However, whether Zhang Liuxing's statement that he would leave early tomorrow was true or not, he had no way of knowing and would have to ask his parents tomorrow.
He was just unsure if his parents would hide anything from Zhang Liuxing.
"Third Brother? Third Brother, what are you thinking?" While Zhang Liunian's thoughts were wandering, Zhang Xiaomei had been calling him.
Zhang Liunian snapped back to attention, looked at his younger sister, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I want to say, Third Brother, don't worry. I'll guard against Second Brother causing trouble for you. I won't let him get those recipes from me again, so you don't have to worry." Zhang Xiaomei had seen her third brother frowning and deep in thought, so she immediately expressed that she would be careful of her second brother's actions.
Zhang Liunian smiled at her and said, "Good, Third Brother believes Little Sister can definitely do it."
Seeing her third brother believe her, Little Sister was extremely happy. She then continued to tidy up the table. After finishing her tasks here, she went home with Dumb.
On the other side, Zhang Wenxue was pulling Zhang Liuxing home and, closing the door, asked sternly, "Second Son, you're not back to do something to Third Son again, are you? If you have such thoughts, Father advises you not to."
"Why?" Although Zhang Liuxing had known for a long time that his parents had started favoring his third brother, he couldn't help but feel upset when he heard these words.
Zhang Wenxue was stunned, not understanding what he was asking. "Why not?"
"Why do you say not to oppose Third Brother, and not say that Third Brother should oppose me? Father, your heart is truly becoming more and more biased." Zhang Liuxing's voice was low, and his expression was unpleasant.
Looking at his son like this, Zhang Wenxue suddenly felt like he was looking at a stranger. Since when had this son, who used to make him proud, suddenly become like this?
That's right, it seemed that ever since the youngest son started his own business and made money, things had slowly begun to turn this way.
"Second Son, after all these years, don't you know how we, as parents, have treated you and your two brothers?
Can't you see who we favor? If we're talking about favoritism, we've favored you for seven or eight years, and Third Son has only been favored for half a year. In the past, I treated you three brothers equally. You should know this very well." Zhang Wenxue was somewhat sad; it was the feeling of offering your true heart only for it to be treated as worthless.
They had clearly doted on this second son for so many years, yet the second son was saying they favored the youngest son. Yes, they were now looking at the youngest son differently, and that was because the youngest son was indeed outstanding, bringing hope to the village and allowing everyone to live a good life.
Now, when they walked through the village, who wouldn't praise them for having such a good son?
If they didn't favor such a son, wouldn't that be foolish?
"Heh, favor me? If I weren't a college student, would you favor me? Impossible, you just value the glory I can bring you, so you favor me.
Now that I have nothing, you immediately favor Third Brother because you see that he can make money and provide you with a comfortable life, right?
Where does the favoritism come from? Isn't it just a condition for letting me provide you with a better life?
There is no selfless family affection in this world, nor is there priceless true affection."
Zhang Liuxing finally couldn't hold back and blurted out the thoughts he had harbored for many years.
Zhang Wenxue was stunned upon hearing this and looked at his son in disbelief. So, he had always thought of them this way, and he had always treated their favoritism as their bargaining chip?
When had they ever thought so much? They simply knew that this son had potential, and the conditions they could offer were limited, so they wanted to help him a bit more to make him even more outstanding, so he could then support his other two sons.
Heaven and earth as their witness, they had never thought of living a particularly good life relying on this son. They had endured hunger and eaten dirt in their lives. The best life they could imagine was to live peacefully in the village, not worrying about food, and having sons to perform the ritual of breaking the bowl. They had thought of nothing more.
"Why would you think that? Even the most promising people in our village back then couldn't leave the village to become workers. Do you think that at that time, we could expect you to provide us with what kind of life?
Were we expecting you to be a local magnate or a high-ranking official? Could you afford it?"
When his second son was sent to prison by his youngest son, Zhang Wenxue hadn't felt as distressed as he did now. But when he heard his second son thinking of him this way, saying he treated family affection as a bargaining chip just to live a better life, he felt an unspeakable heartache.
His second son was the most learned person in the entire village. For someone like him to think of him this way, he truly didn't know if sending his son to study was a good or bad thing?
"Otherwise, why didn't you favor me when I was a child, but only after I got into college? Don't deny it, if a person doesn't look out for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them. I understand this, so don't pretend to be affectionate with me. It's disgusting to see." Zhang Liuxing didn't want to fall out with his parents, but he really couldn't help it.
"You..." Zhang Wenxue was so angry with his son that he pointed at him for a long time without being able to speak.
Zhang Liuxing turned away, not wanting to see his father's disappointed gaze. The two fell silent. Just then, Yu Xiaohua and Zhang Liushui returned with their four children.
As Yu Xiaohua pushed the door open, she saw the tense atmosphere between father and son. She looked at one, then the other, and finally closed the door, sitting beside her second son and asking with concern, "Second Son, you told Mom how you got out. Is there anything wrong? If there is, you should leave quickly. Mom and Dad can pretend not to have seen you return today, and the further you go, the better."
Yu Xiaohua said these words entirely out of concern, but Zhang Liuxing didn't feel it. Instead, he felt it was mockery, and that she was calling him a fugitive who had escaped from prison and needed to hide.
"Why should I hide?" Zhang Liuxing's voice was loud, which confused Yu Xiaohua.
"Didn't you escape from inside?" Yu Xiaohua thought very simply. The only way her second son could get out was by escaping; he definitely wouldn't have been released innocently. Therefore, she wanted him to leave here so that no one would know, and it would be fine.
"Who said I escaped from inside? I walked out from inside with honor." Zhang Liuxing frowned and corrected her, very displeased with their speculation.
Moreover, he had indeed walked out of there with honor, it was just that the crime had been taken by someone else.
This was precisely why he had not returned in a grand manner.
"Ah? You returned honorably? What exactly is going on?" Yu Xiaohua was bewildered, completely unable to understand why her second son had been released.
Zhang Wenxue interrupted her in a timely manner, "Hurry and help Second Son tidy up his room. He's leaving tomorrow morning. Let him rest well first. You also prepare some food and necessities for him so he can leave directly tomorrow."
"But..." I still have many things that haven't been cleared up, Yu Xiaohua's unfinished words.
But Zhang Wenxue interrupted her again, "Don't ask anymore, just go and do it."