"I thought nobody wanted it, really didn’t steal." Even though caught red-handed, Lin Li insisted he was truly innocent.
"Save it for the police to explain." Bai Bufan sneered.
"Fine, I’ll call Uncle Yang to solve this fairly and justly." Feeling the discomfort of not being trusted, Lin Li sighed.
Fair and just, my foot.
The memory of only being allowed to take study aids while Lin Li took the prepaid cards was still fresh. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel★fire.net
They went downstairs, got in the car, and the vehicle started heading to pick up Qu Wanqiu.
Qu Wanqiu’s house wasn’t too far from here, and if there was no traffic, they could probably get to her place in ten minutes.
Bai Bufan apologized to the two girls for being ’late.’ After sitting for a while, he felt something amiss and looked at the silent Lin Li beside him.
Why was this guy so well-behaved?
Bai Bufan nudged Lin Li with his shoe, using his eyes to inquire about it.
Lin Li jerked his head towards Chen Zhongping.
"Driver Sir—" Bai Bufan immediately understood and spoke up.
"This uncle is the class rep’s dad." Lin Li introduced this time.
"Driver dad—driver uncle—hello uncle!"
Bai Bufan was very polite, first greeting Chen Yu Ying’s dad verbally, and then using his eyes to greet Lin Li’s dad, mom, grandpa, grandma...
He greeted the entire family tree.
If that isn’t considered polite, then nothing is.
"Hmm." Chen Zhongping just nodded slightly, his expression calm.
After meeting Chen Zhongping’s gaze, seeing the stern face, Bai Bufan understood why Lin Li was behaving so well.
Bai Bufan wasn’t good at dealing with elders either, so he too behaved.
Soon, they picked up Qu Wanqiu, and the vehicle officially started heading towards the mountain pavilion.
"You two... why do you feel so uptight?"
It was genuinely odd for Lin Li and Bai Bufan to quiet down. Especially so calm after getting together, that was hard to overlook, prompting Chen Yu Ying to question them.
"Right, how come Lin Li isn’t even checking his phone? Shouldn’t he start watching those borderline videos by now?" Ding Sihan also queried.
The subtle gazes from the rearview mirror instantly sharpened.
Lin Li gulped, thinking, Xiaodingding, the parents are here, you’re killing me...
Bai Bufan laughed awkwardly, "No, no problem."
That subtle gaze concentrated solely on Lin Li.
"No, just enjoying the scenery." Lin Li could only say.
"Does it have to do with my dad?" Chen Yu Ying seemed to have keenly picked up the now single difference from their outing.
"But I’ve already told dad about your personality, you don’t need to worry about earlier. He knows you mean no harm."
Chen Yu Ying spoke earnestly and naturally.
Otherwise, she would’ve stepped in to explain for Lin Li when he said those long sentences earlier.
Ding Sihan also nodded, she was no slouch with emotional intelligence. She dared to ’defame’ Lin Li in front of Chen Zhongping precisely because Chen Yu Ying had informed her beforehand.
Lin Li looked up at the rearview mirror.
The other party averted their gaze.
Class Rep, did you really say it?
Doesn’t seem like it.
Lin Li blinked, took a deep breath, if this was the case...
A life without cheeky banter is no different than living as Bai Bufan!
"Class Rep, your dad is indeed glaring at me, I’m really too scared to misbehave..." Lin Li mustered up his courage, deciding to tattle, but his voice was still weak.
The car went quiet for a few seconds.
"Dad!" Chen Yu Ying angrily turned her head, trying to make eye contact with her father at the wheel.
"No! I wasn’t glaring at him, let him act up as he wishes!" Chen Zhongping hastily denied, appearing a bit flustered.
"Really! Especially when you guys talk to me, your dad glares at me even more fiercely, Bufan can attest, he was also glared at."
Seeing Chen Zhongping fluster, Lin Li was emboldened, bolstered by borrowed strength, directing his gaze at Bai Bufan.
Bai Bufan gritted his teeth.
Lin Li had started the confrontation, and he must join the fray!
"Exactly! Uncle has been glaring at us the whole time!" Bai Bufan concurred.
"Dad!" Chen Yu Ying raised her voice a bit more, frowning with clear displeasure.
"I didn’t." Chen Zhongping was still stubborn.
Lin Li covered his eyes with his arm, voice trembling, "His glare was so intense I could barely speak, almost making me cry."
Bai Bufan copied, "I want to cry too."
If not for Chen Yu Ying’s heads-up earlier, Lin Li would’ve stayed silent until Chen Zhongping left, knowing full well that in front of an elder whose first impression was negative 100, acting up meant a death sentence.
Not everyone was going to like his personality, Lin Li was fully aware.
But now, sorry uncle, since you’ve heard the truth about me—let nature be unbridled!
"I feel so aggrieved now, constantly wondering if I did something wrong to deserve such treatment." Lin Li continued embellishing, fanning the flames was the best.
"I feel the same, like I’ve turned into a criminal." Bai Bufan parroted, disrupting the father-daughter relationship was the best.
"I’m even thinking of going home, at least at home I won’t feel ." Lin Li kept going.
Realizing there was no ’echo’, Lin Li confusedly looked at Bai Bufan: "Why did you stop?"
Bai Bufan laughed sheepishly, pointing not far away, "My house is over there, I’m afraid uncle might actually take a turn and drop me home. Earlier, after hearing your stories, my mom seemed to consider abandoning me, I wouldn’t feel comfortable going home, can’t join in on this."