roccoschili Chapter 83 Xiao Tong
Chapter 83 Xiao Tong
Zhang Zhipeng and Yang Xiuyuan were overjoyed that their son had come in second place in the provincial examination. Zhang Zhipeng even took another day off to return to Daishan to celebrate with Zhang Liangjun. The two held a "grand" celebration banquet, and almost all of Zhang Zhipeng's old friends in Daishan were present, even General Manager Luo from the capital sent a congratulatory gift! The guests had two purposes: first, to get Zhang Zhipeng to repay a favor, and second, everyone was curious to see what the "talented" second-place finisher in the province looked like. Wow! This kid is really quite handsome, much better looking than Zhang Zhipeng!
That year, Zhang Liangjun was seventeen years old. When Yang Xiuyuan found Zhang Liangjun, she didn't know his exact birthday, so she filled in his birthday before the new year, making his registered age one year older than his actual age. At that time, people liked to fill in their ages randomly. Some liked to write it as older, saying they could retire a year earlier, while others liked to write it as younger, saying they could start school a year later and learn better.
Several reporters had also gotten wind of the situation and worked through the night to come up with headlines like, "The second-highest scorer in the college entrance exam celebrates extravagantly, even more spectacularly than the top scorer!" They were just waiting to interview Zhang Liangjun. However, they hadn't expected that his father was actually a high-ranking official in the city. Forget it! This can't be publicized! Reporters at this time were very careful about the reactions and consequences their news would cause, and they wouldn't just report part of the story while concealing the rest, or deliberately stir up controversy.
"Xiaoming, I'm going to school outside. You must behave well in the yard, okay?" Zhang Liangjun treated Xiaoming like his own son.
"I want some candy!"
"Be good and you'll get candy!"
"Listen to me!" Xiaoming's autism has improved a lot. At least he can now have simple verbal communication with Zhang Liangjun. The fact that he can communicate means that his nerve trauma or brain damage has recovered to some extent.
Under Zhang Liangjun's deliberate guidance, Xiaoming had become quite familiar with the courtyard. The residents also felt sorry for him; this poor child, afraid to go out every day, lonely and suffering from mental illness, looked pitiful. They didn't know Xiaoming also had schizophrenia, otherwise they would have united to resist him! In fact, not all schizophrenia involves violent tendencies, but only some individuals do.
Of course, besides Zhang Liangjun, Xiaoming trusted Yang Xiuyuan the most. This woman possessed a maternal glow, and under this radiant light, Xiaoming gradually accepted Yang Xiuyuan. Before going to school, Zhang Liangjun was most worried about these two people—one was mentally challenged, and the other was also mentally challenged. Zhang Liangjun feared that Yang Xiuyuan's kindness would be taken advantage of, which was more infuriating than simply being deceived.
A week before school started, Zhang Liangjun secretly ran away to Shanghai. It wasn't far; he took a bus in the morning and arrived in the afternoon. After getting on the bus, he called Yang Xiuyuan to tell her he had gone to school and that she didn't need to worry or see him off. Zhang Liangjun didn't want to see a farewell scene; the more he experienced, the more afraid he became of parting.
He easily found the familiar school. However, he arrived a bit early; the school hadn't started arranging registration for new students yet. He went to the location of Linjiang Xianfu, but the residential area here wasn't called that; it was called Jiangbian Garden. There were similar houses near Zhong Xiaoqin's house. Zhang Liangjun went up and knocked on the door, but a stranger opened it. There was no Junyue Mansion or the villa where he had lived for decades. Although they were on the same planet, they were definitely not in the same world.
Standing by the riverbank, watching the waters flow eastward, Zhang Liangjun couldn't help but drift into memories. The shimmering water reflected Zhong Xiaoqin's infectious, innocent smile, Wang Wenwen's tender eyes, and the children playing happily around him...
What is the purpose of living so long?
