I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

The package for netting everything runs from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., four hours, and costs five yuan.

As the game neared its end, Yin Mingyang took off his headphones, muttering under his breath, "They're all bots! Three against one and we got killed! Do they even know how to play?!"

After grumbling about his terrible teammates, Yin Mingyang turned to Shen Kang and asked, "Old Shen, what are we having for lunch?"

Shen Kang glanced at him: "Aren't you going home for dinner?"

Yin Mingyang then let out a long sigh and began to complain incessantly: "Old Shen, you have no idea. When I first came back on the first day of the holiday, everything was great. My parents were so welcoming."

"My mom stewed pork ribs, and my dad went out and bought crayfish. I just collapsed on the sofa, and my mom even peeled an apple for me and asked if I was tired from school and if I had lost weight. That night I watched TV until 2 a.m., and my mom didn't say anything. She just told me when she went to the bathroom, 'Go to sleep early, baby.'"

"And then? On the third day, the whole thing changed."

"I got up at ten in the morning, and my mom had already mopped the floor twice. The first thing she said when she saw me was, 'You still know how to get up? Look at the time, breakfast is all cold.' My dad was even more direct. When he saw me holding my phone, he sighed and said, 'You'll go blind sooner or later.' Then he turned to my mom and discussed what would happen if I couldn't adjust my schedule when school started. The two of them got more and more excited as they talked, and their final conclusion was, 'It's all because of the phone.'"

"I've been on winter break for five days now, and do you know what kind of treatment I'm getting? Yesterday at noon I was hungry, so I went to the kitchen and lifted the lid of the pot. There was only some noodle soup left, not even a single vegetable leaf left for me. I asked my mom what I wanted for lunch, and she said, 'There are leftovers from yesterday in the fridge, just heat them up yourself.' The worst part is, I saw some fruit in the living room and wanted to grab an orange, but my mom said, 'Your Aunt Wang is coming over tonight, this is for her, so don't eat it. Besides, you're lying around all day without exercising, so don't eat anything sweet, it'll cleanse your digestive system.'"

Yin Mingyang became increasingly distressed as he spoke.

"Old Shen, listen to this! Is this even human language?! Sigh, before the holiday, some senior students told me that once people went home for the break, their social status would fluctuate wildly within a week, so they should prepare themselves. But I've only been here for five days, just five days!..."

Shen Kang listened and laughed, and subconsciously thought of himself.

Although they are a contract family of four, strictly speaking, there has actually been a "roller coaster" change – last night, Professor Xiao specially went home early and cooked a table full of dishes, and President Zhou even set up a feast.

However, they leave even faster.

Old Yin had at least five days, but he was gone on the second day—early in the morning, Professor Xiao and President Zhou went to work, and President Zhou also took He Qiuzhu with him.

He's completely free-range now.

The two, feeling a bit like each other, ordered a boxed lunch together and ate it at an internet cafe.

Yin Mingyang was quite pleased with himself, and after finishing his meal, he continued his work with great enthusiasm.

Shen Kang, however, was a little bored.

Fortunately, Professor Xiao sent a text message—Professor Xiao is quite efficient. He said he asked a few friends and put together a simple book list, which was also attached to the text message.

Since Shen Kang was bored anyway, he said goodbye to Yin Mingyang, then hung up the phone and went out, riding his old bicycle to the nearby Xinhua Bookstore and wandering around for a while.

These books are probably too obscure; most of them are not available in this Xinhua Bookstore.

After wandering around, Shen Kang found two books: one was "Computer Organization and Design: Hardware/Software Interfaces," and the other was "Understanding Computer Systems."

Among them, "Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective" is an introductory book, while "Computer Organization and Design: Hardware/Software Interfaces" is an advanced book.

After buying the book on the spot, Shen Kang took it back to the internet cafe. He sat down next to Yin Mingyang and began to devour "Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective".

:

The internet cafe was warm and cozy with the air conditioning on, filled with the smells of smoke and instant noodles.

There were relatively few people in the morning, but the number increased significantly in the afternoon, and the seats were almost full. Some people were shouting "Back up! Back up!", some were cursing their teammates, and others were banging their keyboards loudly.

Shen Kang read through the pages one by one.

When you get tired of reading, put down the book and play a few rounds of games with Yin Mingyang.

Reading for a while and playing games for a while felt quite fulfilling, and the afternoon passed by in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that it was almost time, Shen Kang packed up his books and prepared to go back for dinner.

After receiving a phone call, Yin Mingyang grabbed his sleeve, his eyes filled with expectation: "Old Shen, Huang Jing invited me to dinner. Will you come with me?"

Shen Kang was annoyed: "Why are you two having dinner and asking me to come over and be a third wheel? I'm not going." As he spoke, he tried to break free from Yin Mingyang's hand.

