ECG -Chapter 93 Wearing Fine Clothes at Night

After a while, Xia Yumeng and Jiang Rong also came over. Wu Xiaozhou was still joking around with the two girls in his usual carefree manner. Lin Hao felt that there was something in the way Jiang Rong looked at Bai Zhitao; it was a strange feeling, and perhaps even they themselves were unaware of it.

Cui Gang was a little shy, but it was also obvious that he liked chatting with Jiang Rong. He was always trying to please her for no reason.

After the lights were turned off, Jiang Rong and Xia Yumeng both left. Wu Xiaozhou quietly asked Cui Gang, who was lying on the opposite middle bunk:

“Old Cui, you’ve fallen for her?”

Cui Gang was still holding his small mouthpiece and just chuckled without answering.

“If you like her, then go for it!” Wu Xiaozhou said.

Lin Hao sighed inwardly. If his feeling was correct, Jiang Rong probably liked Wu Xiaozhou. But Cui Gang and Wu Xiaozhou didn’t have many similarities. This was destined to be a one-sided love.

Bai Zhitao felt that the blankets on the sleeper train were dirty, so she covered herself with her white down jacket instead. Closing her eyes, she thought of the way Xia Yumeng had looked at Lin Hao and felt that Xia Yumeng definitely liked him.

Thinking of Chu Xiaomei, she still felt that Xiaomei and Lin Hao were a better match. Yet Lin Hao had never shown any intention of taking things further with Xiaomei. Could it be that he liked Xia Yumeng?

In terms of appearance, Xia Yumeng was indeed more eye-catching than Chu Xiaomei, and her personality was pretty good too. Chu Xiaomei was more like a tomboy. But after spending so much time with Xiaomei over the past year or so, her feelings naturally leaned more toward Xiaomei.

Then she thought again: so what if Xia Yumeng was great? She studied at the Normal University, which was far from the Arts College. It seemed unlikely that she and Lin Hao could work out; it was too inconvenient. Besides, from the way Lin Hao acted, it seemed he didn’t have those kinds of feelings for her either.

Thinking about it carefully, she realized she had never seen Lin Hao show interest in any girl. Some girls from their Class Three, Piano Major, even said behind his back that he was arrogant. Others said he might have a problem with his sexual orientation. Some even went further, saying that because they often saw him together with Wu Xiaozhou, the two of them might have that kind of relationship.

Fortunately, she and Wu Xiaozhou had gotten together, so the rumors naturally collapsed. But thinking about it now, it was rather amusing.

Everyone drifted into a deep sleep amid their own random thoughts, accompanied by the monotonous sound of the train tracks. When they opened their eyes again, the sky was already bright, and Cui Gang was preparing to get off.

They had finally arrived at Chunhe. After getting off the train, everyone could feel the atmosphere of their hometown, while also feeling its coldness. The temperature here was at least five or six degrees lower than in the provincial capital.

Since they lived in different directions, Xia Yumeng and Jiang Rong took a taxi first, agreeing to go out together for fun after a few days.

Lin Hao and Wu Xiaozhou first escorted Bai Zhitao home. Bai Zhitao’s family lived in Hexi, and it was said that both of her parents were teachers.

At the entrance of Bai Zhitao’s apartment building, Wu Xiaozhou lingered with her for quite a while. If the taxi driver hadn’t gotten impatient, he probably wouldn’t have wanted to leave.

When Lin Hao opened the door to his house, he immediately smelled the fragrance of braised pork. Lin Qingsheng was wearing an apron and carrying dishes out of the kitchen. Seeing Lin Hao enter, he loudly asked:

“Son, are you cold?”

“Freezing cold! Dad, why did you make so many dishes first thing in the morning?”

“To give you a proper meal and help you regain your strength!”

Lin Hao hadn’t dared tell him about his hospitalization, so when he heard the words “regain your strength,” he felt guilty and didn’t dare answer. He quickly put down his suitcase, changed his shoes, and took off his coat.

During the meal, he praised his father’s cooking skills for improving, then said:

“Dad, from March until summer vacation, and then all the way until winter vacation, I earned a total of eighty thousand yuan singing at the bar. After we eat, I’ll go to the bank and withdraw it for you!”

There was already quite a lot of money in his bank account now.

Fenghua Fashion had compensated him fifty thousand yuan. Meiying Music had bought three of his songs, each for two hundred thousand yuan. Han Ying had given him another one hundred thousand for two songs, and he had sold another song for one hundred thousand. That alone totaled 1.3 million yuan.

