Chapter 327: Lugu City in a dilemma, the helplessness of middle-aged people
The curtains in Lu Mingze's bedroom were tightly closed, blocking out the neon lights at night, leaving only a dim desk lamp casting a faint glow on the desk.
The room was filled with a turbid, complex smell of sweat, snacks, and unwashed socks. The lower bunk of the bunk bed was filled with miscellaneous items, and a human figure was bulging out from the quilt on the upper bunk, lying motionless.
"Mingze, mommy cooked you some Tremella and lotus seed soup, which is your favorite." The middle-aged woman pushed the door open carefully, holding a bowl of steaming dessert in her hand, with a flattering smile on her face.
The figure under the quilt moved slightly, but did not respond.
This is already the second day of Lu Mingze's "retreat for recuperation".
Ever since the epic social-death scene at school yesterday, he felt as if his soul had been sucked out of him and he collapsed completely.
The middle-aged woman put the bowl on the bedside table and looked at the greasy tuft of her son's hair sticking out from the quilt with heartache. His hair, which he used to carefully style with hairspray every day, had not been washed for two days.
"Mom..." A muffled voice finally came from under the quilt, "Where's my phone?"
The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up, and she quickly picked up her son's phone from the table and handed it to him: "Here it is, Mom has charged it for you."
She hesitated for a moment: "But... there are a lot of messages in the class group, why don't you not read them for now?"
Lu Mingze suddenly threw back the quilt and grabbed the phone. His eyes were bloodshot, his face was frighteningly pale, and the fuzz around his mouth looked like the stubble of a middle-aged man after staying up late and drinking too much.
The moment he unlocked the screen, his fingers were visibly shaking.
There are already 99+ messages in the class group, and at the top is a message @all members: "There will be a mock exam for the basic academic examination this Friday, please be prepared!"
But Lu Mingze's eyes jumped directly to the chat record below -
"How long does Lu Mingze plan to take leave for?"
"Hahaha, doesn't he always brag about how awesome he is? He said that he was the one who taught his cousin how to be so awesome, but the guy just gave him a look and scared him to death!"
"Who still has the video? Post it again!"
"The Education Department asked me to delete it, but I saved a backup..."
"Fuck you, kid, you're committing a crime against the wind?"
Lu Mingze's fingers froze on the screen, and a whimper that was not human came from his throat.
The nightmare scene reappeared in front of his eyes. The good-for-nothing cousin who had risen overnight suddenly appeared when he was showing off and boasting. He just glanced at him indifferently. That look was like a sharp knife, which instantly cut through all his disguises and also cut through the nerves that controlled his bladder. A hot current flowed uncontrollably down his thighs, and the laughter that broke out around him still echoed in his ears.
"Bang!" The phone was thrown hard against the wall and the screen shattered.
Lu Mingze curled up like a wounded beast, buried his face in his knees, his shoulders shaking violently, making sharp explosions.
“Mingze! Mingze, don’t do this!” The middle-aged woman grabbed her son’s huge body in panic and soothed him softly, “It was just an accident. Mom will go to the school to settle accounts with those uneducated kids tomorrow!”
“It’s useless…” Lu Mingze’s voice was hoarse, “They all saw it… Everyone saw it…”
He raised his head, his eyes flashing with a sick light: "Mom, I want to transfer schools, I can't go back to Shilan Middle School!"
The middle-aged woman was so distressed that she almost cried: "Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? Shilan Middle School is the best school here, and the tuition is tens of thousands a year.
It’s just a small setback. We can get through it if we grit our teeth.
There is a saying, he said that in the wind and rain, this little pain is nothing, wipe away your tears and don't be afraid, at least we still have dreams. "
Lu Mingze paused in his sobbing, raised his head, and revealed a face full of pimples and rain: "Mom, that's a song."
"It's all the same." The middle-aged woman touched her son's greasy hair and handed him the white fungus and lotus seed soup: "Drink the white fungus soup first, okay? You haven't eaten properly for two days."
"No, I want to transfer schools!" Lu Mingze rarely felt such strong maternal love and wanted to be tough for once.
He didn't want to go back to Shilan Middle School, for fear of seeing his classmates' eyes full of sarcasm and mockery.
Prince Ze had no other desires in his life except to save his face. His shocking kneeling yesterday almost crushed all his pride and made him fall from the clouds into the dust.
But how could the middle-aged woman agree? She was holding back her anger and wanted Lu Mingze to get into a good university, preferably a famous foreign university, to leave that ungrateful Lu Mingfei far behind.
"Didn't Han Han endure the humiliation of being kicked in the crotch and eventually become a top figure? As long as you can hold on, you can be reborn like a phoenix." The middle-aged woman racked her brains to think of some words to comfort Hao Daer, "You don't want to be seen as someone who can't stand losing and chooses to avoid difficulties in the eyes of your classmates, do you?"