Yin Mingyang wouldn't let go: "It's not just Huang Jing, but also several of her friends, whom I don't know. They said they heard she got a boyfriend and started making trouble, asking her to bring him over to see. I don't know any of them, so I'm a little nervous. You need to give me some encouragement."

"Is someone treating?" Shen Kang asked.

Yin Mingyang shook his head. "Huang Jing said it's AA."

Upon hearing this, Shen Kang continued to struggle, "They're not going to eat you, what are you afraid of? Besides, an ugly daughter-in-law will eventually meet her in-laws, and you'll have to let go one day."

"I'll pay for your share, Lao Shen!" Yin Mingyang said, feeling quite pained.

Shen Kang immediately stopped struggling and grinned, "Hey, what's with the money? It's just that we've been buddies for so many years, it's my duty to give you courage."

As she spoke, she stood up, grabbed Yin Mingyang's arm, and urged him on, "Let's go, hurry up, or the food will get cold."

"..."

Yin Mingyang got up and followed Shen Kang outside. When they were almost at the door, he couldn't help but say, "Old Shen, I really suspect that you taste the saltiness of every manure cart that passes by, just so you don't miss the chance to take advantage."

"Look at what you're saying, what do you mean by taking advantage? I call that quality control."

……

Several tables were set up outside a coffee shop.

As dusk approached, a group of seven teenagers sat here, divided into two tables. Some were drinking hot milk tea, while others were hunched over and scrolling through their phones.

There weren't many people, but they were making quite a commotion. The guy at the next table named Gu Pengfei was twirling a ZPP metal lighter between his fingers, dropping it every couple of times, and cursing as he did so.

"...So if Gu Pengfei hadn't brought it up, you really weren't planning on telling us?" Xia Nan, the girl sitting opposite Huang Jing, complained.

Huang Jing smiled, "It's not that I don't want to say, it's just that I feel it's not time to go that far yet."

:

Lin Miaomiao, who was wearing glasses and looked like a quiet, well-behaved student, suddenly spoke up: "So, how far have you two gotten? Have you slept together yet?"

Xu Siyu, who was drinking milk tea nearby, suddenly spat out a mouthful of milk tea, causing several girls to scream and stand up, chattering excitedly.

The boys over there also looked this way and started laughing.

Luckily, the milk tea didn't spray onto anyone; half of it landed on the table and the other half on the floor. After a little cleaning up, it was fine.

The girls sat down again.

Xia Nan complained, "Just drink milk tea, why are you spewing nonsense, Xu Siyu? I never knew you were so watery."

Huang Jing was exasperated. "Hey ladies, can't we at least chat a little more politely?"

Xia Nan rolled her eyes at her. "You're both adults, and there are no outsiders here. What are you pretending for?"

Xu Siyu, who had just spat out her milk tea, then turned her anger towards Lin Miaomiao, saying, "If Miaomiao hadn't said those inappropriate things, why would I have spat it out?"

Xia Nan said, "You know Miao Miao, she seems more well-behaved than anyone else, but deep down she's just a repressed pervert..."

Go to Must Search

Huang Jing chatted idly with the other women, occasionally glancing towards the east end of the road to see if Yin Mingyang had arrived.

Huang Jing's family used to work at Yangcheng Department Store.

These three girls, and the three boys next to them, all grew up in the staff quarters of the department store.

Logically, Huang Jing should have taken the initiative to introduce Yin Mingyang to them, but after what happened at school, Huang Jing became more cautious: when she was dating Yin Mingyang at school, she immediately introduced him to her circle of friends, but Yin Mingyang didn't seem to get along very well with them.

After that incident, Huang Jing became more cautious, thinking that she would introduce Yin Mingyang to them when the opportunity arose. However, she didn't expect that Gu Pengfei would hear about her having a boyfriend from somewhere and bring it up today.

As soon as Gu Pengfei brought it up, everyone naturally started making a fuss.

Huang Jing tried to deflect the question a couple of times, but everyone wouldn't let her off the hook, saying things like "an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws eventually." In the end, she had no choice but to call Yin Mingyang over.

Next table

With the girls' chatter subsiding, the boys turned their attention away.

Gu Pengfei turned the lighter again.

My deskmate, Cheng Haohao, said, "Alright, Dafei, stop spinning that crappy lighter. I know you just bought a new ZPP."

Then she leaned closer and lowered her voice, "So, what's the guy Huang Jing found like?"

At this table, the last guy, Chen Yue, finished sending a text message, put his phone down, and smiled: "What's he like? From what Xie Yuan said, he's just an ordinary college student. He's decent-looking, and his family seems to be both working, with average salaries. That's about it."

