Chapter 104
Wang Qingchuan felt like he had encountered the worst luck in eight lifetimes when he met this woman who called herself Wang Qingbei.
It was already annoying enough that she and Wang Zhizhi were ganging up on him at home with their so-called equal distribution, and now she was actually faking an injury!
God knows how startled he was when he opened the door and found a living person sitting there.
Before he could even speak, she played the victim, shouting loudly, “Brother, why did you push me!”
Heaven and earth could bear witness, he had one hand on the doorknob and the other hand on his chest, trying to calm his startled heart, where did he get a third hand to push her!
In a normal world, the truth should become clearer with more discussion. But this Wang Qingbei, today, it was like she had eaten lard and lost her mind. Wang Qingchuan tried to reason with her, but she acted deaf, completely ignoring him, refusing to get up, just sitting there and accusing him of pushing her.
The commotion at the door quickly attracted Wang Zhizhi, who was cooking in the courtyard with the staff.
“You were sitting here when I opened the door, you scared me, and I didn’t even say anything, how can you accuse me of pushing you!” Wang Qingchuan said angrily, looking at Wang Qingbei, who was pretending to rub her leg on the ground. “Get up and talk properly!”
“Brother, you pushed me!” Jiang Heye said, looking up with tears in her eyes. “You’re mean!”
Wang Qingchuan: “… “ He was truly speechless, even with a child present, this Wang Qingbei could still lie to his face, even crying, it was unbelievable…
“Beibei, does it hurt?” Wang Zhizhi squatted down, glanced at Wang Qingbei’s reddened knee, then turned and shouted at the group of staff, “Brother Li Mu, let’s take Beibei to see a doctor.”
Mmm? There’s no need… Jiang Heye was taken aback, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill.
“Wang Zhizhi, are you stupid? Does she look like she needs to see a doctor? I’m the one who needs to see a doctor! You two are going to be the death of me!” Wang Qingchuan grabbed Wang Zhizhi, who was squatting, and lifted him up, shouting, “I! Didn’t! Push! Her!”
Wang Zhizhi pursed his lips, not saying anything, but his gaze, fixed on Wang Qingbei’s knee, was still full of concern.
Yesterday afternoon, during Li Mu’s training, they had done many Q&As and hypothetical scenarios. Wang Zhizhi remembered one of them: “When you and your sister have a conflict, what does your dad do?”
Wang Zhizhi didn’t know what “conflict” meant, Li Mu said that if his sister was older, the conflict could be an argument, a fight, a difference of opinion, or a clash of interests. But since his sister was still young, it was probably when he and his sister had different needs, or when only one of them could be satisfied at the same time, what would his dad say and do?
After Li Mu explained it, Wang Zhizhi understood.
What would he say and do…
“Your sister is still young and needs to sleep more, can you walk more quietly? Take off your shoes!”
“Don’t always go to your mom, your sister is sleeping with Mom, she won’t be able to sleep if you go there!”
“This is your sister’s milk powder, you’re so old, you still want to drink milk? The food is on the table, eat it yourself.”
“We’re going to buy clothes for your sister today, no time for the toy store, I’ll take you next time. What do you mean we agreed? Why are you being unreasonable? We can buy toys any day, what if your sister doesn’t have clothes to wear? What do you mean there are so many? Children’s clothes, no matter how many, it’s never enough!”
“What’s wrong with your sister wanting to play with your jar? She’s your sister, can’t she even play with your jar? Not to mention rolling your jar around, even if she rolled all your things around, you’re the older brother, you have to give in to her.”
“Go play somewhere else, you’re clumsy, you’ll bump into your sister.”
“Why is your sister crying? Did you go and provoke her? I told you to be quiet, not to go there when she’s sleeping? You’re talking back? If you didn’t provoke her, would she be crying like this?”
…
And so on, Wang Zhizhi couldn’t summarize it, but according to Li Mu’s request, he could at least imitate it.
And yesterday, Li Mu also said that when Wang Zhizhi played the role of Wang Qingchuan, there would also be conflicts in their family that needed his intervention. At that time, Wang Zhizhi just had to resolve them according to Wang Qingchuan’s usual approach.
