Chapter 142: Remarriage is a connection made through the Internet, cherish this relationship

Sensitive people often have to lay the groundwork before even asking questions. Zhu Yingning smiled and answered frankly, "I have indeed received many favors from his family."

It was not known whether Xu Sirui had told Zhou Tianqing that she had taken the initiative to stop funding Xu Zhengkang. Zhou Tianqing would often find various excuses to give her pocket money. Of course, she would refuse every time, but there would always be some that slipped through the net and were hidden in her bedroom by Zhou Tianqing. One day, when she opened the closet or took off the sheets to wash them, she would realize the kindness that she had delayed discovering.

Her answer gave Zhang Jiacheng a sense of mutual dependence.

At this noon when the sun is shining and the air is lazy, sharing each other's experiences no longer seems to be an embarrassing thing to talk about.

He began to tell Zhu Yingning about his and his mother's experiences.

His mother, Zhang Mei, was an atypical rural woman. He lived in a coastal fishing village. When he was very young, his mother went out to work to earn money for the family, while his father only knew how to play mahjong and drink. Later, he got drunk and fell into a ditch in the middle of winter and froze to death.

After her husband's death, rumors began to spread in the village. Some blamed Zhang Mei's husband-killing nature, saying she had killed him. Others rumoured that Zhang Mei must have had a lover, and her husband was furious and drunk when he found out. Zhang Mei, a rebellious woman by nature, not only continued to run away, but also took Zhang Jiacheng with her, even changing him to her mother's surname.

They lived in a small, economically underdeveloped town, in a rented house. It was an old, self-built residential building, over twenty years old. The exterior walls were creaky and covered in vines, and the lighting was extremely poor. The plumbing and electrical wiring had minor problems from time to time, and rats and cockroaches were a particular favorite. The original residents had almost all moved out, and the residents were mostly migrant workers and tenants.

The house was about 30 to 40 square meters, with one bedroom and one living room. Zhang Jiacheng gave the only bedroom to Zhang Mei, and he slept on a tatami mat in the living room. He slept there for nine years, and he finished elementary and junior high school in the town.

Zhang Mei is busy at work, leaving home early and coming back late. As a salesperson, she often has to work overtime and stay up late to drink with clients. Sometimes she doesn't come back until almost midnight, and then just lies down on the sofa, falling asleep without even having time to remove the cheap makeup on her face.

He understood Zhang Mei's hard work and took the initiative to take care of the family's three meals a day and all the chores. In order to save money, he also learned a variety of handicraft skills - mending clothes and socks, knitting scarves, cutting window flowers, repairing electrical appliances, and modifying wooden chairs by himself.

After graduating from high school, Zhang Mei suddenly told him that she was going to remarry. The man was from Beijing and could arrange for him to transfer schools. They would live in Beijing from then on.

Zhang Jiacheng was stunned for a long time. In his impression, Zhang Mei was always too busy to have time for a date, not to mention even having time for meals. He didn't understand why a man from Beijing suddenly appeared, and he suspected his mother was being scammed. Zhang Mei said that she met this man on an online forum, and they had been chatting for three or four years. She knew him inside and out.

Only then did he realize that in the past three or four years, Zhang Mei had indeed often smiled foolishly at the screen of her mobile phone, but he had never thought about it that way. He just thought she was watching funny videos and jokes on the Internet.

After hearing her words, his worry only intensified. He asked her if she had ever met him. He wondered if it was some scam. How could one know each other so well online? No matter how long they talked, it was all just empty talk. She said she had met him once on a business trip to Beijing. He was tall, thin, and rather unattractive, with a reserved personality, far less talkative than he seemed online. He was a single father with a five-year-old daughter.

"Are you planning to marry him after just one meeting?"

"Yes." Zhang Mei nodded without hesitation.

"Are you sure he's single?"

"yes."

She said that when they met, his wife had just passed away, and he posted on a forum to express his grief and sorrow. At first, she just went up to comfort him as a stranger online, telling him that her husband also died early, leaving her alone to raise the children.

"But my child has grown up healthy into his teens. If I can do it, you can too."

The two naturally started chatting about parenting, as the man brought his daughter and she brought her son, both of whom happened to be of a different gender. This created many inconveniences in their daily lives, but they were fortunate to have this online friendship that transcended space.

She told him how to get along with little girls, and he told her about the psychological workings of adolescent boys.

She said that she was molested by her cousin when she was a child, and reminded him not to leave his daughter alone with other men in a confined space, even if the other party was a child or a so-called relative. He told her that when a boy reaches a certain age, she must worry about whether he needs a circumcision. If he does, it is best to give him two days off after the operation, otherwise his walking posture will be strange and he will be laughed at by the male classmates in the class who know this.

He occasionally complained to her about the drudgery at work, and she would join him in railing against her boss's fussiness and stinginess. He mentioned a colleague diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver due to alcoholism, and she told him she'd been groped while socializing. Later, he shared Beijing's first snowfall with her, and she shared the sunset glow of her small town. He sent her vacuum-packed Peking duck, and she sent him dried squid.

They had been parenting partners and online friends for three years until last month, when Zhang Mei told him she was going to Beijing on a business trip. He then said, "We can meet up."

