Chapter 15

The next morning, before the sky was fully bright, Cheng Cheng simply packed a few changes of clothes and quietly prepared to catch the earliest train back to his hometown. His girlfriend, He Qin, hadn't turned on her phone all night, and he couldn't get through to her by phone or text. In the tug-of-war, Cheng Cheng spent the whole night and finally gave up.

Old Ma rubbed his eyes, which were just waking up, as the alarm clock had already started beeping. He knew it was already a quarter past five, and he allowed himself to sleep for five more minutes. However, lying there, his heart was in turmoil. Old Ma could only sigh helplessly, get up, and prepare to wash up, then go to the classroom to reserve a seat and preview his lessons.

Seeing Cheng Cheng about to leave, Old Ma thought a thief had entered the dormitory and almost screamed, "Why the hell are you up so early? Did you stay up all night?"

Soon, Old Ma's introverted and awkward speaking style was influenced by Cheng Cheng.

"Pretty much, I'm going to the train station to go back to my hometown. Tell the guys later. It's too early now, and they're all sleeping like dead pigs, so I won't say goodbye."

"Alright, when you get there, talk to He Qin properly. Admit your mistakes if you need to; it's not shameful." Old Ma said with a sly smile. After seeing Cheng Cheng off, Old Ma brushed his teeth while sighing, "Young people, you're still too impulsive. How many college relationships can last until the end? Focus on your studies. When the time comes, what kind of girl can't you find? I'm not in a hurry, not in a hurry."

Dong Dong went to bed very late last night, sending text messages continuously until his phone was out of service. The next morning, he got up early, had breakfast, and waited at the door of the business hall until it opened. He rushed in and said, "Recharge my phone!"

"How much?" the clerk asked expressionlessly.

"Ten yuan!"

"Hey, why do you always recharge ten yuan? Can't you recharge more at once?" The clerk was already in a bad mood. She had found suspicious clues on her boyfriend's phone the day before and had been upset all night. Now she had to come to work early in the morning.

This young man had been recharging ten yuan every morning for several days, and she couldn't control her temper.

"Are you going to recharge it or not? I'll recharge one yuan tomorrow." Dong Dong was a bit depressed. His mother only gave him 400 yuan for living expenses each month, so he had to recharge a little at a time to save on phone bills.

The clerk muttered a few words, "Poor, short, and ugly," but still recharged his phone.

Dong Dong, with his phone recharged, smiled while sending text messages, making sure to use every last character in each message.

"Haha, I'll see how you respond," Dong Dong muttered, having just sent a very funny text message and eagerly waiting for a reply.

"10... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1"

A classmate passing by glanced at the nervous Dong Dong and silently counted. As soon as he said "1," Dong Dong felt a collision, a sharp pain, and rubbed his head, kicking the lamppost and cursing, "Blind thing, you hit me."

Dong Dong touched his head and suddenly remembered a TV commercial where a man hit a pole while looking at a girl. He never thought it would happen to him. "Could I be in love with her? But we didn't even speak a word in high school!"

"Ah!?"

When he turned to look at the small forest on the left, Dong Dong's eyes widened, and he rubbed them, almost unable to believe what he saw. "Is that Jiang Weixin, that pretty boy? How long has it been, and they're already together?"

......

After the English class, Liu Meng rushed out of the classroom for the first time. This class was too depressing, and he felt that the hyperthyroid teacher, Yang Yun, was looking at him strangely, making him feel uneasy.

After just a few steps, the class monitor, Guo Yu, caught up and told Liu Meng that the counselor, Li Xin, was urgently looking for him and asked him to go to his office quickly.

How could Liu Meng not go when the counselor summoned him? He knocked on the door and entered the counselor's office.

Li Xin nodded and said, "Sit down. I've always been concerned about your family situation. I've managed to secure the first tutoring position for you. You can go try it out tonight. Here is the phone number and address. Call to confirm before you go."

It turned out to be this matter. The first tutoring job after entering college was indeed introduced by Li Xin, but the result was quite disappointing. He only earned 20 yuan, and after deducting 8 yuan for the bus fare, he only made 12 yuan.

Although he knew the situation, he couldn't refuse the counselor's enthusiastic introduction. He decided to just go through the motions.

Back in the dormitory, he borrowed the phone from the dorm leader, Deng Jinyao, and called the child's mother. The mother was very friendly and said that she would pick up Liu Meng with her child and bring him to the school. She also told him not to eat dinner and that she had prepared dumplings for him.

For Northeasterners, making dumplings is a big deal.

After the call, Liu Meng realized he didn't have a phone, which was very inconvenient. It was already September 20th, and the agreed date with Cheng Fei was September 26th. He had to buy a phone this weekend.

At 6 PM, Liu Meng appeared at the main gate, wearing his old and shabby high school uniform as agreed. Soon, a large MPV pulled up, and a middle-aged woman got out and greeted him, "Are you Teacher Liu? Xiao Yang, come down and meet the teacher."

A small, chubby boy reluctantly got out of the car, said "Hello, teacher," and then retreated back into the car. The middle-aged woman scolded him and quickly invited Liu Meng to get in the car.

