"Every ti I try to educate our son, you act like this. Mark my words, if this keeps up, he’ll be ruined sooner or later."
As his parents’ scolding faded into the distance, Xue Shan lay on the bed in frustration, pulling the blanket over his head. Right now, he didn’t want to listen to anyone. He was even less inclined to go out and et people, especially after seeing Xue Yang. What did it matter to him if others were successful?
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, the house was peaceful. Everything had been washed, cleaned, and bought.
Xue Yang would occasionally co out to the courtyard to bask in the sun, living a life of rare comfort. It had been a long ti since he had felt so at ease at ho. As far as he could rember, life there had revolved entirely around his studies. To avoid disturbing him, his parents would stay out of the house as much as possible, since they both spoke loudly and worried they would disrupt him if they were around.
Have Mom and Dad forgotten that I’m already in college? They don’t need to suppress themselves so deliberately anymore. But it seems unlikely they’ll change their ways overnight.
This led Xue Yang to ponder taking the van for a drive. Although our family lives in a village, it isn’t too far from the city—only about a forty-minute drive. Now that I have so money, I could buy a comrcial apartnt for my parents. The village is only lively during the New Year and is usually quite empty. They both have to work, and the commute isn’t convenient. Buying an apartnt near their workplaces would make things easier for them.
The migrant workers who were supposed to return had all co back, filling the village with daily excitent. The constant sounds of mahjong and card gas filled the air, mingled with the noise of children crying and laughing. People would often invite Xue Yang out, but he always declined.
He wasn’t bored, nor was he idle. On the contrary, he remained busy every day because King’s Ga had a variety of issues that required his daily attention. On top of that, with spring approaching, the trendy clothing brand was busy with its spring line and already had to start preparing for the sumr collection.
Jennifer chatted with Xue Yang on QQ every day, asking for his opinions on the clothes. Since she had helped him out imnsely, he would patiently answer any questions she had, sotis offering his own suggestions. After talking with Xue Yang, Jennifer’s problems were usually solved with ease.
"If you’d studied fashion design, I would definitely find a way to get you into our company to design with ," Jennifer had just sent.
Xue Yang smiled and typed back, "What a pity. I missed my chance to beco Jennifer’s colleague."
"Don’t try to comfort ," she replied. "You’re definitely working on so big venture, aren’t you?"
"Yes, I just launched a ga that’s currently in its testing phase," Xue Yang typed. "After the New Year, it should be ready to establish a good reputation."
"I knew you were no ordinary guy," Jennifer wrote. "But aren’t you scared, developing a ga with just six million in capital?"
Jennifer didn’t specify what he should be scared of, but they both understood.
"Once you decide to do sothing, you can’t overthink it," Xue Yang replied. "Hesitating only puts you at a disadvantage."
"You’re right. I hope you succeed."
It was no wonder Jennifer felt that way. In that era, there was still significant resistance to video gas. Only a minority of young people accepted them, while most people, upon hearing the word "ga," considered it a frivolous pursuit.
"Thanks!"
On New Year’s Eve, February 9th, Yang Bing’s family arrived bearing gifts. It was a local custom for married daughters to visit their maternal ho before the New Year and then again after the third day of the celebrations. Afterward, most people would return to work, and students would wait for school to start.
Xue Yuanxia arrived first with her husband and three daughters. Yang Xiaozhi followed a short while later, accompanied by a very pretty girl. This was the only way he had managed to think of in the past few days to one-up Xue Yang.
So what if he got into Yanbei University? He still doesn’t have a girlfriend. I heard that Chen Ying rejected his confession. That ans even getting into a university was useless. She still doesn’t like him. So what if he got handso? What good is it if girls don’t like him?
At their age, everything seed to be related to won. It felt as if no matter how great you were, it was a huge embarrassnt if you didn’t have at least one or two girls interested in you. A large part of why Yang Xiaozhi had insisted on getting a job right after junior high was because of this girl.
To be fair, she was very pretty. Her personality also seed proper; she didn’t seem like the type to cause trouble.
Seeing the girl, Yang Xiaozhi’s grandmother couldn’t contain her happiness. "Now that you’ve decided to be together, be good to each other," she said, beaming. "Grandma doesn’t expect much else. I just hope all of you boys do well."
"By the way, Grandma, where’s Xiao Yang? I haven’t seen Xing Zai either," Yang Xiaozhi asked. He had been looking for Xue Yang on his way over but hadn’t seen him.
"Oh, those two brothers took off in the van bright and early this morning. The kids are all grown up; we can’t manage them so much anymore."
"Not at ho?" Yang Xiaozhi forced a chuckle. He had finally prepared his ultimate move, only to arrive and find the enemy wasn’t even in his base. What was the aning of this? It felt like he’d just punched himself in the face, and it stung.
"Xiao Fang, what are you just standing there for? Go pour Grandma so water!"
Xiao Fang, who had been chatting with the old woman, froze at Yang Xiaozhi’s sudden shout. What on earth has gotten into him? she thought. But since this was his relatives’ ho, she couldn’t say much and patiently went to pour the tea.
"I’ll do it, I’ll do it! It’s my fault, old ," the grandmother interjected. "I was so happy to see you all that I forgot to get you tea."
The old woman insisted Xiao Fang stay seated and got up to pour the tea herself.
"Grandma, Xiao Fang isn’t an outsider. It’s fine for her to pour the water."
"That’s no way to treat a guest. Child, you sit down. I’ll be right back."
Although the grandmother wasn’t young, she was still perfectly capable of such a small task. Just then, Xue Yang’s mother, Zhong Hailan, returned. Seeing the scene, she quickly said, "Mom, let . You go sit with Eldest Sister and the others."
"Ah, all right."
The old woman finally sat back down. Throughout this exchange, both Xue Yuanxia and Yang Bing remained seated without moving. Their three daughters, anwhile, had gone off to find Xue Rou, as girls naturally gravitate toward other girls to play.
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