Exposing the truth
"Grandma, I'm back——"
Zhou Xi put down her schoolbag and looked around at home, but Xu Shulan didn't reply to her again.
Yang Wen responded and came out of the kitchen, his hands still wet: "Tongtong, you're back! The teacher is next door."
"Okay, I understand, Uncle Yang."
Yang Wen nodded, his face wrinkled as he smiled. "Tongtong is on time, so we can have dinner soon. By the way, how did you do on the exam?"
In Yang Wen's case, he treated Zhou Xi as his own daughter, but the original version was that he and Zhou Xi's father were joking about arranging a baby marriage.
As a result, his son treated little Zhou Xi as his younger brother and took him to play cards, Ultraman, and mud.
Little Zhou Xi also had a blast playing, happy to join in the fun. When she got older, she started climbing trees to pick fruit and going down to the river to fish. She was proficient in everything, and her wild ways almost led Zhou Xi astray. Fortunately, Qin Ting helped her develop some artistic talents, otherwise she would have become Yang Jinyang's little brother.
But then too many things happened at home...
"Almost done, don't worry." Zhou Xi wanted to follow Yang Wen into the kitchen to help.
"Okay, okay, I know. If you say it's about the same, it means you're performing consistently."
Yang Wen suddenly didn't even have time to stir-fry the dishes. He was so anxious that he picked up the spatula and closed the kitchen door with his backhand, and locked it without worrying about it.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't come in. Just set the table and don't blow up the kitchen."
Zhou Xi was embarrassed. When he was a kid, he was tinkering with something and burned something. There was a lot of smoke, but he was fine. He got a black eye and the kitchen almost exploded.
"Tongtong——"
Zhang Lixia held her waist, gasping for breath, and complained to herself: "I'm so tired, ouch ouch..."
Zhou Xi walked across the yard and saw someone wearing a dusty work suit with several boxes of things piled at the door.
"Aunt Zhang, why are you here?"
"Why, are you just used to your Uncle Yang coming? I only come once a year, just like a guest. Besides, Principal Yang is so busy that he can still find time. How can a mere director like me be outdone by him? Oh, you're so used to sitting in the office. Now, even carrying something feels like it's taking my life..."
Zhang Lixia's words shot out like machine guns, and she rubbed Zhou Xi's head like she did when he was a child.
"I was supposed to come here two days ago, but something went wrong in the lab. I've been so busy until now. I'm exhausted..."
"Aunt Zhang, you've worked so hard. Please sit down for a moment. Uncle Yang is cooking in there. It will be ready soon."
"Little darling, I'm going to see the teacher."
Zhou Xi nodded, put his things away, and walked out the door: "I'll go call Grandpa Zhong to come over for dinner."
Zhang Lixia waved her hand to indicate that she understood, and ran upstairs quickly. However, she still had to change into something more decent first, as it would damage her image.
It is already past autumn, and it is now past seven o'clock. It is already pitch black outside. In the distance, lights from houses are lit here and there, not very close together, like countless lonely fireflies, just tiny dots.
The wind was a bit strong outside, so Zhou Xi peeked out and then went back to put on more clothes. He gently lifted the swing on his toes and fished out his phone from his pocket.
The teacher worked overtime to print out the competition list, and Zhou Xi's name was prominently listed. She continued to look through it and found Wu Yi's name on the shorter list of the senior year group, the first one.
There were many congratulatory messages in the group. Zhou Xi swiped and sent a thank you emoticon. Just as he was about to turn off his phone, a voice call popped up.
"Congratulations!"
Who else could this be but Gao Liyang?
Zhou Xi gathered his coat and replied softly, "Well, thanks. How do I call?"
The noise in the room was a bit loud, so Zhou Xi stood up and took a look.
The four adults just happened to be sitting around a table. Xu Shulan was still in the recovery period, so she didn't say much and just listened with a smile on her face.
The other three drank and recounted past events, sometimes getting so excited that they slammed their hands on the table, as if they were about to take up arms and become king.
Zhou Xi turned back and leaned against the swing in a relaxed manner.
"Why are you so happy and still laughing?" Gao Liyang stood on the balcony, fiddling with the flowers and plants out of boredom. He was so bored, so bored that he had no choice but to come and amuse others.
Discovered.
