Chapter 24: Returning Home

ne stared at them, and her heart felt like a sponge saturated with water. When squeezed tightly, the overflowing sense of self-respect quickly rushed through her body.Hence, she turned around and left...Chapter 24: Going Home

"Want me to go home!" Wang Weiwei stared blankly at Su Can. It was late evening, and the group had just finished preparing for an all-night gaming session when they heard what Su Can said.

Su Can said coolly, "Don't forget about your promise to me. Of course, you can choose not to listen to me and continue playing games with Ge Ran and Xiao Wu all night long. I won't interfere." He continued, "Consider it as irresponsible words from an immature person."

Seeing Wang Weiwei's face darken, Lin Zouwu and Lin Luoran both said to Su Can, "Just stop talking for a moment."

"So good, another mediator. I'm being irresponsible," Wang Weiwei pondered for a moment, trying his best not to sound too sharp, "but have you ever thought about whether they've been responsible towards me"

"Although your parents are busy, their hard work is for whom Who sends you the monthly living expenses on time every month Before your dad came to Xia Hai, he arranged and prepared everything just to spend more time with you. Do you meet him often each year Now that he finally wants to be around you, do you really want to respond in such a childish way"

Wang Weiwei was stunned. He hadn't expected Su Can's words to touch his heart so deeply and cause subtle changes within him. But when he thought about how his father always believed himself right and that every one of his thoughts and actions would be controlled by him, Wang Weiwei felt a surge of frustration inside. Staring at Su Can with narrowed eyes, he said firmly word by word, "You don't understand!"

How did it come to this

Seeing the two men staring coldly at each other, Lin Zouwu and Lin Luoran felt quite uncomfortable. They could unite against external threats but had never encountered such internal conflicts or disputes before.

Recalling those who tried their best to curry favor with them and especially the children surrounding Wang Weiwei's family due to its influence in domestic politics, none of these youngsters ever dared to oppose him. There was once a kid from a provincial government office, usually at the center of their circle, but he had some resistance towards Wang Weiwei. When they had an argument about where to go for fun, this boy attempted to take control and challenge Wang Weiwei's leadership.

Wang Weiwei simply said, "Those who want to follow me stay with me, those who want to go with him can go."

This group of around twenty people almost all moved to stand by Wang Weiwei's side, while the other side only had a girl who grew up with him from childhood standing alone.

From then on, the son of the director of the office was completely split off due to this alignment. Even at work, he often found himself isolated. Although Wang Weiwei didn't say anything after that incident, everyone unconsciously developed an impression: those who openly opposed him would face dire consequences.

In this situation, is Lin Zhouwu and Lin Luoran also being forced into taking sides However, the current circumstances seem different from before; previously it was driven by a boy's selfish desire to create internal division. But now, Su Chen has the upper hand.

"I don't understand." Su Chen smiled and said, "I really don't understand, but I know that if you truly spend an entire night gaming without coming home, Lin Luoran will have dark circles under her eyes tomorrow morning. Moreover, I believe your father, who deals with a large amount of work every day, won't sleep well tonight either."

Upon hearing this, Lin Luoran genuinely became concerned. Although she had some boyish traits, there wasn’t a single girl who didn't care about her appearance.

Seeing Su Chen adopt such a cold attitude towards Wang Weiwei, although Lin Zhouwu recently admired Su Chen greatly, he still couldn't help but side with Wang Weiwei whom he had followed since childhood. He thought that the next time they might clash, so he subtly moved closer to Wang Weiwei and said, "Su Chen, let's stop talking like this, okay If you continue, considering Weiwei’s personality, it won’t be pleasant for both of you."

Seeing Lin Zhouwu start to take sides once there was a real conflict, Su Chen didn't sigh or feel discouraged. In fact, it had always been this way; ever since he first interacted with people like Wang Weiwei from the very beginning, he understood that these individuals were surrounded by followers and many who wanted to be close to them. Therefore, for Su Chen, whether it was Lin Zhouwu or Lin Luoran, they were merely acquaintances in a small city, far from being true lifelong friends who would share their family's fortunes and misfortunes.

This is reality; there aren't any scenarios where one can trust someone with their life and heart. Such scenes only happen on television.

Su Chen didn’t blame them because real friendships are fundamentally different from close bonds like those between friends for life, such as Shi Yiyang or Liu Rui. Without having truly grown up together and shared the most absurd and embarrassing moments of their immature years, it's hard to understand that kind of lifelong friendship.

Su Chen could laugh, cry, and play around with Shi Yiyang and Liu Rui, but when compared to Wang Weiwei, Lin Zhouwu, and Lin Luoran right now, he felt like he hadn't entered their world at all.

