“Stop lying.”
I was extremely skeptical of both my dad and Auntie Ren meeting old friends at the same time, so they can’t come home for the night.
“You’re with Auntie Ren, right? What happened at the parent-teacher meeting?”
I went into the big bedroom because there were some things I didn’t want Xiao Qin to hear. I closed the door behind me and questioned my dad until he finally spilled the truth.
I never would have expected the reason why my dad and Auntie Ren weren’t coming home was because of the class leader’s mother.
In summary, it was because the class leader’s mother’s beauty was too alluring and attracted too much attention. All the male parents present looked at her and my dad followed along, which made Auntie Ren jealous.
“What are you looking at, do you want her to give you a kid too?”
“No.” My dad said awkwardly, “I was just curious.”
“Curious…” Auntie Ren said, “Should I tell you a bit more detailed personal information, so you can ask her out on a date?”
“Detailed personal information?”
“That’s right. Her name is Lin YuMeng. She’s a vaccine researcher in Shanghai and her husband works at a financial firm. They have a great relationship, but all their missing is a cunning third wheel…”
My dad explained: “I never said I wanted to be the third party. Everyone was looking, so I also took a glance…”
“It wasn’t a glance, it was multiple glances.”
“Then I won’t look anymore.” My dad turned to face the lectern. Teacher Yu was holding a script and reminding parents what to pay attention to now that their children were entering their third year.
“Even if you’re not looking, you’re probably thinking about her, right?” Auntie Ren refused to let it go.
“I’m not. I’m someone who’s extremely opposed to extramarital affairs, so why would I think about someone else’s wife.”
“Hah, so you will think about her if she didn’t have a husband.”
“That won’t happen either.” My dad chose the right answer at the critical moment, “Hong Li, I still have thr ring I bought for you. I won’t think about other women, I will take responsibility for you.”
“Tsk, who cares if you take responsibility. Do you know how humiliating it would be to marry a useless adult goods store owner….”
“What, didn’t we agree to have another kid together?”
“Who said that? And be quiet, what if someone heard you?”
My dad pulled out the diamond ring he always carried with him.
“Hong Li, in order to prove that there is no one else in my heart, please accept my engagement ring…”
“Is there something wrong with you? Who proposes at a parent-teacher meeting?”
“Then after the parent-teacher meeting…”
“I won’t accept after the meeting either. If you care about me, then come drink with me at a bar. I haven’t had a good drink since I left the hospital.”
“A bar.” My dad scratched his head, “I usually drink at a small pub, I’ve never been to a bar…”
“It’s not like I’m going to kidnap you, are you going or not? Hey, you’re looking at her again.”
“I’m not.” Since the parents were sitting in their children’s seat, if he was facing Auntie Ren, then he would also be looking at the class leader’s mother, who was sitting on the far right seat in the same row.
In short, due to Auntie Ren’s inexplicable jealousy, my dad accompanied Auntie Ren to the bar to drink. We all know we can’t control ourselves after drinking, plus Auntie Ren called Xiao Qin and said she might not be home tonight, so it seemed like the two of them were going to a hotel after the bar.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?” I yelled at my dad, “Why did you guys treat the parent-teacher meeting like it was a party? Besides, what’s so good about drinking, why do you have to drink…”
“Ah, it’s not a good time right now, I’m hanging up first.” My dad quickly hung up. He prioritized the other sex more than his own son.
I put away my phone and went back into the living room. I saw Xiao Qin looking anxiously at the food on the table, which was prepared for four people.
“My mom had some business and can’t make it home tonight, does Uncle Ye have some business as well? I heard a bit of the conversation when you picked up the phone…”
I shifted my phone a little due to my guilty conscience, “That… that’s right, what a coincidence. Both our parents can’t make it, so it will just be the two of us.”
“That’s the only choice left.” Xiao Qin said disappointedly, “I was looking forward to Uncle Ye praising my cooking skills…”
Xiao Qin’s eyes lit up again after only a short period of disappointment.
“But, but if that’s the case, I can be alone with Ye Lin classmate. It kind of feels like our own love nest, hehehehe….”
Xiao Qin laughed foolishly and took off her apron, then she joined me at the dining table.
I ate with Xiao Qin as I told her about the mission I received from Ai ShuQiao to infiltrate the Happy Science Cult.
I was open and honest with Xiao Qin. I tried to tell Xiao Qin everything except my heart problems.
