Chapter 93: Every Household Has Its Own Hard Scripture to Recite

"Ranran, your boyfriend doesn't trust me. He even said something like that just now, and you're not going to stand up for me?"

Li Qing finally could not hold back. Ten minutes after they had taken their leave of Akira Toriyama, she launched her attack right on time.

"I didn't know he could speak Japanese," Gao Ran said, restraining her excitement. "I feel like he knows so many things."

"Damn it, I really spoke to the wrong person!" Li Qing rolled her eyes. Seeing the peach-blossom glow on Gao Ran's face, she knew her words had been wasted. "Fine. You think I'm wrong, and I trusted you. You hurt me. So tell me, what now?"

"How about I make sure you earn a little more money?" Zhang Tianfeng thought for a moment and said.

It seemed that by now, this was the only thing he could still offer.

"Forget it. You owe me a favor."

A favor? That was not easy to repay.

With a sigh, Zhang Tianfeng walked ahead.

Of the two major matters that had brought him to Little Sun Island, one was already half done. As for the other, there should be news tomorrow.

Li Qing was a native of Xiyan City in Xikang Province of Yan Country. In her early years she had followed her parents overseas to make a living. Though she had lived on Little Sun Island for a long time, she would return whenever she had the time.

As she had said, her parents ran a small machine workshop on Little Sun Island.

Zhang Tianfeng had thought Li Qing was being modest. In truth, it really was just a tiny mechanical workshop. After all, the business was too small to justify uprooting their lives and moving back home.

He had not expected Li Qing to be telling the truth.

By the time they got back, it was nearly midnight. The surroundings were deathly quiet, and from within the house came the clanking and grinding of metal.

When the door opened, a broad-shouldered man blocked the dim yellow light. Zhang Tianfeng could only make out the outline of his face.

"Dad, this is my friend. He may need to stay at our place for the night."

"Oh, all right. Come in."

Only after he moved left and pressed against the wall did Zhang Tianfeng see Li Qing's father clearly: a crew cut, a square face, thick brows, and large eyes.

Years of working machinery had built him into a powerfully sturdy man.

Behind him was a woman seated at a workbench; she must have been Li Qing's mother. Her long hair was coiled up and wrapped in blue cloth, and she wore an apron and sleeve guards. Her feet worked the pedals as she busied herself with some piece of work.

"Uncle, hello. Sorry to trouble you so late tonight."

"Any friend of Qingqing's doesn't need to be polite. Come in first."

As he stepped inside and glanced casually at the tools scattered around the room, Zhang Tianfeng smiled again. "Auntie, hello. Sorry to trouble you tonight."

"No trouble at all. It's been a long time since I've seen someone from home. Young man, you're quite handsome."

Li Qing's father was named Li Quan, and her mother was Pang Lian.

"Auntie, do you still remember me?" Gao Ran chimed in.

Pang Lian froze for a moment. "A little... You are... Gao Ran!"

After a brief search through memory, she finally recalled that long-buried name.

"Auntie is amazing. You still recognized me."

"Qingqing doesn't have many friends back in the country, and even fewer that she's close to. That child of mine didn't even tell me who was coming. I thought it was just some ordinary friend from Little Sun Island."

Rising to wipe her hands, Pang Lian said, "Qingqing, take them into the house first. It's a bit messy here. Then come back. I need to talk to you about something."

"Got it."

Li Qing answered and pulled Gao Ran farther inside, with Zhang Tianfeng following close behind.

The place at the entrance had originally been a spacious courtyard, but it had been converted into a small workshop. Beyond a renovated little storeroom was the living area.

Li Qing pointed at the rocking chair in front of the flowerbed. "Sit here for a while. I'm going to see what my parents want to tell me."

"Li Qing, where's the bathroom?"

"All the way to the left."

After pointing the way, Li Qing turned back.

When Zhang Tianfeng came out after using the bathroom and was looking for somewhere to wash his hands, he accidentally overheard the family's hushed conversation.

"Since Qingqing doesn't have any money, then don't buy anything. It's late anyway. Find some excuse to send them to sleep, and once morning comes, just drive them off."

"This child too. She knows perfectly well what our situation is, and still brings people here."

"What did I do, bring people home? It's not like I'm spending your money!"

"Keep your voice down. Do you want your friend to learn about our family's situation or what?"

Pang Lian grumbled in a low voice, "Why can't you learn from Gao Ran? Her mother was a mistress, and she..."

"Mom, it's the middle of the night. Don't force me into an argument with you. She's my friend, and there are some things she can't stop from happening after they've already happened," Li Qing said, barely holding back her anger.

