Princess Eighty-Eight Beef Candy
Because Li Wei had been riding on Luo Da's bicycle for a long time, her riding skills were rather poor. Now that Ding Anni was riding behind her, she sometimes lost control of the handlebars when the road was uneven.
Li Wei was on tenterhooks when, just as she was about to reach the old house, a small stone stepped on her tire, causing the car to swerve and all three of them to fall to the ground!
Li Wei was fine; she'd fallen before, and it hadn't hurt that much. Ding Anni, however, was more delicate. She screamed in fright, as if the sky had fallen and the earth had collapsed, making Li Wei's ears ring. Li Wei quickly got up and went to help Ding Anni: "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Ding Anni was mainly scared. Falling off a bicycle, how much could she get seriously injured? Li Wei was riding a bicycle relatively slowly, but she still kept exclaiming, "You scared me to death! How do you ride a bicycle? Do you even know how to ride a bicycle?!"
Li Wei pulled her up, suppressing her anger: "I didn't know how to ride a bike, so I didn't need to ride one myself. It was you, Miss, who forced me to. You were in such a hurry to get to my grandmother's house, what could I do?"
Although Ding Anni still had some complaints, she didn't dare to speak up too much because she was under someone else's thumb. What if Li Wei stopped caring about her? So she reluctantly said, "Alright, I'm not blaming you. Just be more careful next time." Ding Anni felt that she was being quite magnanimous.
Li Wei knew her character all along and knew she would find a way to get rid of her soon, so she couldn't be bothered to waste time arguing with her.
However, their earth-shattering commotion still alarmed Luo Da, who was fighting desperately with sandbags over the wall. When he came out and saw what was going on, he said with a half-smile, "You haven't grown any more capable in a short time. You can even ride a bike with people on it now. How did you manage to carry them onto the ground?"
Ding Anni didn't quite recognize Luo Da anymore, and her spoiled princess temper flared up: "Who are you? It's none of your business!"
Luo Da ignored her; he couldn't be bothered with her. Who did she think she was? He went over and lifted the car up, giving it a couple of bounces. No problem. This car was quite easy for Li Wei; it was much newer than Li Lin's and the others' cars.
Li Wei patted the dust off her clothes, noticing some scratches on her hands, and said to Luo Da, "Let's leave the car at your place for now."
I led Ding Anni through the alley. We arrived at Grandma's house. Grandma wasn't there. She'd probably gone to chat with a neighbor. Luckily, we hadn't gone far and the door wasn't locked.
Ding Anni sat down on the warm kang (heated brick bed) without thinking. She even took a small mat and put it under her bottom. She certainly knew how to take care of herself.
Li Wei took out some snacks and fruit from under the TV cabinet. She washed her hands and looked back to see that Miss Ding Anni was already eating. She looked quite hungry.
Seeing that Ding Anni had almost finished eating, Li Wei said, "Tell me. What exactly happened? If you're fleeing to avoid punishment, I'll call your family right now and have your brother come and arrest you."
Ding Anni's eyes flickered slightly. Her voice wasn't loud: "Actually, it's nothing serious. You know my mom. She's always nagging about studying. She can link even the smallest thing to studying. I just can't stand it anymore."
Li Wei waited for what was to come. Ding Anni remained silent for a while, munching on her apple. Suddenly, Li Wei slapped the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), startling Ding Anni so much she almost dropped her apple: "What are you doing? Why are you so jumpy?"
Li Wei stared at Ding Anni: "What else?" Little brat, I could tell from your eyes that it wasn't that simple.
Ding Anni glanced at Li Wei and realized that her reason was a bit weak, so she added, "I just found studying boring, so I went to the class monitor's house with my classmates for a while, and my mom didn't like it."
Li Wei remained unmoved: "What were you playing?"
Ding Anni hesitated a bit, "We didn't do much, just danced and had some drinks."
Li Wei's eyes are a bit too scary.
Li Wei suddenly remembered something and asked in an unfriendly tone, "What kind of dance are you doing? What kind of drinks are you having?" Dancing is not all the same, and drinks come in many varieties.
Ding Anni snapped, "Why do you care so much? I only came to you because I consider you a friend. I didn't ask you for any help. If you ask me again, I'm leaving!"
Li Wei looked at Ding Anni, thinking to herself that the little brat was quite the actress. It seemed she had hit a nerve, and she wasn't going to let her off the hook. Otherwise, this princess would be in for a lot of trouble. Don't let her tough talk fool you; she wasn't actually that brave.
Thinking of this, Li Wei sneered, "I only ask so many questions because you're a friend. If you were just a stranger, I wouldn't bother with you at all. Humph! I think you're just doing a striptease and drinking alcohol!" During winter break, she had secretly heard Ding Anni mention that her classmates had a place where they danced this kind of dance, and it even had a name: the "Blackout Striptease."
Ding Anni's face immediately became somewhat unnatural, a faint blush appearing on her fair skin where the capillaries were almost visible. She tried to argue, "I didn't jump, I just... I just watched them jump... I..."
"Alright, alright. If you've been to that event, not only your mom, but even a random stranger with a bit of sympathy would have something to say about you. You have no remorse and you still have the nerve to run away from home? You're really getting more and more arrogant as you get older. You don't need to say anything more. If you think you did the right thing, I won't call you a friend anymore. If you think you did the wrong thing, you can stay here for the night. I'll call your brother later and plead for you. Tomorrow you can go back and do whatever you were doing before. What do you think?"
