After the high school entrance exams ended, the local ninth-grade graduates began the most carefree long vacation of their lives.
As a “peer” who had no school to attend, Zheng Yang naturally didn’t feel the same.
All she had was the daily busyness at home and a slight anxiety about starting her first year of high school in September.
What she feared most wasn’t attending classes—after all, her past academic performance had been above average.
What she feared was how to get along with a group of children while carrying the soul of a 38-year-old man.
She was afraid that, in the campus her father had carefully arranged for her, she would fall into loneliness again and let his efforts down.
But fate seemed to enjoy playing tricks on her.
What she feared most was exactly what would come.
That day, Zheng Shiqiang received a call from Wu Shengli—this was already the third time Wu Shengli had approached him about the same matter.
“Old Zheng, still not free this time?”
Zheng Shiqiang glanced at the living room.
Zheng Yang was wearing that eyesore gray tracksuit, holding a newly bought vacuum cleaner and battling the dust in the gaps of the sofa.
They had bought several nice outfits together a few days ago.
Why was she just unwilling to wear them?
Thinking of this, Zheng Shiqiang’s tone carried a hint of irritation.
“I’m free, I’m free. I must be!”
“Great!” Wu Shengli slapped his hand excitedly.
“Then tonight! I’ll bring Chunchun, you bring Yangyang, and we’ll meet at Wuweiju!”
“No problem. But I still want to ask—why are you so attentive to Yangyang?”
“Hehe, it’s not me anymore. Chunchun keeps asking to meet Yangyang.”
“Hm?” Zheng Shiqiang was puzzled.
“They’ve never even met before.”
“You don’t know—Chunchun really trusts me. I told her about Yangyang’s experiences, and about her perseverance, diligence, and courage. She admires that kind of older sister, saying things like ‘still youthful despite hardships.’ Yangyang is steady, so I thought she could guide Chunchun a bit and keep her from being too impulsive.”
Zheng Shiqiang frowned.
“Wait, you just said you told her about Yangyang’s experiences?”
Wu Shengli quickly explained,
“Oh, I didn’t make it clear. I only told Chunchun in general that Yangyang had suffered a lot before, but remained kind, considerate, and brave. As for the specifics, don’t worry—I didn’t say anything I shouldn’t have. And I also told Chunchun not to ask about it in the future, not to reopen old wounds.”
“That’s more like it. I was thinking—you work in education, it wouldn’t make sense for you to casually spread someone else’s privacy.”
Though Zheng Shiqiang spoke calmly, he felt a bit touched inside.
Wu Shengli might not be as influential locally as he was, but he was still a notable figure.
Even knowing that Zheng Yang had once been a hostess singer, he showed no disdain.
Instead, he actively encouraged his daughter to befriend her and even presented her as someone to learn from…
This level of tolerance, open-mindedness, and humility made Zheng Shiqiang once again feel that he had made the right friend.
Zheng Shiqiang laughed,
“What a coincidence. Mine just stays at home doing chores all day like a housewife, even pretending to act mature in front of me. She should really let Chunchun show her what youth is like!”
The two hit it off immediately.
Zheng Shiqiang’s voice on the phone wasn’t quiet, but Zheng Yang couldn’t hear clearly over the vacuum cleaner’s noise.
“Dad, who were you talking to just now? And who’s going to guide me?”
“Your future principal.” Zheng Shiqiang walked over, took the vacuum cleaner from her, turned it off, and continued,
“I’ll take you to meet him tonight. Go change out of that tracksuit—wear that school uniform. Aside from models, Principal Wu hasn’t seen how his designed uniform looks on real students yet.”
Huh?
That ultra-short skirt uniform… was designed by the principal himself?
Good thing she held back from calling it “some indecent old man’s design” that day…
On the way, Zheng Yang sat properly in the passenger seat.
Her fair, slender legs were tightly pressed together because the skirt was too short, and she occasionally pressed it down with her hands, as if afraid it might be blown up—completely looking like a well-behaved girl.
Zheng Shiqiang occasionally glanced at her.
Seeing how different she looked compared to when she wore sportswear—no longer carefree and sitting with legs spread—he couldn’t help but recall Wu Shengli’s theory: when the skirt is short, she naturally becomes more reserved.
He wasn’t unaware of this theory, but Zheng Yang’s behavior was so direct that he found it amusing.
What he didn’t know was that Zheng Yang kept her legs together and held down her skirt not just out of modesty.
With the aesthetic of a 38-year-old man, she simply found it inelegant for a girl in a short skirt to sit with legs spread.
She couldn’t accept such a beautiful body making such an unattractive posture.
But life couldn’t always be aesthetically perfect.
Constantly carrying such aesthetic pressure was undoubtedly exhausting.
Wearing sportswear removed that burden, which was why she preferred it.
