pdf-ebookys Chapter 26 Does my opinion matter?
Chapter 26 Does my opinion matter?
She envied the young master in the golden cage, only to find that his time for exercise depended on his parents' charity.
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Zhang Zihao returned the next morning with dark circles under his eyes that rivaled those of a panda, and his hair standing on end like a frizzy chicken coop. Clearly, he had been partying at the school's New Year's Eve party until late into the night and was still a bit out of it.
Zeng Jia and Wang Haowen were prepared this time and weren't caught red-handed like last time. Last night, one of them slept in the guest room and the other curled up on the living room sofa. When they woke up this morning, they cleaned up the mess neatly, even cleaning up the cat poop.
Zhang Zihao glanced at the two people standing in the living room, his face expressionless. He didn't even bother to say a word, grabbed his phone, quickly opened a video call, and dialed Yu Li directly. His tone was flat, expressing only one opinion: he just wanted to be alone at home, what was the point of having two people watching him?
The background noise on Yu Li's end was as loud as a vegetable market, but she didn't even lift her eyelids. She directly rejected the idea and also firmly fixed Zhang Zihao's three-day New Year's Day schedule: "Piano, horseback riding, golf, and AI robot practice. Not a single class can be missed."
She paused, her tone very serious, "Oh, by the way... you're not a kid anymore, you're fifteen, you know? Let Xiao Wang tell you about high-end marketing practices, broaden your horizons, don't mess around with your dad's people. His small-commodity thinking is so outdated, it's not even presentable, don't lead you astray." After saying that, she snapped the video call shut.
Zhang Zihao held up his phone, looking utterly dejected, as if someone had doused him with a bucket of ice water, making him even more listless.
Zeng Jia, listening nearby, was dumbfounded. This wasn't a holiday; it was practically being stuck in jail at home. She secretly nudged Wang Haowen's elbow and whispered, "Don't you think I'm just being a sour grapes? I suddenly feel like our poor, penniless days were pretty comfortable, weren't they?"
Anyway, when she was little, her parents weren't so strict with her; she could study entirely on her own. After school, she could run around like crazy for most of the day, as long as she finished her homework.
Before Wang Haowen could even say anything, Yu Li sent him a series of text messages, sending him Zhang Zihao's class schedule, all the learning materials, and the teachers' contact information.
Less than five minutes later, Zhang Zhishan's video call came right on cue. As soon as Zeng Jia answered, his booming voice erupted, his opinions completely opposite to Yu Li's, emphasizing his doting love for his son: "Son! Don't listen to your mother's nonsense. New Year's Day is for having fun! Let Zeng Jia arrange Universal Studios, the Tianjin aircraft carrier, the Maritime Museum, and if we can get tickets to Shanghai Disneyland, that's fine too. Bring your classmates, eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want. Your dad's making money for you, you don't need to work hard, we're rich!"
As he spoke, Zhang Zhishan shoved a 20,000 yuan red envelope into Zeng Jia's hand, his tone domineering and leaving no room for negotiation: "Secretary Zeng, these next few days you're in charge of taking my son and his friends out to eat, drink, and have fun. You have to spend all of this money, not a single penny is allowed left over, understand? If you don't spend it all, I'll deduct it from your salary."
Zeng Jia quickly agreed and hung up the phone. That's more like a normal father!
Wang Haowen started to whet his brain, "Don't worry about it. I've told you a thousand times that you can't miss a single class. Look at this schedule. After lunch, you have to go straight to your horse riding class. Tomorrow morning you have AI robotics, afternoon you have golf, and the day after tomorrow you have piano lessons..." He counted on his fingers and realized that he only had three days off in total, which was even more packed than a corporate slave's work schedule. There wasn't even a spare moment to take a longer break to poop.
Zeng Jia immediately objected, "Wang Haowen! Are you being unreasonable? Is this how you study? We absolutely have to go to Universal Studios! This is President Zhang's word! He's the big boss; you can't just do whatever you want!" She glanced at Zhang Zihao and winked at Wang Haowen, "I've never been to Universal Studios before. The tickets are so expensive; I usually can't afford them. This is a perfect opportunity to freeload!"
