Chapter 880: h.e.l.lo Fellow Parishioner
Xiao Qin developed a conditioned reflex due to my ‘discipline’ program. She would always rush to do a good deed whenever an opportunity presented itself, which I was quite happy to see.
If I thought about it carefully, although I promised to meet Professor Bai after school, we didn’t agree on a specific time. Even if I accompanied Gong CaiCai to buy Teacher’s Day gifts, it wouldn’t be too late to meet Professor Bai afterward.
Plus, Gong CaiCai was also a believer who was bewitched by Happy Science. A few days ago, when she tried to preach to me again, she mentioned that she had listened to Professor Bai’s lecture for free many times and that she planned to give him a Teachers’ Day. Gong CaiCai might go to see Professor Bai today or tomorrow. If she goes today, then she could come along with me and Xiao Qin.
So I cleared my throat, and said to the cla.s.s leader right after Xiao Qin spoke:
“I can go with them. Xiao Qin and Gong CaiCai will be responsible for buying the gifts, and I’ll be responsible for carrying them back.”
“I’ll go too, I’ll go too.” Before I finished speaking, Xiong YaoYue raised her hands and shouted, “I’m very good at carrying things and my fee is very cheap. Just use the cla.s.s’ money to buy me an ice cream.”
“The cla.s.s’ money can’t be used to buy you ice cream. Also, you’re way too careless. The last time you went shopping with me, you broke a whole bag of eggs. There’s no way you could be responsible for hand lotion that’s easy to break.”
“The cla.s.s leader is so stingy.” Xiong YaoYue shrugged her shoulders and looked up, “It still takes energy to carry things. If you use donkeys and horses, you still have to feed them. And last time, you scolded me for a long time for breaking the eggs. It was as if you were the one who laid those eggs…”
After rejecting Xiong YaoYue, the cla.s.s leader looked past the students in the front row and looked at me, who was sitting at the back.
“Ye Lin, what about your injury if you carry those things?”
She said in a somewhat worried tone.
At the cla.s.s committee meeting before school officially began, the cla.s.s leader suspended me from being the PE committee member and allowed me to skip physical education cla.s.ses at my discretion. The excuse was that I injured my spine in a fight during summer vacation and needed to rest. All my cla.s.smates, including Xiao Qin, believed it.
The cla.s.s leader used the opportunity to ask me whether my heart problems would be exacerbated by lifting heavy objects.
It’s not that serious. Even if I buy ten bottles of hand lotion, ten pens, and ten hard-cover diaries, I won’t have a heart attack while carrying them.
I gave the cla.s.s leader a ‘don’t worry’ look, and said at the same time: “Xiao Qin and I will go with Gong CaiCai, so you don’t have to go. Aren’t you in a hurry to go home and cook for your brother after school? After we finish shopping, I’;; take the things back to my house temporarily and hand them all over to Gong CaiCai tomorrow morning.”
“If that’s the case… then I’ll leave it to you and Xiao Qin.” The cla.s.s leader decided after thinking about it for a while.
Among the students of cla.s.s 3-3, apart from Eunuch Cao, my family was the closest to the school. It would be the fastest and safest choice for me to deliver the Teacher’s Day gifts to school.
As for Xiao Qin, although she used to play pranks on Gong CaiCai, she’s been able to restrain herself recently. Also, I would be there to supervise her, so there definitely won’t be any problems.
Speaking of which, although the cla.s.s leader didn’t tell her mother that my father and Auntie Ren had an affair and unfortunately had a miscarriage, Lin YuMeng was still keenly aware of the situation between our parents during the parent-teacher meeting. She even went home and told her daughter about it.
“The two of them left parent-teacher meeting together. It seemed like they were going out for drinks together. Their children are already in the third year of junior high, but they’re still fooling around…”
After listening to her mother’s description, it reaffirmed the cla.s.s leader’s preconceived notion that Xiao Qin and my parents would get married and that Xiao Qin would become my step-sister. Xiao Qin and I frequently moved together and the cla.s.s leader regarded it as normal brother and sister behavior.
The cla.s.s leader made the decision, so Gong CaiCai naturally didn’t dare to have any objections. Also, I was going with them, which gave her rea.s.surance.
The night when the red scarf LOL master broke the streetlight, I wrote a pledge that ‘I will never hit Gong CaiCai’ at her request and let her use it as a talisman. She was confident that as long as she had that piece of paper, I would treat her gently as always and won’t let Xiao Qin bully her.
After school ended at 5:30, Xiao Qin, Gong CaiCai, and I got ready. We informed our parents that we would be home late, and then we set off together to the mall to buy Teacher’s Day gifts.