When they arrived, Zheng Yang saw it was Wuweiju again and became nervous.
But this time, the nervousness came more from not knowing how a fifteen-year-old girl should behave in front of two middle-aged parents.
And of course, she would also have to face that Chunchun—something she was even less prepared for.
Old Zheng and little Zheng arrived first.
After sitting for a while, Wu Shengli came in with a girl.
Zheng Shiqiang and Zheng Yang stood up to greet them.
Old Zheng introduced, “This is your principal, Principal Wu.”
Zheng Yang stood properly, hands folded in front, and gave a slight bow.
“Hello, Principal.”
Old Zheng smiled,
“School hasn’t started yet—call him uncle.”
“Hello, Uncle Wu!”
Wu Shengli’s eyes lit up.
He couldn’t help but pat Zheng Yang on the shoulder.
“What a good girl, so polite!”
Then he turned back,
“Chunchun, this is Zheng Yang. Call her sister, and learn from her. Look at you—you didn’t even greet Uncle Zheng.”
The girl behind him peeked out, staring at Zheng Yang while pursing her lips and nodding repeatedly.
After a few seconds, she finally reacted and quickly said,
“Hello, Uncle Zheng!”
Wu Shengli laughed at himself,
“See? Always half a beat slow.”
Zheng Shiqiang invited everyone to sit,
“You educators sure love formalities. Chunchun and I aren’t meeting for the first time, why so polite?”
Zheng Yang waited until everyone else sat down before sitting.
As soon as she sat, she noticed there was no water on the table and immediately got up and walked outside.
“Waiter—”
Before finishing the word, she covered her mouth in shock.
She suddenly remembered she was no longer an old man, so that way of calling wasn’t appropriate.
She quickly corrected herself,
“Auntie, could you bring us a pot of water?”
“Sure!”
“And also the menu and some napkins, please!”
“Right away!”
Inside the room, Wu Shengli had been observing with a smile.
He leaned toward Zheng Shiqiang and whispered,
“Such good upbringing… honestly, Old Zheng, I didn’t expect this. She hasn’t been formally taught, right? Looks like a natural talent.”
Zheng Shiqiang replied modestly,
“Oh, anyone can do that.”
“No, Chunchun can’t!”
The menu, tea, and napkins were quickly brought in.
Zheng Yang first handed the menu to Wu Shengli, calling him “Uncle.”
Then she divided the napkins into four portions, placing one in front of each person.
She lifted the teapot, rinsed the cups on the rotating table, then poured tea and handed the cups to everyone, reminding them, “Careful, it’s hot.”
Meanwhile, during all this, Wu Chun only said one sentence,
“Dad, I want sweet and sour ribs!”
Zheng Shiqiang couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
It wasn’t just the contrast between Zheng Yang and Wu Chun, but also Zheng Yang’s overly mature demeanor—completely unlike a fifteen-year-old girl.
Even he was seeing it for the first time.
“Dad, what are you laughing at?” Zheng Yang was already a bit nervous, and his laughter made her blush, thinking she had embarrassed herself.
“Yangyang…” Zheng Shiqiang leaned over and whispered,
“You’ve really made your dad proud.”
Wu Shengli coughed exaggeratedly,
“Ahem! I heard that!”
Zheng Shiqiang nudged him with his fist.
He hadn’t said it out loud because he didn’t want Chunchun to feel embarrassed, yet Wu Shengli pointed it out himself.
But Wu Shengli had a clearer purpose—he wanted his daughter to understand that she should learn from this older sister in every way.
He patted Wu Chun, who was sitting across from Zheng Yang.
“Go sit next to your sister. You two play together.”
Wu Chun nodded excitedly, ran around the table, and sat beside Zheng Yang.
“Big sister!”
“Ah… yes! Hello, Chunchun!”
Wu Chun blinked her big eyes.
“Big sister, you’re so pretty!”
Zheng Yang’s lips twitched.
“Not at all… I can’t compare to you.”
Wu Chun didn’t care whether Zheng Yang was being modest.
She said whatever came to mind,
“Hey, big sister, my dad said you can cook, fix drains, repair pipes, and even change light bulbs! Is that true?”
“Well…” Zheng Yang scratched her cheek,
“I do know a bit of all that.”
“Wow, that’s so cool! I don’t know how to do anything!” Wu Chun said this without any sense of shame.
Cool?
What’s cool about it?
In her original home, that would just be called “manual labor.”
Wu Shengli, still looking at the menu, glanced over.
“You’re proud of not knowing?”
Wu Chun giggled, wrapping her arms around Zheng Yang’s arm.
“I can learn from big sister!”
Looking at this bright and youthful girl, Zheng Yang felt warmth.
Being around her felt comfortable and relaxing.
She suddenly thought—maybe she really could become friends with her.