Chapter 103: Still Keeping It from Me?
Translator: Noodletown Translated Editor: Noodletown Translated
It was already nine o’clock when Hao Ren returned home. His grandma was very happy since she didn’t expect him to be back on a Tuesday.
Yue Yang was busy working in the room when she heard Hao Ren’s voice. She came out of the room and asked, “Why are you back today?”
“I went to Zi’s Parent-Teacher Meeting on behalf of her parents. So, I decided to come back directly,” Hao Ren looked around and asked, “Where’s Dad?”
“He took a flight to the States earlier today, so he’s probably still on the plane,” Yue Yang said.
“Ah…” Hao Ren sighed secretly and thought, “Sure enough, no one could stop him from going abroad.”
“How come you went for Zi’s parents to the meeting?” Grandma immediately asked when she heard the keyword ‘Zi’.
“It was for the midterm report, and her parents are too busy. Therefore, I went instead.”
“Oh, how did Zi do this time?” Yue Yang asked in concern as well.
“Not bad, she is ranked 17th in her class and 43rd in her grade,” Hao Ren said.
Yue Yang nodded and replied, “Yes, LingZhao Middle School is one of the best Middle Schools in East Ocean City. It’s pretty impressive to get a ranking like that.”
“Zi is sweet and smart, and I’ve always known that she must be a good student,” Grandma said proudly as if Zi was her own granddaughter.
Hao Ren was surprised at how great of a show Zhao Yanzi had been putting up for Grandma. She was such a playful girl with bad grades who didn’t like studying much.
“I think she is brilliant, so her grades can’t be too bad. Zi is definitely a good kid, and I’m sure she is a better student than Ren when Ren was in middle school,” Yue Yang said.
Hao Ren was utterly speechless. He ignored their assumptions and praises and opened the fridge to look for something to eat.
“I’ll give you a ride to school tomorrow?” Yue Yang walked over and asked Hao Ren.
“Um…early in the morning because I’ve been practicing basketball lately,” Hao Ren said after taking a sip of milk.
“You are practicing basketball?” Yue Yang looked at Hao Ren suspiciously.
“I might be playing in a game next week. It’s East Ocean University against Jinghua University.” Hao Ren took a piece of bread out of the fridge and took a bite.
“I’ve heard about Jinghua University’s Basketball Team; they are fairly famous. I was invited to see one of their games when I visited there before, and they can play pretty well,” Yue Yang looked at him with even more suspicion as she asked, “You can play against them? I’ve never seen you play basketball before.”
“Yeah, just for fun.” Hao Ren waved impatiently
Yue Yang realized she had been neglecting her son lately. She thought for a bit and said, “The game is next week…how about I ask your dad to try and come back earlier for the game?”
“Forget about it,” Hao Ren put the rest of the bread and milk into the fridge and said, “My school would go crazy if the two of you showed up.”
Yue Yang curled her lips and said in an upset tone, “How could you say that… Mom means no harm at all. I have never seen you play so I thought it would be nice to see it next week. I’ll make sure that the school won’t advertise it.”
“I might not even get to play. Also, it’s going to be a waste of time since something might come up in your schedule again.” Hao Ren closed the fridge and went back into the living room.
“Why is this kid resisting us so much… Sigh… We have neglected him too much…” Yue Yang thought to herself as she followed Hao Ren back to the living room.
“Ren, I miss little Zi a lot these days. Invite her to the beach sometime, and she can spend some time here with me,” Grandma said to Hao Ren.
Hao Ren thought, “Zhao Yanzi’s hometown is in the ocean… So she probably won’t care much about the beach. However, Grandma does miss her…”
He answered, “I am going over to her house for dinner tomorrow. I could call and ask if we can all go together?”
“Wouldn’t it be too much trouble if our entire family showed up?” Yue Yang asked.
However, Grandma shouted, “It’s fine! Go ahead and ask!”
Then, Hao Ren took out his phone and told Zhao Hongyu about this idea. She agreed to it immediately and welcomed Hao Ren’s family over.
Hao Ren gave the phone to his grandma so that she could chat for a bit with Zhao Hongyu; they had missed each other since they haven’t seen each other for a few days.
Yue Yang was still thinking about the basketball game in a week; she had decided to make time for it no matter what. She had been pretty loose on Hao Ren since he was little. However, after she and Hao Zhonghua got scolded at Zhao Yanzi’s house by Grandma last time, there had been some changes in her thoughts. She realized that they needed to pay more attention to Hao Ren as parents.
“I’ll go with Zhonghua without notifying the school… It’s just a basketball game; we shouldn’t get much attention…” she thought to herself.
Hao Ren went back to his room after Grandma had gotten off the phone with Zhao Hongyu. He came back hoping to spend some time with his parents today, but his dad had gone to the States without a word, which made him a bit upset.
