Twenty years ago, my uncle-in-law
Li Wei's running away from home alarmed the whole family.
Her mother hadn't taken it seriously when she ran out, thinking she was just a child and would be fine after a little tantrum. So, Cheng Min, busy and disoriented, didn't even notice that Li Wei hadn't come home for lunch. That evening, after the workers had all gone home and her father, Li Zhaoxing, had also returned from work, the whole family ate dinner together. Finding Li Wei missing, Grandpa Cheng casually asked, "Xiaolin, where's your sister?"
Li Lin glanced at the adult with a guilty look and whispered, "I don't know, they ran away."
"Yes!" Both her parents looked at Li Lin at the same time, and Li Lin was even more frightened: "That's right, that's right... after Mom finished speaking, she ran out and didn't come back."
The three adults couldn't sit still any longer. Cheng Min was even more bewildered and said anxiously, "Dad, what should we do? It's getting dark, where can she go?"
Li Zhaoxing, being a man, remained calm: "Don't rush, let's ask the neighbors and her classmates first. She shouldn't be far away. Let's split up and go out to look."
So the couple rushed out to look for their child. Before leaving, the old man instructed them, "Don't hit the child when you find her, and don't scold her either."
Leaving aside the fact that the house was turned upside down and in complete chaos, let's just talk about Li Wei's whereabouts.
Li Wei was initially a little angry after her mother's scolding, but it certainly didn't warrant running away from home. She happened to need to use the restroom, so she made an excuse to leave. However, while squatting in the restroom, she realized something was wrong. Her mother hadn't even asked why she was being criticized; it was incredibly disrespectful. After all, she had taken care of the children and helped the family earn money; she had worked hard and was exhausted. Why was she treated like a human being only when needed, and then criticized whenever she wanted? This was utterly undignified; wasn't this treating her like she was on the same level as the twins…?
Li Wei felt increasingly uneasy and upset. When would she ever have an equal status? She wanted to be able to talk to her grandmother with confidence, just like her aunt did with her maternal grandmother. Yes, she should go to her aunt for advice and maybe take a walk to clear her head. Spending all her time with little kids was making her feel like a broken record.
And by the way... let's just pretend I'm running away from home and scare my mom and dad while they're still young and healthy. They won't dare to scare them when they're old.
You can't go out without money. Li Wei came out of the restroom and found that the children had all dispersed. They'd probably gone out to play after the liberation. Li Wei headed straight for her mother's office. It was a small room partitioned off at one end of the newly built factory building. It usually served as her mother's reception room, finance office, and multi-functional office.
Li Wei went inside and saw no one. The table wasn't locked. She guessed her mother had just gone out and hadn't returned. She opened the drawer. Not bad. There was a little money. She counted it. A little over sixty yuan. That was enough. She didn't want to offend the adults and spend her own money just by going out. Besides, she kept all her money in the bank.
Li Wei took the money and put it away. She went back inside to get a sun hat and changed her clothes and shoes. She also took the small, red, faux-leather shoulder bag she'd bought in the city for the Spring Festival. The bag was about the size of a Chinese textbook. It held money, a handkerchief, and some tissues. It fit her perfectly.
After getting ready, Li Wei went into the city without hesitation.
Cheng Fei attended the top-ranked of the three key high schools in the city. The First High School.
It's clear that Cheng Fei is quite outstanding. Li Wei, on the other hand, didn't have that ability. She attended an ordinary high school, and even then, she worked herself to the bone to get into the top-tier university. Then she worked herself to the bone again, almost to death, to get into the only undergraduate university in the city. Actually, it's just a provincial university, as ordinary as it gets.
Therefore, Cheng Fei's family has its own reasons for being proud.
Li Wei took a bus and then a tram, finally arriving at the gate of the No. 1 High School.
In my past life, when I was studying in the city, I passed by this place countless times, gazing longingly inside, and imagining how many arms and legs the students studying there had...
Returning to this place twenty years later, uh... this gate isn't very impressive anymore. It's much more grand now.
It's the weekend, and there aren't usually many students, but according to my grandfather, my aunt didn't come home this week because she was putting on some kind of cultural performance, so there were quite a few students coming and going.
Li Wei didn't know which class her aunt was in, only that she was in the humanities class of the second year of high school. Entering the school gate, she was completely bewildered by the vast playground and the U-shaped group of teaching buildings. The security guard didn't stop her, probably mistaking her for some teacher's child.
I figured I might as well go in and ask. A beauty like her aunt couldn't be nobody. I saw some people playing basketball on the nearby playground, and quite a few people were watching. There were a lot of people, so I decided to go in and ask.
Li Wei walked over and picked out a bespectacled boy who looked pleasing to the eye. She tilted her head up and tugged at his collar: "Hi classmate, I'd like to ask you if you know Cheng Fei from the second year of high school, humanities class? I need to talk to her about something."
