On the first day of the National Day holiday, Chai Meicen and Zhou Rui had a battle lasting 300 rounds early in the morning.
When asking Chai Meicen to help sign him up for sports activities, Zhou Rui was unusually nice and readily agreed to study hard during the holiday.
However, Chai Meicen could not wake Zhou Rui up the next morning.
Zhou Rui remembered this time and deliberately locked his door. Chai Meicen heard banging noises inside when she knocked, he probably used chairs to block the door.
Peering through the door crack, he likely covered himself with blankets as no light could get through.
Chai Meicen called Zhou Rui's phone but found he had already muted it.
This was a war between mother and son, but the warlike teen was still fast asleep.
Zhou Rui made full preparations, using blankets to mute the door and chairs to stop Chai Meicen from breaking in in anger.
He also wore earplugs, eye masks, determined to sleep in.
Hearing some noises, Chai Meicen stopped and let him continue his beauty sleep.
Chai Meicen did not plan on waking Zhou Rui up, she intended to let Zhou Rui rest for a day as the cram school she signed him up for started tomorrow.
She did not want to wake Zhou Rui up, just wanted him to have some porridge and continue sleeping after breakfast.
To her, this was not a problem at all.
Knowing Zhou Rui's tricks, Chai Meicen was no longer in a hurry. She dragged a small cart out to buy groceries.
This small cart had wheels underneath a basket, allowing her to buy more stuff and pull it back easily.
Humming a tune, she went downstairs to the wet market, browsed through the stalls and asked for prices. She decided on the few cheapest stalls to patron later.
At this moment, she met a familiar face.
She hurried over, "Li Xiaonan!"
Li Xiaonan was quite surprised to see Chai Meicen, but quickly reacted, "Oh, what a coincidence."
"Do you live around here?" Chai Meicen really did not know.
Li Xiaonan shook his head, seemingly embarrassed as he explained, "I just drop by occasionally."
"I live right over there, I often come here to buy groceries." After speaking, seeing Li Xiaonan about to purchase from one stall, she immediately pulled him away.
"What's wrong?" Li Xiaonan asked, puzzled.
"You have to buy seasonal produce, otherwise they won't taste good. And who knows what chemicals they sprayed. Also, that stall is expensive. Tell me what you want to buy, I'll tell you which stall is cheaper."
Whenever Li Xiaonan felt awkward or embarrassed, he would unconsciously wipe his nose tip with his fingers. After doing so this time, Chai Meicen noticed the wounds on the back of his hand.
It seemed like he had punched something, his fingers were swollen and scraped at the knuckles.
He had likely been in a fight recently, punching people. She was very familiar with such injuries from seeing Zhou Rui's wounds frequently.
"You're hurt!" She immediately pulled up Li Xiaonan's sleeve to take a look.
Li Xiaonan retracted his hand and casually replied, "I just punched some people on a whim earlier."
"You guys are so fierce, casually getting into fights and then coming to buy groceries right after?" Chai Meicen asked, exasperated. She really did not understand what satisfaction these boys got from fights.
Li Xiaonan kept his head low, seemingly at a loss for how to reply. He just asked, "If someone was beaten up and keeps drinking alcohol, what's good for him to eat?"
"You beat up a drunkard, and now feel guilty so want to make him a meal?"
"No..."
"Porridge then, it's a cure-all. His digestive system probably isn't great either." Chai Meicen replied as she brought Li Xiaonan along to buy ingredients.
Just as they were picking out items, a group suddenly swarmed the market. One of them saw Li Xiaonan and yelled, "It's him! Suddenly appeared and started hitting people!"
The shouter had a bruised, swollen face, evidently just been punched, by whom was obvious.
Li Xiaonan's first reaction was to pull Chai Meicen behind him, ready to fight them head on.
"Are you dumb? With six, seven people and you're not running?" Chai Meicen dragged Li Xiaonan and started running, one hand still holding the cart.
Li Xiaonan did not plan on fleeing initially, at most he could take on six people alone. But being pulled to run, he realized oh, they could run, and so ran along.
The two of them were young and rather slim, running very quickly through the market.
It was early morning at the wet market, mostly uncles and aunties who woke up early and liked buying fresh goods. They would be picking and choosing, trying to buy the best batches that just came in.
As the two ran, some yelled at them to be careful.
Chai Meicen also ran carefully, warning Li Xiaonan, "Bumping into any old uncle or auntie could kill us, let's go this way."
After speaking, she led Li Xiaonan towards small paths.
The group clumsily chased after them, looking much less agile.
Once nearer, Li Xiaonan saw Chai Meicen look back and swing the small cart at the leader, before pulling him along to continue running.
Making left and right turns, they ran into a police station courtyard.
The two of them stood in the yard, gasping heavily for breath. The few men seeing it was a station did not dare continue chasing. They cursed for a bit before seeing policemen come out and quickly scattered away.
"What's the situation?" Chai Meicen complained between breaths, asking Li Xiaonan while clutching her waist.
Li Xiaonan kept silent, looking incompetent.
After waiting for a while, Li Xiaonan started walking back.
"You're going back?" Chai Meicen followed behind Li Xiaonan and asked.
