In the following days, Chu Feng performed very well. He listened carefully in class lectures and would take the initiative to ask the teacher when he encountered problems at the end of the class. Although Chu Feng's foundation wasn’t very good, for students who would come to ask questions, the teacher would always show the utmost patience to answer. Even if the teacher needed to speak and explain two or three times, the teacher would not be dissatisfied.
At night, when they returned to the dormitory, in the absence of a teacher, Chu Feng would ask Rong Xun and Si Xian if he had any questions, and all of them could be answered. The study plan that Rong Xun listed for him has also achieved results. Although Chu Feng could not answer many of the questions correctly, at least he wouldn't be reading a book headlessly where he didn't even know which chapter to find the answer from, so he could only read the whole book.
On Thursday night, Song Xin, Chu Feng's mother, called him and asked him to come home for dinner on the weekend. Chu Feng simply agreed. In fact, his mother rarely spends time at home every year, so as long as his mother came back, he would go home more often.
After he hung up the phone, Chu Feng asked Rong Xun, “Are you going home this weekend?”
Rong Xun nodded and said, “I'll go back.”
“That’s good, I'll see you off.” Chu Feng said.
“No need, it's very convenient for me to go back by subway.” Rong Xun didn't want Chu Feng to make another trip, as far as he knew, their homes didn't go the same way.
“I want to see you off,” Chu Feng said, his tone completely giving Rong Xun no room for rejection.
Rong Xun hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, “Okay.”
After school on Friday, Chu Feng carried two school bags and a laptop for Rong Xun, and sent Rong Xun home first.
Rong Xun originally wanted to take his things by himself, but Chu Feng didn't give it to him. He wasn’t as tall as Chu Feng and couldn't get it, so he had to let Chu Feng take it.
Rong Xun’s home takes only two stops by subway, but it took about ten minutes to walk from the subway station. It was an old neighborhood with six or seven-storey buildings, the colors of the houses were also mixed and not divided by districts. However, the roads were quite spacious, the public facilities were basically complete, and the traffic was convenient, so it was a pretty good place to live in.
When he walked to Rong Xun's house and went downstairs, Rong Xun said, “Here at last. You should go back soon too. Don't let your family wait.”
“What floor do you live on?” Chu Feng looked up at the floor. Although the house was a bit old, the exterior walls had been renovated, and the quality of the building wasn’t bad.
“Third floor.” Rong Xun raised his head and pointed to the window of his house, and said, “That’s my house.”
Chu Feng nodded, handed the school bag and laptop to Rong Xun, in full detail, he said, "Call me anytime if anything happens. Don't play with the laptop for too long. Eat well and finish your medicine for today. Go to bed early and don't stay up late.”
“En.” Rong Xun nodded with a chuckle, Chu Feng always reminded him so meticulously, it always made him feel very warm.
“Go up.” Chu Feng said.
“Okay, send me a message when you get home.” Rong Xun said.
Chu Feng responded with a smile: “Got it.”
Rong Xun opened the anti-theft door downstairs and went upstairs. After he entered the house, he immediately walked to the balcony and opened the window to see if Chu Feng had already left.
Chu Feng seemed to have expected that Rong Xun would open the window to find him, but he didn’t leave until he saw Rong Xun opened the window and stuck his head out. He waved at him and said, "I'm leaving."
"En," Rong Xun waved his hand as well, with a smile in his eyes.
Chu Feng didn't stay any longer, turned around, and left.
Rong Xun looked at Chu Feng's back until he couldn't see him. He closed the window and washed his hands and prepared to cook.
When Chu Feng returned home, the family was ready to start to eat dinner.
Song Xin saw him enter the door, she hurriedly walked over and smiled, "Why come back so late?"
"There was a sudden delay." Chu Feng smiled.
Song Xin looked at Chu Feng, who she hadn’t seen for a while, and said, “You look a lot more energetic.”
Chu Feng smiled and said, "I'll go upstairs to change clothes first."