"You little wretch, now you're daring to talk back to me? Am I wrong about what I said?"

"Just because something is true means it has to be said? You've been doing business with Dad for all these years and still haven't learned how to conduct yourself?"

"Hey, you little wretch, how dare you scold me."

The moment her words fell, a sharp crack rang out. Zhang Tianfeng guessed Li Qing had been slapped.

He shook his head helplessly. Every family had its own hard scripture to recite. It seemed that coming here tonight had been a mistake.

When he returned to the courtyard, Gao Ran still had not noticed anything and was rocking back and forth in the chair.

"Come sit here. You'll discover that even the whole galaxy starts to sway."

"No need. Let's go. We can sleep in the car tonight too."

"What happened?" Gao Ran asked quietly. "Is there some danger?"

"No danger. I just don't like dropping in unannounced and disturbing their family's life."

"It's fine. I'm really close with Qingqing, and her parents are good people too. Don't mind it."

Zhang Tianfeng suddenly realized that sometimes being careless and thoughtless was not such a bad thing. At the very least, it left one with fewer troubles.

Since the hosts had already begun to show hostility, Zhang Tianfeng had absolutely no intention of staying.

After Li Qing returned, he found an excuse to go back to the car for some documents and brought Gao Ran out with him.

"Qingqing, thank you. We won't be staying at your place tonight. I have some things to deal with. Please apologize to Uncle and Auntie for me."

Li Qing seemed not to have expected this outcome either. "Then are you still going to that factory called Okamoto? My friend should already have gotten the information."

"Yes. By the time I'm done, it'll probably be the middle of the night. I'll just find somewhere to rest then. It won't delay tomorrow's work."

"All right. Be careful. Driving at night is dangerous."

As if she had guessed something, Li Qing said no more. After giving that reminder, she returned home.

Lying in the back seat, Gao Ran asked, "Fengzi, did you discover something?"

"No. I just don't like barging in on people. Tomorrow I'll buy some gifts and come back to apologize."

Opening the car door, Zhang Tianfeng said, "I'm going down to smoke a cigarette. I'll look for a hotel later. You lie down for a while first."

"Got it. Go on, you chatterbox."

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, after Gao Ran used the hotel phone to send the address to Li Qing, someone knocked at the door not long after.

"I thought you two would pick another hotel with a name like Maple Forest at Dusk."

"We couldn't find one, or we'd have stayed there already. Sit down. Have you eaten breakfast?" Zhang Tianfeng asked.

"Not yet. I only just woke up."

"Then wait a moment. I'll go buy breakfast for you."

"Let Ranran go. You stay. I need to talk to you about something."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Gao Ran widened her eyes. "Qingqing, you're that hungry? You have to say something like that in this kind of setting?"

"No. It's serious. I'll tell you later."

Seeing how solemn Li Qing looked, Gao Ran said nothing more and left with her bag.

After making sure Gao Ran had gone downstairs, Li Qing said, "Thank you for last night."

"I don't quite understand what you mean."

"That's all right. Just pretend I'm a bit too talkative."

Li Qing said, "My mother remarried and married the man who is now my father. They agreed long ago that the money for raising me would be my mother's responsibility alone."

"Because I'm not their biological child, I was never very well treated at home. After I turned eighteen, both my parents demanded that I support myself."

"Whether it was life or living, I had to handle it on my own."

"So I wanted to make money. I wanted to change everything."

"I understand your situation. In terms of quality of life, I may be about the same as you. We both grew up poor," Zhang Tianfeng said, leaning against the window. "Now that you're grown, you definitely have the ability to change your circumstances. Don't waste your thoughts on needless worries."

"I know. What I mean is, don't tell anyone. Ranran doesn't know about this."

"Don't worry, I won't say a word. Anything else?" Zhang Tianfeng said. "Ranran doesn't know the local language here. Asking her to buy breakfast is making things hard for her."

"No more. Thank you."

"If I were you, I'd be sorting out the documents on the Okamoto factory right now, trying to win over the favor of the person who can change your fate."

"I know. I didn't sleep last night. I organized everything through the whole night."

As she spoke, Li Qing took out the documents she had prepared long ago from her backpack.

"Good work. I'll go bring Ranran back first. Sit for a while."

Watching Zhang Tianfeng walk away, Li Qing silently thanked him again in her heart.

She knew very well why he had chosen to leave last night, and she was truly grateful that he had not spread the matter, because Gao Ran was the only real friend she had left.