Chapter 16: Bai Qingxia's Extraordinary Father

Lu Yuanqiu was taken aback. "What would happen?"

Bai Qingxia lowered her head and spoke softly, "He would chase people with a stick."

At this, Lu Yuanqiu raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Your dad is that fierce?!"

A flash of embarrassment crossed Bai Qingxia’s face. She clutched her sleeve, gave a gentle nod, then turned and walked away in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Lu Yuanqiu called after her.

She turned around, looking at him in confusion.

He sighed, "Don’t you have any manners? Aren’t you supposed to say goodbye when heading home after school?"

At his words, a rare smile appeared on her usually cool face. She replied quietly, "Bye."

"Bye," he answered, a grin spreading across his face, filled with the warmth of an elder’s affection.

Watching the girl’s somewhat unsteady but otherwise fine steps, he turned, mounted his bicycle with a light heart, and pedaled toward home.

Hearing the sounds behind her, Bai Qingxia glanced back, fixing her gaze on Lu Yuanqiu’s retreating figure as he rode away, standing motionless for a long while.

Only when Lu Yuanqiu disappeared into the crowd did she finally turn back. Facing the orange glow of the sunset, she lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. The golden light outlined her pure features with a gentle, lingering smile.

The blue and pink schoolbags gradually parted ways at the gates of Lucheng No. 7 Middle School.

Across the street, the cries of vendors selling pancakes and fried rice cakes rang out, as if at this moment they defined the tranquility of the years.

"I’m going to study hard!"

"I’m determined to strive!"

"I’m going to get into a top university!"

"I, Lu Yuanqiu, will be the top scorer in Lucheng!"

After returning home, Lu Yuanqiu stood on a stool in the living room, pointing at the ceiling, declaring his ambitions to his father, Lu Tian, and his mother, Su Xiaoya.

His mother clapped her hands in delight at her son’s roar.

Lu Tian, sitting at the table, let out a derisive snort, spitting a sunflower seed shell onto the floor.

Suddenly, Lu Yuanqiu thought his father bore a striking resemblance to Wei Xiang when he was younger, especially with that mocking expression just now.

Lu Tian glanced at Su Xiaoya and said with evident ridicule, "Look at that, even the last-place student in the grade loves these impossible dreams. Seems I’m not far from stepping over Bill Gates and becoming the richest man in the world myself."

Su Xiaoya slapped Lu Tian’s shoulder in mock annoyance. "How can you say that about your own son? Can’t you be a little encouraging?"

"Tch." Lu Tian scoffed again, popping more seeds into his mouth, unconcerned.

Lu Yuanqiu sneered, "Sorry, I was second-to-last in the grade at the end of last term. That’s progress."

Suddenly, the seeds in Lu Tian’s hand spilled onto the floor. He stared in shock. "Really, son?!"

He couldn’t be blamed for his reaction—Lu Yuanqiu had managed to maintain the last place in the grade two years in a row.

"Of course. Someone missed the exam, so I naturally became second-to-last. Next time, I won’t have to sit at the backmost desk in the last exam room."

Lu Tian’s smile froze.

He tossed the seeds into the tray. "Damn, listening to you talk just wasted a few seconds of my life!"

"Back in my day, out of a hundred points, I could score thirty-seven! And you? Out of one hundred fifty, you barely get into the twenties. Truly, each generation is worse than the last. You didn’t inherit a single bit of my academic genius!"

Lu Yuanqiu fell silent, feeling he may have discovered the root of his academic woes...

Lu Tian waved him off. "Forget it, it’s like playing music to a cow. I’m off to check on the supermarket."

Su Xiaoya asked, "Isn’t Aunt Liu there? Why do you need to go?"

Lu Tian replied, "Her grandson was born, so she quit to take care of him. The supermarket’s short-staffed now."

At that, Lu Yuanqiu’s mind raced, and he quickly offered, "Dad, I know someone who can take Aunt Liu’s job!"

"Who?"

"My classmate."

"A student? What’s the point?"

Lu Yuanqiu grabbed his dad’s arm, pleading, "She can work evenings after school. Just pay her less, right?"

Lu Tian pondered a moment. "That’s true. If it hurts her studies, that’s one less rival for your college entrance exam."

Lu Yuanqiu, both impressed and exasperated by his father’s twisted logic, forced a smile and gave a thumbs-up. "Dad, your insight is unmatched! No wonder you scored thirty-seven back in the day!"

Lu Tian lifted his head proudly. "Of course!"

Su Xiaoya shook her head in resignation.

Those two are hopeless, she thought.

Lu Tian patted his son’s shoulder, still smiling. "Fine, bring her over for an interview tomorrow. I’m off to the supermarket."

After his father left, Lu Yuanqiu glanced around the living room. "Where’s Lu Yidong?"

Su Xiaoya nodded toward her daughter’s bedroom. "She just got a scolding from me and your dad before you got back."

"Why?"

She whispered, "Your sister’s been getting too close to some fool who hangs around the gate at No. 65 Middle School. Her teacher reported it. Your dad and I are worried she’ll be bullied. That guy might be simple, but he’s still a man."

Just then, Lu Yidong’s door burst open and a little girl poked her head out, shouting, "The man in the overalls isn’t a bad person!"

She stood in the doorway, clad in adorable pink bear pajamas, lips pouting, cheeks puffed in indignation, then slammed the door shut.

Mother and son exchanged a glance, both wide-eyed.

Listening to his mother’s hushed explanation, Lu Yuanqiu finally understood.

It turned out that at the gate of No. 65 Middle School, the same school his sister attended, there was always a simple-minded middle-aged man loitering, known to the students as "the fool."

But hearing his sister call him "the man in the overalls," Lu Yuanqiu suddenly recalled his own memories.

He, too, had attended No. 65 Middle School, and that man had already been lingering outside the gate back then.

Though simple and naive, the man was actually quite handsome, always well-dressed, clearly well cared for at home, and fond of wearing blue overalls that gave him an oddly endearing charm.

When Lu Yuanqiu was in middle school, other students often bullied the man in overalls—throwing stones at him, smacking his back before running off laughing, or gathering around to chant taunts.

The man would always be at a loss in such situations.

Lu Yuanqiu had often stepped in to stop them, unable to stand the injustice.

But there was a girl from his school who minded even more. Once, she even grabbed a broom and charged at the group of boys bullying the man, driving them away.

In that moment, Lu Yuanqiu thought she was incredibly cool—a valiant heroine defending the peace of the world.

He never learned her name, only remembered that she was thin, with long, tangled hair that hid her face.

Perhaps because she looked after the man in overalls, he would always smile at her, as if seeing his own daughter, greeting her with genuine warmth and even dancing with joy.

Staring at his sister’s bedroom door, Lu Yuanqiu fell into silence.

Back in middle school, there had already been a girl who steadfastly protected the man in overalls.

Given the timeline, that girl should have already moved on to high school, just like him.

So, the man in overalls had lost his protector.

And so...

His sister had inherited that girl’s sense of justice, choosing to continue defending the simple, smiling man wandering the school gate at No. 65 Middle School.

With that thought, Lu Yuanqiu turned to his mother and said, "Mom, maybe you should understand the whole story before deciding whether to scold my sister."

P.S.

Once again, I sincerely ask everyone to keep following the updates every day. When the novel is officially released, there will be a burst of extra chapters as compensation!