Chapter 9 The Argument "I'm fine, you don't need to worry."...
Xu Yongqing climbed up to her sixth-floor apartment as usual, but before she even entered the door, she could already hear a deafening argument.
"Tell me, where did your money go this month?"
"I don't know, I've already given you all the money I was owed."
"Didn't you say that I'd come to you when I ran out of money?"
"I did say that, but look at how fast you spend money. How can you spend it so quickly?"
"..."
It was the same script and lines again, but even though Xu Yongqing was used to her parents arguing all the time, she couldn't help but feel a pang of unease.
Some people's fear of certain things, which they develop from childhood, does not completely disappear with time and age. Xu Yongqing believes that he is one of these people.
Money, money, money—it's all about money. They often argue over a single vegetable costing a penny more in one supermarket than another, or they rack their brains to save water and electricity if they use an extra kilowatt-hour or kilowatt-hour of water or electricity. Such families are hard to find even with a lantern; at least among the people Xu Yongqing knows, only her family is like that.
Even occasionally, while still in the supermarket, the two would start "fighting," provided they didn't run into anyone they knew, and they didn't seem to feel embarrassed or ashamed at all.
Speaking of which, if it were someone else's child nowadays, even if they knew their parents were arguing, they might go outside for a while before they got home to avoid being scolded or getting caught in the crossfire. Once their parents finished arguing and things calmed down, they would pretend they knew nothing and maintain a facade of harmony.
But Xu Yongqing couldn't do that, because her parents not only knew about the school's various arrangements, but also set strict home return times for her. She had to go home whether she wanted to or not, and she would be scolded either way. After a few seconds of hesitation, she still gritted her teeth and unlocked the door to go inside.
"What kind of attitude is this towards me? If you didn't give it, you didn't give it. Before we got married, you were so obedient in front of my dad, but you completely changed after we got married."
"How dare you bring this up? Look at the mess you've made! If it weren't for me, you would have been..."
"Mom and Dad, I'm home." Just as Xu Yongqing's parents were about to say something, Xu Yongqing interrupted them at the right time. There was no other reason; it was just to maintain a certain peace before the college entrance examination, nothing more.
"Oh, you're back. How did you do on the weekly test?" Knowing what their words meant, Xu's parents exchanged a knowing glance and chose not to bring up the previous topic, instead asking about other things.
Xu Yongqing, who had been "forged" in this family, naturally received a kind of "mediation signal." This was a skill that could be honed without deliberate learning. So now she pretended not to know anything, as if she had never heard any arguments. She simply reported her academic performance to her parents, just like any daughter in a harmonious family, saying, "Top three in the class."
"It's barely passable," Xu Yongqing's father said, frowning slightly.
“Try to get first place next time, remember?” Xu Yongqing’s mother added.
"Okay, Mom and Dad. I'll try my best to get a higher ranking next time. I'm going back to my room to study now."
"Okay, go ahead."
After watching their daughter go to her room, Xu's parents gave each other a disdainful look before going about their own business.
Meanwhile, Xu Yongqing, on the other side, felt a little better after closing the door, but it was only temporary, because her room was never allowed to be locked, and her life had to be kept under her parents' watchful eye.
Soon after Xu Yongqing's parents finished their work, they would disregard her wishes and privacy, and simply push open the door to see if she was studying properly. Sometimes they would even stay next to her, looking at their phones while watching her do her homework.
If Xu Yongqing is disturbed by the sounds coming from her phone, it means she is not fully focused on her studies. If she is caught doing this, she will be scolded or beaten. So even if she is pretending, she has to pretend to be completely focused on her studies and cannot relax for a moment.
After calming herself down a bit, Xu Yongqing took out the test questions from her bag and started writing on her desk.
After doing her homework for about an hour, Xu Yongqing ate dinner, took a shower, and then did some more homework. When she heard her parents lock their room, the day was almost over, and she put down her pen and lay down on the bed.
Xu Yongqing's parents didn't come to check on her homework today, but nothing seemed different; she remained tense all night.
Only when her parents were asleep was Xu Yongqing truly able to relax. She secretly took out a phone from the corner of her schoolbag and opened it to check the new messages, but in the end, she just sighed and secretly hid it away again.
The weekend always flies by, and Xu Yongqing set off for school to begin a week of study.
