Chapter 38: The Most Difficult Thing

Lu Fan laid everything out for his parents. First, he was laying the groundwork so they wouldn't be too shocked when he earned more money later, saving him the trouble of explaining himself repeatedly. Second, he wanted them to give him more time and space, to stop being so restrictive, and to stop treating him like a child.

Sure enough, as he finished his last sentence, Lu Dawei picked up the leather belt from the gift box and sighed, "It seems this thing won't have much use anymore." His tone was a mix of gratification and melancholy.

Xia Hongying laughed, "Why wouldn't it have a use? If he does something wrong, you can still give him a thrashing. There isn't a father in the world who can't discipline his son. No matter how much the son achieves, he's still the son."

Lu Dawei brightened up, "You're right, dear. I like the sound of that. A father disciplining his son is only natural."

Lu Fan remained silent on the side. *Between my two lives, I've lived longer than the both of you combined. The amount of salt I've eaten...* That wasn't entirely objective, but it was probably true that he had eaten more rice than Bai Shuang.

Bai Shuang was very well-behaved; she didn't interrupt the adults and just focused on eating. Lu Fan pushed the spicier dishes toward her. In his past life, she had loved spicy food; she could hardly enjoy a meal without it. To his surprise, Bai Shuang bypassed the spicy dish and reached for something else.

Curious, Lu Fan asked, "Bai Shuang, do you not like spicy food?"

Bai Shuang looked up, her face twisted in a pained expression. "I like it, but I’m afraid to eat it."

Xia Hongying chimed in with a laugh as she moved the dish back, "The steamed fish head with chopped peppers we had the day before yesterday gave her a sore bottom for two days. Why are you making her eat spicy food? Children should stick to something mild."

Lu Fan felt a bit embarrassed. She was too young now and likely hadn't developed a stomach for spice; he had been careless.

"I think Brother is doing it on purpose, trying to make my bottom hurt," Bai Shuang complained, pouting. "The day before yesterday, he kept insisting I eat that fish head full of peppers."

Lu Fan swore to himself that he definitely hadn't done it on purpose. In his past life, steamed fish head was one of her absolute favorite dishes.

Bai Lu coughed and said sternly, "Bai Shuang, how can you be so rude? You don't know what's good for you."

Scolded, Bai Shuang stopped eating, her eyes turning red. Xia Hongying felt a pang of sympathy and hurriedly patted Bai Shuang's head. "It's alright, it's alright. We're just chatting; Bai Shuang is a very good girl."

"Lu Fan, when will your college entrance exam scores be available? Don't miss it."

Lu Fan thought for a moment. "July 27th at noon. I'll come back then and we can check them together."

Xia Hongying calculated, "That's five days away. Don't you forget."

"How could I forget? Seven to fifteen days after the scores come out, the admission notice will arrive."

"Good. Once the notice arrives, we'll hold a graduation banquet for you. I'll let you know the date once we've set it. Also, your father and I want to take you back to our hometown; we'll need to host a couple of tables there as well."

"That sounds great. It's been a long time since I've seen my grandparents."

"My son is truly amazing—good at his studies and capable of earning money. Much better than some people."

Lu Dawei didn't take offense, laughing, "Without me, would you have birthed him yourself?"

Xia Hongying glared at him, "With the children here, what kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

"Eat, eat!"

After the meal, Lu Dawei was in a rush to head to work. He wandered out, a piece of paper and a pen in his pocket, and ran to the motorcycle to record the frame and engine numbers. He believed Lu Fan when he said he had bought the bike, but he wasn't sure if the seller might have stolen it. Back at the station, he pulled out the list of reported stolen motorcycles and checked them one by one. Only when he reached the end with no matches did he heave a sigh of relief. His son’s motorcycle was clean.

