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Luo Suo glanced at the place where Lu Zheyu was sitting before. “By the way, where is Lao Er? Isn’t the audition yet to start?”
Zhu Tong finally noticed their presence. “He said he went out to answer a call.”
Luo Suo: “…”
‘Lao Er also has to answer a call?’
Luo Suo turned to look outside the room and frowned, “Why hasn’t he come back after so long? Could it be… it’s his parents who called?”
Zhu Tong was puzzled. “What’s wrong if it’s his parents?”
Isn’t it normal for parents to call during the National Day holiday, if their children didn’t go home?
Luo Suo said, “You don’t know about Lao Er’s parents… er.. Forget it, let’s not talk about it.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
It’s very inhumane to whet someone’s appetite to just leave them hanging.
He turned to look at the person beside him.
Shao Ming just opened a can of beer for himself, took a sip, turned his head and smiled, “Want to know?”
Zhu Tong immediately nodded. “I want to.”
Shao Ming said, “His parents don’t agree with him going out to work.”
Zhu Tong: “Why?”
Shao Ming pursed his lips. “They’re afraid it will delay his study.”
Zhu Tong frowned and looked even more confused.
Isn’t Lu Zheyu always the second in grade? What kind of illogical reason is that?
“Heh, what ‘delaying his studies’! They’re just ashamed!” Luo Suo couldn’t stop himself from speaking. “Ha, it’s almost 2022, and there are parents who think it’s a disgrace for their son to go out to work. How much does Lao Er earn in a month? Heh, those old fogeys can’t even make that much money in a year. I don’t understand their train of thought, what’s so ‘disgraceful’ about Lao Er?”
In Zhu Tong’s mind, Luo Suo’s explanation didn’t answer any of his questions. It only added to it. “Why do they feel ashamed?”
What’s so shameful about working? Isn’t it something to be proud of to make money from your own labor, and to make money for your family before graduating from high school?
“Even if society progresses, not everyone’s thinking will follow suit.” Shao Ming smiled as he added.
Lu Zheyu’s family conditions are not good. They lived in the countryside since he was a child and had little knowledge of the “modern” world. They always thought that learning was the only way out for the poor.
Luo Suo explained, “Lao Er has been good at studying since he was a child. From elementary school to junior high school, he was the first place in his local schools. Of course, his parents always brag about his grades and how good of a son he is to everyone in the village. They also use that to implicitly ridicule other people’s children, putting themselves on a pedestal. Of course, this drew many people’s ire.”
“Later, Lao Er went to high school and took second place in the first exam. His parents didn’t know how big the difference in competitiveness between junior high and high school was. Seeing that Lao Er dropped his ranking, they kept insisting on him taking back first place. Of course, with Ming-ge in first place, it’s near impossible for Lao Er to surpass his grade. Lao Er is called Lao Er for a reason.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
“Those people in their village were jealous of Lao Er and his family. When they heard that his grades were declining, plus someone happened to be in the city and saw him going in and out of the Internet cafe, they grasped this opportunity. They made a big splash, saying that Lao Er was degraded after he went to high school, so it’s no wonder his grade declined because he kept going to an Internet cafe. And what is even more irritating is that his parents still believe it, and angrily rushed to the city to find him. They bumped into him when he was outside a bar.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
The jeering and belittling of the neighbors in the village, the backlash of their own taunting of others, and the “decline” of their son’s test scores… the cherry on top was they also happened to bump into their son coming out of the bar.
Lu Zheyu suddenly became a clay figurine who cannot wash away his sin even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
“Afterwards, Lao Er’s parents felt that he did not study well, and took their hard-earned money to go to the Internet or go clubbing. In a fit of rage, they cut off Lao Er’s living expenses. No matter how Lao Er explained it, it was useless.”
“…”
This is truly like a scholar encountering a “soldier”. No matter how he explains it, the other party simply won’t understand1The expression “秀才遇上‘兵’” (xiùcái yù shàng ‘bīng’) is a metaphorical way of saying that a scholar (or someone knowledgeable) is facing a difficult or inexplicable situation. The term “兵” (‘bīng’) here means soldier, symbolizes someone who is not easily reasoned with or understood (due to lack of knowledge).
Zhu Tong asked, “Why didn’t he ask a teacher to explain to his parents?”
