usenovelgroup 035 Has this kid grown too big for his britches?
035 Has this kid grown too big for his britches?
When Wang Zhe got home, it was already dark.
The motion-activated lights in the hallway were malfunctioning, so Wang Zhe had to stomp his foot heavily or cough every two steps.
"Ahem!"
The lights came on immediately, casting his shadow on the mottled wall in a dim, yellowish light.
Wang Zhe walked very slowly. The scene at the entrance of the building downstairs kept replaying in his mind like a movie.
The feeling of the girl's soft body bumping into my arms, the faint scent of shampoo in her hair, and her clumsy attempt to force herself to take the initiative despite being incredibly nervous...
"Tsk."
Wang Zhe couldn't help but smack his lips, a playful smile curving his face.
That feeling was truly unforgettable.
To be honest, as a reborn person with the soul of a thirty-year-old, even if he only has the experience of Song Zhiyi, his experience and mental age are definitely not on the same level as a normal eighteen-year-old boy.
But it was precisely Jiang Di's naiveté and his somewhat impulsive sincerity that felt like a feather gently tickling his heart.
"She really does have that vibe of a little devil..." Wang Zhe muttered under his breath.
For a fleeting moment, he genuinely wanted to take the opportunity to do something. Like pressing the back of her head and kissing her stubborn little lips. In that atmosphere, even if he actually kissed her, Jiang Di probably wouldn't resist.
But he held back, mainly because of his conscience.
Although he boasted that he wanted to be a scumbag and a playboy in this life, at this crucial moment, he really couldn't bring himself to do it.
Jiang Di is about to enter her senior year of high school.
Although her grades are terrible right now, there's still a year left. If their relationship progresses too quickly and causes their current academic momentum to crumble...
Wang Zhe pondered to himself that he still needed to control the heat.
We need to motivate her to study, but we can't let her become too engrossed in it and lose focus.
"But speaking of which..." Wang Zhe stroked his chin, "Isn't this girl's initial level of affection for me a little too high?"
From the initial encounter where he borrowed a cigarette to the almost-realized tattoo confession, although it was abstract and silly, one has to admit that the determination to have someone's name engraved on one's body is indeed very touching.
Just then, my new phone vibrated.
The screen lit up, and a WeChat pop-up appeared; it was still Jiang Di.
Are you coming tomorrow? Sister Song will be giving me extra lessons tomorrow, and if you come, I'll definitely be more motivated to study!
His fingers flew across the screen as he replied:
I have some things to take care of at home tomorrow morning. I'll go over in the afternoon. You should go to Song Zhiyi's house to study in the morning, don't slack off.
Wang Zhe originally wanted to say, "If you get distracted again, the discipline will be doubled tomorrow," but then he thought that wouldn't work, wouldn't that be encouraging her?
Then, almost instantly, they replied: 【Received!】
Wang Zhe replied with a knocking emoji, then put away his phone, took out his keys, and opened the door.
With a click, the door lock turned, and Wang Zhe pushed the door open and entered.
The living room was brightly lit.
The television was on, broadcasting the evening news, and Liu Wei, the mother sitting on the sofa, happened to turn her head and see him, as well as the new machine in his hand.
"What are you holding in your hand?" Liu Wei's gaze locked onto him like a radar.
Wang Zhe's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, I was so focused on Jiang Di that I forgot to hide my new phone.
In this day and age, for a high school graduate from an ordinary working-class family, quietly getting a new mobile phone is definitely a big deal. What's more, the source of that money is rather difficult to explain.
Wang Zhe said calmly, "My old phone was too slow, and the buttons weren't working properly, so I got a new one."
"You got a new one?" Liu Wei stood up from the sofa, walked over to Wang Zhe, glanced at it briefly, and said, "A new smartphone. This one must have cost over a thousand, right?"
"About 1400."
"Fourteen thousand?" Liu Wei's voice instantly rose eight octaves. "Where did you get that money? The New Year's money you're given to manage isn't that much!"
Wang Zhe opened his mouth, preparing to make up a reason, such as "I earned it by tutoring a classmate" or "I won the lottery".
Just then, Wang Yuanshan, the father who was sitting on the other sofa pretending to read a newspaper, suddenly coughed.
"Ahem! Um... honey, I know about this."
Liu Wei whirled around, glaring at her husband: "What do you know? You gave him money? Wang Yuanshan, you've been hiding your secret stash of money pretty well!"
"No, no, no! I don't have any secret stash of money!" Wang Yuanshan quickly waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "This money was earned by my son himself."
"He earned it himself? Did he rob a bank?"
"It wasn't robbing a bank, it was..." Wang Yuanshan paused, seemingly considering his words, but finally told the truth, "It was betting on football."
"What?!"
These two words were like a depth charge, instantly stunning Liu Wei.
Seeing that his mother was about to lose her temper, Wang Zhe quickly stepped forward, supported her shoulders, and pressed her back onto the sofa.
"Mom, Mom! Don't panic, let me explain."
"What's there to explain! Gambling is now justified?!"
Wang Zhe sighed and gave his father a wink.
Wang Yuanshan quickly tried to smooth things over: "Hey, wife, listen to me. Our son isn't gambling blindly; he... he's using statistics and probability theory for scientific investment!"
"Pah! Don't give me that nonsense!" Liu Wei spat. "That sounds nice, but it's just buying lottery tickets, isn't it?"
Wang Zhe quickly added, "Yes, it's football betting, and it's legal. And I'm not just betting randomly. I've been researching this European Championship for a long time, and I tested the waters with the first few matches. I found my predictions were pretty accurate, so I placed a small bet. My main goal is to earn some start-up capital for university, and I don't want to be a burden on you guys."
Upon hearing the words "I don't want to add to your burden," Liu Wei's anger subsided slightly, but she still kept a stern face.
"So how much did you earn?" she asked, staring at her son. "To be able to afford a phone that costs over a thousand, you must have earned quite a bit!"
Wang Zhe and his father exchanged a glance.
Then he casually said, "It wasn't much. I was thinking that I'd need to buy a computer, pay tuition, and cover living expenses for college, which would probably cost tens of thousands of yuan. So I was lucky and managed to save up enough."
"Tens of thousands of yuan?" Liu Wei frowned. "How much exactly?"
Wang Zhe held up one hand: "Probably over fifty thousand."
"fifty thousand?!"
Liu Wei gasped.
In 2012, 50,000 yuan was definitely not a small sum for an ordinary family. It was almost equivalent to their annual salary savings.
"You...you actually earned 50,000? How long did it take?" Liu Wei's voice was a little unsteady, clearly stunned by the number.
Wang Yuanshan understood his wife's feelings and said, "The European Cup is less than half a month old, and this kid has already made 50,000 yuan. When he made 30,000 yuan before, I checked the lottery ticket; it was real."
Liu Wei: "..."
She suddenly realized that her company was really stingy with the salary.
But Liu Wei immediately realized that she couldn't let herself have that feeling. Quick money may be tempting, but it can also destroy someone who could otherwise be down-to-earth.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.