Chapter 46: If I Don't Listen to You, My Yingzi Will Be Doomed? He Chen: Hard to Say!

Song Qian felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

Was this really supposed to be a science popularization lecture for the Chang'e lunar exploration project?

This was clearly her daughter wanting to pull a Chang'e herself—stealing the elixir of immortality and bolting straight up to the moon!

The moment she realized her daughter was so resolutely determined to leave her behind, the blazing fury that had just filled her chest felt as though it had been doused with a bucket of icy water. The sudden clash of fire and ice left her head ringing just like her daughter's had moments ago, completely dumbfounded.

No, this wasn't right!

She knew her daughter wouldn't be happy with the scene she had made, but she had long since grown accustomed to managing her daughter using the carrot-and-stick approach.

Once they got back, she would buy a projector immediately, transform their home into a planetarium-like atmosphere, and act as her daughter's sole audience. If that wasn't enough, she could even call over her one-on-three private tutoring students to serve as audience members as well.

By then, her daughter would surely feel the depth of her maternal love.

Given her daughter's tender-hearted nature toward her mother, this page would definitely be turned over.

So what on earth was happening right now?

"Let go of Yingzi!" Song Qian was completely bewildered, but Qiao Weidong was not. Seeing his daughter pull such a stunt, he completely forgot about trying to restrain his ex-wife. He rushed over, covering ground so fast in three strides that he practically transformed into Bai Zhantang, the martial arts master whose lightness skills surpassed Chu Liuxiang. His expression was a mix of heartbreak, anxiety, and sheer exasperation.

Just as he often told his daughter, even though he had been divorced from his ex-wife for so many years, the reason he never got annoyed—and kept smiling—whenever his ex-wife fiercely lashed out at him during their meetings was simply because she had given him such a smart and beautiful precious daughter.

He thanked his ex-wife from the bottom of his heart, which was why he was willing to endure it.

And now, his own precious little cotton-padded jacket had actually been taken such enormous advantage of by this punk in broad daylight!

The old father's heart was utterly shattered!

"Uncle Qiao, let's not speak sheer nonsense with our eyes wide open!" Hechen teased, gesturing with both hands spread wide apart to show he was completely maintaining a proper distance.

"……Yingzi, get down!" Qiao Weidong stammered to a halt. In truth, he knew this matter couldn't really be blamed on Hechen, but he still shot a glare at Hechen—who had "taken advantage and was now acting all innocent"—before pulling his daughter away and softly coaxing her.

"I won't!" After venting her pent-up fury to the fullest and managing to shock her emotionally out-of-control mother, Qiao Yingzi snapped back to her senses from the impulsive state of extreme pressure. Logic and shyness reclaimed the high ground of her intellect, and for a moment, she had no idea how to gracefully step down. So she simply turtled her neck, buried her face straight into Hechen's chest, and stubbornly refused her dad's urging to face everyone directly.

"Let's head outside first!" Seeing that Qiao Yingzi had a tight grip and knowing she wanted to play the koala to hide away, Hechen reminded the anxious Qiao Weidong, who was still trying to coax her. He started walking toward the exit, carrying himself with such effortless casualness that people almost forgot he still had a full-grown person clinging to him.

Qiao Weidong had no choice but to follow.

Song Qian finally snapped out of her daze and chased after them in a jog.

Once they reached a secluded spot, seeing Song Qian rush over with her mouth open ready to cry and scold again, Hechen directly borrowed the "classic Bai family quote" Qiao Yingzi had used earlier: "Don't push me! Don't push me!"

As he spoke, he made a motion as if to wrap his arms around Qiao Yingzi, who was still clinging to him. This scared Qiao Weidong into hurriedly grabbing Hechen's arm and shouting at his ex-wife, "Will you speak properly and stop backing Yingzi into a corner!"

"The return capsule has successfully landed on Earth, astronaut Qiao Yingzi, prepare for egress!" Hechen patted Qiao Yingzi's back and joked, "Do you choose Chinese-style egress, or American-style egress?"

Pfft!

After venting, Qiao Yingzi—who was currently feeling mortified over her own daring actions—couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing Hechen's words.

