When school was over on Friday, Teacher Pan showed up once again.
Wang Ling immediately got a bad feeling.
Teacher Pan then announced that she would be making home visits to several students this weekend!
And one of the important subjects of this home visit was Wang Ling!
"Mm, the students who have received the notice about the home visit don't have to be nervous about it. This is standard school procedure." Teacher Pan smiled from the dais, then left with a pile of dictation exercise books in her arms.
She had hardly left when the whole class exploded in complete pandemonium. "F**k! Home visit?! And they're all for male students!"
Dopey Guo gave Wang Ling a pat on the shoulder. "Brother, be careful this weekend, remember to wash yourself spotless..."
Feather Lin: "Why wash spotless?"
Dopey Guo sighed. "If your buttocks are spotless, whatever beatings you get after the home visit will leave conspicuous marks! You can then take photos to post on Weibo, and sue for domestic violence! Brother Wang Ling's butt is elegantly shaped — if it's embellished with a few handprints, this postmodern work would make him an Internet celebrity in no time."
Wang Ling: "..."
...
Wang Ling had already mentally prepared for Teacher Pan's home visit. He hadn't known how to respond to it at first, but now he thought that the home visit may be an opportunity for Grandfather Wang.
This kind of natural meeting was far more reliable than any sort of casual encounter he could deliberately arrange.
The most important thing was that it would take place at home. The old man didn't have to wander aimlessly alone outside, which was a huge relief to Father and Mother Wang.
When Wang Ling came back in the evening, he was surprised to find Mother Wang in the kitchen by herself for the first time in a long while. Usually, Grandfather Wang would have finished almost all of the cooking by now; Mother Wang just needed to wash the vegetables and act as an assistant. But this time round, the old man hadn't done any cooking at all.
It was very clear that there was something strange in the air in the Wang family's small villa today.
Wang Ling looked at the clock. It was already half past six in the evening.
The old man's favorite soap opera, Two Women and a Man , would be showing at this time. It was a Mary Sue TV series about the epic and bitter war between a mother- and a daughter-in-law.
But today, the old man hadn't turned the TV on ahead of time and waited in front of it like usual...
When Wang Ling entered the living room, he found the old man sitting calmly on the sofa and frowning slightly as he stared at something.
Father Wang was sitting next to him. When he saw that Wang Ling had returned, he straightaway explained in his mind what had happened, and Wang Ling picked up on everything through his Mind-Reading Ability.
The old man had been bored in the afternoon, and had gone to Father Wang's study. Father Wang had a habit of collecting old newspapers, and the old man had a habit of flipping through them for gourmet food recipes. If the old man came across some creative-looking recipes in the newspapers' food columns, he would copy them down himself and then fuse them with his own ideas to create new recipes.
Although he was already retired, the old man felt that he couldn't lose his love for food. Every two weeks, he would send copies of new recipes which he had invented in his free time to the restaurant he had worked for previously.
It was just that today, something had happened when he had been flipping through the old newspapers...
A few days ago, Wang Ling had drawn a picture of Teacher Pan with his Space Sketching Skill. When Father Wang had put it away, it had become wedged between the sheets of a newspaper. In the end, it had caught the old man completely off-guard.
The old man had spent the whole afternoon since then staring contemplatively at the drawing, not even drinking so much as a sip of water.
"Ling Ling, do you think your grandfather's dementia has become worse... or has it eased a little? I think that he's had too much stimulus today," Father Wang murmured in his heart a little guiltily.
Wang Ling: "..."
The old man's dementia was also a tricky problem for Wang Ling; if he used his mental powers to forcefully push his way into the old man's consciousness, there were three possible outcomes, from most likely to least likely.
First: The old man would directly explode on the spot.
Second: The old man would directly turn black.
Third: The old man's dementia would be cured...
Of course, the last outcome was the least likely one.
The other party was his own grandfather, so there was no way Wang Ling would risk experimenting on him like a lab rat.
While father and son stared helplessly at Grandfather Wang, Wang Ling heard the kitchen exhaust fan turn off. Mother Wang took her apron off with one hand as she used the other to open the kitchen door and come out.
She looked at this scene in the living room, and then at the cooked dishes back in the kitchen. In the end, she sighed, and like Father Wang, sat down next to the old man. Together, the couple and the old man stared at this drawing.
"..."