Wang Zhizhi had thought…
Maybe it would be something like Dad waking up Beibei, something like that.
How come… her knee was bruised?
Li Mu, reluctantly, came out from the group of staff and stood next to them, he pretended to examine the red mark on Jiang Heye’s knee, then paused, squatted down, and took a closer look. Finally, he glanced at Jiang Heye meaningfully, then turned to Wang Zhizhi and said, “Thankfully, it’s not serious, just a flesh wound, no bone injury, no need to see a doctor.”
“Li Mu, what’s wrong with you!” Wang Qingchuan felt like everyone around him was crazy. But as he said that, his mind suddenly cleared, he pointed at them angrily. “Is this a script! It’s a script, right? I knew it, why would there be this kind of ground-sitting-and-false-accusation incident so early in the morning? What? Is this a script to test father-son trust? You’re acting quite well!”
As he spoke, Wang Qingchuan glared at Wang Qingbei on the ground, went back into the house, grabbed two tissues, squatted down, and started vigorously wiping Wang Qingbei’s knee, saying, “Just in time, Wang Zhizhi, I’m going to teach you a lesson, there are many scammers out there, don’t easily trust a woman just because she’s crying. This kind of makeup-created injury, you see it all the time on TV, just a bit of blush and eyeshadow…”
“Teacher Wang, stop it.” Li Mu, unable to watch anymore, bent down and stopped Wang Qingchuan.
But Li Mu was thin and weak, he was no match for Wang Qingchuan’s strength. His arm was pushed away, he almost lost his balance, but Jiang Heye, who was still sitting on the ground, reached out and grabbed him, helping him steady himself.
“Brother, you pushed me, and you’re hurting me again.” Jiang Heye leaned forward slightly, grabbing Wang Qingchuan’s hand tightly, slowly moving his hand with the tissue away from her knee, then turned to Wang Zhizhi. “Zhizhi, Brother is bullying me!”
Clear tears rolled down her cheeks, landing on her knee with a soft thud.
Wang Qingchuan, staring at the knee that was still red, no, it was almost turning purplish-red, even after he had wiped it several times with the tissue, couldn’t believe it, he reached out and wiped it again, harder this time.
He looked at the tissue, slightly damp, but still white…
“You… You, you, you…” Wang Qingchuan looked at Wang Qingbei in shock. “Are you okay! How much did the program team pay you! You’re really injured!”
Wang Qingchuan, completely out of character, tried to expose the script, but was hit hard by the script again.
Jiang Heye, ignoring Wang Qingchuan, continued her performance, her teary eyes looking at Wang Zhizhi, she said softly, “Zhizhi, do you believe Brother, or do you believe Brother’s sister?”
Honestly, Wang Zhizhi was a bit confused.
Based on yesterday’s analysis and training, the events happening today should all be planned, and he just had to make choices according to his dad’s usual approach.
But Beibei… Beibei was truly injured, she was even crying.
Could Dad really…
Just as Wang Zhizhi didn’t know what to do, Li Mu patted his back and whispered, “Remember what we talked about yesterday? Remember who you are?”
A clear path amidst the fog.
I am… Dad.
“Dad, you’re so much older than Beibei, why are you bullying her?” Wang Zhizhi took two steps forward, standing between Wang Qingchuan and Wang Qingbei.
Wang Qingchuan laughed in exasperation. “Where’s your brain? Cameraman? Come on, cameraman, show the replay!”
“No need.” Wang Zhizhi waved his hand. “You’re the older brother, you have to act like one. Your sister is crying, what are you doing? Why aren’t you comforting her? Just arguing here, is this what an older brother does?”
“What older brother! I don’t have a sister!” Wang Qingchuan said, frustrated, punching the door frame. “Are you addicted to acting? This person who suddenly appeared in our family, is she my sister? You don’t even know her, and you’re calling her ‘sister’?”
“She’s my…” Wang Zhizhi said, glancing at Wang Qingbei awkwardly, but he still said firmly to Wang Qingchuan, “Child, she’s your sister. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know her, the important thing is, we’re family, you’re the older brother, you have to learn to take care of your sister! Now, help your sister up!”