As an aerospace enthusiast who aspired to join the China National Space Administration and participate in the Chang'e lunar exploration and even the broader sea of stars, Qiao Yingzi knew everything there was to do with space history. Naturally, she understood that Hechen was making a veiled reference to the controversies surrounding the American moon landings.

The crucial point was that using it here was both fitting and hilarious.

At any rate, it instantly amused her, overshadowing the sense of shame in her heart, and her legs didn't feel quite so weak anymore.

Seizing the opportunity, she climbed down from Hechen, her "return capsule." Although her physical state aligned more closely with the scientific common sense of a Chinese-style egress, the thought of facing the parents waiting behind her made her opt for the "sci-fi heavy" American-style egress instead.

That meant completely disregarding the effects of a zero-gravity space environment on astronauts (the various factors such as bone mass loss, muscle atrophy, cardiovascular system changes, and vestibular system disorders in the brain). She didn't need any assistance to exit the capsule or rely on a wheelchair; she simply stepped right out and strode forward with ease.

The moment her feet touched the ground, Qiao Yingzi turned and bolted.

Song Qian didn't even have time to settle scores with Hechen; she hastily ran after her daughter.

Qiao Weidong did the same, but Hechen blocked his path. He was almost amused to the point of anger. "You should be secretly thanking your lucky stars that I'm not giving you a hard time, and yet you're blocking me?"

His own cabbage was being devoured by a pig, and the old father's heart ached with bitter sorrow.

"Uncle Qiao, stop grinning, let's talk business!" Hechen said with a solemn expression. "Haven't you noticed? Qiao Yingzi's mental state is extremely dangerous!"

"Who's grinning?" Qiao Weidong, unaware that he always seemed to drift into a comical state in Hechen's eyes—reminiscent of the funny Old Bai—retorted indignantly, only to instantly tense up upon hearing the following sentence.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see it?" Hechen warned him. "Qiao Yingzi was genuinely driven to the brink of a breakdown by her mother. This time she merely took advantage of me, but I shudder to think what she might do next time! You should consider yourself lucky that this landing had me acting as her return capsule."

"No way... absolutely not!" Qiao Weidong understood Hechen's implication, his face draining of color as he refused to accept such a possibility.

Yet his rational side told him that what Hechen described wasn't out of the realm of possibility. This sort of tragedy wasn't exactly unheard of—did it not happen every single year?

"My Yingzi would never..."

Despite saying that, he looked pleadingly at Hechen, silently begging him to retract his words.

"It's hard to say..." Hechen, however, shook his head. "With the pressure of the third year of high school, combined with an emotionally unstable mother constantly pushing her to the limit, if we don't find a solution soon, it's really hard to say."

Having mastered martial arts, his spirit, energy, and vitality had undergone a comprehensive upgrade, rendering his sensory perceptions extremely sharp. He could clearly sense that Qiao Yingzi was indeed teetering on the edge of a breakdown, and one misstep could genuinely lead her to do something foolish.

It was precisely because he had keenly perceived this that he had hesitated repeatedly moments earlier.

If he had stopped her right then and there in plain view of everyone, Qiao Yingzi likely would have overinterpreted it, crushing her heart further and driving her to bypass Hechen and bolt straight outside. In that compounded state of grievance and surging fury, unthinkable tragedies could happen in a split second of impulse.

That was the real reason he ultimately decided not to dodge and allowed Qiao Yingzi to take advantage of him to vent and retaliate against Song Qian.

Retaliating against and striking back at Song Qian was merely secondary.

Qiao Weidong's expression flickered continuously as genuine fear gripped him.

Young people understood young people better, let alone a unique youth like Hechen, whose sharp insight had once driven a lecturer to autism and whose single remark had brought a collapsing daughter back to laughter.

Even though that earlier scene had been an absolute eyesore for an old father, he had no choice but to take Hechen's warning with utmost seriousness.

And while he was pondering and asking Hechen what they should do, Song Qian had caught up with Qiao Yingzi. After the mother and daughter hugged, cried, and reconciled, they walked over hand in hand. Seeing this, the anger that Song Qian had just managed to soothe instantly erupted all over again.

"Qiao Weidong, what on earth do you think you're doing?!!!"