Chapter 80 Chapter 80 You don’t understand, I’m just playing the victim. …

"Were you kicked out of your home?"

Tao Dacheng came to look for Chen Lu and happened to see the furniture company moving beds into the alley. He waited outside for a long time and when he came in he saw Ji Maili directing them.

In the yard, Tao Dacheng asked Chen Lu: "Are you two going to live together?"

Chen Lu said, "It's not about living together, it's about starting a learning journey."

Tao Dacheng wondered if he had misheard: "Study? Who? Him? Did he get his head stuck in the door?"

Chen Lu told him about Ji Maili coming out to his family. After hearing this, Tao Dacheng went to Ji Maili who had just finished his work and came out of the house: "Awesome, young master!"

Ji Maili thought he was sick: "Stay away from me."

Tao Dacheng's gossip soul was aroused, and curiosity made him unable to stay away from him for the time being: "Did you really tell your family about you and Shen Lu, so you were kicked out of the family now?"

"I'm running away from home in disguise." Ji Maili washed his hands, pulled out a stack of crumpled papers from his schoolbag, and spread them out on the small table in the yard. "From today on, I'm going to enter a serious study mode. If you're free, go ahead. Chen Lu has extra lessons for me and doesn't have time to play with you. Don't bother us."

Tao Dacheng was amused: "That sounds quite plausible."

Ji Maili was used to being short-lived and no one took his words seriously. Even Shen Lu thought he was just in a whim. However, half a month passed, and Ji Maili was distracted when looking at the papers at first, and gradually he couldn't even hear Shen Lu calling him to eat. Only then did Shen Lu realize that this guy was serious this time.

At noon that day, someone knocked on the door. Tao Dacheng had been asking them to do homework together every day these days, but Ji Maili ignored him.

Chen Lu opened the door and came back. When he reached the door, he heard Ji Maili muttering, "Chen Lu, do you still have the cookies left over from yesterday? I'm a little hungry."

Shen Lu: "Mai Mai."

Ji Maili turned around and was stunned when he saw the person who walked in with Chen Lu: "Mom?" He stood up quickly: "Why are you here?"

Liang Lin held two thermal boxes and looked at her son with a distressed look on her face: "Do you usually just make do with biscuits?"

Chen Lu: "No, we——"

Ji Maili interrupted him: "Don't just eat biscuits, occasionally eat bread and instant noodles or something, it saves trouble. Eating takeout and wasting time ordering."

Chen Lu raised his eyebrows at Ji Maili - what nonsense is he talking about? He cooked for him every day, and he even stewed a pot of pig's trotters for him yesterday!

Ji Maili was afraid that Shen Lu would expose him, so he quickly went to look at the lunch box in Liang Lin's hand: "What is this? Is it delicious? I'm hungry."

Liang Lin thought that what Ji Maili said when he came home last time was just talk, and he probably didn't have much enthusiasm after more than half a month. But looking at the thick pile of books and messy papers on the table, and the way Ji Maili sat there with his head buried in his eyes, Liang Lin realized that her son had really made up his mind this time.

Liang Lin asked Shen Lu: "Where is the kitchen? I'll go cook some food for you."

Shen Lu: "I'll go."

Shen Lu went to the kitchen. Ji Maili took the lunch box that Liang Lin brought and said, "Mom, please sit down. I'll go get you a glass of water."

In the kitchen, Chen Lu looked at Ji Maili who came in with a lunch box and asked in a low voice, "What were you talking about just now? Did I starve you?"

Ji Maili secretly glanced outside and said, "You don't understand. This is called playing the victim. If I don't make our story miserable, how can I make my mother feel distressed? If I don't make my mother feel distressed, how can I get through this family crisis?"

Chen Lu was speechless: "When did you become so cunning? Aren't you afraid that your mother will think I'm not good to you?"

Ji Maili swore, "No. My mother loves you." Ji Maili suddenly remembered something, and he looked at Chen Lu, "You go and play the victim later. It will definitely be more effective than me."

Shen Lu didn’t want to pay attention to him: “I can’t.”

Ji Maili: "If you don't know how, I'll teach you."

Shen Lu: "I don't want to learn, get out now."

Ji Maili was dissatisfied with Chen Lu's lack of understanding, as he wouldn't even do something so easy. He came out of the kitchen empty-handed. Liang Lin was sitting on the stool where he had just been, looking at his papers. Seeing him come out, Liang Lin looked up at him and asked, "Where's the water?"

Ji Maili was stunned and turned back: "Ah, I forgot."

Liang Lin: “…”

While eating, Liang Lin looked at Ji Maili and said, "You've lost weight."

Ji Maili ate voraciously, as if he hadn't eaten for hundreds of years: "Yeah, I think I've lost weight too."

Ji Maili had indeed lost some weight, but it was not because he was hungry, but because he read too late every day and overused his brain.

During this period, he and Shen Lu didn't even have a second in-depth communication. He wanted to do it the night before yesterday, but when Shen Lu came out of the shower, Ji Maili had already fallen asleep with a book in his arms.

Seeing the two of them finish all the food she brought without leaving any, Liang Lin said, "Whatever you want to eat tomorrow, I'll make it and bring it to you."

