Pei Qing had returned to school for a few months and waited until he officially graduated before going home for the first time. He gave away all the other things in the school dormitory that he could, and there were not many important things left, so he only packed a large suitcase.
It was already evening when he got home. Pei Jingrong and Zhan Yingfei were not at home. Zhan Xueqing’s school had not yet had a holiday, and she would not come back because of the final exams.
He dragged the suitcase into his room and saw that the things in the room were neatly packed and the desk was spotless. He stood the suitcase against the wall and lay down on the new bed sheet without a wrinkle.
Since Zhan Pengcheng was sick and hospitalised, Pei Qing had not had time to go back to see Zhan Weiyang in the past six months but just video chatted with him every night.
Compared with Zhan Weiyang’s dependence on him, Pei Qing sometimes felt that he was the one who could not live without Zhan Weiyang. He needed the feeling of being relied on, which would make his existence meaningful.
Pei Qing lay on the bed until after eight o’clock in the evening when Pei Jingrong and Zhan Yingfei came back from outside.
As soon as Zhan Yingfei got home, she noticed someone was back. She shouted, “Is Xueqing back?”
Pei Qing got up from the bed and left the room slowly, saying, “Dad, Auntie, it’s me.”
“Pei Qing!” Zhan Yingfei showed a surprised expression, “Is the school on vacation?”
Pei Jingrong looked serious, “Why didn’t you tell me you were back? How did you decide what I told you before?”
Pei Jingrong had been calling Pei Qing since two months ago to ask him about his work plans. Pei Jingrong was running his own company with Zhan Yingfei at the moment. After the start-up phase, it was now doing well. He hoped Pei Qing could go over to help him.
Pei Qing said, “I have submitted my resume to the company I want to go to, and I will go for an interview next week.”
Pei Jingrong frowned and said nothing. Zhan Yingfei noticed that Pei Jingrong was not happy, so he spoke to ease the atmosphere and asked, “Which company?”
Pei Qing said, “The one I interned at.”
Zhan Yingfei was a little surprised, “Are you planning to work at Chongfeng?”
Pei Qing nodded.
Pei Jingrong said coldly, “Is this the decision you’ve been considering for two months?”
Pei Qing said to him, “No, this is my initial decision.”
“Pei Qing!” Pei Jingrong took two steps forward and was pulled back by Zhan Yingfei.
Zhan Yingfei said, “What are you doing? Talk to the child properly.”
Pei Jingrong said, “I’m talking to him properly.” But his tone was obviously not that nice.
Pei Qing was still very calm. He said to Pei Jingrong, “I am 22 years old, not 12. I already have my own job and will have my own life in the future. I don’t think there is anything wrong with my choice.”
Pei Jingrong said, “So you don’t need to discuss it with us? You want to live your own life. I raised you to this age. Don’t you have the obligation to explain to me?”
Pei Qing said, “I am back to explain now.”
“You call it an explanation?” Pei Jingrong couldn’t suppress his anger. “Aren’t you just simply notifying us?”
Zhan Yingfei was beside him, holding Pei Jingrong’s arm tightly, hoping that he could control his emotions.
Pei Qing said, “Because I know you will not agree, but even if you do not agree, I will still insist.”
Pei Jingrong said angrily, “Bastard!”
Pei Qing sighed softly, leaned on the sofa, and said to Pei Jingrong, “Dad, I am not happy here.”
Pei Jingrong asked him, “Am I not good to you, or is your aunt not good to you?”
Pei Qing said, “You’re all great, and you have Xueqing. Wouldn’t it be better for you all to just be happy together? If I’m not happy, that’s my problem. There’s no need to force me to stay.”
When Pei Jingrong was about to speak, Zhan Yingfei said, “If the child wants to go out and try his luck, just let him go. Why do you have to keep him by your side? At this age, he is full of energy and should go out to gain experience.”
“But—” Pei Jingrong was still unwilling.
Zhan Yingfei interrupted him, “There’s no need to worry. It’s just a job, not something permanent. If it doesn’t go well or he’s unhappy, Pei Qing can still come back and help you out.” As she spoke, she pushed Pei Jingrong into the room, “You are all very emotional now. Let’s calm down and talk. There’s no need to rush.”
