Watching the Setting Sun Along the Same Path - Chapter 14

The midterm exams that came once a semester were over. Could the parent-teacher conference be far behind?

“Lulu, who’s going to your parent-teacher conference?” Qiu’s mom worked in design and was usually quite busy, but Qiu Luomin’s dad was also busy, so they took turns.

Qiu Luomin chimed in, “Whoever goes for him is in for a disaster.”

“What disaster? I’m not afraid no matter who goes.” Lu Ketong was over at their house again, mooching a meal. Qiu Luomin added, “I wasn’t talking about you. I meant it’s a disaster for your parents.”

Lu Ketong hadn’t been worried at all before, but now he was starting to feel a little anxious. Back when he was trying hard to study, he couldn’t hold back and told Wen Ning he was going to improve, even asking her to brace herself. It seemed she had braced herself for the wrong thing.

Feeling a bit guilty, he said after dinner, “Qiu, wanna go online and listen to some lessons?”

Qiu Luomin had already logged into the game. “What’s the point of studying after the exams? Come on, watch me raid.”

“You’re right. Studying after exams is just hypocritical.” At times like these, he was easily swayed. He moved his chair over and started watching Qiu Luomin play the game. “Why don’t you log into my account and help me level up?”

“Fine, you noob.” Qiu Luomin switched to Lu Ketong’s account. Staring at the screen, he suddenly asked, “How are things between you and Fei Yuan?”

Lu Ketong tore open a bag of chips. “Don’t even mention it. He’s too sneaky. Every time, he manages to make me apologize first, or he says something that makes me look like an idiot. I really can’t get enough of a talent like that.”

“Can’t get enough of him, my ass,” Qiu Luomin muttered, turning his head only to find that his favorite tomato-flavored chips were all gone. In his distraction, he let go of the controls, and Lu Ketong’s character in the game fell to the ground with a thud.

Lu Ketong slapped the table. “Quick! I think we can still save it!”

“It’s dead already.” Qiu Luomin quit the game and opened a shopping website, browsing through various DSLR cameras. Lu Ketong felt like this guy was always one step ahead of him. “Are you buying one? Then I’ll buy one too. Gotta ride the wave of the times.”

Qiu Luomin sighed. “Ride what wave…”

The parent-teacher conference was on Friday, as if perfectly timed to leave Saturday and Sunday for parents to discipline their children. The score sheets and exam papers were handed out together, and the classroom immediately erupted in groans. Lu Ketong breathed a sigh of relief after checking his results—he had steadily maintained his average grades.

The class monitor asked from the podium, “Any volunteers to stay behind and guide the parents?”

Lu Ketong sat up straight again. He was a little tempted because he was curious about what other people’s parents looked like. He turned around to look at Fei Yuan and noticed that Fei Yuan already had his car keys hanging from his index finger. He hesitated again.

“I want to be a guide.”

Fei Yuan poked his cheek expressionlessly. “Tell the class monitor, not me.”

“So, you’re not waiting for me?”

Fei Yuan remained expressionless. “It’s my grandpa’s birthday. I have to leave right after class.”

As long as there was a reason, it was fine. Lu Ketong happily raised his hand and announced he wanted to be a guide. Once most of the students had left, two classmates decorated the blackboard while the others went to the entrance to greet the parents.

With sharp eyes, Lu Ketong said to the class monitor, “Look, Class One! Your future mother-in-law is here!”

“Get out of here. You don’t even have a mother-in-law.” The class monitor had just finished speaking when he suddenly broke into a smile, greeting an approaching parent and leading them to their seat.

Within a few minutes, parents began arriving one after another. Lu Ketong turned his head and saw Wen Ning coming around the corner from the staircase. He immediately dashed out, took her bag, and said, “Mom, the only reason I stayed behind was to guide you.”

Wen Ning straightened his collar for him, smiled and greeted his classmates, then said, “Changing clothes almost made me late. It felt like I was about to attend an awards ceremony.”

Lu Ketong instantly felt guilty. He bent over and leaned on the desk, asking, “What if the teacher doesn’t praise me? Will you be disappointed?”

