PDLP Chapter 19: Selectively Becoming "Someone Else's Child"
Chapter 19: Selectively Becoming "Someone Else's Child"
Luo Jinnian was beaten again.
"I met a very handsome boy today. If you were even a tenth as handsome as him, you wouldn't be struggling to get acting roles every day."
The middle-aged woman might be face-blind. Luo Jinnian thought she recognized him after looking at him for a long time on the street, but in reality, she didn't recognize her own son because he had changed his clothes.
He must have carefully put away the clothes that Teacher Xiaofei gave him before he got home, but he never expected that as soon as he got home, the middle-aged woman would beat him until his skin was torn and bleeding.
Luo Jinnian was beaten today not simply because the middle-aged woman mistakenly thought she had seen "someone else's child," but mainly because she had just lost a lot of money playing mahjong.
"How's your skating coming along?"
Luo Jinnian was interrupted just as he was about to reply.
"Forget it, you won't learn anything worthwhile anyway, cough cough... The director of the project I asked you to act in might have some special requirements for you... In short, just do whatever he tells you to do."
Luo Jinnian felt a chill run down her spine; it turned out she knew everything.
The middle-aged woman never imagined he could learn to ice skate. What she's saying now is probably all part of her initial calculations. Is a nine-year-old child even human?
Damn you!
"I'll pick you up after get off work tomorrow; the director is eager to see you."
He only saw the photos and didn't even confirm whether the child could ice skate before sending him off to ice skating. This isn't just being attracted to looks... what is it?
In any case, the sunglasses-wearing director's actions further confirmed the thoughts of this confident, unreflective middle-aged woman.
She was naturally unaware that this director had already been dragged to see his child's performance by another director he had previously scorned.
"My child, you must know that my lifelong dream has been to perform on stage just once. Do you know how envious I am that you now have this opportunity?"
"What's it to me? If you want to go on stage, go on stage yourself," Luo Jinnian rolled his eyes.
It's rare for a middle-aged woman to speak her mind, but it would have been better if she hadn't said anything at all.
"The closest my mother ever got to the stage was during her elementary school's arts festival. She was beautiful then and could even play the erhu... It's a pity that her last chance was snatched away by that damned woman."
"But don't worry about that, honey. Anyone who tries to steal your chance to go on stage, I'll scratch them to death."
As she said this, her son kept glancing at her secretly, his eyes filled with longing and affection.
But after making eye contact with the middle-aged woman for two seconds, he snapped out of his daze and, like a startled rabbit, immediately looked away.
The middle-aged woman seemed pleased by the look in his eyes, and the force of his subsequent blows was noticeably reduced.
"Remember to have everything ready tomorrow. I'll pick you up as soon as I get off work, understand? If you haven't got anything ready by the time I get there, I won't let you off the hook."
Wiping the sweat from her brow, she went downstairs, hopped on her electric scooter, and rode off to continue playing mahjong. What a whirlwind of a woman!
Even the most hateful person has a pitiable side. The middle-aged woman's family background was actually even more tragic than Luo Jinnian's, but—
"spit."
Luo Jinnian spat. His behavior just now was completely an act. He was just trying to give the old woman some emotional support so she would beat him less.
As Confucius once said: If you repay evil with good, how will you repay good?
In Luo Jinnian's world, villains have no chance to redeem themselves.
…………
……
Sunday is here in the blink of an eye.
On the ice rink, the boy's left foot blade sliced out a deep arc, his body leaned slightly back, and his right arm slashed backward—it was a smooth bob step, his waist and back bent into a crescent moon, and his left hand lightly touched the ice.
After gliding out of the bob, he lightly touched the ice, bounced up, and cleanly spun around in the air.
When the blade tip taps lightly on the ice, not a single shard of ice is thrown up.
Immediately afterwards, he pulled his left leg back and began to squat and spin, getting lower and lower until he was almost sitting on the ice, his clothes swirling into a small disc.
Someone on the sidelines whispered:
"A roundhouse jump followed by a one-and-a-half-jump, then a crouching spin. To be able to train this combination to this level at this age is impressive."
This is professional.
"That boy is so handsome, I feel like I'm getting a little too attractive."
That's professional.
The middle-aged woman arrived more than forty minutes later than agreed. Her hair and clothes were disheveled, and there were scratches on her face, indicating that she had just been in a fight.
"Not only is he handsome, but he's also a great ice skater. I wish he were my son."
She wandered around the ice rink for half a day and saw that handsome little boy performing in the very center of the rink again, but she still couldn't find her own son.
She guessed he hadn't practiced properly, but she hadn't expected him not to even show up. The middle-aged woman was glad she hadn't expected him to do anything in the first place.
As expected, the path he had planned was the right one. This kid has never been good at anything since he was a child, and in the end, he still has to rely on himself for everything.
I watched other people's children perform for a while longer until the children finished and everyone dispersed.
"We really hope you come every day. Since you came to our skating rink, we've seen a lot more people signing up for memberships. If you keep coming, the rink can give you a free skating pass."
"Can the money spent before be exchanged for cash?"
"Ah...? Of course, as long as you come to our skating rink again in the future, I can refund your money right now."
Knowing that Luo Jinnian didn't have a bank card, the ice rink owner generously handed him one of his own.
"There's no password. Once you've used up all the money in the card, just throw it away."
The code of honor among江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the code of chivalry and loyalty among江湖 people).
You're so principled even when dealing with a child; you deserve to be rich, old man.
Luo Jinnian never imagined that being handsome could earn him such an extra income. He certainly couldn't return the money to the middle-aged woman; it was all his meager savings, and giving it to her would be a bottomless pit anyway.
He could have used the money to nourish his body properly, and just as he was thinking this, he unexpectedly spotted the middle-aged woman.
"Where were you just now? I searched the entire ice rink and couldn't find you. Don't try to deny it. Where were you slacking off? I'm only being lenient with you outside. When we get home, I'll make you reflect on your actions."
Who wouldn't want to live such a harsh and ignorant life at least once?
Luo Jinnian was speechless and couldn't open his eyes.
I'm a grown man, skating seriously on the ice the whole time, and you can't even recognize your own son? Shouldn't you be the one reflecting on your actions?
"Forget it, I never thought you could learn to skate. The director of that skating scene wants to see you today, so come with me now."
Fei Yuxi looked at the boy with concern. As the boy left, he waved slightly to her with his right hand behind his back.
Just before the corner, when she could see his profile for the last time, the boy suddenly made a face (that she thought only she could see).
Fei Yuxi was amused, blinked, and waved back.
If I had that skill back then, how could I possibly lack a girlfriend?
The renowned director marveled; he could now watch the two little ones' intimate gestures with a kind of numb indifference.
When he thought about the boy's difficult family background, he became more accepting of everything.
This child is really pitiful.
After all, Qin Chuan had been taking care of the boy for a while, and she had developed some feelings for Luo Jinnian. Not every adult is as heartless as a middle-aged woman.
The famous director thinks that since his niece is still young, she doesn't know anything about liking or disliking someone.
When I was a child, I played the role of a mother every day, and when I grew up, nothing happened to me.
Sigh... wait, why? Why was I a mother and not a daughter when I was little?