Chapter 19

Zhang Tan and Xiao Bai came out of the kitchen, one nestled on the sofa, the other continuing to sit on the small stool.

Zhang Tan asked with concern, "Are you sure it's okay not to go back? What if Teacher Xiao Liu can't find you?"

"Let her look for a while."

Zhang Tan: "……"

You're such a kid.

Worried, he picked up his phone and sent a text to Teacher Xiao Liu, telling her that Xiao Bai was here and asking her to keep it a secret from the principal.

"Do you want to watch a movie? Do you want to watch it?"

"Sure, are you going to watch 'The Old Man and the Windmill'?"

What is this?

"No, I'm watching a movie, one for adults."

"Then I'll watch it with you. Watching TV is one of my strengths."

365 lines, every line is your strength.

Zhang Tan didn't bother to argue, played the movie, and continued watching. The protagonist was fleeing, looking for water, and gulping it down.

Gulp~~

Xiao Bai was swallowing her saliva.

"..." Zhang Tan asked, "Do you want to drink water?"

Xiao Bai nodded.

Zhang Tan went to get her some water, but found that the purified water was just used up. He then found a bottle of bear drink in the fridge and asked her, "Can you drink this? There's no drinking water left at home."

Xiao Bai said it was fine and then curiously asked what it was. She looked at the bottle curiously, examining it from all angles. It looked a bit like her little slippers, both with bear patterns.

"This is a drink, all the kids in the world drink this."

All the kids in the world? Don't the kids at Little Red Horse School count as kids? None of the kids here drink bear drinks.

Xiao Bai, puzzled, took the bear drink and saw the alcohol in the fridge, exclaiming, "Uncle, you drink alcohol!"

Pointing to the beer in the fridge, she warned, "Don't drink alcohol."

It was left over from cooking the other day.

"I don't drink alcohol."

"Don't lie to me."

"I really don't drink alcohol, it's for cooking."

However, Zhang Tan actually had a drinking habit. The original Zhang Tan was a heavy drinker, although he was trying to overcome it, he still occasionally had the urge.

Xiao Bai, worried, sat on the small stool, moved it to his feet, and earnestly advised him not to drink.

Zhang Tan's head started to buzz, annoyed by her nagging, he stopped watching the movie and said they should go downstairs for a walk.

Xiao Bai, hearing this, got up and asked hopefully, "Uncle, will you play with me?"

Football again? Are you a football fan?

Zhang Tan: "It's too late, and you'll sweat. Let's read picture books and sing and dance with the kids instead."

Xiao Bai, holding a glass bottle with crickets, said, "Those kids, they're no fun, they're too young."

Aren't you just as young? You're even one of the youngest.

After Zhang Tan brought Xiao Bai downstairs, he told her a story about the windmill and then slipped away.

When he got home, he saw a bottle of bear drink on the small stool, which Xiao Bai had left there.

Zhang Tan picked it up and saw that the cap was still on, Xiao Bai hadn't drunk it. He suddenly felt regretful, having forgotten to open it for her.

He took it downstairs to find Xiao Bai...

The next day, Zhang Tan went to the mall and bought some tea and fruit, carrying them to Aunt Huang's house. The one who opened the door was a girl, whose appearance combined the best features of Aunt Huang and Uncle Huang. She inherited Aunt Huang's small eyes and Uncle Huang's large face, looking very blessed.

This was Huang Meimei, Aunt Huang's daughter, who was 24 years old.

"Who are you?" Huang Meimei asked, puzzled, not recognizing Zhang Tan.

"It's me."

"???" Huang Meimei was even more puzzled, "No, it's you, but who are you?"

"Heaven covers the earth."

Huang Meimei, shocked, asked, "Zhang Piaoliang?"

"..."

"Really you? Zhang Piailiang???"

Huang Meimei couldn't believe it, leaning in to examine Zhang Tan's face. She realized it was indeed the former hooligan Zhang Tan. She was amazed that he had changed so much in just one semester.