“Why would I be disappointed? Just because the teacher doesn’t praise you doesn’t mean my son isn’t good.” Wen Ning took out his test paper to look at it and said, “Don’t just stay with me. Weren’t you supposed to guide the parents? Go do your job.”

The little stone in Lu Ketong’s heart finally dropped, and he happily skipped back to the classroom door. The class monitor and other classmates saw him coming and all remarked on how beautiful Wen Ning was.

“Is your mom really that pretty?”

“Yeah, she looks so young. Even though you’re younger than us, your mom seems really youthful.”

“No wonder our Lu is so fresh-faced.”

Lu Ketong didn’t say anything, feeling a bit embarrassed. While the others were still discussing, he took two steps forward to greet a parent who was just arriving. After greeting them, he felt like the person looked somewhat familiar.

Fei Dean recognized him immediately—wasn’t this the kid who sold potted plants? Actually, he knew this kid definitely wasn’t a street vendor. What street vendor would wear all branded clothes and act so indifferent?

“Hello, little classmate. I’m Fei Yuan’s dad.”

“Ah!” Lu Ketong couldn’t help but exclaim, his eyes wide open. Fei Yuan’s dad—what did that mean? This was meeting the parents! He quickly said, “Uncle, this way. I’ll take you to his seat. My name is Lu Ketong, and I sit right in front of him.”

After Fei Dean sat down, Lu Ketong still didn’t leave. He hesitated and mumbled, “Uncle, I didn’t do well on this test, but actually, my grades are usually pretty good. I even help Fei Yuan with his homework sometimes.”

Wen Ning turned her head and asked with amusement, “Lulu, what are you doing?”

Exactly, what was he doing? How ridiculous. Fei Dean found the kid quite amusing and said earnestly, “Fei Yuan just transferred schools and doesn’t have many friends yet. Thank you for helping him improve. Come over to our house to play sometime.”

Lu Ketong took it very seriously. “Definitely, definitely!”

Fei Yuan had accompanied Lin Yuzhu to her grandfather’s house for dinner first. The old man liked lively celebrations for his birthday, and since everyone was off the next day, the whole family could spend more time together.

“Brother, I got perfect scores on both exams.”

The second child of his uncle’s family had just started elementary school, and the little girl really liked following Fei Yuan around. Fei Yuan tugged on her little braid and said, “That’s amazing. I’ll give you a big piece of cake later.”

Fei Dean only arrived after the parent-teacher meeting ended. Once there, he drank with his brothers-in-law until late into the night before finally heading home. The lights in the courtyard were still on, meaning someone was still awake. Lin Yuzhu entered the courtyard gate and said, “Grandpa, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Old Master Shen half-closed his eyes and said, “Duoyi hasn’t come back yet. I’m waiting for him.”

“Duoyi went to work again, didn’t he?” Lin Yuzhu helped the drunk Fei Dean into the house and sighed. “It’s too hard on him. They’re all still kids.”

Fei Yuan went to get a thin blanket and draped it over the old man, saying, “You can wait a little longer, but that’s it. He should be back soon.”

“My heart just isn’t settled.” The old man patted the back of his hand, as if confiding, “You all had parent-teacher meetings today. Duoyi has no father or mother—he must be feeling so awful.”

Fei Yuan hadn’t slept well, waking once in the middle of the night. When he went out to the courtyard, he found Old Man Shen still awake and Shen Duoyi not yet back. “Don’t wait up,” he said, helping the old man back inside before calling Shen Duoyi, but the phone was already switched off.

Early the next morning, Lu Ketong made a racket showering and changing clothes. He had made plans with Qiu Luomin to go look at DSLR cameras. He had already decided: once he got a DSLR, he would take a photo of Fei Yuan every day, aiming to produce a photo album as soon as possible.

Qiu Luomin couldn’t stand kids who acted on every little thing they heard. The two of them wandered along the street, and he was still sleepy. “Seven in the morning is way too early. Couldn’t you have stayed home to memorize some vocabulary first?”

Lu Ketong gazed at the familiar street scene and answered irrelevantly, “Fei Yuan’s house is nearby.”

On weekends, everyone slept in, and the courtyard was quiet. Old Man Shen hadn’t left the house but stood by the window, watching. Fei Yuan usually went for a run, but he hadn’t slept well the night before and skipped it. After washing up, he glanced toward Shen Duoyi’s house and asked, “Duoyi still isn’t back?”

