pjbooks Chapter 16: [No One Available]
Chapter 16: [No One Available]
"Jiahao's mom, don't be angry. The kids were probably just joking..."
As Liu Zhuohao hurried upstairs, he could still hear Cai Jiahao's mother's shrill voice, as well as his own mother's voice, which was trying hard to suppress but still trembling, as she apologized and explained.
Closer and closer.
The moment he stepped onto the stairs, he saw Cai Jiahao's mother blocking the doorway, her face flushed red, her finger almost touching the inside of the door.
The father stood inside the door, his face ashen, his lips pressed into a thin line. Behind him, the mother, her face full of anxiety, was hurriedly explaining something.
Cai Jiahao himself stood between the two sides, his face showing both shame and anxiety, his mouth opening and closing but unable to utter a decent sound.
When he saw me arrive, his eyes widened, and guilt was evident on his face. He instinctively looked away, unable to meet my gaze.
The scene was extremely ugly.
Liu Zhuohao's steps steadied on the last few steps.
He took a deep breath, and then, in the quiet hallway, under the watchful eyes of several people, he came to his own door, gently pushed away Cai Jiahao's mother's hand that was about to poke his father's chest, and stood in front of his parents.
"Aunt."
He spoke softly, "Did you need something from me?"
Liu Zhuohao's gaze fell upon her, and the anger on Cai Jiahao's mother's face paused for a moment. Then, she spoke coldly, "You told Jiahao not to repeat a year of high school so he could go and set up a stall with you, didn't you?"
"Yes, that's true."
Liu Zhuohao stated frankly that he did not hesitate at all.
Caught in the middle, Cai Jiahao was sweating profusely with anxiety.
His eyes were filled with anxious apology and helpless pleading as he looked at Liu Zhuohao. His lips were downturned, and he shook his head almost imperceptibly. He glanced quickly at his furious mother, and finally could only lower his head in pain, staring at the tips of his shoes.
"That's all!?"
Cai Jiahao's mother's voice turned shrill again, "You failed your own college entrance exam and now you're dragging Jiahao down with you! What kind of parents raised you!"
As soon as he said this, Liu Zhuohao could clearly feel that his father and mother behind him were breathing more heavily.
"..."
Liu Zhuohao looked calmly at the other person, his voice still not loud, but every word was clear:
"Auntie, my parents taught me to be down-to-earth and to know how to take responsibility."
He paused, glanced at his silent parents behind him, then looked back at Cai's mother:
"I got into university, but I felt that the tuition would be too much of a burden on my family, so I chose to take on this responsibility first instead of putting all the pressure on my parents."
"This is just a choice I and my family have made; it has nothing to do with how other people raise their children."
"Also, I passed the exam, but I don't plan to go to school, it's not that I failed."
Cai Jiahao's mother opened her mouth, her fierce aura like a punch hitting cotton, stuck in her chest.
Her face flushed even redder, and she tapped her finger twice, but couldn't find any harsher words to overshadow her own "taking responsibility" rhetoric.
"Anyway, don't bother Jiahao. He's going to university and will be working hard in a big city in the future..." She walked away grumbling, while Cai Jiahao followed behind her, looking back from time to time.
The suffocating silence in the hallway finally dissipated with the sound of their departing footsteps.
Liu Zhuohao gently closed his door, the soft "click" sound seeming to shut out all the noise and awkwardness outside.
The living room was dark, and in the dim light, the parents slowly walked over and sat on the bench, staring at the black television screen, their jaws taut.
The mother, with her head down, also went over and sat down.
A dull, painful silence spread.
Liu Zhuohao felt his throat was a little dry. He wanted to say something, such as "It's okay" or "Don't take it to heart," but when the words came to his lips, they felt inadequate.
He simply muttered, "I'm going back to my room," and turned to walk towards it.
Just as his hand touched the doorknob—
"Xiao Hao".
The father's voice came from behind, somewhat hoarse, breaking the silence.
"If you really need help, your parents can help you too, so you don't need to ask anyone else," he said. "Although your parents are old and not as nimble as young people, they still have the strength to move things, watch the stall, clean... they will never cause you any trouble."
Liu Zhuohao tightened his grip on the doorknob, his knuckles turning slightly white.
With his back to his parents, he blinked, took a deep breath, and then strained to make his voice sound as steady as possible:
"Dad, Mom, I know exactly what I'm doing."
"Taking good care of yourselves is the biggest help you can give me."
"I can walk this path well on my own."
……
……
Liu Zhuohao sat down in the room and remained silent.
That's normal. In 14, going to university is definitely a more promising option than setting up a stall.
What bothered him was that his parents were being pointed at and insulted like that.
Most of the neighbors in the building heard what just happened.
"—Beep beep beep."
As soon as I turned on my computer and opened QQ, Cai Jiahao sent me several messages in a row.
"Zhuo Hao, my question."
