Shao Ming had already carried Zhu Tong out of the school gate.
Back at the homestay, just after getting off the bike, Zhu Tong angrily ran to find Uncle Liu. Just now, Zhou Sui mentioned Qin Junhong several times on the playground, and Zhu Tong had an idea.
–Even though this matter was a hassle to him, it was also an opportunity.
Because of his lack of favorability, he can’t go back to A City for the time being, and he can’t do anything to Qin Junhong.
‘But since he had delivered something to my door, how can I not use it?’
Since Qin Junhong dared to contact Zhou Sui in person, he shouldn’t be alone.
Zhu Tong told Uncle Liu that Zhou Sui had harassed him at school in the name of Qin Junhong. Uncle Liu was furious when he heard it, and quickly launched an investigation on Zhou Sui.
Uncle Liu’s reaction was so intense and his anger was so strong that Zhu Tong once suspected that Uncle Liu was his actual father.
After Uncle Liu went out, Zhu Tong returned to his “temporary residence”.
Shao Ming was sitting on the sofa playing games.
He was probably the kind of so-called talented student. Zhu Tong never seen he studied, but he always took first place in exams every time.
After standing at the door for some time, he finally walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa.
Shao Ming’s mobile phone voiced out the skill voiceline of the game character.
He even played games casually. Hearing the movement at the door, he turned his head and said, “Are you back?”
Zhu Tong let out an “En”.
“Who’s back? Ming-ge, have you returned to your home today?”
The voice of the person who played with Shao Ming was very familiar – it was Luo Suo.
Shao Ming didn’t intend to reply. But, he suddenly paused, glanced at Zhu Tong, and replied, “No.”
“No? Then who talked to you?” Luo Suo asked, “You brought someone back? Fuck, you didn’t tell me you are no longer single! Ming-ge, are you doing yellow1perverted/lewd things things behind my back?”
Shao Ming: “…”
Zhu Tong wondered, “What does he mean by the yellow color?”
Luo Suo, from across the side of the Internet, was shocked. “Fuck! It’s a man… Wait, that voice sounds familiar!”
Shao Ming only smiled. “It’s Zhu Tong.”
“You and Zhu Tong do yellow things?!”
“…”
The game interface was silent, Luo Suo was also equally silent. He finally broke it with a dry cough. “Zhu Tong? Why is he there with you?”
Shao Ming replied, “He lives here temporarily.”
“Oh, so… why does he live with you?! You…”
Unable to bear Luo Suo’s surprise over there, Shao Ming interrupted him directly: “Forget it. I’ll stop playing, you can play by yourself.”
“What? Didn’t you promise to carry2game slang, it means that he’ll rely on Shao Ming to win in games. The original Chinese slang is “take me to fly” me tonight? How could you be so unkind? You…”
Before he finished speaking, Shao Ming clicked a few buttons on the UI before directly exiting to the lock screen.
The living room was immediately enveloped in silence.
Zhu Tong: “…”
‘So… what does he mean by yellow?’
But he vaguely figured out some meaning based on the situational dialogue, so he rationally didn’t ask any more questions.
Shao Ming didn’t speak either, and the living room was eerily quiet.
Shao Ming didn’t ask him anything about what happened on the playground.
Zhu Tong didn’t know how much he overheard at the time, nor what he would think when he heard Zhou Sui’s words, but Shao Ming stood up to speak for him at that time, it means that he should have been on his side.
He was silent for a while, then turned his head and said, “Thank you.”
Shao Ming took the phone in his hand and rotated it. He looked at him with the tail of his eyes as he asked back, “What are you thanking for this time?”
Zhu Tong: “Thank you for… saying those words on the playground.”
Shao Ming deliberately asked, “What did I say on the playground?”
“…”
Zhu Tong turned his head and met Shao Ming’s eyes. There was a smile in his eyes, a familiar expression.
Zhu Tong was stuck for a while, and he couldn’t say what Shao Ming said on the playground.
