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  Chapter 144: Misfortunes Never Come Alone

  I bid farewell to everyone and boarded the bus heading home. Logically, when a school expels a student, they should notify the parents, but from start to finish, my dad and mom never showed up - was it because they had given up on me? The answer could only be revealed once I got home.

  My feet are planted on the soil of Dongguan Town, and my head is spinning with dizziness. Every blade of grass and every tree here, I am extremely familiar with, and even with my eyes closed, I can walk back home. This is my hometown, but it's also a place that I have dubbed "nightmare-like". Back then, I went through great difficulties to get into the city's top high school, just so I could leave this place behind and never see those classmates who had bullied me again.

  In the past, every time I walked on these streets and alleys, I couldn't help but lower my head and hunch over, afraid of accidentally running into Zou Yang and classmates (in fact, whether or not we ran into each other had nothing to do with whether I lowered my head or not). But now, I walk with my head held high, confidence shining in my eyes, striding boldly down the road. Perhaps, experience really can change a person.

  The wide street gradually turned into a narrow alley, with low and small houses on both sides. This is an ordinary area of Dongguan Town, and my home is at the end of this alley, where a peach tree is planted in front of the door. The peach tree was deliberately planted by my mother to block the dust raised by passing vehicles, so as not to drift into our slightly low courtyard wall.

  This house was built for less than 3,000 yuan over a decade ago and is now on the verge of collapse, as if it could be blown away by a gust of wind. It's been leaking rain in the summer and wind in the winter for years. The closer I get to home, the more anxious I feel. Pushing open the slightly ajar door, I see a small courtyard that has been tidied up by my mother. I don't know if my parents are aware of my expulsion, but as soon as I enter the courtyard, my previous confidence vanishes, replaced by the image of their expectant faces, hoping for me to make something of myself. How disappointed will they look when they see me? My heart is racing and almost jumping out of my chest.

  I walked through the courtyard and came to the main house, pushed open the not-so-sturdy wooden door, and unexpectedly found my parents both at home. My father was sitting beside the dinner table smoking a cigarette, while my mother sat on the sofa wiping away tears, both of them with faces full of worry and gloom. My heart sank, but I still said: "Dad, Mom, I'm back."

  My mother didn't scold me, but continued to wipe away tears and sob quietly. My father looked up at me and said, "How come you came back without bringing anything?" It was clear that he already knew everything, and my heart felt even more distressed.

  "Dad, mom. Sorry." I said softly, without even the courage to sit down. No matter how brilliant my achievements were in the city, they were worthless in front of them. "It's okay," Father said: "I'm sorry."

  "What?" I said in confusion, not understanding what it meant. My father didn't say anything else, puffing on his cigarette one mouthful at a time.

  "Mom, what's going on?" I walked up to my mother and gently grasped her hand.

  Her mother's hand trembled slightly, and the tears in her eyes became more uncontrollable: "Dad... he was laid off."

  My mind is buzzing, my father works as a worker in a state-owned enterprise and is the only one who goes to work in our family. All the expenses of daily life depend on his meager salary. Now my father has been laid off, which means that our family will have no income at all!

  "When the roof leaks, it's bound to rain all night." Father shook his head slightly: "Disaster does not come alone, disaster does not come alone..."

  My father was laid off and I was fired. It's really a case of misfortunes never come singly. This family, which was already struggling to make ends meet, has been dealt another blow.

  "My son, I'm too ashamed to face you." The father sighed: "I wish I could rush to school on the day I was expelled, patting my shoulder and saying it's okay, we'll just change schools. But I'm not a rich man, nor am I an official, just a poor ordinary person, how can I say such things, how can I comfort you?"

  "Dad..." My tears flowed uncontrollably, wanting to say something to comfort my father, but it all got stuck in my throat.

  "Don't cry," said his father. "Son, don't cry."

  I wiped away tears and looked at Father.

  "Being laid off, it's nothing. I know I have a clear conscience. Same with me, I was also laid off and I have a clear conscience." My father took a deep breath: "No matter how difficult life is, we still need to move forward. Next step, I plan to go out and find work, huh?"

  "I...". I suddenly found that I couldn't say the two words "vocational school" out loud. If Dad and Mom knew I wanted to go to vocational school, they would be heartbroken. They've already suffered too many setbacks, I couldn't bear to add insult to injury at this moment.

  "Haven't you considered which school to go to yet?" Father said calmly, "Don't worry, I and your mom will definitely support you, even if we have to sell our pots and pans. I believe in your ability, you can get into university no matter which high school you attend!"

  The mother, who had been wiping away tears, also said: "Right, Dad and I have thought about it. You've always been a well-behaved child, and being expelled isn't the result we wanted either. It's okay, students from Chenggao High School are in high demand at other schools. Switching to another school is just as good for studying peacefully, so don't be too upset, Dad and I won't blame you."

