A Leisurely and Extravagant Life - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Coming to Seek Trouble
During the first class, Luo Tianwang didn’t even make it through the lesson before he laid his head on the desk and fell asleep.
When class was over, Luo Jingzhi rushed over and shook him hard. “Tianwang, Tianwang, wake up, stop always sleeping!”
She couldn’t wake him up, but Luo Zejun started making nasty remarks. “Jingzhi, you care about Tianwang so much—do you want to be his wife?”
“Zejun, you’re talking nonsense!” Luo Jingzhi immediately flared up like an angry little tigress.
“If you don’t want to be his wife, then why do you care about him?” Luo Zejun kept going, blinking mischievously as he made up a mocking rhyme.
“Luo Jingzhi, marry Tianwang,
Be his wife, share one bed,
Sleep in one stretch,
Till daylight comes ahead.”
Luo Jingzhi rushed at him to hit him, but Luo Zejun bolted and ran, shouting as he went. “Luo Jingzhi, marry Tianwang…”
She couldn’t catch him. Overcome by shame and anger, she collapsed on her desk and burst into tears.
By the time Luo Tianwang woke up, everything had already quieted down. Luo Zejun had been dragged by Zhao Pingshui, who had him by the ear, to stand punished at the school’s only cement ping-pong table.
As soon as Tianwang opened his eyes, Luo Shengui ran over and told him everything that had happened from start to finish.
After school, Tianwang blocked Luo Zejun on the road.
“Tianwang, what are you trying to do?” Luo Zejun looked nervous.
“Not trying to do anything. Just want to reason with you. What exactly did you say about me in class today?” Tianwang asked.
“Don’t listen to others making things up. I didn’t say anything. It was others saying Jingzhi wants to be your wife. I didn’t say that!” Luo Zejun felt that Tianwang’s eyes today looked terrifying. In his panic, he didn’t dare admit he had slandered him.
Tianwang kept pressing forward step by step. Zejun retreated backward until he sat down hard into a thorn bush, screaming as the thorns pierced him.
Tianwang stepped up and gave him two ringing slaps across the face, leaving him dazed.
“If you dare spout nonsense again, I’ll tear your mouth apart.” After kicking him a few times, Tianwang went home.
Not long after, Luo Zejun’s parents brought him straight to Tianwang’s house.
His father, Luo Xingquan, used to be a small trader, traveling through villages selling Hemawan’s malt sugar, sweet wine, and liquor. Though he never went out for migrant work, business was decent enough that the family lived comfortably.
His mother, Liu Songlan, also didn’t go out to work. She fed pigs with the leftover mash from making sugar and liquor. Every year they could raise and sell a few hogs. The family also farmed six or seven mu of land, growing all the grain they needed for sugar and liquor making, meaning there was hardly any cost. Whatever they sold was pure profit.
Because family planning had been strict in recent years, Xingquan and Songlan hadn’t dared have a second child. Their only son was their treasure. So when they saw Zejun’s swollen face and his body covered with scratches, they immediately demanded to know what had happened.
Zejun said Tianwang had beaten him.
The moment they heard that, Xingquan and Songlan exploded. They grabbed Zejun and stormed over to Tianwang’s house. Normally Zejun wouldn’t have dared, but with his parents backing him up, he followed—wanting to see Tianwang get beaten badly.
“Uncle Baolin, Auntie, have you eaten yet?” Xingquan said politely as they entered, not making a big scene.
“Ah, Xingquan, you two! Haven’t had dinner yet? Perfect timing. Stay and have a couple drinks with me later—I still have some liquor left from New Year.” Luo Baolin glanced at them, already knowing without asking that his mischievous grandson must have gotten into trouble again.
“No, no, we’ve already cooked at home. Our stomachs are too big; your pot couldn’t handle cooking for us,” Xingquan laughed.
“What nonsense! My pot can cook enough for a whole table of guests,” Baolin chuckled.
“Uncle Baolin, we actually came about something. We’re all relatives here, and normally we wouldn’t trouble you over a small matter. But if kids aren’t disciplined, it’ll harm them later. I know Tianwang must have just been fooling around with Zejun, but he went too far this time. Look at his swollen face, and all the wounds on his body. How could he use such a heavy hand?” Xingquan pulled Zejun forward and pointed at his injuries.
Baolin looked and said at once, “Aiyo, how did this happen? Really Tianwang? That can’t be. Everyone knows Tianwang just sleeps all day. He’s not the type to quarrel, let alone beat Zejun like this.”
“Zejun, tell Grandpa Baolin—how did Tianwang hit you? Did you provoke him first?” Liu Songlan asked sharply.
“After school, Tianwang blocked me on the road and started beating me right away,” Zejun said, not daring to tell the whole story.
“Zejun! Why don’t you tell them why I hit you? I was sleeping—what business is it of yours? Last time you poured water all over me. Today you spread nasty rumors about me again. I’m warning you: keep it up, and I’ll deal with you properly!” Tianwang burst out from the side, pointing furiously at Zejun. Zejun shrank back in fright, hiding behind his father.
“See? See? He’s trying to hit people right here in front of us!” Liu Songlan shrieked.
“Tianwang, explain clearly what happened!” Baolin demanded. He knew his grandson’s nature—he would never bully others for no reason. Even if relatives came to complain, he wouldn’t blindly scold him.
Tianwang then told the whole story.
Liu Songlan seized on the fact that he admitted hitting. “Even if my Zejun was wrong, you still can’t beat him!”
“Those injuries came from him falling into the thorns. Not my doing. I only slapped him twice. Zejun—dare you say all your injuries were from me?” Tianwang glared at him.
Seeing her son cowering, Songlan grew annoyed. “Zejun, your father and I are right here, tell the truth! Don’t be afraid of him, he won’t dare touch you now!”
“It… it was from me falling,” Zejun muttered, head down.
“Why did I give birth to such a useless child?” Songlan snapped, pinching his arm hard, making him wail.
“Zejun shouldn’t have joked around, but you still shouldn’t hit people,” Xingquan said.
“And what if I spread rumors saying your wife sleeps with the township officials until dawn? Would you tolerate that?” Tianwang shot back.
“Tianwang!” Baolin panicked and quickly stopped him.
Xingquan’s face darkened instantly. “Tianwang, some things cannot be spoken carelessly.”
Songlan’s expression also changed, a hint of fear flashing across her face.
“And you still call Zejun’s words just ‘joking around’? I didn’t tear his mouth apart already—that’s mercy.” Tianwang said coldly.
The reasoning couldn’t go further. Xingquan and Songlan left in embarrassment. Songlan, however, felt uneasy inside, wondering whether Tianwang had simply spoken in anger—or if he had actually caught wind of something.
[TL: Wait, what?! (+_+)]