Chapter 89 The Timid Him (Part 1) I'm Proud to Have My Motherland by My Side…
"Cry! Cry! Cry! All you do is cry! Our son is such a troublemaker now, it's all because you spoiled him! Now he's caused trouble, how are we supposed to resolve this?"
After finally managing to humbly see his son's homeroom teacher out of the house, Song Mingyuan turned around and saw his wife, Chen Mei, sitting on the sofa, her shoulders trembling slightly as she silently wiped away tears.
Song Mingyuan, who was already seething with anger, felt the flames in his heart suddenly flare up even more. He threw the keys in his hand onto the coffee table, walked a few steps to the other end of the sofa, and sat down heavily.
“Mingyuan, what do you mean by that? Our son is my flesh and blood. You don’t care about him, but I’m not allowed to? I’m just worried that if you’re too strict, Xiaoce might resent us in the future…” Chen Mei said, wiping away the tears on her face with her sleeve.
Seeing that Song Mingyuan remained silent with a sullen face, Chen Mei glanced at him cautiously, her face full of grievance, and said, "Xiao Ce will be out of school soon, let's stop arguing, I was wrong, okay?"
After saying that, Chen Mei slowly got up and walked towards the kitchen with slightly heavy steps.
Song Mingyuan remained silent, simply gazing at his wife of sixteen years.
He and Chen Mei were college classmates. Upon graduation, he mustered up the courage to confess his feelings to Chen Mei, and she tearfully accepted on the spot. So they confirmed their relationship right after graduation and soon got married in a whirlwind romance.
From the time they met in college until now, Chen Mei had always acted timidly, as if she were filled with fear of him… But in reality, he had never done anything drastic to her. He simply couldn't understand why, if Chen Mei didn't love him, she hadn't rejected him back then? But if Chen Mei did love him, then what was the purpose of all her actions over the years?
Thinking of this, Song Mingyuan couldn't help but sigh, his heart filled with helplessness. He was also a man of principle, and Chen Mei's attitude chilled him to the bone. He had brought up divorce many times, but each time Chen Mei would only lower her head and cry silently, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Whenever this happened, their only son would glare at him with hatred, then turn to his mother and gently comfort her. Over time, he simply stopped bringing it up.
This is probably how his life will be; he'll just have to make do.
Meanwhile, in the classroom of Class 2, Grade 11, Song Ce, who was sleeping with his head on the back desk, slowly opened his eyes.
He subconsciously looked around and found that all his classmates were staring at him, while a middle-aged man in a blue T-shirt was standing in front of him, looking at him with a look of disappointment.
"Song Ce, your homeroom teacher asked you to write a self-criticism, and what are you doing? You're still sleeping! Where's your self-criticism? Have you finished writing it yet?"
Song Ce's deskmate, Cheng Yuan, was quick-witted and snatched the paper from his desk, complaining to the teacher, "Teacher, Song Ce only wrote one word: 'Self-criticism'!"
"Hahahaha!" The surrounding students burst into laughter.
At this point, Song Ce hadn't yet acquired any of the original owner's memories or the plot of this world. Seeing that he offered no explanation, the teacher flew into a rage, slamming her hand heavily on the desk and shouting, "You go stand outside as punishment!"
Song Ce nodded, stood up briskly, walked out of the classroom, and stood outside the door.
This world is a parallel universe similar to 21st-century China. The original owner of this body, Song Ce, is fifteen years old, from Haishi, and is currently a first-year high school student.
The original owner's family was barely considered middle-class, owning a small apartment of about 60 square meters in the expensive city of Shanghai. Her father, Song Mingyuan, was an ordinary company employee, and her mother, Chen Mei, was a full-time housewife.
In the original owner's memories, Song Mingyuan and Chen Mei's relationship was extremely strained. Chen Mei was a gentle and sensitive mother, while Song Mingyuan had a very volatile temper. For the sake of her son, Chen Mei had to swallow her anger and endure everything, but Song Mingyuan was always relentless, and family disputes often ended abruptly with Chen Mei crying silently.
