Then, laughter erupted, Lui Heng and Qiao An were laughing the hardest, slapping the table as if they were going to knock the plates over together, even Zhen Meilie was covering her mouth and laughing.
Jian Shiwu turned his head to look at Shen Cheng next to him for some human justice, but he saw that there was also a shallow smile under Shen Cheng's eyes.
What?
Jian Shiwu was irritated.
"She put the phone card on the lunch box." Jian muttered, "And it said something like exquisite food for you to try, looking forward to your call, available 24 hours..."
The others laughed even harder when they heard his explanation.
Lui Heng said, "Then the girl got so angry she didn't even pick up the empty lunch box."
Qiao An also came over and patted Jian Shiwu's shoulder, saying with some pity, "Isn't this kind of behaviour what you call orphaning in China?"
The corners of Jian’s mouth twitched, the group of losers.
The roast pork on the table was eaten clean, and Zhen Meliei looked down and asked her son, "Jian, do you think the roast pork is good today?"
Jian nodded: "Yes."
Zhen Meilie glanced at Shen Cheng and smiled, "Shen Cheng helped make this."
Jian Shiwu looked up in shock.
Shen Cheng looked at him lightly: "What"
Jian Shiwu said thoughtfully, "So that's how it is, I wondered."
Shen Cheng lowered his eyes, his eyes slightly gloomy.
Was it because of his own involvement that the taste was different from his own mother's? Or did he like his mother's cooking better?
“No wonder the portion seems to be more than before!" Jian Shiwu said while complaining to his mother: "Mom, every time you seem to be afraid that I will eat more, you only make a small plate. Oh…"
Jian Shiwu turned his head sideways and looked at the boy next to him with round eyes, Jian Shiwu gave a bright smile and his voice was sincere and a little soft: " Shen Cheng is better."
Shen Cheng's tense body slowly relaxed.
He hadn't been very happy when he won first place, he hadn't felt much accomplishment when he conquered the many difficult programs, and he hadn't even felt much emotion when he went out to the lush entertainment venues.
But now, however, his heart was overflowing.
Jian Shiwu was very close, and there was a faint scent of milk on his body when he approached, Shen Cheng's hand under the table curled up, and his throat was a little dry. He wanted to touch him so badly.
Zhen Meili said with a "tsk", "You damn child, you even stepped on your mother. I think you shouldn't eat here. Go home with Shen Cheng."
Jian Shiwu poked out his tongue: "You're so stingy, mum."
Zhen Meilie made a move to hit him.
Zhen Meili turned to him and said, "Shen Cheng, you should eat more meat."
Shen Cheng nodded, "Yes, thank you, auntie."
If a normal person were to look at him, they might have subconsciously guessed that the boy didn't like meat, and that's what Jian Shiwu had thought in her previous life, but now he knew that it wasn't.
It was by accident, after the marriage, that he met Shen Dashan on the road, he was a daughter-in-law anyway, so he took Shen Dashan for a meal. At the table he ordered a lot of meat dishes, when he heard Shen Dashan say to the four-course meal, "Shen Cheng used to love to eat this too."
At that time, JianShiwu was surprised.
"Didn't Shen Cheng not like meat?"
“He said so?"
"He usually doesn't eat much."
Only later did he learn from Shen Dashan about an old incident, when Shen Cheng was still young and Gao Can was away from home all year round, he could only take on odd jobs in the early years because he couldn't move his legs, often locking himself up in his room and doing crafts early and often ending late.
At that time, Shen Cheng was six or seven years old, a growing boy. Shen Dashan would give the neighbors some money every month, or helped them do some handicrafts, in exchange for food for Shen Cheng. Of course, the neighbours also can't bear to watch such a young child hungry, no matter how reluctant they are, it's just a matter of having one more bowl of rice, so they could bear it.
Shen Dashan said, "Once he ate at a neighbor's house, it just so happened that the family had a guest, so they cooked a lot of good dishes and good meat to entertain, I just happened to go to hand in handicrafts, and we stayed to eat together. There was a plate of meat on the dining table very close to him, so he took a piece."
"They joked about whether he had never eaten meat before, the whole table was laughing, he wasn't."
"The plate of meat smelled so good and the kid liked it, so he chucked a piece. But he didn't eat that day, and he didn't eat that piece of meat at the end of the day."
Shen Dashan said, "Shen Cheng has been very sensitive since he was a child, so you shouldn't blame him.”
People assume that young children don't understand, so they tease them with the most hurtful jokes for fun, and they laugh at every word.
Jian Shiwu’s heart still aches every time he thinks about it.
Lui Heng and Qiao An were arguing over the right to split the brined chicken legs on their plates, and Shen Cheng was always sitting quietly watching them.
Perhaps for some children, only children raised in happy families full of confidence will be so free to fight, on the contrary, those children who know too much are the ones who have learned to grow up silently in countless moments of not being loved.