  My parents are now facing the biggest problem in their lives, but they still have to comfort me who was expelled. I'm extremely sad, feeling like being stabbed by something. My parents hope that I can attend high school and take the university entrance exam, if they knew that I wanted to go to a vocational school... I dare not think about it anymore, which would undoubtedly make them even more sorrowful.

  "Don't worry about the financial situation at home," Mother said. "Dad has gone out to work and earns more than he did in the factory. I'll just go find some cleaning work to do, and supplementing our household expenses is absolutely no problem, got it?"

  "Go to Beiyuan No. 7 Middle School." Father said suddenly: "That school is close to the city, it shouldn't be too bad. I think other schools in Beiyuan City are not good either. Hao Hao, when you go to the new school, study hard and don't fight with others again."

  "Uh-huh." I nodded. How could I refuse? How could I bear to refuse?

  "It's settled then." Father stood up: "In the next few days, help me finish the transfer procedures, and I'll leave to work outside. I reckon I still need to pay some money, so I'll go borrow some." And he walked out of the door with a wobble.

  "Dad, I'm going with you!" I hurriedly caught up and went out with my father.

  "Old Wang, it's not that I don't want to lend you money, but these past few days have been tight for me too..." The Li in front of him had a difficult expression.

  "I know I know." The father said: "The son also has to go to university, right?"

  My father and I came out of Mr. Li's house, this was already the seventh house we had entered, but still empty-handed. It wasn't that the people here were not kind-hearted, it was just that everyone was really poor. If they weren't poor, they wouldn't have ended up living in a place like this.

  "Go and take a look at Old Sun's house again." Father said: "Old Sun is doing business, he usually has some spare money on hand."

  As soon as he entered Old Sun's home, a series of wailing sounds came from inside, and Old Sun was being pinned down by his robust wife.

  "Give me 10 bucks to buy soy sauce, and when you come back, you say the change is lost? Do you think I'm an idiot?! Old Sun's wife was furious: "Tell him, don't even think about taking a single penny from me!"

  My father and I didn't even say a word to Old Sun, we just walked out. Standing on the road, we all looked worried and unhappy.

  "Let's go see Old Zhang again......" Father sighed and headed towards Old Zhang's house once more.

  I followed behind my father, looking at his slightly hunched back, and my heart was filled with a deep sense of sorrow. I thought about the 50,000 yuan that I had left with Ye Zhan, if only I could give it to my parents, it would definitely alleviate their immediate financial difficulties. At that time, workers' wages were generally only a few hundred yuan, and house prices were around 700 yuan per square meter, so 50,000 yuan was enough to buy an entire apartment. But how could I possibly give that 50,000 yuan to my parents in a way that would seem reasonable? As I pondered this question, I looked up and saw a lottery ticket shop across the street.

  "Dad." I exclaimed suddenly.

  "What?" Father turned his head around.

  "Buy a lottery ticket."

  "What's the point of buying that thing?" Father shook his head, he would never believe that good things come easily.

  "We've had enough bad luck already." I said: "Don't care about this lottery ticket, what if it's the opposite, and we just happen to win?"

  "That makes sense!" My father smiled and took me into the lottery store, pulled out two dollars to buy a ticket, and carefully filled in the numbers on it. This was his first time buying a lottery ticket; he had always thought that he would never be lucky enough to get rich. After buying the ticket, my father carefully put it in the pocket of his jacket and said to me, "Let's go, continue borrowing money."

  Borrowed several more, still no success, had to go back home first. I looked at the time and saw that it was almost time for school to be over, so I quietly went out of the house, took out my phone and called Ye Zhan's house, telling him what happened.

  "I'll send the money over tomorrow," said Ye Zhan. "But are you sure you're going to Bei Qi?"

  "It's settled." I said: "Things are already like this at home, and I don't want to make Mom and Dad worry anymore."

  The next day, Ye Zhan brought the money over. I hid it first, then casually stuffed a few bills into my pocket and went with Ye Zhan to that lottery ticket shop. Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one in the store, I put a few bills on the counter: "Boss, help me out..."

  After settling everything, I took Ye Zhan home and had him stay for lunch. I introduced Ye Zhan to my parents as my best friend from high school, and they were very enthusiastic about him, also liking this good-looking guy, holding his hand and talking non-stop, as if Ye Zhan was their own son. Ye Zhan was also not polite, treating my parents like his own, calling them "Uncle and Auntie" and making the old couple laugh happily.

  The person playing the zither said:

  New scroll begins, mixed in Bei Qi's ri zi. Go, exterminate those seven dragons and six phoenixes!

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