Chapter 27: Twelve Years Old – Better Off Dancing

Fortunately, the adults and children in the room were all talking loudly, so no one else heard their conversation except for the few of them.

The banquet began precisely at noon. Xuezhu was called back to sit with her parents.

Old Meng, in order to simplify things, combined the teacher’s farewell party and the banquet into one. The class teacher, Mr. Lin, raised his glass and gave a speech. The older teacher, who was nearing retirement, had a proud look on his face as he praised his student in front of the guests for how outstanding he was.

“I dare say, when it comes to self-discipline in learning, Yuning is absolutely the most self-demanding student I’ve encountered in nearly forty years of teaching. He does his best in every subject, never causing any teacher to worry. He’s intelligent, humble, and capable. And—” Mr. Lin looked at Meng Yuning, and his deep, powerful voice suddenly softened, “He’s also very handsome. I know there are quite a few female students who secretly come to my classroom to take a look at him after class.”

The shy feelings between boys and girls were something that teachers could easily spot, too.

It was a beautiful, innocent time, and it made the onlookers feel as if they were reliving their own youth.

Now that everyone had graduated, the teachers’ attitudes toward such matters had changed. Whether the outcome was regretful or not, it was always seen as a fond memory.

Sure enough, the guests all laughed together.

With the teacher exposing his shortcomings, Meng Yuning could only lower his eyes, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.

The atmosphere became relaxed, and Old Meng was all smiles. Next to him, Xu Qin rolled her eyes and pinched his arm, whispering, “You never studied much, but you ended up with a son who got into Peking University. Are you sure he’s really your biological son?”

“If he’s not my son, then whose son is he?” Old Meng rolled his eyes at Xu Qin. “I told you before, he’s like his grandfather. Before he retired, his grandfather was a teacher, and he’s very smart.”

“So, you’re saying it’s all your father’s credit?” Xu Qin smiled and asked sweetly, “Meng Yunjian, do you think if we have a child, they could get into Tsinghua University?”

Old Meng grinned: “Forget it, with a mother like you who only knows how to go to discos every day, do you think our son could get into Tsinghua?”

The smile on Xu Qin’s face disappeared instantly. She pushed the man hard: “I can’t teach him? Was your ex-wife some kind of intellectual? Wasn’t she just like you, working for a boss? Isn’t Meng Yuning her son, too? She didn’t even come today to celebrate his top student’s achievement. I think she’s already found a new man and completely forgotten about you and your son.”

“Are you done?” Old Meng frowned, losing patience. He gritted his teeth and said, “If she really came today, wouldn’t you cause a scene? Do you want Meng Yuning to call you ‘mom,’ or to call her mom?”

“You!” Xu Qin couldn’t win the argument, and with her foot hidden under the table, she stomped hard, feeling the pain in her soles but also harboring resentment. “I never expected your son to call me mom. After all, he came from another woman’s belly. As his stepmother, of course, he doesn’t care about me. But if I had my own child, would I be worried about not having someone call me mom?”

She said this, glaring at Old Meng with dissatisfaction.

“I made it clear when we got married. If you feel wronged, we can break up,” Old Meng said, taking a sip of his wine, too lazy to waste any more words with Xu Qin.

Xu Qin immediately fell silent, lowering her head, muttering angrily to herself.

At this moment, the class teacher finished his speech and handed the microphone to Old Meng, asking the father to say a few words.

Old Meng was suddenly called upon. Still holding his glass, he stood up, looking dazed.

After thinking for a long time, he couldn’t come up with any cultured words to say, so he could only thank the friends and family for coming and wish everyone to eat and drink well.

He didn’t know who shouted, “Old Meng, share with us your parenting experience, so we parents can learn from you and try to send our kids to Peking University too!”

“Yes! Share it with us!”

“Don’t be stingy!”

Old Meng could only say, “Actually, I don’t have any insights. As a father, I never really managed him. It’s all because he worked hard on his own.”

The guests all shouted that they didn’t believe it. A few neighbors who were familiar with Old Meng’s family didn’t join in the commotion, exchanging knowing glances and smiling at each other, their smiles full of meaning and helplessness, but no one dared to speak up.

Without dwelling on this, the top student celebration was still quite lively.

By 1:30, the guests began to leave one by one. Old Pei and Old Zhong from the building stayed behind to help with the hotel’s final bill, while the cleaning staff started clearing away the leftover food and dishes with large plastic bags.

Xuezhu and her older siblings played blackjack on the clean tables while waiting for the adults to finish.

Song Yanping handed a receipt to Old Meng, saying, “Check it and see if there’s any mistake.”

Old Meng, still a bit tipsy from drinking, waved his hand and said, “Let Xu Qin check it.”

“Is there a calculator?” Xu Qin took the receipt from Song Yanping.

“There’s one at the front desk,” Song Yanping replied. “You guys go ahead and check it. We’ll take the kids home first.”

“Okay, take care,” Old Meng said, pressing his temple.

