“Just the other day I received your red envelope, and now you’re asking for it back right away,” Class Teacher Xiang Ming said, a helpless smile on his face.
That’s right. Just a short while ago, they had all come to this same hotel for Xiang Ming’s wedding banquet. Now it was his turn to host a college admission banquet.
If the class teacher had felt no qualms about sending him a wedding invitation, why should he hesitate to send out college admission invitations in return?
However, today Xiang Ming wasn’t accompanied by his wife. Instead, he was surrounded by the school’s leadership.
When Mo Xiangwen had gone to deliver the class teacher’s invitation earlier, the school leaders had been there too, even joking about wanting one themselves.
Naturally, he had grabbed a few extras on his way back and handed them over as a gag. He hadn’t expected them to actually show up.
Given their important status, Mo Xiangwen personally escorted them inside and selected suitable seats for them.
When he returned, however, he spotted Cai Yibin standing inexplicably in front of the hotel.
“Cai Yibin? Didn’t you go inside with the other classmates earlier?”
Hearing him, Cai Yibin turned around, saw Mo Xiangwen, and managed a wry smile. “Lao Mo, when I went looking for the restroom just now, I suddenly spotted two very familiar people.”
With that, he pointed toward a pair chatting animatedly with Mo Chenfeng and Zhou Xiuqin.
“Hey, guess who those two are?”
“Your parents, obviously. It’s not like I haven’t seen your mom and dad summoned to school by the class teacher before,” Mo Xiangwen chuckled.
“Damn it, can’t we skip the embarrassing stories on a happy day like this?” Cai Yibin’s face fell as he grumbled. Eager to avoid dredging up each other’s skeletons, he quickly changed the subject. “Aren’t you curious why they’re chatting with your parents for so long?”
“They know each other?”
“You knew they knew each other?”
“Of course not.”
“Hey, then guess how they know each other.”
“Too lazy to guess. Just tell me.” Mo Xiangwen shook his head.
“You’re no fun,” Cai Yibin sighed, but he got straight to the point. “I only found out today myself—your mom actually works at our family’s factory.”
That explained it. Mo Xiangwen realized he had never paid attention to that detail.
Seeing no reaction from him, Cai Yibin continued, “I left home separately from my parents, but we all ended up at the same place. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bothered taking the bus.”
“Your parents drove here?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what they’re talking about?”
It was just a casual question, but to his surprise, Cai Yibin actually nodded.
“Earlier at home, I mentioned that my grades were thanks to my desk mate’s help, so they were brainstorming how best to thank you.”
“What grades are you talking about?” Mo Xiangwen asked distractedly, his mind elsewhere.
“Is that the point?” Cai Yibin looked dumbfounded but answered honestly anyway. “A regular second-tier university. Not as good as yours, but pretty decent for me.”
“No need to thank me. You would’ve gotten in with or without my help,” Mo Xiangwen said, shaking his head. “Besides, didn’t you already write that thank-you letter?”
“Damn, please don’t bring that up.” Cai Yibin cursed. “I only did it because the class vibe swept me along. Thinking back now, it’s mortifying.”
“Tell your parents it’s unnecessary. I didn’t really help you that much.”
“I don’t care what you think—I care what I think.” Cai Yibin shook his head too. “It might be awkward saying this to your face, but everyone in class was motivated by how hard you pushed yourself.”
Hearing that, Mo Xiangwen suddenly felt goosebumps prickle his skin.
“You’re nuts. That was my own business.”
“You still taught us how to solve problems during breaks.”
“That’s just normal between classmates. If someone asks a question, a real expert wouldn’t hold back.” Mo Xiangwen sighed. “Even if you went next door to the Key Class, they’d help you out too.”
“Hey, just drop it. We’re not giving you anything material anyway.”
“How so?”
Hearing it wasn’t a gift eased his mind—no debt owed there.
“I overheard them earlier. The factory has a supervisor position open, and they’re planning to offer it to your mom.” Cai Yibin shrugged. “Auntie’s got the seniority and skills for it—no issues there.”
“I was put in that role for some on-the-job training myself. Honestly, there’s hardly any workload. You just need to know the factory inside out, and everyone has to be willing to listen to you.”
Mo Xiangwen glanced over at Zhou Xiuqin, her face practically blooming with smiles as she chatted with them. He immediately understood.
He had been planning to open a small shop for his parents, letting them ease into retirement. But that would take some time to prepare.
Besides, if even Cai Yibin called it easy, it probably was.
“Alright then. Thanks.”
It was light work that would also give his mom that promotion glow—what was there not to like?
Still, the situation reminded him that surviving the Gaokao wasn’t the end of it.
He needed to step it up and figure out a way to set his parents up with a cozy retirement shop before next year.
Something like a combo spot for lottery tickets, smokes, booze, and sodas—that should be pretty laid-back.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want them to retire outright. Anyone familiar with their generation knew they didn’t idle well.
If they were stuck at home with nothing to do, they’d just get gloomy.
And once bored and unhappy, they’d start hounding him.
Like nagging about marriage. Nagging about marriage. And more nagging about marriage.
Their logic was ironclad: If you won’t let us work, we’ve got nothing to fill our time, so you better give us a grandkid to look after.
Lost in these thoughts, he suddenly noticed Cai Yibin’s parents approaching alongside his own.
“Hello, Uncle Cai, Aunt Cai,” Mo Xiangwen greeted them.
“You must be Mo Xiangwen. Thank you for helping Little Cai with his studies.”
Cai Yibin’s father didn’t strike him as a typical boss—more like a seasoned technician.
As for Cai Yibin’s mother, out of politeness, Mo Xiangwen didn’t stare, but she reminded him a lot of his own mom.
“No need to thank me, Uncle Cai.” Mo Xiangwen flashed a polite, professional smile. “Helping each other out is just what classmates do. Cai Yibin helped me plenty too.”
“Haha, hearing that puts my mind at ease.” Cai Yibin’s father smiled. “You’re a good kid. It’s a shame Cai Yibin can’t go to the same university as you.”
“Sigh, what can you do? The kid only hit a second-tier school, miles behind someone in the national top ranks at a top first-tier uni,” Cai Yibin’s mother said, shaking her head.
Though her words sounded that way, her tone held no real blame for Cai Yibin.
It made sense. They had probably expected a third-tier at best; a solid second-tier was beyond their hopes.
“Cai Yibin worked really hard,” Mo Xiangwen said, deciding to put in a good word. “With this experience behind him, he’ll keep pushing forward. Uncle and Aunt can rest easy.”
“Haha, as long as that’s the case, we’re good.” Cai Yibin’s father nodded with a laugh.
Mo Xiangwen glanced at Cai Yibin, who had shrunk into himself like an ostrich at the side, and couldn’t help but smile wryly.
The weight of parental authority was still beyond what he could defy.
After all, Cai Yibin wasn’t some hopeless delinquent—just a bit playful, like everyone had been at that age.
“Uncle, Aunt, it’s getting late. The food should be coming out soon. Let’s head inside and take our seats,” Mo Xiangwen suggested.
The group had no objections and chatted amiably as they found their places.
At the banquet, for the first time, he saw his father drinking with his old buddies.
In his memories, his dad never touched a drop. Yet now, his face flushed red, he was arm-in-arm with his friends, laughing uproariously.
His father might not have been bragging outright about his son to the group, but he had to be feeling at least a bit proud right now, didn’t he?
