Forty minutes later, when Liu Xin charged over to the basketball court with tears in his eyes…
The security guards had already cleared out the courts.
Thump.
He fell onto the ground.
Li Zheng had just finished relaxing and jogged over. “We can play tomorrow. You can choose a place.”
“Tomorrow… How’s there a tomorrow?” Liu Xin hugged his head and said, “That woman… She won’t let me off on a weekend…”
“Tch.” Lin Yujing, who was walking past the area with her bag, stopped near them. She then took out a wad of papers and stuffed them into Liu Xin’s bag. “Hm-hm, hm!”
Li Zheng sighed and translated. “She said that she’s going to send your result slip to the parents’ group chat if you don’t finish the papers over the weekend.”
“Ah… Do you have to be that accurate, Brother Li?”
“You guys… You guys are blessed, appreciate it.” Jiang Qinghua walked over with his basketball in hand, his expression sullen. “Tomorrow, I have to go to Zhang Yue’s house… Special tutoring.”
“Oh wow…” Lin Yujing couldn’t help but open her mouth wide.
In terms of effort, Jiang Qinghua was giving the most.
…
By the time Li Zheng got home on his bicycle, there were only vestiges of sunlight left in the sky.
He suddenly sensed danger when he walked through the door.
He had slammed the door when he left the house earlier today. He had dug his grave.
“What if Ning’er didn’t head out for her business trip?” he thought.
He quickly turned on his phone.
His phone had been on “Do Not Disturb” mode during the day, so he only realized that Ning’er had sent him a dozen threatening messages after he turned his phone back on.
08:38
“An Ning: Ahhhhh, I just fell asleep when the delivery man knocked on the door. What did you buy?!”
09:05
“An Ning: I just fell back asleep. Just how many deliveries do you have?!”
10:22
“An Ning: …”
“An Ning: My son, do you know what a headache is?”
“An Ning: Three deliveries in one morning. I can’t take it anymore. I’m tearing them all to shreds.”
“An Ning: Why… Why did you buy so many Chemistry practice questions…”
12:55
“An Ning: Another delivery! Do you think it’s easy for me to come home and sleep for once?”
“An Ning: Do you believe that I’ll burn all of your practice questions? I won’t even let you see their ashes!”
13:27
“An Ning: I’ll leave, I’ll leave, alright? I’ll go sleep at a hotel.”
“An Ning: I’ll be taking a flight at two in the morning the next time I’m back. Just you wait!”
“Sigh…” Li Zheng let out a long sigh as he stepped into the elevator.
“At least I’m safe today,” he thought.
He walked out of the elevator and to his door, then stuck his key in.
“Oh?” he thought.
“It’s unlocked. Everyone in this family usually turns the lock two extra times before they leave.”
“Old Li is back so early today?”
Li Zheng was extremely suspicious.
Without making a sound, he silently opened the door.
He first looked at the shoe cabinet.
The leather shoes that Old Li wore daily were there.
Beside them was a pair of silver high heels.
Ning’er would never choose such a sparkling color.
Li Zheng knitted his brows.
At that moment, a string of laughter came from within the house.
“Haha, Li Zheng’s room is truly as boring… oh no, as simplistic as I imagined it to be.”
Li Zheng froze for a moment.
It was Mrs. Xiaotang.
He wondered, “Is this a family visit?
“She contacted Old Li on her own and didn’t go through me?
“What kind of trap is this?”
“Ahem…” Li Zheng let out a loud cough as he changed his shoes.
A hurried noise came from within the house.
It sounded like someone closing the door to a room to pretend that they had never entered Li Zheng’s room.
Quickly, Li Yi walked over from the hallway, pretending to be calm. “Hey, guess who’s here?”
“There’s no need to guess.” Li Zheng asked, “Did your work end early today?”
“Mrs. Tang said that she was planning a family visit, so I tossed all my work to Cheng Wenyue.” Li Yi avoided Li Zheng’s gaze and looked at the ceiling as he said, “Also, we were just looking at the paintings in the hallway. We didn’t go into your room. How could we so simply enter the room of a boy your age?”
“Hehe.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Tang Zhifei also came out. She tapped on her head and said, “I saw that you were playing basketball, so I didn’t disturb you. Coincidentally, your father was free.”
“It’s alright. Mrs. Tang, make yourself at home.” Li Zheng walked over to the kitchen after changing his shoes. “You guys can chat. I’ll make some tea.”
Tang Zhifei saw that Li Zheng seemed a little unhappy and quickly walked to the door. “It’s alright. We’ve already finished talking. You guys should have your dinner.”
“Why are you leaving? It’s already time. Come eat with us.” Li Zheng took out his phone and asked, “Should we get delivery or head out to eat?”
“No, no, no, there’s really no need.”
“Are you rushing home to eat with your family?” Li Yi asked.