Whether his academic performance is good or not, his parents would understand if a teacher explained it to them right? They had no choice but to understand, right?
Hearing this, Luo Suo glanced at the closed room door and lowered his voice, “Well, in my opinion… I think Lao Er intentionally did this.”
“Intentionally?”
“Lao Er has liked music since he was a child, but his parents have always watched him very closely in order to monitor his study. Once Lao Er told his parents he would like to pursue his passion in music, his parents rebuked him immediately. They thought that music was unreliable and cost a lot of money, so they scolded him. Hell, after that, they secretly burned his handwritten lyrics and scores, which was his debut work!”
Zhu Tong: “…”
“That’s why Lao Er is inevitably a bit rebellious. His parents cut off his living expenses, which actually probably a good thing for him. He is self-reliant and independent.”
Zhu Tong lowered his head and took a sip of his drink.
No wonder Lu Zheyu does so many part-time jobs every week. Not only does he have to earn his own living expenses, but also his own tuition fees. Even if he wants to go on to the university of his choice, he has to rely on himself for all the cost.
“Then why are his parents calling him now?”
“Regret.” Luo Suo grimaced and said, “After Lao Er made money, he also sent money to his family; as a result, the neighbors of their place, idly talking smack about it all day long. They either claimed that the old couple is too cruel not to care about their son; or that Lao Er’ money is dirty, as he was forced to go astray and sooner or later he’ll be jailed for his crime. Tsk, those old coots are still short-sighted and take those words too heart, and ended up blaming Lao Er for it. I bet they are calling him to urge him to go back, so that they can save some face.”
“…”
Zhu Tong had never seen such a person like this before. He didn’t know what to say for a while.
It was also the first time that he knew even if a person was that great, he would still be criticized by others.
Maybe because such greatness felt unreal and fake, maybe because they felt inferior in comparison, maybe because they thought such happening was impossible, so they rationalized and twisted the narrative until it felt “believable”.
Maybe it’s because they felt that Lu Zheyu, a high school student, could not make money to support himself and still send a portion back to his family. They suspected that the origin of the money was suspicious, so they began to spread unsavory rumors.
Even his own parents didn’t believe him.
Zhu Tong feels that he has learned something new today.
He took another sip of his drink.
After a long while, Zhu Tong suddenly thought of something, and said again, “Then he goes out to answer his parents’ calls…”
Won’t he be berrated again?
“Don’t worry about that.” Shao Ming put his finished beer bottle on the table, “Lao Er is very hard-headed. If he is berated, he’ll just hang up.”
Zhu Tong said, “Then why did he not come back after going out for so long?”
Shao Ming: “…”
In another private room of this bar, the room’s door was gently pushed open by a woman. The woman was wearing an off-shoulder half-length skirt with a hip wrap, with a permed, long wavy hair. When she sat down on the sofa, she raised her hand to twirl a portion of her front bangs.
“I didn’t expect Cheng-zong to be quite elegant and chose such a clean place.”
Another person in the box said, “It may not suit Miss Jiang’s liking, I’m sorry for my missed judgment.”
Jiang Wan smiled meaningfully. “No, it’s been a long time since I stepped foot into such a lively place. It’s a good change of pace.”
The man nodded, “Miss Jiang, what would you like to drink?”
Jiang Wan said, “I came from A City to E City to find you, and not drinking with you, Cheng Chen.”
The other person in the private room was Cheng Chen.
Cheng Chen raised his eyebrows and said nothing.
Jiang Wan directly said, “I will repeat my offer once more: if you agree to sleep with me once, I’ll give you double the investment you want.”
Cheng Chen seemed to look a tad embarrassed. “So in the eyes of Miss Jiang, I only have this worth?”
Jiang Wan humored him. “Then what price do you want?”
Cheng Chen said lightly, “I want all the assets of the Jiang family, will you give it?”
Jiang Wan: “…”
Jiang Wan immediately pouted. “If you don’t want to have sex with me, just say it… Forget it, let’s get down to business.”
She folded her legs in a businesslike manner.
Cheng Chen smiled in return. “Okay, then…”
As soon as he said that, there was a sudden “bang” outside the room. No matter how good the sound insulation of the room was, it couldn’t stop the sound of “solid transmission”.
Cheng Chen looked at the door of the room.