Wang Ling rubbed the skin between his eyebrows, and then slowly told Father and Mother Wang about Teacher Pan's home visit tomorrow.
The three people on the sofa suddenly looked up with thrilled faces. "Home visit?! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Wang Ling: "..."
Father Wang threw his arm around the old man's shoulder. "Dad, that's great, your wish will finally be fulfilled."
As if pressure on his acupuncture points had been released, the old man instantly came back to his senses and started to choke with emotion. "Little Pan... I never expected to be able to see Little Pan again!"
Grandfather Wang was so excited that he almost couldn't control himself; his eyes were very red, and they shimmered with tears that nonetheless didn't fall. It had been a long time since Wang Ling had seen him so excited; he remembered that the last time his grandfather had been unable to contain his emotions was shortly after Wang Ling's birth, when the old man had brought him to his grandmother's tomb at Qingming 1 .
The old man's excitement back then had been tinged with sorrow, but his excitement this time was akin to crying tears of joy.
Father and Mother Wang were glad in their hearts; it seemed that the old man's dementia could finally be cured!
After that, the couple spent the whole night coaching Grandfather Wang on how he should speak once he met Teacher Pan at home tomorrow.
Finally, after some discussion, the couple decided to hide in the study tomorrow and leave the old man and his grandson Wang Ling to do as they liked!
This was also to indirectly help create more space for the old man and Teacher Pan. The presence called Wang Ling would still be there, but he never spoke, after all, so he would be no different to a lightbulb 2 on the side...
...
The next day was Saturday, May 23rd. At around nine o'clock in the morning, the Wang family's doorbell rang.
When Wang Ling opened the door, an exceedingly gorgeous woman was standing in front of him; she wore a light green lace dress and had a long ponytail and fine features.
Then, a familiar voice came out of this beautiful lady's mouth. "Student Wang Ling, good morning, your home is really far... it took me a long time to find it."
Wang Ling felt like he had just been electrocuted. "..." Bloody hell! Beautiful lady, who are you?! Why the hell do you sound like Teacher Pan?!
Qingming is a cultural event where the Chinese clean the tombs of their ancestors and pay their respects. A 'lightbulb' in colloquial Chinese has the same meaning as 'a third wheel.'
When school was over on Friday, Teacher Pan showed up once again.
Wang Ling immediately got a bad feeling.
Teacher Pan then announced that she would be making home visits to several students this weekend!
And one of the important subjects of this home visit was Wang Ling!
"Mm, the students who have received the notice about the home visit don't have to be nervous about it. This is standard school procedure." Teacher Pan smiled from the dais, then left with a pile of dictation exercise books in her arms.
She had hardly left when the whole class exploded in complete pandemonium. "F**k! Home visit?! And they're all for male students!"
Dopey Guo gave Wang Ling a pat on the shoulder. "Brother, be careful this weekend, remember to wash yourself spotless..."
Feather Lin: "Why wash spotless?"
Dopey Guo sighed. "If your buttocks are spotless, whatever beatings you get after the home visit will leave conspicuous marks! You can then take photos to post on Weibo, and sue for domestic violence! Brother Wang Ling's butt is elegantly shaped — if it's embellished with a few handprints, this postmodern work would make him an Internet celebrity in no time."
Wang Ling: "..."
...
Wang Ling had already mentally prepared for Teacher Pan's home visit. He hadn't known how to respond to it at first, but now he thought that the home visit may be an opportunity for Grandfather Wang.
This kind of natural meeting was far more reliable than any sort of casual encounter he could deliberately arrange.
The most important thing was that it would take place at home. The old man didn't have to wander aimlessly alone outside, which was a huge relief to Father and Mother Wang.
When Wang Ling came back in the evening, he was surprised to find Mother Wang in the kitchen by herself for the first time in a long while. Usually, Grandfather Wang would have finished almost all of the cooking by now; Mother Wang just needed to wash the vegetables and act as an assistant. But this time round, the old man hadn't done any cooking at all.
It was very clear that there was something strange in the air in the Wang family's small villa today.
Wang Ling looked at the clock. It was already half past six in the evening.
The old man's favorite soap opera, Two Women and a Man , would be showing at this time. It was a Mary Sue TV series about the epic and bitter war between a mother- and a daughter-in-law.
But today, the old man hadn't turned the TV on ahead of time and waited in front of it like usual...
