Liu Chang'an Persuades with Virtue

When Liu Chang'an returned home, Zhou Dongdong was twisting and turning haphazardly under the sycamore tree.

"What are you doing?" Liu Chang'an asked Zhou Dongdong while eating ice cream.

Zhou Dongdong stopped fidgeting, staring blankly at the ice cream in Liu Chang'an's hand for a moment before snapping out of her daze. "I'm doing... doing... doing the height-increasing exercises you used to teach me."

"You want to grow taller?" Liu Chang'an said with some surprise. Zhou Dongdong didn't like to move around much except when she was playing by herself. Her favorite thing to do was to eat and then stay still. She had no interest in Liu Chang'an's height-growing exercises.

"Someone bullied my mom today. I need to grow taller quickly so no one can bully my mom anymore." Zhou Dongdong said angrily, hands on her hips.

"It's alright now. I've already caught the person who bullied your mother and handed them over to the police." Liu Chang'an pressed down on her head because Zhou Dongdong had just finished speaking and started twisting around again, which was practically making his invention look bad. He couldn't let her continue.

"Really!" Zhou Dongdong was surprised and excited, and jumped up and down, but Liu Chang'an held her down and she couldn't jump. She could only wave her hands like a bird's wings.

"Of course. Repeat after me: Brother Chang'an is invincible, witty, brave, resourceful, wise, and invincible. If you say it correctly, I'll give you ice cream." Liu Chang'an squatted down and ate ice cream in front of Zhou Dongdong's face. "If you say it wrong, you'll have to admit you're a stupid child."

"Brother Chang'an is invincible..." Zhou Dongdong said, holding her breath as she moved closer to Liu Chang'an's lips.

"And then...?"

"Resourceful and brave..."

"You're right, you're clever and brave, what's next?"

"He's a stupid kid."

Liu Chang'an was furious, and Zhou Dongdong seized the opportunity to scold him, "You're the stupid kid. Even if you won't admit it, the facts prove it. Fine, I'm not only invincible, witty, brave, resourceful, and courageous, but also magnanimous. I won't hold it against you."

So Liu Chang'an gave the ice cream to Zhou Dongdong.

"Thank you, Brother Chang'an." Zhou Dongdong bounced again, sat down on the small stool under the sycamore tree, and ate her ice cream without moving.

"Eat slowly, or you'll get diarrhea and the ice cream won't stay in your tummy, which would be a waste," Liu Chang'an reminded Zhou Dongdong as he went back to change his clothes.

Zhou Dongdong quickly slowed down, feeling a bit scared, and managed to eat only a little bit, so she didn't waste much.

After eating for a while, Zhou Dongdong carried a small stool to Liu Chang'an, who was squatting on the threshold, and continued eating.

Zhou Shuling returned with a worried expression. Seeing the two of them eating together, she finally relaxed, feeling both happy and annoyed. "Chang'an, are you alright? I was just about to call the police, but after you chased after them, I never heard from you again. I tried calling you, but your phone was off, and you didn't reply to my messages."

"I didn't notice..." Liu Chang'an took out his phone and checked it; it was switched off.

"Brother Chang'an caught the bad guy who bullied Mom and took him to the police! He's already locked up." Zhou Dongdong immediately reported loudly, and even filled in the details that Liu Chang'an hadn't made up.

That's not wrong. In the eyes of a child like Zhou Dongdong, if he gets caught by the police, of course he should be locked up.

"Really!" Zhou Shuling was both surprised and delighted, but she didn't jump for joy. "Are you alright?"

"Brother Chang'an is invincible, resourceful, and brave..." Zhou Dongdong couldn't remember what came next, and after mumbling a couple of things with her mouth full of food, she didn't say anything more.

"I'm fine. Later I went to my girlfriend's house to check my scores." Liu Chang'an was very disappointed that Zhou Dongdong couldn't remember the whole text and couldn't properly cheer him on. He was too embarrassed to say it himself.

