Mother Li was used to seeing little punks and gangsters like her son. This was the first time she had ever been so close to an elegant and bookish student like Lin Qian. So after hearing Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing's words, she became a little embarrassed. Her voice quickly changed into a softer tone, and she said: "Yes, this Auntie got a little too excited. Students shouldn't hear such vulgar words."
Li Gao looked at his mother with wide eyes. Mom??? You've never spoken to me like that!
Lin Qian looked at Li Gao and his mother, then asked: "What's going on?"
At the mention of this, Mother Li's face screwed up. She pinched Li Gao's ear and dragged him to the front. She said: "This stinky boy went home trying to cheat money off of me. He's saying he needs to buy some reference books and asks for a thousand yuan. It's obvious he just wants to take his silly punk friends to the Internet cafe again..."
Lin Qian: "???"
Lin Qian thought it was a bit strange, but didn't immediately deny her claims. Instead, he turned to Li Gao and asked: "Show me your list of textbooks."
Li Gao took out a crumpled ball of paper from his pocket and handed it to Lin Qian.
Lin Qian uncrumpled the paper and read its contents. He then turned towards Mother Li and smiled. "Auntie, this list really does have the textbooks I use listed on it. If you buy everything, it would probably amount to around a thousand yuan."
Zheng PingQing then meaningfully smiled said: "But, if someone sponsors, then you can save. A lot."
Mother Li couldn't believe it. She gasped: "What! A few reference books can be that expensive? What a rip-off!"
Lin Qian: "...."
Mother Li realized her outburst and turned red. She patted her mouth with her fingers. "Auntie was vulgar again, sorry."
Li Gao: "..." Who exactly is your child here?
Lin Qian didn't say anything. He simply smiled and said: "Auntie, knowledge is priceless."
"That's right, that's right." Mother Li nodded. She then twisted Li Gao's ear. "If this brat really intended to buy those books, I would agree wholeheartedly. But this stupid boy has lied to me plenty of times already. Guo DangLi and his gang of pigs and dogs will definitely run to the Internet cafe with the money..."
Li Gao wanted to give up life. He angrily said: "I didn't cheat you this time."
But Mother Li obviously didn't believe him one bit. "You think I'll believe you just because you have the right book list? Why don't you take a look at him, then take a look at yourself."
Lin Qian quickly came to the rescue. "Auntie, you don't..."
On the side, Zheng PingQing added: "After all, it's probably biological."
Lin Qian elbowed Zheng PingQing on his side.
Mother Li thought about Zheng PingQing words. He was right. So she turned around and pointed at Zheng PingQing instead. "Look at his friends, then take a look at your friends."
Zheng PingQing couldn't help but smile.
Xu Yao, who was watching from the sidelines, thought: Auntie, wake up. That's no ordinary friend, but an evil boyfriend.
While Mother Li was opening fire at Li Gao's friends, someone suddenly shouted: "Li Gao, what are you doing here? Have you bought the reference books yet?"
Mother Li turned around and saw Guo DangLi and his little brothers approaching. As always, they were dressed slovenly and were swaggering. Just the sight of them would've made any parent feel tired. Sure enough, Mother Li's lip quivered. If not for Lin Qian, she would've already let her harsh mouth loose.
At first, Guo DangLi had only noticed Li Gao. That's why he had called out in the first place. But he soon noticed Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing. He immediately felt regretful, but it was already too late. So Guo DangLi hardened his scalp and continued walking forward with a tense expression on his face.
When they came near, they saw that Li Gao's mother was also there. Guo DangLi knew that Mother Li didn't like him, so he could only say hello in a low tone. He asked Li Gao: "Why is your mother here?"
Li Gao was embarrassed, and he didn't know how to explain the situation.
Mother Li was getting impatient. She was about to say a few scathing words when Lin Qian suddenly asked: "Are you guys buying reference books by the bulk?"
At his words, Mother Li finally noticed the plastic bag Guo DangLi was holding. The corner of a reference book was faintly visible. The other brothers in Guo DangLi's gang were also each holding a stack of books. They look like students attending the first few days of school, with their newly issued textbooks.
Feeling very much like a dead duck, Guo DangLi stiffly asked: "What? Can't we buy a few reference books?"
"My mother isn't giving me the money." Li Gao answered, looking dismayed.
Guo DangLi tilted his head. He turned to look at Mother Li and was surprised at her look of disbelief. Mother Li looked at Guo DangLi as if he was some sort of alien creature and asked: "Ah? You really want to buy textbooks?"
Guo DangLi thought about his reputation to the parents of his brothers. Combined with Mother Li's words, he immediately guessed the situation. He wouldn't usually care about things like this, but Lin Qian was nearby, so he was a little uneasy. So with a voice devoid of any emotions, Guo DangLi said: "I had a great urge to study recently..."
Mother Li turned around and patted Li Gao on the head. "Why didn't you say so, ah, if you really wanted to learn, how can I not support you?"
Li Gao wanted to cry. He was so aggrieved that he argued: "I told you, but you didn't believe me..."
"You can only blame yourself." Mother Li very firmly didn't listen to her son's words. Instead, she cheerfully took out her wallet and started counting money. With the facts before her, she no longer suspected Li Gao of lying to her. "Yesterday, the store had a lot of customers. A few hundred pounds of fish were even bought all in one go! Here take the money...go on, take it."
