CHAPTER 648: CHAPTER 647 MAINLY TO PAMPER THE CHILD

Lin Nianhe made her meaning very clear—

Zheng Shan needs to attend school, and her happiness is the most important thing.

In short, no beating and no scolding are allowed, everything must be approached with coaxing.

Wei Hongwei was somewhat speechless; he clenched his teeth as if they hurt and hesitated for a while before saying, "You are... spoiling the child too much."

He had only heard about "strict discipline, beat if disobedient" kind of guidelines, never this kind.

Lin Nianhe simply stated: "If you don’t think it feasible, pretend we never came today."

After all, the provincial team wasn’t the only option; there were table tennis teams much closer to Lan County. But there, Zheng Shan had no relatives, and Nianhe was not very reassured.

Wei Hongwei frowned, looking towards Zheng Shan who was not far away, without giving an immediate reply.

He wanted to keep this child.

But training isn’t child’s play; how could you coddle at every turn?

Seeing his indecision, Lin Nianhe finally dropped a bombshell: "Actually, Shanshan’s mother was planning to hire someone to teach her. If she comes for two hours after school every day, the monthly tuition fee would be thirty yuan; if she only comes during winter and summer vacations, the fee would be one yuan per hour."

"Could you introduce us to an experienced coach if you don’t have the time to teach?"

Wei Hongwei: "...!"

Thirty yuan!

That’s higher than his salary as a coach!

"Look what you’re saying; I knew at first glance that Shanshan has talent, how could I let such a good apprentice go to someone else! Plus, I’ve thought about it, and I think you’re right, a girl should not be treated the same as rowdy boys, interest is the most important!"

He wasn’t after the money, he just wanted to coax the child now.

Lin Nianhe, with no disdain whatsoever, smiled lightly and nodded: "If it’s okay with you, that’s great; we’ll go back and ask Shanshan how she feels about it. If she’s willing to learn from you, I’ll bring her over tomorrow."

Wei Hongwei was startled.

So the matter wasn’t completely settled yet!

He licked his lips, nodding, "Right, right, right, it’s up to the child..."

He began to regret—was his attitude not so good before? Did he look too stern? He hadn’t said much to the child either...

With a belly full of remorse, Wei Hongwei gathered two pieces of candy from the team members and approached Zheng Shan with the kindest smile he could muster: "Shanshan, here, have some candy!"

Zheng Shan: "..."

This uncle smiles just like her little brother.

Lin Nianhe did not stop Wei Hongwei’s overeager behavior; she touched Zheng Shan’s back, feeling that both the shirt and sweater were wet.

"Coach Wei, could you drive the car to the entrance of the training field? The child’s clothes are still wet, I’m worried she’ll catch a cold," said Lin Nianhe.

"Of course! No problem!" Wei Hongwei readily agreed, almost running out to carry the car in.

Lin Nianhe told Zheng Shan to wait and went out to bring the car inside.

The driver wasn’t Su Yuncheng, who was working today, but Brother Zhang, the driver for Sun Bo who had driven them.

Zheng Lirong, sitting in the car, was anxious from the wait; finally seeing Lin Nianhe come out, she was about to ask when she saw Lin Nianhe shake her head through the window; all Lirong could do was suppress her worries and continue to wait.

The car stopped at the entrance of the training field, Brother Zhang got out of the car, brought out a military coat, wrapped the sweaty Zheng Shan up tightly, and lifted her into the car.

"Thank you for your trouble."

Lin Nianhe thanked Wei Hongwei.

"No worries, no worries," Wei Hongwei looked at the jeep, his voice slightly lowered, "then I won’t see you out haha, have a safe trip."

"Alright, no need to see us off."

Wei Hongwei watched as the jeep drove away, the white mist he exhaled crystallizing into frost above his eyebrows.

He silently chanted in his heart: You must come, you must, you must, you must come!

...

Zheng Lirong, holding the scissors, stared at her daughter’s hair, looking as if it had been gnawed by a dog, completely at a loss where to begin cutting.

After a long while, she put down the scissors: "Alright, let’s go find a barber later."

Zheng Shan looked at her, innocent and bewildered.

Lin Nianhe, cracking sunflower seeds, suddenly burst into laughter.

Zheng Lirong sat down and looked at her daughter, who had changed into new clothes, and asked, "Shanshan, if you want to play ping-pong every day with them, you’ll need to return to the provincial city for school... We won’t go back to your old school, Mom will find you a new one."

Zheng Shan’s previous school was close to home, and almost no one was unaware of what happened with Bai Bo; Zheng Lirong was worried that the classmates might say something hurtful and upset her daughter again.

As soon as Zheng Shan heard that she had to go back to the provincial city for school, she immediately turned her head to look at Lin Nianhe, her eyes full of reluctance.

Lin Nianhe rubbed her head and said softly, "I’ll come visit you."

Zheng Shan didn’t speak and her eyes reddened.

She scooted next to Lin Nianhe and snuggled up to her.

Lin Nianhe hugged her, wiped the teardrops from her face, and whispered, "Shanshan, the provincial city is a bit far from Lan County, you can’t have both, so you need to think it over..."

"Or if you don’t want to leave Ten Miles Team, we could just come here during the winter and summer holidays, but that means you won’t have anyone good to play with at Ten Miles Team during the regular days."

Zheng Shan had never faced such a difficult choice before; her lips pursed, indecisive, unwilling to give up either side, wanting both.

Zheng Lirong, seeing her daughter like this, was both heartbroken and reassured.

Reassured because her daughter was so attached to Lin Nianhe, surely meant that they had a very good relationship, and that Lin Nianhe was as good to her two children as she promised.

Zheng Lirong saw Zheng Shan crying and asked with a heartache, "Girl, is there really no one to play with her?"

Her daughter treasured her hair, and to think that she was willing to cut it for the sake of playing ping-pong showed how much she truly loved it.

Lin Nianhe sighed, "Even the sports teachers can’t beat her."

Zheng Lirong: "..."

Well, she had underestimated her own daughter.

Zheng Shan silently shed tears, unable to make a decision.

Lin Nianhe could only say, "Shanshan, let’s first go get your hair trimmed, take your time to think about this, no rush."

Finally, Zheng Shan gave a slight response: "Hmm." Her voice was very light.

Zheng Shan’s hair was not easy to trim, so the barber could only give her a boyish crew cut.

"Thankfully it’s winter," the barber said, "wear a hat all winter, and it will grow out by spring."

Zheng Lirong paid, put a hat on Zheng Shan, and took her hand to leave: "Let’s go, we’re going home, Mom will make you dumplings tonight."

She then looked at Lin Nianhe, "Girl, what stuffing would you like?"

Lin Nianhe smiled and shook her head: "You and your daughter have your personal chat, I’m off to find my partner."

"Hey, right, you’ve been with your partner for a while now, when are you getting married?"

"..."

It might... still take a few years.

In the evening, Zheng Shan snuggled into Zheng Lirong’s embrace and suddenly asked, "Mom, why didn’t you go today?"

Zheng Lirong paused as she patted her hand, and after a moment, she said: "Our family is involved in the black market, Mom was afraid someone might recognize me and it would be bad for you."

She had taken up this trade out of necessity. Although the business was lucrative, it was ultimately looked down upon and had to be kept in the dark.

Zheng Shan asked again, "Mom, if I become a champion, won’t we have to do this anymore?"

Zheng Lirong pinched her face with a smile and said, "What? You’re already thinking of supporting your mother?"

Zheng Shan didn’t say a word, just buried her face in her mother’s arms.