Hearing this, Lu Mingze stammered and wanted to say something, but seeing that his mother's big hands were so strong that they were deformed when she pulled the guardrail, he didn't say anything else.
He nodded mechanically and took the bowl, but did not drink. He just stirred the white fungus inside with a spoon. His eyes were still empty, as if his heart had been taken away by that pee, and there might be no more sorrow or joy in this life.
The middle-aged woman looked at her son's appearance and her anger grew stronger and stronger.
It’s all that ungrateful bastard Lu Mingfei’s fault!
We are obviously a family, but he made his cousin look so embarrassed in public!
After coaxing Lu Mingze to finish the Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup, the middle-aged woman turned around and left with the empty bowl. The moment she closed the bedroom door, her face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. She gritted her teeth and thought that she must force her husband to go to Lu Mingfei to ask for an explanation tonight.
Her son is about to take the basic academic examination. If his performance is affected by this matter, she will never forgive Lu Mingfei!
…
As the night deepens, people clink glasses in a private room of a high-end hotel.
Lu Gucheng raised his wine glass with a flushed face. Several leaders around him who usually ignored him now showed goodwill to him.
"Old Lu, I never thought your nephew would be so successful!" Branch Director Wang patted Lu Gucheng on the shoulder, "Both Japan and our place have been on the news!"
Lu Gucheng smiled modestly: "I'm sorry for making a fool of myself as a kid."
"Hey, that's what you said!" Director Chen of the Personnel Department joked, "My daughter has been singing your nephew's song every day at home these past few days. Old Lu, can you arrange a time for my daughter to meet her idol? Haha."
"You know what, that song is pretty good. I never knew there was such a musical talent in your family, Lao Lu."
"I heard that Lao Lu's son is a young pianist. I wonder when he will become a big star. Maybe our TV station will invite the two brothers to perform together."
"Haha, no, no, it's just a kid practicing for fun. I don't know how he suddenly got it." Lu Gucheng waved his hands, with a humble smile on his face as always, but his eyes could not hide the pride and joy.
only……
After three rounds of drinks, Lu Gucheng's phone vibrated again.
He glanced at the screen and saw that it was another call from his wife.
There are already five missed calls on the phone. If he doesn't answer them, Lu Gucheng feels that he will be able to see the Death Star shining tonight.
He sighed quietly and left the box on the pretext of going to the bathroom.
"Hey, wife, I'm socializing..." He wanted to explain, but the other party didn't even give him a chance to explain.
"Lu Gucheng! Do you still have this family in your heart?" A piercing scream came from the other end of the phone, "You can still drink when your son is so depressed?
I tell you, if you don’t bring that little bastard Lu Mingfei back tonight to apologize to Mingze, then don’t come back!”
Lu Gucheng rubbed his temples: "Wife, what does this have to do with Mingfei? It's Mingze who insists on acting like a big shot in school..."
“Bullshit!” The middle-aged woman’s voice rose eight degrees. “What did Mingze say wrong? Isn’t Lu Mingfei his cousin? What’s wrong with him borrowing his brother’s name? But he made Mingze look bad in front of the whole school!
I tell you, Lu Gucheng, if you are still a man and a father, go find your good nephew and settle the accounts!"
Lu Gucheng opened his mouth, but finally just whispered: "I'll talk to you later when I get back."
After saying this, he hung up the phone without waiting for the other end to roar again.
A tired middle-aged face was reflected in the bathroom mirror. Lu Gucheng turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face.
He knew how shameful his son's behavior was at school, and he knew even more that his wife's constant doting and his own indulgence were the root causes of his son's behavior.
But in this family, reason never mattered, and his opinion always counted for nothing.
Back in the box, everyone was already half drunk and about to leave. Those who needed to go home went home, and those who needed to wash their feet washed their feet. Director Wang put his arm around Lu Gucheng's shoulders and pointed upwards with one hand:
"Lao Lu, there will be an inspection team going to Beijing in the second half of the month. I have specially applied for a place for you! Then you can take your nephew with you to see the world. I heard that there are also leaders there who are interested in him."
Lu Gucheng smiled respectfully and nodded in thanks. He looked happy on the outside, but felt bitter in his heart.
The temporary success in the workplace was in stark contrast to the chaos at home, and he felt like he was torn in two.
…
At eleven o'clock in the evening, Lu Gucheng finally returned home dragging his tired body.
As soon as he inserted the key into the lock, he heard the sound of the TV coming from inside the house. It was so late, his old wife must be waiting for him to settle the score again.
"Lugu City!" Sure enough, as soon as the door opened, a roar came towards him.