When Wang Ling entered the living room, he found the old man sitting calmly on the sofa and frowning slightly as he stared at something.
Father Wang was sitting next to him. When he saw that Wang Ling had returned, he straightaway explained in his mind what had happened, and Wang Ling picked up on everything through his Mind-Reading Ability.
The old man had been bored in the afternoon, and had gone to Father Wang's study. Father Wang had a habit of collecting old newspapers, and the old man had a habit of flipping through them for gourmet food recipes. If the old man came across some creative-looking recipes in the newspapers' food columns, he would copy them down himself and then fuse them with his own ideas to create new recipes.
Although he was already retired, the old man felt that he couldn't lose his love for food. Every two weeks, he would send copies of new recipes which he had invented in his free time to the restaurant he had worked for previously.
It was just that today, something had happened when he had been flipping through the old newspapers...
A few days ago, Wang Ling had drawn a picture of Teacher Pan with his Space Sketching Skill. When Father Wang had put it away, it had become wedged between the sheets of a newspaper. In the end, it had caught the old man completely off-guard.
The old man had spent the whole afternoon since then staring contemplatively at the drawing, not even drinking so much as a sip of water.
"Ling Ling, do you think your grandfather's dementia has become worse... or has it eased a little? I think that he's had too much stimulus today," Father Wang murmured in his heart a little guiltily.
Wang Ling: "..."
The old man's dementia was also a tricky problem for Wang Ling; if he used his mental powers to forcefully push his way into the old man's consciousness, there were three possible outcomes, from most likely to least likely.
First: The old man would directly explode on the spot.
Second: The old man would directly turn black.
Third: The old man's dementia would be cured...
Of course, the last outcome was the least likely one.
The other party was his own grandfather, so there was no way Wang Ling would risk experimenting on him like a lab rat.
While father and son stared helplessly at Grandfather Wang, Wang Ling heard the kitchen exhaust fan turn off. Mother Wang took her apron off with one hand as she used the other to open the kitchen door and come out.
She looked at this scene in the living room, and then at the cooked dishes back in the kitchen. In the end, she sighed, and like Father Wang, sat down next to the old man. Together, the couple and the old man stared at this drawing.
"..."
Wang Ling rubbed the skin between his eyebrows, and then slowly told Father and Mother Wang about Teacher Pan's home visit tomorrow.
The three people on the sofa suddenly looked up with thrilled faces. "Home visit?! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Wang Ling: "..."
Father Wang threw his arm around the old man's shoulder. "Dad, that's great, your wish will finally be fulfilled."
As if pressure on his acupuncture points had been released, the old man instantly came back to his senses and started to choke with emotion. "Little Pan... I never expected to be able to see Little Pan again!"
Grandfather Wang was so excited that he almost couldn't control himself; his eyes were very red, and they shimmered with tears that nonetheless didn't fall. It had been a long time since Wang Ling had seen him so excited; he remembered that the last time his grandfather had been unable to contain his emotions was shortly after Wang Ling's birth, when the old man had brought him to his grandmother's tomb at Qingming 1 .
The old man's excitement back then had been tinged with sorrow, but his excitement this time was akin to crying tears of joy.
Father and Mother Wang were glad in their hearts; it seemed that the old man's dementia could finally be cured!
After that, the couple spent the whole night coaching Grandfather Wang on how he should speak once he met Teacher Pan at home tomorrow.
Finally, after some discussion, the couple decided to hide in the study tomorrow and leave the old man and his grandson Wang Ling to do as they liked!
This was also to indirectly help create more space for the old man and Teacher Pan. The presence called Wang Ling would still be there, but he never spoke, after all, so he would be no different to a lightbulb 2 on the side...
...
The next day was Saturday, May 23rd. At around nine o'clock in the morning, the Wang family's doorbell rang.
When Wang Ling opened the door, an exceedingly gorgeous woman was standing in front of him; she wore a light green lace dress and had a long ponytail and fine features.
Then, a familiar voice came out of this beautiful lady's mouth. "Student Wang Ling, good morning, your home is really far... it took me a long time to find it."
Wang Ling felt like he had just been electrocuted. "..." Bloody hell! Beautiful lady, who are you?! Why the hell do you sound like Teacher Pan?!
Qingming is a cultural event where the Chinese clean the tombs of their ancestors and pay their respects. A 'lightbulb' in colloquial Chinese has the same meaning as 'a third wheel.'