“Not really… I live alone.”
“Sigh, listen to me, it’s Friday. Let’s eat together, let’s eat together.”
Tang Zhifei was already at the door. She subconsciously pulled on her stockings and grabbed her high heels, then bent over to change her shoes and said, “There’s really no need. You can wait for Li Zheng’s mother to come back and have a weekend feast together as a family.”
“It’s alright, his mother has gone out for work. It’s not satisfying for two guys like us to eat together.” Li Yi pressed on the door handle and turned his head to scold Li Zheng. “Silly child, Mrs. Tang’s waiting for you to speak.”
Li Zheng suddenly became passionate when he heard this. “Let’s eat together, Mrs. Tang. I have some questions to ask you.”
Without a doubt, he had his motives.
Enjoying good food was also a kind of relaxation.
But it was hard for him to do that.
Old Li was a doctor, so he usually only ate very nutritious, yet extremely disgusting foods.
For example, parboiled cabbage, boiled broccoli, chicken breast, vegetable salad, and whatnot.
Each meal was like breakfast.
Now that there was a guest, he could at least have a decent meal.
Li Yi took advantage of the situation and said, “Look, Mrs. Tang, Li Zheng has already asked you to stay.”
Tang Zhifei could only smile and shake her head when she saw how sincere Li Zheng and Li Yi were. Furthermore, she did have something else she wanted to chat about. She looked at Li Yi, who wasn’t letting go of the door. “Fine, then let’s have a simple meal. We’ll make it less troublesome. I’ll help with the food.”
“How could we let you make the food? I’ll order in a few simple dishes. We’ll eat at home.”
The two of them sat down on the sofa in the living room. Li Yi placed an order as they continued chatting about Li Zheng.
Li Zheng went to the kitchen to boil some water and make tea.
However, he had just put the kettle on the heat when he leaned beside the kitchen door to eavesdrop on the conversation.
“There’s more to Mrs. Xiaotang than what meets the eye,” he thought.
“She might have another trap up her sleeves.”
Indeed, the two of them whispered to each other while they were in the living room. They didn’t speak too loudly.
Li Yi said, “I was flustered just now. That lad almost found out…”
Tang Zhifei replied, “Yes… I also acted poorly.”
Li Yi continued, “I’ll confirm it with you again. Li Zheng and that girl. They really spent an entire afternoon together?”
Tang Zhifei said, “Yes, they came back to class three minutes late. Furthermore, their expressions were both very odd. I don’t like to interfere with things like these. Firstly, it’s useless. Secondly, it’s easy to invoke a negative reaction and cause the students to not listen to me in the future.”
Li Yi replied, “I understand, I understand. Leave it to me. I’ll teach him well.”
Tang Zhifei continued, “No, no, you don’t have to be too violent. You can just guide him along the right path. Honestly speaking, many high-school courtships eventually make it to marriage. These kinds of marriages are even more stable.”
Li Yi said, “Haha, why did you think that far? She hasn’t even stepped into this house yet. Haha, hahaha!”
Tang Zhifei asked, “Doctor Li, why are you laughing so happily?”
Li Yi answered, “Nothing, nothing. I’m just infuriated with that boy. I’ll teach him a lesson.”
Li Zheng’s face turned red as he listened in on the conversation.
“Mrs. Xiaotang!” he thought.
“How could you sully my innocence?
“Is a family visit for you to rat on me to my parents?”
He wanted to charge out to defend himself, but Tang Zhifei quickly spoke again.
“I’ve already arranged for a family visit with Lin Yujing’s family. When that time comes, we can just allow for their feelings to naturally develop in a beneficial way, with the two families guiding them along.”
Li Yi said, “No, no, no! She’s a girl. Don’t tell that to her family. Just me alone will be enough. Don’t worry, our Li Zheng is an honorable man. He wouldn’t violate another family’s maiden.”
Tang Zhifei said, “I believe Li Zheng’s character, but hiding it from her parents like that…”
Li Yi said, “Sigh! Do you think I don’t understand my son? What can they do together? They were definitely studying together. They’re competing over their studies and improving together. That’s not bad. There won’t be another stage in their relationship.”
Tang Zhifei said, “This… Sister Chunmei has the same attitude. What she means is that Lin Yujing has never had the motivation to study. She should have been chosen for the Olympiads but was hindered because of the school. Now that she finally has some motivation to study, we should turn a blind eye to their relationship.”
Li Yi replied, “Mrs. Hu isn’t wrong. If you tell the girl’s parents, they would definitely scold the girl. The great study atmosphere would be dispelled just like that. I’ll give Li Zheng even more pocket money. He’ll use the money to buy study material, and when that time comes, he can study the material together with Lin Yujing. Then, I’ll have a daughter-in-law… No, no, I’ll cover even Lin Yujing’s study materials. Let’s not tell her parents that.”