Given how controlling Xu Yongqing's parents were, they initially wouldn't have allowed her to stay at the dormitory. It was only after she pleaded with her homeroom teacher to explain that this would save study time and improve her exam scores that her parents reluctantly agreed to let her stay at the dormitory, only requiring her to return on time on weekends.
However, Xu Yongqing had no idea what would happen this week. It wasn't until she returned to her dormitory after evening self-study on Sunday that, for some reason, the dormitory supervisor started checking students' bags at the dormitory entrance to see if any students were sneaking cell phones into the dormitory. Xu Yongqing and some other students, caught completely off guard, were caught red-handed, and things began to develop in an irreversible direction.
Xu Yongqing was extremely flustered at the time, not because her cell phone, which she considered her possession, had been confiscated, but because she was about to face a purgatory. However, there is often calm before the storm. On Monday and Tuesday, apart from being criticized one-on-one by her homeroom teacher, nothing else happened.
Xu Yongqing thought to herself, this is really abnormal. The dormitory supervisor and the homeroom teacher have both said that they have already informed her parents. Her parents must know this, and even if they did, they couldn't have done nothing. So what awaits her is definitely a big move.
Xu Yongqing remained anxious until Wednesday morning, and as expected, what was bound to happen eventually did.
On Wednesday morning, just as everyone was immersed in the atmosphere of the Chinese class, a sudden sound of a door being kicked open rang in the ears of all the students in Class 2.
"It's you guys, aren't you? You've corrupted my daughter's mind."
The students in the classroom, including the Chinese teacher who was currently teaching, were all baffled. "This parent? It's class time now. Please don't disturb our class. If you really need anything, you can go to the office and find Ms. Li, the homeroom teacher of Class 2."
The male parent was extremely rude, as if he wanted to say something more, but he held back for a moment, gestured around the classroom with his hand, and then turned and left, heading towards the homeroom teacher's office.
"Alright, alright, let's continue the lesson. We just talked about this Tang Dynasty poet..."
Everyone appeared to be listening attentively to the Chinese lesson, but in reality, they each had their own thoughts. Some were frightened, some were speechless, but without exception, they were all very curious about this matter.
The Chinese teacher was also somewhat shocked. She had been teaching for a certain number of years, but this was the first time she had ever seen a parent like this. However, as a teacher, her responsibility at that moment was to maintain classroom order and continue teaching.
Today's incident was completely unexpected, and this kind of news spreads very quickly. Even if I don't want to listen to it when I get to the office, other teachers will be discussing it. I just wonder whose child has such a difficult-to-talk-to parent...
The students in the classroom don't know who the male parent is yet, but Ning Yanzhao, who has already experienced this incident once, knows very well that this man is Xu Yongqing's father.
Now things are repeating themselves just like they did nine years ago. Ning Yanzhao isn't entirely unprepared this time, but the problem is why it's happening earlier than expected? She clearly remembers this incident happening after the essay competition, but now there's still almost a month until the essay competition.
Will Xu Yongqing run away from home this week and end up in a car accident? It seems Ning Yanzhao will need to take action this Friday.
The answer to everyone's curiosity was revealed after Chinese get out of class. The oppressive presence of Xu Yongqing's father standing at the classroom door made Xu Yongqing know exactly what she had to do. After Xu Yongqing packed her schoolbag and left with her father, everyone started talking about it.
"What? This 'rough' man is actually the father of the quiet and gentle Xu Yongqing? The contrast is too great."
"Yeah, if my dad were him, I'd be scared to death every day."
"So he was just cursing our whole class as idiots, that's really awful."
"..."
Meanwhile, Xu Yongqing, who had been living in fear for a while, felt even more ashamed and miserable after returning home at noon than she had in the classroom.
"Well, they've really grown up and become independent. Not only are they not doing well in their studies, but they even have spare money to buy a cell phone."
“I’ve been giving you too much money before. From now on, you can spend ten yuan a day on food, but I won’t give you any extra pocket money.”
"Was this accommodation arrangement something you planned from the beginning, just so you could secretly play on your phone at school? If your father and I hadn't been so busy with work these past few days, we would have come to the school to catch you already. You really got off easy and had a few more good days."
"..."
On Wednesday afternoon, Xu Yongqing's parents asked for leave for her on the grounds that "there were family matters".
