Viewpoint

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. After Wang Songhai finished discussing the blind date, he left behind a curt, "Call him later to arrange a time."

Then, he brought up how Wang Yiyang had twisted his joint earlier, insisting he go to the hospital for a follow-up. This was followed by instructions to drink less alcohol, as well as tips on "how to fake illness and find excuses during social engagements to avoid being forced to drink."

With one topic after another, over an hour had slipped away. It was almost time for the 3:00 PM parent-teacher meeting.

Seeing that time was running short, Wang Songhai finally hung up the receiver, still sounding unsatisfied, and told Wang Yiyang not to dawdle any longer and to get to the meeting.

Wang Yiyang let out a sigh of relief, hung up his phone, and hurriedly got up to change his clothes, preparing to head out.

He had attended parent-teacher meetings a few times before. Because his distant cousin's performance at school was "decent," he never had to worry about being singled out as a representative for the top students to give a speech on stage.

Nor did he have to worry about being cast as the representative for the worst students and being subjected to veiled criticisms.

Basically, he just sat through the whole thing, idly watching the parents of high-achieving students share their educational experiences on stage.

After changing, Wang Yiyang bought a bottle of water downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for his cousin's school—Qinghang Affiliated High School.

Qinghang Affiliated High School was considered one of the top key schools in all of Yingxing City. Its annual advancement rate was among the best, and it enjoyed an excellent reputation among the public.

As for that unfamiliar cousin, Wang Yiyang remembered meeting Xue Ruihua only once, back when her father—his cousin—held a banquet for her school advancement.

The girl had been standing at the main gate greeting guests, her expression cold, her figure tall, and her skin fair; from a distance, she gave off the distinct vibe of a rebellious teenager.

In particular, the school uniform she wore at the time—even though the Qinghang Affiliated High School uniforms were simple, white-and-green affairs—had been altered by Xue Ruihua into a midriff-baring, tight-chested outfit.

However, looking back now, Wang Yiyang couldn't for the life of him recall what Xue Ruihua looked like.

In his memory, her features seemed quite ordinary, possessing that magical quality where you forget them five seconds after looking at her.

Sitting in the taxi, Wang Yiyang checked his phone from time to time, confirming that every task had been perfectly arranged and that he was just waiting for all the pieces to fall into place.

Only then did he set his mind at ease, quietly steadying his breathing and clearing his mind.

To be honest, as an ordinary person, this was his first time experiencing so many forces and resources being mobilized by his every word and action.

That illusion of the world revolving around him felt incredibly strange and stifling.

Perhaps it's because the funds used for this operation are my own private money? Is that why it feels so heavy? Wang Yiyang couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Qinghang Affiliated High School was about a half-hour drive from where he lived.

By the time the car arrived, quite a few parents' vehicles were already parked in front of the school gate. Students were standing at the entrance holding signs, guiding parents of different grades to various venues.

It seemed this parent-teacher meeting was quite large-scale; it was a school-wide event.

Wang Yiyang got out of the taxi and sized up Qinghang Affiliated High School.

The school wasn't large. Through the fence, one could see four buildings, two basketball courts, and a large playground in the middle of the courts.

The Federation flag hung high in the playground.

Two students were standing under the flagpole adjusting the height of the flag; it must have been raised not long ago.

Wang Yiyang followed the pedestrian path into the school, walking alongside several other parents who had just arrived, and went to the gate to register his name and the name of the student he was representing.

The entire process was smooth and quiet. The students handling the registration were polite, and the security guard standing nearby offered a smile to every parent entering the school.

As Wang Yiyang walked through the gate, he recalled the image of his cousin, Xue Ruihua.

The last time he saw her must have been over a year ago, when she came to visit with her father while he was home on holiday visiting his parents. It was a rather rough impression.

Xue Ruihua's appearance was blurry, but her personality remained the same.

Cold, quiet, and seemingly uninterested in anything. Once provoked, she was like a powder keg; her temper was so volatile it didn't seem like a girl's at all.

"Are you Xue Ruihua's parent? This way, please go into the classroom and take a seat according to the name tag on the desk."

When he reached the teaching building, a student assigned to the task led Wang Yiyang to a classroom on the second floor. He wasn't sure if these students were supposed to attend the meeting with their parents.

To his surprise, all the students were actually present in the classroom.

Quite a few students were whispering to their parents.

There were sounds of scolding, idle chatter, and one parent was even showing their child cartoons...

They were in their third year of middle school, for heaven's sake...

Wang Yiyang grumbled inwardly as he walked to Xue Ruihua's seat.

A somewhat familiar figure was already sitting there—his long-unseen, "dear" cousin, Xue Ruihua.

The girl was holding her phone, but when she saw Wang Yiyang arrive, she put it down and stood up.

"Cousin, sorry to trouble you this time." Her tone was still very polite.

"Are students required to be here too?" Wang Yiyang asked, sitting in the adjacent seat.

"Yeah, they are." Xue Ruihua looked indifferent, her long hair draped casually over her shoulders, one sleeve of her uniform rolled up high, and her knee bouncing rhythmically and rapidly.