Shao Ming was jealous and wanted him to cajole him or something…
Zhu Tong pondered, “I know that you are afraid that I will be gossiped about. I really threw the things Zhou Sui sent to me, and in addition to what he said, it paints me in a bad light.”
Zhou Sui directly introduced his family relationship – a biologically ill son, a stepson from the second marriage, and his attitude towards Zhou Sui was enough to make people think of imagining a complex drama of a rich family.
At that time, no matter how he answered, he could not avoid gossip.
“Actually, it doesn’t matter what they say. What Zhou Sui said and what I said, they will believe whoever they want to believe. No matter how they guess, it is their business, it won’t affect me.”
“…”
Shao Ming looked at him and said nothing.
Zhu Tong waited for a while in silence. Then, he looked up to see Shao Ming looking at him with a resentful expression. Now, he was stunned and confused. “What’s wrong?”
“Although I’m very glad that you can be so optimistic,” Shao Ming started, “But you ignore my intentions in front of so many people, it seems that you don’t mind indulging me?”
Zhu Tong was startled. “I…”
That’s right. Shao Ming’s words caused a lot of misunderstandings. He didn’t seem to say anything at the time.
Zhu Tong thought about it and said seriously, “I will explain it to them tomorrow.”
Shao Ming: “…”
Shao Ming after letting out a tired sigh. “There is no need to explain. In fact, I don’t mind what others say.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
“But thank you anyway.”
Shao Ming said, “No thanks.”
‘Really no thanks.’
–When he said those misleading words, he wasn’t purely acting.
Seeing the gift from Zhou Sui, even though it was from someone Zhu Tong hated, he felt… jealous.
He asked Luo Suo to dispose of those gifts, not only to help Zhu Tong, but also to keep them out of sight and out of mind.
Some of the words said in the play on the playground are somewhat sincere.
Shao Ming lowered his eyes slightly.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He unlocked and flipped through the new messages he received, and suddenly smiled.
Shao Ming said, “Do you want Zhou Sui to drop out of school?”
Zhu Tong: “?”
‘Why do you say this suddenly?’
But he hardly hesitated, “No need.”
He has already asked Uncle Liu to investigate him, and there should be results soon.
Next to him, Shao Ming suddenly handed over his mobile phone, which was a message from Lu Zheyu.
Zhu Tong tilted his head to look, his eyes slightly brightened. “Zhou followed his dad to gamble and borrow usury?”
Shao Ming nodded. “His father not only gambled by himself, but also gambled with Zhou and his younger brothers. The money he owed could not be paid, so he borrowed usury loans and is now being chased by loan sharks. His father originally wanted the two brothers to drop out of school. He worked part-time to earn money, but Zhou Sui promised his father to pay off the debts within a month, so he managed to stay in school.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
It seemed that Zhou Sui was in urgent need of money, so he got in contact with Qin Junhong.
‘But…’
“How did you know that?” He looked up at Shao Ming.
Shao Ming replied casually, “Oh, Lu Zheyu once worked in a place near Zhou Sui’s house, so I just asked about it.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
He was stunned for a while, and said with awe, “Lu Zheyu is amazing.”
‘How many places has he worked? He can find out so many things just by listening.’
When he praised others so sincerely, Shao Ming inexplicably felt the desire to one-up Lu Zheyu. He paused and said, “Actually, it is not difficult to find out. This town isn’t that big, such things will be found out sooner or later.”
Zhu Tong looked at him, nodded and said, “Well, you are also very good.”
Shao Ming: “…”
That descriptor of “also”… feels like there’s no distinction between his deed and Lu Zheyu’s.
Zhu Tong has already taken his mobile phone and read the news carefully.
Shao Ming said from his side, “How is it? Is this useful?”
“Of course it’s useful,” Zhu Tong replied.
Zhou Sui’s family and character, his connection with such a person… both were enough to make Zhu Shoushan disappointed with Qin Junhong for befriending him.
Qin Junhong’s disguise already has cracks, and he will tear them apart step by step.
