Chapter 111: Peaceful Coexistence
Chapter 111: Peaceful Coexistence
The Cheng family once again prepared a lavish feast... because Cheng Junjun had returned home.
That day, Cheng Bing returned home after filling out her college application in the sweltering heat, only to find her house bustling with activity.
Dad's car was parked in the yard, and Grandpa's voice came from their house; the two of them had actually returned.
He assumed his family was still excited and that filling out college applications was something to celebrate—after all, the previous exams and results were always reasons for family celebrations. But as soon as he walked in, Cheng Junjun came running down the stairs. She was startled at first, then beamed, "Oh, our college student is back?"
Cheng Bing was somewhat surprised—Cheng Junjun had cut her hair short again, was wearing loose knee-length shorts and a white T-shirt, and looked playful and cute.
"When did you get back?" He immediately perked up. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
"We didn't go through the city; the bus went directly to the county town, and my dad picked me up from the factory."
"Who are you calling disrespectful?"
Suddenly, Cheng's father appeared behind him, holding a large, round watermelon in his hands. He instructed, "Go quickly and cut this watermelon for your second sister."
Cheng Bing, sweating profusely, took the melon and said, "Oh."
"Thank you, Grandpa." Cheng Junjun smiled to herself, and the two siblings walked side by side affectionately towards the kitchen.
"How did you get back? Dad didn't pick you up, did you take a bus by yourself? You walked such a long way, you must be scorching hot!" It was the older sister who cared about her younger brother. Cheng Junjun grabbed two tissues from the living room table and wiped his sweat as she said, "Your neck is all sweaty."
“I didn’t know Dad was coming back today,” Cheng Bing said.
Hearing the noise from the kitchen, Cheng Qiuyan called out, "Bingbing's family is here? Have you filled out all your college applications?"
Cheng Bingren entered the kitchen. "Everything's ready."
After giving the melon to the old man, he turned and went to the courtyard. Then, remembering something, he returned and called out from the back gate, "Jun Jun!"
"Hey—" Cheng Junjun quickly came out to respond.
"Your great-aunt said you should come to her house for lunch tomorrow, understand? Tell your mom."
"Ah~" Cheng Junjun leaned against the door and began to whine, "I just got back today—"
"Then let's go tomorrow," Cheng Jiagong coaxed. "Tell Bingbing to go with you. If he can't eat anything, let him eat it."
Grandma Lin loved to feed the children. From a young age, she would take the three children in the family and give them snacks. In her own words, she could not give them expensive things, but she would always give them something to eat.
But children love snacks, and they don't care much about them when they grow up. Especially Cheng Junjun, she rarely eats snacks and doesn't like to eat meat dishes. She always has a headache when she goes to her great-grandmother's house for a meal.
If we don't eat it, it would be a waste of the elders' good intentions; if we do eat it, those dishes are all elaborate, and we really can't eat much of them.
Cheng Junjun grumbled, "He doesn't like it either—"
"Oh dear, it's just one meal. If you come home for dinner, you can just skip it and have some fruit to cleanse your palate. I'll have your mother-in-law talk to her and ask her to prepare a few side dishes for you all, just don't make too much." The Cheng family elder had already walked away, waving his hand to reassure them.
Cheng Junjun sighed, "When haven't I said it? It's all the same no matter how many times I've said it."
Back inside, Cheng Bing had already cut the melon into beautiful thin fan shapes and placed them on the living room table.
Cheng Qiuyan came out wearing an apron and asked, "What is your grandfather talking about?"
Cheng Junjun sat down, took a slice of watermelon, and said with puffed-out cheeks, "My great-grandmother invited us to dinner tomorrow."
Cheng Qiuyan laughed as soon as she heard that, "You two? It's nothing, it's just for a meal."
Cheng Junjun leaned against Cheng Bing helplessly, "I'm really counting on you."
Just as Cheng Bing was about to say something, Cheng Qiuyan immediately said, "That's right, when your sister can't eat anymore, you can eat a little for her."
Cheng Bing had gotten used to eating on his behalf, so he had no choice but to sit down and eat watermelon as well, the two of them huddled together and discussed things.
"It's such a waste to cook so many dishes every time."
"There's definitely that fried shrimp with egg yolk again. I think I ate almost a whole bowl of it during Chinese New Year..."
"And that duck gizzard, it was chopped up really finely..."
Cheng Qiuyan tapped each of the children on the head and scolded, "You're not allowed to say that in front of others. Your great-grandmother kindly invited you to dinner, why didn't she invite her? Every time she talks to others outside, she always praises you for being sensible. She likes you the most."