Song Yanping turned and called out to her daughter, who was playing cards: “Xiao Zhu, we’re going home.”

“Zihan’s going home.”

“Yueyue, let’s go.”

The families were about to leave together.

“Each table gets snacks and drinks for 350, and with so many people today, we added two more tables,” Xu Qin punched the numbers into the calculator, continuously resetting it, her brows furrowing more and more with each calculation. “Meng Yunjian, your whole month’s salary wouldn’t cover this!”

Old Meng, holding a cigarette, waved his hand dismissively: “Forget it, we only host a banquet a few times a year.”

“I see some people didn’t even give a red envelope, eating and drinking for free,” Xu Qin spread her hands, “Let’s see how much we’ve collected in red envelopes. We can use what we got to cover the cost.”

Old Meng furrowed his brow. “Those red envelopes are for Yuning’s college tuition.”

“Oh, the red envelopes are for your son’s tuition? Then all the money we spent on this banquet is just wasted,” Xu Qin sneered. “I’ve told you before, if you don’t have the money, don’t throw such a big party. You got nothing out of it. You might as well have used the money to buy some cigarettes and alcohol for your director!”

“What are you talking about? It’s a celebration for our son getting into college. How is that a waste?” Old Meng’s voice was rising.

“That’s your son, not mine. I’ve been running around preparing all this, what do I get out of it?” Xu Qin reached into Old Meng’s pocket, “Give me the red envelopes, I’ll count them.”

Old Meng grabbed Xu Qin’s hand and yanked it away. “I told you, they’re for his college tuition, why are you touching them?!”

Xu Qin staggered back a few steps. She then noticed the other families in the same building hadn’t left yet. She was too embarrassed to argue openly in front of them. Enraged, her hands and feet were shaking, her face pale with fury, and she hissed through gritted teeth, “Your son’s almost eighteen, he has hands and feet, why can’t he earn his own college tuition? Why does he have to take money from you? Not long ago, I found a receipt for a 400-yuan MP4 player in his room, from a digital store! It’s more expensive than the banquet today! Who knows how much money your son’s been secretly saving, or where it came from. He might be richer than you, his own father!”

Her words were harsh, and Song Yanping couldn’t help but speak up, “Whatever conflict you two have, settle it at home. Arguing outside just embarrasses everyone.”

“Today, Ningning’s hosting a banquet, don’t say too much and make the kids unhappy,” Old He also intervened, trying to mediate.

“It’s Meng Yunjian who’s lost his face first,” Xu Qin didn’t listen to anything, pointing at the quiet Meng Yuning and saying to Old Meng, “Meng Yunjian, you should ask your son where all that money came from. If he has so much money, why doesn’t he use it to cover his costs? Instead, he’s relying on you, his father, to pay for everything! You spend so much just to send your son to college. If I have another child, would you make me feed my kid rice husks instead?”

“Auntie.”

Suddenly, Meng Yuning spoke up.

The clean sound in this situation felt somewhat out of place.

“That money is my annual New Year’s money. I used it for living expenses. During my senior year in high school, I bought a lot of supplementary books, so after graduation, I only had about four hundred left. You can take the red envelopes to cover the banquet costs,” he quietly explained where his money came from, how it was spent, and also gave an explanation for the compensation.

He didn’t argue with his stepmother, nor did he care about where the red envelopes were supposed to be used.

Xu Qin was stunned.

“College students can work part-time. You don’t have to worry about the tuition,” Meng Yuning sarcastically curled his lips, his eyes cold and emotionless. “If you want to have children, go ahead. My dad can support them.”

His concession immediately turned Xu Qin, who had been causing trouble, into a mute. A sense of embarrassment rose from the soles of her feet. Hearing the neighbors’ slightly reproachful sighs, her face flushed with heat. She felt awkward and ashamed, wishing she could disappear on the spot.

Since they lived in the same building, it was hard for anyone to say anything at this moment.

The only child present, who was still innocent and naive, showed more courage than all the adults in the room. All the talk about neighborhood harmony and saving face was nothing compared to Xuezhu’s desire to defend her brother.

Xuezhu let go of her mother’s hand.

“Xiao Zhu, where are you going?”

In the next moment, she ran up to Meng Yuning, who was still sitting in his chair. Xuezhu didn’t need to stand on tiptoe to easily cover his ears with her hands.

She was going to argue with her brother’s stepmother, so her brother couldn’t hear.

“Auntie,” Xuezhu took a deep breath, never having been so outspoken in front of adults. She spoke clearly and loudly, “That MP4 was a birthday gift from my brother to me. If you want it, I’ll give it to you. And those red envelopes were given to my brother to congratulate him on getting into college. Even if they’re not used for tuition, it’s his money, and you have no right to take it. My brother is Old Meng’s son. Our teacher taught us that parents have an obligation to support their children. If they don’t, that’s against the law. So, Old Meng giving money to my brother is the right thing. You have no right to complain. Even if you have children now, they might not be as excellent as my brother and get into Peking University!”

