Chapter 590 - A Dysfunctional Family - 2
"I can partic.i.p.ate in a work-study program. Let"s go, mom. Let"s get away from him!"
"Where would we go, Zihuai? I"m his wife and I can"t simply get a divorce!"
After all, Mrs. Zhou was a traditional woman. Her mother had always told her that divorce was the most humiliating thing to do.
Besides…
She took a first-aid kit and began attending to Zhou Zihuai"s wound. "You surely have to help your family out once you start to earn money. Although your father has a bad temper, he"s still legally your father and you are responsible for taking care of him."
Zhou Zihuai pushed his mother away, his face pale and blood lining the corner of his lips. "We"re not living in the old days anymore, mom. Domestic violence is against the law! Besides, where are you supposed to get 5,000 yuan for him?"
"It"s none of your business. All you have to do is work harder on your studies so that you can earn money for your father. Then, your father will be very happy with you and won"t beat you anymore!"
A strong surge of helplessness swarmed over Zhou Zihuai. He felt suffocated by his mother"s backward way of thinking. "It"s not my obligation or yours to give him money! The reason we"re having a hard time is that he spent all of my father"s pension on gambling! My father signed up for insurance because he wanted to protect us in case something happened to him, but you had to marry a man who likes to smoke, gamble, and drink. What else do you want to do for him?"
"Zihuai, are you saying that this is all my fault?" Mrs. Zhou said, her voice thick with disbelief. "The reason I married your father is that I wanted you to have the perfect family! I don"t want your peers to look down on you. I"ve given you so much, and you blame me for spending the money your dad left behind! Zihuai, you are so disappointing!"
Mrs. Zhou could not understand at all. Everything she did was for this family, but why couldn"t her son understand her? Why did her son only see what she did wrong but could not see her struggle to earn money for this family?
Besides, she remembered that her father had cheated and constantly beaten her mother up. Her grandmother had treated her mother badly as well, but her mother had still managed to pull through.
Everyone in the village praised her mother for her filial piety and capabilities. Her mother had proved herself able to earn her reputation through suffering and hardships. All in all, Mrs. Zhou felt that reputation was more important than anything in this world, and she did not want to get laughed at for being unable to handle her family issues.
She had spent her whole life trying to become like her mother, whom everyone praised. Wealth and name were not what she wanted. She only wanted her son to be successful and refrain from annoying her husband.
After all, Zhao Wu had never attended school before and had no ambition. However, Zhou Zihuai was different. He had been receiving an education since he was a kid, so shouldn"t he be more mature and know how to solve a problem calmly? Why did her son become more and more aggressive as he grew up? It was as if all the education he had received had been for nothing!
Mrs. Zhou felt suffocated and did not want to stay there for another second.
"Zihuai, I know you"ve suffered a lot, but as a boy, you should always know when to take a step back and forgive others. I attended to the wound on your forehead, so you should go back to your room. I need some time alone."
Mrs. Zhou covered her head and left the room. She took her phone from the table and began calling her neighbors to try to borrow money.
Zhou Zihuai lay sprawled out on the floor, staring blankly at the fluorescent light.
There were two voices inside his head.
Honestly, it was not that he did not want to back down. He was a boy, so it was fine for him to receive a beating from Zhao Wu, but his mother was different.
She was a woman. He would turn a blind eye to Zhao Wu for splurging with his mother"s money, but he was harming his mother right now.
He had turned 17 years old this year. He was at an age when he could protect his mother and support his family. He did not need to stay behind his mother"s back anymore, as he could defend his family based on the law.
—
In the meantime, w.a.n.g Yu and his group had just arrived at a cybercafe.
There were a lot of people in the cyber cafe right now. All of them were wearing headphones, and the air was filled with clicking sounds as their fingers danced nimbly on the keyboard.
They all put on their headphones and entered the game "Glory". Then, they realized they were two people short, so they called Fu Zhi.
"Sister Zhi, come here. Let"s play together!" Song Fang said. "We"ve made a bet with a group of third-graders from the school next to No.1 High School. The losing party has to treat the other party to a barbecue. We"re only waiting for you and Zhou Zihuai now."