"Oh right, the college entrance exam scores are out. Can you get into Xiangtan University?" Zhou Shuling looked at Liu Chang'an expectantly, feeling that if Liu Chang'an had good grades, he could be a role model for Zhou Dongdong... Although Zhou Dongdong seemed a little skeptical, the power of a role model is boundless.

"Sure, over 600 points, no problem."

"Then we should have a banquet!"

"Why bother with the wine? Just take the test anywhere."

"Then we should hold a banquet, and book a few tables at a hotel?"

"Never mind, never mind."

Seeing that he really didn't mean it, Zhou Shuling was happy for him but didn't say much. Instead, she started to scold Zhou Dongdong because, compared to Liu Chang'an, the gap between Zhou Dongdong and Liu Chang'an in terms of academics was much, much larger than the difference in height.

Zhou Dongdong was eating, oblivious to everything around her, as if protected by a barrier.

After Zhou Shuling left, Zhou Dongdong asked Liu Chang'an, "Brother Chang'an, is the banquet for our wedding?"

"Because I study very well and get good grades in exams, I'll have a banquet to celebrate. The banquet will be a table full of delicious food. If you study very well and get good grades in the future, you can also have a banquet."

Zhou Dongdong was surprised; it turns out that being good at studying really does have its benefits!

After finishing his ice cream, Liu Chang'an washed his hair. When he came out, he found that Zhou Dongdong had also finished her ice cream and was continuing her haphazardly twisting exercises to grow taller.

Liu Chang'an didn't stop her. Let her jump. In the eyes of children, it seems that as long as they grow up, they can realize all their wishes. Zhou Dongdong wanted to grow up quickly to protect her mother.

Only then did Liu Chang'an take out his phone to check the messages. Apart from Zhou Shuling's messages, the rest were all from Liu Yuewang.

As expected.

Liu Yuewang was in the living room at that time, her phone was tilted at an angle with her back to him, her eyes were looking at the ceiling, but her finger was tapping randomly on the screen, she was secretly taking pictures of him.

"Uncle, did you fight when you were young? I like guys who dare to fight back. I don't like guys who just talk about reasoning when their girlfriends are bullied, or who scream hysterically like a hen but don't dare to throw a punch."

"We're checking our college entrance exam results today, and I'm so nervous! Uncle, did you take the college entrance exam? My mom is amazing, she's a professor now, teaching university students. What do you do, uncle?"

I only sent two messages, probably because the "uncle" was too slow to reply, which dampened my enthusiasm.

"I like to reason with people and persuade them with virtue. Everyone should be reasonable at all times. After all, if I'm unreasonable, no one can beat me, which would be too much of a bully, and I don't like bullying others. I think reasoning is the basic social moral bottom line for upholding the human need for fairness. Society is certainly not fair, but humanity cannot stop pursuing fairness. As for the college entrance examination, I've taken it twice, and both times it went well."

"Hehe, so you must still be really good at fighting, but your studies definitely won't be good, and you'll have to repeat a year. Why didn't you tell me what you do for a living?" The message was replied to quickly.

"What a coincidence, I'm also a professor."

Wasn't she having a spa treatment? Liu Chang'an didn't explain further that his two college entrance exams weren't retakes. Instead, he received a message from An Nuan, asking if Zhou Dongdong finished school and suggesting they have dinner together that evening. An Nuan had a strong impression of Zhou Dongdong, who often ate three bowls of rice at Liu Chang'an's house. She had even taken Zhou Dongdong out for a stroll last time. Although Liu Chang'an said Zhou Dongdong was extremely stupid, An Nuan thought she was only five or six points stupid, not ten.

My goal for today was to finish at 4 PM, but I got a little engrossed in watching a series of documentaries tonight, which is essential writing material. Tomorrow I'll finish at 5 PM—that's a promise, not a goal. Goals don't have to be achieved, but I promise I'll do my best. (Please accept my Various Requests.)