The words the child spoke weren’t complicated, the sentences were simple and easy to understand. Xu Qin almost immediately reacted. Perhaps because Xuezhu’s parents were present, she could only stand there and accept the “education,” not able to say a word.

It took twenty seconds after Xuezhu finished speaking before Song Yanping lightly scolded her daughter, “Xiao Zhu, how can you speak to Auntie like that? Apologize to her right now.”

Xuezhu pouted, stuck out her tongue, and muttered, “Sorry, Auntie.”

The half-hearted apology was worse than not apologizing at all, and Xu Qin’s face darkened.

After apologizing, Xuezhu let go of Meng Yuning’s ears and then took his hand. “Brother, let’s go home with us.”

Meng Yuning, momentarily distracted by her words, subconsciously gripped her hand as she held it with a soft warmth. Although his ears weren’t completely blocked from hearing, it felt like all of Xu Qin’s words had been shielded by her small body. At that moment, he nodded gently in agreement, his role reversed, quietly and obediently.

The families were now really about to leave.

Old Meng, in a cool tone, said, “Xu Qin, think about how embarrassing this is for you.”

Xu Qin was unwilling to back down, muttering, “University tuition is expensive, how much can he earn part-time? We still have to pay for it.”

“Tsk.”

The sound came from Zhong Zihan, the second youngest in the group.

Since he was one of the younger ones, he turned around.

“Auntie, don’t worry, I can also work part-time with Yuning to earn money for tuition. I won’t spend a single cent of yours.”

He Zhenyue, the third youngest in age, also said, “I’ll be graduating and looking for a job next year. Ningning is my little brother, and I’m happy to help him with his tuition, so Auntie, don’t worry about it.”

Old He and Old Zhong casually “educated” Xu Qin, telling her not to take the kids’ words too seriously.

This left Xu Qin with a pale face, full of anger she had nowhere to vent.

—

After leaving the hotel, Xuezhu realized that the sun was high in the sky this afternoon, and the weather was so nice.

With such good weather, it felt really boring to go home.

She tugged at her mother’s hand.

Song Yanping looked down at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Are we just going home?” she asked. “Aren’t we doing anything this afternoon?”

He Uncle, who was walking beside them, overheard her and spoke up, “Hasn’t Uncle Meng made any plans? How about this, Yueyue,” he called to his daughter walking ahead, “You kids haven’t played together in a while. You’re the older sister, why don’t you treat the younger ones to some fun this afternoon? Call Xiao Yi too, it’ll be a good chance for him to get to know the younger ones.”

That idea sounded good, and He Zhenyue immediately nodded. “Sure, I’ll pay.”

“Alright, then you’ll be responsible for the younger ones’ safety. We adults will head home first. Don’t play too late, come back early for dinner,” Old He called to the parents. “Is everyone free this afternoon? Want to come over to my place for a game of Mahjong?”

So everyone’s plans were quickly decided—adults would go home first, and the kids would go out to play.

Zhong Zihan asked, “Where are we going to play? Don’t tell me we’re going to karaoke again. I’m so tired of it.”

There weren’t many places in the city suitable for a group of “kids” with such a large age gap to hang out together.

“How about we go to the skating rink?” He Zhenyue suggested.

Xuezhu shook her head immediately. “I’m not going. I don’t know how to skate.”

“You don’t know how? I can teach you,” He Zhenyue said, seeing that Xuezhu was the only one against it. She then decisively declared, “Four against one, we’re going ice skating.”

Xuezhu: “…”

They went to an indoor ice rink, where the light was dim and opaque. A huge rotating ball light in the ceiling was the main light source, and various chaotic lights flashed in and out. Normally, her mom didn’t let Xuezhu come to places like this, but she was very curious about these places that kids weren’t allowed to go.

He Zhenyue helped Xuezhu put on a pair of skates in her size. As soon as Xuezhu stood up, she couldn’t walk.

“Don’t be scared, you won’t die from falling,” He Zhenyue said, finding her duck-like stance amusing. “I’ll hold you and help you walk. Be bold and take bigger steps.”

Xuezhu hesitated but took a step. The wheels on the front of her skates slipped, and she panicked, nearly doing the splits right on the spot.

Fortunately, having learned dance, her balance was good, so she didn’t pull a muscle.

As the group walked into the skating rink, the previous slow song finished, and the atmosphere lighting immediately went wild, flashing everywhere. The people on the rink started whooping like Tarzan, making it loud and blinding.

The flashing lights were so bright it almost blinded her. Xuezhu quickly got separated from her brother and sister. For a moment, no one could see each other, and she started calling out in panic, “Sister, where are you?”

The only response was the deafening music.

“Why don’t we dance!”

“Dating is nothing compared to dancing!”

Xuezhu almost cried. She didn’t want to date, nor did she want to dance. She just wanted to find her brother and sister as quickly as possible.