Her expression was cold, but her body language was clearly incredibly tense.

She was the type of ordinary girl who had a great figure but not a pretty face.

Or, to put it another way, she was a "back-view beauty."

Just looking at her back, perhaps ninety percent of people would think she was beautiful, but in reality, she was entirely unremarkable.

That was why, ever since she was young, Xue Ruihua had dreamed of getting plastic surgery.

She had no interest in studying; she only cared about making money for cosmetic procedures.

After Wang Yiyang sat down, he looked toward the podium in the distance, where preparations were being made.

The projector screen was slowly descending, clearly intended for displaying materials to everyone shortly.

"Come to think of it, we haven't seen each other in a long time. If your dad hadn't asked me to come over this time, we might not have even met during the New Year," he said casually.

"That's just because our schedules didn't align. You hadn't returned yet when we went back," Xue Ruihua replied calmly.

"I suppose work was just too busy," Wang Yiyang smiled.

Xue Ruihua glanced at this cousin of hers who always seemed so mysterious. According to her old man, he worked in the internet industry.

But "internet-type enterprise" was far too broad a term—a massive, vague concept. Who knew what he actually did there?

Because of this, she had always felt that the nature of her cousin's work was somewhat secretive.

This had always piqued her interest; she wanted to know what exactly her cousin did for a living.

In truth, she had no idea that even her father had only ever heard bits and pieces from Wang Yiyang's parents.

As a matter of fact, outsiders had no clue about the details of Wang Yiyang's job.

Because Wang Yiyang's father, Wang Songhai, had always felt his son's income wasn't particularly high, he would always use the broad concept of "the internet" to brush people off whenever he was asked.

This had led to everyone else being completely ignorant of what Wang Yiyang actually did.

"By the way, Brother Yangyang, what exactly is your job? Which part of the internet industry are you in? Could you explain it simply?"

After waiting for a while, feeling quite bored, Xue Ruihua made small talk, casually asking the question she had been curious about.

"I just handle some network security stuff. There's nothing detailed to it; it's all just simple, menial labor," Wang Yiyang explained offhandedly.

"Menial labor?"

"Yeah, just physical work—the repetitive, monotonous, and tedious kind."

"Then... do you know anything about programming?" Xue Ruihua suddenly thought of something and asked again.

"It's alright. Why?" Wang Yiyang seemed to sense that Xue Ruihua had something on her mind. He shifted his gaze from the podium down to this unfamiliar cousin.

"Well, I'm part of a small group, and we're working on something together. We need someone to help build a website and some internal mini-programs. I don't know how much it's expected to cost. Do you know the going rate, Brother Yangyang?" Xue Ruihua briefly explained her intent.

"A website? That's very simple. You can just find a freelancer on a shopping site; a few hundred yuan will solve it. You can even request edits. They're just basic models, though. As for mini-programs, you'll have to negotiate the price with them. Depending on what functions you need, the price will naturally vary," Wang Yiyang said simply.

Xue Ruihua nodded in understanding and didn't say anything further.

She wasn't the type of person who enjoyed talking to people she didn't know well, and saying that much had already been quite an effort for her.

It seemed the needs of her little group had been troubling them for quite some time.

At this moment, a teacher walked up to the podium and began their opening remarks.

First, they announced the grade rankings from the previous semester, followed by inviting the parents of the top ten students to the stage to share their educational insights.

Then, they explained where the class funds had been spent and urged everyone to pay various other fees.

Some parents in the audience listened very attentively, while others were drowsy, looking down at their phones, or even taking calls. Some frequently got up to leave, either to smoke or use the restroom.

Several parents sitting near Wang Yiyang were whispering to each other about their children's various performances at school.

Wang Yiyang looked young, and sitting next to Xue Ruihua, it was obvious to any outsider that they weren't father and daughter. Since there was a bit of an age gap between him and the others, there was no common ground for conversation, so no one took the initiative to talk to him.

After a while, however, Xue Ruihua began whispering to two girls sitting to her side.

Wang Yiyang vaguely heard them talking about things like "cos," photo editing, and how clothes were too expensive. There were also some technical terms he couldn't understand at all—they seemed to be jargon related to photography.

From then on, he checked his phone every so often to ensure the progress of all his task directives was going smoothly. Then, he would organize the steps for the plan he needed to execute next.

Often, even the most perfect plan could collapse due to a single unexpected detail.

Moreover, this was the first time he was truly orchestrating such a large-scale operation on his own.

Since this concerned his grandfather's life as well as his own, there was absolutely no room for error.

Wang Yiyang sat there, repeatedly simulating potential scenarios and preparing contingency plans for each one.

The atmosphere in the classroom grew increasingly dull as one parent after another finished their speeches on stage.

One parent had even prepared a slideshow, data charts, short videos, and various international theories and quotes from famous educational experts...

Over an hour passed in tedious boredom.

Finally, the homeroom teacher—a fat man wearing black-rimmed glasses, carrying the characteristic greasiness of a middle-aged man—took the stage to announce where everyone needed to go to pay their fees.