Jiang Wan suddenly smiled mysteriously and said, “It seems that the casual bar that Cheng-zong is looking for is not particularly clean, ah2this is a wordplay in the og text. Casual bar is “清吧”, and clean is also “清”.”
In the hallway of the bar, Zhu Tong and the others immediately ran out when they heard the loud sound, just in time to see a person crawling up from the ground near the wall with a face of embarrassment.
Zhu Tong lowered his head and looked at the person. When he raised his eyes, the private room next door opened at the same time, and he was slightly startled when he saw a person walking out.
Why is his cousin here?
He’s not here for him, is he?
Before going out, his Aunt specially told him not to drink alcohol when he went out to play. Now, his cousin saw that he brought Xiao Xin to a bar.
Zhu Tong was startled, he shrank himself subconsciously, and took advantage of Shao Ming’s size to hide himself behind his bigger body.
Zhu Xin, who came out behind him, was surprised. “Ge, you are…”
“Shh.”
Zhu Tong put a finger on his lips to hint at her. And at the same time, he pulled Shao Ming to block them from Cheng Chen’s sight.
Luo Suo finally came out of the room and saw three people stacked front-to-back. “Why are you… stacking like a matryoshka?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Shao Ming put his arms around Zhu Tong’s shoulders, and Zhu Tong put his arms around Zhu Xin’s shoulders. Except for Zhu Tong himself, the other two were still confused.
Zhu Tong couldn’t afford to drag Luo Suo along with him. He looked back to where his cousin was, only to find that he wasn’t even looking their way, but was staring in the direction of noise on the opposite hallway.
He looked along, and Lu Zheyu was standing not far in front of them, surrounded by several people.
One of them shouted, ”Lu Zheyu, you still have the fucking nerve to hit people. Who doesn’t know that you relied on your gold master to have the chance to enter the entertainment company in the first place? Then you left the company after being dumped, and now you’re running to the bar again, for what? You have a new gold master to please? Big deal, you have a sponsor. If it’s already decided, what’s the point of choosing a song? I’ll give you the prize money for free… What are you going to do?”
Before the man had finished speaking, Lu Zheyu had already rushed up with a sullen face.
“Everyone has seen it, it was he who moved first… Hit me!”
Several people surrounded Lu Zheyu at the same time.
“Fuck! Five on one, shameless!” Luo Suo spat, and rushed up first.
Soon Shao Ming also walked over, and a fight was about to break out. However, there was no suspense of who would be winning or losing. The five people were beaten by three people and they were powerless to fight back.
When the battle was over, Zhu Tong pulled Zhu Xin over.
“Are you all right?”
Shao Ming moved his wrist – who was just used to clock someone in the face just now – and said with a smile, “It’s alright, don’t be afraid.”
Zhu Tong stared at him. “Who is afraid?”
When Yuan Shaozhou and the others started a fight, he wasn’t afraid, okay?
Shao Ming said, “Aren’t you afraid? Who was that person who shrank into my arms just now?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Outside the room, seeing a few people gathered in the middle of the hall, Jiang Wan’s originally uninterested eyes lit up instantly, “Cheng Chen, you’ve outdone yourself. You know beforehand that there will be beautiful young people here before calling me, right? You’re quite a nice guy!”
Cheng Chen paused for a while, then withdrew his gaze and said, “Put your eyes away, you are not allowed to make a move to any of those over there.”
Jiang Wan asked, “Why?”
Cheng Chen said lightly. “No reason, it’s just that… if you don’t want your Jiang family to suddenly go bankrupt, it’s best not to touch them… I’ll go first, you can think about the investment.”
Jiang Wan: “…”
They don’t seem to have started talking about investment. Is this person here to get investment? Isn’t it too insincere?
When Zhu Tong realized why he was shrinking in Shao Ming’s arms, and remembered that the “shield” between him and his cousin was gone, he turned around, and saw that his cousin was no longer waiting.
Zhu Tong: “…”
The author has something to say:
Meimei has no feelings towards Luo Suo _(:з」∠)_
T/L: Sorry Luo Suo, your prospective love life is strangled at the budding stage.
Also, the Author’s note is like that bc the og text’s comment section was also insisting on shipping Luo Suo and Zhu Xin like you guys lol
If you can, please support me by donating on my ko-fi~ For every 2 ko-fis, I’ll release an additional chapter ^^