Fu Zhi did not know what to say.
"Third-graders?"
She thought for a moment and said, "I don"t want to take advantage of a group of elementary school students."
However, this was more than a compet.i.tion between elementary school students and high school students.
w.a.n.g Yu smacked the table and shouted, "One of them stole my girlfriend!"
Fu Zhi then replied, her voice filled with surprise, "You had a girlfriend?"
w.a.n.g Yu was dumbfounded for a moment. After he came back to his senses, he jumped onto a stool and shouted, "I met a girl online, and she cheated me out of 1,888 yuan!"
Fu Zhi thought of the 200,000 yuan given to her by Li Nanli and said apathetically, "You guys have never seen each other before, so you shouldn"t have invested so much in the relationship. Besides, you might have lost your money, but there"s a probability that she lost her job."
"Hold on a second. Something is wrong with you, Sister Zhi," w.a.n.g Yu said. He had no idea why but he had a feeling that Fu Zhi was one of the online scammers that preyed on innocent young men like him.
Song Fang then continued. "You don"t understand, Sister Zhi. The girl is 13 years old, and w.a.n.g Yu is not the only guy she"s seeing. Those elementary school kids are her boyfriends too, so today, we"re going to have a showdown with them. In any case, you"re our boss, so you"ve got to be here!"
Fu Zhi did not know what she should say. However, there was one thing that she felt curious about.
"Won"t they fight against each other? Since they"re dating the same girl?"
"Nope. There are seven days in a week, and she has only six boyfriends, including w.a.n.g Yu. Each of them will spend a day with her, and she will take a short break on the remaining day. However, w.a.n.g Yu decided to quit and she began crying, so they"re going to make him pay for making her sad."
"…"
w.a.n.g Yu then continued. "I"ll never share my girlfriend with other people. I"m not here to join and destroy this family. I"m here to get out of this!"
After saying that, he cried, "Sister Zhi, you have to come and help me. They are all so good at this game. I can"t beat them alone!"
"I don"t have a beginner"s account," Fu Zhi replied.
"That"s easy." w.a.n.g Yu waved his arm and said, "I have plenty of beginner"s accounts. You just need to come. Don"t forget to call Zhou Zihuai as well."
"I can"t get through to Zhou Zihuai. Maybe his mother has confiscated his phone," Fatty chimed in.
"How about Ye Jiu or Lu Yumo?"
"Ye Jiu is drinking milk. As for my brother, he accidentally stepped on my mother"s duck and he"s eating it with tears in his eyes right now," Fu Zhi said.
"Why is he crying?"
"Because it"s too tasty."
Song Fang thought for a while and suggested, "Do you have any other friends that could join us?"
Fu Zhi sent a message to her group.
One minute pa.s.sed, but no one replied.
Two minutes pa.s.sed, and still, no one replied.
Three minutes later…
Just as Fu Zhi was about to send another message, a notification popped up.
[You"ve been removed from the group.]
Fu Zhi was speechless.
As she was wondering who she should call, her phone rang.
It was Li Nanli.
Her eyes lit up, and she said, "Do you want to play a game? I"ll protect you."
*
It took only a minute for Li Nanli to download the game.
When w.a.n.g Yu gave Li Nanli his accounts, Li Nanli froze.
Both of his accounts were swordsmen.
One of them was called [My Love], while the other was called [Your Love].
Both Li Nanli and Fu Zhi fell silent when they saw the names.
"Wait a while. I"m going to buy a renaming card."
"Why do you want to change the name, Sister Zhi? Don"t you like it?" w.a.n.g Yu asked.
Song Fang then added, "It"s just a name. You don"t have to pay attention to it."
Then, Fu Zhi turned to look at Song Fang"s character and was stunned when she saw the name "Fallen Angel" on top of his character.
In the end, Fu Zhi bought two renaming cards for herself and Li Nanli. Then, before their opponent arrived, she asked, "Do you know how to use the renaming card? Open your bag, double-click on it, and fill in the name you want."
"How are you going to name your character? Should we fill in the same name?"
A deep male voice suddenly erupted, and Song Fang was so shocked that he nearly fell from the chair.