RANDOM PICK

The bicycle stopped somewhere in the alley, and the two arrived at their home.

These were two ordinary houses next to each other, both three-story, with similar areas and decoration styles.

Su Zelin looked at the small houses.

Compared with the mid-mountain mansions he had lived in, they were located deep in the alley and were inconspicuous in terms of geographical location and specifications, but he was instantly excited.

Because he hurt Qin Shiqing in his previous life, his relationship with his family was completely broken, and his father vowed that he would never be allowed to step into the house, let alone Qin Shiqing's house next door.

Dang!

The Phoenix brand horizontal bar failed to hold steady and fell to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Qin Shiqing was surprised to see his appearance.

"It's okay!"

Su Zelin forced himself to suppress his excitement and lifted the bicycle up, but his hands were still shaking slightly uncontrollably.

"Are you really okay?" Qin Shiqing was a little worried. She had never seen her childhood sweetheart so out of control.

"Stop nagging me. I'm fine!" Not wanting her to see his inner thoughts, Su Zelin pushed the cart into his yard.

"I'll go over to give you extra lessons tonight?"

"Whatever you want!"

Qin Shiqing was slightly startled when she heard Su Zelin's response.

She wanted to give Su Zelin extra lessons on weekends before, but this guy always refused impatiently.

Although Su Zelin responded in the same tone this time, the result was different.

He actually accepted it!

This week, Zelin was really abnormal. Perhaps because the college entrance examination was approaching, he also realized that he couldn't be so careless anymore…

*****

He used the key to open the door and went upstairs.

The layout of one living room, two bedrooms and one kitchen was inlaid with floor tiles. There was no ceiling, no wallpaper, TV background wall or other fancy things. The sofa, table, chairs and coffee table were all old-fashioned red painted wooden furniture.

A Panda color TV, an Aido VCD, a Watson ceiling fan and a kettle are the main appliances in the living room. Compared with future home decoration, the hardware and software have been simplified to the extreme.

But this is not important. What is important is the people in the house.

A middle-aged woman wearing a scarf walked out of the kitchen with a spatula. When she saw Su Zelin, she smiled: "Son, you are back!"

Zhao Lixia, Su Zelin's mother.

There are not many wrinkles on the face of the mother now, and she smiles very kindly.

But this smile seems to be a lifetime ago for Su Zelin. His nose is sour and his eyes are moist in an instant. He dropped his backpack and walked over quickly, hugging Zhao Lixia tightly: "Mom!"

Zhao Lixia was stunned. Since Su Zelin became sensible, she has never seen her son crying: "Smelly boy, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, I just miss you. I am so happy to see you!" Su Zelin wiped his eyes and let go.

"It's only been a week since we last met. What's there to miss?" Zhao Lixia was very surprised. From her understanding of her son, Su Zelin was not the kind of person who would miss home.

"Haha, I just felt that this week was very long, as if we hadn't seen each other for a long time!" Su Zelin laughed.

"Strange!" Zhao Lixia shook her head and didn't ask any more questions. She thought Su Zelin was under pressure before the college entrance examination, so he burst into tears.

"I'll go see what dishes are available!" Su Zelin rushed into the kitchen. There was a plate of freshly made pineapple fried chicken on the cupboard, one of his favorite dishes. He reached out and picked up a piece and threw it into his mouth. It was delicious! This was a home-cooked dish made by my mother. For Su Zelin, no matter whether it was a five-star hotel or a Michelin chef, they had to stand aside!

Just when he was about to take the second piece, a spatula hit the back of his hand. It was Zhao Lixia who followed him in and glared at him: "Bad boy, did you wash your hands before eating secretly!"

"No, my mother's cooking is so delicious, I can't wait!" Su Zelin didn't care, and picked up the second piece with a smile.

"Don't change the subject, go wash your hands immediately!"

"Yes, mother!"

Su Zelin walked out of the kitchen. Zhao Lixia's stern face relaxed, and a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Bad boy, you only know how to flatter!

After washing his hands, Su Zelin walked into his room and saw several celebrity posters on the wall.

Chow Hui-min, Wen Bi-xia, Zhang Manyu…

There was a pile of basketball magazines on the desk.

"Contemporary Sports: Slam Dunk", "Slam Dunk SLAM", "NBA STUFF"...

Opened the drawer, it was full of comics.

"Kung Fu Tornado", "Hell Teacher", "Cat's Eye Sisters", "Taiwan Heroes", "Rurouni Kenshin"...

In addition to comics, there is also a game console lying quietly.

Su Zelin opened a copy of "Taiwan Heroes" and read it with relish. This is one of his favorite comics, from the Japanese cartoonist Adachi Mitsuru, the theme is baseball, but the real story is about a pair of childhood sweethearts.

After reading for a while, he heard the sound of the security door opening.

Su Zelin threw the comic back into the drawer, walked out, and saw a middle-aged man changing his leather shoes.

