Electronic Nezha

Chapter 69 A Thousand Miles Away
Yes, although I knew that Qiao Yan had a daughter named Qiao Yuchen, this was the first time I had met her. I wasn't very familiar with Qiao Yan, and I'd only met her four or five times at most, including the time Liu Zhenhua "ran away from home".

Kids these days are all so tall, some even reaching 1.8 meters before graduating from elementary school. Qiao Yuchen, however, isn't quite that tall; she's already 1.7 meters. With her dress accentuating her height, she looks like a young lady when her back is to us. But even now, standing right in front of us, you can still see the innocence and delicate beauty of someone her age.

Dust removal is better.

The young girl possessed the graceful beauty of a classical beauty, with features resembling those of Lin Daiyu. Her skin was as white as snow, and although her eyes were clearly looking at you when she spoke, you couldn't see any emotional response from her—whether it was liking, being polite, or even disliking you.

I understand, I can understand. She's beautiful and comes from a wealthy family, so it's understandable that she'd be a bit aloof.

Thinking this to myself, I said aloud, "Old Qiao has great genes; the girl inherited all your good looks." That wasn't too much of an exaggeration; Qiao Yan is indeed quite pretty.

Qiao Yuchen suddenly said, "I look more like my mother."

Qiao Yan felt a little awkward, so Han Shiya quickly changed the subject and pointed to Liu Zhenhua, saying to Qiao Yuchen, "This is Liu Zhenhua. According to his age, you can call him Brother Zhenhua." Qiao Yuchen and Liu Zhenhua are the same age, both in the second year of junior high school. However, Liu Zhenhua's birthday is in March, and most of his classmates are from the previous year, so it's not a problem for him to be the younger brother.

Qiao Yan, trying to make conversation, said, "Yes, it's my younger brother."

I feel even more awkward now...

The two children shook hands politely, but it was really just a tap of their fingertips. Liu Zhenhua didn't call her "sister," and the other didn't call her "brother."

"You can just call me Qiao Yuchen."

Han Shiya pressed Qiao Yuchen to sit down next to Qiao Yan, while she sat next to Liu Zhenhua. The five of them sat at a large table, while I sat diagonally across from the other four, all by myself.

The waiter started serving the food. A plate of French bread rolls was brought out, followed by a bowl of cream of mushroom soup for each person. Qiao Yan said, "Lunchtime is short, so let's skip the fancy appetizers and side dishes and just have a comfortable meal."

I said, "That's great! I was worried you'd make a big show of it, thinking that if you drank the handwashing water, you'd end up drinking it too and I'd have to get out of this predicament."

Qiao Yan laughed and said, "This old Liu, he eats my food and still has to criticize me."

Han Shiya said, "Are you talking about Napoleon hosting a dinner party?"

The two children glanced at her together.

Han Shiya said, "Isn't that right? Which European king was he?"

Qiao Yuchen said calmly, "It's Director Wang."

I asked, "Who did Wong Kar-wai invite to dinner?"

Qiao Yuchen said, "This person's name is Wang Dao, and he was the prime minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty."

Qiao Yan said with no small amount of pride, "Look at the kids these days, they've really made up for their lack of cultural confidence. If Yu Chen hadn't told me, I would have thought he was Napoleon."

I said, "Let's all read less of 'Yilin' magazine."

The three adults laughed, while the two children silently drank their soup.

Han Shiya wanted them to participate in the interaction as well, so she suggested, "Why don't you two practice your English conversation?"

As soon as she said that, I knew things were going to go wrong. Forcing kids to have English conversations at an adult gathering is such an awkward move, and the atmosphere that Old Joe and I created with our banter wasn't enough to cause this woman trouble!

Actually, Han Shiya isn't very educated. Why don't you come to me?
Liu Zhenhua perked up a bit at this point, waving his hand and saying, "No, no, no, Mom, if you force me, I'll just have to say 'How are you' in return."

The three adults, as if under a spell, silently recited the corresponding words that followed...

Qiao Yuchen smiled gently and drank her soup with elegance.

Han Shiya said, "Yes, it's good to start with 'How are you'."

Qiao Yan and I said solemnly together, "Han Shiya!"

Han Shiya asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Seeing that she was determined to bring the two children into this, I could only try to change the subject by saying, "Yu Chen, were you playing Liszt's 'Sigh' just now?"

Qiao Yuchen asked in surprise, "Uncle Liu knows about this? What do you think of my playing?"

I shook my head and said, "Your typing skills are superb, and your emotional control is spot on. You should sue your dad if he doesn't pay you!" I love doing things like copying and pasting to reach the word count (even though it's all hand-typed) and showing off my knowledge! As for plagiarizing Liu Zhenhua's ideas, can a father plagiarizing his son be called plagiarism?

