Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was initially just a district-level body technique exchange meet, which had inexplicably expanded into a national competition. If No. 60 High placed in this competition, Wang Ling wouldn’t be able to remain unnoticed and low-key, no matter how much he wanted to. Events now seemed to be developing in a way which contradicted the important strategy which Father Wang and Mother Wang had drawn up for him: “Live a low-key life.”
Wednesday, November 12th.
That night, Wang Ling got a parents’ notice and two tickets.
Since it had become a national competition, Songhai city’s education commission decided to make a block booking for all parents of participants from Songhai city to watch the competition live. Father and Mother Wang were naturally invited, but after Wang Ling entered middle school, this ridiculous couple had never attended the parent-teacher conference, and had always found someone else to do it. For example, Wang Ling had gotten Grenade-Throwing Senior Immortal to attend the parent-teacher conference in the first semester of Senior Grade One.
Hence, Wang Ling didn’t think Father and Mother Wang would go.
“Yo, it’s a big event this time, and there’s actually tickets for it.” When Father Wang received the parents’ notice and the two tickets, he was instantly lost in thought.
While the school had already sent out the tickets beforehand, it was up to the parents whether they went or not. No one was specially overseeing this matter, nor would there be any teachers at the venue checking which parents did or did not attend.
The problem was that Father Wang reluctantly felt that an event like this body technique exchange meet was detrimental to the prenatal training that the couple was doing these days.
Father Wang and Mother Wang had been carefully doing prenatal training during this period. Her belly sticking out, Mother Wang traveled all over the place, and Father Wang followed her. They visited all kinds of cultural museums on cultivation history, with the intent of making use of this art influence to get Wang Nuan to calm down… Generally speaking, girls tended to be more serene, but considering what happened after Wang Ling was born, Father and Mother Wang still felt that this sort of meditative prenatal training was vital!
Eyes fixed on the notice and tickets, Father Wang pondered for a moment before finally deciding to decline. “How about you ask Little Lei to go on our behalf?”
Wang Ling: “…”
He knew it!
“You’re calm now, and don’t like to talk much, but when you were born, you were actually quite rowdy. Your mom and I always wondered if it was because we didn’t do the prenatal training properly before you were born. Your mom and I have been taking your little sister to look at cultural and art exhibits these days, and we hope that she’ll be a little calmer,” said Father Wang. “An event like a body technique exchange meet doesn’t seem good for prenatal training. What if your little sister is influenced by the violence? Your mom and I are already no longer your match…”
These words dumbfounded Wang Ling. “…”
What “already no longer your match”…
They hadn’t been his match since he was born, alright?!
The critical point was that Wang Ling didn’t think this sort of calming prenatal training could curb his little sister’s strength.
Wang Nuan’s “Shadow Dao” had already caused Wang Ling plenty of trouble during the summer break; at that time, Wang Ling already knew what Wang Nuan was going to be like. Although his cute little sister had yet to be born, given how pesky Shadow Dao was, she would definitely be a troublemaker.
Seeing that Father Wang didn’t plan to go, Wang Ling took the tickets back, then had him sign the notice.
To be honest, Wang Ling was instead relieved that Father and Mother Wang weren’t going. When he thought about how his parents might watch his performance during the competition, a part of him would always feel nervous as their kid.
…
As Mother Wang put on a face mask that night, she discussed the national competition with Father Wang. “Actually you really want to go and watch.”
“…” Eyes on the newspaper, Father Wang kept silent.
“It just so happens that I’ve arranged to hang out with a few friends that day. You don’t have to worry about me, they’ve always taken very good care of me,” said Mother Wang.
Father Wang put the newspaper down and sat upright as he listened to Mother Wang speak. “This national competition is a rare event. Ling Ling is usually so low-key, yet his teacher still chose him, which proves that his teacher really likes him. It would be good for you to go and watch. Usually, you hardly talk to each other, and you always use docking his allowance as a way to try and have a heart-to-heart chat with your son and get close to him. This is actually a very good chance; seeing how Ling Ling performs during the competition will deepen your relationship and understanding of each other.”
“Cough… but…”
“But Ling Ling already took back the tickets, right?” Mother Wang laughed as she opened a drawer and pulled them out. “I took them back from Ling Ling.”
“…” Father Wang took the tickets, his heart trembling slightly.
“You damn tsundere,” Mother Wang commented.
“Ai, do you think I want to be like this?” Father Wang curled his lip.
Father Wang really wanted to go and watch this body technique exchange meet. Indeed, like Mother Wang said, he wanted to see what Wang Ling’s performance was like. In addition, it was also for the sake of collecting reference material.
Father Wang didn’t have a lot of source material on body technique exchange meets. 102 high schools would be participating in this national competition this time, and Father Wang’s heart pounded at this treasure trove of source material.
Source material was derived from life; one of Father Wang’s main tasks in writing was to collect news on the people around him and on society, and integrate them into his novels to give it a sense of the times.
For example, Father Wang had already adapted something that happened between an online live streamer and a fruit farmer the day before into his story yesterday.
It started with a fruit farmer who opened an online shop, and had mistakenly typed in twenty-six yuan for 4500 jin of tangerines rather than 4500 grams. This mistake instantly drew the attention of some so-called “fleece clubs.”
A live streamer who took pride in fleecing others made this mistake known in his fan group and called for his fans to go online and order. They were sure that the seller wouldn’t be able to deliver the goods, and they would promptly complain together in order to receive ten percent of the total payment in compensation.
The poor fruit farmer received tens of thousands of orders overnight, and the shop’s capital instantly went up in smoke.
This live streamer called Passerby A was condemned by netizens, and finally apologized. His account was banned by the live stream platform, and this professional “online fleece club” which hid in the shadows officially entered the public eye.
This sort of behavior already wasn’t fleecing, but was cutting off the sheep’s head… Exploiting someone’s mistake for profit was extremely shameless.
But in considering whether the subject matter was suitable or not, Father Wang had to first decide whether it was reasonable to adapt this source material. As a writer of cultivation novels, such a modern plot device appearing in his cultivation novel would unavoidably be a little off-putting.
Hence, Father Wang revised and adapted this scam story for his own story.
