Courir partout et jouer des rôles mineurs

Chapitre 66

Shanghai and the Jing'an Hotel are getting farther and farther away in the rearview mirror.

Midnight call

Li Changsheng's escape was characterized by the adults as "rebellious, restless, and nostalgic behavior during adolescence." Apart from his maternal grandfather, who was gratified and praised him for not raising his "well-fed and wandering nephew" in vain, others like Qiu Jianguo and Zhang Hongwei all wanted to have a serious and earnest talk with him.

Qiu Jianguo was a civilized person, and he chose a civilized way of communicating, which made Li Changsheng rub his head and have a headache for several days.

Although Zhang Hongwei held a high position and outwardly appeared cultured in three-inch heels and a neat business suit, at home he was nothing more than a hair tie, his hair casually piled on top of his head, sleeves rolled up, searching behind each door for a large broom. Xia Lin, quick-witted, secretly hid behind the broom, huddled against the wall, and headed towards his sister's bedroom. He looked around as he entered, and seeing the tigress approaching, he hastily pulled back the covers and shoved her inside, his eyes wet with tears, pleading with Qiu Shanglin, who was glaring at him with a tantrum.

Zhang Hongwei's antics threw the entire family into chaos, with everyone trying to escape. Only Qiu Shanglin remained calmly seated at her desk, studying her textbooks. Watching coldly as Qiu Xialin, carrying a broom as a weapon, hid in her room, she remained silent. Just as she realized the boy's intentions and was about to scold him, she saw his silent pleading. Shanglin closed her eyes, deciding to let it go this time—if Zhang Hongwei injured Li Changsheng, wouldn't she be the one to take care of him?

He glanced at the bulging blanket with disgust, then turned his eyes away, unwilling to look any longer.

No sooner said than done, just as Xia Lin had tucked the protruding corner of the broom under the covers, Zhang Hongwei burst in, slamming the door shut: "Where's the broom? Don't stop me!"

Xia Lin stood in front of the bed, pretending to play with his fingers.

Shang Lin rolled his eyes: "Mom, no one's stopping you."

Zhang Hongwei felt so angry he was practically fuming.

Why are these brats so troublesome... Li Changsheng, why are you running away? They're your own parents, would they really hurt you? Although I also think it's a bit much for them to force you to stay in the south, they are still your own parents. Couldn't they have discussed it properly instead of sneaking off?

What if I get kidnapped by bad guys when I'm in an unfamiliar place?

What should I do if there's an accident on the road?

You ran away and are living the high life in Shanghai, making me so worried that I haven't been able to eat or sleep for days... Wait, no, you're not my own child, why should I bother with you?

Seeing Shanglin sitting helplessly and Xialin standing guard, Zhang Hongwei belatedly realized what was happening.

The two of my own children are in this house. The one standing obediently in the living room is someone else's child. Even if I want to hit or scold him, that's their business. Why am I so angry?

His parents have given up on him and said they'll let him be, so why should I argue and try to teach him a lesson?

On second thought, that's not right either.

His parents gave birth to him, but he has practically lived in my house for the past few years. In my eyes, he is my third son. Why can't I discipline or discipline him?

Thinking about it this way, I feel quite justified.

He would grab a thick paperweight from the bookshelf and start hitting his palm—something he learned from Qiu Shanglin.

Shang Lin glanced at her and said casually, "Mom, I bought this paperweight for 300 yuan. Now it will sell for at least 800 yuan. You'll be responsible if you break it."

Zhang Hongwei was startled and almost dropped it. He quickly put it back on the shelf, wondering, "It's all rusty, how could it be worth that much?"

See if I'm some kind of country bumpkin trying to fool you?

Shanglin was listless and lacked energy: "A paperweight from the late Qing Dynasty, supposedly used by Zheng Xiaoxu. Do you think it's valuable?"

"Zheng Xiaoxu?" I don't know him.

"The teacher of the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty."

Zhang Hongwei suddenly realized, "Oh, the emperor's teacher—that must be quite remarkable."

I carefully extended my index finger and touched it. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were so expensive, otherwise I would never have used you to hit someone—it seems I've used you to crack walnuts a few times... My apologies, my apologies, it's truly a sin.

After feeling guilty and heartbroken for a long time, I suddenly remembered my purpose.

"I'll go get the rolling pin!" I'm sure I can find something handy.

Upon hearing this, Xia Lin rushed over and grabbed his mother's leg, refusing to let go. Zhang Hongwei struggled, saying, "Let go, or I'll beat you too, so you can stop being such bad people!"

With a sigh, she pushed aside her textbook and kicked Qiu Xialin, who was pretending to be a mangy dog: "Get up. Stand up properly and sit properly. When did I teach you to cheat?"

Oh, such elegance...

He pulled out a washboard, placed it on the floor, pointed at it, and said to Li Changsheng, "Kneel down!"

Zhang Hongwei was shocked: "No, no, no! You'll hurt your knees kneeling!"

Shanglin complained, "You want to teach him a lesson? This is so good. It can teach him a lesson without you having to lift a finger, and it also saves you from breaking the rolling pin."

Keep the rolling pin for rolling out dumpling wrappers.

