Chapter 37: Heart-to-Heart

After finishing breakfast, the four boys shouldered their backpacks and headed to school.

That morning, Chen Liyang took Wanning to the market. He planned to buy a live chicken to stew for lunch, giving the kids some extra nourishment.

When the kids returned at noon, Chen Liyang noticed right away that Zhou Chengbei was particularly happy, unable to hide the bright grin on his face.

Rarely seeing the youngest boy so happy, Chen Liyang asked if his teacher had praised him at school.

Zhou Chengbei was indeed thrilled and nodded repeatedly. “I wrote down the fairy tale you told Little Sister yesterday. My teacher saw it today and said it was a great story, and all my classmates loved listening to it too.

When they found out my dad wrote it, they were so jealous!”

As he spoke, Zhou Chengbei’s brows practically danced with joy, his pride plain for all to see. He completely failed to notice how he had just addressed Chen Liyang.

He might not have noticed, but Chen Liyang certainly did. He looked at Zhou Chengbei in disbelief before finally coming to his senses, pulling the boy into an excited hug. “What did you just call me?”

Only then did Zhou Chengbei realize what he had said. His small face flushed red instantly, and he broke free from the embrace, stubbornly insisting, “I didn’t call you anything! You misheard.”

“Dad is still young and not hard of hearing yet. I’m so happy you called me Dad. I’ll reward you with a big chicken drumstick later!” Chen Liyang smiled and rubbed his hair.

Zhou Chengbei wanted to explain further, but Chen Liyang was entirely immersed in his own joy, grinning from ear to ear.

This was the first time Zhou Chengbei had ever seen Chen Liyang so happy.

Was it really just because he had referred to him as his dad? Did he like hearing him call him Dad that much?

Looking at Chen Liyang laughing so heartily, he felt reluctant to see disappointment on the man’s face.

Yet he also didn’t want to admit that he had called him Dad so easily, so he eventually came up with an excuse for himself.

Who told him to be their only legal guardian right now? A real man knows how to yield when necessary; only then could he become a true hero standing tall between heaven and earth.

Just for today, he would let him be happy. Once he was capable of protecting his brothers and sister, he wouldn’t cater to his feelings like this anymore.

The more he rationalized it, the more he convinced himself. Subconsciously, he decided he was doing this so his brothers and sister could eat their fill every day.

As long as Chen Liyang was happy, they wouldn’t have to go hungry ever again.

For the sake of their happy life, what harm was there in swallowing his pride to call him Dad?

Chen Liyang had no idea that Zhou Chengbei was already deeply moved by his own “grand sacrifice” all because of his happy reaction.

However, at this moment, Chen Liyang truly was happy.

Now that Zhou Chengbei had called him Dad, could the other boys be far behind?

It seemed winning them over wasn’t as difficult as he had imagined!

Yet reality quickly proved that he was far too naive.

He had thought the first step was the hardest, and since he had already won over the fourth boy, conquering the rest wouldn’t take more than a few days.

Who could have known that they would remain as cold and distant to him as ever, completely ignoring everything he had said?

Still, the fourth boy’s memory was truly absurd. A bedtime story Chen Liyang had casually told Wanning had been remembered word for word by the kid.

Even Chen Liyang himself wouldn’t be able to retell yesterday’s story word for word if asked to do it again.

No wonder this kid would become known as a child prodigy later on, able to memorize code no matter how long it was.

However, he was still young right now, so his computer talent hadn’t surfaced yet.

Chen Liyang didn’t want to force things either; letting everything unfold according to the novel’s original timeline would be fine.

What he needed most right now was to slowly heal the trauma in the children’s hearts, guiding them to be positive and upright, transforming them from future villainous big shots into righteous individuals devoted to serving their country.

Of course, whether they served the country didn’t matter all that much to him; as long as they didn’t kill him in the end, his transmigration wouldn’t be in vain.

Otherwise, if he ended up meeting the same end as the original host, what would be the point of transmigrating into a book?

Just like that, ten days had passed unnoticed since he arrived in this world. Tomorrow was the day of the high school entrance exam for ninth graders^[1].

Fearing the eldest boy would be nervous, Chen Liyang specifically called him into his room after dinner, planning to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.

“Chengdong, Dad knows you aren’t as academically gifted as Second Brother.

In fact, your ambitions don’t lie there at all. But Dad still hopes you’ll do your best on the exam and try your hardest to get into No. 1 High School.

Otherwise, if you don’t make it, Dad will make you repeat the year until you get into No. 2 High School.” His voice wasn’t loud.

Yet after hearing this, Zhou Chengdong grew visibly agitated. “What right do you have to interfere with and control my life?

I’ll walk my own path however I want!”

Anyone could hear the impatience and displeasure in his voice.

Yet Zhou Chengdong seemed oblivious to it, his expression still filled with rage.

“You’ve misunderstood. How could Dad possibly want to control your lives?

It’s just that you’re still young, and studying is the only way out for poor families like ours.

Don’t you want to work hard so your younger brothers and sister can live a good life in the future?” Chen Liyang spoke very gently, the care in his eyes shining like a ray of winter sunlight, instantly soothing Zhou Chengdong’s raging temper.

However, Zhou Chengdong still despised adults who acted like they were “doing this for your own good” while making decisions on their behalf.

He said coldly, “Who says studying is the only path to giving my brothers and sister a good life? There are masters in every field. As long as I put in the hard work, I can succeed all the same.”

Since he put it that way, he clearly wanted to rely on physical force, which meant Chen Liyang was all the more determined not to let him go down that path.

“Dad knows you’re interested in martial arts. I won’t stop you from practicing, but without knowledge, you’ll just be a brute in other people’s eyes.

Besides, practicing martial arts requires theoretical knowledge too.

The more you learn, the better your comprehension will be.

“As long as you kids are willing to study, Dad will sell everything down to the pots and pans to put you through school.”

Zhou Chengdong froze on the spot. “H-How… How do you know I’m interested in martial arts?”

He had always hidden it well at home. Even his younger siblings didn’t know he was secretly practicing martial arts, so how did Chen Liyang find out?

Chen Liyang patted his shoulder. “How I know isn’t important. What matters is that Dad supports your choice.

“But on one condition: you can’t fall behind on your schoolwork either. Being skilled with both the pen and the sword, that’s what makes someone truly impressive.

“Can you promise Dad that you’ll take your exams seriously? Dad knows it isn’t that you’re not interested in studying. You just want to shoulder the family’s burden as soon as possible.

“But the family has me now. I won’t let the five of you suffer or tire yourselves out ever again. Trust me, alright?”