Wang Qingchuan scoffed. “Your child? Help your own child yourself!”
After saying that, Wang Qingchuan angrily turned and went back to his room, slamming the door shut.
Wang Zhizhi: “… “
“Zhizhi, you’re doing great, your acting is very realistic!” Li Mu whispered, praising Wang Zhizhi, then patted his head. “Don’t worry, we’ll have a staff member explain your task to your dad later, let him know that these aren’t your true feelings, you’re just imitating him.”
“Beibei, your leg…” Wang Zhizhi said, looking down and reaching out to help Wang Qingbei.
“Oh, I bumped into it myself last night. It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt.” Wang Qingbei said, getting up with a smile. When discussing today’s performance with the program team and hearing them relay the things Wang Qingchuan had said to Wang Zhizhi at home, she was so angry that she accidentally kicked over a stool and bruised her knee.
Wang Zhizhi let out a small sigh of relief.
“Zhizhi, remember what we talked about yesterday, you’re playing the role of your dad today, not yourself.” Li Mu patted Wang Zhizhi’s head again. “You did very well just now.”
“Mmm…” Wang Zhizhi nodded.
Yes, after understanding this point, it wasn’t that difficult.
He just had to say the things he remembered his dad saying, that was all.
But…
Would Dad be sad?
Would he be… as sad as he was when he heard those words?
Wang Zhizhi hesitated, glancing at the tightly closed door.
Dad, wouldn’t he also be hiding in the closet, secretly crying?
While Wang Qingchuan’s reaction was still unknown, Wen Qiming was… truly about to cry.
“Tell me you’re not serious…” Wen Qiming said, holding the paper, looking at the numbers on it, his head already spinning early in the morning.
“I’m serious.” Wen Jiangyue said, squeezing the pickled mustard greens from the bag into a small bowl. “Hurry up and do it, the porridge will get cold.”
“Can’t we eat first, then do the problems?” Wen Qiming put down the rather difficult math test paper, sighed, and said, following Wen Jiangyue’s words, “I feel like it’ll take a long time, the porridge will get cold.”
“Then we’ll reheat it.” Wen Jiangyue paused, hesitated, then took out a few folded papers from her pocket, flipped through them, and handed one to him. “You can do this one first.”
Wen Qiming took it and looked at it, okay, another math test paper.
“What are those?” Wen Qiming pointed at the remaining papers in Wen Jiangyue’s hand.
“Math problems.” Wen Jiangyue said generously, handing them to him. “You can choose any one to do.”
“I don’t quite understand.” Wen Qiming didn’t take them, he just chuckled. “You seem to be imitating me, right? Imitating me making you recite texts before meals? But I asked you to recite the text you had already memorized the day before, not to do math problems? Why are you only imitating part of it?”
He hadn’t even mentioned the task, and she had already figured it out? Wen Jiangyue panicked, she looked at Qiutong, who was among the staff in the distance. Qiutong gave her an “OK” gesture.
Wen Qiming, following Wen Jiangyue’s gaze, also saw it, he was even more certain that his guess was correct.
“If you’re imitating me, then imitate me properly. I made you recite texts before meals, shouldn’t you also make me recite texts before meals?” Wen Qiming tried to reason with her.
However, Wen Jiangyue was determined, she wasn’t swayed.
“Dad, do you like reciting texts?” Wen Jiangyue asked back.
“Yes.” Wen Qiming answered quickly. Leading by example, he had always done it well.
“Mmm… I like math. You made me do what you like, I’m imitating you, I want you to do what I like.” Wen Jiangyue’s logic, after being sorted out yesterday, was very clear.
Wen Qiming: “… “
Although…
But…
Wen Qiming still wanted to struggle. “Dad knows you like math, but you also like poetry and literature. If you want me to do what you like, I can also recite texts, right?”
Wen Jiangyue paused, she pursed her lips, then looked at Wen Qiming and shook her head bravely. “No, I don’t like poetry and literature. I recited them because Dad liked them. I like math, Dad, do the problems.”
