Chapter 96, Part 2

Ninety-six:

"Then I'll go call my uncle." After leaning against Mu Feng for a while, Ye Qingxi raised her head and said to Mu Feng.

Otherwise, Mu Shaoyan might still be wavering between expectation and disappointment right now.

Mu Feng nodded helplessly.

Ye Qingxi said happily, "Grandpa, you're so kind."

Mu Feng looked at his fair face and his eyes, which were exceptionally clear and clean because he had just cried, and smiled slightly.

Look how happy he is now. It's just because he praised Mu Shaoyan.

Go ahead and praise them!

Praising someone won't kill you.

Ye Qingxi jumped off Mu Feng's lap, ran to the door, and ran out.

As he passed by the public restroom, he went in to check his appearance. Fortunately, he had only cried once and shed a few tears before his grandfather immediately gave in, so his eyes didn't look red and there were no signs of crying.

Ye Qingxi felt relieved and ran towards Mu Shaoyan's room.

He pushed open the door and walked into Mu Shaoyan's study.

Mu Shaoyan looked up. "Why are you here?"

"Grandpa asked me to come and call you," Ye Qingxi said with a smile. "Grandpa has something to tell you."

Mu Shaoyan: !!!

Mu Shaoyan immediately tensed up.

His dad had something to say to him?

say what?

Could it be... Mu Shaoyan thought, he felt he had improved, so he was very pleased?

But the next second, Mu Shaoyan felt it was impossible.

He knows his dad too well; his dad would never talk to him about it specifically. He would just think it's what he should do.

Mu Shaoyan put down his pen, puzzled, and pulled Ye Qingxi out the door.

"Did he tell you what he wanted to say to me?" Mu Shaoyan inquired.

Ye Qingxi raised her chin as if thinking, "Hmm... I think you've improved..."

"Should I praise you?" Ye Qingxi feigned surprise.

Mu Shaoyan: "How could that be? Your grandfather would never praise me for something like that!"

"All he would say was, 'What? You went from last place to thirteenth from the bottom, and you still want me to praise you?'"

Ye Qingxi: ...

Ye Qingxi felt that no one knows a father better than his son; this tone and wording were indeed what his grandfather would say.

How many of his grandfathers must he have eaten to make it taste this authentic!

It's obvious that his uncle has been thoroughly poisoned by his grandfather over the years.

"Maybe?" Ye Qingxi said, looking at him. "Anyway, I think it's possible."

Mu Shaoyan: "There's no 'maybe,' but it's absolutely impossible."

"If Grandpa praises you, you'll improve your ranking by another 300 places next month."

Mu Shaoyan declared confidently, "Not to mention three hundred, six hundred is fine too!"

"Okay!" Ye Qingxi said happily. I'll remember that, Uncle, you'd better keep your word!

The two chatted as they walked to Mu Feng's door.

Ye Qingxi pushed open the door and led Mu Shaoyan inside.

"Grandpa, Uncle is here."

Mu Feng: ...

Mu Feng felt a headache coming on.

Ye Qingxi hinted, "Grandpa, what do you want to say to Uncle?"

Mu Feng: ...

Mu Feng could only say insincerely, "You've improved a lot this time, not bad."

Mu Shaoyan: ? ? ? ! ! !

Mu Shaoyan's eyes widened: What was his father saying?!

Has he gone mad?

Or am I hallucinating?!

good? !

He actually said he was good?!

Mu Shaoyan silently pinched his leg and made a terrifying discovery: it seemed to be true!

Ye Qingxi thought this was too easy, so he continued to hint, "Is there anything else?"

Mu Feng: ...

Mu Feng could only close his eyes and continue praising, "Your attitude towards learning this month is very good, not bad."

Mu Shaoyan: ? ? ? ! ! !

Not bad either?!

This is good?!

Mu Shaoyan thought his father was probably possessed by an evil spirit!

They've started talking nonsense!

Otherwise, why would he say something like that?!

All he would say is: This is what you should have done, you should have done it a long time ago!

Mu Shaoyan: ...

Mu Shaoyan felt that everything was strangely eerie.

Ye Qingxi: ? ? ?

Why are there only two sentences?

Ye Qingxi wasn't satisfied; she thought it should at least have three sentences!

"Grandpa, is that all?" he hinted again.

Mu Feng: ...

Mu Feng felt that his grandson was making things difficult for him!

But what could he do? He could only helplessly continue, "Try again next time."

Ye Qingxi: ? ? ?

Ye Qingxi: ...Is this considered a compliment?

Well, for his grandfather, being able to say even three sentences is probably already quite an achievement.

Ye Qingxi reluctantly let the sixty-year-old man in front of her go.

Mu Feng: ...It's finally over.

Even if Ye Qingxi was dissatisfied, he didn't know what to say.

Ye Qingxi turned to look at Mu Shaoyan and tugged at his hand.

Mu Shaoyan was puzzled, so he quickly leaned in to listen. He heard Ye Qingxi whisper in his ear, "I guessed right, Grandpa really is going to praise you."

Mu Shaoyan: ...

Mu Shaoyan was a little dazed; his father actually wanted to praise him.

He felt somewhat empty and unrealistic.

An irrepressible joy flowed through his body, following the words he had just spoken.

His father was very pleased with his achievement this time.

He felt he had made great progress.

Mu Shaoyan was stunned, incredulous, yet unable to resist wanting to believe it.

He looked at his father and saw his resolute face.

