The house assigned to Wang Gang by the sports team was only about 60 square meters, but the location was excellent and the transportation was very convenient.
It was just before eight o'clock when Wang came back from Qiao's house. Qiao Yicheng was sitting in the living room, seemingly waiting for him.
"You're back! Have you sent Simei home?" Qiao Yicheng saw Wang Gang and took out a plate of grapes from the kitchen.
"Send it back." Wang Gang changed into his slippers and walked into the house.
Qiao Yicheng sighed and said: "This girl is getting more and more difficult to control. I don't know what her little head thinks about all day long?"
Wang Gang smiled and said: "You too, just a few love letters! As for scolding her like that."
Qiao Yicheng said angrily: "I'm worried that she will suffer a loss. If she falls in love at a young age, will she lose her reputation?"
Among the children in the Qiao family, Qiao Yicheng was the most attentive to Qiao Simei, but in front of his eldest brother, he cared about his old father.
"I talked with Simei. It was a love letter written by a few boys at school. Simei is probably not in love."
Qiao Yicheng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, here are some grapes, you can eat some."
Wang Gang asked curiously: "You are actually willing to buy grapes?"
Qiao Yicheng is the kind of person who spends every penny in half. He seldom buys fruits, but he also buys food when he has the money.
"This is a gift from Ju'an's mother," Qiao Yicheng said in a low voice.
Wang Ganglai said with interest: "What's going on with your student?"
"Ju'an is just my student, don't think blindly." Qiao Yicheng said sadly: "She will be admitted to a school in the capital in the future, and the whole family will move there."
Wang Gang asked strangely: "You don't like her?"
"She is just a child!" Qiao Yicheng said firmly.
"You're not old either!" Wang Gang said, "I think you two are quite suitable."
Qiao Yicheng shook his head and said: "It's impossible for us. Her family conditions are too good and we are not suitable."
Wang Gang heard something and asked: "Is it inappropriate, or do I not like it?"
Qiao Yicheng was stunned for a moment, as if Wang Gang's words touched the deepest things in his heart.
Wang Gang saw that Qiao Yicheng had feelings for Wen Ju'an, but he did not dare to reveal it because of the huge gap in family conditions between the two parties.
After all, Qiao Yicheng has low self-esteem.
"Brother, I think if you like someone, you should be brave enough to express it." Wang Gang said sincerely:
"If you tell me, you still have a 50% chance, but if you don't tell, you have a 10% chance."
Qiao Yicheng shook his head and sighed: "Ju'an's mother mentioned to me in a vague way that I can only be Ju'an's teacher."
Wang Gang was speechless and said: "You are not the one to talk to her mother, why do you care about her?"
"If you ask me, you just think too much and love whenever you want. You are a famous college student with a bright future. What are you afraid of?"
Qiao Yicheng said with a bitter face: "I am different from you."
Wang Gang frowned slightly.
"What's the difference? We are all brothers from the same parents."
Qiao Yicheng said: "I can't compare to you."
Wang Gang was dumbfounded, how could Qiao Yicheng have such low self-esteem?
"You underestimate yourself too much. Go out and ask around. How many people are better than you in the entire Jinling City? You don't need to belittle yourself."
Qiao Yicheng looked at his younger brother with a wry smile and said nothing.
Wang Gang thought to himself that he had made Qiao Yicheng feel inferior!
In fact, it's right to think about it. Qiao Yicheng is indeed outstanding among his peers, but it depends on who he compares with.
It happened that there were two better people hanging around him all day long.
One is a younger brother and the other is a cousin.
Needless to say, Wang Gang, even his cousin Qi Weimin, cannot compare to Qiao Yicheng.
Qi Weimin did not choose to study in Qingbei because of his father Qi Ziqiang's health. Instead, he chose to study at Nanjing University with Qiao Yicheng.
Although the two of them are not in the same major, they meet each other often, so comparisons are inevitable.
Compared with Qi Weimin, Qiao Yicheng really has no comparison, and over time he developed a character of inferiority.
In the final analysis, it is the original family that caused the harm.
"By the way, I heard from Simei that there is a girl who has been looking for you recently?" Wang Gang suddenly gossiped.
"You mean Sun Xiaomo!" Qiao Yicheng admitted generously: "She is a friend I met at Xinghua Bookstore, and you have met her too."
"Have I seen it before?" Wang Gang said in surprise: "I have no impression of this name?"
Qiao Yicheng said: "Do you still remember the girl with epilepsy we met on the street three years ago?"
At this mention, Wang just remembered that when he returned to Jinling after participating in the competition three years ago, he did encounter a female student suffering from epilepsy in the street. It was Qiao Yicheng who went to the hospital to call the doctor.
"Sun Xiaomo was that girl. Later I went to Xinghua Bookstore to buy reference materials and happened to meet her. She was a bookstore salesperson.
