“Tsk!”
Zi Yan snorted and could not help rolling her eyes at him.
“I’m being serious. We’re heading out soon. Quickly tell me.”
“Then wear this. Since you have a ponytail braid, you look quite gentle and quiet with this pair of glasses,” Zhang Han replied.
“You’re saying that I’m usually not gentle and quiet?”
“No, you’ve always been gentle, virtuous, and generous. You’re amazing in the kitchen and also in…”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Zi Yan quickly got up and pulled Zhang Han downstairs.
Half an hour later, Zhang Han picked up Mengmeng and Ma Fei, who looked nervous.
“Kid, sit in the passenger seat and show me the way.”
Zhang Han opened the door of the passenger seat for Ma Fei.
“I live at Unit 701, Building 24, Wuhualan Complex.”
“Okay.”
Zhang Han keyed in the address into the GPS. Ma Fei’s house was located in the south of the Eastern District. It was not far, just a little remote.
After driving for ten minutes, they arrived at the neighborhood.
The neighborhood was relatively run-down, and all different kinds of facilities were somewhat worn out. The swing and other equipment downstairs were all rusty, and part of the ground was slightly uneven. There were many cars parked on the side of the road, which looked relatively messy. One glance was all it took to tell that the property maintenance staff did not care much.
They walked over to Building 24 and saw a woman standing at the door. She looked like she was in her thirties. She was in good shape, and her face was a little pale and haggard.
“Feifei.”
The woman greeted them in a hurry. “Hello, I’m Yanling.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Ma Fei whispered, “Mom, she’s our class monitor, Zhang Yumeng. These are her parents.”
“Come on in.”
Yanling welcomed Zhang Han and Zi Yan in with a smile. There was no elevator in the old neighborhood, and the seventh floor was the top floor. They had to climb the stairs.
Yanling and Ma Fei were already used to it. Zhang Han and his family had a good physique, so it was not tiring for them to climb up to the seventh floor.
The furniture in the house was also a little old, but the overall was still quite neat and tidy.
The house was about 60 square meters big, with a floor space of roughly 50 square meters. There was one room for Ma Fei and one living room. There was a curtain in the living room and a small bed behind it. Yanling usually slept there.
Single-parent family?
That was what Zi Yan was thinking when she saw that scene.
As for Mengmeng, she looked around after walking into the house. She was a little shocked.
“This place is so small. It’s even smaller than the living room at home.”
Why was Ma Fei’s house so small?
It was not that Mengmeng could not count her blessings, and nor was she looking down on this place. The little girl was just a little confused.
It was because Mengmeng had never been to her friends’ homes. The house they had in Xiangjiang was a duplex apartment in the Eastern District that Zi Yan had bought. It was quite big. Later, she stayed in the restaurant for a while. The two floors did not make her feel crowded. Lastly, she came to Xanadu in Mount New Moon and stayed in a castle. Now that was big.
“Eh?”
Mengmeng suddenly remembered something.
It seemed that when she and her mother first came back from North America, she had seen Zhang Han living in a small house like this one. It seemed very run-down.
The memory of her first encounter with Zhang Han was deeply engraved in her mind.
“I’ve also lived in a house like this.”
Mengmeng stopped thinking about those things. She sat down next to Zi Yan and looked at the glasses of hot water Ma Fei’s mother had placed on the coffee table.
“Mr. Zhang, Mrs. Zhang, have some water. Thank you for driving Feifei back.”
Yanling was very polite.
“It’s no problem.”
Zi Yan smiled and said, “I hope Sister Yan doesn’t mind our sudden visit.”
“No, not at all! Don’t be so polite. Have some fruit.”
Yanling pushed the fruit plate towards Zhang Han.
“Thank you.”
Zi Yan thought for a moment and asked, “Excuse me for being direct. Is Ma Fei’s father not staying with the both of you?”
As for Zi Yan’s accent, she used to term parents as “Dad” and “Mom” and when she had to say “Daddy” and “Mommy”, she would sound cute, just like Mengmeng.
After Mengmeng learned the accent, she helped Zi Yan to change hers. She took less than a week to adjust.
“His father is out for work.”
Yanling was a little unemboldened while saying that. The depth of her eyes was full of complete disappointment or in other words, despair.
“Oh, oh.”
She was not a single parent.
Zi Yan did not ask any more questions. Instead, she began to get into the topic.
“My daughter is the class monitor of Class One. Ma Fei’s grades have been very good at the beginning, but he fell back by so much in just a semester. Hence, Mengmeng was a little worried about him, so I came here with my husband to have a talk with you.”
“Studywise…”
Yanling subconsciously clenched her fists and reached out her left hand to touch Ma Fei’s head.
“This child has always been smart since young, and he has always been doing well in school. In the future… be it studies or anything else, it all depends on his fate.”
Her expression looked normal, but Zhang Han still caught the trace of despair in her heart.
“There must be something going on in this household.”
“Ms. Lu had told us the kids’ academic depends on the cooperation of their parents. Is there…”
Before Zi Yan could finish her words, Yanling shook her head.
“I also want to cooperate with Ms. Lu, but I can’t.”
As she spoke, she heaved a deep sigh.
“There are some things that are always contrary to your wishes. Once you make a wrong decision, you will continue making wrong decisions. Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, Mengmeng is very smart. I also know that she is the class monitor and has helped Ma Fei a lot. I thank you guys for that, but I can’t do anything about Ma Fei’s results. Mengmeng wants to win first place as a group, but this time around, Ma Fei is really pulling her back. I can only say sorry. Although I also want Ma Fei to have good grades, I can’t help it. Every family has their own difficulties.”
