Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 55 Framing the blame
Looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, Wang Chengpeng sighed and said, "I don't doubt your abilities, nor do I think your requirements are too high; it's just that my ambitions lie elsewhere."

"Although no profession is superior or inferior, being a chef is not my dream."

"I may regret it in the future, but at least I don't regret it now."

A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger; youth is the time of recklessness!

Wang Chengpeng didn't say anything about whether his future would definitely be more promising than being a chef.
As someone his age, he believed that An Qiuyun would understand his thoughts, which were the kind of youthful energy that every young person possesses!

As expected, after hearing what Wang Chengpeng said, An Qiuyun decisively abandoned the idea and said:
"Although it's a bit of a shame, I still respect your decision."

"It's a real shame that we can't eat such delicious lunches often..."

"Alright, alright, we were just talking about good things, why did the atmosphere suddenly become so sad?"

"Thank you for your hospitality, Comrade Wang. It's getting late, so I'll head back to my quarters to rest now."

"Comrade Wang, you should get some rest too."

As soon as she finished speaking, An Qiuyun stood up and walked back without waiting for Xia Mingyue.

Seeing this, Xia Mingyue quickly followed.

There isn't much time for everyone to take a lunch break, so every minute and second is precious.

This was just a minor incident and wouldn't affect Wang Chengpeng's pace at all.

Because he took leave in the morning, which took up a lot of time, even though Wang Chengpeng was an excellent worker, he still finished his assigned tasks a little late.

Adding to the travel time, by the time Wang Chengpeng returned home, he could already smell the aroma of dinner.

However, before Wang Chengpeng could even enter his own yard, he was stopped by Wang Chun'an, who had been waiting for a long time, who said:
"Cousin, you've finally arrived."

"I really appreciate it if you lent my dad the bicycle this morning, otherwise we might not have been able to get things done so quickly."

"However, it's time to return the bicycle now that you've borrowed it. It's currently parked in my yard, so you should hurry up and ride it back to return it."

Wang Chengpeng looked at Wang Chun'an with some surprise, really not understanding the other's thought process.

Since the other party has already come to my door and has obviously been waiting for me for some time, why can't he just ride his bicycle to return it?
Thinking about this, Wang Chengpeng directly asked the question that had been bothering him, saying:
"I already told Jianhua's grandfather when I borrowed the car that it was my uncle who borrowed it, so why don't you just return it?"

"I just got back and haven't even been able to get into the yard yet. It's not really appropriate for you to ask me to return the car now, is it?"

If the honest Wang Chun'an had been told that by Wang Chengpeng, he would have been so anxious that he would have scratched his head and couldn't think of a way to refute it.

However, under the influence of Wang Jinshan, Wang Chun'an is now completely different from before, having undergone a radical transformation.

After a brief moment of thought, Wang Chun'an came up with a reason and said:

"After all, you borrowed this bicycle from Grandpa Jianhua. It's best for you to return it to him since you don't need to bother him twice."

“Cousin, come on, I’ll take you back on my bike now. When we return the bike, you can ride Grandpa Jianhua’s bicycle. It won’t take much time.”

There was a problem, definitely a big problem, Wang Chengpeng immediately became alert.

Something unusual must be going on. He didn't believe that Wang Chun'an had traveled all this way just to ask him to return the bicycle.

If I go there, there's definitely something fishy going on.

Unable to figure out the reason, Wang Chengpeng thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll go."

"But at least let me go home to put my things down and do some washing up."

"I'm not as particular as my cousin; I'm not exactly clean after I've just finished working."

A fleeting look of joy crossed Wang Chun'an's face, but it was immediately spotted by the astute Wang Chengpeng, who realized something was amiss. Seeing that Wang Chengpeng had agreed to his demands and had fallen into his carefully laid trap, Wang Chun'an no longer pressed the issue, and said magnanimously:
"Alright, cousin, I'll wait for you for a while."

As he walked into the house, Wang Chengpeng pondered how to break the deadlock.

Seeing Wang Meiyan approaching, a brilliant idea was born in Wang Chengpeng's mind, and he immediately made a plan.

After dawdling over the washing, Wang Chengpeng quietly called Wang Meiyan over and said:
"Little sister, I have something to ask you to do."

"After my cousin and I leave, tell Dad to take some things and ride his bicycle to Grandpa and Grandma's house to find me right away."

"If your father asks why, just tell him that he only needs to trust me."

"Oh, by the way, if we run into Dongzi, tell Dad to take him along too."

It's already dinnertime, and the diligent and studious Wang Zidong should be coming to find me soon. If we happen to run into him, I can ask him to be a witness.

Man proposes, God disposes.

Wang Chengpeng has done everything he could; now all that's left is to see if his father, Wang Tieshan, believes in him.

Everything was fine when he came; if he hadn't come, Wang Chengpeng would probably have had to suffer in silence, since he's unreasonable in some ways.

After dawdling for a while, Wang Chengpeng finally got on his bicycle and went with him to the courtyard where he used to live, amidst Wang Chun'an's impatient urging.

After the family split up, the two households were not exactly close.

Fortunately, they had bicycles, so it didn't take too much time. Before long, the two arrived at Old Wang's courtyard.

As soon as he parked his bicycle, Wang Chun'an pointed to the borrowed bicycle and impatiently urged:

"Cousin, the bicycle is right there. Hurry up and ride it over to return it."

Why are they making me pick it up instead of delivering it?

Wang Chengpeng immediately became suspicious and said, "Cousin, you see, when I gave the bicycle, I delivered it directly to Uncle."

"I was helping out, so when it's time to return the bicycle, shouldn't you at least push it in front of me?"

Wang Chun'an was surprised that Wang Chengpeng was unwilling to retrieve it, and immediately found himself in a dilemma.

If Wang Chengpeng doesn't go to get the bicycle, how can he trick him and shift the blame for kicking the bicycle to pieces onto him?
He immediately came up with an idea and said, "Cousin, even though we've separated our households, it's still our own home. Don't be so polite."

"Didn't you see that I'm parking the car? You can go get it yourself, so you can return the bicycle to Grandpa Jianhua sooner."

If they wouldn't even grant his small request, Wang Chengpeng was almost certain there was something fishy going on, and he dared not make a move.

Without saying a word, she just stared straight at Wang Chun'an, as if to say, "I won't take it unless you push it towards me."

This situation made Wang Chun'an's scalp tingle. For the first time, he felt that his seemingly harmless cousin was actually so difficult to deal with.

He couldn't think of a solution, so he could only bury his head in the sand and pretend that he couldn't see or know anything.

In the end, Wang Jinshan, who had been hiding to the sidelines, couldn't stand it any longer and reluctantly stepped forward.

After suffering repeated setbacks at Wang Chengpeng's hands, he finally realized that Wang Chengpeng was not someone he could easily manipulate.

Unable to bear seeing his son suffer, Wang Jinshan pretended to have just arrived and said:
"Nephew, you've arrived!"

"You're here at this hour? Have you eaten yet? If not, why don't you grab a bite here?"

(End of this chapter)