The original owner of this body hated his current family and Song Mingyuan. He told Chen Mei more than once that he supported her divorce, and that they, mother and son, should leave this home together. Even if life was tough afterward, he was willing to stay with his mother. However, whenever the original owner brought this up, Chen Mei would always shake her head, looking at him with tears in her eyes, and say, "Forget it."
Such a tense family environment caused the original owner to become increasingly rebellious. Especially after he finished his first year of high school, he started hanging out with delinquents outside of school, smoking, fighting, gambling, drinking, and doing whatever he pleased. Soon, his grades plummeted.
Song Mingyuan tried everything – beatings and scolding – but it only made the original owner of the body more rebellious. Whenever Song Mingyuan disciplined the original owner, Chen Mei would always step in, crying, to stop him. In this way, the original owner grew increasingly closer to his mother and increasingly resented his father.
In his second year of high school, he started extorting students from the surrounding area with gangsters from outside the school. Until one time, the gang leader kidnapped a pretty girl and, seeing her beauty, took advantage of her. He ordered his henchmen to drag the girl into an alley and rape her.
Although the original owner of this body followed them around recklessly, he still had a moral bottom line. Upon seeing this, he immediately spoke up to stop them, but was mercilessly beaten by the thugs. Helpless, the original owner ran to a phone booth, hid inside, and secretly called the police.
By the time the police arrived, the girl who had been violated was already somewhat delirious. The original owner of this body, hiding in the crowd, was both panicked and frightened, so he secretly slipped home under the cover of night.
This incident caused a huge uproar in Hai City. Although the original owner of this body hadn't done anything, the girl hated them to the core and insisted that everyone present was involved. Watching the Hai City rape case being broadcast on television every day, the original owner was terrified. He always had a feeling that sooner or later, the police would come knocking on his door.
Even if he did nothing wrong, once the radio station exposes him, everyone around him will know he was involved. They will call him a rapist, look down on him, and avoid him...
The thought terrified him. He hurriedly rummaged through his house for a few hundred yuan, intending to find a place to hide for a while. But he didn't expect that Song Mingyuan would happen to come home at that moment.
Seeing that the original owner of the body had ransacked the house, Song Mingyuan flew into a rage and grabbed him, demanding an explanation. In the ensuing argument, the original owner, in a moment of panic, accidentally pushed Song Mingyuan to the ground.
Seeing that Song Mingyuan had stopped moving, the original owner of this body was so frightened that he froze on the spot. Although he hated Song Mingyuan, he had never thought of killing him, after all, he was his own father. In his panic, the original owner didn't even dare to pack his clothes, and with only a few hundred yuan in his pocket, he hurriedly left home.
Twelve years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Yuan Shen has always carried these two burdens in his heart, never having a moment's respite. He fears that one day the police will come knocking on his door and take him away, exposing the secret he has painstakingly hidden for so many years.
Under such intense mental stress, the original owner deliberately threw himself into arduous work, attempting to alleviate the deep-seated unease and guilt within his heart through physical exhaustion. Over the years, his hard work outside had actually allowed him to save up a considerable amount of money.
Even so, he never dared to contact his family and could only drift through life alone in an unfamiliar city.
Until... one day, the original owner met a gentle and beautiful girl, and he mustered up his courage to start a relationship with her.
Two young people who were attracted to each other, like dry tinder meeting a raging fire, their feelings quickly intensified. At the height of their passion, they naturally couldn't control their desires and tasted the forbidden fruit.
To the original owner's surprise, the girl became pregnant after just this one time.
The girl's parents were very satisfied with the hardworking and reliable original owner of this body, and the girl had repeatedly expressed her desire to go back to her hometown with him to visit her parents. However, the original owner didn't dare go home at all; the ID he used was a fake, obtained at a high price. With such a shameful past, how could he dare return to Haishi?
