Mistaken Canary Chapter 16
Chapter 16
After work, Zhuo Shu went straight back to the Zhuo family home. During dinner, he casually asked, “How did the home visit go today? Did the teacher say anything strange?”
“No,” Zhuo Zi quickly replied. “What kind of strange things could there be about me?”
Zhuo Shu: You may not have anything strange, but I sure do.
Father Zhuo chuckled. "The teacher had nothing but praise for A'Zi and encouraged us, as parents, to cooperate with the school’s work. Everything he said made sense."
Zhuo Shu continued to inquire, "So, what did you think of the teacher?"
“Quite young,” Father Zhuo said, giving Zhuo Shu an inconceivable look. “Honestly, how could you think Mr. Ying is old?”
"I know he doesn’t seem old, but his age is his age," Zhuo Shu replied, recalling the handsome older man he’d seen in the Homeroom Teacher’s feeds. Comparing him to their own father, he couldn't help but think the old teacher was far more charming.
“Ge! If you keep saying bad things about Mr. Ying, I’m going to be really mad!” Zhuo Zi shot him a sharp glare.
“Tsk.”
After dinner, Zhuo Shu and Father Zhuo discussed work matters in the study. When Zhuo Shu came out, he found Mu Qing and her daughter playing games in the living room again. He said in a low voice, “Three, two...”
"Just a little longer!" Mu Qing shouted, only to get eliminated the next second. “It’s all your fault!”
“Whose fault?” Zhuo Shu leaned on the railing, looking down at the mother-daughter duo in the living room.
Mu Qing immediately threw her daughter under the bus. “It’s your fault! Why did you drag me into playing games?”
Zhuo Zi: QAQ Yep, I guess I’m at the bottom of the food chain.
With a shake of his head, Zhuo Shu decided to call it a night, heading to the bathroom for a shower to unwind. Once in bed, he checked his phone and noticed a message from the homeroom teacher, sent over ten minutes ago.
[Homeroom Teacher]: Father Zhuo?
[Zhuo Zi’s Parent]: Yes, Teacher, is there something that you need?
Ying Tongchen: "......"
I have never seen such a shameless person as this*[1]!
(TLN: It’s a meme from the 1994 version of Romance Of The Three Kingdoms. Expanded explanation will be provided at the end of the chapter~)
After a two-minute wait, Zhuo Shu received a reply.
[Homeroom Teacher]: The home visit today went very well, thank you for your cooperation.
[Zhuo Zi’s Parent]: You're welcome. It is what we, as parents, should do.
[Homeroom Teacher]: Father Zhuo, your level of awareness is commendable [thumbs up]. However, the school requires a handwritten home visit report. Both the homeroom teacher and the parents must submit a reflection. It is due tomorrow, so Father Zhuo, if you could please make an effort tonight [smile].
[Zhuo Zi’s Parent]: ......
[Homeroom Teacher]: Is there a problem? Did you not emphasize multiple times today that you would support the teachers' work?
[Zhuo Zi’s Parent]: No problem.
[Homeroom Teacher]: Kindly remember, it must be handwritten [lotus good night.jpg]
[Zhuo Zi’s Parent]: [smiling goodbye]
Zhuo Shu’s head was about to explode. He shouldn’t have joined that ridiculous parents’ group in the first place!
Late at night, Zhuo Zi was still working on her homework when someone pounded on the door, making her jump.
She opened the door to see Zhuo Shu standing in the doorway, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"What's up?"
“Still not asleep at this hour?” Zhuo Shu was already irritated just by looking at her. He tossed the folded paper into her hands, “Take this to your homeroom teacher tomorrow morning. That old geezer is driving me crazy.”
“You’re not allowed to call him old!”
“He is old! A real relic. Who even writes these ridiculous reflections by hand?” Zhuo Shu grumbled as he slammed the door and stomped back to his room.
…
Monday morning, Ying Tongchen had just walked back to his office from the second-year teaching building when Zhuo Zi entered, carrying the stack of collected class assignments.