“This…” Zi Yan’s face froze.
“It’s getting late. Mr. Zhang, do you guys want to stay for dinner?”
Yanling looked at the time and spoke. However, she did not think of really letting them stay.
She was implying for them to leave.
Zi Yan had initially thought that they could have a good conversation and she could invite them out for dinner. However, given the current situation, she could not do anything about it.
Zi Yan stood up and said, “It’s fine. We’ll have the chance to do so in the future. Thank you for your hospitality, Sister Yan. We’ll take our leave.”
“Take care.”
Yanling broke into a smile and quickly got up.
It was as if she was chasing them away.
This was definitely not a very comfortable meeting.
But soon after, Zi Yan found out why Yanling wanted to see them off.
Clang!
All of a sudden, there was a loud sound of the door opening and closing.
It gave Zi Yan a shock.
They then saw a scrawny and drunk man walking in.
He was not fake-drunk like Wu Ming. He was really a little drunk.
“Eh? Ha! We actually have guests coming to this tiny and run-down house? Who is it?”
As soon as he came back, Ma Fei began to look scared. Even Mengmeng looked at him with caution.
It seemed that this person was not very friendly.
“They’re Ma Fei’s classmate and her family. You drank too much. Come, I’ll help you lie down.”
Yanling’s expression changed slightly, as if she did not expect him to come back so early.
As she spoke, she looked at Zhang Han and Zi Yan, signaling for them to leave. At the same time, she showed an apologetic expression.
“Don’t touch me!”
Unexpectedly, the man pushed Yanling away and scolded loudly, “I don’t care if there are guests or not! Give me the money, now! Didn’t you ask your mom for a few dozen thousand yesterday? Quick, give me the card!”
“That’s Feifei’s second-year school fees!”
“I don’t care about his tuition. Hurry up and give it to me. Don’t force me to do it. What are you looking at…?”
The man glared at Zhang Han.
Mengmeng was a little scared, and her hands, which were grabbing onto Zhang Han and Zi Yan, tightened subconsciously.
Without saying anything, the door was slammed shut by the man with a loud bang.
Then a quarrel broke out inside, followed by sounds of physical abuse and a woman and child crying.
“This…”
This was the first time that Zi Yan had seen such a scene. She had seen it many times on the Internet, but it was the first time that she had experienced it.
She did not know what to say.
Perhaps Yanling was right. Every family had their own problems.
However, it seemed that there was none in hers.
“Let’s go.”
Zhang Han remained silent for two seconds as if he was hesitating whether or not he should meddle in other people’s business. But in the end, he still did not say anything about it.
This was someone else’s family matters. If he wanted to change it, Ma Fei’s mother must toughen up. Why did she not get a divorce despite the situation? She had made her own choice.
Along the way, Mengmeng and Zi Yan did not say a word until they got into the car.
“Daddy, why is Ma Fei’s father like this? He’s so scary. Is he a bad guy?” Mengmeng asked.
“Not only is he bad! He’s also a jerk.”
Zi Yan replied angrily, “What kind of person is he to treat his wife and son like that! I’ve only seen this on the Internet before, but I didn’t expect to witness it with my own eyes today. With such a father, no wonder Ma Fei’s grades dropped so much so quickly.”
“What is a jerk?” Mengmeng probably could tell something from Zi Yan’s tone, but she did not know its exact meaning.
“It just means a bad man…”
“Then Daddy is not a jerk. He is a good man,” Mengmeng said seriously.
“Zhang Hanyang is a good man.” No one in the martial arts world would believe it. He had trampled on countless corpses over the years, but he could not treat Mengmeng and Zi Yan any better.
Different people had different definitions of good and bad.
“There are few people like your father in this world. Of course, he is a good husband and a good father.”
When she spoke of Zhang Han, Zi Yan’s mood was uplifted and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
Mengmeng then learned that her parents were different.
“Stop praising me, or else I’ll get too proud of myself.”
Zhang Han smiled and said, “Mengmeng, we’ve already tried but it didn’t seem to work. This is part of the process in preparation for the final exam. We’ve already tried our best. Even if your group doesn’t get first place, we won’t have any regrets, right?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Mengmeng wanted her group to be the first, but she did not get what she wanted in the end due to a small incident. However, Mengmeng did not care too much about it, because the top three students would all receive a trophy…
As for Ma Fei’s problem, Lu Guo reported it to the school. In the end, the school decided to not let Ma Fei pay any fees. However, no one paid attention to their family’s situation.
“It’s the holidays!”
There was some summer vacation homework. On the very night, Mengmeng was very efficient in finishing them. In just five hours, she had already finished about one-tenth of her homework.
She was not in a rush after all. Then, it was time to go out and play.
“Daddy… Mommy, where are we going?”
Mengmeng also knew that the power to decide where they were going was in Zi Yan’s hands.
Yesterday, while she was doing her homework, Zi Yan was scrolling on her phone, looking for places to go to this holiday.
“Let’s go to Madi this time around.”
“What’s Madi?”
“It’s the Maldives!” Zi Yan reached out her hand and brushed the tip of Mengmeng’s nose with a smile. “The Maldives is often said to be a paradise on earth. It’s very beautiful there. The water is clear, the sand is white, and there are shades from the coconut trees. It has tranquility and luxuriance from primitive times. At night, the stars fill up the sky and the Big Dipper can be seen clearly. If you are lucky, you can even see the outline of the Milky Way.”
