Chapter 102

Chapter 102

"Where's Lu Qiuyan?" Wang Weiqi asked, returning with a plate of squirrel mandarin fish.

"He's having dinner with Yu Shang. We're not waiting for him," Tian Ruan said.

Wang Weiqi waved his hand generously, "Call the president to join us. Where are they?"

"In the student council office."

"Forget it, I'm starving. I need to eat now."

Hai Chao sat at a table, his lunch box containing mostly rice, a small amount of green vegetables and mushrooms, and a piece of fermented tofu.

Tian Ruan was shocked, "Your parents haven't given you money yet?"

Without lifting his head, Hai Chao replied, "I don't want it."

"You're under eighteen; it's their responsibility to support you."

Hai Chao remained silent. He didn't want to owe his biological parents anything, knowing he would eventually leave. The less he owed, the better. He planned to repay their kindness once he earned money in the future.

Tian Ruan didn't press further. That was just how Hai Chao was—tough on himself and even tougher on others.

He picked up a large piece of fish and placed it on Hai Chao's plate, "Eat this."

Wang Weiqi, unusually perceptive, added, "And there's this mapo tofu, braised lion's head, and braised pork belly. I ordered enough for four people. If no one eats it, it'll go to waste."

Tian Ruan said, "Wasting food is shameful. We must finish everything."

Hai Chao didn’t expose them and joined in for a bit. Wang Weiqi directly picked up a large piece of braised pork and passed it to him, "This goes super well with rice; it’s my favorite, even better than Dongpo meat."

"I’ve had it before," Hai Chao said, lowering his eyes.

Tian Ruan remembered seeing Aunt Liu make this braised pork at home. It was a bit more complicated than making lion's head meatballs, requiring the selection of premium five-layered pork, marinating it for twenty-four hours, and then simmering it in a broth for three hours. The result was a dish with a Q-elastic skin and firm, richly fragrant meat, the aroma wafting from the kitchen to the living room.

Tian Ruan had tried the school canteen version, which, though fragrant, clearly lacked sufficient marination and cooking time, making it less flavorful than Aunt Liu’s.

Aunt Liu had bought several timers, setting one for each dish. Besides studying others' recipes, she also wrote her own private cookbook.

Tian Ruan said honestly, "It’s not as good as what our cook makes."

Wang Weiqi was curious, "If you have time, can I come over for a meal?"

Tian Ruan: "... Come over to do laundry at my place."

Wang Weiqi: "?"

Tian Ruan fibbed, "At my place, you have to work to eat."

"… That strict?" Wang Weiqi backed off, "Then maybe I won’t come."

Hai Chao added casually, "Not only do you have to work, but you have to work at night. The meals are earned through hard labor."

Wang Weiqi immediately felt sorry for Tian Ruan, "Even if it’s to cultivate your spirit of hard work, working at night is too inhumane. That’s abuse!"

Tian Ruan: "... No rainbow without rain."

Hai Chao: "I wonder if it’s just rain or a downpour."

Tian Ruan: "…………"

Tian Ruan criticized sternly: "Nephew, if you keep being so sharp-tongued, you'll never find a partner."

Hai Chao was indifferent; at seventeen, finding a partner seemed too abstract and distant compared to saving up enough money to leave his parents' control and this suffocating environment.

No matter how much Hai Mingyue tried to smooth things over, she was still a third party who had risen to power. As long as Hai Chao remained with them, he would always be a bastard child.

At that moment, a clear young voice rang out: "Hai Chao—take this!!"

With a thud, two steaming hot soup buns landed on Hai Chao's head and shoulder. The buns were fragile, and the broth splattered onto his hair and school uniform instantly.

One bun, along with its meat, bounced into Wang Weiqi's bowl, while the other fell to the ground.

Tian Ruan: "Wow, extra meal."

Wang Weiqi: "……"

Hai Chao stopped eating, turned around, and stared at Nan Huaiju with a terrifying gaze.

