11 Chapter Ten
◎This is a donkey; it's time to take it home and harness it. ◎
Yu Renjie finally understood that his teacher's words were implied that he should be more low-key as a father. It was ridiculous; this had been his childhood dream, and now that it had finally come true, he was considered introverted if he didn't go out with his wife and kids in a grand display.
That's what he said, but then he thought about it again—his son, Jin Yang, was handsome and dashing, a pure and aloof young man, and consistently ranked among the top three in his grade. The awards he'd received since childhood were stacked higher than most other children's. Every year, he'd dance and entertain the school's arts festival, and after school, he'd spend his free time feeding stray cats, dogs, mice, leopards, tigers, and the like, keeping these animals healthy and well-fed. His son, whom he'd raised with such care and affection, was so perfect for family and homemaking; he should be the center of attention at school, yet no girls liked him! It was simply unbelievable.
"What do you know? You're still in love with the blond guy next door!" Tang Xiang went back to the bathroom to remove her hair mask. She understood perfectly, but some things still made her furious.
"That tall guy who loudly read your guarantee on the podium—A-Yang's deskmate, and also the most popular guy in their class—always bullies your son because he's shorter than him, using your son's homework to prop up the corner of the table. You know A-Yang hates it when people touch his homework. Once, he even stabbed A-Yang with a compass. Your son still has a scar on his arm."
Yu Renjie sobered up considerably, scrambled to his feet, and stumbled into the bathroom: "You bastard! I knew it! Even a bastard shouldn't read other people's letters like that. That kid is wicked. What's his name? I'll have Lao Zhang check."
Old Zhang is Yu Renjie's secretary. He's a know-it-all from Fengtan and works very efficiently. He sent the other party's information to his boss's phone in less than half an hour.
Yu Renjie made a phone call with extremely high erotic content from the bedroom balcony.
"Tang Xiang, if you and our son keep this from me again, I'll really get angry." He was still furious in the middle of the night, so he got out of bed, snapped on the bedside lamp, pulled Tang Xiang out of her sleep, and threatened her through gritted teeth, "That's a compass! Who knows if that kid has used a compass to pick his ass! It's filthy, I don't even know if it was disinfected, or if he got a tetanus shot!"
Tang Xiang: "..."
Yu Renjie couldn't sleep any longer, so he simply threw off the covers. "No, I have to go to school tomorrow."
Tang Xiang pulled him back, her voice still sleepy: "I was lying to you, it didn't go in. You always take care of everything for A Yang, how come you can't even recognize the vaccine scar on his arm?"
"..."
Tang Xiang buried herself back into the pillow. "Ah Yang reacted quickly and didn't let him go all the way in. He only made a small cut. I only found out when I was washing his clothes and noticed the tear in the sleeve. He didn't want me to tell you because he was afraid you would bother his father again. He said he could handle it himself."
"He'll never solve anything. With his petty temper," Yu Renjie sneered, turning off the lamp and slipping into bed like a fish swimming smoothly. His voice was muffled yet resolute. "Don't think I'm stupid. If it were really resolved, you wouldn't have been so veiled in your anger today. You're just as upset as I am. I'm going to get my revenge and make sure his dad doesn't bring that brat to my son's door to apologize. I'll take your surname, Tang Xiang!"
"..."
After a while, Tang Xiang still comforted him in his sleep, "Actually, it's quite normal. A-Yang, who has been a class leader since he was a child, is indeed easily labeled as an enemy of the people. At that age, I also liked the swaggering, hair-flipping, tight-fitting boys."
"..."
Throughout his three years of junior high, Yu Jinyang didn't really attract much attention from girls, except for Yu Renjie's cheesy guarantee that made his son a target of public criticism. Mainly, it was his close relationship with the teachers as class monitor and Youth League secretary that made the girls hesitant to approach him. Although he danced popping very well, he only managed to garner some flirtatious glances during the few days of the arts festival.
Once the semester returned to normal, he resumed his meticulous class monitor demeanor, instantly extinguishing the little flames in the girls' hearts, who all retreated in fear.
Of course, there were also those who didn't believe in superstition and wanted to test the cadres. After the art performance in the third year of junior high school, a girl dressed like a strawberry cake surrounded by a group of her devoted girlfriends blocked Yu Jinyang at the back door of the classroom.
This arrogant woman, having picked up some outrageous trick from an idol drama, walked up to Yu Jinyang, abruptly ripped off the necklace from her neck, stuffed it into his pocket without a word, and declared that she would win him over within a week. Then, swaying her ponytail, she proudly strode away. Thus, she earned the nickname "Arrogant Sister"—the "necklace-pulling sister."
