19. You actually got married!

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Zhang Tan and Little Bai came out of the kitchen—one curled up on the sofa, the other still sitting on the small stool. Zhang Tan asked anxiously, “Are you really okay not going back? What if Teacher Xiao Liu can’t find you?”

“Let her try looking first,” Little Bai replied.

Zhang Tan was speechless.

Such a talkative little one.

Still uneasy, he grabbed his phone and sent a message to Teacher Xiao Liu, telling her that Little Bai was here and asking her to keep it confidential from the principal.

“I’m going to watch a movie. Want to watch with me?”

“Sounds great! Are you watching ‘Fake Old Master and the Windmill’?”

What on earth is that?

“No, I’m watching a movie for adults.”

“Then I’ll watch with you! Watching TV is my specialty.”

Every field, every skill is your specialty.

Zhang Tan didn’t bother arguing; he started the movie and continued watching. The protagonist was fleeing, searching for a water source, and gulping down water greedily.

Glug, glug—

Little Bai swallowed her saliva.

“...” Zhang Tan asked, “Do you want some water?”

Little Bai nodded.

Zhang Tan went to pour water but found the purified water just ran out. So he looked in the fridge and found a bottle of Little Bear drink, asking, “Is it okay to drink this? There’s no drinking water at home.”

Little Bai agreed, then curiously asked what it was. She examined the bottle carefully—left, right, up, down—and noticed it looked somewhat like her little slippers; both had little bear patterns.

“This is a drink that children all over the world drink.”

All children in the world? Then what about the children at Little Red Horse Academy? Are they not children? None of the children here drink Little Bear drink.

Little Bai took the bottle absentmindedly, then noticed some alcohol in the fridge and exclaimed, “Uncle, you drink alcohol!”

Pointing at the beer in the fridge, she warned, “You must not drink alcohol.”

That was leftover from cooking two days ago.

“I don’t drink alcohol.”

“Don’t lie.”

“I really don’t. It’s just for cooking.”

Actually, Zhang Tan had a drinking habit. The old Zhang Tan was a heavy drinker. Though he was trying to overcome it, occasionally the craving still surfaced.

Little Bai wasn’t convinced. She sat on the small stool next to his feet and earnestly urged him not to drink.

Zhang Tan’s head started buzzing from her persistent nagging. Annoyed, he stopped watching the movie and suggested going downstairs for a walk.

Hearing that, Little Bai stood up and asked hopefully, “Uncle, will you play with me?”

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Football again? Are you a fan, little one?

Zhang Tan said, “It’s too late, and you’ll sweat. Let’s go look at picture books and sing and dance with the other kids.”

Little Bai hugged a glass jar with crickets inside and said, “Those little creatures aren’t interesting; they’re too small and not fun.”

Aren’t you bigger than them? You’re actually among the smallest few.

After taking Little Bai downstairs, Zhang Tan told her a story about the Windmill and the Old Master, then slipped away.

Back home, he saw the small stool with a bottle of Little Bear drink left on it—Little Bai had placed it there.

Zhang Tan picked it up and saw the cap was unopened. She hadn’t drunk it. He immediately felt guilty for forgetting to open it for her.

He took the bottle and went downstairs looking for Little Bai...

The next day, Zhang Tan bought some tea leaves and fruit at the mall and brought them to Aunt Huang’s home. The door was opened by a young woman whose features combined the most distinctive traits of Aunt Huang and Uncle Huang—she had Aunt Huang’s small eyes and Uncle Huang’s large face, looking very fortunate.

This was Huang Meimei, Aunt Huang’s daughter, 24 years old.

“Who are you?” Huang Meimei asked, puzzled, not recognizing Zhang Tan.

“It’s me.”

“??” Huang Meimei was even more confused. “No, it is you, but who exactly are you?”

“King of Heaven Covers the Earth Tiger.”

Huang Meimei was shocked: “Zhang the Rascal?”

“...”

“Is it really you? Zhang the Rascal???”

She couldn’t believe it. She leaned in to study Zhang Tan’s face closely and found that it was indeed the same former rogue Zhang Tan. She never expected such a big change after only one semester. She couldn’t help but marvel.