"No, it's not because of that. The elders at home are having dinner, it's quite lively." Zhou Xi explained patiently.
"You haven't answered my question yet."
"What's wrong? If you want to fight, go ahead." Gao Liyang continued, "By the way, you haven't been to class for so many days, and I missed you."
The boy's voice was clear, yet slightly deeper than a boy's.
A cold wind blew past my side, like small thorns, which pricked me and made me feel uncomfortable.
Zhou Xi didn't speak for a long time.
A puzzled voice came from the receiver: "What's wrong? Bad signal?"
Zhou Xi's thoughts drifted back, his head was stuck, and he clasped his hands: "Ah, I was thinking, I won't go back until next week."
Gao Liyang sighed and thought to himself, he couldn't sleep in class this week and had to do his homework by himself, which was really tiring.
Zhou Xi heard the sigh and instinctively felt that they couldn't continue chatting that day. He intercepted his next sentence: "My family is calling me. I'm hanging up. Bye."
Gao Liyang originally wanted to say goodbye, but he didn't expect the call to be disconnected immediately. However, he didn't hear anyone calling Zhou Xi either.
strangeness……
After entering the house, Gao Liyang closed the balcony door, opened the refrigerator with a cold feeling, and picked up a bottle of drink.
After swallowing it, the coolness instantly spread throughout the body along the veins.
"hiss!"
He reached out and turned up the temperature of the refrigerator a few degrees. When he came back to his senses, he felt the sweetness in his mouth turned bitter. He looked down and saw that it tasted like strawberry.
That’s not right. He felt it wasn’t sweet enough and sour when he drank it before.
Gao Liyang's knuckles holding the drink moved slightly, and he suddenly thought of something, and his eyebrows raised. He just said it as a joke, and he hoped that Zhou Xiaoxi would not misunderstand him.
Wait, this must be explained clearly.
Don't let Zhou Xi criticize him for spreading these attracting remarks everywhere.
The room was warm, and the phone call just now seemed like a dream, not quite real. Only the feeling of the floor under my feet could make me feel what I was doing.
"Tongtong, what's wrong? You don't look well?" Zhang Lixia brought the washed and arranged fruits and placed them on the coffee table.
"It's okay, I just stayed outside for too long and it's a bit cold." Zhou Xi followed Zhang Lixia to sit on the sofa, found the remote control and turned on the TV.
The little baby has grown up and become a big girl. She is very beautiful and even prettier than her mother.
"Be careful not to catch a cold, it's cold now. Hey, how are you at school? Is anyone bullying you? If so, tell your Uncle Yang. Don't be afraid of those people at school." Zhang Lixia put her hand on Zhou Xi's shoulder.
Zhang Lixia was worried that she would be bullied in Yuxiu. When she was bored, she often asked Yang Wen to tell her gossip about their school. It was just like a daily routine. There were always people coming to visit with all kinds of things, and they were all about the same things.
"Don't worry, Aunt Zhang, no, it's fine."
Zhang Lixia has been with Yang Wen for so many years, watching him struggle and rise and fall. She knows that when the water is too clear, there will be no fish, so she can only turn a blind eye to many things. After all, she is also working for the capitalists and has to obey the school board.
Since Yuxiu has money, she can do anything, including teachers and students. The turbulent situation hidden behind the glamour can naturally be well balanced.
Zhou Xi saw that the food on the table was almost finished and wanted to clear the table. However, she turned around and before she could stand up, Zhang Lixia grabbed her.
"Let your Uncle Yang take it."
Zhang Lixia finished speaking to Zhou Xi with a smile, and then she shouted, "Yang Wen, clear the table and wash the dishes!"
Zhang Lixia was worried that Zhou Xi, with her good grades, pretty face and clever manners, would easily attract jealousy and be targeted. It would be better for her to stand in a high position from the beginning so that others would not dare to touch her.
Zhou Xi glanced at Yang Wen's natural expression and smiled helplessly: "Aunt Zhang, Uncle Yang cooks after all, we can't eat for free."
"No, no, no, he cooks and I wash, it's already divided."
"He's a polite principal outside, and I'm the director of the research institute. When we get home from work, neither of us lazy people wants to do the laundry or cooking, so we split the work. I used to play rock-paper-scissors with him, sometimes, hahahaha—"
"A family needs to be run by both husband and wife. It's bullshit to say that all housework should be done by one person, regardless of whether it's directed at men or women. Yang Wen, don't you agree?"