A quivering Li Gao accepted the money. When he looked at the bills on his hand, he saw that he had gotten two hundred yuan extra. Li Gao, who had been constantly haggled by his mother all his life, felt a mother's warmth for the very first time. But he also felt a faint heartache, a feeling he didn't know why he was feeling.
Then, Mother Li kept talking. She turned to Lin Qian and asked: "You wrote up that list of books to buy, right? Then I can be rest assured that they're useful. I'd also like to ask that you continue to take care of Li Gao in the future..."
Li Gao: "..."
Guo DangLi: "...." Guo DangLi felt a severe imbalance in his heart. Mother Li had never once talked to him like that before!
Lin Qian smiled and told her his full name and class number. He also promised to supervise Li Gao's studies. In the end, Mother Li turned to leave with a big smile on her face. Of course, she didn't forget to give Guo DangLi the side-eye as she left. "You do the same, ah. You should learn more from Classmate Lin, otherwise don't talk to Li Gao anymore."
Guo DangLi: "..." Auntie, I'm the one who's friends with your son, ah!
Then Mother Li finally left, leaving the two groups staring at each other in silence. There was a sense of awkwardness and embarrassment around them.
Xu Yao tried to break this deadlock, and with a 'hehe,' said: "If you had told me you were going to buy some textbooks, I would have given you a business card of this bookstore owner. Maybe you could've gotten a discount."
Li Gao looked at him blankly. "Do people with good grades get discounts when buying reference books?"
Xu Yao replied: "No, no. It's just that our tutoring group made a big purchase recently, so our Boss has a good relationship with them."
Li Gao mumbled: "Oh..."
Lin Qian watched these bunch of hooligans acting like \'prodigal sons returning\' and found it hilarious. Ah, these kids treasure their pride too much. They're too concerned about losing face and refuse to be the ones to ask for help first. But lucky for them, Lin Qian was an adult. He didn't care about such trivial things anymore. So Lin Qian took the lead and smiled at them. "If you encounter any problems in your studies..."
Xu Yao thought that Lin Qian was going to offer them tutoring lessons and hurriedly put at stop to it. "Ah Qian, calm down a bit. You also have to take the college entrance exams, you know."
Lin Qian waved his worries off with a smile. He turned back to Guo DangLi and said: "You can talk with Dong MingEn and Luo XingGuang. If they don't understand, they'll ask us."
Xu Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking about it for a while, Xu Yao thought it to be a good idea. It would help Dong MingEn's thinking and problem-solving skills, and also develop a sense of responsibility. Xu Yao agreed to Lin Qian's suggestion with a nod.
Meanwhile, Guo DangLi and his brothers were too embarrassed to act all confrontational. They already had such a ferocious image of Lin Qian in their heads, so seeing Lin Qian act so gentle and friendly took the wind off their sails. In the end, they all bowed their heads and said: "Ok."
"Then hurry and go to class so you can study." At Lin Qian's words, the group nodded and pushed and shoved each other through the school gate.
"Let's go in too." Lin Qian then turned to Zheng PingQing, only to see Zheng PingQing smiling at him.
"What? Am I particularly handsome today?" Lin Qian asked.
Zheng PingQing replied without hesitation. "Yes. Very very handsome."
Xu Yao obstinately butted in: "There's a third person next to you."
Zheng PingQing walked in front of Xu Yao and directly blocked him, his eyes never leaving Lin Qian. His gaze was a little emotional as he said to Lin Qian: "I think this time, their parents can live a little easier in their later years."
Lin Qian was a little puzzled. He knew that Zheng PingQing was, of course, referring to their previous life. But he had never heard anything about Li Gao back then. Did Li Gao's last life end badly?
Zheng PingQing saw the question in Lin Qian's eyes and nodded. He whispered: "Back then, the group didn't go to college and ended up getting mixed up with the underworld. There was a crackdown, and in the end, they were all sentenced to severe jail time. Li Gao's family spent all their money trying to help him. I happened to see a group photo that had his mother in it, and she looked...tired."
It suddenly occurred to Lin Qian that in his last life, he had never met up with people in other classes. His life and Guo DangLi's life had never intersected. Lin Qian had never been familiar with him in the first place, so it was natural for him not to know what happened to Guo DangLi and his people. Instead, it was Zheng PingQing who had a closer connection with them. Even if their relationship was poor, it was still enough for Zheng PingQing to know about their situation.
Lin Qian nodded, relieved.
With a blank expression, Xu Yao looked at the two people inch closer and closer together. He waited for their whispering to die out, then reminded them: "Are you two finished? The bell's going to ring soon."
Zheng PingQing looked down at his watch, then cursed. "Fuck, it's now too late to buy breakfast. I have to beat up those unfilial sons later."
With a 'haha,' Xu Yao said: "How come they don't get any money from their dad when they want to buy textbooks, ah."
Zheng PingQing gave him the side-eye, and with no change in his expression, replied: "Look a little closer, when did this father say he wasn't going to give them money? I'm obviously the kind of dad who gives money afterward!"
Xu Yao: "..."
Lin Qian even joined in: "Yes, dad will only give money after teaching them a lesson."
Xu Yao: "...."
Love really did change his best friend into something beyond recognition.
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Xu Yao: Smoking.jpg
Guo DangLi: Smoking.jpg
Li Gao: Smoking.jpg