Xia Junshan and Wang Yue used to meet for lunch every day, but for several days in a row, Xia Junshan hadn't shown up at their usual spot.
Wang Yue, who'd been enjoying a quiet life, started to feel uneasy. Was something big brewing again?
Sure enough, it didn't take long for Wang Yue to find out what was going on.
Wang Yue had just sat down to eat when Xia Junshan came hurrying over without getting any food. He didn't bother with small talk and asked outright, "How's that tutoring program you're working on with Zhong Yi?"
"It's going great. We've started the trial run, and Yuan Yuan's already taking lessons. She thinks she's improved a lot!" Wang Yue set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.
"You're unbelievable. You started without even telling me! And my Huan Huan's been missing her Uncle Wang!" Xia Junshan said, immediately displeased to hear that the tutoring sessions had already begun.
"It's only a trial run, not the official launch. If you want in, download the app when you get home and ask Zhong Yi to set you up with a spot." Wang Yue sighed helplessly. The logic of a doting father was terrifying.
"A trial run will do. I'll have my daughter try it tonight! The tutoring scene these days is insane. Your sister-in-law went to ask about lessons yesterday and found out there were one-on-one English tutors for three-year-olds. Have they all lost their minds?" Now that he had a solution, Xia Junshan's restlessness finally eased. He didn't bother to be polite to Wang Yue and went off to get his food.
When Xia Junshan came back with his lunch, he told Wang Yue what had happened without waiting to be asked.
Wang Yue didn't know what had set him off this time, but he could guess. It had to be something to do with his daughter.
"My father-in-law issued another family summons the day before yesterday and called both families together. As you'd expect, it turned unpleasant again. Huan Huan had done poorly on her last test, and Tian Yulan called her out in front of everyone. The kid's grown up and cares about saving face, so she started crying and ran out. Nan Li and I rushed after her. She was crying so hard—it broke my heart." Xia Junshan was fed up. His father-in-law was getting more and more unreasonable with age.
"When people get old, they just want to enjoy their grandchildren," Wang Yue said, playing along. No wonder he kept summoning you. If you brought your mother over, maybe he'd do it less often.
"I know. Your sister-in-law was angry with my father-in-law yesterday, too. When he divorced, Nan Li was only two months away from her college entrance exams. And he'd already found Tian Yulan's mother!" Xia Junshan said awkwardly. Truthfully, he was unhappy with his father-in-law, too. Why keep making a mess of things? Couldn't he invite one side at a time?
"Well..." Wang Yue glanced at Xia Junshan and decided to swallow what he'd been about to say.
"If you've got something to say, just say it. When have you ever known me to gossip?" Xia Junshan urged him on.
"All right. I think the old dean is a typical self-interested person. If he thinks something will make him feel better, he rarely considers anyone else," Wang Yue said tentatively.
"Yeah, I think he's pretty selfish, too. He always invites both sides at once. Isn't he just asking for trouble?" Xia Junshan spoke his mind.
"Exactly. Think about it: your sister-in-law's grandfather was the dean back then. If your father-in-law hadn't married The Eldest Princess, it would've been hard for him to get the vice-dean position. He knew she couldn't even lift a finger around the house, but he still married her for the sake of his career. Then, when he got old, he divorced her and married someone who could look after him—Tian Yulan's mother—because he wanted to live comfortably. After all, Nan Li's grandfather had already passed away by then." Wang Yue laid out what he saw as the truth.
"You're right. A girl has to be careful when choosing a husband. I'll make sure to vet Huan Huan's future husband! Look at my mother-in-law—she fell into depression after the divorce. If Nan Li hadn't taken such good care of her, who knows what would've happened?" As expected of a doting father, Xia Junshan always found a way to bring the conversation back to his daughter.
But Xia Junshan's words got to Wang Yue, too. His daughter was ten already. She wouldn't be living at home for many more years!
Why did that make him feel so miserable? It was all Xia Junshan's fault!
No, Xia Junshan had made him miserable, so Wang Yue had to make him feel even worse! Don't ask why. Xiao Nai taught him that!
"From what you've told me about Tian Yulan, I doubt the drama will end anytime soon. Her behavior sounds a bit like persecutory delusions, and she's highly aggressive. As long as she thinks you're going to bully her, she'll lash out," Wang Yue said with absolute certainty.
Xia Junshan was thoroughly rattled. He'd have to deal with them for a long time. To put it plainly, as long as his father-in-law was around, he'd have to keep seeing them. Did that mean he'd have to live on edge from now on?
Seeing how badly he'd shaken Xia Junshan, Wang Yue quickly changed the subject. "My wife says almost every student at the school has signed up for tutoring somewhere. The competition's gotten out of hand!"
"There's not much we can do. It's like watching a movie in a theater. If one person stands up, everyone else has to stand up too if they don't want a fight and still want to see the screen." Xia Junshan felt helpless. Why was it so hard to give his daughter a happy childhood?
There he went again, somehow turning every conversation back to his daughter.
"If you become dean, your daughter will be The Eldest Princess and get to enjoy a happy childhood," Wang Yue said, rolling his eyes.
"So I'm the one holding Huan Huan back?" Xia Junshan laughed at his joke.
"You're only realizing that now? If you're not born rich, you don't get to lie flat. And even rich kids don't want to lie flat!" Wang Yue finished speaking and started eating.
Xia Junshan watched him and settled down to eat, too. He said no more.
Meanwhile, Wang Yue was thinking about how to speed things up. The game engine he'd gotten from Xiao Nai was ready, but a game's architecture was so vast that it would take forever for one person to finish. He'd have to find another way.
So Wang Yue gave up on trying to speed things up by himself. He turned the game-development process from So Young into a proposal and made a sample for load testing a single event scene. With those to strengthen his bargaining position, he was ready to approach Big Penguin again.
One Friday night, Wang Yue told Guan Guan he had to go on a business trip. He'd traveled for work from time to time before, so she didn't think much of it. She just told him to take care of himself and reminded him several times, still worried.
Wang Yue waved grandly and set off. Carrying his proposal and sample, with his laptop bag slung over his shoulder, he headed out. Then, as if following a familiar route, he found Big Penguin's investment manager again. By the time he came back, his net worth had soared.
The first thing Wang Yue did was buy two adjoining duplexes on the ground floor of the same complex where Xia Junshan lived. They each had a little garden. He drew up renovation plans and hired people to get started.
After observing them for so long, Wang Yue had become certain that Xia Junshan's family were the protagonists. Their knack for stumbling into trouble was impossible to miss.
He'd more or less figured out how he'd been transported into the TV worlds, and he had a vague idea of how to get back.
When he entered the first world, Fourth Brother had been with him. When he left, the plot had finished. Wang Yue had just won the hacking battle, and Fourth Brother seemed to have gone to the bathroom before him.
When he entered the second world, he saw Zheng Wei. When he left, the plot had finished, he'd become a full-time dad, and Zheng Wei had been by his side.
In this third world, he'd seen Xia Junshan as soon as he got off the bus. He figured he'd have to wait for the plot to finish and have Xia Junshan beside him when it was time to leave.
With all of that taken care of, Wang Yue no longer had anything to worry about. At last, he could devote himself to improving his construction skills at the hospital.
Sigh. In the last world, he'd earned a doctorate and thought he was something special. But in the end, it was his parenting skills that leveled up first. That was embarrassing enough to make his ancestors cringe.
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