But now his girlfriend is pregnant, and a fake ID is absolutely not an option for marriage. He can only make up lame excuses time and time again to postpone it. For so many years, he's been afraid to stay in reputable hotels, afraid to use public transportation requiring real-name registration, and even the sight of a policeman in a foreign land sends chills down his spine… Countless nights, he's fantasized more than once about how wonderful it would be if he could go back to his student days. Even if he didn't study hard, he wouldn't go out and fool around with people, so he wouldn't get involved in this rape case, and he wouldn't have accidentally pushed Song Mingyuan down…
As his girlfriend's belly grew more and more prominent, the original owner of this body could no longer delay. He said he was going back to his hometown to invite his parents to visit his girlfriend's family. Then, he said he couldn't bear to let his pregnant girlfriend travel such a long distance, so he boarded the train back to Haishi alone.
When he returned to this familiar yet unfamiliar city, he considered turning himself in, thinking it would be better than living this life of hiding and living in constant fear. But as he approached the police station, he couldn't help but recall the earnest words of his girlfriend's parents and his girlfriend's gentle smile before he left. Thinking of this, he hesitated again.
The original owner spent two days in a daze in Hai City. When he went to a restaurant near the hotel for dinner, he unexpectedly heard news about his family.
Those were the elderly couple who used to live upstairs. From their casual conversation, the original owner learned that his father, Song Mingyuan, had suffered a stroke and become paralyzed after being pushed down by him, and was now living a poor life in a welfare home. The man he had always disliked in his youth still refused to believe that he would do such a thing after the police came to his door, insisting that his son was innocent.
And what about the mother, Chen Mei? She took this opportunity to take all the family's savings and even sold the house. She abandoned her burdensome husband and left Haishi with her lover from her school days.
And so he naturally became a negative example for the children in the neighborhood.
The original owner of this body left the restaurant in a daze. As he was crossing the street, a car suddenly ran a red light and headed straight for him...
Only on his deathbed did the original owner realize how utterly absurd his short twenty-odd years of life had been. He made a wish to the system, hoping someone could take his place in the past, back to before he made his mistakes and start over. He wanted to save that girl and prevent her from suffering such an undeserved calamity; he also wanted to treat Song Mingyuan well and take care of him in his old age. As for his pregnant girlfriend, he sincerely hoped to protect her happiness, and even if they didn't end up spending their lives together, he would be content.
Recalling what the teacher had just mentioned about writing a self-criticism, Song Ce lowered his eyes slightly. This current point in time marked the first punishment the original owner of this body received, and also the beginning of his rebellion.
"Ring ring—"
When the school bell rang on Friday, Song Ce learned that the middle-aged teacher in the blue T-shirt was the original owner's assistant homeroom teacher, named Zhu Gang. Because of his burly build, many students jokingly called him "Second Senior Brother" in private.
"Song Ce, you must submit your self-criticism to the office by next Monday, or you'll be standing outside listening to the lecture!" Zhu Gang criticized sternly.
"Yes, Teacher Zhu, I will definitely hand in the self-criticism to you next Monday." Song Ce said sincerely, and bowed to Teacher Zhu.
Seeing Song Ce's sincere attitude, Zhu Gang was at a loss for words. He could only wave his hand and say, "Go home quickly and don't wander around the streets, so your parents won't worry."
"Okay, Teacher Zhu."
After Zhu Gang left, Song Ce returned to the classroom, packed up the original owner's homework and put it in his schoolbag, completely ignoring the laughter of the surrounding classmates, and steadily walked out of the classroom.
...
"Brother Ce, my good brother! Wait for me!"
Just as Song Ce stepped outside the teaching building, a clear male voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw a boy grinning at him, running up to him.
The man who arrived was extremely tall, estimated to be nearly 1.9 meters. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, and had thick eyebrows and big eyes; he looked very energetic.