“So that’s what happened… That person is so strange. If they have an undercover agent in the cult, then why would they make you risk it…”
The ‘that person’ Xiao Qin referred to was Ai ShuQiao. She didn’t refer to her by her full name because she didn’t want to irritate me. She must have put a lot of thought into it because she also didn’t refer to her as ‘your mother’ either.
I waved my hand, “You don’t have to be afraid to say her name like she’s Voldemort. I don’t mind if you call her Ai ShuQiao, or you could even call her Ai’s mom since she’s Ai Mi’s mom…”
“Alright.” Xiao Qin nodded, “Why didn’t Ai’s mom send you instead of using the undercover agent to steal the Karma Calculator program?”
“She wants to test me, or her undercover agent was a huge letdown and could not gain Fang Xin and Professor Bai’s trust.”
“Can you gain their trust?”
“I think I have a good chance since Fang Xin and Professor Bai really wants to rope me in. Also, I don’t know what’s wrong with their calculator program. The first time it calculated I would lose miserably to Ai ShuQiao, but this time it calculated I would be the final victor. So they believe forming an alliance with me would be very beneficial as they would be on the winning side.”
Xiao Qin thought about it for a while.
“It looks like their program is pretty amazing…”
“Why?”
“(^__^) hehehe… it was able to calculate that you’re the protagonist. Since you’re the protagonist, then you would have plot armor. Ai’s mom would not be able to defeat you no matter what she does.”
“Nonsense.” I cried, “If I was the protagonist, then I should be able to have my wishes fulfilled automatically while I lie in bed and do nothing. At the very least, I should find some lost alien technology, or a super system suddenly appears in my brain.”
“Well…” Xiao Qin pursed her lips and thought for a moment, “Maybe the author of the story is a bit perverted, so they don’t want Ye Lin classmate to win easily, what a bad person.”
For some reason, what was originally an unreliable joke, but the more Xiao Qin spoke, the more angry she became. She finally cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted towards the ceiling:
“Damn author, you should have at least made my boobs bigger! If I’m still this flat when I get to high school, I’m going to shove your head into a toilet…”
“Crack.” A flash of lightning suddenly appeared outside, but there were no dark clouds, it was a strange thunderbolt in the clear sky.
Xiao Qin also felt an inexplicable chill like me, so she changed the subject back to infiltrating the cult.
“How do you plan to infiltrate the cult? Are you going directly to Fang Xin or Professor Bai?”
“Probably.” I ate a scoop of the stir-fried beef, it tasted pretty good, “But Fang Xin is in a psychiatric hospital right now. Is it a bit stupid to visit him in a psychiatric hospital…”
Xiao Qin clenched her two small fists, “I’ll go where ever Ye Lin classmate goes. I’ll even follow you into a dragon’s nest or a tiger’s den.”
“It’s not that dangerous ~~~” I waved my hand to make Xiao Qin relax, “Fang Xin and Professor Bai like intellectual crime, they don’t like violence. They feel pleasure when they trick others, so once we infiltrate the cult, we basically play dumb and gain their trust. After we find out where they save their program, we just have to make a copy and our mission is done. If we’re lucky, we won’t have to fight at all.”
“I’m the best at playing dumb.” Xiao Qin said, “I’ll definitely pretend to be a foolish devout follower, so that they will let their guard down and it will help Ye Lin classmate succeed.”
I laughed bitterly, “I called you because you’re a great liar, and you’re exceptional at making others underestimate you. I think it’s a good way to give those liars a taste of their own medicine.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you and milk the cult of all their money.”
“Hey, you got the objective wrong. Our target is their program, not their treasury!”
Xiao Qin pouted, “I’m only thinking about Ye Lin classmate’s future. If we get the money, then you can just lie on a bed and have all your wishes fulfilled…”
“We can’t take ill-gotten wealth. We have our own objectives for infiltrating the cult, it’s not to steal their money.” I said seriously, “The Happy Science Cult has tricked a lot of people into becoming believers, including Gong CaiCai from our class. If we have the chance, we have to expose the truth to Gong CaiCai. We have to tell her to treasure her life more and stay away from evil cults.”
“So there’s a side quest.” Xiao Qin said excitedly, “How many stars will I get if I help Gong CaiCai leave the cult?”
I did a little mental calculation, “50 gold stars. I’m only giving you this much because it’s related to Gong CaiCai’s future. You have to think of a way to help Gong CaiCai, someone who you often bully.”
“Leave it to me.” Xiao Qin replied confidently, “Gong CaiCai is the mascot of class 3-3, she can’t be bullied by any outsiders, only Winnie and I can bully her.”
I really don’t know whether to feel happy or sad for Gong CaiCai.