“He didn’t come back all night. I’m worried sick.”

“Don’t worry. The supermarket where he works is open 24 hours—maybe he was just changing shifts.” Seeing the old man’s state, Fei Yuan comforted him, “I’ll go look for him. He might be on his way back.”

He strolled out onto the street, keeping an eye on the sidewalks and bike lanes. As he neared the next intersection, a black car pulled over to the curb. The door opened, and Shen Duoyi stepped out.

The car turned around and drove off into the distance. Shen Duoyi walked a dozen meters before spotting Fei Yuan.

“Grandpa waited all night. You could have at least called.” Fei Yuan looked at him, seemingly not planning to ask more. Shen Duoyi’s face was pale, and he looked exhausted. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“Why apologize to me? Let’s head back.”

Across the street, Qiu Luomin patted Lu Ketong’s shoulder and said, “Looks like it’s not just Fei Yuan’s house nearby—Shen Duoyi’s is too.” Lu Ketong followed Qiu Luomin’s gaze and saw Fei Yuan and Shen Duoyi walking side by side.

What’s going on here?!

The tractor inside him roared to life instantly, and he charged over, ready to rev up. Fei Yuan and Shen Duoyi were caught off guard by his sudden appearance and just stared at him without speaking. Qiu Luomin hurried over right behind him, and the four of them exchanged glances.

Lu Ketong remembered the big pear Shen Duoyi had given him and, frowning, said, “What a coincidence. Let me treat everyone to breakfast.”

There was a KFC nearby. The four of them found seats, and Lu Ketong went to buy food. Fei Yuan stood behind him and asked, “Are you upset? What are you and Qiu Luomin doing here so early in the morning?”

He refused to turn his head and replied, “I heard this KFC was handing out coupons, so we came. It’s not like we’re taking a morning stroll together.”

Knowing he was hinting at something, Fei Yuan rubbed the back of his head to soothe him. After a few strokes, Lu Ketong caved and turned to ask, “Do you want porridge or soy milk?”

Fei Yuan lowered his head and said, “Whatever you say. I’ll drink whatever you buy.”

Qiu Luomin and Shen Duoyi sat awkwardly at the table. Shen Duoyi kept his eyes downcast, his eyelashes unmoving. Qiu Luomin finally spoke first, saying, “I’m sorry.”

Shen Duoyi looked up, his gaze gentle. “I forgot.”

While eating, Lu Ketong thought to himself that he finally didn’t owe anyone a favor anymore. But he noticed Shen Duoyi wasn’t eating much and looked particularly haggard. He couldn’t help but ask, “Are you feeling unwell? Or don’t you like the porridge? How about trying mine?”

Shen Duoyi seemed genuinely exhausted and said, “I’m full. I’m heading back first.”

Qiu Luomin had become the third wheel, and a rather bright one at that. He vaguely recalled the time he got his head bashed in and the warnings he had received, losing his appetite as well. He stood up and said, “I just remembered I promised to get married in the game. I should head back too.”

Now it was just the two of them, and the atmosphere felt quite peaceful. Fei Yuan’s phone was lying on the table, and it soon lit up, displaying “Duoyi.” Lu Ketong caught a glimpse of it but pretended to be looking at the scenery. Fei Yuan found it amusing and put the call on speaker.

Shen Duoyi said, “I forgot earlier—please thank Lu Ketong for me. The porridge was really good.”

Lu Ketong was overjoyed, but his expression soon turned serious. He took out his phone and dialed Fei Yuan’s number, deciding that if it showed his full name… he hadn’t actually thought it through.

The screen lit up again. What was “Little Sapling”? The sudden intimacy caught him off guard.

He stubbornly said, “I’m just a little sapling now, but I’ll grow into a towering tree someday, lush and full of branches.” Fei Yuan looked at him with a faint smile and said, “Give it a rest. At most, you’ll grow into a potted plant.”

Lu Ketong boasted, “Who could possibly raise such an ethereal potted plant like me?”

Fei Yuan replied, “Who else? The Fei family, of course.”

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