Pei Jingrong didn’t say anything else.
Zhan Yingfei said to Pei Qing when she passed by him, “Go and have a rest first. We can talk tomorrow if you have anything to say.”
Pei Qing said to Zhan Yingfei, “Auntie, I have bought a plane ticket for tomorrow.”
The next day was Friday, so Zhan Weiyang didn’t have to attend evening self-study. Although he didn’t have to attend every day, he tried studying at home for two weeks and realised he couldn’t understand the material on his own. So, he stayed at school for self-study sessions, where he could ask teachers or classmates for help with the problems he didn’t understand.
After knowing that Zhan Weiyang was going to study at night, Chen Youyou also studied at school every day. Because Zhan Weiyang’s deskmate was not there in the evening, he moved to sit next to Zhan Weiyang during self-study so that Zhan Weiyang could ask him questions that he couldn’t solve. Even though Chen Youyou wasn’t the most articulate, he could explain things to Zhan Weiyang by writing and drawing.
Zhan Weiyang said to Chen Youyou, “Youyou, you are so good.” He thought that if it weren’t for Pei Qing, he might fall in love with Chen Youyou.
Chen Youyou’s thoughts weren’t that complicated. If he went home in the evenings, his mom would just make him study anyway, so he figured he might as well stay at school. At least there, he could find some time to chat with Zhan Weiyang. So, he waved his hand and said, “I’ve, always been this, good of a person.”
After school in the afternoon, Zhan Weiyang and Chen Youyou left the school together.
Chen Youyou asked Zhan Weiyang, “How about having dinner together?”
Zhan Pengcheng would not be home for dinner today, and only Grandma and Auntie Luo were at home. Zhan Weiyang thought about it and felt that he could have dinner with Chen Youyou, but Chen Youyou had recently been obsessed with seafood noodles in a noodle shop. They had been there several times, but Chen Youyou still wanted to eat it, so Zhan Weiyang said first, “Okay, but I’m not eating seafood noodles.”
Chen Youyou was a little unhappy, “Then, what do you say to eat?”
Zhan Weiyang said, “I don’t know.” Anyway, he knew that he didn’t want to eat seafood noodles.
They walked to the school gate, and Zhan Weiyang suddenly saw a familiar figure standing under the big tree outside the gate.
It was already the end of June. Pei Qing wore a black short-sleeved T-shirt and long jeans. Compared with the last time he left, his hair was cut shorter and he was thinner. He smiled when he saw Zhan Weiyang.
Zhan Weiyang almost cried out in surprise, ran towards Pei Qing, and threw himself into Pei Qing’s arms.
At that time, Chen Youyou hadn’t reacted to what happened and stood there in a daze.
Pei Qing reached out and picked up Zhan Weiyang, both feet off the ground, gently putting him back, saying, “I’m picking you up from school.”
Zhan Weiyang was so happy that he was about to cry, and he hugged Pei Qing tightly regardless of whether there was anyone watching.
Pei Qing smiled and patted his head, “Okay, okay.”
After that, he greeted Chen Youyou, “Hello. Youyou.”
Chen Youyou came back to his senses, “Hello, Older cousin.”
Zhan Weiyang let go of Pei Qing after a while and said, “Why didn’t you tell me you were back?”
Pei Qing said, “It’s a surprise for you. I arrived in the morning and dealt with some things in the afternoon. I came directly to pick you up for dinner.”
Zhan Weiyang nodded vigorously, “Dinner!”
Pei Qing was still thinking about Chen Youyou, “Youyou, do you want to go to dinner with us?”
Chen Youyou hesitated for a moment and said, “No, I, have to go home.”
Pei Qing didn’t force him, “Then you go back, be careful on the road.”
Chen Youyou nodded, “I’m going.” Seeing that Zhan Weiyang didn’t try to stop him, he pretended to walk towards the bus stop, changed direction halfway, and planned to eat seafood noodles alone. He still wanted to eat seafood noodles so much.
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