This was the first time Mu Feng had said such a thing to him since the parent-teacher conference.

He rarely attends his parent-teacher conferences, and he certainly doesn't praise or compliment him afterward.

Mu Shaoyan had waited expectantly for him several times after he finished attending parent-teacher conferences.

But there was nothing there.

No matter how much his ranking improved or how much his score increased, Mu Feng seemed to be blind to it.

Indeed, Mu Shaoyan thought. His older brother had always been number one since childhood—number one in his class, number one in his grade, and number one in the entire school.

Compared to him, my own top ten, top five, and top three rankings are all within the same class, so it really doesn't seem impressive.

So he worked very hard to get first place, or at least first in the class, so that his dad could see it.

He tried his best, very hard, but he still couldn't pass the exam.

There are differences between people, and some things cannot be achieved simply through effort.

So Mu Shaoyan gave up.

They gave up trying, and they gave up on themselves.

He was like a long-distance traveler who had exhausted all his strength, thinking he would reach the end, only to find that he simply did not have the ability to reach the end. His physical strength was overdrawn, he had no strength left, and he did not want to have any strength left. So, he collapsed, bringing his life to a standstill.

But now, his father is praising him.

Mu Shaoyan felt both delighted and amused.

I am delighted that his efforts have been recognized.

Ironically, when he was diligent and achieved decent results, he didn't say a word, but now that his achievements are nowhere near his former glory, he's praising him.

So, does that mean people can't start out in a relatively high position?

So, is it true that starting from a lower point makes it easier to be seen and praised?

What is he now?

The 13th from the bottom of the class!

He wasn't praised when he came in third in the class, but now that he's fallen to thirteenth from the bottom, he's being praised?!

Doesn't he find it ridiculous?!

Mu Shaoyan was momentarily confused about his feelings. He was clearly happy, yet he couldn't help feeling sad for his past self.

He was clearly happy, yet he couldn't help but feel sorry for his past self.

He should have been satisfied, but he was extremely dissatisfied, wishing that Mu Feng had never said such a thing.

He couldn't tell the difference; he couldn't understand it.

He felt as if everything had finally come to meaning, yet he also felt as if everything had never had any meaning at all.

Mu Shaoyan stood silently in Mu Feng's study without uttering a word.

Half fire, half sea.

Half warmth, half sadness.

Ye Qingxi looked at him, somewhat confused. What was going on?

Why wasn't his uncle as happy as he had imagined?

As he was thinking, he heard Mu Feng say, "Xiao Xi, your Aunt Zhang just came to see me and said she made you some sweet fermented rice balls and wants you to come over and eat them."

Ye Qingxi: ...

Ye Qingxi thought his grandfather's excuse was really clumsy.

However, Ye Qingxi glanced at Mu Shaoyan and thought that perhaps it would be good to let the father and son talk alone now.

Anyway, his grandfather had already praised his uncle as he wished, so there was no point in him staying any longer.

So Ye Qingxi nodded and said cheerfully, "Then I'll go eat some glutinous rice balls."

After saying that, he pretended not to see Mu Feng's intention and asked considerately, "Grandpa, do you want some? Uncle, what about you?"

"Grandpa won't eat yet, and neither will your uncle. Grandpa has something to take care of."

"Okay." Ye Qingxi nodded obediently. "Then I'll go eat first."

He turned around and walked out.

Ye Qingxi closed the door and glanced at it gently, hoping that when her uncle came out of this room again, he would have a smile on his face.

With that in mind, he gave time and space to the father and son who clearly loved each other but seemed to have never really talked things through.

Mu Feng looked at his son in front of him, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"

"No," Mu Shaoyan said in a low voice.

Mu Feng sneered, "You're unhappy? What could you possibly be unhappy about? You're unhappy even when I praise you?"

Looking at him, Mu Shaoyan felt that this was more like his father, the Mu Feng he was used to and familiar with.

“Now that Xiaoxi is gone, I’ll tell you the truth. What I just said was what Xiaoxi wanted me to say, not what I wanted to say. Xiaoxi felt that your progress was hard-won and that you needed praise, so he asked me to praise you. I refused, but he cried. He cried so pitifully. You know, I didn’t bring him back to make him feel wronged, so I agreed.”

“You have a good nephew,” Mu Feng said.

Mu Shaoyan nodded slightly.

Sure enough, he said those words he had just heard were from his father. So that's how it was all.

At this moment, Mu Shaoyan felt a tenderness in his heart for having a nephew like Ye Qingxi and for his thoughtfulness towards him, but he couldn't help but laugh at himself: He knew his father would never praise him.

He never sees him in that regard.

"Do you think I should praise you?" Mu Feng asked.

"It shouldn't be like this," Mu Shaoyan said in a low voice.

"Why?"

"Because there's nothing to praise, it's thirteenth from the bottom, what's there to praise?"

Mu Feng nodded, "You do have some self-awareness."

Mu Shaoyan chuckled self-deprecatingly: Of course, he has always been very self-aware.

"Since you're alright, I'll head back now." After saying that, Mu Shaoyan turned around and walked out.

As he reached the door, he heard Mu Feng ask him, "Is there anything you're unhappy about?"

"Are you unhappy that I didn't genuinely want to praise you? Are you unhappy that I didn't patiently and earnestly advise you like your brother did? Or are you unhappy that everyone is cheering for your achievement this time, but I'm not cheering with them?"

"What are you dissatisfied with?" Mu Feng repeated.