Wang Weiwei stared at Su Chen with an unfriendly expression. Lin Zhouwu assumed a posture of trying to mediate but subconsciously stood by Wang Weiwei's side. As for Lin Luoran, she was hesitant and took some time before speaking, "It’s quite cold tonight; why don’t we go back"

Wang Bo was in the empty living room, having turned off the TV. The evening news on Channel Xiahai mentioned his appointment as the new市委書記 (city party chief), expressing the city's expectations for his governance.

Even though he had been demoted and sidelined, Wang Bo still held a high-ranking position. If necessary, he could retreat to this small place and regain momentum before making a comeback.

In politics, he was thriving and busy, but when alone at home, he began to reflect on whether he was a good father.

Wang Weiwei had still not come back. The child seemed determined to oppose him. Since Wang Weiwei's mother was very strict with her son in upbringing, sometimes it became too narrow-minded. For example, forcing the boy to practice the violin every day led to severe rebellion and a decline in his musical skills despite frequent beatings.

Wang Bo also treated him similarly; he didn't like to argue as a father but had learned from years of political experience to avoid discord through coercion. He always made Wang Weiwei submit using methods that were hard for the boy to resist.

He never laid a hand on his son, yet sometimes his coldness would deeply wound the young heart, constricting it tightly until it bled.

Thus, he could watch impassively as Wang Weiwei protested by not eating for an entire day or borrowed money from friends to adopt a puppy after two weeks without living expenses. Now, he planned to stay out all night in protest of his demands.

But as his father, he had every reason to ensure that his child would comply with his instructions and inform him that he was the mountain, a strong support behind him.

Lying on the carpet, turning off the lights, Wang Bo rubbed his eyelids, feeling unprecedentedly tired. He wondered where Wang Weiwei was now; presumably, Lin Zouwu’s siblings were also with him. With them around, Wang Weiwei wouldn't do anything reckless or outrageous. Still, without this week's living expenses, where had they gone at night

A sudden doorbell rang.

Wang Bo opened his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then quickly got up and approached the door. Looking through it with delight, he hurriedly kicked off his leather shoes and put on slippers before swiftly removing his jacket and trousers to be thrown upstairs into the bedroom. Then, he put on a dark-patterned pajama and slowly opened the door.

The door was met by Wang Weiwei, Lin Zhouwu, Lin Luoran, and a few unfamiliar boys.

Wang Bu looked at the somewhat weary Wang Weiwei; his heart felt sympathetic but he kept a poker face, uttering an "Oh" with an air of authority. "Come in if you're back, wash up and go to bed." Then he saw Su Can and asked, “Who’s this”

"I don't know!" Wang Weiwei, seeing his father's demeanor, felt indignant that he had slept well without a care for what Su Can said about being worried. With that thought in mind, he walked past him into the room.

Lin Zhouwu and Lin Luoran were both slightly unsettled by Wang Bu’s coldness; they were glad their parents weren't as strict. Not answering, Lin Zhouwu followed Wang Weiwei into the room while Lin Luoran smiled and said, "Uncle Wang, I'm here to bring Weiwei back. We're classmates."

Su Can sized up Wang Bu in front of him; this was his aunt's husband and Ping Changhong Xiaotian's superior. His will would determine the quality of the construction on Xiahai Square, representing all the resources of Xiahai City, and was also the father that Wang Weiwei had railed against.

But when Su Can looked down from Wang Bu’s pajamas to his slippers, he noticed black wool socks beneath; who would wear socks while changing into pajamas It seemed likely that Wang Bu hadn’t washed up at all and was still worried about the time of Wang Weiwei's return. Now they were back, he had hurriedly changed clothes. Piecing it together with Wang Bu’s behavior pattern, Su Can understood and could barely suppress a smile.

His son being stubborn and being a key figure in their clique, Wang Bu surely wouldn't suddenly think things through to return home; at the very least, he'd need to show him a little “color” before giving in.

The boy in front of him must have been able to convince Wang Weiwei. As such, Wang Bu sized up Su Can, who gave him an appraising glance and made a slight movement with his face. Observant Wang Bu knew what Su Can had noticed.

He cleared his throat and let them in: "Oh, classmates Come in and rest for a bit."

The brothers with votes still to use, please send them to Grilled Fish as the month-end rush nears. I'll add extra chapters at the end of the month if we can climb another spot on the monthly vote chart!des privately mediate this matter. After all, they are students; everyone has children of their own, who would wish for their child’s future to be completely ruined I hope you can understand." He used...