"Go." Song Xin patted her son. She was taken aback when she saw the school bag on Chu Feng's back, and asked, "What are you carrying?" Chu Feng usually came back empty-handed.
"Books and homework." Chu Feng said.
Song Xin looked at him in surprise—Chu Feng actually carried books and homework back? If it was a gaming device or a love letter or something, it would be more credible.
Chu Feng didn't explain much, he went upstairs to change clothes first.
When he walked into his room, Chu Feng really felt like he was in a different world. This familiar and strange feeling brought a feeling of nostalgia. After he went abroad to study, his family moved to a new house. Although the house was not sold, they didn't live there anymore. It was just empty here. Later he bought his own house and had a place to live, this place was almost forgotten by him. Even when he went back to his parents, the room his parents prepared for him was very different from this one.
On the way back today, he was still thinking about it. Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten the address here. If he went to the place where he moved later and found that there was no his house there, it would be embarrassing.
After he washed his hands and changed his clothes, Chu Feng called Rong Xun and said he was home. After that, the two talked for a while before Chu Feng went downstairs to eat dinner.
Only him and Song Xin were at the dinner table today. His father was busy, and Chu Feng didn't want to ask more. After all, his relationship with his father had never been better. But Chu Rou didn't come back, which puzzled him a bit.
"Where is Chu Rou?" Chu Feng asked.
Song Xin sat at the dining table, filled Chu Feng’s bowl with soup, and said, “She said she would come back with her classmates after eating out after school. It seems that her classmates have some coupons. Today is the last day.”
Chu Feng nodded and sat in his seat. Song Xin wasn't good at cooking. There were always aunts who specialize in cooking at home, and there were also hourly workers who came to clean regularly, so they didn't need to worry about housework.
After drinking the soup in the bowl, Chu Feng asked, "Is the filming going well this time?" His mother only arrived home last Sunday morning. It goes without saying that Chu Feng should come back to have a meal with her, but because of Rong Xun's affairs, he didn't come back. However, his mother still asked Chu Rou to bring him food to school.
Song Xin is an actress. She is also a film queen, the kind of international film queen who could go abroad. Every year, she spent more than half a year going out to film. Chu Feng's father was also very supportive of this, so Chu Feng and Song Xin didn’t have a lot of time to spend together. It might also be a compensation due to not being able to be with the child from time to time. Song Xin has very low requirements for her children, as long as they can grow up peacefully. So, even though Chu Feng wasn’t serious about studying, she never said a word. Her biggest regret was that she couldn't hold a parent meeting for her two children. After all, as an international celebrity her popularity was high. There would be reporters tailing her whenever she went out, and she would always meet fans on the road. In order to prevent the privacy of the two children from being exposed, at most, she could only talk to the teacher in private to ask about the situation.
"It's not bad, but the climate there is very dry, so I need to moisturize it several times a day." Song Xin smiled. As an actress, in order to make a good film, no matter how harsh the environment was, she has to overcome it. She has her own set of methods. Although it was harder, it was worth it to be able to shoot satisfactory results.
In Chu Feng's impression, his mother has always been shining. So even if the environment wasn’t good, he wouldn't find a mark on her face, but he felt that his mother seemed thinner.
Chu Feng picked Song Xin’s favorite eggplant, and said, “Eat more.”
Song Xin looked at Chu Feng with a look of surprise. Chu Feng hadn't picked up food for her in many years.
Chu Feng also took care of Rong Xun a lot at school, so he picked Song Xin with vegetables. He didn’t know Song Xin’s joy, but just looking at her expression, he suddenly felt that his mother’s requirements were never high, just because his childhood memories were mostly about seeing his mother on TV, which instinctively created a sense of distance. Although the relationship between him and Song Xin was good, it wasn’t particularly close. But in fact this sense of distance wasn’t necessary at all. These things might really only be understood by himself ten years later, this has a lot to do with his experience and environment, allowing him to see things from different angles.
