On Saturday morning, Qi Wenhan came out of the study to find no one else at home.
It was nearly noon when Zhou Xinfang returned, carrying groceries.
"Where did you go?"
"To buy groceries."
"It took you all morning to buy groceries? Isn't the market just next door?" Qi Wenhan asked suspiciously, as Zhou Xinfang's behavior was unusual.
"I ran into an acquaintance and chatted for a while," Zhou Xinfang said calmly, her expression unchanged.
Qi Wenhan's suspicions faded, and he turned his dissatisfaction towards their son instead.
"That boy has disappeared again. Not studying on the weekend but going out to mess around - it's all because you spoil him."
With Qi Anlu not at home, there was no one to talk back to him. Zhou Xinfang remained silent and went to the kitchen to sort out the groceries she had bought.
Qi Wenhan grumbled for a while, but it felt like punching a pillow. After a few minutes, he fell silent.
Qi Anlu had left early in the morning. For him now, stepping out of the house meant relaxation. He wandered in the park, looked at the sky, and when his appointment time came, he went to the hospital for psychological counseling.
He had lunch outside before returning home.
"Where have you been messing around?"
"Nowhere, I went to do my homework," Qi Anlu didn't want to say a word more to Qi Wenhan. Ignoring whatever unpleasant things his father might say next, he intended to go straight to his room.
"You're becoming more and more unmanageable! I'm your father!"
Qi Wenhan angrily walked up to his son and raised his hand.
"What are you doing! You're not going to hit Anlu, are you?"
Zhou Xinfang ran over to stand in front of her son, trying to pull her husband's hand away.
"Mom, don't interfere." Qi Anlu pulled his mother behind him and looked straight at Qi Wenhan. "Go ahead and hit me! If you dare to lay a finger on me, I'll call the police immediately. Not only will I call the police, but I'll also go to your school, to your superiors, to your students, and let them see what kind of person our great Professor Qi really is!"
Qi Wenhan lowered his hand and shouted angrily, "Are you threatening me? Who gave you the guts to threaten your old man? You think you can report me? Do you think anyone would believe you?"
Qi Anlu sneered, "I'm not threatening you. I'm clearly protecting myself, Dad. I don't care if they believe it or not. When you get summoned by the police during your class, it doesn't matter whether they believe it or not."
Qi Anlu fearlessly looked straight into his father's eyes. The once-fearsome father now seemed not so intimidating. He would soon grow taller and stronger than him.
Not only was he unafraid, Qi Anlu looked at his dad and inappropriately thought that Qi Wenhan wasn't good-looking at all. It was fortunate that he took after his mother; wouldn't it have been terrible if he looked like his father?
Qi Wenhan snorted coldly and turned to Zhou Xinfang, "Look at the fine son you've raised."
"What right do you have to criticize my mom? Aren't you my biological father? If I'm a bad person, you're no better. Why don't you reflect on your own genes?"
"Bang!"
Qi Wenhan slammed the door as he left, apparently furious. Having angered him into leaving, Qi Anlu felt much happier.
"Mom, you must have been very beautiful when you were young, right?" In fact, even now, his mother was beautiful. It was just that years of unhappy life and not taking care of herself had made her look somewhat haggard.
"Huh?" Zhou Xinfang had been looking down, lost in thought. Hearing her son's question, she was stunned, not knowing how to answer.
"Why aren't there any photos of you when you were young at home?"
Zhou Xinfang said shyly, "We were poor when I was young, so there was no opportunity to take photos." She had grown up in the countryside, and with many brothers and sisters, the family was even more difficult. It wasn't until after she married Qi Wenhan that she first came to the city.
Hearing her son mention her youth, Zhou Xinfang felt a bit dazed.
Beautiful? She probably was beautiful, otherwise she wouldn't have had the chance to marry Qi Wenhan, who was one of the few college students in the village at that time.
Before the wedding, her mother had said, "You're lucky, girl. You've got a pretty face, or you wouldn't have had the chance to marry a college student."
After the wedding, her mother said, "A pretty face is only temporary. A woman still needs to hurry up and have a son to secure her life."
After she had a son, her mother said, "Isn't this how everyone lives? All men are the same. Your husband is capable, so you should endure it. Things will get better when your son grows up."
"Mom, what's wrong?" For some reason, Qi Anlu felt that his mother seemed very sad.
"It's nothing, son. Go do your homework. I'll wash some fruit for you."
"Let me help you."
Zhou Xinfang waved her hand, "No need, no need. It's just washing fruit, what help do you need? Go on in."
Looking at her son's back, Zhou Xinfang wanted to say something several times, but in the end, she held back.
Since her son didn't want her to know, she would pretend she didn't know yet.
...
Saturday, 3 PM.
Nian Suian had just woken up and was still groggy when she heard a knock on the door.
"What is it?"
"We're going to the mountain for a barbecue this afternoon. Want to come?"
"Barbecue?! I'm in!" Just as she was about to close the door and turn back to change clothes, she thought, "Is it safe to barbecue on the mountain? Setting a mountain on fire could land you in jail."
"It's safe. This mountain has been well developed. There's even a camping site on the mountain with a large open area. There won't be any safety concerns, don't worry," Gu Junxing explained patiently. After knowing her for so long, he still often found it hard to keep up with her train of thought.
"When are we leaving? I'll go change my clothes."
"In about half an hour. Get ready, and I'll go call Zhijing."
Nian Suian nodded, "Okay."
Gu Junxing opened the door to another room and found, surprisingly, that Gu Zhijing was actually doing his homework. It was like the sun rising from the west.
"We're going to the mountain for a barbecue later. Change your clothes and wait for me at the entrance."
"Barbecue! Great!" Gu Zhijing threw down his pen and stood up to grab his jacket.
"This is the key card for the room across. You'll sleep there tonight." Gu Junxing took out the key card and put it on the table.
"Alright! I'm doing all this for you, Dad!"
"Okay, stop joking around. Hurry up and get dressed, then come out."
At 3:30 PM, the group gathered at the hotel entrance, ready to go up the mountain.
Since they were going to a developed campsite, they could drive directly up, saving the effort of hiking.
There were seven of them, so they needed two cars. Gu Junxing drove one car with Nian Suian, Gu Zhijing, and the barbecue equipment and ingredients. The other four people were in another car.
Qin Wei said to Chen Shu, "Shu, you drive. You're a steady driver."
"Are you implying that I'm not a steady driver? I've driven this road several times, but Chen hasn't driven it before."
While fastening his wife's seatbelt, Qin Wei said, "Someone who's been dealt with by the traffic police has no right to say that."
Liu Jian was responsible for sitting in the front passenger seat to give Chen Shu directions, while Gu Junxing followed behind in his car.
Apart from having many curves, the road was quite smooth.
The place wasn't far from the hotel, but Chen Shu drove very slowly to be safe. A route that usually took Liu Jian about fifteen minutes to drive took them nearly half an hour this time.
It was a large open area, and there were already a few scattered tents set up, probably from people who had come to camp. Since they didn't plan to stay overnight, they simply walked a bit further to set up the barbecue grill.