"You've changed a lot, Zhang Piaoliang, is this really you?"

Zhang Tan sighed and said, "Meimei, just call me Zhang Tan."

Huang Meimei curiously examined him and stepped aside, "Come in first, I'll take a closer look."

Zhang Tan, hearing this, looked down at the gifts in his hands, all for Uncle Huang and Aunt Huang, but none for Huang Meimei!

He should have bought her some sanitary napkins.

Next time.

No wonder Meimei's company let her travel alone for half a month, feeling safe because of his appearance and manner.

"Zhang Tan is here? Come in and sit down," Aunt Huang called from the kitchen.

Behind her, Uncle Huang's head appeared, smiling, "Zhang Tan, chat with Meimei first, I'm shelling peas."

"You go ahead."

Zhang Tan put down the gifts and chatted with Huang Meimei.

Huang Meimei, amazed, said, "My mom said you've changed a lot, I didn't believe it."

Zhang Tan: "Do you believe it now?"

Huang Meimei shook her head, "Still don't believe it. You're probably faking it, as the saying goes, it's hard to change one's nature."

Zhang Tan glanced at the TV, which was showing an animated show, the one Xiao Bai had mentioned, "The Old Man and the Windmill."

"Haven't you heard of a prodigal son returning?"

Their conversation wasn't really a conversation; Zhang Tan was constantly trying to prove himself and explain his transformation to Huang Meimei.

After lunch, Aunt Huang asked Huang Meimei to take Zhang Tan for a walk.

Uncle Huang, watching them leave, asked Aunt Huang uncertainly, "Are you trying to set them up?"

"They don't match."

"Why? Afraid Zhang Tan won't change?"

"Zhang Tan is so handsome, Meimei is plain, he wouldn't be interested."

"..." Is that how you talk about your own daughter?

"Isn't it because she looks like you!"

"Looking like this makes parents feel safe, but I'm still not sure about Zhang Tan. Who knows when he'll revert to his old ways."

"Stop nagging, go wash the dishes!"

Zhang Tan and Huang Meimei wandered through the urban village. Although it was an urban village, it wasn't shabby, preserving the most authentic street style of Pujiang, with a strong sense of life.

They stopped at a roadside stall, where Huang Meimei was picking hair ties, and Zhang Tan was looking around, his eyes landing on a few pairs of small socks, tiny, yellow, red, white, some solid colors, some with multiple colors, and some with cartoon patterns.

Zhang Tan picked two pairs, and the aunt at the stall said, "10 yuan for 5 pairs."

Huang Meimei, hearing this, looked over curiously, "Zhang Tan, are you buying small socks? These are for kids."

"I know they're for kids."

He picked five pairs of different colors, all with cartoon patterns.

"Zhang Tan, are you buying kids' socks? Who are they for?" Huang Meimei asked curiously.

"Your question is really insightful, of course, they're for kids."

Huang Meimei stared at him for a while and asked, "You don't have a kid, do you? You really have a kid? Which girlfriend gave birth for you?"

Zhang Tan ignored her and told the aunt, "I'll take these five pairs, please put them in a bag."

Leaving the shop, Huang Meimei became even more enthusiastic, asking, "Zhang Tan, you're not really a dad, are you? Is that why you've changed so much? Yes, it must be, having a family and being a dad brings out a sense of responsibility, and you become a different person..."

Zhang Tan, hearing her wild speculations, interrupted, "I don't have a kid, these are for a kid at the school."

Xiao Bai had come to his place several times, and after taking off her shoes, her socks with holes were visible. When he saw the small socks at the stall, he thought of her and bought them. 10 yuan for 5 pairs, it was like buying an ice cream, saving the money for Huang Meimei's.

Speaking of ice cream, he immediately bought one from a street shop, only one, not for Huang Meimei, as the money for hers was used to buy socks for Xiao Bai.

Huang Meimei: "..."

After a while, she reacted, "Zhang Tan, you've become stingy."