Chapter 96: A Small Incident on the Way Home

After Yang Tianxing and Shao Ziyang left Liangshan Prefecture, exhausted from the journey, they transferred trains for another half day before finally arriving at the Rongcheng Railway Station.

While passing a local specialty supermarket near the station, Yang Tianxing went in and picked out a string of beautiful hand beads; one look and it was clear they were for a young girl to wear.

"For Little Zhizhi?" Shao Ziyang asked.

Yang Tianxing nodded. He then chose two ox-horn combs. While paying, he said to Shao Ziyang, "One ox-horn comb for my mom, one for yours. Women, no matter how old they are, always like little surprises."

Shao Ziyang glanced at the combs, which looked a bit like jade but were otherwise unremarkable: "I don't think they're very useful. The effects of ox-horn combs touted in TV commercials are all exaggerated."

Yang Tianxing cast a glance at Shao Ziyang and said, "Do you think this is for health? This is mainly to take back and please our mothers. Believe it or not, if you present the comb, the fact that you followed me to Chuan-Yu to mess around can be glossed over, and you might even avoid a beating."

"My mom stopped hitting me a long time ago, don't talk nonsense." Shao Ziyang muttered to the side, looking a bit embarrassed.

They took a hard-sleeper on the way back. After boarding the train, the two of them just slept, occasionally getting up to look at the scenery or zone out. In short, the twenty-plus hours passed very quickly.

At past 7 in the evening, they finally arrived in familiar Jinzhou. Yang Tianxing and Shao Ziyang split the chili peppers at the railway station and went their separate ways home.

However, standing at his front door, Yang Tianxing suddenly felt a bit hesitant.

Originally, school had gone on break on the 14th, but he hadn't left until the 17th, and then he had sent Liu Jiaoyue home. The whole process had delayed him by about 10 days.

Along the way, Yang Tianxing had spent a lot of time texting Tan Zhizhi, only occasionally sending a message to his mother to report his location. He didn't know if Gao Meilan was angry.

Yang Tianxing quietly unlocked the door and entered, finding Yang Jianjun sitting on the sofa watching the news. Sounds of clattering came from the kitchen; it must have been Gao Meilan. Hearing the movement at the front door, she poked her head out to look but didn't say a word.

"Dad, did you and Mom fight today?"

Yang Tianxing asked quietly.

Old Yang made a move to hit him: "Can't you hope for something good, you brat? We didn't fight!"

Yang Tianxing felt slightly relieved. He walked to the kitchen and said with a cheeky grin, "Mom, I'm home."

Gao Meilan ignored him, focusing intently on peeling garlic: "Still know how to come back? Might as well just live at their house."

"Am I that kind of person?"

Yang Tianxing hurriedly took out the ox-horn comb and even helped Gao Meilan comb her hair: "I bought this especially for you. I traveled a long way. Is your son filial or not?"

Gao Meilan gave a cold snort: "Other people's filial children study hard once they get to college. Think about what you've done?"

"How did I not study hard?"

Yang Tianxing started spouting nonsense again: "In this final exam, I won't say I got full marks in every subject, but getting over 90 is definitely no problem. I estimate I can even be named a 'Three-Good Student' of the school. When the time comes, I'll mail the certificate home for you to hang up and frame."

This statement was a mix of truth and lies; the 'Three-Good Student' title was real, but it wasn't because of his exam scores. However, someone who didn't know the inside story would definitely be fooled.

Gao Meilan looked at her son and suddenly smiled: "Go sit on the sofa, I have something to tell you."

Yang Tianxing thought he had passed the test this time. He even snuck a piece of pork rib and sat on the sofa with a smile.

Old Yang was smoking. Seeing Yang Tianxing's expression, he asked, "What did you two say?"

Yang Tianxing repeated what he had just said, focusing mainly on bragging about his exam scores and the 'Three-Good Student' title. After listening, Old Yang stopped talking and silently moved a bit further away from Yang Tianxing.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

Yang Tianxing sensed something was off.

"Nothing."

Old Yang extinguished his cigarette and said, "When your mom hits you later, bear with it. It's getting late, don't disturb the neighbors upstairs and downstairs."