He was burly, with a square face, bright eyes, and regular features. It can be seen that he must have been a handsome man when he was young.

"Dad!"

Su Zelin also gave him a firm hug.

Su Jianjun's reaction was as confused as Zhao Lixia's. After a long while, he uttered two words: "Don't play this trick on me, you don't have pocket money again, right?"

Dad, you are worthy of it!

*****

Both the Su and Qin families were originally employees of the steel mill. Later, the two elders of the Su family went into business in the 1980s. In the new century, they made a lot of money. They were not nouveau riche, but at least they had enough food and clothing and lived a good life. This can be seen from Su Zelin's comic books and the gameboy, which was very expensive.

The two elders of the Qin family were laid off in the 1990s with the tide of state-owned enterprise reform. So they had to do business. Fortunately, a blessing in disguise, their quality of life was much better than when they were paid a fixed salary in the steel mill.

Several home-cooked dishes were quickly prepared, and Zhao Lixia asked Su Zelin to call Qin Shiqing over.

Because of the business, the two families were particularly busy at times, and most of the time, the other family would take the initiative to call the neighbor's children to eat together.

In the dining room, Su Jianjun, Zhao Lixia and Qin Shiqing looked at each other as they watched Su Zelin eat voraciously, pick up chopsticks and eat without stopping.

Su Zelin, who is already 1.8 meters tall and in his third year of high school, is still growing taller. He usually eats a lot, but even after playing basketball, he has never looked like a starving ghost.

"Slow down, don't choke!" Zhao Lixia worriedly warned him, wondering if her cooking skills were extraordinary today, but she picked up a few dishes and tasted them, and didn't find that the taste was much better than usual.

"Shiqing, did this kid do something bad last week and use up the food allowance early!" Su Jianjun considered the key point of the problem.

The food allowance he gave his son every week was definitely generous in the class, and the school's consumption was not expensive. Three meals a day plus fruits, snacks, and drinks were more than enough, and there was even some money left to buy magazines or comics.

But Su Zelin often let himself go as soon as he got the money, such as going into the game room on the way to school to play horse racing or something, and squandering it in a blink of an eye, so he ordered his son to go to school with Qin Shiqing, so that the latter would keep a close eye on him.

But sometimes Qin Shiqing couldn't keep an eye on him even if she wanted to. Su Zelin would quickly shake off the tail as soon as she paddled her bicycle. With the girl's physical strength, she would definitely not be able to catch up. Of course, Su Zelin would be punished after she went home and complained next week.

"Uncle, no!"

Qin Shiqing shook her head. Su Zelin was still very well-behaved this week, and even a little too well-behaved during school!

"Then what's wrong with this brat?" Su Jianjun muttered to himself, very puzzled.

Su Zelin slapped the table: "Dad, how can you always doubt me? Can't it be that the food my mom cooked is so delicious that it makes me hungry?"

He has always been very dissatisfied with being arranged to be monitored by Qin Shiqing, and he just took advantage of the topic.

"Come on, I don't know your mother's cooking skills..." Su Jianjun was halfway through his words when he felt two sharp eyes staring at him.

He shuddered. Driven by a strong desire to survive, he changed his tone: "Needless to say, of course, even the hotel chef has to admit defeat!"

The two sharp eyes were retracted, and Zhao Lixia smiled with satisfaction. Qin Shiqing smiled secretly, thinking that Uncle Su and my dad were like that, they were definitely tracheitis!

Su Zelin secretly gave his father a thumbs up.

A man who can bend and stretch is a real man!

Among the four people, Su Zelin ate the most and took the longest time. When the others were full, he swept away all the dishes like a whirlwind, without wasting any food. Then he burped with satisfaction and put down his chopsticks: "I'm full!"

Zhao Lixia was very happy. It was one of the happiest things for a mother that her children liked the food she cooked.

Qin Shiqing went to help after cleaning the table.

"Shiqing, you don't need to come. The college entrance examination is coming soon. You can review your lessons when you have time!" Zhao Lixia stopped him.

"It's okay, Auntie. I'll help you wash the dishes first. It won't take much time." Qin Shiqing insisted.

"Shiqing is sensible. If the boy in our family can be one tenth as good as you, Auntie and your uncle won't have to worry so much. I don't know which lucky guy will marry you as a daughter-in-law in the future. I'm afraid your parents-in-law will laugh in their dreams!" Zhao Lixia sighed for a long time.

"Auntie, you're joking!" Qin Shiqing's pretty face blushed slightly.

Zhao Lixia hoped that Qin Shiqing would become her daughter-in-law in the future, and the two families would become closer.

But after looking at Su Zelin, who was sitting in the living room with his legs crossed and picking his teeth, she shook her head.

Forget it, he doesn't deserve it!

===============

Hi..fellow readers!! This is a fan translation. You can read the advanced chapters from my Patron page:

👉patreon.com/emb3rblood

Title: In This Life, I Will No Longer Be a Scumbag to My Childhood Sweetheart