In that instant, Zhang Liangjun had the thought of ending it all! Perhaps he should jump...
"Xiaotong, look how beautiful the riverside is today! Quick, take a picture for me!"
"Okay! Stand by the handrail and look at me! Come on, one, two, three, cheese!"
All his jumbled thoughts vanished suddenly, and Zhang Liangjun heard an incredibly familiar voice! He turned around and saw Zhong Xiaoqin!
Just as he was about to hug her, he realized that it wasn't Zhong Xiaoqin. Although they looked very similar, they were definitely two different people! The two were at most 80% alike. Zhang Liangjun was lost in his memories and even hallucinated when he looked at the girl.
Although Zhang Liangjun stopped, his action still caught the girl's attention, and she looked at him curiously. Zhang Liangjun shrugged, indicating that it was nothing.
The girl smiled and didn't look over again, probably thinking that the handsome young man had mistaken her for someone else! And indeed, he had mistaken her for someone else!
The two didn't notice that the girl next to the armrest was trembling slightly while waiting to have her picture taken.
The girl continued taking photos for her companion. She closed one eye and looked through the camera's optical viewfinder with the other. Just as she was about to press the shutter, someone bumped into her hand holding the camera. The camera wasn't secured with a wrist strap, and she lost her grip, causing the camera to fall to the ground with a crisp shattering sound.
Quickly pick it up and check; the lens is broken!
The girl, who had been happily waiting to take photos, saw this and stormed over, snatching the camera away. "Ji Xiaotong! I borrowed this! I went through so much trouble to borrow it from Qu Lianjie! And you just broke it like this! How am I going to explain this to Qu Lianjie!"
These days, cameras are already expensive, and the one she has is a digital camera, so the price is even more shockingly high!
"I...I didn't expect anyone to bump into me! I was so far from the sidewalk!"
"All I want to ask is, what should I do?"
"I'll make it up to you..."
“How can this be her fault?” Zhang Liangjun sensed something was wrong, and upon hearing the keyword “Qu Lianjie,” he came over to check the situation. “You were the one who asked her to take the picture, and there was no anti-fall wrist strap on the camera. Someone else ran over and knocked the camera down. How can the responsibility be placed on her? This doesn’t make sense to anyone!”
"And who are you? It's none of your business."
Zhang Liangjun didn't tolerate her either. "If you want to reason, then reason. Who I am doesn't stop me from reasoning!"
Ji Xiaotong pulled Zhang Liangjun back, "Hey... classmate, no need to argue, I'll compensate her!"
Zhang Liangjun cursed under his breath, "What a terrible teammate! We have the advantage, and you just surrender like that!"
"She's had a tough time too, finally getting into university in Shanghai. We can't afford to offend those rich kids." Seeing that Zhang Liangjun was a little unhappy, she explained the reason to him.
Hearing this, Zhang Liangjun became even more unhappy. There are always saints every year, but this year there seem to be more than usual!
But the attempt was already made, and there was no turning back. He silently walked aside, not wanting to deal with the two anymore. Unexpectedly, a casual glance revealed him to be the very person who had knocked the camera down! He was secretly observing the two from a distance.
Zhang Liangjun understood and said something was wrong. This person deliberately knocked the camera down! That girl named Ji Xiaotong must have been targeted and deliberately set up!
Although he didn't know exactly what they wanted from Ji Xiaotong, Zhang Liangjun still felt a pang of pity seeing a girl who looked so much like Zhong Xiaoqin being persecuted! Had he been infected by the "saintly" mentality?
Returning to the tree not far from the two, I overheard them discussing the camera's value. The assertive girl suggested, "There's a Japanese brand store right next door; they have cameras there. Let's go check it out and see how much it costs!"
Ji Xiaotong nodded in agreement and followed the girl into the boutique. Zhang Liangjun's reconnaissance skills finally came in handy; he concealed himself among passersby and bushes while simultaneously observing the man who had knocked over the camera.