Yang Tianxing was shocked. He looked up abruptly and saw Gao Meilan walking over with a rolling pin.

"Mom, it's almost the New Year, don't go brandishing weapons."

Yang Tianxing was so scared he sprang up from the sofa and hid behind it.

Gao Meilan didn't listen and chased after him to keep hitting him.

Yang Tianxing circled the sofa and said, "What is this for? You guys agreed to me sending Liu Jiaoyue off!"

Gao Meilan stopped and threw an envelope over: "Three-Good Student, see for yourself."

Yang Tianxing saw it was an envelope from the Finance Institute and knew in his heart that something had gone wrong. After opening the envelope, he couldn't help but laugh himself.

Student Yang Tianxing's final exam scores: "Western Economics 46, Principles of Management 37, Applied Statistics 48, Organizational Behavior 60, Advanced Mathematics 12, Mao Zedong Thought 60..."

After laughing, Yang Tianxing started cursing the school. What the hell, sending a report card right before the New Year, deliberately ruining family harmony.

However, Yang Tianxing felt he could still struggle a bit. He said to Gao Meilan with a straight face, "Logically speaking, I performed quite well. Maybe this is someone with the same name as me, and they sent the wrong report card."

As soon as Gao Meilan heard Yang Tianxing refusing to repent, she was about to move again. Yang Tianxing had no choice but to lower his head: "If you're going to hit me, wait until I've finished eating. I didn't eat or drink well on the train."

This reason was acceptable. Gao Meilan, feeling sorry for her son after all, put down the rolling pin and said bitterly, "Then I'll hit you after you eat. You'll have more strength after a meal."

……………

Yang Tianxing was truly hungry; his chopsticks didn't stop moving. How could the food on the train compare to the food at home?

Seeing this, Gao Meilan kept a cold face and pushed the pork ribs and red-braised pork toward Yang Tianxing, asking, "How is things over at Little Liu's?"

"Poor and cold."

Yang Tianxing wiped his mouth and didn't lie in front of his parents: "They have one at home, even an egg pancake is considered a luxury."

Gao Meilan and Yang Jianjun exchanged a look. Gao Meilan didn't say anything, but Old Yang shook his head slightly.

Yang Tianxing thought to himself, what's wrong with Old Yang? His thinking isn't very upright. Do I need to be from a family of equal social status? Recalling that Gao Meilan was about to hit him just now and Yang Jianjun hadn't even stopped her.

So, Yang Tianxing coughed and said to Gao Meilan, "Mom, comparing our family's conditions to hers is just like you and Dad back in the day."

Sure enough, this tactic of shifting the anger worked immediately.

Gao Meilan put down her chopsticks with a "slap": "Yang Jianjun, your family wasn't that rich back then either. The house we built for our wedding was still built with the help of Yang Tianxing's two uncles. Why don't you tell the child about these things..."

Old Yang got anxious as soon as he heard this. I was just eating in silence, how did it get dragged back to me?

However, after more than twenty years of marriage, there was no lack of material for arguments. Gao Meilan got more and more worked up, completely forgetting about Yang Tianxing's 12 in Advanced Mathematics.

After eating, Yang Tianxing ran back to his bedroom to message Tan Zhizhi.

Yang Tianxing: I'm home and finished dinner.

Tan Zhizhi: So fast? Didn't you just say you arrived at the train station? I'm at a relative's house for dinner today.

Yang Tianxing: No rush, eat slowly. I'm resting tonight. I bought you a bracelet and will bring it to you tomorrow when I have time. Is Uncle Tan home?

Tan Zhizhi: You want to come find him? My house is full of relatives these past few days.

Yang Tianxing: Don't misunderstand, I just want to get a driver's license and learn to drive; asking Uncle Tan to put in a word might make the process a bit faster.

However, after typing this sentence, Yang Tianxing didn't send it; he thought for a moment, deleted it, and replaced it with another sentence.

Yang Tianxing: What's there to be afraid of? It's just meeting the parents.

Tan Zhizhi: Hmph, the way you say that, it's as if you've met other girls' parents before.

Yang Tianxing: Hehe, you really know how to joke.