Wang Haowen spread his hands, "Damn it, I can't explain this to President Yu! If I dare let him skip class, she'll skin me alive and make soup for me, you believe me?"
"I still don't know how to explain that to General Manager Zhang!"
Zeng Jia pointed to the 20,000 yuan red envelope on her phone, her voice rising eight octaves, "He only has three days off, that's almost 7,000 yuan a day! If he doesn't spend it all, they'll deduct it from my salary! Are you going to pay me back?!"
Wang Haowen was also getting anxious. "President Yu not only arranged his class schedule, but also detailed the nutritional list for these three days. We're not allowed to eat out. I just glanced at it, and it's all bland, tasteless meals. You think you can eat that junk food? No way!"
Zeng Jia choked instantly, "We can't even eat out?! Is there no law anymore?! Wang Haowen, don't push me too far and I'll really get angry with you two!"
It's frustrating enough not being able to play games; if you can't even eat whatever you want, what's the point of living? What's the difference between that and being in prison?
Seeing that Zeng Jia was really about to explode, Wang Haowen also lowered his head: "It's not like I'm not letting him eat, but I have to suffer along with him, right? He can't be eating hay while I'm having hot pot and skewers, can he? What am I going to tell President Yu when he checks up on me via video? Jump into the Liangma River?"
Zeng Jia glared at him, snatched his phone, and swiped her fingers across the screen rapidly: "Horseback riding class... fine, I heard Mr. Zhang mention he really enjoys riding, it's not too much of a hassle. Piano lesson, rescheduled to tomorrow afternoon. Golf... take a day off! What kind of golf is this for a young kid? Isn't that an old man's pastime? Universal Studios the day after tomorrow, I'll book the tickets now!"
She spoke rapidly, like a machine gun, giving Wang Haowen no chance to interrupt. "Let me tell you, if you want to go out and have fun, I'll take you. If you don't want to, you'll just stay here obediently. And you'll have to listen to Zihao's every whim for your three meals a day. He can eat whatever he wants. If you dare mention those worthless fodder again, don't blame me for turning against you!"
Seeing her "what's the use of trying" attitude, Wang Haowen felt as bitter as if he had swallowed a bitter pill. He didn't want to play? Since childhood, he had been the most freedom-loving kid in the alley. If it weren't for Yu Li, this mountain pressing down on him, would he be in this situation?
"Fine," he sighed resignedly, "but you can't make things too difficult for me. We have to buy the ingredients, cook it ourselves, and I need to take photos and videos to report to Boss Yu, otherwise I'm definitely dead!"
"Fine, I'll do it! It's no big deal. I'll let you have it." Zeng Jia finally backed down.
"And this..." Wang Haowen pointed and tossed Zhang Zihao's entire list of food allergies to Zeng Jia. "This is his allergy list. Be careful when you order, whatever you do, don't touch anything. If anything goes wrong, we're both finished!"
Zeng Jia clicked on it and immediately grimaced in disgust: "So many allergies... This is because they've been sealed in a honey pot for so long, not a single bacteria has gotten in, making their immunity as fragile as paper!"
Wang Haowen quickly tugged at her, his voice barely audible: "Grandma, watch your mouth! Get on with what you're doing and stop babbling!"
The two were arguing heatedly when Zhang Zihao, who had been engrossed in playing King of Glory on the sofa, finally finished his game. He tossed his phone onto the sofa and said lazily, "Finished arguing? If you're done, hurry up and decide what to eat for lunch. I'm starving."
Wang Haowen said helplessly, "You two decide. I have to go out and buy the feed that President Yu specifically requested." He grabbed his car keys and walked out, cursing under his breath. Living in this big villa, having to drive back and forth to buy groceries is truly a living hell.
Zeng Jia put on a smiling face and moved closer to Zhang Zihao: "Never mind him! How about we team up for a game? And while we're at it, we can discuss what to eat for lunch. What do you usually like to eat? Any kids you'd like to bring along? Tell me, and I'll get you whatever you want to eat, except for things you're allergic to!"
Zhang Zihao suddenly turned his face away, his eyes indifferent as if he were looking at thin air: "Does my opinion matter? Anyway, whatever I do is wrong, and... I have no friends."