Nan Huaiju took a step back in fear but then remembered his friends, which gave him more courage. "What, not convinced?"

Hai Chao's gaze swept over the group, and he recognized Nan Huaiju's friends as the same troublemakers from that night.

Tian Ruan recognized the culprit of the reckless driving and threw a lion's head meatball, hitting the person squarely in the face, the meatball breaking and sticking to his clothes.

The person flew into a rage: "Fuck! You dare to hit me?"

Tian Ruan: "You dared to crash into me?"

The man paused, scrutinizing Tian Ruan's face, as if he really was one of the people he had bumped into...

Nan Huaizhu said awkwardly, "He has already been educated, Tian Ruan, don't keep nitpicking with him."

Tian Ruan sneered, "I felt some sympathy for you at first, but now it seems you truly are pitiful, needing someone like him to bolster your courage."

"..." Nan Huaizhu's face turned red, "It's because Hai Chao bullies me."

"How did Hai Chao bully you?"

"He hit my nose."

"Anything else besides that?"

Nan Huaizhu stammered, "He deliberately lured me to climb the Christmas tree, causing me to fall."

Hai Chao wiped the soup from his body with a tissue, "I was helping a female classmate reach her gift, and you insisted on joining in, claiming we were having a competition. Is that what you call me luring you to climb the Christmas tree? You fell because you slipped, you weakling."

Nan Huaizhu, like a lit firecracker, exploded, "That female classmate originally asked for my help! You snatched it away!"

"Do you think I needed to snatch it?" Hai Chao mocked, "I suspect she found you unreliable."

"Did you help her get it? No, right?" Nan Huaizhu laughed in anger, "No matter what, you look pretty ridiculous now!"

Hai Chao strode toward him with long strides, looking menacing. Nan Huaizhu immediately took half a step back, and his gang of friends swarmed around, ready for a fight.

The surrounding students, sensing the tension, dispersed.

"What do you want? Do you really want to fight here?" Nan Huaizhu retreated to the edge of the table, glaring at Hai Chao like a paper tiger.

Hai Chao approached Nan Huaiju.

A green-haired thug shouted, "Dare to hit Young Master Nan? You'll regret it!"

Wang Weiqi stood up in righteous indignation: "It was you who started it, the evidence is still in my bowl! Everyone saw it, Nan Huaiju from Class 6, Grade 2, brought in some street punks!"

"We're here to stand up for Young Master Nan."

Wang Weiqi threatened, "If you dare to cause trouble today, I'll make you regret it."

Tian Ruan lost his appetite and took out his phone to call: "Principal Li, Director Hu, homeroom teacher, president, Lu Qiuyan, there's a disturbance in the cafeteria, come quickly."

Everyone: "... Why did he call so many people?"

Nan Huaiju only wanted to teach Hai Chao a slight lesson and didn't want to escalate things, so he hurriedly dismissed his friends: "Get lost, all of you."

His friends: "... You really know how to turn on us."

Nan Huaiju turned his head and found Hai Chao still blocking him, unable to move, too close, close enough to smell the aroma of soup dumplings on Hai Chao.

His stomach growled.

"..."

Tian Ruan watched this scene, wondering if it was an arrest or a flirtation.

Hai Chao, relying on his height, reached over and braced himself against the table with one hand.

Nan Huaiju was pressed back a bit more, his face full of alarm: "What do you want?"

Tian Ruan provided the timely and deep voiceover: "I want to do you."

Nan Huaizhu: "…………"

Nan Huaizhu was angry, Nan Huaizhu was confused, Nan Huaizhu was bashful.

Looking so closely, Hai Chao was truly handsome.

His friends: "… Young Master Nan, have fun, we're out of here."

But they hadn't even left the restaurant for a few seconds when Director Hu and the security guards caught them, scolding them fiercely, spitting out at least twenty milliliters of saliva. They were all apprehended and awaited public criticism.

