The onlookers had all left, and now in the bookstore, apart from Lin Fang and her two companions, only Dou Yalin and Grandpa Sun and his grandson remained. Rou Qiu went to wake Grandpa Sun, while Lin Fang said coldly, “Dou Yalin, the show’s over. Why aren’t you leaving yet?”
Confident and ready to stir trouble, she had even brought people to witness the spectacle. Yet, she never expected such an outcome. The classmates she had incited not only failed to help her but instead allowed Lin Fang to make another small fortune. Now, everyone who had come with her had left without waiting for her. Dou Yalin was dumbfounded, utterly at a loss for words to retort. With a resentful glance at Lin Fang, she turned and walked away.
Lin Fang had a headache. Lunchtime had already passed, and the three of them hadn’t returned. Teacher Wang must be worried sick at home. As long as Teacher Guo wasn’t asleep, someone had to stay by his side constantly—otherwise, he’d feel as insecure as a child. With him around, Teacher Wang couldn’t get anything done. Even if they hurried back now and skipped lunch, they’d still miss the bus.
Forget it—there was no way to make it in time. Worrying wouldn’t help. She decided to call home and see if her brother could come pick them up.
“Dad—!”
Before Lin Fang could even pick up the receiver, she heard little Sun Ao cheerfully calling out. Looking up, she saw a burly man enter the bookstore, bend down to scoop up his son, and toss him playfully into the air. The child giggled with delight, but Grandpa Sun, who had just been woken up, protested, “Put him down! You don’t know your own strength—don’t drop him!”
Realizing the family had come looking for them, Lin Fang quickly apologized, “I’m so sorry, Uncle. We delayed Grandpa Sun from going home earlier because of some matters, and now you’ve had to come all this way.”
Her words reminded Grandpa Sun, who stretched out his hand toward Lin Fang. “Oh, right! I was just acting as a model for your competition earlier. Let me see—how did you draw me?”
Lin Fang handed him the portrait. “Here it is. Since it’s of you, you can keep it. And as promised, here’s the book you were looking at earlier. Hongping, bring over the book Grandpa Sun was reading.”
“Wow, it really looks like me!” The three family members huddled together to admire the portrait, with Grandpa Sun nodding approvingly. He didn’t forget to take the book Guo Hongping handed him either.
After glancing at the portrait, Sun Ao’s father asked Lin Fang, “You can draw?”
Lin Fang nodded.
“Ha! Perfect. Now I don’t have to run around trying to fulfill my wife’s task,” Sun Ao’s father said with a satisfied grin.
Lin Fang and Rou Qiu exchanged glances. What was this guy getting at?
Their question was answered almost immediately.
“Don’t just listen to everything your wife says. The kid’s still so young—learning calligraphy is already exhausting enough. Adding drawing on top of that will wear him out!” Grandpa Sun retorted instantly upon hearing his son’s words.
Sun Ao’s father replied impatiently, “Dad, I think my wife has a point. Both of us missed out on opportunities, so we’re pinning our hopes on Xiao Ao. There’s no harm in learning more skills—it’ll only benefit him.”
Without needing to hear more, Lin Fang could tell this was yet another father imposing his own dreams onto his child. She sighed inwardly. Many from the generation that lived through turbulent times carried this mindset. The problem was, they were arguing right in her space, and their debate seemed to involve her—yet no one bothered to ask if she was even willing to teach. Today really seemed to be a day for encountering difficult people.
“Um, Grandpa Sun, Uncle Sun, it’s getting late. You should head home for lunch, and we need to hurry back too. Tomorrow’s the Lantern Festival, after all,” Lin Fang interjected, cutting off their argument.
Her words snapped the father and son out of their debate. They quickly grabbed little Sun Ao to leave, but the boy dug in his heels, whining, “I don’t wanna go! I want to learn drawing from Teacher Lin!”
“Oh, right! Teacher Lin, since you can draw, why not teach my kid as well?” Sun Ao’s father circled back to the topic after his son’s outburst.
Lin Fang felt exasperated. “But I’m just a student myself. Besides, I have piano practice in the afternoon—I don’t have time.”
She wanted to earn more money, but she also knew her limits. Though she hadn’t felt any physical issues recently, her constitution was weak. If she overworked herself and fell ill, her family would suffer—not to mention the potential medical costs. If their carefully laid plans were derailed because of her, she might as well not have been reborn at all.
“It’s simple! Right now, your calligraphy class runs from 9 to 11 a.m. Just adjust the schedule—start at 8 a.m., teach calligraphy from 8 to 10, then drawing from 10 to 12. Problem solved!” Sun Ao’s father quickly rearranged her schedule for her.
“But I still need time to do my own homework,” Lin Fang countered.
This argument worked. She *was* a student, and students had homework. Sun Ao’s father had no rebuttal and finally dropped the subject.
Once the three of them left, Lin Fang called home. “Second Brother, we missed the bus. Can you come pick us up from Teacher Wang’s place later?”
“No need for your brother to come. I have a car—I’ll take you.”