As she spoke, Wen Jiangyue pushed the math test paper on the table towards Wen Qiming, then added, “You can only eat after you get them all correct.”
Wen Qiming felt a bit shocked.
Yes, Wen Jiangyue didn’t like reciting texts when she was younger, but after doing it for so long, hadn’t she realized the beauty of it? She hadn’t said she disliked it for a long time…
And… what was this about having to get them all correct before eating? Reciting texts, as long as she kept reciting, she would get them all correct, but math, could she get them all correct just by doing them repeatedly?
Wen Qiming looked at the breakfast on the table… plain porridge, fried dough sticks, scallion pancakes with diced sausage, pickled mustard greens with edamame, pickled vegetables, and oily salted duck eggs… Simple, but all his favorites.
So… Wen Qiming looked down at the test paper, breakfast was probably out of the question, so what would he eat for lunch?
Anything would be better than cilantro.
Cheng Feiying was awakened by his own gagging.
How could he dream about such a horrifying thing like a cilantro field… It was truly disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!
But although he was awake, the smell of cilantro didn’t disappear with the shattered dream, it seemed to have become even stronger.
Cheng Feiying sat up, dry heaved, and was fully awake.
Who!
Who was cooking cilantro!
Cheng Feiying rushed out of the room, as soon as he opened the door, the overwhelming smell of cilantro in the courtyard made him take a step back.
Then, he saw the little stinky fatty, not even as tall as the stove, standing on a stool by the stove, throwing a handful of green, ominous-looking things into their pot.
Although he was still far away and couldn’t see clearly, Cheng Feiying had a feeling that it was… cilantro!
Oh my god! Was their pot still usable! It was contaminated! Contaminated!
Cheng Feiying rushed towards the stove.
But he was fast, someone was faster.
In just a few steps, Cheng Feiying witnessed the little stinky fatty lift up a basket, tip it over the pot, pour all the green herbs inside, and as if that wasn’t enough, she even patted the bottom of the basket!
Cheng Feiying reached the stove and looked down.
It was confirmed, ugh, a pot full of green cilantro.
This little stinky fatty, what was she doing at their house so early in the morning, pouring cilantro into their pot?
Cheng Feiying covered his nose and mouth, took two steps back, held back from cursing, and turned to the group of staff in the distance for help. “Can someone please help me, empty this pot. I hate cilantro the most, I can’t stand the smell.”
The staff were silent.
“No emptying!” Wei Maomao shouted loudly. “This is Uncle Cheng’s breakfast, you can’t empty it!”
“Who would eat a pot of cilantro for breakfast!” Cheng Feiying, unable to contain his anger anymore, glared at the little stinky fatty. “If you want to eat it, take it back to your house! I don’t want to eat it!”
“Uncle Cheng, why don’t you want to eat it?” Wei Maomao asked innocently, stirring the pot with a ladle. “This isn’t a pot of cilantro, it’s tomato and egg noodles.”
Cheng Tingyan, seeing the little chubby bunny grabbing the ladle, quickly reached out and held her waist, preventing her from leaning too far forward.
Cheng Feiying saw Cheng Tingyan’s actions.
All the things he said to her last night, were they all in vain? Early in the morning, she invited this person to their house to do this, and they were even so close!
Cheng Feiying glared at Cheng Tingyan disapprovingly, then followed the little stinky fatty’s movements and saw a few bits of red, yellow, and white appear in the green pot as she stirred.
What a joke, tomato and egg noodles… It was more like a pot of cilantro with a sprinkle of tomatoes, eggs, and noodles.
“I don’t like eating cilantro.” Cheng Feiying, his hand still covering his nose and mouth, beckoned the staff again. “Someone, please help!”
“Uncle Cheng, you don’t like eating cilantro, that’s why you should eat more. You’ll get used to it after eating it for a while, cilantro is so nutritious, how can you be picky?” Wei Maomao said with an innocent smile, tilting her head. “Not eating this, not eating that, unbalanced nutrition, won’t it be you, Uncle Cheng, who suffers in the end?”
Cheng Feiying frowned: “… “
Why did these words sound so familiar?
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