Xiaotian nodded!"

"I remember that." Yin Li nodded, "But wasn't that a joke?"

Han Chengcheng took a deep breath and sighed. She said seriously, "We always sing in this private room. Even if we fall asleep with our eyes closed, there's no way we can't find it. Xiaotian is the only one here for the first time."

The others were still howling like ghosts and wolves. Yin Li swallowed and sat up straight.

"We were already here by then. Who do you think Lu Bai was waiting for at the door? If he saw him, why didn't he come in with us? Why did he have to stand there for a while?"

Zhang Xiaotian didn't want to go home with Lu Bai to play games. He was so confused that he probably wouldn't be able to concentrate on playing, but he wanted to stay with Lu Bai. However, Lu Bai didn't seem to really want to take him back to play games. The two of them left the karaoke bar and walked along the street. Lu Bai didn't say anything, just humming the song he had just sung.

Having listened to the songs, Zhang Xiaotian now wanted to talk to him even more, so he asked him, "Are you still coming to study on the weekend?"

Lu Bai raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. Why don't you want to take me with you?" He exaggeratedly covered his face with his hands, pretending to be sad and said, "Oh my God, I just passed the exam once, and you want to abandon me. I'm so pitiful!"

Death of a child.

"Then don't be late." Zhang Xiaotian smiled and shook his head, "And don't leave any questions blank. Don't give me excuses for not knowing. If you leave one blank, I'll leave ten more."

"Ah, I didn't mean it!" Lu Bai was really panicking. "I really can't do that! Tian'er, please go easy on me!"

"I clearly just explained that question to you last time, but you couldn't solve it because the context was changed?"

"Which one? The exercise book, the test paper, or the English newspaper? Why don't I remember anything like that?" Lu Bai stubbornly argued, "I'm telling you, don't scare me by taking advantage of the fact that I don't understand. I'm your master!"

"I was your teacher when you were learning English." Zhang Xiaotian folded his arms and looked at him. "That paper is still at my house."

"Then let's go to your house now!" Lu Bai waved his hand, "I want to see what the question is."

They said they were going right away, but no one took a taxi. They continued walking slowly along the road. The soil in the tree pits along the street was still damp from the rainy season. The sun didn't shine, but the air was humid and hot. The two of them walked all the way to Zhang Xiaotian's house.

"You won't ask me to do another set of tests later, will you?" Lu Bai watched Zhang Xiaotian open the door and muttered to himself while standing behind him.

"That's possible, you..." Zhang Xiaotian opened the door and wanted to tease him, but he saw a trolley case standing on the floor in the entrance hall.

"What's wrong?" Seeing that Zhang Xiaotian opened the door but did not go in, Lu Bai stuck his head in and saw a dignified, business-like, familiar-looking woman walking out with a bag.

"Why don't you come in?" Mother Zhang noticed that there was someone else next to Zhang Xiaotian. She paused and asked, "Did Xiaotian invite you to our house to play?"

Just as Lu Bai was about to answer, Zhang Xiaotian grabbed his wrist first.

"I asked him to come here to study," Zhang Xiaotian explained. "He's been tutoring me recently."

"Tutoring for you?" Mother Zhang stood at the door with her elbows raised, neither moving aside nor letting them in. "Which subject do you need tutoring for? Secretary Wang never told me."

"Auntie Wang has a job, so why would we need to bother her with such trivial matters between students?" Zhang Xiaotian said, "Mom, can we go in and talk?"

"Of course, it's not nice to have guests standing at the door." Mother Zhang finally looked at Lu Bai after hearing this. Lu Bai quickly greeted her. She smiled slightly, quickly looked him over from head to toe, and said, "Child, you go in first. Xiaotian, help me push the suitcase out and see me off."

"You go in first." Zhang Xiaotian dragged the suitcase and gently pushed Lu Bai, "Go to my room and wait for me."

After closing the door, Zhang Xiaotian dragged his suitcase to his mother and called out.

"mom."

"Going out to play?" Mother Zhang checked the time on her phone. "If I'm not mistaken, this is Lu Bai. He's sitting at the same table with you."

Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

"Since your relationship has improved, why didn't you tell Mom when you called?" Mother Zhang smiled, not missing any of Zhang Xiaotian's expressions. "Next time, remember to report your whereabouts to Secretary Wang."

