“Don’t even mention it, Jiang Che’s suggestion crossed Pei Yue’s mind. Immediately, she thought of ‘the nearer the water, the brighter the moon,’ feeling a glimmer of hope.
But the moment she saw Lu Xingyan, the utterly useless backbone member of the zero-praise party who couldn’t even score four hundred points, her fantasy abruptly ceased. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to do something so morally questionable that would harm that young girl.
Lu Xingyan was completely unaware of his mother’s momentary mental turmoil, his mind wandering in several directions like a roller coaster. He stood there, as loose as a bone, absentmindedly chewing gum.
Seeing him stand there so nonchalantly, Pei Yue felt a rush of frustration. If only he had something to be proud of! If only he had a talent of any sort! …Oh well.
Throughout the journey home from school, Pei Yue ignored Lu Xingyan completely. Not only did she keep her distance of three steps from him, but she also managed to push him to walk behind Jiang Che. Meanwhile, she affectionately linked arms with Shen Xingru, smiling and greeting parents and classmates along the way, looking quite like a mother and daughter duo at first glance.
Jiang Che draped his arm over Lu Xingyan’s shoulder and leaned his head toward him. “Have you figured out if this young girl is your parents’ illegitimate child or if you were swapped at birth?”
“Bro, have you been studying youth literature recently? The plot you just described sounds like what the girls in our class often talk about when discussing novels.”
Jiang Che didn’t respond, just chuckled absentmindedly.
Jiang Che’s sports car could only seat two people, and he had to go pick up his girlfriend from work. Fortunately, Pei Yue had already arranged things with Uncle Liu beforehand. As they exited Shuxiang Road, the car was waiting.
While Pei Yue was in a good mood because of Shen Xingru, the moment she got into the car, she remembered that Lu Xingyan was her son, a fact she was unwilling to accept but had to. Holding two sets of report cards in her hand, the more she looked at them, the more her anger flared up.
She knew Lu Xingyan’s academic performance had always been poor, and he had a penchant for causing trouble at school. She had been tolerant! She had thought it was okay before because there weren’t any outstanding role models around, after all, those little boys who played well weren’t any better than him. Plus, she liked watching social news on Xingcheng TV during meals. Comparing Lu Xingyan to those young delinquents who ended up in jail at a young age in the news, she felt Lu Xingyan wasn’t so bad, at least he hadn’t shed tears behind bars at such a young age.
But now, looking at his and Shen Xingru’s report cards, she realized just how bad Lu Xingyan’s situation was, and her mindset completely collapsed!
“What were you doing during your first monthly exam? Drawing doodles? Your total score is only half of Ruoruo’s! You got barely over thirty in geography, were you guessing on multiple-choice questions?!”
“In geography, there weren’t that many multiple-choice questions, could you give me a chance to guess over thirty?”
“You dare to talk back! You dare to talk back!”
Pei Yue infuriated, turned from the passenger seat to the back, waving the report cards to smack Lu Xingyan’s head. But the distance was a bit far, her arms not long enough to reach him, no matter how many times she tried.
Lu Xingyan slouched in the seat, playing with his phone, his long legs stretched out in front of him, adopting a ‘what can you do to me’ posture.
Pei Yue was on the verge of exploding!
Seeing this, Shen Xingruo quietly used her tablet to tap Lu Xingyan’s head while he wasn’t paying attention, then said seriously, “Auntie Pei, I’ve hit him for you. Don’t be angry, it’s not good for your health to get angry.”
Lu Xingyan looked utterly bewildered.
Pei Yue’s nearly erupting anger was somewhat diffused by Shen Xingru’s teasing, inexplicably fading away.
“Lu Xingyan, study well with Ruoruo. You two sit together, why haven’t you learned even one percent from her? As the saying goes, ‘close to vermilion, you’ll become red,’ but I see you’re getting darker and darker! We’re already in the second semester of sophomore year, yet there’s been no improvement! You still can’t even score four hundred!”
She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to scold or laugh, her tone noticeably less forceful than before.
“How can you say there’s been no improvement? I scored 960 in total in freshman year, and I’ve been consistently getting over 300 each time. Now, my total score is only 750. I can still steadily score over 300, isn’t that progress?”
Lu Xingyan justified himself, feeling more and more righteous as he spoke. “And this time, I didn’t go to the math teacher to ask for two points back. In reality, I scored 400. Mom, please stop harping on about just 400. How difficult is it?”
“It’s not difficult, then show me next time!”
“I will,” Lu Xingyan agreed readily, then added, “By the way, Mom, if I score 400 on the final, my allowance for next semester should increase, right?”
He silently added in his mind that he had to support his wife and child alone; it was not easy.
Pei Yue, unaware of his inner turmoil, waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t just make empty promises. Score first, then talk to me.”
Lu Xingyan readily agreed, “Okay.”
Pei Yue remembered something and warned, “Before I say anything unpleasant, don’t try any cheating or anything like that. Look at the parents’ meeting today; a few cheaters were publicly criticized. It’s so embarrassing! If you get caught cheating, you can beg your brother Jiang Che for help. Your dad and I definitely won’t clean up your mess at school!”
“Mom, can’t you have a little faith in my character?” Lu Xingyan protested, “I may not excel academically, but I never cheat on English dictation.”
Shen Xingruo nodded, “Yes, he always scores around twenty or thirty points, very consistent.”
Lu Xingyan sighed, “Ah, Shen Xingru, why are you trying to sow discord between our harmonious mother-son relationship?”
“Who’s harmonious with you? Who’s your mother? Shut up!” Pei Yue snapped.
Lu Xingyan “…”
He felt like he could write a short essay now. The title would be “What It’s Like to Have a Realistic Mother” or “Real-life Family Bonds.”
Bickering all the way, when they were close to the Fallen Star Lake, Pei Yue suddenly remembered something important. “Oh right, your teacher said for senior year, you can choose not to stay in the dorms. What do you guys plan to do?”
Before either of them could answer, she continued, “I’ve heard some parents say they’re planning to start looking for a house now, around June. There are a lot of empty houses near your school during the senior year high school entrance exam period. Quite a few people are planning to rent near the school.”
Shen Xingruo had heard about senior year renting from Shi Qin.
Shi Qin’s mom planned to rent a one-bedroom apartment for her in her senior year and then come to take care of her.
It’s like being accompanied during study time.
If the family’s financial situation allows it, many would make this choice.
Some parents who were too busy earning money would rent together with a few classmates and then have one of the classmates’ mothers come over.
If they were all too busy, they would jointly hire a nanny to take care of their daily lives.
Seeing Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan remain silent, Pei Yue didn’t mind and continued with her thoughts, “I remember that building near your East Gate, Star River Bay, didn’t your dad keep a top-floor duplex there?”
“Um,” Lu Xingyan murmured, “I think so, I don’t remember.”
“Is it fully furnished?” Pei Yue mumbled, “I’ll ask your dad. If it is, that would be perfect. I think you two can move in next semester. I’ll have Aunt Zhou come and take care of you.”
Jin Sheng is the leading real estate company in Xingcheng, with properties of all sizes scattered throughout the city, so naturally, there’s no need for them to rent. However, Pei Yue’s plan is for her and Lu Xingyan to live together…
Shen Xingruo wanted to say something, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to. After all, she was also living off someone else’s roof and shouldn’t have too many opinions. Besides, they had Aunt Zhou, and living near Fallen Star Lake wasn’t much different from living with Zhou on weekends.