Just as the bespectacled boy was about to say something, a boy in a sky-blue tracksuit ran over, carrying a basketball, and said enthusiastically, "Little friend, are you looking for Cheng Fei? Come on, big brother will take you there."
Li Wei tilted her head and saw that it was a handsome guy, but he looked familiar. Could he be some kind of relative of hers? She couldn't remember, so she politely thanked him. Considering that he was a handsome guy, she reluctantly let him hold her hand.
However, Li Wei was also a little confused. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel that every handsome guy looked familiar? She remembered that she wasn't so infatuated before. It was really strange.
She was confused, and the handsome Ding Anping was even more confused. Holding the pretty girl's hand, he was thinking about the beautiful girl he was about to meet. He felt so comfortable, and if it weren't for the precious pendant he was holding, he probably would have floated away.
The smug, handsome young man made conversation: "Little friend, what's your name? What's your relationship with Cheng Fei?"
"My name is Li Wei, and Cheng Fei is my aunt. So... oh, big brother, what's your name? Are you in the same class as my aunt?" I also need to find out about you. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
"Hehe, you can call me Uncle Ding. I'm not a student at No. 1 High School." Someone was trying to fool the child.
"Uncle Ding, right? What's your name? What do you do? How old are you? Where do you live? How many people are in your family? What do they all do? How many siblings do you have? Do you have any bad habits? How far have things progressed between you and my aunt? I think you'd better tell me all this, otherwise I'll go back and tell my grandma that my aunt isn't studying properly and is having a puppy love, and then your chances will be in serious trouble, hehe!"
Someone was eagerly anticipating tarnishing the reputation of her arrogant aunt.
Ding Anping was covered in cold sweat. Are all kids these days so shrewd?
This isn't a child at all, it's more like an old lady checking household registrations!
The soft, white hand that I had been holding suddenly felt a little hot.
Ding Anping shut his mouth and started pulling instead of pulling, dashing to the classroom of Class 3, Grade 11. No one was there, so he went to the girls' dormitory. The handsome guy greeted the dormitory manager, who clearly knew him, and let them in.
The handsome young man, pretending to be mute, led Li Wei directly to room 309 on the third floor and knocked on the door. Li Wei suspected that his relationship with her aunt, Cheng Fei, was more than just ordinary; otherwise, how could he be so familiar with the place? Could it be that her aunt was really in a relationship, or was this guy secretly in love? Anything was possible. Hehe, she couldn't just watch her aunt stray down the path of early romance. Her simple and boring nanny life was finally starting to change a bit, haha.
The girl who opened the door had a round face. She smiled as soon as she saw Ding Anping: "I said, you came looking for me again as soon as we parted. You really do miss me terribly."
The handsome young man smiled and said, "Look, this little girl is looking for Cheng Fei. I'll bring her over."
The round-faced girl then noticed there was another person and turned to open the door to let them in. Cheng Fei was clearly quite surprised by Li Wei's arrival. She put down the books she was packing and rushed over to grab Li Wei, asking, "Why are you here? Did you come with your grandfather? Where is he?"
Li Wei ignored her, jumped onto her aunt's bed and sat down: "I'm thirsty, is there any water? Also, I haven't had lunch yet, let me treat you and this kind handsome guy to lunch."
"Don't interrupt. What's going on? Who did you come with? Tell me the truth." Cheng Fei sensed something was wrong and stared at Li Wei as she asked.
Li Wei, realizing she was in the wrong, could only lower her head: "I came by myself because I wanted to see you. Actually, I really missed you, Auntie. I also wanted to ask you something."
Cheng Fei was furious. Being a smart person, she immediately understood what was going on: "Fine, fine, Li Xiaoming, you little brat, you've already learned to run away from home! I think you deserve a beating..."
Now, no matter how she looked at Li Wei, who was leaning against her bedside, she found it all irritating. It seemed that this little brat had stopped taking her seriously since starting school. Last time, she had blatantly framed her, but she hadn't bothered to argue with her. Now, she actually dared to discipline her. Did she miss her? No one would believe that!
Cheng Fei grew angrier the more she thought about it; being looked down upon was a terrible feeling.
Before Cheng Fei could finish speaking, Li Wei immediately corrected her, "My name isn't Li Xiaoming, it's Li Wei. Didn't I tell you I changed my name? What's wrong with your memory?" This was a crucial matter; changing her name was the first step she took on her path to becoming a beauty, and she had to take it firmly. No one could stop her from becoming a beauty on the road, not even her beautiful aunt. She couldn't let her steal the spotlight.
Cheng Fei was furious. How dare she interrupt her scolding? What an ungrateful child! She took a few steps forward, grabbed Li Wei's arm, and raised her hand to slap Li Wei's bottom. Wow, it seems that spanking children is a family secret of the Cheng family.