Li Xiaonan walked a distance, found Chai Meicen's small cart, picked it up to inspect it, straightened out the bent rod, and handed it back to her.
"Where are you going after this?" Chai Meicen asked.
"To buy ingredients for porridge."
"Then help me carry this, I'm going back to buy groceries too!"
The two returned the same way to the wet market. Chai Meicen was pissed off the entire time as she bought vegetables, also helping Li Xiaonan choose what he needed.
As they prepared to leave, Chai Meicen looked at Li Xiaonan and asked, "Do you know how to cook porridge?"
"No." Li Xiaonan replied in a low voice.
Chai Meicen passed the small cart back to Li Xiaonan again, "Lead the way."
Li Xiaonan hesitated for a while before pulling the cart to lead Chai Meicen. The two went together to an old housing estate.
The house Chai Meicen and Zhou Rui lived in now was considered an old building. Chai Meicen could afford many houses but never moved, still living in the original two-room apartment from the start.
This area was also an old district, with many aged housing estates. This one they went to was one of the most dilapidated.
After going up the stairs and Li Xiaonan opened a door, Chai Meicen could not help but frown the moment the door opened.
The door showed signs of man-made damage, the locks were all broken, likely smashed open before.
Pushing the door open and entering, a stench of alcohol assaulted their noses instantly.
Li Xiaonan went in first, then turned to tell Chai Meicen, "Wait here first."
"Oh."
After Li Xiaonan tidied up inside for a while, he came out again saying, "You can come in now."
Chai Meicen walked in to see a one bedroom apartment. The floor tiles were somewhat sticky, dirty and really unbearable to her.
The smell inside was even worse, Chai Meicen nearly gagged.
She peered in and saw Li Xiaonan using the medical supplies he bought on the way back to treat the wounds of a man lying in bed, instead of his own injuries.
"Someone you beat up?" Chai Meicen asked.
"No, when I arrived, some people were beating him up so I stopped them." Li Xiaonan's voice was steady when he answered.
He likely did more than just stop them, must have beaten those few people up as well.
"Oh..." Chai Meicen drew out her reply, then looked left and right to find the kitchen. She went in to check for equipment to cook some porridge, only to find making porridge required using an electric cooker.
While Chai Meicen cooked porridge, she could hear that old man scolding Li Xiaonan: "You still remember you have a dad, I thought... you went off with that woman to live blissfully, long forgetting about your old man. That ruined wife... vain woman only liked money. I had no money so she left... "
"She was too disappointed in you." Li Xiaonan replied.
"Bullshit! She just liked rich men, I knew early on... Oh, what's with that expression, feeling ashamed of me? Think your stepdad is amazing right, go call him dad then!"
Chai Meicen could not listen any further and went out, saying: "When a woman is first willing to be with you, it shows she truly cared for you then, not minding your money. But she cannot tolerate a man lacking drive for improvement, being with you for years yet seeing no hope. Yet you guys don't see your own incompetence, only feeling the woman is gold-digging."
"Who the hell are you, what gives you the right to criticize me?" Hearing Chai Meicen's words seemed to provoke his greatest insecurity, Li Dad immediately flew into a rage out of humiliation.
"Sober up from alcohol, face the facts. Seeing you now, I feel your ex-wife made the right choice leaving, otherwise her life would be utterly miserable now. A woman who could bear your children did not love money, but was ground down by you until her love dried up and she left heartbroken. "
"Shut up!" The man persisted in denial, spittle spraying in his agitation as his face twisted in ugliness.
"Speak properly with your son. He's kind enough to still care whether you're dead or alive. If you've hurt his feelings completely too, you can wait to rot dead in this house one day without anyone even finding your corpse!"
Chai Meicen finished and turned back to check on the porridge, afraid it might burn.
Li Xiaonan kept watching Chai Meicen leave. Seeing Li Dad wanting to get up and hit Chai Meicen, he stretched out his hand to grab Li Dad and fling him back onto the bed: "How come I didn't see you so spirited just now when you were beaten up like a dead body?"
"Who...who is she?" Li Dad's body was full of injuries, the additional slam making him hurt badly.
"My classmate."
"Don't find a girl like her, sharp-tongued and bossy. She'll definitely become a shrew when grown up."
"Worry about yourself."
After a while, Chai Meicen's porridge was cooked.
Li Xiaonan went to serve it to Li Dad to eat. Li Dad looked at it and complained, "Not even a single side dish."
In her little car, Chai Meicen took out a cucumber and threw it to Li Dad, “Here, have a cucumber.”
“It’s not washed.”
“You’re still worried about this when you look like this?”
“Don’t talk back to your elders!”
Chai Meicen put her hands in her pockets and said coldly, “Being poor is not scary, what’s scary is being poor and still being chauvinistic.”
“All you women only talk about money.” Li Dad said unpleasantly, but still ate the cucumber and took a sip of porridge.
“It's not that. Now women can make more money than you men. We can take good care of ourselves and don't need to get married to you poor guys. Being single is great, we are happy being single.”
Li Dad was so angry that his eyes widened.
