etc.
"Uncle..." Song Chengrui was anxious. He couldn't bear to see Xu Zhiyi bear all this alone.
"Song Chengrui!" Xu Zhiyi hurriedly whispered to stop him, with pleading in his voice.
She understood her father's temper. The more she contradicted him at this time, the more serious the consequences would be.
She winked at Song Chengrui, signaling him to stop talking.
Song Chengrui received her signal and looked at Xu Zhiyi who was panicking and pretending to be calm. He felt anxious and painful in his heart, but he could only purse his lips and swallow the rest of the words.
He stood there, watching Xu Zhiyi move step by step towards her father.
The way home is long and silent.
Xu Wangping didn't say a word along the way. This silence made Xu Zhiyi feel even more suffocated. She clearly foresaw her future, and even more tragic consequences.
She was caught in the act today, and no matter how she explained, it seemed difficult to change the fact that they were holding hands.
What should she do.
As soon as we entered the room, the atmosphere became even more depressing.
Xie Mushuang was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She saw the father and daughter come back together, but both of them looked unhappy. She felt a little strange.
"Hey, you two came back together?"
Xu Zhiyi felt guilty and didn't dare to answer. Xu Wangping snorted coldly.
"Ask her yourself what she did."
Xie Mushuang realized something was wrong and stood up from the sofa, "What's wrong? Xiaoyi, what happened?"
Xu Zhiyi bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't know how to explain to her mother.
"What's wrong?" Xu Wangping angrily put the bag in his hand on the table. "If I hadn't wanted to save some money and go to the wholesale market, I wouldn't have known that she went out to do homework with classmates, but secretly went to the movies with boys! She's about to enter the third year of high school, and her mind is not on studying. No wonder her grades have been declining recently. It's all because of that boy, right? I'll go find your homeroom teacher at the beginning of the school term and ask him which class he is in, what his parents are doing, and why they don't pay attention to it!"
"Lao Xu, don't be so excited." Xie Mushuang tried to reconcile, her eyes full of worry.
"How can I not be excited!" Xu Wangping pointed at Xu Zhiyi, "Last time, when you said you wanted to go out and play, I told you, okay, you can have fun after the college entrance examination! Well, you didn't listen, I don't care, you asked for a cell phone, I gave it to you! But what about you now? You're lying, you're pretending to obey, but you're really disobeying me. Xu Zhiyi, your mother and I work every day to support your schooling. We want you to study hard and get into college, not to waste money here every day! How many times have I emphasized that studying is not for us, it's for yourself. Why don't you understand?"
A series of questions bombarded Xu Zhiyi like cannonballs. She lowered her head, not daring to look directly into Xu Wangping's eyes. Tears burst out in an instant, "We...we..."
She couldn't continue and didn't know how to explain.
Xu Wangping was so angry that he drank a sip of water to calm down.
"I don't care how far you two have come. From today on, you are no longer connected. I will contact your homeroom teacher when the time comes."
"Dad! We are just ordinary classmates..."
Xu Zhiyi was a little anxious. If he went to school to make a scene, how would his classmates look at him in the future?
Xu Wangping didn't care about that and held out his hand. "Give me your phone. You are not allowed to go anywhere during the holidays. I will settle the score with you when school starts."
Xu Zhiyi held the phone tightly and refused to let go. Handing over the phone meant that she would completely cut off contact with Song Chengrui in the future.
"dad……"
“Give it to me!”
Xu Wangping's words cannot be refuted.
Xie Mushuang wanted to persuade the father and daughter, but she knew that now was not the time, so she could only push Xu Zhiyi into the room, "Forget it, Zhiyi, go back to the room first and let your dad calm down, ah."
Xu Zhiyi threw her cell phone directly on the sofa, ran back to the room crying, slammed the door, slid down to the ground with her back against the door, and cried silently.
On the other side, Song Chengrui was still there. The sweetness of the moment had disappeared, and he was replaced by worry about Xu Zhiyi's future.
He took out his cell phone and wanted to send a message to Xu Zhiyi to ask about the situation, but he was afraid that doing so would cause her trouble.
After struggling for a long time, he finally sent just one text message.
"Are you home yet? Are you okay?"
The message fell on deaf ears and received no response.
His heart sank a little bit. He knew that Xu Zhiyi's father must be very angry now. He also regretted his rash actions today. As a result, Xu Zhiyi faced even greater pressure.
This night is a long night.
Xu Zhiyi sat in the room crying. When she was tired of crying, she sat on the bed with her knees hugged. Listening to the faint conversation of her parents outside the door, her mood fell to the bottom.
The next day, Xu Zhiyi sat at the dining table and ate in silence, and the atmosphere in the family became extremely depressing.
Xie Mushuang saw her daughter's red and swollen eyes and sighed softly.
After losing his cell phone, Xu Zhiyi felt like he was exiled, trapped alone on an isolated island.
She could only numbly do exercises and test papers to kill the boring time. She was still worried about Song Chengrui, panicked about the future, and had the pressure of the upcoming senior high school entrance exam.