"You're right, a wife should be married and pampered." Yang Wen interrupted, cheerfully, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, and did not look like the principal who was scolded by students at all.
"I'm telling you, when you look for a boyfriend in the future, you need to find someone like your Uncle Yang who can cook, do housework, and has the patience to raise children. Otherwise, you'll be exhausted and exhausted. Why get married? Isn't it better to be free and easy on your own?"
Zhang Lixia cracked melon seeds and joked, "You, especially you, can't cook, hehe!"
She remembered the first time Zhou Xi cooked porridge, the whole pot was filled with rice, and she couldn't tell whether it was rice or porridge.
They took photos at that time, and she now has multiple backups. When Zhou Xi brings her boyfriend home in the future, she will reveal the truth.
This topic really made Zhou Xi not know how to continue the conversation, so he could only smile and pretend not to understand.
"What's the big deal? Don't be shy, Tongtong. Do you have a boy you like at school? Don't hide it. As long as you like him, I support you. You see, I liked your Uncle Yang in high school. Later, in order to catch up with him, I had the motivation to study." Zhang Lixia seemed to have opened up.
"Besides, I believe you. You won't let your studies get in the way. And with your taste, the guy you like must be good. He's definitely handsome and has good grades..."
Zhang Lixia's words were so shocking that Zhou Xi couldn't handle it. Finally, she made an excuse to go upstairs to take a shower and fled.
"Alas, I've been watching you for half an hour, and you didn't even give me a hint. Do you really think I can't do anything to you..."
There were still two major questions left on the test paper, leaving a large blank space. Gao Liyang's hand was turning the pen increasingly frantically, and finally he decided to harass Zhou Xi.
He poked open the dialog box with the note "Zhou Xiaoxi" and typed quickly.
Oh, your head: [Zhou Xiaoxi, please help. ]
Attached is a photo of the test paper and a kneeling emoticon.
When Zhou Xi saw Gao Liyang's message, he was already sitting on the bed, ready to go to sleep.
She doesn't check her phone very often. When she opens it, the screen is often flooded with messages. She is too lazy to care and thus ignores many messages. But the message from Gao Liyang came at a very opportune time.
Clicking on the picture, it should be the math test paper that Tang Qingming handed out this week. She hasn't finished it yet, but Gao Liyang is very diligent.
Zhou Xi clicked on the "Ai Qing Ping Shen" emoticon package that he stole from Xiao Xiaoyu.
Turkey: [Wait a moment.]
After reading the questions and geometric figures, she thought for a while and lifted the quilt that had been warmed.
I took a pencil and made two strokes on the paper to sketch out the shape. Then I switched to a black pen and began writing the steps and drawing auxiliary lines.
Taking Gao Liyang's level into consideration, Zhou Xi took a picture of the problem-solving steps and sent them to him, then sent a voice message to explain them to him.
"After finishing the auxiliary lines, then..."
“…”
After letting go of his hand, the message was sent successfully, and Zhou Xi immediately hid in the slightly cold bed.
Zhou Xi drooped her head in the quilt, thinking about withdrawing the voice message, but she just saw that Gao Liyang's screen showed that he was typing, so he must have heard it.
Gao Liyang saw the pop-up message and paused his daily gaming routine.
The girl's serious voice echoed in the large and quiet room.
He was listening attentively at first, but when he heard Zhou Xi sneeze and apologize, he was probably confused by the sneeze and didn't know what to say. He blurted out "What was I talking about?" and then there was a strange silence of about ten seconds. Gao Liyang couldn't help laughing out loud.
Gao Liyang clenched his fist slightly and gently pressed the corner of his upturned mouth, listening to Zhou Xi's awkward and interrupted voice behind him.
The further Zhou Xi spoke, the faster he spoke, as if he couldn't wait to finish. Gao Liyang couldn't suppress the upward curve of his lips.
Oh, how funny it is! His face is almost frozen from laughing.
Zhou Xi had already colluded with Yang Wen to agree on a confession regarding the competition and told Xu Shulan that she was in a science and technology museum in the city so as not to worry the old lady.