The restaurant fell into an eerie silence.

Nan Huaizhu glared at Hai Chao with a mix of shame and anger.

Hai Chao grabbed the soup dumplings from the table and stuffed them into Nan Huaizhu's mouth, one after another.

Nan Huaizhu couldn't resist, her face flushed with humiliation, tears streaming down: "… Too many, I can't… eat anymore… wuwuwu… help… me…"

In the corner, Zhu Zhizhi fainted from happiness, "Hehehehehe…"

Tian Ruan: "…"

Wang Weiqi was dumbfounded: "Um, is this something we should be watching?"

Tian Ruan confirmed it; Hai Chao did indeed have some S tendencies.

Nan Huaizhu was bullied, her mouth and body covered in the broth from the soup dumplings, dripping from the corners of her lips to her neck, mixing with her tears and soaking into her school uniform.

Hai Chao showed little emotion; he merely stepped aside when he sensed something was amiss.

Nan Huaiju instantly collapsed like a limp noodle on the ground, hugging his knees and crying.

Thus, what Director Hu saw upon entering was this scene: the bully had become the bullied, and the originally innocent Hai Chao was scolded from head to toe.

Hai Chao remained silent, letting Director Hu’s scolding go in one ear and out the other, with only a slight frown between his thick brows.

After learning the truth, both Hai Chao and Nan Huaiju wrote self-criticisms, which they read aloud to the entire school the next day.

That night, their fanfiction “Please Discipline Me, Master,” appeared on the forum for only two hours before being taken down, posted by an ID named “Wish You a Fragrant Chrysanthemum,” which was all too obvious.

Incidentally, this “Wish You a Fragrant Chrysanthemum” had also used names like “Wish You a Withered Chrysanthemum,” “Wish You an Itchy Chrysanthemum,” “Wish You a Chrysanthemum Eating Sausages,” and other unsightly names, each of which was banned one after another, endlessly, truly defaming the chrysanthemum itself.

Tian Ruan happened to browse it and felt his eyes were about to go blind—was Zhu Zhi thinking of getting into trouble again?

Moreover, most people's accounts on the forum had been restored, and they were celebrating in a building. Tian Ruan set off some digital fireworks to celebrate for them and then closed the forum.

He noticed that his beloved son was in a good mood, arriving at the cafeteria with Lu Qiuyan with a radiant smile, clearly indicating that the main characters had reconciled.

It happened so quickly.

And they might have already started dating secretly.

Yu Shang, in high spirits, waved his pen and granted amnesty to those who had been banned from the forum.

Tian Ruan, eating his dessert fruit, leaned against Yu Jingmo and asked, "Erzha, did you make up with your classmates?"

Yu Shang, unaware that his two fathers had watched his performance, said seriously, "Classmates should be friendly to each other, and as the student council president, I must set an example. I never had any conflicts with my classmates."

Tian Ruan: "Listen to that, how grand and noble."

Yu Jingmo: "Mm. Worthy of being our son."

Yu Shang: "..."

The temperature from the central air conditioning was a bit high, and with Tian Ruan leaning against Yu Jingmo, who was like a big furnace, he soon felt hot. Eating some cool, refreshing apple was just right.

Aunt Liu had put a lot of thought into it, cutting the apple into the shape of a little rabbit for Tian Ruan, which was very cute.

It would have been better if there weren't two little daisies on the plate; he now felt a headache at the sight of anything in the daisy family.

Yu Jingmo, however, picked up the small daisy, leaning close to Tian Ruan's ear and said, "This flower is about your size."

Tian Ruan: "..."

Yu Jingmo played with the tiny yellow daisy, its soft petals and center gently pressing against his fingertips. He hesitated to press them in, yet wanted to cause a little mischief, so he plucked the petals one by one, two by two, three by three, four by four, each petal falling onto Tian Ruan.

Tian Ruan: "........"

There was a song that fit the scene perfectly, but Tian Ruan didn't want to recall it.