That evening, Xu Yongqing did not stay at school after finishing her evening self-study session. Instead, her parents took her home to "discipline her more thoroughly." In the ensuing chaos, Xu Yongqing was beaten and bruised all over, a far cry from the simple "minor beatings and scoldings" she received in the afternoon.
Of course, they also selectively chose to do it where outsiders couldn't see it. On the surface, Hsu Yung-ching seemed quite "normal," so outsiders had nothing to say.
"Please don't hit me, I really know I was wrong."
“We don’t care whether you really know you’re wrong or not. Anyway, you’ll be coming back to live here starting today. Tomorrow, Thursday, is your last day to pack your things. We’ll also go to the school on Friday afternoon to complete the check-out procedures. Starting next week, you won’t be staying at the dorms anymore and you’ll have to come home every day. We’ll keep a close eye on your studies.”
"Okay, okay, Mom and Dad, I'll be good. I'll definitely listen to you and study hard."
Even though Xu Yongqing begged for mercy, her parents couldn't contain their anger and continued to beat and kick her. The neighbors upstairs and downstairs were already used to the noise. Although they were dissatisfied, it was, after all, someone else's "family matter." And since their previous attempts to dissuade them had been useless, they would just complain a little and then let it pass.
The faint noises continued until after 10 p.m., ending with the girl sobbing in a low voice, and finally the whole building fell silent.
All night, Xu Yongqing couldn't sleep because of the pain in her body. She had always hoped that good luck would come to her, but God never let her have her way. On this night, even the moonlight became dazzling.
Even though she hadn't slept all night, time passed quickly. In the morning, Xu Yongqing saw her parents as soon as she stepped out of her room. Her body reacted faster than her mind, and she walked to the dining table, trembling all over.
"Did you remember what we told you yesterday?"
"I remember, I understand, I will be good."
"We're too busy today, so remember to bring some things back yourself first, okay?"
"Understood." At this moment, Xu Yongqing secretly clenched her fist under the dining table, having made a decision in her heart.
After breakfast, Xu Yongqing went to school as usual, and at noon she took a nap in the dormitory as usual.
Because boarding students at No. 1 Middle School are required to take a nap in their dormitories at noon, even though Xu Yongqing is checking out of the dormitory, she still has to come for a nap today.
Xu Yongqing originally planned to sleep without taking off her school uniform jacket today, which would save her trouble when packing her things later. However, during lunch today, a classmate didn't see where he was going and spilled the soup from his lunch bowl on her. So now she has to take off her school uniform jacket and wash it quickly.
Xu Yongqing looked in the mirror while washing clothes. She had fallen asleep very late last night, but had to get up again at around 6 a.m., so there was an undeniable fatigue under her eyes, as well as obvious signs of crying.
It's not over yet.
Xu Yongqing looked around the dormitory again. Although the dormitory conditions were not very good and the management was very strict, the roommates always "argued" to reserve a spot when they were taking a shower or going to the toilet.
Occasionally, after the dormitory supervisor finished checking the rooms, they would chat until late at night, making so much noise that Xu Yongqing sometimes couldn't sleep all night. But it gave her a peace that she couldn't have at home. But such days were coming to an end. Today should be the last time she stayed in this dormitory.
"Oh dear, what happened to your arm?" Yan Jiali, one of Xu Yongqing's roommates, had just come out from the balcony after watering the flowers and saw Xu Yongqing washing clothes with bruises on his arm.
Hearing her roommate Yan Jiali's voice, Xu Yongqing belatedly realized that she should cover up her injuries. It was all her fault for being distracted by thoughts earlier, but it seemed too late now.
Xu Yongqing didn't blame the dormitory supervisor for finding her with a cell phone in the dormitory, since she had violated the rules first. However, she resented her parents for being dissatisfied with her no matter what she did.
"What happened? Is your hand alright?"
"I have some liniment for bruises and sprains, do you need it?"
"..."
Yan Jiali's words immediately attracted the attention of many students in the dormitory. After seeing this, they could no longer pretend they hadn't seen anything and all came up to ask her if she needed anything.
Although Xu Yongqing doesn't spend much time with her roommates, she knows that their concern comes from the bottom of their hearts.
However, Xu Yongqing's situation was not as simple as she had imagined; it was filled with too much helplessness. Healing her wounds did not solve any problems. So she simply smiled and told her roommates, "I'm fine, you don't need to worry."
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