Cheng Haohao scoffed, "That's it? I thought it was something special."

:

Then, quite puzzled, he asked, "Why don't Huang Jing and Xie Yuan end up together?"

Chen Yue tapped his phone lightly on the table and said, "What do you know? Huang Jing and Lao Xie grew up together. It's precisely because they're too close that there's no spark. If you suddenly make Lao Xie disappear from her sight for two years, she might suddenly remember how good he was..."

Gu Pengfei continued twirling the lighter, ignoring the comment.

He grew up with Xie Yuan and Huang Jing in the staff quarters of the department store. Although it was called a staff quarters, it was actually a small community connected by several alleys.

Back in the days of department stores, businesses were microcosms of society. They not only paid wages but also provided housing, healthcare, education, bathing, and movies. There were staff canteens, bathhouses, kindergartens, and clinics. Adults spent half their lives standing behind a counter, while children chased each other through the same alleyways for the same amount of time.

Everyone in the building knew what everyone ate for lunch, whose elderly relative was hospitalized, and whose couple was arguing late at night. Kids didn't need to be picked up from school; they could just walk through the back door of the building, through the warehouse, and find their way home. On weekends, everyone sat in the same row at the movies, using company receipts. In the summer, a row of small stools lined the street; adults chatted about salaries and titles while fanning themselves, and kids squatted under the streetlights taking pictures.

Later, the department store went out of business, and some people were laid off, some were transferred to other jobs, and some went to work in the far south.

But the family compound is still there.

The house is old, and the people are old, but that feeling of "we are all in this together" is like water in a well, never reaching its bottom even in a drought.

Huang Jing is a girl who grew up by this well, as is Xie Yuan, and all of them are.

For Gu Pengfei and his friends, Huang Jing's dating life was never just her own affair. It was about an outsider trying to enter the circle of friends they had grown up in.

Especially for Gu Pengfei, there is a feeling that he always considers himself the "big brother" in this circle and loves to watch "Young and Dangerous".

Now, facing Yin Mingyang, whom he had never met before, he felt a strong sense of "Kid, do you even have the right to try and seduce our women?"

Gu Pengfei stopped turning the lighter and slammed it onto the table.

Cheng Haohao and Chen Yue looked over.

Gu Pengfei said in a low voice, "We're not trying to bully anyone, but we can't just move a chair for them before we even meet them, can we?"

Cheng Haohao was eager to try: "Definitely. Let's see what they're made of..."

As they were talking, Chen Yue noticed that Huang Jing was looking in one direction.

He followed Huang Jing's gaze and looked over there.

Gu Pengfei and Cheng Haohao also looked over.

Under everyone's gaze, they saw two people coming from the other end of the street.

Both of them were riding bicycles. The one on the left was alright. Although he was of average appearance and his bicycle was also average, at least his overall demeanor was normal.

The one on the right, with his rusty old bicycle, is quite eye-catching. There are two thick books in the basket in front of the bike, and he is wearing a gray cotton coat.

If he were to wear black-rimmed glasses, he would completely embody the image of a right-wing intellectual from the last century.

"...I've been transported to another world?!"

:

Cheng Haohao couldn't help but make a comment.

At this moment, Huang Jing had already stood up and went to greet her.

Xia Nan and the others, along with Gu Pengfei and the others, exchanged glances and then got up and followed.

When they reached the street, the two stopped their bicycles, got off, and held the handlebars with one hand, watching the oncoming group of people.

"This is Yin Mingyang, this is his friend Shen Kang, this is Xia Nan..."

Huang Jing gave everyone a brief introduction.

Gu Pengfei and the others then realized that the boy with the normal appearance was Yin Mingyang, and the "rightist intellectual who traveled from the last century" next to him was Shen Kang.

Chen Yue looked at Yin Mingyang, then at Shen Kang.

If it were just Yin Mingyang coming alone, he would definitely think that this person was really just so-so.

But people are afraid of comparison.

Now that these two people have come together... Chen Yue suddenly felt that this Yin Mingyang seemed pretty good? — At least he wasn't an idiot, he was a normal person.

After exchanging greetings with the others, Xia Nan looked at the boy named Shen Kang with some curiosity in her eyes: "Shen Kang, are you still in high school? Did you just finish class?"

"No, I went to university."

"Then why do you carry books with you at all times?"

Xia Nan pointed to the two thick books in Shen Kang's bicycle basket.

The group glanced at it and all noticed the word "computer" on the cover of the book—it was a textbook, for crying out loud.

The college students who attended the party were truly amazed; they had never heard of anyone bringing textbooks before.

"oh."

Shen Kang glanced at the books in the basket and explained, "I don't have any other hobbies. I just like reading and studying. I really enjoy learning."

"..."

"..."

: