On Sunday, Qi Wenhan stayed at home while Qi Anlu went out using the same excuse as yesterday, naturally earning himself another scolding.
Qi Anlu didn't care anymore. Let them scold, he thought. It's always the same few phrases anyway, nothing new.
After leaving home, Qi Anlu went straight to the hospital. He had made an appointment yesterday afternoon.
There were no specialist clinics open on Sundays, but Qi Anlu couldn't afford to be picky. He had no time to visit the hospital on weekdays from Monday to Friday.
Because he was a minor without a guardian or friend accompanying him, the doctor only asked a few simple questions before giving him a questionnaire to complete.
"Qi, I suggest you go home and tell your parents about this. You've already engaged in self-harm, and your depressive symptoms are quite evident. You need medication."
Qi Anlu nodded without saying anything. This result was within his expectations. Often, he could examine his own behavior very clearly, as if he were an outsider.
He had researched depression online and was aware of his symptoms.
He had no intention of telling his parents either. Telling them would only make his condition worse, with no benefit.
The doctor wouldn't prescribe medication, but Qi Anlu wasn't disappointed. The doctor was just following protocol.
After leaving the hospital, Qi Anlu went to school.
On Sunday afternoon, even the third-year high school students were on break. The school was very quiet.
Qi Anlu took out the medical records and various examination papers from the hospital and placed them in the deepest part of his desk drawer.
These things were much safer at school than at home.
Qi Wenhan's control over him manifested in all aspects. Opening his bedroom door to inspect was a common occurrence, under the pretext of "making sure you're not doing anything bad in there."
In the afternoon, Qi Anlu spent two hours at school. When he left, there was a new reading list in his phone's notes app.
Two more years. Perhaps he could try to save himself. He didn't hope for a full recovery, just... not getting any worse would be good enough.
— Monday
"Why did you return the money? Didn't you go to the hospital?"
At lunch, after finishing their meal, Qu Zizhou and Chu Mingyan went to buy something, telling the other two to wait for them at the cafeteria entrance. As soon as they left, Gu Zhijing hurriedly questioned Qi Anlu. This morning, Qi Anlu had transferred back the money Gu Zhijing had sent him the day before yesterday.
"I went to the hospital. It was a public hospital, covered by medical insurance. Didn't cost much."
"Really? What did the doctor say?"
"Why would I lie to you? Do you want to see my medical record? The doctor said I came to the hospital just in time, and my condition isn't too serious right now."
"No need for that. It's your privacy, I shouldn't pry." Gu Zhijing believed what Qi Anlu said. After all, in their daily interactions, he couldn't see any major issues, so he thought it probably wasn't serious.
Seeing Gu Zhijing's earnest expression, Qi Anlu felt both touched and amused.
"Alright, keep the money for yourself. In case your dad cuts your allowance again, you'll have a backup."
"Money is meant to be spent. Let him cut it if he wants, I'm not afraid of him now," Gu Zhijing said proudly.
"Quick, quick, take it! It's freezing me..." Qu Zizhou ran over, shoved the cola into Gu Zhijing's arms, and frantically shook his hands.
"Drinking ice-cold cola in the dead of winter, aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache?"
"What do you know? Ice-cold cola and room temperature cola are completely different things."
Ice-cold cola, national treasure!
"I heard the school is going to have another parent-teacher conference," Chu Mingyan delivered the bad news to his friends on their way back to the classroom.
"Another one? What for? Why don't they just drag our parents to school to attend classes with us?"
Qu Zizhou had the strongest reaction to this news. He had performed terribly in the midterm exams, and had barely survived the weekend by playing a guerrilla war between his grandparents' houses to avoid his mother.
"Is it true? Who did you hear it from?" Qu Zizhou still didn't want to believe this bad news. A parent-teacher conference at this time would definitely be about the midterm exam results.
Now that his father wasn't home, there was no one to draw fire for him. He feared he might not live past sixteen.
"I heard it from a friend in Class 1. Their homeroom teacher has already notified them."
Sure enough, before the first class after the lunch break, Cen Xi came to announce the parent-teacher conference scheduled for Wednesday.
This parent-teacher conference was a last-minute decision. The midterm exams showed that many students hadn't yet adjusted to the high school learning pace. In Principal Ge's words, they needed parents to cooperate with the school to "keep the kids on their toes."
"I'm definitely done for this time."
Gu Zhijing glanced at him. "What were you doing when you were supposed to be reviewing?"
He had spent three days trying to memorize the word "abandon" in English...
"Next time, next time I'll definitely study hard."
While making this vow, Qu Zizhou was mentally calculating whether his three-year-old cousin could pass as a guardian.
Qu Zizhou asked Gu Zhijing, "Who's coming to the parent-teacher conference for your family? Your dad or our little mom-sis?"
"Get lost, who are you calling little mom-sis?"
Gu Zhijing had already decided. He'd still have his stepmother come to the parent-teacher conference. As for his father, he could focus on making money outside.
Qi Anlu was also thinking about the parent-teacher conference. Considering recent events at home, he guessed his father would throw another hysterical fit.
This time he wasn't first in the class, so Qi Wenhan had lost his stage to perform on.
For the parent-teacher conference at the beginning of the school year, his father was still abroad, so his mother had attended. This time... maybe his father would feel too embarrassed and let his mother go again.
That evening, when Qi Anlu got home and mentioned the parent-teacher conference, his father's reaction was exactly as he had predicted.
"You couldn't even get first in your class, and you want me to attend the parent-teacher conference? I can't lose face like that."
Zhou Xinfang tried to mediate from the side: "It's alright, Congcong. Mom can go for you, it's the same. Besides, your dad has to teach at the university on Wednesday, so he wouldn't have time anyway."
"Mm. I'm full. I'm going to do my homework."
"Is that how you speak to your mother? Think you've grown up, do you? If you're so capable, just get out of this house. Who are you giving attitude to..."
Qi Anlu closed the door, shutting out those words.
After finishing scolding his son, Qi Wenhan turned his anger towards his wife.
"It's all because you spoil him. Let me tell you, neither of us is going to that parent-teacher conference! With grades like that, our Qi family can't afford to lose face!"
Hearing her husband say this, Zhou Xinfang looked conflicted. "But we can't do that. How can we not go to the parent-teacher conference? The teachers will have issues with it. All the other students' parents will go, and only our family won't. Congcong will feel bad."
"I said we're not going, so we're not going. Let him feel bad. That way he'll know to work harder next time."
Qi Wenhan said impatiently, "Don't interfere with how I educate the child. What do you know? This is how my father raised me and Wen Sheng, and we both got into university. It proves this is how children should be raised."
"Well... if you say so."