Seeing him looking bright, Shao Ming curled his lips into a smile. “It’s good if it’s useful.”
Zhu Tong looked at him again and asked, “Did you specifically ask Lu Zheyu to find it?”
‘Did you say “something happened” in the classroom before, did you mean this?’
Shao Ming did not deny it.
Zhu Tong then replied after a brief pause, “Why are you helping me?”
Shao Ming only asked back, “Then why did you send people to beat Yuan Shaozhou for my sake?”
“…”
He hit Yuan Shaozhou because he was not used to it.
Seeing that Zhu Tong couldn’t answer, Shao Ming only smiled. “I’m just like you.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
‘Fine.’ Zhu Tong thought as he smiled. Then, he thanked Shao Ming. He forwarded the message Lu Zheyu sent Shao Ming to himself, and then to Uncle Liu.
As he held his phone, a question popped in his mind.
‘What is Qin Junhong’s purpose for letting Zhou Sui approach me? Just to harass me?’
As he mulled about it, Shao Ming received a new message. He opened it, and his eyes suddenly sank.
<Lao Er>: [Picture] The chat record I copied from Zhou Sui’s mobile phone.
<Lao Er>: Other chat records have been cleared. This is a screenshot I got from his phone.
The record was of a chat between Zhou Sui and an unknown person.
Cleared the chat history, but he still had a screenshot. This should be the “bargain chip” that Zhou Sui left for himself.
The screenshots were pretty straightforward.
[Don’t worry about the things that shouldn’t be yours. When things are done, someone will pay your family’s debts for you. As for how you can gain Zhu Tong’s trust, I’ll leave it up at your discretion.]
“At your discretion”
Shao Ming looked at those words and grinded his back molars coldly.
“Your father… is he good to you?” He lowered his eyes and spoke casually.
Zhu Tong didn’t know why Shao Ming suddenly asked about his father. But he thought that Shao Ming might’ve been curious after listening to Zhou Sui’s bullshit. “I can’t tell if he’s good or not. But I’m not short of food.”
Shao Ming: “…”
“Not short of food”
Shao Ming’s eyes darkened, looking at the screenshot Lu Zheyu sent him.
The screenshots couldn’t tell him who the person sending this message was, so it couldn’t be used as evidence.
But it’s not hard to guess.
A dirty and even vicious step-brother. An irresponsible father. Zhu Tong’s refusal to tell his family when he’s at the hospital. It seemed that all of a sudden he had an explanation.
‘He transferred to Gongshui County, does it have anything to do with his step-brother?’
As he pondered about it, Zhu Tong slipped to his side and asked, “When do you usually go to bed?”
Shao Ming paused his thoughts. “About before twelve o’clock?”
Zhu Tong: “Then do you have time now?”
“…”
Shao Ming suddenly smiled and said, “Yes, Young Master, what do you want to do?”
Zhu Tong didn’t hear the joking tone in his speech. He said seriously, “I have a few math problems that I can’t solve. I want to ask you.”
Shao Ming: “…”
He forgot that this person moved here for tutoring, so he suddenly laughed. “Why do you love studying so much?”
Zhu Tong was startled by his question.
–Because he realized that the favorability he gained by studying should already be saturated. So why is he still studying so hard?
But there are a few problems that he can’t solve, and it felt very uncomfortable.
He rationalized it as: since he gained favorability by being a diligent student, if his grades plummeted, wouldn’t his favorability fall accordingly?
It’s better to keep his current learning attitude.
His positive thoughts made System 666 almost want to give him his number.
No holes, full marks for logic!
After Zhu Tong figured it out, his will became firmer when he wanted to ask Shao Ming for advice.
Being stared at by him with such a firm gaze, Shao Ming’s thoughts reached a halt.
He smiled helplessly. “Come on, what questions can’t you do?”
At the same time, the favorability progress bar on the system interface repeated the process of soaring and falling again, and finally settled at 36%.
System:…
This thing is really bugged.