Then there was the money he earned from singing at the Ferry Bar and selling flower baskets over these ten months, which added up to nearly ninety thousand yuan.

He had spent some of it, of course, but mostly just on food and similar things. It wasn’t much.

Nearly 1.4 million yuan—at this time, it was absolutely an enormous fortune.

One had to know that even his family’s old house was worth less than one hundred thousand yuan. But he still couldn’t let his father know about this huge sum of money. The main reason was that it would be too difficult to explain, so he could only slowly let the truth seep in.

“What?” Lin Qingsheng was startled when he heard that it was such a large amount of money. “Son, you didn’t do anything illegal, did you? Let me tell you, Dad may be poor, but I make a living with my own two hands. I don’t steal or rob, and my conscience is clear. You absolutely can’t…”

Looking at his father’s long lecture, Lin Hao secretly sighed. Having money but not being able to let anyone know about it—this was the textbook definition of “traveling in splendid clothes at night.” Fortunately, he hadn’t revealed the full truth. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have scared his dad into fainting?

After Lin Qingsheng finally finished talking, he said, “Dad, I sing at a bar every night. It’s 200 yuan a night, and I can also get a share of the money from the flower baskets customers send. So this money was earned through my own effort too!”

“Don’t worry, son won’t do anything illegal. This money is absolutely clean! Besides, after the New Year, someone else wants to buy songs from me. I should be able to earn even more!”

He needed to slowly get his father used to the idea and let him understand his ability to make money.

“Dad, it’s too cold right now. How many people even ride bicycles in this weather? I think you should just stay home and rest through winter!”

Lin Qingsheng was very happy. Although he had earned some money in Chunhe last year, he had never imagined that while other people’s children spent money going away to study, his own son could actually go to the provincial capital to study and still earn money—and earn this much!

His son’s singing used to be pretty bad. How did he suddenly become so talented?

And he had even switched from the art department to some music department. In his entire life, he had never even touched a piano, so how did his son suddenly learn to play?

Actually, he had already had these doubts last year. But after thinking about it, he just let it go. After all, he was his own son, and he always felt that his son couldn’t possibly lie to him.

This time, seeing him bring back so much money, he couldn’t help becoming suspicious again.

Lin Hao didn’t have mind-reading abilities, but he could still tell what his father was thinking. So he spent quite a while explaining.

“Dad, I find it strange too. You know I never had any interest in music before. But last year, during the graduation performance, our class teacher forced me to go on stage, and it was like I suddenly figured everything out!”

“After that, everything just kept getting smoother. The more I sang, the better I got. When I switched departments, I just casually played around on the piano, but somehow I actually passed…”

“Alright, alright, stop talking. You’re my son. How could your dad not trust you?” Lin Qingsheng waved his hand and stopped Lin Hao. “As long as the money wasn’t earned illegally, Dad is happy!”

“Why withdraw it? I’ll give you the bankbook. Keep some pocket money for yourself and put the rest into the account!”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “Put it in a three-year fixed deposit. The interest is higher!”

Lin Hao could only nod repeatedly.

What did it mean to be filial? It meant going along with your parents. Whatever they said, just let them have their way.

“Also, about not letting me set up my stall—that won’t do!”

“Dad, it’s too cold…”

Lin Qingsheng lit a cigarette. “People are like this. The thing they fear most is staying idle. Stay idle too long and you’ll become like a fool! Besides, I’ve been setting up my stall on that street for several years now. Whose bike tire goes flat that doesn’t come looking for me?”

“Think about it. In this freezing weather, if they can’t find me, they’ll have to push their bicycles all the way home. What are they supposed to do?”

“I’ll just take half a month off during the first month of the lunar year. If I stay idle too long, your dad will feel uncomfortable all over…”

“Alright, alright, Dad. I won’t try to persuade you anymore. Just take care of yourself. As long as you don’t freeze yourself for the sake of earning a little money!”

Lin Hao knew he couldn’t convince him, so he could only give in.

After enjoying a week at home, Lin Hao called Wu Xiaozhou.

“What’s your situation, kid? You’ve been back for a week already and you haven’t shown your face once!”

“What’s wrong? We’ve lived together for almost a year. Seeing each other every day still isn’t enough? If you haven’t had enough, I have!” Wu Xiaozhou said while laughing.

“Damn!” Lin Hao was amused and angry at the same time. “What are you up to?”

Wu Xiaozhou gave a mischievous laugh. “I’m at the mall shopping with Taozi!”