The meeting place was a high-end Japanese restaurant. The fish was plump, but it was all raw. Not only was Zhang Mei uncomfortable, but the man himself was obviously not in such places very often, and his expression was distorted as he ate. Halfway through the meal, Zhang Mei developed stomach cramps and had to make an excuse to run to the women's bathroom.

When she came out exhausted, holding her abdomen, she saw the other person standing in front of the bathroom door, at a loss, holding a bag of newly bought Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills. He apologized to her in a clumsy manner, saying that he did not intentionally choose this place to give her diarrhea.

"I heard you say you were from a coastal town, so I thought you must be used to eating seafood."

Zhang Mei smiled bitterly and said that she had gone out to work very early. Although she was born in a fishing village, she did not eat as much seafood as people in inland areas. Even if she ate seafood, it was cooked in her hometown. Few people ate it raw.

"I'm sorry." He lowered his head, his tall, thin figure hunched over by the action, and then blurted out, "Let's get married."

The reason for this sentence to appear can only be said to be the mismatch between time and place, and the discord between people. It is also too abrupt. There is no causal connection between the first and the second sentence, but Zhang Mei smiled and said, "Okay."

Zhang Mei has always had her own opinions on major issues. Even though he was full of worries, Zhang Jiacheng could not persuade her. He had no choice but to pack up his things and go north to Beijing with his mother to seek refuge with a person who was a complete stranger to him.

"What happened next?" Zhu Yingning listened with great interest and turned her body around completely without realizing it.

Zhang Jiacheng smiled and said, "Then it became like this."

His mother's second love, his stepfather Lu Bin, was indeed as she said, an ugly and taciturn man. Seeing that they had come from thousands of miles away, he didn't even say "Welcome to Beijing". He just snatched the suitcases of Zhang Mei and Zhang Jiacheng, and led the way in a hurry.

On the day he and Zhang Mei got their marriage certificate, the photos they took looked like a creditor and a debtor, with enough space between them for a third person. Even the staff at the Civil Affairs Bureau couldn't help but ask Zhang Mei, "Madam, are you entering into this marriage voluntarily? Were you not coerced into any way?"

After moving into Lu Bin's house, out of caution and also to please, Zhang Jiacheng always took care of his non-blood-related sister who came out of nowhere diligently, trying to judge whether Lu Bin was a trustworthy person from the child's natural behavior.

Fortunately, Xiao Ran looks healthy.

This health applies not only to the body but also to the mind. Although her mother died of breast cancer when she was only one year old, and her father was a quiet person, her childhood seemed to be relatively well-rounded. She was playful and full of wild ideas, boldly expressing her needs without hesitation. Of course, she felt no pressure to order him around.

After spending a semester together, Zhang Jiacheng finally dared to believe that his stepfather might, possibly, or should be a good person.

But perhaps because of the unfamiliarity, he could never get close to Lu Bin. He also wasn't like Xiao Ran, who could easily please others with witty remarks. So after a semester, he and Lu Bin were more like roommates living under the same roof than father and son. When they were alone together, they would faint from embarrassment.

He didn't dare to make any extra demands, fearing his presence would become redundant, because after all, they were living in Lu Bin's home, enjoying the benefits of Lu Bin's Beijing hukou. Facing the master of this house, Zhang Jiacheng naturally felt a certain humility.

At this point, Zhu Yingning thought of his cracked canvas shoes, and a wave of melancholy washed over her. She understood the lingering feeling of inferiority that comes with living under someone else's roof, having experienced the confusion and helplessness of a new arrival. Fortunately, she'd met mostly good people. She briefly described her experiences to Zhang Jiacheng, adding, "You're bound to meet good people, too."

He smiled and replied, "Then I'll borrow your good words."

"By the way, Xiaoran, do you like fireworks?" She remembered that when her tutoring class ended, a student gave her a pack of fireworks stickers. Unfortunately, she never used them, so she might as well give it to Xiaoran, which could also indirectly help Zhang Jiacheng.

It was too much of a stretch to force Lu Bin and Zhang Jiacheng to become close friends quickly, and she had no position to intervene. It would undoubtedly be more effective to have Xiao Ran act as a middleman to mediate the relationship between Zhang Jiacheng and Lu Bin, so she wanted to do her best to help him win Xiao Ran's heart.

"She really likes it," said Zhang Jiacheng.

"I have a bag of unused firework stickers at home. They're pretty. I'll find some for you tomorrow. Tell Xiaoran you bought them on your way home from school."

He was stunned for a few seconds, knowing that this was her good intention, and felt a little touched. He nodded gently: "Thank you... You are so thoughtful."

After finishing the conversation, Zhu Yingning turned around and stood up the Chinese textbook on the table. She was about to continue reading the modern Chinese text she hadn't finished when she saw Zou Hao walking towards her. He said to her, "I just went to the teacher's office and saw Xu Sirui looking for you outside. I wonder if there's anything wrong."

She looked outside and saw that the corridor was empty.

"No."

"Oh, then he may not be here to see you." Zou Hao didn't take this matter seriously. He found that Xu Sirui was indeed no longer outside. After sighing for a while, he returned to his seat and continued to discuss the new information he had just heard from Hong Qingyang with the student council.