Cheng Junjun and Cheng Bing weren't really complaining. After all, Grandma Lin was incredibly kind to the three siblings, and they couldn't refuse her hospitality for the meal, which was a bittersweet dilemma.
Cheng Junjun quickly replied, "I know, I know, Grandma is the best."
“That’s right,” Cheng Qiuyan said casually, “She even had a fight with Grandma Hongmei this morning, all because of you…”
She stopped abruptly, but Cheng Junjun and Cheng Bing both heard her.
Cheng Bing looked up at her, somewhat confused: "For what?"
Cheng Junjun had already guessed what was going on, and blinked, asking, "How did they start arguing?"
Since she had already said it, Cheng Qiuyan couldn't easily brush it off. Besides, it wasn't a taboo subject, so she sat down and explained gently, "It's just that Grandma Hongmei said that Xiaoyuenian did well on her exams this year, and she kept repeating things like 'the younger siblings in their family are all successful,' mentioning you and your sister. Your great-grandmother overheard that. It's one thing to talk about it behind your back, but today, I don't know why she was so tactless, insisting on saying it in front of your great-grandmother, with quite a few other old ladies and gentlemen around. Your great-grandmother was definitely going to be unhappy, and the two of them started arguing. Later, many people came to mediate, and that's when things calmed down."
Cheng Junjun rolled her eyes halfway through the conversation, snorted with a straight face, and said, "You won't find anyone in the entire Shuibi Bay who likes to stir up trouble more than her."
"Who else is here? Is Grandma Fang Yuenian here?" Cheng Bing asked.
Cheng Qiuyan: "Yes, she was there, but she didn't say anything. She left as soon as we started arguing, mainly because her father was there."
Cheng Junjun glanced at Cheng Bing and said, "I bet there's going to be another fight at his house."
The "he" he was referring to was Fang Yuenian. Cheng Qiuyan also sighed, "They're bound to have a little argument. Little Niannian will suffer too."
The topic was a bit heavy, so Cheng Bing stopped gossiping, wiped her hands with a tissue, took out her phone from her pocket, and went into her room.
As Cheng Junjun watched him enter the house, she turned to Cheng Qiuyan and said, "Mom, both of them are going to Beijing to study at university. Does the family agree to this every year?"
“Going to university is such a big deal. He finally got into university. How could we disagree?” Although Cheng Qiuyan said this, she wasn’t entirely sure herself. She thought about it again and said, “His grandfather is a teacher after all. He’s not that narrow-minded. Besides, his mother will definitely support him.”
Cheng Junjun said irritably, "I hope so."
Cheng Bing texted Fang Yuenian. The two had just parted ways at the village entrance and should have been home for a short while. Their phones were on them, so they shouldn't be unable to hear each other.
However, Fang Yuenian did not reply.
After waiting for a while, Cheng Bing went out the gate, walked around the lush trees, and looked across the river at the other side. However, she could only see the Fang family's courtyard wall, which had only been repaired not long ago, and there was no one in that area.
Cheng Junjun went upstairs to pack her suitcase for a while, and when she came downstairs, she saw her younger brother coming in through the front door, so she asked, "How did it go? What did he say?"
Cheng Bing: "She didn't reply to me."
Cheng Junjun said "Oh," and added, "Then it should be fine, and we can hear them arguing when they get really loud."
Cheng Qiuyan called from the kitchen, "Come and bring out the dishes—"
After Lin Guohui returned, he went to his grandmother's house to fix the TV. After the food was served, the family waited for him for a while before he came back. He was covered in sweat and had to take a quick shower.
Just then, Cheng Bing finally received Fang Yuenian's reply.
"We're arguing right now, I'll talk to you later."
Before Cheng Bing could reply, another message came through: "No rush, feel free to argue, it won't stop us from going to university in Beijing."
Cheng Bing's eyes darkened slightly, which Cheng Junjun noticed, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Since her grandfather and mother-in-law were both there, Cheng Bing didn't want to talk about that matter while her family was eating, so she just shook her head and said, "It's nothing."
After giving a brief reply, he put his phone back in his pocket.
During this period, the Fang family on the other side of the river experienced a whirlwind of events.
Fang Yuenian was in a good mood. He and Cheng Bing went out together early in the morning to fill out their college applications. They joked and played around with their classmates for a while. After finishing their important business, the two took a car back together, laughing and talking all the way, dreaming about their future.