Needless to say, the most convenient choice was Henderson Mall, where I bought a bra for Xiao Qin, and also played arcade games with Ai Mi and Xiong YaoYue several times.
The shopping went very smoothly. We also happened to b.u.mp into Captain Guo SongTao, who was already in high school and also came to Henderson Mall to buy Teacher’s Day gifts, and we exchanged pleasantries.
After buying the hand lotion, pens, and diaries, Gong CaiCai asked us to wait for her for a while. I then saw her buying a small globe at the stationery counter. Of course, she paid for it out of her own pocket and didn’t use the cla.s.s’ money.
“What did you buy the globe for?” I asked even though I already had a rough idea.
“It’s… it’s to thank Professor Bai from the Happy Science Seminar.” Gong CaiCai answered timidly, “I saw the globe on Professor Bai’s desk was broken, so I thought I should take advantage of Teacher’s Day to buy him a new one. It’s all thanks to Professor Bai that I feel a little braver than before…”
Really? I couldn’t tell at all. Gong CaiCai’s next destination would be to go to Happy Science to give Professor Bai the globe, which happens to be the same destination as ours.
I was holding the bag of hand lotion in my left hand and the other gifts in my right hand. After thinking for a while, I gave Xiao Qin some change and asked her to buy three ice creams for us.
I didn’t have to send Xiao Qin away for the upcoming conversation with Gong CaiCai, but I felt that Gong CaiCai would be too nervous when Xiao Qin was present. Buying ice cream would also help calm her nerves (Xiong YaoYue, I’m sorry, no ice cream for you).
“Actually, I’m going to see Professor Bai today.”
I got straight to the point and said to Gong CaiCai.
“Why would Ye Lin cla.s.smate also…” Gong CaiCai’s eyes widened in surprise, “I thought you didn’t understand Happy Science and said they were an evil cult and wouldn’t let me partic.i.p.ate? Why now…”
As if she suddenly thought of the reason, Gong CaiCai reached out in a panic and grabbed onto my cuffs, then she begged me with a face full of sadness:
“Ye Lin cla.s.smate, don’t tell me you’re going to beat up Professor Bai. Please don’t do it, violence is wrong… and Professor Bai is already 62 years old. No matter how much you hate him, to do this on the day before Teachers’ Day is really…”
At this time, Xiao Qin had already returned quickly with three ice cream cones. Gong CaiCai was worried about being misunderstood by Xiao Qin, so she quickly let go of my sleeve.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hit anyone.”
Gong CaiCai looked pitiful. If I wasn’t carrying something with both hands, then I would have patted her head to comfort her.
“Not only would I not beat up Professor Bai, I’m also going to say Happy Teachers’ Day to him in advance. After nearly being killed in Cui Song Mountain, I gained enlightenment and abandoned my prejudices. I carefully studied the theories of Happy Science and found it very reasonable. Xiao Qin also decided to join with me and become one of their members.”
I recited the ma.n.u.script I had already typed up on the road to Gong CaiCai.
“Really?” Gong CaiCai was overjoyed. She didn’t know what was going on, so she might have thought that Happy Science gained two more members because she vigorously preached to me.
Once we went from ‘cla.s.smates’ to ‘fellow parishioners’, Gong CaiCai felt our relationship had become one step closer and she became more talkative.
“How is it, the law of attraction must be really useful, right?” Gong CaiCai said to us with bright eyes, ‘Ye Lin can use the law of attraction to treat waist injuries, and Xiao Qin can use the Law of attraction to treat her menstrual pain. The Happy Science Seminar explained the truth of the universe to everyone. They are so selfless and great.”
What’s so great about them? Isn’t the so-called law of attraction that can make people’s dreams come true modified from the Buddhist theory? Happy Science even uses a special cla.s.s to scientifically explain the Buddhist concept of ‘reincarnation’. I can’t believe Gong Caicai didn’t realize it when it was so closely connected to Buddhism.
Gong CaiCai, who had no religious foundation at all, was easily fooled by cults. Having said that, Happy Science was not an ordinary cult.
“Hey, if you don’t eat the ice cream, it’s going to melt.”
Xiao Qin reminded her when she saw that Gong CaiCai had a tendency to become obsessed and talk endlessly when talking about Happy Science.
“Thank, thank you.” Gong CaiCai finally came to her senses and awkwardly held the ice cream cone in her hands. She opened her mouth slightly without showing any teeth. She licked the ice cream cone, then a happy expression blossomed on her face.
I think women all over the world, regardless of race, age, skin color, and breast size, are all natural members of the ‘sweet tooth religion’. Anyway, I have never met a woman who doesn’t like sweets.