"Why did you come back alone? Where's Xiao Cheng?" Xiao Zhaoxing noticed that only Fang Yun had returned today, and she still had a happy expression on her face. Something was off. How long had it been since Ms. Fang Yun had been this happy?
"Hey~ Don't even mention that brat!" Fang Yun glared at him, finally managing to cheer up for a moment. "He said he skipped school today to go see Luo Shan."
“You…” Xiao Zhaoxing sighed helplessly, reaching out to pull Fang Yun to sit down in a chair. “Just leave him alone. He’s an adult now. When we were his age, we were already earning money to support our families.”
"How can we just ignore him?" Fang Yun glared at Xiao Zhaoxing, her tone full of disappointment. "Can he be the same as we were back then? He's just a clueless kid now, he just does whatever Luo Shan says, he has no opinions of his own at all."
"That's all because you spoiled him!" Xiao Zhaoxing said, his tone not resentful, but rather somewhat gloating. "I've always said that our son can't be spoiled like this. A towering tree can't grow in a greenhouse. You have to let him go out and make his own way. Whether he gets hurt or makes a bright future, it's all nourishment for his growth."
"You make it sound so easy, why don't you do it yourself?" Fang Yun's words weren't entirely without conviction. In truth, Xiao Zhaoxing had always disagreed with her taking such good care of Xiao Cheng. Now that the child had grown up like this, she did bear some responsibility, but…
Confucius said, "If a child is raised but not taught, it is the father's fault. This is all your fault!"
"Confucius didn't say that, don't wrong him!" Xiao Zhaoxing got up and poured himself a glass of water. "Kids, they haven't experienced the harshness of society, they're always arrogant and ignorant. We'll let him understand clearly!"
Fang Yun was getting anxious. Could it be that he was really being sent to the countryside?
"What do you mean? Once you go to the countryside, it's hard to come back. I can still try to persuade you."
Xiao Zhaoxing stood by the window, holding a water glass, his back straight and chin slightly raised. The setting sun slanted on him, outlining a hazy halo that made it difficult to see his expression clearly: "It's not like only educated youth can go to the countryside. Arrange for him to have an immersive experience in the countryside. I don't believe he can stick with it for long!"
Fang Yun: No, I feel like something's off about this scene, but... "Comrade Xiao, let's talk this over carefully... hehe..."
The next day, Fang Yun stood at the school gate again.
Zhan Chunlan looked at her standing there, like a lush willow tree with straight branches and beautiful leaves. She slowly stepped forward and said, "Aunt Fang, Xiao Cheng didn't come to class today either. You should go home early."
Looking at the girl in front of her, Aunt Fang felt an inexplicable fondness for her. She always felt that Zhan Chunlan was like a tree whose branches had been cut off and transplanted to a new place, slowly sprouting new buds.
"Thank you, I came here specifically to see you today."
"Looking for me? Did the thread I planted yesterday work? But I haven't even had a chance to do anything yet!"
"Yes, I'm looking for you! Let's talk as we walk."
Li Xiuxiu and Fan Hongying looked at each other, then gestured for them to leave: "We'll be going now..."
Zhan Chunlan nodded, raised her hand and waved slightly: "Bye-bye, you guys go first~"
"I heard you're going back to your hometown? Could you take Xiao Cheng with you?" Fang Yun didn't beat around the bush and directly stated her purpose for coming today.
"Bring Xiao Cheng along? That's exactly what I'm after!!! As long as you pay the full amount, I'll definitely help you save your love-struck mind! "I'm going back to my hometown to take care of my grandma, so I might not have time to take care of him!"
"That's even better!"
Yesterday, Xiao Zhaoxing and Fang Yun had already discussed it and decided to send Xiao Cheng directly to the countryside. In an unfamiliar place, with no one to take care of him, no money or ration coupons, he would have to do everything himself and see how long he could endure it.