“Bu Xuexi’s assignment is still missing. He called me this morning, saying he was helping an old lady across the street and got scammed. Then he used a B-box performance to confuse the old lady, and that’s how he managed to get away.”
“Truly a hard day for him,” Ying Tongchen said, “Next time there’s a school performance, be sure to include him.”
“No problem!” Zhuo Zi then pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, “Oh and this is something my bigger brother asked me to give you.”
Ying Tongchen raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected Big Brother Zhuo to be so obedient. With a polite smile, he accepted the paper. “Alright, class is about to start. You should head back to your classroom.”
After Zhuo Zi left, Ying Tongchen unfolded the piece of paper. The neat and beautiful handwriting immediately caught his attention. The page was densely filled with words, conveying an impression of genuine sincerity.
A flicker of suspicion crossed Ying Tongchen’s mind. He opened Baidu, typed the opening sentence into the search bar, and, as he’d suspected, the complete text appeared instantly.
His gaze dropped to the signature at the bottom of the page—Zhuo Fu*— Father Zhuo’s name.
(TLN: lol still a homonym to Father Zhou)
It appeared that this Big Brother Zhuo was determined to keep up his busted act until the end. Thus, Ying Tongchen was sure Big Brother Zhuo would have no qualms about assigning this ‘parent’ a little extra “homework” in the future.
After a full day of classes, he assigned a practice test during evening self-study. The students groaned in protest but reluctantly buried their heads in their papers.
Ying Tongchen sat at the podium, marking assignments, when he noticed Zhuo Zi in the first row staring blankly at his glasses. He gave her a warning look and muttered in a low voice, “Hurry up and do your assignment.”
“Teacher, that eyeglass chain of yours looks really nice,” Zhuo Zi said with a cheeky smile. “You look especially cool when wearing it.”
Ying Tongchen froze, his gaze dropping to the chain. It was a gift from Zhuo Shuo, left unworn in his office since its purchase.
Just then, a fleeting shadow crossed his peripheral vision.
Zheng Zhinan was crouching by the window, waving a silent greeting.
“Focus on your work, everyone. No copying,” Ying Tongchen said, snapping his pen closed and getting up to leave.
Zheng Zhinan quickly moved in, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and was about to grab a couple when Ying Tongchen cautioned, “Be careful, the principal might come by.”
Zheng Zhinan shoved the pack back into his pocket and let out a dramatic sigh. “Bro, tell me, what do I have to do to get Sheng Wu to like me?”
“I don’t know, I've got no experience either,” Ying Tongchen replied, turning around and leaning against the railing, his eyes scanning the classroom, checking the students.
Zheng Zhinan let out a long sigh. “I asked her to go moon gazing on Mid-Autumn Festival, but she said no. I tried asking her out again over the National Day break, and she turned me down again.”
Ying Tongchen raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “How did she turn you down?”
“She said it was supposed to rain on Mid-Autumn Festival, so going out wasn’t a good idea. For National Day, she said it’s too crowded, so that wasn’t a good idea either,” Zheng Zhinan explained.
“Those are fair points,” Ying Tongchen shrugged. “Rain and crowds definitely make it tough to go out.”
“But here’s the thing,” Zheng Zhinan continued, “I suggested going to my place for the moon gazing, and for National Day, I asked her to the pool hall right by school.”
“...” Ying Tongchen paused, patting his shoulder sympathetically. “Bro, looks like you’ve got a long road ahead. Keep at it.”
The Mid-Autumn Festival was fast approaching, landing on a Saturday, with the holiday kicking off on Friday.
Ying Tongchen returned to his apartment to pack his stuff, planning to head to his old man's place first thing tomorrow.
After dinner, he remembered he hadn’t been to the fitness club in a week, so he shot Meng Gong a quick message on WeChat and drove over.
The flow of traffic was sluggish. What typically took fifteen minutes had stretched into a half-hour, and he was still stuck on the road.