Song Xin also quickly picked a lot of food for Chu Feng, smiling with tenderness in her eyes, and said, "You should also eat more. The food at school is definitely not as good as at home."
"Okay." Chu Feng began to eat, but didn't talk much.
Song Xin wanted to pay more attention to Chu Feng's situation, so she asked, "How are you at school?"
“Very good. The teacher gave me a deskmate. This boy studies well and has helped me a lot.” Chu Feng felt that he should build an impression on Rong Xun from now on, so that it would be smoother in the future.
“Oh? Then you have to be nice to other people.” In Song Xin's impression, Chu Feng didn't seem to mention the same deskmate at all, and none of the deskmates seemed to satisfy him.
“I know.” Chu Feng ate the food and said, “By the way, I want to discuss something with you.”
“What's the matter?” Song Xin asked.
“I want to find a tutor to help me study all subjects and what needs to be supplemented.” Chu Feng said. He knew very well that if he didn't rely on foreign aid from teachers and only reviewed himself, it wasn’t impossible, but it would still be too difficult to catch up with Rong Xun.
“Huh?” Song Xin thought she had a hallucination, but his son was going to study?! Song Xin looked at him, and asked with some worry: "Have you encountered something not good recently? Why are you suddenly finding a tutor? Is the teacher not good to you?"
Chu Feng laughed and said: "No. My deskmate gave me some learning methods which I think are quite useful. When I met my cousin last week, he also mentioned to me that it is time to study seriously now. I thought about it, I really don’t think I can’t mess around like this anymore. If you don’t say anything, won’t I shame you?”
Song Xin was still worried, “You know, mom never thought of letting you win honor for me, as long as you are happy.”
“I know. I really want to learn. If I have a good future, won't you feel more at ease?" Chu Feng said.
Song Xin saw that he didn't look like he was lying and reluctant, so she was sure that Chu Feng really wanted to learn. She patted Chu Feng's hand and said, "You are grown up, mother is very happy. I will help you find the tutor, and I will tell you when I find it ."
"Well, it's better to find the kind that can teach outside, after all, I don't go home every week. I also plan to spend more time at school on weekends. After all, the school atmosphere is stronger." Chu Feng said. But in fact, he has other plans.
"Okay, leave it to me." Song Xin nodded comfortably.
After dinner, Chu Feng chatted with Song Xin for a while, then got up and said that he was going upstairs to do homework.
The children wanted to learn, how could the parents stop them? Song Xin hurriedly smiled and said, "Go. I'll give you fruit later."
“Good.” Chu Feng responded.
“Oh, that's right.” Song Xin stopped him again, “If you have time, please invite your deskmate to eat at home. He’s someone who has helped you, you must always express your gratitude."
Chu Feng felt that it was too early to let Rong Xun come home, but he didn't refuse, and only said, “If there’s a chance, after all, the third year of high school is busy. I'll talk about it during the winter vacation.”
“That's right, just remember it.” Song Xin said.
“I see.” Chu Feng went upstairs after speaking.
The author has something to say:
Chu Feng's parents are about to appear one after another!
*
PS: How about we cultivate the good habit of leaving comments after reading the text? ! Move your little claws, tap anything at will, it's all points! I have read everyone's comments, and thank all the friends who actively commented!
PS again: Thank you all for all kinds of thunder!
Footnotes:
laptop — 笔记本, meaning notebook, memorandum, laptop, or thinkpad. I thought it was a notebook at first but realized after encountering the next paragraphs.
Here at last — 我到了, in MTL it was “I am here” or “I have arrived”. I know there’s a character 我 in the raws but it feels awkward for me since Rong Xun was with Chu Feng or was that because he was the leading the way? Then 到了 means at last, finally, or in the end so I just I used here instead of I since Rong Xun meant to say that they have arrived at his house.
Translator’s Notes:
I’m all good now.
Thank you, I'm better now. You too, take careee~
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ReplyDeleteReading this, I suddenly had the urge to further my study but, thinking back to my undergraduate days, I better not.
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