If that's the case, and he still insists on being with that young girl, Roxanne, then he's showing responsibility! Knowing the road ahead is difficult, yet still not giving up, he can be considered a true man!
Zhan Chunlan didn't know how long Xiao Cheng could hold on, but as long as she didn't come back, he couldn't come back either: "My family probably won't let me move around the village freely, and it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, so I probably won't be back so soon."
Fang Yun: "Very good!"
Zhan Chunlan: "But our family is poor, he might not even have a place to live!"
Fang Yun: "It's alright, any woodshed will do!"
Zhan Chunlan: "We don't have a woodshed. The firewood is all piled up under the eaves. At most, we can build a shed."
So, there was no woodshed for him to sleep in...
Fang Yun didn't care at all: "How about this, since you're now considered his teacher, I'll give you all his money."
Zhan Chunlan: "Okay, Aunt Fang, I understand what you mean. There are also educated youth in our village. I know that their lives are not easy. I will ask the educated youth at the educated youth settlement to explain things to them properly."
Fang Yun's eyes lit up as she tightly grasped Zhan Chunlan's hands: This must be possible.
This Zhan Chunlan is such a kindred spirit! Such a well-behaved and intelligent girl, if only she were my daughter, she would surely live ten years... no, twenty years longer!
Fang Yun held Zhan Chunlan's hand tightly, her heart filled with indescribable joy: "Good child, when are you leaving? I'll have Xiao Cheng come to find you, and I'll hand over his money and tickets directly to you then. If he really gives up, I'll thank you properly."
“I’m leaving at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.” Zhan Chunlan looked at the hands being held, which were warm, but… still a little awkward: “Aunt Fang, my mother has already bought the boat tickets. If no one is there when the time comes, I won’t wait.”
"Okay, I'll go back and pack his things right away. I'll definitely get him on the bus tomorrow!" Fang Yun said, then waved goodbye. She needed to hurry back and talk to Xiao Cheng.
"Chunlan, what does Xiao Cheng's mother want with you?"
As soon as Fang Yun left, Li Xiuxiu and Fan Hongying jumped out, one grabbing her left hand and the other her right, shaking her almost to pieces.
"Let go of me... first..." Zhan Chunlan's voice was weak. Although she had recovered a little recently, this shaking almost killed her.
Seeing that she was indeed in pain, the two quickly let go of her, saying, "Sorry, we were too excited."
"I'm going back to my hometown tomorrow to take care of my 'seriously ill' grandmother. Xiao Cheng is coming with me!" Zhan Chunlan replied casually, looking down as she straightened her crumpled clothes.
"What?!" A duet played without any rehearsal, yet it was absolutely perfect!
“Then you and Xiao Cheng, wouldn’t that be…” Li Xiuxiu gently nudged Zhan Chunlan, her voice quite ambiguous, her index fingers touching, her expression awkward.
"Have you two met each other's parents?" Fan Hongying's imagination ran wild. If they kept talking, they'd probably be pregnant by now.
"What are you thinking about!" Zhan Chunlan flicked each of them on the forehead. "Xiao Cheng came to the countryside with me to cure his love-struck brain!"
"Love-obsessed?" The two stroked their chins with their right hands, looking like wise men pondering. "Hmm...that's quite fitting!"
"Aren't you really going to take this opportunity... to develop a relationship?" Li Xiuxiu leaned closer to Zhan Chunlan, raising her right eyebrow slightly and curling her lips into a playful expression.
Zhan Chunlan reached out and pushed her face to the other side: "Stop making that face, it's so greasy!"
"Oil?" Fan Hongying directly turned Li Xiuxiu's head towards her, examining her carefully from all angles. "No oil at all! It's very refreshing!"
"In short, remember this!" Zhan Chunlan didn't want them to misunderstand; these were her good friends, and she had to stand firmly on their side.
"I didn't fall for Xiao Cheng, and he didn't fall for me. We were just innocent classmates! Or rather, I was the doctor treating his 'love-struck' mind—a very simple doctor-patient relationship!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com