"Don't bother Aunt Wang..."

Mother Zhang interrupted him: "She is taking the salary I give her, so she has to complete the work I assign to her. You don't have to speak for her."

Zhang Xiaotian didn't say anything.

"It's not that I forbid you from having fun or making friends," Zhang's mother continued. "I just need to know what you do and who you interact with."

"Okay." Zhang Xiaotian nodded.

"You had a difficult upbringing, and now I can't supervise you all the time. So I'm doing this, and I hope you can understand." Mother Zhang replied to several messages as she spoke. After putting away her phone, she continued, "I do this because I hope you can become better and more outstanding, and not live a useless life like your father. I also hope you can understand that occasional entertainment is harmless, but you must remember what the most important thing to do now is, and not..."

"I didn't forget." Zhang Xiaotian defended himself, "Aunt Wang should have reported my grades to you."

Mother Zhang didn't lose her composure even when her words were interrupted. She simply stared at Zhang Xiaotian. Her gaze was like a heavy weight pressing down on him, making it difficult for him to breathe. She didn't follow Zhang Xiaotian's topic of grades, but instead asked, "Didn't you forget?"

Zhang Xiaotian wanted to speak, but she raised her hand to stop him.

"Okay, then let's just pretend I didn't forget." She took the suitcase from Zhang Xiaotian. "Mom knows you've worked hard. After all, I'm always watching over you."

"Then send it here. Don't leave the customer alone for too long." Mother Zhang only then remembered that Zhang Xiaotian was her son, not her subordinate. She raised her hand and gently patted Zhang Xiaotian's arm. "Mom is glad to know that you haven't forgotten. So keep up the good work and strive for perfection until you make it to your satisfaction."

There seemed to be pain in the palm of his hand, but Zhang Xiaotian didn't look.

Of course he hadn't forgotten. After all, someone reminded him every day. Whether it was Secretary Wang's frequent messages of concern, her extremely regular visits, or the occasional discovery of new items upon returning home, unfamiliar extra clothes in the closet, or school supplies on the desk, regardless of whether he needed them or not, he didn't have to choose them himself, and he didn't even need to know about them; everything was delivered directly to his door. This didn't feel like concern, but more like a reminder, reminding Zhang Xiaotian that there was no place to hide in this house. She could enter any place as long as she wanted, observe and arrange it at will. Everything about him was under her control.

She did all this to correct the unknown "problems" in Zhang Xiaotian, to shape Zhang Xiaotian into a person like her family, and then one day in the future to keep Zhang Xiaotian by her side like an accessory, as a work that she is proud of, rather than as "Zhang Xiaotian" itself.

But he doesn't want to live like this.

Superior living conditions, higher than average social resources, and a bright future at the end of the tunnel are indeed very tempting, but Zhang Xiaotian knows what he wants. In the face of such things, everything else seems less important.

The sudden whistle outside brought Zhang Xiaotian back to his senses. Without stopping at the door, he turned around and opened it with his key. As soon as he opened the door, he bumped into Lu Bai, who was eavesdropping through the crack of the door.

"I'm not... that, I just waited for you for a long time but you didn't come back, and Auntie was so serious just now, I thought you were going to be scolded..."

Zhang Xiaotian looked at Lu Bai scratching his head and felt a lot more relieved.

Lu Bai always has this magical power. Even though he knows nothing, looking at him makes me relax and feel at ease. I think that all this is nothing now. It can't bother me at all. Screw it. Sooner or later, I will...

"Your door is so soundproofed, I can't hear a thing." Lu Bai carefully observed Zhang Xiaotian's expression. "I was thinking, what if Auntie scolded you because of me? I could explain it to her... Is Auntie on a business trip again?"

"Really?" Zhang Xiaotian laughed out loud. "I don't know either."

"Hey, you better be more careful next time," Lu Bai breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't do this. I almost peed my pants."

Her itinerary is not something I need to know.

Zhang Xiaotian followed Lu Bai into the house, still thinking.

Not only her itinerary, but also her purpose, her self-motivated and clearly priced efforts, I don't want to know any of this. I only know that sooner or later, I will leave here.