TGDS Chapter 68.1

The Good Dad System (Arc 9) Chapter 68.1: Run, Boy! (5)

The sun gradually sets, and the distant horizon is dyed with beautiful sunset glow. From time to time, passers-by can’t help but stop, raise their mobile phones to take pictures, or take a look and use their eyes to record the beauty of the moment.

“Xiangdong, see you tomorrow!” He Xiaoliang rode his bicycle with one foot on the ground. He has always been very fashionable and was riding the “fixed gear” which was the most popular among classmates of this age group.

“Be careful on the road.” Pei Xiangdong put his hands in his pockets, with a worried look on his face, “Replace this broken bike of yours as soon as possible.” According to his idea, he could just ride an ordinary bicycle. If he really disliked it, he could buy a mountain bike. This fixed gear bike didn’t even have brakes. Once after school, he was walking behind and saw a group of classmates. Someone in front of him suddenly braked, and the people behind him put their legs on the ground and forced the foot brakes. Why did he feel that this was not cool at all?

“You don’t understand.” He Xiaoliang, who boasted about being the fashion icon of Experimental Middle School, said, “A summer insect can’t talk about ice. The top students won’t understand the happiness of the underdogs.” “That’s the coolest thing to ride. I’m not going to talk to you anymore. Let’s go. Be careful on the road.”

Pei Xiangdong looked helpless: “Okay, okay, go quickly.” He quietly watched his friend disappear from his sight, and then set out on the way home. His home was quite far from the school, and it took about twenty minutes to walk – and that was without waiting for traffic lights. Pei Naochun suggested buying him a bicycle, but he didn’t agree, because it was nice to have quiet time alone.

When he was in elementary school, his favorite thing was to carry his schoolbag and rush forward at full speed, imagining someone racing with him in his mind. Every time he went home to unlock the door, the first thing he would do was to look at the clock, and his face would be full of satisfaction after confirming the total time he had spent.

Now, he turned around and looked at the school behind him. He could see the tallest clock tower in the school from a distance. The blueprint of A County Experimental Middle School was made by a specially hired designer. The other party arranged such a tall tower with an iron frame underneath and the school motto and school name inlaid on it. It was not expensive and very beautiful. The students were quite used to it. They could see the time by looking out of the classroom.

It’s 5:55 now. Turning the corner, I’m on the small road. The familiar blue and white school uniforms are gone. Then I can start running.

A girl in his class once asked Pei Xiangdong why he loved running. At this age and time, many girls began to get tired of physical education classes. After all, sweat and sun exposure weren’t exactly good things for a girl just beginning to develop a love for beauty. After running, sshe often felt breathless, and if he ran too fast, she’d get a dull pain in her abdomen. To many, liking running was considered odd.

He didn’t answer at that time, but just smiled, because he really didn’t know how to say it, but every time he ran, he had the answer in his heart.

Have you ever heard the sound of the wind? When you run, even your surroundings become blurred. The clearest sounds in your world are your footsteps, your breathing, and the wind. Your whole body feels lighter, and you run forward, forward, and forward, with only the front in your sight.

Although running like this often attracted slightly surprised glances from passers-by, Pei Xiangdong, who was now in his second year of junior high school, did not feel ashamed. He just enjoyed the excitement of the moment.

It won’t be long before they reach home. The house the Pei family bought is in a residential complex opposite the County A Hospital. County A had undergone a large-scale demolition in the early years, and the old house where the father and son lived was located within the demolition area. Later, in order to make it convenient for the two to go to school and work, they transferred the resettlement house and added money to buy this one.

The community is quite full of residents. There are many elderly people taking a walk with their children downstairs. The residents all look familiar to each other. They wave and greet Pei Xiangdong as soon as they see him. They have lived here for a long time and have long turned the community, which used to be divided into different sections, back to the way it used to be when neighbors were familiar with each other.

“Well, Grandpa Liu, I’m going upstairs. Please walk slowly.” Pei Xiangdong was panting. Although he wiped himself a few times with his hands roughly, one could still see the sweat on his face if one looked closely.

“Okay, don’t take a shower right away when you get home. It’s not good for your health.”

“Yeah, I got it!”

Grandpa Liu watched Pei Xiangdong go upstairs, feeling a little emotional. Of all the kids in the neighborhood, Xiangdong was the best! Every time he saw them coming home from school with bags, he would immediately come over to help, worried that they were too old to carry them. He was also polite and greeted everyone he met. He also heard that he had done well in the exams at Experimental Middle School!