Song Chengrui couldn't contact Xu Zhiyi, and he didn't dare to hang around her house, for fear that the matter would become a bigger deal and even more difficult problems would arise.
He could only ask Zhang Ningxia and others to ask indirectly, but it was all in vain as no one could contact Xu Zhiyi.
He thought for a long time before realizing that he had no way to deal with their situation and he had no plan at all.
I returned home in a daze. My mother was crocheting a doll and my father was watching a war movie.
Seeing him come back, she just smiled and said, "Ruirui is back. How was it? Did you have fun outing today?"
Song Chengrui opened his mouth, but finally just whispered, "It's okay." Then he walked straight to his room.
"Wait." The mother put down the wool in her hand and keenly noticed her son's abnormality.
She looked at Song Chengrui's tense back and the worry in his eyes, and asked softly, "What happened? Can you tell Mom?"
Song Chengrui wanted to speak, but didn't know how to say it.
Mother asked again, "It's related to Xu Zhiyi, right?"
Song Chengrui turned around suddenly, a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes.
The mother smiled slightly. "The last time you mentioned that girl, your eyes were different. You came back like this today... Did you have an argument, or did you run into some trouble?"
The father who had been staring at the TV also quietly turned down the volume. He seemed to be still paying attention to the screen, but in fact he had pricked up his ears.
Under his mother's gentle and concerned gaze, Song Chengrui's mental defenses gradually collapsed.
He sat on the sofa next to his mother, took a deep breath, and told her everything about how he was spotted by Xu Zhiyi's father outside the cinema today, how she was taken away, and how he couldn't contact her at all now.
"I didn't mean to lie to her father," Song Chengrui's voice was filled with frustration and powerlessness, "We were just watching a movie together... I didn't even dare to go to her house to ask, for fear of causing her more trouble. Mom, Dad, I really don't know what to do now."
He lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously tugging at the sofa cushions.
The mother didn't speak immediately, but continued crocheting.
The yarn weaved between her fingers, and the half-finished doll's head gradually took shape. After a while, she slowly spoke, "Ruirui, do you know what this little monkey is most afraid of?"
Song Chengrui raised his head, somewhat puzzled.
"I'm most afraid of being impatient and pulling the string too tight," the mother said, gently pulling the string in her hand. "If the string is tight, not only will your fingers hurt, but the whole shape of the doll will be distorted, becoming stiff and ugly. Sometimes, the string will even break, ruining all your efforts."
She demonstrated, and sure enough, a piece of wool snapped violently. "You see, some things, the harder you try, the worse it gets."
My father finally turned off the TV completely and turned around.
"Her father's name is Xu Wangping, right?" he suddenly asked.
Song Chengrui was stunned for a moment, "Dad, do you know him?"
"Not really knowing him, but I've heard of him." The father glanced out the window, as if recalling something. "Her father was a key teacher at Jiangchuan Primary School, right? He was known for being serious and stubborn, and also for loving his daughter. People of his generation had experienced hardships and knew that life was not easy, so they placed all their hopes on their children. His methods might have been a little hasty, but his heart... wasn't bad."
It was rare for the father to speak so much. He turned back and looked at his son. "If you go and explain and promise now, he'll see it as a provocation and a sign of ignorance. He won't believe you. Instead, he'll control Zhiyi even more strictly."
"Then what should I do? Just wait like this?"
Song Chengrui said anxiously, "Zhiyi must be feeling very uncomfortable right now..."
"No, but you can't force your way in either," the mother replied. She put down the wool and looked at her son seriously. "What you need to do now is to make yourself presentable."
"decent?"
"Yes." The mother nodded. "What does a father worry about most? His daughter's bright future is ruined by an immature relationship. If you can prove that this relationship hasn't hindered her, and perhaps even... well, to some extent, it can become a driving force for both of you to move forward, then the situation will be different."
My father nodded in agreement. "Sometimes, between men, words aren't needed. You have to show something tangible. Your transcripts and your future plans are more effective than a hundred 'we're serious' statements."
The mother added, "Relationships aren't just about holding hands and watching movies. More importantly, it's about the responsibility and wisdom to face the ups and downs together. Zhiyi is cooped up at home right now, and the pressure she's under is much greater than yours. If you really care about her, you can't panic. You have to let her know, and let her father see too, that you're a reliable boy."
"Well, I know what I should do. Dad, Mom, I thought you would know how to..."
Song Chengrui lowered his head, with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.
Song's father said, "From childhood to adulthood, Mom and Dad have known your character and wouldn't go too far. So, normally, we turn a blind eye to whatever you do. However, this time, it involves the future of a girl, and Mom and Dad hope you can think it through clearly. Anyway, as long as it's within your ability, Mom and Dad will support you."
"Yeah, I understand."
After Song Chengrui finished speaking, he returned to his room alone.
He sat in the room and took out the half-carved maple leaf from the drawer. He had originally planned to give it to Xu Zhiyi on New Year's Day this year, but now it seems that he should wait a little longer.
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