As she spoke, she turned her back and winked at Li Changsheng. He understood her meaning and quickly made a move to kneel down. Qiu Xialin released Zhang Hongwei, rushed over, and grabbed him, preventing him from kneeling. She wailed, "Mom, you never take care of us. It's only because something happened that you blame us..."

Shang Lin pursed his lips. "Hmm, good child, shout louder, cry harder, drown these bad parents with your tears."

Zhang Hongwei and Qiu Jianguo felt awkward and also sensed that something was wrong.

Thankfully, Grandpa Zhang, who watched the whole thing, spoke up and said something fair: "Chang Sheng, get up! You're not allowed to kneel!"

Turning to Zhang Hongwei and Qiu Jianguo, he said sternly, "You two are always so busy, when have you ever taken care of your three children? Having children doesn't mean giving them money and letting them fend for themselves. Where were you all this time? Now you're only thinking about educating them!"

Shanglin nodded silently in his heart, "Good grandpa, good grandpa, I admire you the most. I will definitely buy you good cigarettes tomorrow."

The Qiu couple were given a scathing reprimand by the elderly man, leaving them feeling both wronged and regretful. Yes, they had been busy with their business and hadn't had time to care for their children these past few years, but hadn't the children grown up perfectly fine? "We were more worried than anyone else when this happened, and now we can't even discipline them?"

On the one hand, she felt sorry for her three children.

Three adorable children stood in a row against the wall, staring at them with innocent, aggrieved expressions. Zhang Hongwei suddenly realized how much they had grown up overnight… He was so busy at the company every day, focusing all his energy on business, that he had neglected his children's growth…

Overwhelmed by guilt, I completely forgot about being angry.

That evening, the Qiu family held a secret family meeting by their bedside, criticizing and self-criticizing their neglect of their children over the years, and deciding to take good care of their children who were about to enter junior high school.

The studies in junior high school are also intense. I heard that there are morning and evening self-study sessions in junior high school. The children are still young. In the past, his maternal grandmother would cook for him, but the old lady is getting old and often gets sick. It all depends on Shanglin having money so they can eat out from time to time. But how can the food outside compare to the nutritional balance at home? The three of them are still growing, and we can't afford to neglect their nutrition...

Starting the next day, the Qiu couple stopped their habit of not going home for days or even weeks. No matter how late or tired they were, they tried to go home to rest, have dinner with their children, and care about their lives and studies. Of course, after a few days, Zhang Hongwei found that he couldn't get involved at all.

Qiu Shanglin managed everything in an orderly manner.

In terms of daily life, there is a washing machine at home to do laundry; Qiu Shanglin cooks better than her; mopping the floor and taking out the trash are Li Changsheng and Qiu Xialin's jobs; even the few potted flowers blooming on the balcony have their watering tasks assigned on a weekly basis.

In terms of studies, Qiu Shanglin bought all three sets of textbooks for the entire junior high school semester after returning from Shanghai, and the three of them previewed their lessons every day according to the plan she set.

Zhang Hongwei felt both gratified and proud, but also very disappointed.

Am I a mother?

I feel like I'm her daughter, and she has to take care of me... I chew on the braised pork that Shanglin cooked and Xialin served, but I can't taste it; it's sour and astringent.

"Mom, you and Dad should find some time to go and give the principal a gift again. Also, the files at the Education Bureau have been filed, and we need to find someone to handle that too." Shang Lin remembered this while eating.

They all took the elementary school graduation exam, but Changsheng was on the run at the time and missed it, so he naturally didn't get a score. Without a score, he shouldn't be able to go to junior high school and would have to repeat the year and retake the exam. However, he was too old, and Shanglin didn't want to let him repeat a grade and study alone, so he used his connections to get him into the local key junior high school.

Qiu Jianguo actually wanted to send them to a top-tier junior high school in the city. Although the local junior high schools had a decent college entrance rate every year, their teaching staff and school facilities couldn't compare to those of the top-tier junior high schools in the city. But Shang Lin felt that the family already saw each other very little, and if they all went to schools in the city, they would have to live on campus and only be able to come home once a week. It would be better for them to study nearby. The schools might be a bit tough, but at least they would be close to home, so they could take care of them if anything happened.

Actually, she had her vegetable greenhouse hanging there...

Zhang Hongwei, who had been lamenting his own uselessness, nodded quickly upon hearing this: "Okay, okay, I'll go tomorrow. By the way, should we put you in the same class?"

I can't help but worry about the two boys.

Shang Lin thought for a moment and shook his head: "No need to make it happen. Let's see how it goes when classes are assigned at the beginning of the semester. It's best if they're not in the same class, otherwise people will say we're forming a clique, and those two won't like to study and will rely entirely on me. Especially those two, they absolutely shouldn't be in the same class. It doesn't matter who I'm with..."

Zhang Hongwei agreed, and the two began to imagine and discuss their future junior high school life. They reached a rare consensus on the education of Li Changsheng and Qiu Xialin, and the discussion became very lively.

The two main characters buried themselves in their food, not even looking up.

Xia Lin glanced at Chang Sheng and said silently, "Brother, you should go to the same class as her."