Lui Heng said, "I'll take the big one with this chicken leg."
"WHY?" counted Qiao An, "You've eaten three and I've only eaten two."
As they argued, someone snuck right in and gave the chuck away.
With everyone dumbfounded, Jian Shiwu proudly chucked the chicken leg into Shen Cheng's bowl, then dragged the last small one to himself, "Don't even dare ti grab it, so, I'll split it up for you."
?
Lui Heng and Qiao An couldn't believe it.
Shen Cheng was slightly surprised, and also looked sideways at Jane Shiwu.
Jian Shiwu winked cunningly at Shen Cheng and lowered his voice, "Who let him grab the last bite of my roast pork, eat it quickly, don't give it to him."
A helpless smile appeared on Shen Cheng's consistently cold face.
In fact, he was a person who preferred to walk quietly and alone. Over the years, people came and went, and eating had become a kind of task that needed to be completed, and he had never been very interested.
But now...
His best friend and the person he liked were are all around, the faint smell of fireworks, and although there is some noise in his ears, it was somehow reassuring, Shen Cheng arched his eyebrows, and suddenly felt that this is also good.
......
Dinner had just been served, and a group of children decided to take a break to digest food before studying.
"Want to watch some TV?"
"What's on?”
"Chivalry!"
Just after dinner, the TV was on in the living room not far away, and Jian Shiwu took the initiative to propose that they go and watch TV together.
Lui Heng was of course the first to agree.
Jian had peanuts in his arms as a snack and peeled them, unlike other people who eat one by one, he liked to peel a small pile first and save it up. Likke a little squirrel collecting its own food for the winter, little by little, building it up in one piece, the joy of eating it together after peeling was overwhelming.
When he peeled a pile of peanuts, he asked Shen Cheng with a sideways glance, "Do you want to eat some?"
Shen Cheng shook his head.
Lui Heng came over to him, "Hey, I'll eat them, you can give them to me."
"No." Jian Shiwu moved away and huffed, "You've robbed me of a lot of roast pork today."
Lui Heng tsked, "Stingy bastard."
He said he wouldn't give it to Lui Heng, but in fact, he still spread his hands and gave a small portion to him, and then a small portion to Qiao An.
Everyone else was watching TV, and he was the only one who kept peeling like a hard-working bee.
"Hiss..."
Jian drew in a soft breath as he peeled.
Shen Cheng, who was closer was sitting next to him. He looked down and saw through the dim light that his thumb was a little red from peeling peanuts, and his white skin looked particularly red.
When Jian Shiwu looked down, a pair of hands suddenly appeared in front of him and took away the two bags from his arms.
What?
He lifted his head and looked at the owner of the hands in confusion. Shen Cheng said, "I'll try it."
Jian Shiwu had only peeled a little in his hand, also wanted to take a break, so he said graciously, "Yes!"
The cartoon was still playing on the TV, and while eating the peanuts, Jian Shiwu said to Shen Cheng, "Do you want to eat other flavours, there are some in the cupboard, I can go and get them for you."
"No need."
Shen Cheng only looked at what was in his hand, "That will do."
Jian Shiwu chewed the food in his mouth and nodded obediently, "Okay."
I didn't expect Shen Cheng to be so close to his own tastes, what taste!
In his previous life, his marriage to Shen Cheng was the kind of marriage that didn't work out, let alone watching TV together, let alone sitting down to snack together.
Sure enough, as long as the cannon fodder doesn't try to rise to the top, it's still possible to get along with the protagonist.
Jian Shiwu thought with satisfaction that he only needed to keep in mind the cannon fodder survival rules, not to confront the protagonist, and to be a good little brother, and then he’ll be able to make it to the end.
As he was thinking, the sound of a bag came from the side.
Shen Cheng handed him clean peanuts and melon seeds in a small box: "Here."
Jian Shiwu's eyes widened and he hesitated: "For me?"
Shen Cheng nodded, his happiness and anger unreadable on that cold face, he said, "I'm not used to eating them, here."
Oh, so that's it...no wonder!
If he was not used to it, why didn't he try it when he peeled the first one, but waited until he had peeled so many before he noticed that he was not used to it?
Could it be that...
Shen Cheng did this specifically because he didn't like cartoons so he was looking for something to do to pass the time!
The reason is because he likes cartoons so he has something to do to pass the time!
Jian Shiwu sneaked a sideways glance at Shen Cheng, but he hadn’t even taken a second glance when Shen Cheng turned his head and looked over. His eyes deep as he caught the sneaking person red-handed. The eyes were quiet and magnanimous, watching the simple boy turn red.
"Ahem!"
He said sincerely, "Thank you."
Shen Cheng said, "It's just a handful."
