Chapter 5: Uninvited Guests…
After arriving at the Chu residence, Chen Jianing was intimidated by the luxurious decor and sat quietly, sipping her tea. Aunt Chu wasn’t playing mahjong today and sat with Chen Jianing in the living room, chatting about everyday things. Upon hearing that Chen Jianing was a “top student” from Mulan University, her future mother-in-law became quite talkative. Lu Li suspected that his mother-in-law was deliberately creating an opportunity for her daughter.
Under Chen Jianing’s reluctant gaze, he and Silly Goose went upstairs. Pushing open a door, they saw a creature even smaller than Chen Jianing. Long Jing, with her twin tails, was wearing shorts, her little feet pointing towards the ceiling instead of the bed. She was playing on her phone in a handstand position. “Snow Leopard! Go! Zoom in, zoom in! You useless dog, you’re dragging me down!”
Chu Jingyi put her hands on her hips, about to snatch the phone away. “Stop playing, you play games all day, you’ll go blind…” Lu Li quickly stopped her. Long Jing was clearly in the middle of a team fight. If they took her phone now, wouldn’t the little girl go berserk? He winked at Yi Bao and slowly walked over to Long Jing. “Little Long Jing, what are you playing?”
“Why are you here, stinky brother-in-law?” Long Jing glanced sideways at Lu Li, patted the spot beside her, treating him like a human cushion, and plopped down on his lap. “Sitting on brother-in-law is more comfortable.” I’m playing League of Legends: Wild Rift. Let me tell you, this game is super popular.
Silly Goose, standing beside them, was a little annoyed. “Can’t you pause the game?”
Lu Li slapped his forehead. Where did these people get the strange idea that online games could be paused?
Lu Li continued to wink at Silly Goose, signaling her not to speak for now, lest Long Jing become rebellious again. Feeling the soft body of the girl, Lu Li marveled at how delicate young girls were. If only she were obedient, how wonderful would that be? His future daughter must be well-educated, not like Long Jing…
“Jingjing, what hero are you playing?”
Long Jing shivered. “Brother-in-law, aren’t you disgusting? Don’t call me that, it’s so cheesy!” Well, he was being disliked by a little brat. “The hero I’m playing is called Pearl, she’s a snow leopard, super strong. Look, my score is thirteen kills and five deaths, top economy on the team!”
As if on cue, the character in the game announced, “Even if the enemy is numerous, Pearl can take the enemy general’s head from amidst ten thousand soldiers! Snow Leopard, let’s go!”
Lu Li, being a game developer himself, knew a little about competitive online games and was able to chat with Long Jing. As expected, Long Jing’s attitude softened considerably. After the round ended, she didn’t start another game but threw herself onto Lu Li’s lap with a thud, her short legs sticking straight up, her feet resting on his chin. She giggled. “Brother-in-law, are you trying to butter me up? Do you have some ulterior motive?”
This brat was truly disrespectful. If this were a boy, Lu Li would have already picked him up and given him a good spanking. But she was a delicate little girl. Had she even washed her feet…?
“Long Jing, why don’t you want to go to school?” Lu Li asked directly.
The smile vanished from Long Jing’s face like a receding tide. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, as if she were about to burst into tears or shout angrily. Lu Li had never seen such a complex expression on a child’s face. His tone softened. “Long Jing, brother-in-law is listening to you, I’m on your side. I didn’t come here because your dad told me to. Tell me what’s wrong, okay?”
Silly Goose blushed beside them and whispered, “Who calls themselves ‘brother-in-law’?” Although she was shy, she wasn’t opposed to it.
Perhaps Lu Li’s words had an effect. The usually unruly little demon pouted, tears welling up in her big watery eyes. “They’re so annoying…”
Lu Li couldn’t stand seeing girls cry, especially little girls like this. He was probably destined to be manipulated by women in this life. He was about to pick up the little demon and comfort her when Long Jing suddenly kicked her feet wildly, making Lu Li’s head wobble like a pile driver. “They’re all so annoying! I hate school the most! I hate school!”
The sympathy that had just arisen in Lu Li’s heart vanished instantly. After a moment of blankness, a thought emerged: “If I don’t spank her bottom swollen today, my surname isn’t Lu!”
Meanwhile, in the capital of Shenzhou.
Zou Yameng finished her morning training and returned to the dormitory. Her teammates were gathered in groups, discussing table tennis. It had been almost six months since she joined the second team. Zou Yameng had two main takeaways: first, they were incredibly strong, and second, her own horizons were incredibly narrow! Zou Yameng, who came from the low-rent district, realized for the first time that some gaps weren’t just about table tennis skills, but stemmed from something deeper.
She sometimes asked herself, could she really compare to them? Did she really have a chance to advance to the first team?
Unlike her time at the Chuanhai Women’s Sports Academy, where her teammates came from similar backgrounds and they could always chat together, Zhou Wen’s dirty jokes always eliciting laughter. After coming to the capital, she found herself unable to join others’ conversations. Her words always fell flat. No one deliberately excluded her, they just smiled awkwardly – this strong sense of alienation made Zou Yameng miss her small home with her brother dearly, miss the days she spent with Lu Li.
She walked out of the dormitory, intending to get a basin of hot water, and ran into her coach. It was said that this coach was a former teammate of Coach Dan and a single mother. In the past six months in the capital, Zou Yameng had received a lot of care from her.
“Coach… Are you looking for me?”
“Yes, Xiaomeng, I was just looking for you.” The coach smiled warmly. “Xiaomeng, your performance in this assessment was excellent! Your offensive ability has improved tremendously. In terms of offense alone, you’re already comparable to the current active players!”
The assessment the coach mentioned was the mid-year assessment. The second team determined the internal ranking based on the assessment results, and those with outstanding performance would be prioritized for promotion to the first team reserve. Although Zou Yameng struggled with interpersonal relationships, her table tennis skills improved rapidly. Already exceptionally talented, she progressed at an astonishing speed after receiving the second team’s resources.
“As a reward, I’m giving you a month-long break.” The coach said with a smile. “Take a good rest for a month. There’s an important competition next month that requires your participation. The others only get twenty days off. This is a special privilege for you. I heard your home is far away. Take advantage of the mid-year break and go back to spend time with your parents.”
Zou Yameng didn’t hear the rest of the coach’s words. Her mind was filled with only six words:
“A month-long break!”
Little Li! I’m coming back!
Zou Yameng grinned. Forgetting about the hot water, she turned and ran back to the dormitory. She wanted to fly back to Chuanhai as quickly as possible, back to their small home… Halfway there, Zou Yameng stopped. She suddenly thought, should she buy some DVDs to bring back…
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