But ah…

He sighed, but Dr. Pei couldn’t see it. Perhaps it was because he was old, and seeing a child like Xiangdong’s age was like seeing his own grandson, so soft-hearted? He still remembered one time, Xiangdong had some conflict with Dr. Pei, and he ran downstairs to squat by the equipment, crying like a little cat. When he asked, he found out that Pei Xiangdong had won second prize in some kind of calligraphy competition at school! He was just thinking this was a good thing when he heard Xiangdong crying and saying that his father said he didn’t practice seriously, so he got second place. If he had been more careful and worked harder, he might have won first prize.

Before long, Doctor Pei came running down, calling everywhere. Pei Xiangdong didn’t dare to stay there for long, and went over sobbing. Doctor Pei didn’t have the habit of beating children, but he just started criticizing them verbally. What did he say?

He remembered what Dr. Pei had said at the time: “Why are you so fragile? Can’t Daddy tell you anything? Your teacher has already said that you’re just not focused enough. If you practice your handwriting more, you can win first prize. Daddy was just speaking the truth, and you’re still stubborn? Life is so long, and you’ll encounter so many problems. Do you still want to run? Then you’ll see how far you can run.”

Grandpa Liu couldn’t help himself and leaned over, saying with a smile, “Doctor Pei, look, this kid won second prize, and our kid couldn’t even get a certificate! What do you think he’s doing?”

Doctor Pei has always been a good person and was polite to old people like them. At that time, he frowned and said in a gentle voice: “Uncle Liu, you don’t know, this child is young and has a lot of problems. A few words of praise can make you feel proud! I usually don’t have much time to take care of him. You see, he has no self-awareness when practicing calligraphy. He can obviously win the first prize, but he got the second prize. Of course I have to say something. I know you love him, but if he does something wrong, we should say it! Besides, you see, he runs out when he gets angry with me. Which child is so noisy?” After speaking, he exchanged a few more words of greeting and took Pei Xiangdong upstairs.

Grandpa Liu still remembers it clearly. When Pei Xiangdong heard Dr. Pei say that he was careless and not careful, he wanted to open his mouth to refute several times, but he closed his mouth with tears in his eyes. He looked so uncomfortable that it was heartbreaking for him at his age. Later, he couldn’t help but talk about this incident with his wife, saying that he couldn’t understand it. Dr. Pei was such a nice person and spoke so nicely, but why did he treat his own son like this?

His wife rolled her eyes at him while watching TV. “Your son bought you a new outfit, and you wore it out and people complimented you, but you’re always pretending, aren’t you?” She choked out, “Oh, no, it’s not that nice, and it’s not warm. He insisted on buying it for me. You could have said something nice, but you didn’t say anything good, did you? Doctor Pei is being modest. Besides, Xiangdong is so outstanding, doesn’t that prove that this management method is correct?”

…That’s right. After hearing his wife’s analogy, Grandpa Liu seemed to suddenly understand. But why did he keep thinking, “Something’s not right?” But what exactly was wrong?

The Pei family’s house was on the sixth floor. He took the elevator up and entered the house. It was still dark inside. His father always came home a little late. After getting off work, he sometimes had to go to the ward to write a couple of medical records or see patients. When he was done, he would pack up meals from the hospital cafeteria. Basically, the Pei family would start eating at seven o’clock every day.

He relaxed for a moment and then went to take a shower. Pei Xiangdong had a standard spiky buzz cut at an old barber shop with only one storefront at the door. It cost eight yuan for a wash, cut and blow-dry package. After washing his hair, he didn’t even need to blow-dry it. He just wrapped it with a towel, wiped it, and shook it in front of the sink, and it was already about 70% dry. Others blow-dried their hair to make it look flowing, but for him, that didn’t exist.

On the front page of the open textbook were two colorful figures cut out from newspapers. One was a renowned sprinter in China. At the Olympics just past summer, he withdrew due to injury, and the sight of him limping to the side of the track had shocked countless people. The other was a Jamaican sprinter who had won both the 100m and 200m titles at this year’s Olympics. One yellow, one white, they were pasted to the left and right of the word “English.” It wasn’t that he disdained the English textbook; it was simply that this was the largest, and the other textbooks wouldn’t have room for the figures.

Most of the boys in the class watch football and basketball, while more girls are fans of celebrities. People like him who watch track and field competitions and cut newspapers are rare and few in number.

He still remembered the sports commentator casually remarking during a race analysis: “Whether it’s long-distance or short-distance running, black people have always dominated. Nine out of ten champions are black.” He and his partner seemed silent for a moment, then perked up. “But over the years, sometimes someone breaks through. I believe that in the future we will have the opportunity to say, ‘Who says yellow people can’t win?'”