“Alright, you've done your filial duty. Let's go to my house for a meal, no need to keep drinking porridge with him.” Chai Meicen said as she prepared to leave.
Li Xiaonan stood up and followed her out.
Li Dad watched his son obediently follow Chai Meicen and couldn’t help but curse, “You...you’re still going to her house?”
Chai Meicen looked back and said impatiently, “You should grow up. Anyone with a little self-respect wouldn't end up like you. You think your ex-wife would feel sorry for you like this? She would only be more certain of her decision. Your son is great, if I were your daughter, I would be hitting you along with the others.”
Li Dad really had no words to retaliate against Chai Meicen's scolding.
He watched helplessly as Li Xiaonan carried a small cart and followed Chai Meicen out the door, feeling very complicated.
On the way back, Li Xiaonan was very silent. After thinking for a while, he said, "I won't go to your place, I'm going home."
"You have to come back with me. I helped you, so you have to do me a favor - get that Zhou Rui scumbag out for me."
"Ah?" Li Xiaonan was a little confused.
"You'll know when you get there. I'll be in charge of cooking later, and you'll be in charge of dealing with Zhou Rui."
Li Xiaonan followed Chai Meicen home in great confusion. After going in, Chai Meicen immediately started introducing Zhou Rui’s room situation and asked Li Xiaonan to find a way to break in before lunch, even taking the door off was fine.
Looking at Zhou Rui’s door, Li Xiaonan said helplessly in a low voice, “If I go in, Zhou Rui will definitely fight me.”
"Don't worry, I'll help you. He won't dare make trouble."
Li Xiaonan took his hands out of his pockets, and Chai Meicen suddenly remembered that Li Xiaonan's hands were still injured.
"Wait, I have disinfectants and stuff here. Zhou Rui is always getting into fights, so I prepared a lot of things." Chai Meicen said and took out a first aid kit, dipping a cotton swab in iodine.
"I can do it myself."
"Come on, your hands are shaking like an old man with chills."
Chai Meicen held Li Xiaonan's fingertips to help disinfect his wound, lowered her head to carefully apply medicine, and asked at the same time, "Does it hurt in the bone?"
This was the first time Li Xiaonan had touched a girl's hand. His heartbeat suddenly quickened, stammering for a long time without answering.
"What's wrong, did it hurt the bone? Should we go to the hospital for an x-ray?" Chai Meicen asked again.
"No need... it should be fine." Li Xiaonan finally found his voice again.
"How does your stepfather treat you?" Chai Meicen had already figured out Li Xiaonan's family situation.
His mother remarried, probably to a rich man.
Li Xiaonan was now living with his mother and stepfather. He came to visit his biological dad for the National Day holiday and happened to run into the fight.
He bought groceries because he was afraid his biological dad would starve.
"Pretty good. I don't spend much time with them, mostly boarding at school." Li Xiaonan answered in a low voice.
"Are they going to have a child?"
"Yeah, I have a little sister who is in junior high now."
"Does your sister dislike you?" Chai Meicen loved to ask about these family matters. She was used to gossiping with aunties and grannies in her daily life, so she asked casually.
"She's okay to me, she likes Zhou Rui more."
As soon as Chai Meicen heard that it somehow involved her own son, she looked up and asked, "How do you even know Zhou Rui?"
"She follows me whenever I'm on break, just to get another look at Zhou Rui. I went through a lot of trouble to dodge her today."
Just then the doorbell rang.
Chai Meicen simply yelled, "Come in yourself!"
Hou Ranxi entered by inputting the password and saw Chai Meicen tending to Li Xiaonan's wound as soon as she opened the door. Her eyes swept over Li Xiaonan’s earlobe, then she asked, "Zhou Rui’s classmate?"
"Yeah." Chai Meicen responded.
"You go cook. I'll take care of him."
Without thinking much, Chai Meicen immediately got up and went to the kitchen.
Hou Ranxi sat down across from Li Xiaonan and pressed a cotton swab to his wound, hurting Li Xiaonan so much that he hissed.
Author's note: Hou Ranxi: Hmph, the little whelp is already coming into our household.
Giving out 50 random red packets for comments.
[Reposting a comment from yesterday, be careful or Elder Zhou will beat you up!
Shifang: Let's not talk about who the male lead is first. Right now, the only thought in my mind is: A family of three, Zhou Rui is the ugliest.]
Preorder for a new book in my column that you can jump to!
[I'm afraid I'm going further down the road of silly literature.]
"Male God, Hear Me Out"
Ye Duoduo buried her wish under a tree: I hope I can meet a shining boy who understands me best and sees me as someone special.
After school started, Ye Duoduo saw a glowing boy, with a cold expression but subtitles flying quickly above his head, as if they were his inner thoughts.
This wish came true a bit extremely...
He's so bright, like a sacred Buddha! How will I sleep tonight when he can see the glowing...aahhhhh!
Wu Yewan has face blindness. Suddenly one day he realized he could recognize one girl at first glance, she was the most beautiful in the whole world.
Is it because I'm too ugly? Why does she always seem unable to open her eyes when she sees me?
Are those people who call me Male God just fooling with me?
The school prince Wu Yewan gradually started to lack confidence.