Li Zheng suddenly stopped in his tracks when he heard the words “pocket money.”
Indeed, with his vast amount of energy, all of the papers in school were no longer enough to satisfy him.
He had to buy an ocean’s worth of material.
Furthermore, he had to allocate some resources to Zhang Xiaoke.
It didn’t feel right for him to extort pocket money from his father, either.
Finally, he chose to put up with the humiliation.
The dinner afterward wasn’t a simple meal, but an alarming spread.
Usually, if it was just the two of them at home, dinner would have been settled with 50 yuan.
This time, Old Li had ordered 500 yuan worth of food. He even ordered a large bottle of liquor.
It seemed as though he was trying to buy Mrs. Xiaotang’s silence with seafood and sashimi.
Mrs. Xiaotang tried her best to refuse, but she had to drink a cup of liquor in the end.
Then a second cup.
Then a third.
Then the tenth.
Soon, they were acting like brother and sister.
Finally, they almost hugged each other and sang “The Dance of Youth.”
If not for Li Zheng stopping them, they might have gone ahead to a karaoke place.
It was close to nine when Tang Zhifei shakily put on her high heels.
“Hey, sister, listen to me.” Li Yi’s face was red. The liquor had really hit. “It’s so late, you can stay the night…”
Thump.
Li Zheng fiercely elbowed Li Yi’s rib.
“Next… Next time…” Tang Zhifei got her handbag and grabbed the door. She wiped off the traces of liquor from the corner of her mouth and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I accidentally drank too much.”
“That, Li Zheng, take Mrs. Tang home.” Li Yi pushed Li Zheng. “You have to take her home.”
Tang Zhifei wanted to refuse but couldn’t win in an argument. Thus, she could only accept the gesture.
The two of them went to the ground floor and retrieved their bicycles.
However, Tang Zhifei was shaky on her feet. Li Zheng didn’t dare to let her ride.
Finally, Li Zheng gave up on his bicycle and pushed Mrs. Tang’s bike out of the yard. “I’ll run back home later. Training my body is a form of relaxation,” he thought.
There was a cool breeze under the moonlight.
The breeze didn’t blow away Tang Zhifei’s drunken stupor.
She stumbled as she walked, attempting to hold up the sky. “Ah… Li Zheng, it’s so difficult for me…”
“Maintain your balance, Mrs. Tang.”
He had barely finished his sentence when Tang Zhifei staggered. She almost fell.
She propped herself against the wall and decided to remove her high heels and walk barefoot.
“Don’t, you’ll cut your feet.” Li Zheng quickly parked the bicycle and removed his sports shoes. He supported Tang Zhifei and put the shoes on her feet.
Li Zheng had just bent over when he regretted his decision.
“Oh God,” he thought.
“Her feet stink.”
He had already smelled it when he entered the house, but he thought that it was Old Li and was too embarrassed to point it out.
However, he had already committed himself to help her, so he couldn’t stop just because of this.
Li Zheng could only tolerate it. He grabbed Tang Zhifei’s ankles and stuffed her feet into the shoes.
Other than the smell, Li Zheng didn’t feel that anything was wrong with what he was doing.
Instead, Tang Zhifei felt dizzy when Li Zheng suddenly forced her to wear his shoes.
“Don’t… Don’t, Li Zheng… There’s no need…”
Li Zheng held his breath and said, “It’s alright, my shoes… should… have no smell…”
“What do you mean…”
“This… I won’t tell anyone else. You have to be strong.” Li Zheng had a ferocious expression. He was nearly out of breath.
Tang Zhifei was in a daze. She didn’t seem to notice the hidden meaning in Li Zheng’s words. She took it that Li Zheng was purely worried about her.
She propped herself against the wall and gave a silly smile as she looked at Li Zheng, who was putting in all his effort. “You usually look silly and dazed. Who knew that you were so sensitive… It’s no wonder…”
She cupped her mouth in a hurry. She couldn’t let Li Zheng find out that she’d ratted him out.
Li Zheng took it that she was affected by the smell of her feet when he saw her cover her mouth. “Sigh… It’s difficult for you.”
“That’s right. It’s so difficult for me…” Tang Zhifei sighed. “Another parent voiced their complaint…”
Li Zheng was finally done changing her shoes. He could finally stand up and take a deep breath.
Tang Zhifei thought that Li Zheng was nervous. “Alright, don’t think too much. You just helped me change my shoes.”
“Yes, I didn’t think that it would be that difficult…” Li Zheng held his breath and stuffed Tang Zhifei’s high heels into the basket on her bicycle. He then propped the bicycle as far away from him as possible before pushing on it once again.
“Oh… Your shoes are quite comfortable…” Tang Zhifei jumped in a silly fashion.
“…Why don’t you keep them?”