Li Wei tried to speak in a more casual tone. Although it sounded a bit harsh, it was no different from a normal conversation. She was afraid of upsetting Ding Anni, because it would be terrible if the girl got up and ran away.
In fact, Li Wei really overestimated Princess Ding. If Ding Anni really had that ability, she wouldn't have been forced to the point of losing face by her mother, to the point that she ran away and messed around and got beaten by her mother.
Coming to Li Wei now was a last resort. Li Wei was quite familiar with her family, so she could both scare them and get home—a win-win situation. She thought she was quite clever. Now, after Li Wei's words, she naturally went along with it: "I know I was wrong. I was just curious. My classmates were secretly saying how fun it was, so I wanted to go see for myself. Who knew they were drinking..."
Given that Ding Anni's attitude in admitting her mistake was acceptable, Li Wei called her home later to let her know she was safe.
I thought everything was fine, but just as I was about to go to bed, Ding Hong and his family of three drove up and went straight to the old house.
Ding Anni, who was initially quite relaxed, was so frightened by this scene that she hid behind Old Mrs. Cheng.
Despite holding a fairly high-ranking official position, Ding Hong was nothing like his wife, who was arrogant and self-important. He was humble and courteous, and even chatted quite warmly with Grandpa Zeng. In a friendly and peaceful atmosphere, he took the anxious Ding Anni back home.
Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief; this trouble was finally over, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to sleep soundly.
However, Li Wei hadn't even had a day to breathe a sigh of relief. On the morning of the third day, during the first period, the homeroom teacher, Ms. Liu, brought in a student. Li Wei was stunned when she saw what the person looked like.
Ms. Liu introduced the class in a kind and friendly manner: "Classmates, today we have a new member joining our class. This is Ding Anni. She will be studying and living with us for a while. Please welcome her."
After the leader finished speaking, he led the applause, and the students followed suit.
Li Wei forced herself to shut her mouth; she had no interest in clapping. That wasn't just any new classmate; it was a respected princess, representing privilege and trouble. Li Wei felt as if a dark cloud was slowly drifting overhead.
Sure enough, Teacher Liu then announced: "Since the new students are unfamiliar with the environment, Zhou Xiaoyan, you go sit with that person in the back, and Ding Anni, you sit with Li Wei. Li Wei, you should make good use of the spirit of unity and friendship among classmates and take good care of Ding Anni so that she can enjoy her studies and life in our class, understand?"
Li Wei wasn't in the mood to respond to the teacher's flattery. If the teacher wasn't happy, all the better; she could just entrust Ding Anni to someone more reliable. Unfortunately, Teacher Liu was determined to put Li Wei in charge, and surprisingly didn't mind Li Wei's attitude at all. She made arrangements for Ding Anni and left, while the English teacher continued teaching.
Zhou Xiaoyan watched Ding Anni's luck from behind, fuming.
After settling in, Ding Anni noticed that Li Wei ignored her and seemed quite engrossed in her studies, so she didn't dare disturb her and listened attentively to the lesson until it ended. Li Wei couldn't hold back any longer: "Hey, shouldn't you be in the second year of junior high? Why were you held back? And why did you come to our poorly equipped rural middle school to experience life here? Did your mom send you away?"
Ding Anni is currently operating in Li Wei's territory, and plans to do so for quite some time. Knowing when to yield, she deliberately ignored Li Wei's unsmiling expression and said softly, "My mom wants me to take the entrance exam for the top high school, but I'm worried I won't be able to pass next year. Wouldn't it be more hopeful to take the exam at the local school and be able to drop a grade?"
Yes, some people do that. It seems like more people do it during the college entrance exam period, but Ding Anni is here to study, not to visit relatives: "So where do you live? Don't tell me you commute home after school." This isn't something that's been going on for just a day or two.
Ding Anni glanced cautiously at Li Wei's expression and whispered, "My dad has already talked to your grandpa, and we'll be staying at your grandma's house."
Li Wei felt that this matter was completely beyond her comprehension, and said incredulously, "Living at my maternal grandparents' house! Isn't your mother afraid that you won't study properly and will cause trouble without anyone taking care of you?" Her mother didn't seem like such an irrational person, and her father was even less so; only her brother seemed like one.
Princess Ding's voice was even softer: "Isn't it you who's here..."
Li Wei felt a headache, stomachache, and general discomfort. Supporting her forehead, she said weakly, "I'm not your mother, I can't control you. I'm not your brother, I have no obligation to control you." I'd rather be just a stranger.
Ding Anni didn't quite understand the situation either. She said she wanted to study in the countryside because she thought Li Wei was quite comfortable without adults supervising her. She just said it casually, but she didn't expect her father to agree and quickly complete the procedures for her. Originally, her mother disagreed, but somehow her father persuaded her.
Before leaving, she was given some instructions, or rather, an order: "When you get there, listen to the adults. Also, learn from Li Wei. If we find out you don't listen to Li Wei, your mother and I will make you pay when we get back. Remember that!"
Although Ding Hong dotes on his children, he is absolutely principled and will not spoil them. Therefore, even if Ding Anni occasionally dares to go against her mother, she does not dare to question her father's authority when it matters. She can be affectionate in ordinary times, but she has no chance when it comes to matters of principle.
In the Ding family, Ding Hong is the true head of the household.
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