However, upon entering the house, he was greeted by broken dishes scattered all over the floor, his grandmother wiping away tears, and his father, Fang Wu, yelling and screaming.
“I told you, we can’t give it to them! You insisted on giving it to them, and now look what’s happened. People are talking about us. Who does that old lady Lin think she is? She pointed her finger at me and cursed me! Saying Fang Junjun is her granddaughter, damn it…”
Fang Yuenian stood by the door, unable to make sense of what had happened from Fang Wu's incoherent words, but she did hear the name "Fang Junjun".
In the past, Old Mrs. Fang and Fang Wu had a common habit of always referring to Cheng Junjun, as if they did not acknowledge that Cheng Junjun had left the family and grown up, and was no longer related to the family. Instead, they felt that they could, just like more than ten years ago, rightfully despise and humiliate this little girl of the Fang family.
However, Grandma Fang gradually changed this habit and stopped mentioning it.
Fang Wu, however, couldn't change. He never cared about family matters. Only when he was upset outside and didn't dare to talk back would he come home and vent his anger on his family.
Wang Jing rushed out of the bedroom.
Her hair was disheveled, her face was flushed, and she was breathing heavily due to extreme anger. She was also momentarily stunned when she saw her son at the door.
Fang Yuenian stopped and asked expressionlessly, "What's all the noise about?"
Grandma Fang finally took her hands off her face, revealing her eyes, and saw her grandson.
"No, it's nothing." She wanted to stop the farce.
"You've come at the perfect time!" Fang Wu shouted sharply, his voice ringing out from the bottom of his heart. "It's because you hang out with Cheng Bing all day long, and you never do as well as him on exams! Damn it, I don't even have the confidence of him when I go out! What kind of scum are you? Going to study in Beijing, what, you think you can fly now? Let me tell you, you're not allowed to go!"
Fang Yuenian frowned slightly, but otherwise showed no reaction, as if she were looking at a stranger.
"Say it again?" Wang Jing's eyes widened after those words, and her voice suddenly rose. "Say it again?!"
In Fang Yuenian's memory, the last time Wang Jing spoke with this expression and tone was probably back when he was in the hospital after his head injury.
The chaos of that day is still vivid in my mind—the crying, the tears, the hurtful words—nothing has changed. Fortunately, Cheng Bing and Cheng Junjun are not here this time, which is great.
"What's wrong with what I said?" Fang Wu retorted, his confidence no longer what it used to be, probably realizing that he had touched a nerve with Wang Jing.
Grandma Fang clutched her chest and sat down, barely breathing. "Alright, alright, I won't talk about it anymore, I won't talk about it anymore."
Fang Wu, however, refused to give up. Gritting his teeth, he said to Wang Jing with a fierce but weak tone, "Didn't you hear? What's the use of your son doing well on the exam? He's still not as good as other people. Everyone in the village says that her son did well on the exam and is promising."
"Go ahead and curse whoever said that! I haven't seen you say a single harsh word to anyone outside. Even Grandma Lin stood up for her grandniece, so why didn't you say a word when your son was looked down upon? You useless piece of trash, what else can you do besides throw tantrums at home?"
Wang Jing even swore. She hadn't sworn in front of Fang Yuenian for a long time. Her complexion was extremely bad, and her voice had become hoarse.
With a "crash," the bottle of lucky bamboo on the table shattered on the floor.
Fang Wu smashed some things, but clearly afraid that Wang Jing would jump up and attack him, he immediately strode out the door.
When sober, his courage is truly worrisome, but when he drinks, he's the most arrogant man in the world. However, Wang Jing isn't afraid of him.
Broken glass shards landed at Fang Yuenian's feet. He looked down and remembered that these lucky bamboo stalks were the ones he brought back from the city on the day of the score calculation, and Cheng Bing had chosen a vase for him.
No peace and tranquility can linger long in this home.
Just like this beautiful, sparkling glass bottle, it will always be ravaged by anger on some day and tragically shattered into pieces.
Grandma Fang wept softly. Fang Yuenian had long noticed that her once arrogant grandmother was no longer so strong-willed, probably because she was getting old.
Wang Jing was still trembling until Fang Yuenian walked around the mess, put her hand on her shoulder, and called out, "Mom."
The collapse happened in that one instant.
Wang Jing turned her face and suddenly hugged her son, who was now a head taller than her.
"Year after year..." Author's note: Thank you to my mentor 9492239 (9492239) for your support, muah! To learn more about this book, please leave a message on Liancheng Reading.
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