"Isn't high school supposed to be very stressful? Why are you always thinking about having fun?"

Lin Xi said proudly, "For me, playing is learning. You ordinary people just don't understand the world of geniuses."

Dog Egg nodded and said, "Sometimes I really envy you. You play a lot too, but you always do well in your studies. Unlike me, I work hard every day, but my grades still can't keep up."

Lin Xi patted his shoulder reassuringly: "Keep it up, young man. Everyone is different. You're not good at studying, but you're exceptionally good at other things."

Dog Egg lowered his head dejectedly and said, "My mother always praises you and likes you, unlike me, who can't be the son she's satisfied with."

"No, Auntie just doesn't say it on the surface. She's told my mom many times in private that you're much more sensible than before, and you don't cause her any worry. She's very proud of you."

"Really? My mother really said that?"

"Don't you trust me? I would never lie to you, so you need to believe in yourself and stop putting too much pressure on yourself."

Since Gou Dan's grandmother passed away, his father has never returned home. Although Li Taohua doesn't say it on the surface, she still misses him very much. So when Lin Xi was buying a house, she tidied up the house and took Gou Dan with her to the city.

Being a complete stranger in the city, she knew nothing about the place except for a general address.

Fortunately, Lin Xi was there. Lin Xi, who was popular everywhere, asked around the whole way and finally found the place according to the address that Gou Dan's father had mentioned earlier.

On the way, Li Taohua excitedly patted the dirt off her clothes, smoothed her hair, and tidied up Gou Dan'er before carefully knocking on the door.

"Who is it?"

A woman's voice asked, and Li Taohua's heart began to pound. Wasn't this the house her child's father rented? How could there be a woman here?

Suppressing her unease, Li Taohua replied, "I am the owner of this house, and I have brought the child to see his father."

There was silence inside, and no one came out to open the door for a long time. Li Taohua knocked again, but this time there was no response.

"Er Ya, tell me, what's going on?"

In her nervousness, she called out Lin Xi's name again. Lin Xi knew that something was wrong with Gou Dan's father, but she didn't say anything. What if he was just an acquaintance?

He patted Li Taohua's hand and deliberately said loudly, "Auntie, is no one here? Have we come to the wrong place? Are you sure Uncle lives here?"

She winked at Li Taohua and pointed to the house. Li Taohua, confused, didn't understand what Lin Xi was trying to do. This was definitely the place. She had even brought Gou Dan to stay here for a while before.

Dog Egg, ever the quick-witted one, also spoke up loudly: "Mom, this isn't the place. You've got it wrong. Let's hurry and go find Dad. He must be getting impatient."

Several people deliberately made loud stomping noises to give the people inside the illusion that they had already left. In fact, they had been hiding in a corner, keeping a close eye on the commotion.

Sure enough, not long after, a woman who looked to be in her thirties furtively opened the door, glanced outside, and when she saw that no one was there, she patted her chest in relief.

Before she could even relax, several people shoved her aside and brazenly entered the courtyard.

The woman asked sharply, "Hey, who are you? Why are you barging into other people's homes? Get out right now!"

Li Taohua had a loud voice and said loudly, "Whose house is this? This is my child's father's house. Who do you think you are?"

Looking down at the woman in front of him, who was holding her belly and looked like she was five or six months pregnant, Lin Xi felt a buzzing in his head and almost couldn't stand up. Luckily, Lin Xi was quick-witted and helped her sit down on a stool in the yard.

He walked up to the woman and asked, "Is this Lin Wei's house?"

"Yes, what do you want to do? Let me tell you, he'll be back soon. Don't cause trouble here. If you have any problems, go find him."

"Do you know that Lin Wei is my aunt's husband and my brother Gou Dan's father?"

The woman gave Li Taohua a disdainful look: "So you're that old hag? Your man doesn't want you anymore, how dare you come here?"

Li Taohua's voice changed with anger: "What nonsense are you talking about? When did he say he didn't want me anymore? He said he would work hard to earn money and send our son to college."

"Why are you still dreaming? Look, my belly is so big. The baby inside is his precious child. We are the real family."

Li Taohua said angrily, "How can you be so shameless? We're not divorced yet, and you're having an affair. I'm going to sue you."

“Auntie, who are you going to sue? Do you two have a marriage certificate? You're the ones who are illegal. Besides, don't you look in the mirror? You look like you're fifty. Dawei has said more than once that when he goes out with you, people think you're mother and son.”

“You…you…”, Li Taohua was so angry that she clutched her chest and couldn’t breathe.

"Auntie, people say you're slutty, and you actually think you're a vixen? The most important thing for a vixen is to be beautiful!"

I really want to ask you from the bottom of my heart: Do you have the looks to back it up? Honestly, it's not your fault that you're not good-looking; it's just God being a little grumpy.

Even if your face looks like a car crash, you don't need to cover it with your butt!

The woman touched her face, still looking young: "You brat, I'll beat you to death! You spew filth! I'm young and beautiful, otherwise why would he choose me and leave this old hag at home?"

"You really have no shame. Being someone's mistress used to be punishable by being paraded through the streets. How dare you swagger around like this? Don't your family members feel ashamed?"

Seeing how angry the woman had made his mother, Gou Dan'er roared hysterically, his face turning bright red. He grabbed a stool and smashed it hard on the ground. The stool hit the ground and shattered into pieces with a sharp cracking sound. The woman screamed in fright.

"You brat, you smashed our things, you have to pay for it. I'll make you all sit inside."

Li Taohua struggled to her feet, ran to the kitchen, slammed her chopsticks on the table, grabbed the rice bowl beside her, her thin arms bulging with veins. With a crash, the bowl shattered on the floor, and all other noises seemed to vanish, leaving only the crisp sound of the bowl hitting the ground, which was far from pleasant.

"You two are crazy, ahhhhh, that's my favorite thing."

To be continued!