Li Wei realized things were going badly. She could hit others, but no one could hit her. She quickly jumped off the bed, desperately shook off her aunt's hand, and slipped behind the handsome guy. Thinking about it, she wondered why her aunt had the right to hit her. She hadn't even done anything when her parents hit her. This was too embarrassing. She angrily poked her head out and said, "Why did you hit me? Don't think you're so much better than me. Haven't you ever made a mistake?" Seriously though, if I were to list all the mistakes you've made and the ones you're about to make, I could go on for three days and three nights.
"Hey, you little brat, you're still being stubborn. I'll teach you a lesson today. Hey you, Ding Anping, get out of my way..." I tried to hit her last time but failed. This time, I'm not going to let this little brat get away with it.
So, one dodged while the other grabbed, putting the handsome guy in the middle in a difficult position. With such a beauty before him, he momentarily lost focus and Li Wei was caught by her aunt. Li Wei was terrified. If she suffered a loss at her aunt's hands, she would definitely have no one to turn to for justice. Alas, she knew she and her aunt didn't get along, yet she still willingly walked right into her aunt's clutches, only to be caught in the crossfire. Now, who would save her…?
"Ah—, help me—" Li Wei reached out to the handsome guy, who looked reluctant but hesitated when he saw Cheng Fei.
"Help! Uncle-in-law!" In the nick of time, Li Wei finally recognized the handsome man. It was her aunt's husband! Oh my god, no wonder he looked so familiar. He was her aunt's first husband.
Upon hearing Li Wei's address, the handsome man's eyes lit up, his confusion vanished, and he snatched Li Wei away, speaking righteously and sternly: "Cheng Fei, what are you doing? Why are you arguing with a child? Let's talk things out, calm down, calm down."
Li Wei's address of "Uncle-in-law" was like a bowl of chilled plum juice on a sweltering summer day, or a ray of fire in winter. It was the most comforting, timely, and heartwarming flattery Ding Anping had ever heard in his life, perhaps even in his old age. It was practically a tailor-made, handcrafted, high-class flattery for him. From that moment on, he considered Li Wei his staunch confidante and soulmate.
Therefore, when his subordinates are beaten, the boss naturally has to step in.
Ding Anping was a grown man after all, and with a few quick swaying motions, he managed to get Li Wei out of danger.
Seeing that she couldn't get her childhood nemesis and that circling around Ding Anping wasn't going to work, Cheng Fei slumped onto the bed in frustration, panting, "You little brat, don't be so smug. If you're so capable, then try to cling to him and don't get off. I won't bother with you anymore. Oh, and if you talk nonsense again, I'll sew your mouth shut." After saying that, she really ignored them and started tidying up the things on the bed.
Li Wei, who was tightly hugging the handsome man's neck, was a little dumbfounded. She had practically begged her aunt, and if she really angered her, things would be difficult. However, she was also a little too embarrassed to be subservient to her aunt. After thinking for a moment, she said to the handsome man who was about to speak to her aunt:
"Oh, Uncle, you're such a good person, and so handsome too. I'd wholeheartedly support you becoming my uncle. But look at my aunt, how fierce she is! She even threatens to kill a cute kid like me. I advise you to change your mind as soon as possible. Tell me, is it worth risking being wanted by my grandma and teachers to have a relationship with her?"
Before Ding Anping could say anything, Cheng Fei couldn't sit still any longer and stood up abruptly: "Don't talk nonsense! I have nothing to do with him. If you dare to go back and talk nonsense, I won't let you off the hook!" Her words were quite harsh, but Li Wei felt that they were all bark and no bite.
Li Wei ignored her and continued her close conversation with the handsome man: "Uncle, you see, my aunt doesn't approve of you, but I think you're a nice person, so I'll accept you first. It's fate that we met. Let me treat you to dinner, and we can have a good talk. I'm starving. Let's eat and chat, and see if there's any possibility between you and my aunt. I'll tell you, my aunt is a bit afraid of my grandma..."
As Li Wei spoke, she winked at Ding Anping. Her eyes were so tired they were almost cramping. Ding Anping finally understood what she meant, and with a mischievous grin, he picked up Li Wei and carried her out.
Cheng Fei was annoyed by Li Wei calling her "little uncle" repeatedly and was about to explode when she saw Ding Anping leave with the child. She sat down angrily, thinking to herself, "I'll see if you two leave and don't come back. You'll be in cahoots as soon as you meet! Humph!"
But then she thought again, something wasn't right. She and Ding Anping hadn't officially confessed their feelings yet. Although everyone could see that Ding Anping was pursuing her, frankly speaking, they were still just friends. Now, he was taking her child out to dinner. What did that mean? Besides, that little brat wasn't some Little Red Riding Hood...
Thinking of this, he quickly grabbed his wallet and chased after her.
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