I didn't recognize her at first, but she recognized me immediately."
Wang Gang frowned and said, "She has epilepsy!"
Qiao Yicheng said nonchalantly: "Yes, it was a disease brought in by her mother. Because of this disease, Sun Xiaomo failed the college entrance examination, so she simply went to work at Xinghua Bookstore."
Wang Gang asked: "Isn't this Sun Xiaomo your date?"
"Of course not." Qiao Yicheng said: "We are just ordinary friends, because I often go to the bookstore to buy information, and we have become familiar with each other. She is very grateful to me for saving her back then."
Wang Gang said: "Have you never thought that Sun Xiaomo would be so grateful for your life-saving grace that he would pledge his life to you?"
"Nonsense." Qiao Yicheng scolded with a smile: "I think you also read a lot of novels, and you still promised me your life. What age are you now?"
"It's okay if it's not." Wang Gang breathed out: "It's not that we dislike her, it's just that epilepsy cannot be cured and can only be controlled. Having children in the future will also be a troublesome thing."
Qiao Yicheng shook his head and said, "The more you talk, the more nonsense you get. Sun Xiaomo and I are just ordinary friends. We just meet and chat occasionally."
"I'm not imagining it, I'm just reminding you." Wang Gang said.
"Okay, just worry about your own business!" Qiao Yicheng asked, "When are you and Nanfang going to get married?"
"We have discussed that we will get engaged first after graduating from college, and there will be no need to hold any ceremony. Then the two families will just have a meal together."
"Can't we just get married directly? Why do we get engaged? The Xiang family doesn't agree?" Qiao Yicheng asked worriedly.
Qiao Yicheng is not worried about the relationship between Wang Gang and Xiang Nanfang, but is worried that the conditions of the Xiang family are much better than those of the Qiao family.
"After graduating from Nanfang, she will go to work as an intern. She wants to contribute to the construction of the motherland, and I can't stop her!" Wang Gang said, "Besides, we are still young, and I am so busy, how can I have time to get married!"
"You don't even have time to get a certificate?" Qiao Yicheng said, "You have received the certificate, and I feel at ease."
"You really worry about old father." Wang Gang said teasingly: "Don't worry! We know what's going on, but you are about to graduate from college. What are your plans?"
"I want to continue to take the postgraduate entrance examination." Qiao Yicheng said without hesitation: "The higher the academic qualifications, the better the starting point for work in the future."
"The old man can agree." Wang Gang said in surprise: "He has long been looking forward to you graduating and going to work to make money for him to support him in his old age."
"He has to agree even if he doesn't agree. I happen to go home for dinner tomorrow and I'll tell him about the postgraduate entrance examination."
Wang Gang felt that Qiao Zuwang would never agree to Qiao Yicheng's postgraduate entrance examination, and there was some quarrel at the dinner table.
Sure enough, the next night, the Qiao family had a rare dinner together. Qiao Yicheng and Qiao Simei, brothers and sisters, did not have an overnight feud and sat together calmly.
When Qiao Yicheng mentioned his decision to take the postgraduate entrance examination, Qiao Zuwang slammed the table on the spot to object.
"No, you have been in college for four years, and I have supported you for four years. What postgraduate entrance exams, how many more years of schooling, and how much less salary." Qiao Zuwang puffed his beard and glared.
"Dad, come on! When did my eldest brother use your money when he went to college?" Qiao Simei must be the eldest brother between her eldest brother and her father.
Qiao Zuwang said angrily: "Don't I have money to support you every month? I have worked hard for decades and finally raised you, and it's your turn to support me."
After hearing this, several children in the Qiao family looked very unhappy.
In Qiao Zuwang's heart, having and raising children is just to prevent old age, and any family ties are not important in his eyes.
"Anyway, I passed the postgraduate entrance examination. It's useless what you say. I will continue to work part-time from now on, so you don't have to support my younger brothers and sisters." Qiao Yicheng has money in his hands and has the confidence to speak.
Qiao Zuwang slammed his chopsticks on the table and said angrily: "When will it be your turn to make the decision in this family? I am still not the head of the family!"
Wang Gang glanced at Qiao Zuwang coldly and snorted: "What do you want to do?"
Qiao Zuwang took a breath and then remembered that his second son was also at home!
"It's a good thing for me to go to school! There's no reason for parents to stop me!" Wang Gang said coldly.
"What's the use of learning so much?" Qiao Zuwang shrank his neck and his tone became obviously lighter.
"There is no end to learning, and after graduating from a master's degree, you will get a lot of salary." Wang Gang said: "This matter is settled. If you object, we can discuss it in private."
Qiao Zuwang can still be tough in front of other children, but he always lowers his head when facing Wang Gang.
When he thought about the mysterious death of Li Heman, he felt frightened.