“You’ve changed so much, Zhang the Rascal. Is this still you?”

Zhang Tan sighed, “Meimei, just call me Zhang Tan.”

Huang Meimei looked at him with curiosity and stepped aside, “Come in first, let me take a better look.”

Zhang Tan glanced down at the gifts in his hand, all for Uncle Huang and Aunt Huang—none for Huang Meimei!

He should have bought two packs of sanitary pads.

Next time.

No wonder Huang Meimei’s company trusted her to be on a business trip alone for two weeks. With a mouth and appearance like hers, she was definitely safe.

“Zhang Tan’s here? Come in and sit,” Aunt Huang greeted warmly, appearing from the kitchen.

Behind her, Uncle Huang also appeared, smiling: “Zhang Tan, you can chat with Meimei first. I’m shelling beans.”

“You go ahead. I’ll put these down,” Zhang Tan said and started chatting with Huang Meimei.

Huang Meimei exclaimed, “My mom said you’ve changed a lot. I didn’t believe her.”

Zhang Tan replied, “Now do you believe it?”

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Huang Meimei shook her head, “Still don’t believe it. You’re probably pretending. Old habits die hard.”

Zhang Tan glanced at the TV, where a cartoon was playing—the very “Fake Old Master and the Windmill” that Little Bai had been shouting about.

“Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘A prodigal son’s return is worth more than gold’?”

Their conversation wasn’t so much a chat as Zhang Tan proving he was truly himself and telling Huang Meimei about his transformation.

After lunch, Aunt Huang asked Huang Meimei to accompany Zhang Tan for a walk.

Uncle Huang watched them leave and asked Aunt Huang uncertainly, “Are you trying to set them up?”

“They won’t get along.”

“Why? Afraid Zhang Tan can’t change?”

“Zhang Tan is so handsome, Meimei is plain. She wouldn’t go for him.”

“...Who talks about their own daughter like that?”

“Only because she looks like you!”

“Looking like this is what puts parents at ease. Actually, I’m still worried about Zhang Tan. Who knows when his old nature might return.”

“Enough chatter, go wash the dishes!”

Outside, Zhang Tan and Huang Meimei wandered through the urban village. Though it was an urban village, it wasn’t shabby; it retained the authentic street style of Pujiang, full of life.

They stopped at a small roadside stall. Huang Meimei was picking hair ties, while Zhang Tan glanced around and noticed some small socks—yellow, red, white; some plain, some multicolored, some with cartoon patterns.

Zhang Tan picked two pairs. The stall owner, an auntie, said, “Ten yuan for five pairs.”

Huang Meimei looked over curiously, “Zhang Tan, why buy kids’ socks? These are for children.”

“I know they’re for kids.”

He picked five pairs, all different colors and with cartoon prints.

“No, Zhang Tan, you’re buying kids’ socks? Who are these for?”

Huang Meimei asked with curiosity.

“That’s a really thoughtful question. Of course, they’re for kids.”

Huang Meimei stared at him for a while and asked, “You don’t have kids, do you? Do you really have kids? Which girlfriend had your baby?”

Zhang Tan ignored her and told the owner, “Just these five pairs. Please put them in a bag.”

Leaving the stall, Huang Meimei grew more excited and pressed, “Zhang Tan, you’re not really a dad, right? That’s why you’ve changed so much? Having a family, becoming a father, a sense of responsibility comes, and everything changes…”

Zhang Tan interrupted, “I don’t have kids. These are for a little friend at the academy.”

Several times Little Bai had come to his place and taken off her little shoes, revealing socks with holes. Just now at the stall, seeing small socks reminded him of her, so he bought some—ten yuan for five pairs—consider it the cost of an ice cream, saving Huang Meimei’s money.

Speaking of ice cream, he immediately bought one at a street shop. There was only one; Huang Meimei didn’t get one because her share went to buying socks for Little Bai.

Huang Meimei: “...”

After a moment she reacted, “Zhang Tan, you’ve become stingy.”