Translator:
VinceStar
Editor:
PrisMiko
Oh
? Zhao Ying?
Yang Dahai thought for a moment.
Is this the teacher who volunteered to tutor you every day during your high school?
En
, Dad, it’s her.
Yang Ming quickly nodded.
It turns out to be her. Then you really have to pay her a visit. If it was not for her, you wouldn’t be enrolled in Song Jiang Industry University!
Yang Dahai nodded.
Dad, Mengyan also helped me a lot!
Yang Ming reminded him.
You can’t just say that. What is the relationship you have with Mengyan? It is normal for you both to study together. But, the teacher volunteered to help you!
Chen Fei said,
Since she is your teacher, you should pay her a visit!
Mengyan and I thought so, too. We were planning to discuss it with you.
Yang Ming didn’t expect that it would happen smoothly. He glanced at Chen Mengyan gratefully.
But today seems a bit late. How about this? I will book a ticket for you both tomorrow morning. You and Mengyan can go and visit her!
Chen Fei said,
I happen to have a classmate from police school in L City. I will ask him to welcome you two.
Alright, then we will need to trouble Uncle Chen.
Yang Ming agreed as he nodded quickly.
Yang Ming had no way to go about it. It was unrealistic to visit Zhao Ying now. He could only do it tomorrow. So, he sat with Chen Mengyan, and the two families continued to watch the Chinese New Year’s Gala show, but Yang Ming’s mind wasn’t on the TV at the moment.
For Zhao Ying, Chen Mengyan’s concern for her was just friendship, but Yang Ming wasn’t the same. His feelings toward her escalated to more than friendship with a mixture of romance in it.
Therefore, when something happened to Zhao Ying, Yang Ming was immediately upset.
The phone rang once again. Yang Ming shook his head. Usually, there weren’t many calls on his phone. Why did the number of calls get more and more during Chinese New Year’s Eve?
Yang Ming took out his phone and saw that it was Zhao Ying’s caller ID! Yang Ming assumed it would be Zhao Ying’s mother. He took his phone and went to Chen Mengyan’s room and picked it up.
Hello? Aunty?
Yang Ming, it is me. I’m Zhao Ying!
The voice of Zhao Ying came from the phone.
What? Sister Ying, it’s you. How are you? Are you in the hospital now?
Yang Ming asked with concern.
Why am I in the hospital? I’m watching the Chinese New Year’s Gala at home. I’m fine. How can I be in the hospital?
Zhao Ying said helplessly.
My mother was speaking nonsense to you!
Ah
? Nonsense? So, you haven’t been injured by the firecrackers from your neighbor’s children, right?
asked Yang Ming.
What? At this time, everyone is watching the Chinese New Year’s Gala at home. Who would go out to play with firecrackers!
Zhao Ying said,
Also, I’m an adult. How can I not pay attention to safety? Can I get hurt by firecrackers?
What…
Yang Ming breathed a sigh of relief.
It really terrified me. Mengyan and I also bought the flight tickets to visit you!
I’m sorry… for causing trouble to you…
Zhao Ying whispered.
Forget it. It’s alright if you are fine!
Yang Ming said,
But auntie’s joke is a bit too overboard, right?… Today isn’t April Fool’s Day…
Ai
… my mom called you behind my back to have you come over. She wanted to meet you… In fact, she wants to validate whether our relationship is real or not…She was relieved because she noticed you were quite worried about me.
Zhao Ying said with embarrassment.
That is the case. Do I still need to come over?
asked Yang Ming.
Of course you don’t have to come over. My dad gave my mom a lecture after he learned about it, saying that she has no sense of the gravity of things. How can she joke about such a thing?
Zhao Ying refused.
Fine. The most important thing is that nothing happened to you. It’s better than anything else.
Yang Ming said,
Happy Chinese New Year! Help me pass my blessing to aunty as well!
En
… Happy Chinese New Year to you as well. Greet Chen Mengyan for me. I’m going to hang up. I will come back in two days time.
Zhao Ying said.
Hanging up the phone, Yang Ming was helpless for a while. What is this? It scared the hell out of me. Even my family is worried. Ai, it seems that it will be hard to explain.
Mengyan…
Yang Ming looked at Chen Mengyan besides him with a depressed look…
The telephone receiver is quite loud. I have heard all of it…
Chen Mengyan also smiled bitterly and said,
That is really complicated!
However, Chen Mengyan apparently heard Zhao Ying’s last sentence to greet Chen Mengyan, so she didn’t have any doubts about Zhao Ying. What she was thinking now was how to talk to both sets of parents.
Yang Ming, aren’t you the best at lying?
Chen Mengyan said,
You quickly think about how we explain it!
When did I make a lie?
Yang Ming sweated.
When we were in high school when you skipped classes all day, you were quick-witted in telling lies to fool me.
Chen Mengyan rolled her eyes at Yang Ming.
Hehe
, you are talking about that time. Isn’t that lie insignificant? I can’t be too ridiculous to lie to your parents and my parents, right? I don’t want to lie to them.
Yang Ming sighed.
Really. Who wants it to happen like this?
Chen Mengyan was also very troubled.
How about we just say that it was a wrong call? The other party was joking with us.
Yang Ming thought for a long time and finally came up with such an idea.
It can only be like this.
Chen Mengyan nodded and agreed.
So, the two people tried their best to pretend to be happy and a little angry as they walked out of the room. Chen Fei saw the strange expressions of the two and asked,
What happened to you two?
It’s really irritating!
Chen Mengyan said as she sat on the sofa with annoyance.
What’s wrong? Mengyan?
Mother Yang quickly asked,
Is Big Ming, this kid, bullying you? I will help you to beat him up.
No, aunty, it has nothing to do with Yang Ming!
Chen Mengyan shook her head.
It was the phone call just now!
What happened with the phone call?
Mother Yang said in confusion.
Just now, when Yang Ming and I called to wish Teacher Zhao Ying a Happy Chinese New Year, in the end, it was her mother who picked up the phone. But, the person wasn’t her mother at all!
Chen Mengyan said angrily.
Not her mother? Who is the person?
Chen Fei was a bit baffled.
It was a liar who had nothing to do.
Chen Mengyan said,
When I called Teacher Zhao Ying, I accidentally dialed a wrong number. The end result was a middle-aged woman who answered the call. When I said I was looking for Teacher Zhao Ying, the woman said to me that she was Zhao Ying’s mother and that Zhao Ying was injured by firecrackers… It was all she who blurted out that nonsense!
Oh
? Then how did you know that she lied?
Chen Fei continued.
Later, the woman’s son called Yang Ming again. Just now, he apologized to Yang Ming and said that his mother is old. She is like a little child who liked to make jokes and told us not to mind it…
answered Chen Mengyan.
It turns out to be like this. Just a false alarm!
Yang Dahai said,
It’s good that it turned out to be nothing…
Dad, do you think that the woman committed a crime?
Chen Mengyan who was acting naturally had to follow with the act.
Committed a crime… It’s hard to say… If we caught her, at most, she would be lectured. Forget it, Mengyan. An old child is like an old child[1]. Since there is this saying, it means that an old person is similar to a child.
Chen Fei laughed.
Also, it is a mistake with just a number, she must be from L City. How would I look for her? Do I ask my classmate to arrest an old lady just because of that?
Hehe
, that is also true!
Yang Ming also smiled.
Forget it, Mengyan. The most important thing is that nothing happened to Teacher Zhao Ying which is better than anything else!
Since the two people’s acting seemed to be convincing, no one doubted the authenticity of this matter. From the perspective of Chen Fei and Yang Dahai, there was no need for deception for this kind of incident!
Yang Ming felt at ease in his heart and watched TV with a peace of mind. Especially when they watched the skits of Zhao Benshan and Xiao Shenyang [2], both families smiled happily…
At twelve o’clock in the middle of the night, the Chinese New Year’s bell rang. Mother Chen stood up and attended to the guests.
Brothers and sisters, let’s go and prepare some dumplings! Let’s have midnight dumplings…
The dumplings were prepared in the morning and the six people couldn’t eat much. It was just enough.
After having the dumplings, Chen Fei proposed to go out to set off firecrackers. This was already a custom for many people. They had dumplings at 12.00 a.m. After finishing up the dumplings, they went out to set off firecrackers. At that time, the sound of firecrackers was already making noise outside their window. The Chinese New Year was here!
Wearing down jackets, the six people took a pre-prepared
Dadihong
firecracker and went downstairs. In the compound of their community, there were already many people in the neighborhood who were setting off firecrackers.
Most of the people in the community knew each other. As they saw Chen Fei and his family come out, they were greeted enthusiastically. Chen Fei also introduced Yang Ming and his family to the others.
This was also an affirmation of Yang Ming’s identity. However, Chen Mengyan was also a university student. There was nothing strange about having a boyfriend. Everyone expressed their blessings.
