Parent-Teacher Meeting
Due to Fang Xing’s excellent performance in the recent monthly exams, he attracted a lot of attention at school all of a sudden. After all, he was a new transfer student, and in his first exam, he secured the top position in the entire school. Some students passing by their classroom during breaks would glance at him, and on the way to the cafeteria or the playground, there would be more eyes on him.
Of course, this situation only lasted for a week because, whether people liked it or not, the parent-teacher meeting on Saturday was inevitable.
Starting from a little past noon, parents had been entering the school one after another. Many students were worried that their parents might not find the classroom location, so they were waiting at the school gate. When Fang Xing, accompanied by Xu Hang and others, took a look from afar while heading to the cafeteria, there were already quite a few people at the entrance.
“My dad is on a business trip. This time, my mom is coming to attend the parent-teacher meeting for me. I guess she’ll have to go for a beauty treatment and do her hair…”
Xu Hang did quite well this time, not regressing. With the mentality of trying everything before the exams, he reviewed the points Fang Xing marked for him. Surprisingly, he improved by six or seven places, making him feel radiant.
“Anyway, she must have scoped out the place when she came.” Xu Hang looked at Fang Xing and suddenly remembered that the latter was from out of town. “Will someone from your family come?”
Fang Xing shifted his gaze from the school gate and nodded, “Yes.”
………
Jiang Zhijin woke up when it was already bright outside. He reached for his phone and checked the time, a little past 10 in the morning.
He got up lazily, washed up, put on a random set of clothes, and went to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast or maybe lunch. When he walked up to the refrigerator, he saw a palm-sized note stuck on it, with neat and beautiful handwriting.
“At two o’clock in the afternoon, parent-teacher meeting.”
At the bottom right, there was a sincere signature: Fang Xing.
Jiang Zhijin smiled and tore the note off, placing it aside.
After eating, he played games for a while. As it approached one o’clock, he put on his coat and changed his shoes, preparing to go out.
When he stood at the doorway, he hesitated for a moment, considering whether to drive or walk.
That day, the entire grade would have a meeting, and Jiang Zhijin was worried that if he drove, parking would be challenging and it might be congested. Moreover, he had to go to the bar after the meeting…
Before he could make up his mind, his phone rang.
It was an unfamiliar number from an out-of-town area, and the location showed Chaocheng. Jiang Zhijin answered the call, and a man’s voice came from the other end.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” Jiang Zhijin replied. “May I ask who is calling?”
The man’s voice was gentle, “I am Fang Chenglin, Fang Xing’s father.”
Jiang Zhijin’s steps to leave stopped. With one hand on the doorknob, the other holding the phone, he slightly turned his head to listen carefully.
“During this time, Fang Xing might have caused you some trouble. I am passing by Shaojiang during a business trip. If you have time, can we meet?”
He paused for a moment, his tone extremely sincere, “I am very worried about him and want to know about his recent situation.”
………………
Fang Chenglin’s hotel was in the city center. In the end, Jiang Zhijin decided to drive out. When he arrived at the café mentioned by Fang Chenglin, he checked the time – 1:20 PM.
There were few people having coffee at noon, just a few tables occupied. Jiang Zhijin walked in, looked around, and headed towards the innermost table.
Seated there was a man wearing a gray jacket, meticulously combed hair, and a pair of frameless glasses, giving off a gentle and refined appearance. When he saw Jiang Zhijin walking towards him, he stood up immediately. Only after Jiang Zhijin reached him did he speak, “Hello, are you Jiang Zhijin?”
Jiang Zhijin smiled at him, “Hello.”
Fang Chenglin also smiled, “Please have a seat. What would you like to drink?”
“Anything is fine.” Jiang Zhijin sat down and hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, “I might have something later, so I can’t stay too long. I apologize.”
Fang Chenglin ordered two cups of Americano and looked at Jiang Zhijin with a somewhat apologetic expression, “No, no, it’s my fault. I disturbed you in such a hurry.”
After a brief pause, he continued, “Actually, there’s nothing urgent. I just wanted to ask, is Fang Xing doing well lately.”
“He’s doing fine. He’s usually at school, studies very hard, and has excellent grades. When he returns home, he does practice problems in his room and doesn’t like to go out much.”
“He’s the same at home,” Fang Chenglin said with a smile. “I’m sorry for troubling you.”
Jiang Zhijin glanced at him and replied, “No trouble at all. He’s not the type to cause trouble.”
“I insisted on opposing his transfer. I was worried about the impact on his grades. His previous academic performance was excellent. Suddenly transferring in the third year of high school, I was concerned that he might not keep up with the pace—”
Fang Chenglin’s tone was filled with worry, and Jiang Zhijin couldn’t help but interrupt him, “No, his grades are quite good now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Zhijin replied, with a somewhat inexplicable arrogance in his tone. “Just ranked first in the grade.”
As soon as he said it, he regretted it—what’s the point of showing off? It’s someone else’s son.
Fortunately, Fang Chenglin didn’t notice and instead sighed in relief, asking, “Really?”
“Yes, after the parent-teacher meeting, if they give out report cards, I can send you one?”
Fang Chenglin hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Parent-teacher meeting?”