Just as he was feeling impatient, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID—Zhuo Shu.
"Hello."
"Got time tomorrow?" Zhuo Shu asked.
"What's up?"
Zhuo Shu paused for a moment. "Want to go stargazing?"
"No," Ying Tongchen replied. "It might rain tomorrow."
"...Damn weather!" Zhuo Shu thought for a second before quickly saying, "But Wimbledon's supposed to be clear."
"..." Ying Tongchen began to suspect that Zheng Zhinan was actually Zhuo Shu's real brother.
"Still, no, I'm going home tomorrow."
Zhuo Shu flipped through his calendar and itinerary. With the National Day activities still ahead, he was already planning a relaxing getaway to a small island after the event. "What about after National Day? Want to go on a trip?"
"No, too crowded."
"..." Zhuo Shu pulled a long face. "Did I give you too much face?"
Ying Tongchen chuckled to himself, looking at the traffic jam ahead. The frustration that had been weighing on him dissipated a bit. In his mind, Zhuo Shu's face appeared, and he could almost imagine his expression right now, like a scruffy husky.
If Zhuo Shu were in front of him, he probably wouldn’t be able to keep himself from scratching his chin and ruffling his fur.
"You still dare to laugh?!" Zhuo Shu ground his teeth.
"My apologies," Ying Tongchen said, still chuckling.
The car in front moved slowly, and he turned the steering wheel, but just as quickly, the car ahead came to an abrupt halt.
Bang—
Ying Tongchen lurched forward slightly: "..."
Zhuo Shu heard the noise and asked, "What happened?"
"I rear-ended someone, I’m hanging up for now."
Zhuo Shu put away his phone and saw his chauffeur turning around from the driver's seat, looking distraught. "Boss, the car in front just slammed on its brakes, so I had to stop too, and... we got rear-ended."
Zhuo Shu: "..."
Before the boss could get angry, the chauffeur hurriedly got out of the car to handle the situation.
The owner of the car behind was a young man, who seemed rather easygoing. The two didn’t argue, and both acknowledged their own mistakes.
The chauffeur quickly ran back to report, "Boss, that guy agreed to cover the repair costs, but we’ll have to wait for the insurance company to arrive. You might want to take a cab back for now, I'll wait here."
"Is it serious?"
"Just a little scratch."
Zhuo Shu, feeling irritated, got out of the car to assess the damage. He turned around and saw Ying Tongchen inspecting the vehicle, almost tripping over his own feet. "What are you doing here?"
Ying Tongchen was equally surprised. "Is this your car?"
"Yeah." Zhuo Shu’s expression grew even darker as he approached, staring him down. "You rejected me twice over the phone! Then you come and hit my car—what the hell do you want? Trying to get my attention or something?"
Observing Zhuo Shu's delightfully frazzled state, Ying Tongchen tilted his head, a grin spreading across his face. He reached out and gave Zhuo Shu's chin a playful scratch with his finger.
Zhuo Shu: "!"
Chauffeur: "!!!" Danger, a tiger’s fur can’t be touched, what is this car owner doing?
"Impudent." Zhuo Shu hissed, his glare fierce, yet his feet betrayed his true feelings, twitching nervously as his toes began to fidget.
Chauffeur: "…?"
Boss, you're not acting like yourself.
.
.
.
TL Note: Hehehe cause your boss is a tsun tsun husky.
—
Footnote:
[1] I have never seen such a shameless person as this! (我从未见过如此厚颜无耻之人！) - is from the 1994 TV adaptation of ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ (三国演义), specifically from episode 69. This line is delivered by Zhuge Liang (played by Tang Guoqiang) during a confrontation with Wang Lang. In the scene, Zhuge Liang, after hearing Wang Lang’s shameless remarks, fiercely declares this line as an expression of disdain for Wang Lang's audacity (and then the latter dies from his diss). The moment has since been immortalized as a meme in Chinese internet culture, often used to express outrage or disbelief in a humorous or exaggerated way.