Lin Fang turned to see Sun Ao’s father reappear in the doorway. Noticing their puzzled looks, he explained, “I wasn’t eavesdropping. Xiao Ao refused to leave, so I was still hanging around outside when I overheard your call. I drove here in my van—it’s perfect for giving you all a ride.”
Sun Ao, still holding his grandfather’s hand, piped up in a sweet voice, “Teacher Lin, I want to learn drawing from you! If I learn, I can draw Grandpa’s portrait too—a really nice one!”
Children’s words were the most sincere. Unable to bear disappointing the boy, Lin Fang coaxed, “Teachers have to listen to their parents too. Let me talk to mine first, and then I’ll give you an answer, okay?”
Sun Ao nodded obediently. “Okay! But hurry up!”
“Fang, Fang, what’s going on over there?” Lin Fang hadn’t hung up, and Lin Tuo, hearing only snippets of the conversation, grew anxious and shouted into the phone.
“Nothing serious, Second Brother. I’ll explain when we get back. Tell Mom and Dad that Teacher Wang and Teacher Guo are coming home with us for the Lantern Festival. We haven’t had lunch yet, so ask Mom to prepare a meal for us. An uncle is driving us home.”
After Lin Tuo agreed, Lin Fang hung up and smiled at Sun Ao’s father. “We really can’t make the bus, so we’d appreciate the ride. My home is in Yiping Village—just drop us off at Lin’s Home-Style Cuisine by the roadside. It’s our family’s restaurant. But first, we need to pick up two people from the teachers’ housing at No. 1 Middle School—they’re my teachers.”
Sun Ao’s father was surprised. “What? Lin’s Home-Style Cuisine is your family’s? I know the place—I pass by sometimes on my routes. The food there is great! Come on, hop in—we’ll talk on the way.”
The three of them climbed into the van. After dropping off Grandpa Sun and Sun Ao at their home, they headed to Teacher Wang’s place. Sun Ao’s father was quite the talker. He mentioned his family owned two vehicles—a large truck for his transport business and this van, which his wife used as an unlicensed taxi to earn extra income. Both were usually busy, so Grandpa had raised the boy, which explained why Sun Ao was closer to his grandfather than to his parents.
At Teacher Wang’s home, they found she hadn’t prepared lunch yet. Teacher Guo lay on a recliner, gripping her hand like a clingy child, refusing to let her leave. If he were an actual child, she could have just carried him, but as a grown man, that wasn’t an option.
When Lin Fang invited Teacher Wang to spend the festival with her family, the teacher initially declined, not wanting to impose—especially with Teacher Guo in his current state. Rou Qiu chimed in, saying his parents weren’t home and he stayed at the shop with Lin Tuo anyway, so Teacher Wang and Teacher Guo could stay at his place without inconveniencing anyone.
Though Rou Qiu’s logic was flawed, after persistent persuasion from Lin Fang and Guo Hongping—and Lin Fang’s assurance that her mother had already prepared lunch—Teacher Wang finally agreed, considering they’d only stay for less than two days before Lin Fang had to return for her calligraphy class on the 16th.
The van had barely stopped in front of Lin’s Home-Style Cuisine when Rou Qiu bolted inside. Spotting Dong Huixin, he whispered, “Uncle Lin, Teacher Wang and Teacher Guo are staying at my place.”
Lin Tuo, who had just finished refueling a customer’s car and was resting in the restaurant, swatted at him playfully. “You little rascal, why didn’t you mention this on the phone?”
Dodging the slap, Rou Qiu grinned sheepishly. “Heh, it was a last-minute decision. Sorry for the trouble, Second Brother.”
“Er Linzi, you and your older brother need to clean up Rou Qiu’s place right away,” Dong Huixin instructed before stepping out to greet Teacher Wang.
Only on the way home had Rou Qiu realized his house hadn’t been lived in for over half a year and was covered in dust. His uncles had offered to clean it before the New Year, but he’d refused, not wanting the hassle. Now, he was frantic—how could they host Teacher Wang in such a state? That’s why he’d rushed ahead, hoping to arrange a quick cleanup before she arrived.
Of course, Lin Tuo and Dong Huixin understood his intentions.
Hearing from Lin Fang’s call that none of them had eaten lunch yet, Lin Yuanmin and Dong Huixin decided that, though it was Teacher Wang’s first visit, filling their stomachs took priority. With time tight, they couldn’t prepare an elaborate meal. Lin Yuanmin kneaded dough for handmade noodles while Dong Huixin prepared the broth. Just as Lin Yuanmin was called away by a worker, the van pulled up.
Dong Huixin and Lin Tuo went out to greet them, exchanging pleasantries with Teacher Wang. They recognized Sun Ao’s father and exchanged greetings with him too. Teacher Guo had fallen asleep shortly after getting into the van and hadn’t woken yet. Lin Tuo carried him inside and laid him on the single bed in the back room—the one he and Lin Yuanmin used for night shifts.
“Uncle Sun, you haven’t eaten either. Come join us,” Lin Fang called out as Sun Ao’s father prepared to leave after dropping them off.
“Well—heh.” Sun Ao’s father hesitated. The food here was delicious, but this was a business. Should he pay or shamelessly freeload? Neither option felt right in this situation.
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