In the car, the driver was a man around 50, well-maintained and well-dressed. Liu Meng said, "Aunt Sun, is this Uncle?"

Aunt Sun was slightly uncomfortable and laughed, "This is Director Wang from my workplace. He happened to be going the same way after work, so he gave us a ride."

"Hello, Director!" Liu Meng greeted.

Director Wang nodded in acknowledgment.

When they arrived at Aunt Sun's house, the table was already set with a variety of dishes, and steaming hot dumplings were on the table. A large, fat man was sitting in the middle, drinking white wine, and an old woman was busy serving.

The large man sitting in the middle was Aunt Sun's husband and the boy's father. The old woman was the boy's grandmother.

"Are you the teacher? Please sit and eat. Our Xiao Yang's grades depend on you." The man said, drinking another glass of wine. His drinking capacity was impressive.

Liu Meng was indeed hungry and didn't hesitate to sit down, pick up his chopsticks, and start eating. The homemade dumplings were delicious, and he ate twenty of them, feeling quite full.

......

In Room 702 of the main building, the self-study room for Class 3 and Class 4 of the Electrical Engineering Department, the students were very active that night, especially the boys, who tried to get closer to the two seats in the middle where Zheng Wen and Gu Pan were sitting.

There were always many boys around Zheng Wen, and today there was also Gu Pan, the acknowledged beauty of the Electrical Engineering Department.

The boys who managed to get seats next to them were elated, sitting up straight and pretending to study diligently, though they weren't really focused.

The faint scent of the girls made their breathing quicken.

"Gu Pan, welcome to our class's self-study room. Please come often," the class monitor, Guo Yu, said, welcoming her and saying some flattering words. However, Gu Pan wasn't very interested and tactfully returned to her seat.

Throughout the night, several boys tried to get close and show off, but Gu Pan frowned, having been the center of attention since childhood and having seen such low-level behavior countless times.

"Hey, Wen Wen, why hasn't Liu Meng from your class shown up all night? Is he not coming tonight?" Gu Pan finally couldn't help but ask.

Zheng Wen whispered with a teasing tone, "I see you've been distracted all night. It turns out it's because of the little genius Liu Meng. Hehe, I think you came to our class's self-study room not for the books but for the wine, or maybe all for the wine."

Gu Pan pinched Zheng Wen, her face turning red, which made it seem like she had been caught. She quickly defended herself, "What are you talking about? You know I have some issues with him. It's better that he's not here."

"Keep making excuses, just keep making excuses," Zheng Wen said, not letting Gu Pan off the hook and continuing to tease her.

......

"I'll beat you, you little brat! I spent money to hire a tutor from a prestigious university, and you just squat in the toilet after eating. I thought you fell in!" Aunt Sun's husband was beating the child with a slipper, and neither Aunt Sun nor her mother-in-law could stop him.

Liu Meng could only watch helplessly, not wanting to say anything.

He clearly remembered how the family had belittled him.

The small, chubby boy screamed for a while before finally sitting down to start the lesson. Liu Meng had just started explaining phonetics and some basic math formulas when the boy started dozing off.

"Pay attention, will you? Do you know how valuable my time is? You don't know how to cherish it at all." Liu Meng was getting angry. These kids from well-off families didn't know how to appreciate things. If he had had a tutor from a prestigious university when he was in junior high, his life might have been different.

Liu Meng understood that no matter how many tutors these kids had, it wouldn't help. Those who become top students never need their parents to worry. Those who need their parents to worry are always useless.

The small, chubby boy rolled his eyes and put on headphones to listen to music.

Liu Meng was seething with anger. Even just going through the motions was so difficult, but he had to suppress his anger because he had eaten their dumplings.

No matter whether the boy listened or not, Liu Meng finished his lesson and left when the time was up.

After Liu Meng left, the family gathered in the living room. Aunt Sun asked the boy, "Son, how was the teacher?"

"Terrible, I couldn't understand anything," the boy said, playing with his game console.

"Xiao Yang, you need to focus. Otherwise, your father will beat you again," the grandmother said, petting her grandson's head.

"Mom, you're spoiling him. His grades are so bad," Aunt Sun said, somewhat dissatisfied.

"How can I not spoil my grandson? His grades are bad, but that's okay. We don't have to worry about food or clothing. A tutor in shabby school clothes, obviously from a poor rural area, what's the point of getting into a prestigious university?" the grandmother rebutted her daughter-in-law.

"Let's not worry about whether he's good or not. Let this little Liu come for a month. If he's no good, we'll find an excuse to fire him and won't pay him," Aunt Sun concluded.

The grandmother and husband nodded in agreement. This kind of honest and simple person, they could easily find an excuse not to pay him, and he, being from out of town, wouldn't dare to say anything.

......

Gu Pan stayed in the self-study room of Class 3 until 10 PM, only leaving when the bell to clear the room rang. She thought Liu Meng would show up at some point, but he never did. She and Zheng Wen packed up their things and went back to the dormitory.

Page break

Page break