Hao Ren never felt anything special because of his great parents; there were too many busy parents in the world as it was the same for Zhao Yanzi’s parents.
However, although Yue Yang and Hao Zhonghua were dedicated to their science career and had won a lot of prizes, they haven’t made a lot of money, not even as much as a business owner in a medium-sized city. They only sold their place downtown at a good price to purchase this house by the beach when the economy was not doing well.
The good thing was that their jobs were somewhat stable despite the low pay; it was just enough to support this family.
Hao Ren returned to his room and opened the window facing the beach. He cultivated the Spirit Concentration Scroll for two hours under the moonlight as he absorbed the relatively heavy water elements nearby. He was able to smooth out his meridians with Su Han’s instruction and speed up his absorption rate.
The night went by quietly accompanied by the sound of the waves. Yue Yang drove Hao Ren to school at five in the morning when it was barely bright outside.
She was driving Hao Zhonghua’s white Ford which fit her very well.
Even so, she was still driving timidly under 60 km/h. When making turns, she would cut her speed in half.
The speed she was going at was even slower than the ladies on their motorbikes who were going grocery shopping.
Hao Ren got impatient seeing it was already almost six o’clock and said, “Let me drive, Mom!”
“It’s ok…I’m driving safer…” Yue Yang found herself an excuse.
“Safe from what? There aren’t any other cars on the streets at this hour. Alright, just pull over.” Hao Ren said.
Yue Yang pulled over to the roadside slowly. A world-class scientist like herself wouldn’t even dare to drive over 60 km/h.
Hao Ren got out of the passenger seat and went in the driver seat while Yue Yang switched over to the passenger seat.
Ka, ka! Hao Ren shifted the gear smoothly and stepped on the gas peddle, and the car accelerated immediately. It reached 80 km/h in no time on the empty morning street.
The engine made a deep and powerful sound.
“Ren…” Yue Yang thought for a few seconds and offered, “Should Mom buy you a car? I got some money from this award I just won…”
“Nah, Nah. Why do I need a car? It wasn’t easy for you to win that award. Researches like that would take you three to six years,” Hao Ren rejected her offer immediately.
“Grandma and I will go straight to Zi’s house for dinner today. You can come after your classes,” Yue Yang said.
“Okay,” Hao Ren nodded while driving.
Yue Yang suddenly realized that her son had grown up as she watched him drive calmly in the morning sunshine.
“But Mom still thinks Zi is too young to be a daughter-in-law,” she looked at her son and said, “The Class President who came for my signature, however, looked pretty good.”
“Ah…” Hao Ren almost stepped on the break at her remark.
“Honestly, I think that girl was really gentle. Looks aside, Mom thinks she makes people feel comfortable…” Yue Yang continued.
“That was not…” Hao Ren immediately explained.
“I’m just saying. You are the one who knows if she is a good fit. I will keep it a secret on Zi’s side. But Mom has good eyes, and that girl could be a really good match for you,” Yue Yang said.
“Good eyes…You also said a bad student like Zhao Yanzi is a top student,” Hao Ren thought to himself.
The car arrived at the front gate of East Ocean University. Hao Ren drove straight in since he knew there wouldn’t be too many students on campus at such an early hour. He headed towards the basketball court in Zone B along the campus road.
The car drove steadily in the quiet campus, and Hao Ren stopped the vehicle in a corner that was about 100 meters away from the court.
“We are stopping here?” Yue Yang asked.
“Um, here is fine. Drive safe on the way back, Mom. I’m going to go for training,” Hao Ren said as he opened the door and hopped out.
Of course, he parked a bit far from the court. If Xie Yujia were to see her “idol” Yue Yang dropping him off, she would be astonished to death!
One saw the other as her idol, and one thought the other as the potential daughter-in-law… Who knew what would happen if these two were to meet in person?
He headed to the basketball court while Yue Yang switched back into the driver seat and slowly made a U-turn. She kept going back and forth on that 2-meter-wide street; a simple U-turn took her over a minute!
Hao Ren stepped into the basketball court in Zone B, and Xie Yujia waved at him in her white sportswear, “Hao Ren! You are two minutes late today!”
Hao Ren smiled in embarrassment. He jogged over and said, “I’m sorry, Class President. I got up late today.”
“It’s ok, but there can’t be a second time. Did you have breakfast?” She asked.
Her white tennis gear was not as lively as yesterday’s outfit. However, it made her look more professional. Her healthy and fit body could still be seen in the sportswear.
In the distance, a white Ford secretly approached the basketball court under the shades of the trees. Through the window, Yue Yang saw Xie Yujia and Hao Ren chatting. She pushed up her glasses and smiled.
“This boy, keeping it from me…”