Looking at his watch, he continued after a moment, “How about I go?”
Jiang Zhijin immediately looked at him, and Fang Chenglin, with a somewhat apologetic look, said, “Sorry to trouble you; you have to attend the parent-teacher meeting on our behalf. Luckily, my flight is in the evening, and I have some time. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Fang Xing. I’ll take this opportunity to meet him.”
There was a brief silence between the two.
A potted plant was placed on the table, and it was unclear what kind it was, but it grew luxuriantly. Jiang Zhijin stared at Fang Chenglin for a moment without saying anything.
It seemed reasonable for a biological father to attend a parent-teacher meeting on behalf of his son, especially after such a long time without meeting. Jiang Zhijin seemed to have no right to refuse…
Fang Chenglin had already stood up, saying, “Is it at Shaojiang High School? What time, I…”
“Let it go,” Jiang Zhijin suddenly said.
Fang Chenglin paused, somewhat surprised, “What?”
“Let it go,” Jiang Zhijin repeated. “You said Fang Xing transferred because of your issues with Sister Ling, so I don’t know if he would want to see you. Not notifying him and letting you attend the parent-teacher meeting without informing him is a bit disrespectful.”
Looking across the table at the shadows of the potted plant, Jiang Zhijin stopped for a moment and smiled, “And Fang Xing and I made a bet. As long as he could rank in the top ten in the grade, I would attend his parent-teacher meeting. I promised him, and I don’t want to go back on my word.”
Fang Chenglin quickly said, “I’ll explain it to him later…”
Jiang Zhijin raised his head, looking at Fang Chenglin.
“Respecting him is better than explaining things later.”
The atmosphere between the two became slightly quieter.
……………………
Two points short of two o’clock, almost every seat in the classroom was filled with parents. Parents sat in their designated seats while students stood aside talking. The classroom was noisy and crowded. Fang Xing stood in the corridor outside the classroom, hesitated for a moment, and took out his phone to send a message to Jiang Zhijin.
“Have you arrived?”
No one replied.
Fang Xing waited for a while, then put his phone away.
He felt inexplicably irritated, turned his head to glance through the window at the classroom, and then walked downstairs.
The corridor was empty, and each class was quite noisy, their voices echoing in the teaching building, creating a slight reverberation.
He remembered the day he arrived in Shaojiang. He stood alone with his suitcase in the airport hall for an hour. In a completely unfamiliar city, among unfamiliar crowds, no one answered his calls, and his phone was running out of battery. He had to take a taxi to Jiang Zhijin’s bar alone.
At that time, besides irritability and discomfort, there was also an unadmitted sense of loneliness and abandonment.
This feeling occurred during his childhood when his parents worked overtime together, and he was locked in the house by the maid when she went to buy groceries. It occurred many times when he stayed alone at home. It occurred when he found out about the woman and son outside with Fang Chenglin, at Shaojiang Airport, and now it occurred again.
No one cares about you. No one really takes your words to heart. No one is waiting for you… a sense of abandonment.
Fang Xing thought about finding a place to stay for a while – the playground, corridor, cafeteria, or even outside the school. He wasn’t sure if he could go out now…
As he was thinking, he walked downstairs, getting faster and faster. When he reached the first floor and was about to turn, he wasn’t paying attention and almost collided with someone coming up.
“I…” Jiang Zhijin looked at Fang Xing somewhat helplessly. “Can you pay attention to where you’re going, Fang Xing?”
Startled by his sudden shout, Fang Xing realized who was in front of him and remained silent for a moment.
Jiang Zhijin raised an eyebrow, “Why are you running down from the classroom? Are you here to pick me up?”
After a few more seconds, Fang Xing finally spoke, his voice a bit hoarse, “Can’t you be on time? Did you oversleep or something?”
…Seventeen or eighteen-year-olds really act corky.
Jiang Zhijin looked at him and retorted, “I drove all the way from the city center, sticking to the speed limit, almost running a red light.”
Fang Xing was surprised, “Why did you go to the city center?”
“Had something to do.” Jiang Zhijin casually ruffled Fang Xing’s hair. “Hurry up and lead the way.”
Fang Xing gave him a disdainful look, then turned and went back upstairs.
During the brief moment when Jiang Zhijin could only see Fang Xing’s back, Fang Xing took a deep breath and suppressed the sudden nasal congestion.
By the time they reached the third floor, he stopped.
“The one in the middle, the third row from the window, on the inside. Probably only my seat is vacant, and you’ll see it when you go in. The students probably won’t let me stay inside, so I won’t go in.”
“Alright.”
As Jiang Zhijin was about to head towards the classroom, Fang Xing suddenly called out, “Jiang Zhijin.”
Jiang Zhijin immediately turned around, squinting slightly. “mmh?”
Fang Xing smiled, “Thank you.”
Jiang Zhijin stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly came over and hugged him.
The hug was very brief, perhaps only one or two seconds. Fang Xing only felt the fleeting warmth of the other person and a faint scent of laundry detergent, enveloping him for a few seconds.
“Find a place to stay, don’t wander around,” Jiang Zhijin said. “Wait for me to come out.”