Ji Maili hadn't swallowed the food in his mouth yet: "No, Mom, don't come over. I don't have enough time every day now. If you come, we have to accompany you. We can just eat something casually. I can memorize several questions in the time saved."

Liang Lin said to him: "You only need this little time?"

Ji Maili said: "It's not good enough. You know what my foundation is. There is only less than a year left. I have to race against time."

Liang Lin had come this time thinking that after such a long time, she might as well try to persuade him to go back, but he actually asked her not to come again: "You really don't plan to go home, right?"

Ji Maili nodded happily: "Yes, didn't I tell you last time?"

“You——” Liang Lin looked at Shen Lu: “You two are going to piss me off to death!”

Chen Lu knew that Liang Lin was not angry simply because Ji Maili did not go home, but also because she was angry about their treacherous relationship: "I'm sorry, Auntie."

Ji Maili was right. Liang Lin felt more sorry for Chen Lu than for Ji Maili. She always felt that this child was so sensible that it made her feel distressed. How could he not know what she was angry about when he was so sensible? But now he only said "I'm sorry" and nothing else.

Liang Lin knew that the two of them were determined, and no matter whether they were sensible or not, there was no way to break them apart.

Liang Lin's words finally melted into a breath: "Forget it, I'll come back in a few days."

The two of them sent Liang Lin to the entrance of the alley. When they came back, Ji Maili looked at Shen Lu and smiled: "I told you, your misery is more effective than mine."

Shen Lu: "When did I play the victim?"

"Just now." Ji Maili imitated him: "I'm sorry, Auntie. You don't know how pitiful your expression was at that time. I almost couldn't help but go over and kiss you."

Shen Lu put his arm on his shoulder and pinched his face: "Then you should bear with it."

-

After that, Liang Lin would come almost every week, and each time she came, she would bring them a lot of food, fearing that they would be hungry. One time, Tao Dacheng was there too, and Tao Dacheng ate a meal for free. It was not in vain, as he complained to Liang Lin that Ji Maili had been working very hard recently and scared him.

A week before school started, Liang Lin came again. The door was not locked, so she came in by herself. As soon as she came in, she saw Shen Lu holding Ji Maili on the sofa. She was so scared that she screamed and quickly retreated.

Shen Lu stood up and walked over to look at Liang Lin who was standing in the yard: “Auntie.”

Liang Lin held her forehead and hesitated for a long time: "You...why, why don't you close the door?"

Shen Lu coughed twice: "It's not like that, Auntie. Mai Mai's eyes have been uncomfortable these two days, and I'm giving him eye drops."

Liang Lin was stunned for a moment, then she noticed the eye drops in Shen Lu's hand that had not yet been screwed on. For a moment, she didn't know whether to be embarrassed or even more embarrassed: "... Put on the eye drops."

Shen Lu smiled: "Yeah."

Liang Lin walked back in. Ji Maili leaned on the sofa with her eyes closed and smiled: "Mom, what are you thinking? You don't think that Chen Lu and I are kissing-"

Liang Lin quickly interrupted: "What's wrong with your eyes? Let me see."

Ji Maili opened his eyes, and his eyes were as red as a rabbit's, which scared Liang Lin: "Oh my God, what happened?"

Shen Lu said: "He started rubbing his eyes a couple of days ago. It might be because he overused his eyes or his hands were dirty. The doctor said there was some infection."

Liang Lin looked at Ji Maili's red eyes and felt distressed: "What should I do? He hasn't experienced the hardship of studying for more than ten years. How can his eyes adapt?"

Ji Maili continued to play the role of a sympathetic person: "It's okay, as long as I'm not blind, I can still learn!"

Shen Lu lowered his head and coughed twice, then turned around to pour water for Liang Lin. Liang Lin looked back at him: "Why are you coughing all the time?"

Ji Maili said: "He has a cold and has been coughing for two days."

Liang Lin frowned: "How can this be possible? You two children have to study and take care of yourself at the same time. It's impossible to take care of them properly."

Shen Lu: "I'm fine, just a little cough."

Liang Lin looked at the two patients and felt more and more that they wouldn't last a year. "No, school is about to start. You two have to go to class during the day and review at night. You won't have time to take care of yourselves. You two should go home. At least I can take care of you at home. It's better to be sick and have no one to take care of you."

Ji Maili asked, "What if we both go back? Then what about my dad? What if he wants to move out and live on his own? How difficult it would be for you."

Liang Lin slapped him and said, "Stop talking nonsense. I'll talk to your dad and tell him to pack up his things and move back home before school starts."

Chen Lu's throat was itchy: "Ahem, let Mai Mai go back. When school starts, I will send Mai Mai back after reviewing every day."

Ji Maili didn't know if Chen Lu was playing hard to get or was serious. He glanced at Liang Lin and said, "Then I won't go back either. It's past midnight every day after reviewing. It's too tiring. I might as well get some more sleep."

Liang Lin had the patience to slowly talk to them before, but seeing that they were all sick, she, who was always easy to talk to, directly deprived them of the right to discuss: "Stop talking nonsense, both of you, go home directly after school."