"When I was communicating with my parents, there was a problem. I couldn't argue with them, and instead, they blamed me for talking back."
"I'm so sorry, I just now..."
Of course, I should apologize.
Liu Zhuohao looked at the messages one by one.
In fact, he could have foreseen Cai's mother's opposition, but he underestimated how heinous it would be for Cai Jiahao's family to "bewitch" someone into giving up their studies and working hard with him at this point in time.
To be honest, I was too arrogant and couldn't help but look at this matter with the mindset of 25 years ago.
"You are you, and she is she."
Liu Zhuohao carefully considered his words, "Sometimes, many things don't require a lot of support from others. As long as you want to persevere, you can achieve them."
He did not attribute Cai Jiahao's mother's actions to Cai Jiahao.
They are different.
Cai's mother's lack of understanding and disbelief in him does not represent Cai Jiahao's attitude.
The premise is that he can truly become independent, truly step out of the family, and have his own decision-making power.
The chat window fell silent; there were no more replies.
However, Liu Zhuohao could tell from the "typing..." next to the ID that Cai Jiahao had not left his computer or had not seen the message.
He was replying, but he kept deleting and rewriting, then deleting again.
Liu Zhuohao did not linger on the chat box, waiting for the other party's reply.
He returned to the main interface, opened the editing software, and began to finish today's editing.
Although it's called editing, it's actually just done automatically using a script.
After all, his current video content is all "Master Liu's work log", without any special shooting techniques, plot, or timing.
In this situation, he has a script.
Simply import this script, and the video will automatically have its beginning and end trimmed before uploading.
"Zhuo Hao, I might have to repeat a year of high school."
It took a full seven minutes for Cai Jiahao's dialog box to pop up again.
In seven minutes, he edited only this one sentence.
Liu Zhuohao's hands fumbled on the keyboard, but he only managed to type two words:
"understand."
He switched back to the main interface, watched the video being exported, and then switched back to the chat box.
Looking at the word "understanding," Liu Zhuohao felt it was inadequate.
He could almost see Cai Jiahao ten years later, saying similar things in another dilemma—"Let it be."
"Filial piety is a matter of course, but it does not mean blind obedience."
"Times are changing very fast. In fact, sometimes what our parents say is not necessarily right. Their so-called experience is often not applicable to today's society, especially... ordinary families like ours. They have very little access to information about the times, and it is far less than that of us who are proficient in using the internet."
"Jiahao, we've both grown up. From now on, we'll have to shoulder a lot of things on our own. This time, I chose my path, and you chose yours. But no matter which path you choose, in the end, you'll be the one carrying the consequences to the end. I hope the path you chose is truly the one you wanted to take."
—It sounds a bit preachy.
Oh, in 25 years, I should say that I have too much of a "fatherly" attitude.
After all, it's me, a thirty-year-old, giving advice to eighteen-year-old Cai Jiahao.
Liu Zhuohao's advice came from the bottom of his heart. In fact, he could roughly guess the outcome of some things even before he started doing them, including winning over his two brothers.
Especially Cai Jiahao.
If Zhuang Zicong's honesty stems from his fear of making mistakes and implicating those around him, then his hesitation is understandable.
Cai Jiahao's honesty stems from his excessive obedience to his parents.
Both of them had marital discord due to their material circumstances.
Faced with a wife who always looked down on him, his parents, and even their daughter who didn't do well in school, Zhuang Zicong finally snapped and divorced her.
And what about Cai Jiahao?
He did not.
Even after 25 years, although it was said that the couple often quarreled, they did not divorce.
Although Liu Zhuohao had mentioned this matter several times at gatherings, saying that he couldn't stand it anymore and wanted a divorce, he always swallowed his anger under the persuasion of his parents.
However, even though Liu Zhuohao had already guessed the outcome of some things, he still spoke up to offer advice.
What if your success inspires the other person to try making a change?
After all, he's a good brother I've known for a long time, and we've never had any conflicts since. Now he even has complete faith in me and lends me money unconditionally.
And so...
"Where should I find a reliable helper?"
As Liu Zhuohao pondered, the advantages of having a clan became apparent.
In the early to mid-stages of starting a business, when you haven't yet expanded your network and don't have suitable channels, it's really difficult to find reliable helpers.
This is also the reason why I would accept my parents' suggestions in my past life.
Most businessmen in the south are like this.
But even if Liu Zhuohao really has no other choice, he will never recruit that bunch of relatives again in this lifetime.
After thinking it over, he had no other choice but to recruit from his fan group!
"Looking for summer workers, but not high school students, as I'm worried it might interfere with your studies. Could you recommend some people from nearby vocational schools, junior colleges, or universities?"
"I need someone reliable, with summer job experience as a waiter/waitress, and physically fit."
"As for salary, it's 3,000 yuan a month, with bonuses based on sales. I'm a blogger, so I definitely won't skimp on that. Feel free to apply!"