He was really just passing time, I guess he was just too bored
Qiao An came back from the bathroom and saw Jian Shiwu holding another box of peanuts and melon seeds, and eagerly approached him: "Give me a bite."
Jian Shiwu thought that he would not be able to monopolize the melon seeds that the protagonist peeled, and it should be fine since peeled them easily. Thinking of this, he raised the box to Qiao Ann: "Here."
Qiao An happily reached out to take it, but when he unconsciously glanced at Shen Cheng next to him, his movements froze. Sitting on the sofa, Shen Cheng's posture was lazy and he lifted his eyes to look at himself, his gaze dark and implying crisis.
Jane Shiwu looked at Qiao An in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Qiao An felt the peanuts in his hand were a little hot.
"Cough!"
Under Jian Shiwu's confused gaze, Qiao An coughed lightly and covered his chest, "I suddenly don't want to eat anymore, I'm a bit thirsty."
Jian Shiwu took back his small box, "Then go to the kitchen and pour water, do you know where it is?"
Qiao An shook his head. Jian simply stood up, "I'll take you there."
Although he hadn't known this foreigner for a long time, he knew that Qiao An was a good person and was willing to help him, as evidenced by the fact that he offered to share some roast pork with Qiao An in the evening.
On the way to the kitchen, Qiao An was hesitant to say anything. Sensing this, Jian asked, "What's wrong?"
"That..." Qiao An scratched his head, "What relationship did you have with Shen Cheng, I mean were you guys considered close before?"
Jian Shiwu rubbed his chin, "It should count as good."
Qiao An moved closer and gossiped: "What type of relationship isgood?"
Jian Shiwu cried and laughed: "What type of friends aren't good friends?"
"Ohh!"
Qiao An counted for him with his fingers and gave him the math: "There are more than just friends who have a good relationship, isn't there also... lovers?"
Jian’s hand shook and almost spilled his peanut seeds.
Qiao An looked at his reaction with some hesitation: "What's wrong."
Jian Shiwu covered his lips and coughed lightly, "It's either lovers or friends, why do you think that?"
Jian said, "Because that's not how he treats his friends."
"Where is it different."
"He doesn't peel my peanuts."
"...That's what he doesn't eat."
"He never teaches me my homework."
"...didn't he teach Lui Heng too."
"Then why doesn't he go to lLui Heng’s house to visit."
"Because my mum cooks well."
Qiao An and Jian Shi Wu stared at each other, somehow, even though Jian Shi Wu seemed to be making sense, he just couldn't help but feel aggravated! The two walked over to the water fountain and poured a glass of water each. Qiao An summed it up in an undying manner: "Anyway! I think he just treats you differently from others."
The glass of water in Jian’s hand shook, and the water, which had not completely cool, sipped into his mouth that felt somewhat hot, his face was red and his hands were shaking. Qiao An was suspicious: "Is everything alright?"
Jian Shiwu shook his head. His heart was in a bit of turmoil because of these words, and he was even a bit overwhelmed.
Shen Cheng was so kind to him. He taught him homework, cooked him roast pork, and peeled peanuts for him, and even if he was occasionally stupid, he would not scold him, but always solved the problem silently, which was completely reassuring.
This side of the house is a long way from the living room.
When they left the kitchen Qiao An suddenly bent down and said to him in a lowered voice, "Shiwu, do you like Shen Cheng?"
Jian Shiwu felt like he had been poked by something, his hand holding the cup was a little white from the force, he didn't dare to squeak: "I..."
Qiao An smiled, "Then will you be nice to him?"
Jian Shiwu froze.
"He's quite crazy, quite scary at times, seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if he went to extremes and did something.”
In a rare moment of seriousness, Qiao An whispered, "After returning to China, I've noticed that when he stays with you guys, he's like a normal person."
?
Do you say dare say that when Shen Cheng is around.
Jian Shiwu didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, but the heart-breaking hardship behind this statement made him somewhat afraid to think deeply.
Qiao An gave a radiant smile as he said, "So, Shen Cheng is counting on you!"
Jian Shiwu: "Then you tell me more about his affairs abroad."
"Then can you tell me about Lui Heng’s?"
"What are you doing, wanting to rob my cabbage?"
"No, he's actually faster than me at grabbing chicken legs, I know my self and I know my enemy. He’d win a hundred battles."
"......"
The next day
The final exams were over, the results were handed out, some people were happy and some were sad, and the parents' meeting a week later was like a knife hanging around their necks.
When Shen Cheng called Ji Yuansheng, he thought he would be concerned about his schedule and the company, but he didn't think about it and said, "I'm free!"
Shen Cheng reminded, "Don't you want to ask your secretary?"
"No, I've just asked!"
"....Okay."
Hearing his tone, Ji Yansheng was afraid that he would be upset and added, "Why don't I go ask again?"