“What do you mean by that? Can’t I buy them on my own? I have the money.” Tang Zhifei felt indignant. She pouted and stuck her hands on her hips in the middle of the street.
Li Zheng shook his head.
“Alcohol is scary,” he thought.
“Not only would it affect my studies, but it would also make me say many weird things.
“Tomorrow, when Mrs. Xiaotang wakes up and remembers this, she’ll definitely want to commit suicide.”
Li Zheng quickly got the conversation back on track and asked, “You said that parents have voiced complaints?”
“‘Yes, about forming groups for the mid-semester exams. Those parents… they really… are so frustrating…” Tang Zhifei sighed and walked alongside Li Zheng. “They can just choose not to participate if they don’t want to. They can do what they usually do. After all, we’re just ranking the top five… Instead, it’s the parents of better students like you who are very supportive.”
“That can’t be helped,” Li Zheng said in frustration. “Convince them slowly. After all, it’s just this once.”
“Discipline Mistress Sun is also helping me communicate with the parents. However, she, even more so, doesn’t want me to split the class into groups for the mid-semester exams.” Tang Zhifei suddenly became serious. “It won’t work. I have to do something. I’ve already taken the role and become a homeroom teacher through much effort. Do you think it’s just for me to bumble my way around? To the discipline mistress, it would be a blessing if there were no hiccups. But it’s the other way around for me—it’s a hiccup if I don’t contribute anything.”
“Yes, I’ll support you. I’ll also try my best to get the other students to support you.” Li Zheng nodded his head determinedly. “The discipline mistress seems to only care about the parents’ feelings and the grading to make a model school. However, for a school, what use would it be if it was called the best in the universe if it didn’t produce results? You have to persist. I’ll get Jiang Qinghua and Liu Xin to defend you if any parents come to cause trouble.”
“Hahaha, you’re not going to defend me?” Tang Zhifei laughed as she knocked against Li Zheng’s shoulder.
“I can’t beat them. If they can’t help you, I’ll get the third-years.” Li Zheng nodded his head seriously. “I know a very powerful third-year. She planks every afternoon.”
“Alright, alright, no one has to defend me. Thank you.” Tang Zhifei tapped on Li Zheng’s head. “It’s students like you that give me the motivation to continue. Thank you, really, Li Zheng. Your father is a very good man. I believe your mother is great too. I’m envious of families like yours.”
“Actually, my father is just alright.”
“He’s the deputy head of the neurological department at the Sky Temple Hospital! If he’s average, then how would other people live on?”
“He has many bad habits. He doesn’t wash his feet before bed, he throws his underwear all over the place, et cetera.”
“Hahaha, do you have to expose your dad like that?”
The two of them chatted and didn’t feel time go by. They arrived at Tang Zhifei’s house in the blink of an eye.
It was a tattered, red-brick building. It wasn’t in a residential area, and there was even the word “demolish” plastered on the building.
It was hard to imagine that there was a place like this in the city center. It must have still been here because some residents didn’t want to move out.
“It can’t be helped. This is the only place that’s close to school and cheap.” Tang Zhifei bent down and removed the shoes, then smiled and handed them back to Li Zheng. “Thank you for everything.”
Li Zheng took the shoes.
His first instinct was to give them a whiff.
Rumor had it that a smelly foot was infectious.
This shoe might already be destroyed.
Of course, he fought back the urge and didn’t smell the shoes in front of Tang Zhifei.
He looked at Mrs. Xiaotang as she walked through the pitch dark entrance alone.
He looked at her shaky figure.
Li Zheng’s face was a little red.
That was because a value just reached 6.7…
This had directly caused him to intentionally walk a little slower so that they could chat for a little longer.
He’d wanted to recover more energy.
That thought was too despicable.
He turned around and tried his best to dispel these negative feelings.
But he still smelled the shoes.
His face turned pale.
It was over.
“I’ll toss them,” he thought.
…
Saturday morning.
Tang Zhifei was suddenly jolted awake.
She curled up in her bed and stared into space as she recalled yesterday’s events for a few seconds.
Her face gradually turned red.
She screamed.
“Ah…”
“What have I done?” she thought.
“It’s too embarrassing.”
She grabbed her head and got up, utterly embarrassed.
She then looked at the stockings and high heels that had been tossed on the floor.
Her face instantly twisted.
She wanted to die!
…
On the other hand, Li Yi wasn’t doing too well either.
He was being chased around by Li Zheng.
“We’re father and son. There’s no need for you to do this…”
Li Zheng carried his phone and dodged around as he said, “I’m just sending the photo of yesterday’s dinner to Ning’er.”
“No, no, no! I didn’t drink too much. It was just that my face was a little red.” Li Yi chased after Li Zheng, saying, “Furthermore, I’m helping you. You’ll only have happy days if you please your teacher, my son.”
“Makes sense. I believe that Ning’er will understand.”