Liu Zhenhua remained calm and unfazed. I thought Qiao Yuchen would feel a sense of kinship, but she simply smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Uncle Liu."

Qiao Yan said, "Old Liu, I didn't realize you were such a jack-of-all-trades."

I pressed my hand down hard: "Keep it down, keep it down."

Han Shiya asked, "Zhenhua, how's your math tutoring going?"

Liu Zhenhua and I exchanged a glance, both feeling a headache coming on. What if Han Shiya pressed for details about the tutoring sessions?
Liu Zhenhua forced a smile and said, "My math isn't bad to begin with."

Han Shiya said, "Yu Chen, give your younger brother a question."

Qiao Yuchen seemed a little distracted, then paused and asked Liu Zhenhua, "What score did you get on the last test?"

"85 points." Liu Zhenhua must be regretting his score manipulation now...

Qiao Yuchen said, "That means there's nothing wrong with your foundation. Just be more careful next time." This girl still has high emotional intelligence.

Han Shiya said to us, father and son, "Yu Chen has finished learning all the high school material and is still ranked in the top ten of her grade." Qiao Yu Chen's school is naturally a prestigious school and a strong competitor of No. 3 Middle School. Most of the students who can get into this school come from wealthy and powerful families. Being ranked in the top ten of the grade is a crushing victory for Liu Zhenhua's current ranking.

Han Shiya said to the two children, "You two should add each other on WeChat. If Zhenhua doesn't understand anything, he can ask Yuchen."

It turned out that neither of them had brought their phones. Qiao Yan took a napkin to ask the waiter for a pen, but Liu Zhenhua said to Qiao Yuchen, "Tell me your number, I can remember it."

Qiao Yan gave me a subtle look. If neither of the two adults had a cell phone, and one of them said this to the other, it was actually a polite way of refusing, the subtext being that they would not have any further contact.

Fearing that Qiao Yan might overthink things, I said to Han Shiya, "Why don't you just send Yu Chen's number to Zhenhua tonight?"

Han Shiya's expression stiffened. Qiao Yuchen said, "Aunt Han doesn't have my WeChat." Then she gave Liu Zhenhua a number.

“Okay, I’ve got it,” Liu Zhenhua said.

Actually, I understand Han Shiya's thoughts all too well. Qiao Yuchen, a top student, is the kind of child that other parents would envy. Now, by chance, she has become Han Shiya's "stepdaughter." Han Shiya wants to encourage the advanced to lead the less advanced and to let her stepdaughter create some value for her own son. So she seems a bit impatient and lacks a sense of boundaries.

Human hearts are indeed biased.

The steaks arrived, and we followed local custom by using knives and forks, chatting idly. The two children were happy to be left alone without having to deal with the adults, and neither of us bothered with social niceties, so we ate our meals on our own.

Overall, the meal was a success. When we parted, Qiao Yan and her father saw us to the door, while Han Shiya held an umbrella and followed us all the way to the parking lot.

I glanced back at Qiao Yuchen and said to Han Shiya, "Is that girl usually a bit difficult to get along with?"

“Let’s treat each other with respect, like guests. That child is distant to everyone, and doesn’t talk much to her father.” Han Shiya changed the subject, “Liu Chuanfeng, you’ve become more diligent than before.”

"Ok?"

“I thought you two would be incredibly slovenly without me around, but you’re even cleaner than when I was here. You’ve even learned how to choose the right brand of laundry detergent.”

This is all thanks to Yuan Yuan. Liu Zhenhua's school uniform, which he has worn since childhood, was probably designed by the same person. The cuffs were always white. In the past, they would turn gray or black on Wednesdays and Thursdays. But after Yuan Yuan came along, they have remained snow-white all year round. Han Shiya naturally noticed this. Women's insight in this regard is truly terrifying, especially for women with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Just as I was wondering what to say, Han Shiya asked again, "Haven't you thought about finding someone else, or are you already in a relationship?"

She and my dad graduated from the same spy school, right?
"I'll definitely let you know if I find someone, and then I'll let you oversee things. Go back now."

Han Shiya stood there watching us get into the car and leave, gradually becoming an invisible figure.

On the car radio, someone sang with deep emotion: "I send you off from a thousand miles away, you are silent and black and white, perhaps it is not right for us to love each other from such a distant era."

I said, "Xiao Wu, shut up."

"I didn't sing it," Xiao Wu argued.

"Bullshit! Fan Wei sang 'Far Away'?" It was lunch break time, and Fan Wei's skit was playing on the radio.

"Oh, you don't like Fan Wei? How about Zhao Benshan's version? Want to hear it?"

My son and I said in unison, "Get out!"

(End of this chapter)