Yang Wen and his friends had a drink last night, and Zhou Xi didn't disturb them. He got up at six o'clock and caught the earliest bus.
The main entrance of the Children's Palace is not very big. Minus the parking space, it is now crowded with parents and candidates, making it even more chaotic.
In addition to these college students, there was also a group of elementary school students. However, the elementary school students were all wearing small formal dresses. There must be some performance competition that happened on the same day as them.
“Ding! Ding ding…”
Zhou Xi arrived in the city and squeezed onto the rush-hour bus. There were no seats and it was packed with people. He swayed and drove carefully all the way, but he still got carsick.
After finally getting off the bus at the stop, I saw that the road was jammed as usual and I sighed for the poor commuters.
The Children's Palace is probably located in the city center, at the intersection of a main road. It is now the morning rush hour, and the road is full of cars. The constant honking of horns seems to be reminding countless office workers that they are about to be late.
She arrived late and didn't want to squeeze in. She squatted in the corner with a canvas bag on her back, eating cold buns and soy milk, but her appetite was not good at all. She felt uncomfortable and it felt like acid was rising in her stomach.
Compared with a few years ago, the Children's Palace is exactly the same except for a few shops being replaced. Time seems to be particularly kind to it.
Wencheng has developed rapidly in recent years, and many places have been demolished and rebuilt, but the Children's Palace has been exempted. Perhaps the government thinks that this place has been built for many years and can be considered an old building. It has witnessed the development of Wencheng, so it has not been moved.
Unlike today's newly built buildings, which have rigorous designs and monotonous colors, the Children's Palace cleverly blends bricks and tiles of various colors together. However, the walls are old after all, and the paint has begun to peel in many corners, revealing their original color, destroying the beauty and giving off a sense of vicissitudes of time.
"Bang!"
Zhou Xi tied the remaining buns and soy milk into a knot and threw them into the trash can. When he turned around and came back, he found that his seat had been "occupied" by someone.
A boy about six years old, wearing a long coat and a black suit underneath, sat on the ground with his hands folded, holding a file bag to his chest, his eyes wide open, looking around.
She cried, with two crystal tears hanging from the corners of her eyes.
Zhou Xi approached and squatted slightly: "Hey, little brat, what's wrong with you? Did you get separated from your parents?"
The child's eyes stopped on Zhou Xi, with a wary look on his face, and he didn't say anything.
"I'm not a bad person, I'm here to take the exam." Zhou Xi said as he unzipped his schoolbag and took out his admission ticket and ID card from the file bag.
The child read it quickly with big eyes, relaxed a little, and pouted: "I'm not a brat!"
Then he loosened his clenched hands, clasped them together again, and hesitated: "Sister, my brother and I are separated. Can you help me make a phone call?"
His expression changed faster than turning the pages of a book, comparable to He Min's. Zhou Xi's mouth twitched.
However, she was not asked to take him to find her brother, but to stay in a crowded place and wait for her family to come. She was quite vigilant. Zhou Xi secretly gave the child a thumbs up. If he was not a brat, then he was not a brat. She didn't care about him.
"good."
Zhou Xi unlocked the phone, opened the call interface and handed it to him, then stood up and stretched his feet, which looked like they were being gnawed by ants.
The call seemed to be connected. I heard the child burst into tears and talked to the other end for a while.
…
"Thank you, sis. My brother will be here soon."
The child obediently returned the phone to Zhou Xi and began to look at this beautiful sister.
The candidates were allowed to enter the venue, and the crowd, which had been quiet for a while, began to get agitated and rushed inside.
"I'll wait with you for a moment." Zhou Xi casually threw his phone into his bag, rubbed the child's soft head, and sat down.
Seeing that the child was a little restless, she spoke to comfort him, "It's urgent, you won't be late."
"Sister, you are so nice." The child grabbed Zhou Xi's arm through her thick coat and rubbed against her, as if acting coquettishly.
"I'm glad you know." Zhou Xi smiled. Haha, he was almost pushing her down. He was just a little brat.
From Zhou Xi's perspective, the boy looked like a pampered little girl, with delicate features, a chubby, fair and tender face, and long eyelashes that were like two brushes, moving up and down, making people want to reach out and play with them.
"May I have your name?"
"My name is Wen..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