Shen Cheng actually couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Mr.Ji coughed lightly and tried to recover his aura: "I will deal with my work as soon as possible and get back before next week."
Shen Cheng whispered, "Hm."
Mr Ji was not as calm as he sounded as he said, "Last time I heard your Uncle Jane say that Disneyland in A City is open, so when you're done with the parents' meeting I can take you to have some fun, and of course, you can call your friends."
Disney?
It's all about cartoon characters, what's fun about that?
But although Ji Yuansheng on the other end of the phone was desperately trying to be indifferent, there was still some anticipation peeking out from his words. Shen Cheng's eyes moved slightly and he agreed in a low voice, "Okay."
Then I'll wait for you to come back.
...
Although the parent-teacher conference was approaching, the end-of-term hurdle had finally been passed, and many were relieved that their burdens were lighter.
In mid-November, the provincial district made a decision to bring the issue of education to the number one priority once and for all, mainly to root out two things.
1. Using work commitments as an excuse to be a hands-off person when it comes to children's education.
2. Not to listen to the learning process of the child, only on the grades and scores at the end.
This is a common phenomenon among many parents today. As a leading school, a parent-child sports event was held to deepen the bond between children and parents, and the provincial government decided to make a public service announcement (PSA) or even launch a series of educational TV dramas to popularise the need for parental involvement in the growth of children.
The protagonist of the mv public service announcements became a hot topic.
"It's going to be on TV!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I heard there are scholarships available."
“If they get chosen, won't they be child stars!"
Every school has a nomination quota, and the most popular student at the moment is Jian Shiwu, and no one has a problem with the school giving him the nomination quota, after all, the desks and chairs you are sitting on are probably donated by his parents, and if you don't know any better, you will be poked in the back.
After being nominated by the school, they still have to participate in the voting auditions. The best kids nominated from different schools and will participate in the auditions on the organizer's page, and the one with the highest number of votes will eventually become the leading man.
Lui Heng said, "Your only competition is this guy, Wang Jianan."
Jian Shiwu took the phone and glanced at the Haitou page. There were about 20 or 30 people in total. He ranked first, Wang Jianan was second, and the two people had similar votes, about 700 votes apart. A picture showed a very sunny and cheerful boy, a little bit similar to him.
Jian Shiwu said, "It's a fair fight."
Lui Heng disagreed with this statement: "I suspect he swiped the votes, yesterday you had 8,000, he only 4,000, how did he get 7300 overnight, you know Wang Jianan he grew up with the experience of taking commercials, the child star, of the "Red Jade" that was very popular before, he is the little Yang Sheng in it."
Jian was an afterthought: "Oh, he was the one who played it."
"Right." Lui Heng was furious: "He already had a fan base and you're a vegetarian, so how is that fair?"
He said, "I think he advertised himself on Weibo or something, if that's the case there's nothing we can say, after all, a fan base is a form of strength."
Lui Heng choked. Jian Shiwu laughed and patted him on the shoulder in turn.
They weren't the only ones talking, many of their classmates were also following the vote, they weren't going to be in the show, but were counting on the whole school to hope that Jian Shiwu would represent No.1 school.
Originally, because of the sports day, Jian Shiwu was considered a little famous and was still in a solid position, but they didn't know how Wang Jian'an had appeared in the middle of the road, and the number of votes shot up overnight.
By 8pm, Wang Jian'an had overtaken Jian Shiwu and was in first place.
Of course, this was nothing until someone released a screenshot of a Weibo post that caused outrage.
At 8.01pm, Wang Jianan v: "Thank you all for voting for me, I will cherish this hard-earned first place and will work hard to bring you great performances in the future."
Voting hadn't even closed yet, and Wang Jian'an already looked like he wanted to celebrate. What was even more exasperating was the following comment from a fan.
"An An punch the duck, of course our baby has to be first!"
"That Jian Shiwu still had plastic surgery, how can a plastic face compare to our An An."
"Can a middle school nerd make a public service film, study hard haha."
......
A few screenshots of comments made people angry.
In particular, the class group directly exploded, many students could not sleep at night and began to find seven aunts and eight aunts to canvass for votes, but compared to Wang Jian'an's group of fans apparently had little effect: "Our whole family voted for the film.
"Our whole family voted for Shiwu."
"Yeah, I even brought my grandmother's phone."
"It's only up a hundred votes, where on earth did Wang Jian'an get so many votes, the fans are only so small."
They didn't understand, but Lui Heng did.
This public welfare sponsor is a sponsor of a well-known stationery brand in China. There are also regulations in the voting rules. If you buy a stationery set, you can get one more chance to vote.
Wang Jian'an grew up as a child actor and his family is well off. The extra votes are apparently voted by fans, but it is not known how many of them he bought himself.
Lui Heng grunted lightly, "It’s like bullying with money."