Yu Jinyang didn't think the girl truly liked him at the time, because that morning he had just been registering the number of students not wearing their school uniforms at the school gate, and her name was prominently listed. She simply wanted a different way to get him to cross her name off the list. These girls had countless tricks up their sleeves to avoid wearing their uniforms, and in this respect, he preferred Li Yingqiao's simple and direct approach.
Give him one punch, or two if necessary. Even the biggest problem might only warrant two punches.
Li Yingqiao knew his bottom line: if he couldn't resolve something with two punches, he wouldn't be able to resolve it even if she beat him to death. Li Yingqiao was also a very principled girl; if she could throw two punches, she would never throw even one.
However, the arrogant girl soon fell in love with someone else. Because Gao Dian's household registration was not in Shenzhen that year, he could not take the local high school entrance examination, so he transferred back from Shenzhen and happened to be assigned to the same class as Yu Jinyang. At that time, Gao Dian was already 1.8 meters tall, completely crushing the tallest person in the class and becoming a towering figure.
So everyone in the class respectfully called him "Brother Dian." Even Yu Jinyang's former arrogant deskmate shamelessly followed suit and called him "Brother Dian." Without even needing his father's scolding, Luo Yuan never dared to touch Yu Jinyang's homework again. With Gao Dian around, it was much easier for the homeroom teacher to find Yu Jinyang. The two of them were inseparable, even during recess. In a class where the average height of the boys was 1.65 meters, the 1.8-meter-tall Gao Dian was practically a pillar of strength.
As soon as Gao Dian settled down, he couldn't wait to ask Yu Jinyang where his idol was. Yu Jinyang didn't have Li Yingqiao's contact information. They hadn't seen each other since that meeting at the state-run hotel. Only Teacher Liang Mei had called him once, saying that she was still on the road of persuading students to study, and the revolution hadn't succeeded yet, so he should keep his test paper for now.
However, for the entire past semester, Ms. Liang Mei didn't call him again. This is like a donkey that needs to be harnessed and brought home.
Many years later, he finally understood how stubborn Li Yingqiao really was. Liang Mei's later success was not replicable, so he had to find another way.
**
Liang Mei was at her wit's end. Since ancient times, persuading students to study has been a very demanding task for teachers. To bring home a brat who would rather squat on the ground for an entire afternoon studying where ants are moving house than take out a test paper to glance at why she got this wrong again, she certainly didn't have the skill of her teacher.
So, she moved the ant colony to her rented apartment for her to study at her leisure. When the ants got tired of playing, she would explain the test papers to Li Yingqiao. Especially during these times, Li Yingqiao remembered them quite well. Later, Liang Mei tried this method repeatedly and it worked. So, for the past six months, she raised a bunch of random animals, such as crickets, snails, crickets, spiders, and even a huge dung beetle. Anyone who dared to fight with her would be shot.
Of course, the person Liang Mei most wanted to execute was Li Yingqiao. At this moment, she finally understood the painstaking efforts her mentor had made for her, and she finally understood what it meant to have someone who could subdue another. Li Yingqiao clearly had a logical system that was even more convincing to her than Liang Mei's. She didn't expect to change her fate through studying, and although Liang Mei tried to reason with her, Li Yingqiao could immediately come up with a bunch of fallacies to refute her.
No matter how sincere and heartfelt Liang Mei's words were, in the end, Li Yingqiao would revert to her own twisted logic: "Sincerity isn't something you can exchange for sincerity. If you try to use sincerity to buy sincerity, you'll get hurt, teacher. But sincerity can be exchanged for money. Otherwise, why does my mom always say, 'If you really want it, I'll give you a discount?' Look, as long as I say I'm sincere, a fifty-yuan scarf becomes forty-five yuan. Don't I immediately earn five yuan?"
Liang Mei: "..."
Liang Mei stopped trying to reason with her. Knowing that she loved reading novels and watching anime, she recommended a Japanese drama to her. It was about two good friends who loved music but eventually parted ways due to their academic differences and gradually lost contact. When they met again, they were speechless and only had endless sighs left.
When Liang Mei asked her what she thought after watching it, Li Yingqiao, whose little brain was clearly not working, replied perfunctorily, "I will study hard."
Liang Mei immediately retorted, "You're talking nonsense."
Li Yingqiao was leaning against the telephone pole in front of her house, idly counting the few scattered stars overhead. Finally, she sighed helplessly, "Look, teacher, you don't believe me even though I told you."