Although he had expected it, Lu Gucheng was still shocked and almost woke up from the drunkenness.
When he looked up, he saw a middle-aged woman whose loose pajamas could not hide her out-of-shape figure, with her hands on her hips, staring at him, with anger and dissatisfaction visible on her face.
"Keep your voice down, the neighbors are asleep..."
Seeing that his wife was full of anger, Lu Gucheng quickly closed the door to prevent the possible unilateral conflict from becoming the main material for neighbors' gossip tomorrow.
"Sleep? My son is almost forced to jump off the building, and you still care about your neighbors?"
The middle-aged woman lowered her voice, but her anger did not diminish at all: "Look at what Mingze is like now? He hasn't eaten or drunk anything for two days, and the basic academic exam is just around the corner. If he fails the exam, can you bear the responsibility?"
She couldn't guarantee that Lu Mingze would be as lucky as Lu Mingfei to be accepted by a prestigious foreign university, so she had to secure a place in a domestic university. Therefore, the exam this weekend was particularly important.
Lu Gucheng put down his briefcase, stood there with his hands spread out, and tried to reason: "I asked their class teacher today about Mingze's recent performance in school..."
"I don't care what's going on with him in school!" the middle-aged woman interrupted rudely, "I just know that Lu Mingfei is to blame for his current situation!
Go find him tomorrow and ask him to apologize to Ming Ze in person!"
Gu Cheng took a deep breath: "Wife, this is really not Ming Fei's fault. It was Ming Ze who first..."
"Bang!" A pillow hit him hard in the face.
"Lu Gucheng! Which side are you on?" The middle-aged woman's eyes flashed with danger, like a tigress roaring in the mountains:
"What kind of magic potion did that ungrateful little bastard feed you?
Don't think I don't know that you have more social engagements now, and your leader is polite to you, it's all because of him!
Why, now you want to curry favor with your nephew for your future and even ignore your own son?"
Lu Gucheng felt powerless when he heard this.
Although his wife's words were harsh, they were not entirely unreasonable. Recently, people in the workplace did look at him differently because of Lu Mingfei.
However, this different view was not entirely positive. After all, after Lu Mingfei became famous, rumors spread that he was mistreated at his uncle's house and was forced to run away from home when the college entrance examination was approaching.
Although the leaders don’t know about it now, they will eventually hear about it if the news gets strong enough.
By then, his situation would be very embarrassing.
"I'll talk to Mingfei." He finally compromised, "But I'm not going to ask him to apologize, but to see if I can enlighten Mingze."
"Enlighten?" The middle-aged woman sneered, "Okay, Lu Gucheng, you are capable now. Sleep on the sofa tonight, and talk to me after you think it through!"
After saying that, she turned and walked into the bedroom, slamming the door.
Lu Gucheng looked at the door that slammed shut and then locked, then looked at the second bedroom next door. A faint light was still coming through the crack of the door. It was obvious that Lu Mingze was not asleep either, but he turned a deaf ear to his parents' quarrel.
The living room fell into silence. Lu Gucheng stood there for a moment, then walked gently to his son's door. After hesitating for a moment, he knocked on the door.
"Narusawa? Can dad come in?"
There was silence inside the door and no one responded.
Lu Gucheng sighed and returned to the sofa.
He took out his cell phone and looked through the address book. He wanted to send a text message or call Lu Mingfei, ask him out for dinner, and bring Lu Mingze over to apologize to him and ask for forgiveness. They could put aside their past grudges and still be a family again.
But after tossing and turning for a long time, he was shocked to realize that he didn't have Lu Mingfei's contact information at all.
Outside the window, a cold moon hangs high in the sky.
Lu Gucheng looked at the ceiling and for the first time truly felt that this home was like a sinking ship, and there was only room for women and children in the lifeboat.
…
While the old Lu family was in turmoil, Lu Mingfei, the central figure in the conflict, had already forgotten about the matter and was trying to persuade Chu Zihang.
"That's fine. There are good people and bad people, and there are good dragons and evil dragons. We can't smear all dragons with one stick just because of stereotypes.
Dragons are also intelligent creatures. They have hearts, livers, and emotions!
Have you seen Twilight? Vampires can fall in love with the humans on the menu and have a love triangle with werewolves. There is nothing impossible between humans and dragons.
As long as the emotions are in place, a person's drill can reach the sky!"
Lu Mingfei's words were so certain that Chu Zihang couldn't help but wonder what he was hinting at. After all, he definitely knew more than he did, but he was just worried about something and was not in a position to tell it all.
Chu Zihang knew that he was concerned about his feelings, and he also knew that he was not ready yet. There were many things to do later, and he couldn't be obsessed with these romantic matters.
"Then do you know who rescued Shao Nanyin?"
(End of this chapter)
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