Xia Hongying left for work when the time came, leaving only the three of them at home. Bai Lu was washing the dishes. Bai Shuang wanted to keep watching TV, but Lu Fan stopped her. He took her math textbook and wrote down three word problems for her to solve. When she ended up chewing on her pencil for ages without solving a single one, he felt a surge of frustration. She wasn't doing well in school, yet she spent all day thinking about TV.

In his past life, Bai Shuang only truly began to apply herself after Liu Yue'e passed away. She had struggled through high school, worked hard for three years, and eventually got into a top-tier university. But in this life, because of Lu Fan's arrival, the Bai family's fate had been altered; naturally, Bai Shuang wouldn't have to endure those hardships. Relying on her to realize it on her own would be difficult. He had no choice but to use external pressure to force her to focus on her studies.

This was a headache for Lu Fan. A few days ago, he had been a stranger; there was no emotional foundation in this life. If he suddenly showed her such meticulous concern, it would be easy for others to misunderstand his intentions. Since Bai Shuang couldn't solve the problems, he couldn't be too harsh. He could only ask Bai Lu, who was washing dishes, "How are Bai Shuang's grades? Where does she rank in her class?"

Bai Lu said, "Let Bai Shuang tell you herself."

Bai Shuang said aggrievedly, "Maybe around tenth?"

Bai Lu let out a cold snort and continued, "Tell the truth!"

"Last place!"

Lu Fan sighed and comforted her, "Elementary school covers very few topics—probably only about five percent of the total knowledge you'll need through middle school. Bai Shuang, you'll be in fifth grade after the summer, and middle school starts next year."

"From now on, if you study hard, it's not too late. During the summer, just review the material from first through fourth grade. When you get to fifth grade, if you pay attention in class, you'll be able to keep up. Middle school is when you'll really need to put in the effort."

Bai Shuang nodded, then glanced obscurely at the clock on the wall.

Lu Fan continued, "You find studying boring now because you haven't put your heart into it. Once you immerse yourself, you'll find that studying is much more interesting than watching TV. The sense of achievement and joy you get from figuring out a math problem you once couldn't solve is far beyond what any entertainment like TV can offer."

"Watching TV stimulates our senses and gives us fleeting pleasure, but that's low-level. Once the show ends, the joy vanishes. True, high-level joy comes from self-discipline in pursuit of higher intellectual goals. It brings deep satisfaction to the mind and builds a powerful inner strength."

"Uh... do you understand?"

Seeing the clear yet vacant look in Bai Shuang's eyes, he knew his words had been wasted. Still, perhaps not entirely. At the very least, the person washing dishes had slowed down her pace.

"Bai Shuang, review your work at home. When you're tired of studying, go run around the little plaza outside. Remember, do not leave the neighborhood."

"There are many children playing in the plaza. Go play shuttlecock, jump rope, or toss beanbags with them. Exercise will help you grow tall!"

"Also, don't play with the little boys. Boys your age are usually quite mischievous."

Bai Shuang nodded in agreement.

"Brother, can I watch TV now? *Hulu Brothers* has already been on for five minutes, and it's only two episodes long."

Looking at the homework paper, Lu Fan was stunned by little Bai Shuang's shamelessness. *I gave you three problems, and you only wrote the word 'Answer'. You still have the nerve to ask to watch TV? I wasn't this shameless when I was a kid! Even if you had gotten one right, or even if you had gotten all three wrong but showed me you tried, that would be different. But this...*

Half an hour later, Lu Fan and Bai Lu stood in the business hall of the local cable station.

"Sir, are you sure you want to cancel the cable service for this year? The initial 200-yuan installation fee is non-refundable. If you want to get it reinstalled later, you'll have to pay the installation fee again."

"Cancel it."

As they walked out of the hall, Bai Lu still looked worried. "Lu Fan, is it really okay to just cancel it? What will Uncle and Auntie do if they want to watch TV?"

"They're adults; what do they need to watch TV for?"

"But adults need some entertainment too!"

"Don't worry, they'll manage!"