Liang Mei pulled out her trump card again: "Don't you want to go to Tanzhong with Yu Jinyang? If he gets into a prestigious university, with his family's wealth, his dad will definitely send him abroad to study. When he returns after completing his studies, think about how strict he has been with himself since he was a child. He's a true overseas returnee elite, and he's handsome too. You've only graduated from vocational high school. Even if you manage to save a little money by tightening screws, you and he will be from completely different worlds. Can you still be good friends like you are now? Will you still have anything to talk about?"
To be honest, Li Yingqiao was conflicted. Her feelings for Yu Miaomiao were complicated—she genuinely wanted him to be happy, but she also genuinely didn't want him to be too happy.
So she said that sincerity is a very complicated thing. Li Yingqiao was overjoyed to see him again; she really didn't want to lose Yu Miaomiao as a friend, she truly didn't. Therefore, she tried her best to maintain their relationship every time they met.
The time before Xiao Huacheng became a hero was the happiest period of her life so far, a museum that will forever shine in her heart. Yu Jinyang is like a vivid commemorative figurine moved from Xiao Huacheng, so meaningful; she has a Xiao Huacheng-like filter when it comes to him.
But if what Teacher Liang Mei said is true, then wouldn't Miao Miao have to find a way to earn money to go abroad in the future, otherwise they will still drift apart? Li Yingqiao felt that she would be very tired, and might even be a burden on her mother, since their current life was already difficult to sustain.
She doesn't necessarily want to be friends with Yu Miaomiao.
"I will have other friends."
Li Yingqiao seemed to be talking to her, but also to herself.
At that moment, Liang Mei truly understood the helplessness her former teacher had shown her; this was probably retribution. At first, Li Yingqiao would respectfully call her Teacher Liang, with a few restrained polite words, always maintaining a proper distance between teacher and student.
Now, she has completely crossed the barrier between teacher and student, calling her "Sister Mei" directly. Sometimes she will even hug her arm and act coquettishly, like a piece of chewing gum that she can't shake off, and call out in a drawn-out tone: "Okay, Sister Mei, can I finish this job first?"
She occasionally worked a small part-time job at a milk tea shop near the school. To be honest, she was incredibly fast at bookkeeping, so the owner didn't dare hire her permanently, only occasionally asking her to keep watch when they were short-handed. Li Yingqiao didn't dare let Li Shuli know that Liang Mei had used this to threaten her into agreeing to definitely be in the top ten of her class at the end of the semester.
Being in the top ten of the class in Xianjian 2 would be considered the worst in experimental classes. This was far from Liang Mei's goal. Liang Mei didn't know why she was so resistant to studying, just as Li Yingqiao didn't know why Liang Mei was so persistent about it.
The weekend when there were 100 days left until the high school entrance exam.
Yu Jinyang gave a speech as a student representative at the 100-day countdown rally for the high school entrance exam. Yu Renjie, holding a mobile phone, was in the prime seat of the parents' section, ready to record a video. He stretched out his arm, held the camera high, and took side shots, upward shots, downward shots, and wide-angle shots—looking like a monkey trying to pick a banana, jumping up and down just to record the most perfect angle of his son.
Li Yingqiao and Liang Mei squatted on the playground of the Experimental Middle School, looking at the huge crowd in the audience and the school leaders' X-ray-like gazes sweeping around, as well as the thin and aloof figure waiting in the wings by the podium.
"Why."
"Why."
They both sighed at the same time, "It's so hot, I'm dying from the sun."
"Why haven't we started yet, Gao Dian? Move over here, you're blocking Teacher Liang from getting sun!" Li Yingqiao, still holding Yu Jinyang's Chinese textbook in her hand, looked up at the tall and imposing Gao Dian and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you really 1.8 meters tall?"
Liang Mei slapped Li Yingqiao on the back of the head. "You're using Yu Jinyang's book as a shield. Come here, Gao Dian, come a little closer. The teacher is dying of sun!"
Gao Dian didn't dare to move, afraid that the leader's X-rays would hit him: "...I'm really impressed! You two better not tear my pants! Brother Jie is filming me with his phone behind us!"
[Author's Note]
Something came up today, so I'm late. Sorry!
One more thing, I usually update between 8 and 9 PM, but I can't guarantee it will be at 8 PM every day. Just check back between 8 and 9 PM!
Sending out 200 red envelopes! See you tomorrow!
Happy Labor Day! [Rabbit head with upright ears][Rabbit head with upright ears][Rabbit head with upright ears]
P.S.: This is an adult fairy tale. This is the fairy tale part. The adult part will be discussed later. There are no real-life prototypes. Please don't worry about the prototypes.
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