For more than a day after the dinner meeting, no one contacted Lin Jingzhe; recalling Xiao Chi’s sulky expression, he assumed that the cooperation was likely to fall through. He wasn’t going to lobby his case though, and prepared to find someone to check out the private lending market in Yan City. That aside—calculating the time, Zhou Haitang’s parents should’ve already arrived.

He called Zhou Haitang’s dormitory room and, as expected, when the call connected, he heard “ghosts wailing and wolves howling” in the background. Gao Sheng, who answered the phone, blankly narrated the development of the situation: {Uncle and Aunt Zhou suddenly came to our room, put down their luggage, and began to give Zhou Haitang a beating…}

{Aaaaaaah!} Just then, Zhou Haitang coordinated with this statement and let out a shriek. {Dad!!! Dad, don’t!!!}

Despite the long and exhausting journey, Father Zhou’s deep voice didn’t sound weak at all: {You stinky boy, you dare to stray off the proper path again!!!}

“…I’ll be there soon,” Lin Jingzhe calmly stated.

At the dorm room of the freshmen in the Computer Department of Wutong University, Zhou Haitang was being beaten to the point of tears, desperately calling “Mom” and “Dad”, doubting life.

His parents, who he hadn’t seen in a long time, appeared at the door of his dorm room out of the blue. For a moment he was surprised and delighted, but before he could ask why they were here, his father’s surging anger poured down on him without warning.

In the past, his mother would try to persuade her husband, but this time, it was the opposite—his mother helped his father beat him! She stood next to him, sobbing, sneaking in a slap from time to time.

When Zhou Haitang saw Lin Jingzhe come in, he rushed to him, crying, “I studied properly all this time, and even memorized three hundred words last night! Why did they beat me?!”

Lin Jingzhe tenderly patted his swollen face and appeased him insincerely, pretending to know nothing, “Yes, you’ve been very good. Don’t worry, I’ll help you reason with your parents.”

He walked out of the room, followed by the naive boy’s grateful and worshipful gaze, and found the Zhou couple who had been invited by the frightened dorm supervisor to his office “for a cup of tea”. Mother Zhou, wiping her tears with a handkerchief, said with relief, “Thankfully, we didn’t come too late. Why does this child have to keep us worrying all the time!”

Father Zhou slapped the table angrily. “I should’ve beaten him to death and let ourselves be free of trouble!”

His words were harsh, but his eyes were red.

After Lin Jingzhe called them, the couple left Liyun Town on the first bus and came to Yan City as quickly as possible, unwilling to delay for even a second along the way. They could hardly eat or sleep, and didn’t dare to call Zhou Haitang for fear of stimulating him—they were utterly fatigued, mind and body.

Fortunately, they managed to arrive in time; their son hadn’t done anything stupid yet.

Father Zhou was relieved, but recalling the money spent on the travel fare, he felt heartache as well. This expense took all his wages from the past half month! Ever since Mother Zhou was laid off, the financial situation of the Zhou family had been very tense; what’s more, they borrowed a sizable amount of money to provide for Zhou Haitang’s tuition and living expenses. Right now, they had to cherish every cent.

The couple discussed the best way to get back to Qunnan Province. Mother Zhou was a little reluctant to part with her son. “Did you see how thin and pale he was? Who knows how much hardship he’s been through during this time. Since we’re here already, let’s spend a few more days with him.”

Father Zhou took a drag of his cigarette, then said, his voice hoarse, “Yan City is too expensive. It cost us two yuan to get to this school and one yuan to eat lunch—how much more will it cost to stay a night? No, let’s go back to Qunnan immediately after we finish talking with Haitang—we’re supposed to see Brother Gao Fang about that job on the construction site.”

Mother Zhou was a traditional wife and currently had no independent source of income; now that her husband had spoken, she could only comply, regardless of her reluctance. Thinking of her son who used to be ruddy-faced and plump after being lovingly stuffed with food by her in Liyun Town, yet now looked pitifully thin and pale, her heart was in pain.

Lin Jingzhe poured them hot tea and asked, “But Uncle, Aunty, if you just go home like that, what about Zhou Haitang? Will you really manage to convince him not to do anything stupid in such a short time?”

“I will just tell him he has to listen or I’ll break his leg!” Father Zhou growled.

Startled, Mother Zhou exclaimed, “What nonsense are you saying?!”

For Lin Jingzhe, the most difficult part was getting them to make the thousands of kilometers long journey to Yan City. This first step was the hardest; now that they had arrived, he naturally had a way to keep them here.

He interjected hurriedly, “If he was so easily intimidated, I wouldn’t have needed to ask you to come over. Aunty, could you at least stay for a week? If you go back now and Zhou Haitang still insists on getting in trouble, what then? Won’t you have to rush here again?”

Father Zhou stopped smoking for a moment, obviously hesitating.

Mother Zhou looked at her husband expectantly—no matter how much money they had to spend to stay in Yan City, in her eyes, it was nothing compared to their son’s future.

Lin Jingzhe said, “Haitang is so stubborn that if he really put it in his head to do something, it would be truly terrible. I’m renting an apartment in the city, you can stay there for now, Uncle. The work at the construction site won’t run away—money is important, that’s true, but aren’t people more important?”

Mother Zhou stomped her foot anxiously, tugging at her husband’s sleeve. “Come on!”

Father Zhou had been reluctant to both spend money on accommodation and lose the income from the construction work. Now that Lin Jingzhe said they’d have a place to stay, the balance of scales in his mind shifted a little.

After weighing all the pros and cons for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and said, “Five days—we’ll stay for five more days!”

Getting what she wanted, Mother Zhou immediately abandoned her husband and stood up. “I’ll go see how Haitang is doing.”

Lin Jingzhe stopped her. “Wait a moment, Aunty. Please remember to pay attention not to say anything that might stimulate Zhou Haitang or make him suspicious,” he exhorted, fearing that the cat would be let out of the bag.

Mother Zhou gave a vigilant nod. “I know, I know, I won’t say a word.”