As soon as the boy walked up to Song Ce, he patted him hard on the shoulder and said with a sheepish grin, "Brother Ce, why did you leave by yourself? I was waiting for you at the classroom door!"
Through the original owner's memories, Song Ce knew that the boy in front of him was named Zhao Mingjun. His parents had died early, and he had lived with his maternal grandparents since childhood. He and the original owner lived in the same neighborhood and were childhood friends who had grown up together.
The cost of living in Shanghai is quite high, but Zhao Mingjun receives 500 yuan in pocket money every week, all because he has an uncle who is the president of a large company.
The original owner used to love hanging out with Zhao Mingjun, because that way he could occasionally mooch off Zhao Mingjun's high-end snacks and internet fees. After all, Song Mingyuan only gave him an extra fifty yuan a week after deducting his food expenses.
Driven by this desire for petty gains, the original owner of this body, despite being rebellious throughout junior high school, always maintained a good brotherly relationship with Zhao Mingjun.
After they entered high school, the original owner and Zhao Mingjun were assigned to different classes. However, since they were childhood friends, they often ate together in the cafeteria. Until one day, the original owner accidentally noticed that Zhao Mingjun was wearing a pair of Dick sneakers that cost more than three thousand yuan.
The original owner pretended to ask casually, but Zhao Mingjun didn't even look up. He just kept eating and said, "This is a birthday present from my uncle."
A birthday present... The original owner looked down at the cheap sneakers on his feet that cost less than two hundred yuan, and immediately felt a little uncomfortable and shrank his feet.
From that day on, the original owner of this body began to pay attention to Zhao Mingjun's clothing and appearance. If he encountered a brand Zhao Mingjun didn't recognize, he would secretly take a picture and then discreetly check the price on shopping websites...
Gradually, the original owner realized that Zhao Mingjun was decked out in designer brands from head to toe! Even a light spring jacket cost over a thousand yuan. In contrast, what about herself? The total price of all her clothes, shoes, and backpack combined couldn't even compare to the price of a single garment from Zhao Mingjun.
At fifteen, the original owner of this body truly experienced the taste of jealousy for the first time... Why didn't she have a wealthy uncle? Zhao Mingjun was an orphan, so why did he live a more comfortable life than she, who had both parents alive?
For this seemingly ridiculous reason, the original owner deliberately distanced herself from Zhao Mingjun.
Until the second semester of his first year of high school, Zhao Mingjun was falsely accused of stealing from a classmate. At the time of the incident, Zhao Mingjun was clearly with the original owner of this body.
Zhao Mingjun's homeroom teacher called the original owner of this body to the office. The original owner, lying through his teeth and avoiding Zhao Mingjun's pleading eyes, claimed he knew nothing. Thus, Zhao Mingjun was labeled a thief and publicly criticized at a school assembly. Shortly after, Zhao Mingjun's uncle rushed to the school to arrange a transfer for him, and the two never saw each other again.
Looking at the big, simple-minded guy in front of him, Song Ce smiled helplessly and said, "Why are you waiting for me? You probably want to go to the internet cafe again."
He couldn't emulate the original owner's prickly arrogance, and he didn't care much about the character's collapse. After all, it wasn't unusual for a teenager to have a changeable personality. Besides, with Zhao Mingjun's naive and foolish demeanor—like someone who'd been sold out and was still smiling as they counted the money—he didn't think the other person could detect his changes.
Zhao Mingjun suddenly froze, then stopped in his tracks, staring intently at his friend.
He felt that something was different about Brother Ce... He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the way Brother Ce looked at him today was a bit like how his uncle looked at him, which was kind of creepy.
The two walked a few steps forward side by side when Zhao Mingjun suddenly shouted "Ah!" This sudden noise startled Song Ce.
Before Song Ce could even ask, Zhao Mingjun said thoughtfully, "Brother Ce, I feel like you're acting a little different than usual today..."
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Author's Note: A new story begins! This time it's a modern story~ Thank you all for your continued support, my lovely readers~ Sending love ( ` )
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