Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

Chapter 157 Slamming the Table!

Within those four seconds, Li Chen heard his mother Shen Ruolan's voice in the background—"What did he say?"

He said he wasn't coming back. He was going out with his girlfriend.

"Going out for fun? Where to go? How many days? Where to stay?"

"Ask him!"

Li Mohan's voice came through the microphone again.

"Li Chen, explain yourself clearly."

"Not decided yet. Probably by car. Heading south along the coast."

"You dare tell me you're not coming back without even making a decision?"

"Even if I make the reservation, I won't come back."

Li Mohan's breathing became heavier.

"Don't you know what kind of temper your grandfather has? He said he wanted to see someone, and you're telling him to wait?"

"Tell Grandpa it will happen next time."

"Next time? Give me a next time. A specific date."

Li Chen leaned back in his chair. He switched the phone to the other earpiece.

"Take her there during the first month of the lunar calendar."

What day of the first lunar month?

"Third year of junior high school."

"Second year of junior high."

"She's in her third year of junior high. She might have plans for her second year."

"What are her plans?"

"I have to ask her."

Li Mohan's voice dropped half an octave. It was the kind of sudden shift from a smiling face to a cold one.

"Li Chen, I have a question for you. Answer it carefully."

"explain."

"Are you my biological son or her biological son?"

"She's yours. But she's more important than you."

A muffled sound came from the receiver.

Li Chen guessed that his father had slammed his hand on the table, or perhaps on his thigh.

"you--"

Shen Ruolan's voice came through in the background. It was very clear. She had probably moved closer to the microphone.

"Son, are you going on a trip with Yan Xi by yourself?"

"Um."

"Driving yourself?"

"Um."

"A few days?"

"Five to seven days. It depends."

"What's the route?"

"Coastal. South of the river. Specifics haven't been finalized yet."

Shen Ruolan's tone lacked the oppressive quality of Li Mohan's. Her questioning style was information-gathering. She left a two-second pause between each question, giving her son some breathing room.

"What about accommodation?"

"We'll look for it when we get there."

"Do you have money?"

"The prize money is still available."

"Do Xixi's family know?"

Li Chen's fingers paused for a moment.

"I will discuss it with her."

Shen Ruolan did not press the matter further.

"Okay. Be careful. Let Mom know you're safe every day."

"understood."

"Give your dad a break. You hang up first."

Li Chen hung up the phone.

The three roommates maintained the exact same posture in their respective positions—heads tilted to the side, ears perked up, mouths slightly open.

Wang Qiang spoke first.

"Are you really not going home?"

"I won't reply."

"Taking your sister-in-law on a road trip?"

"Um."

"The coastal line?"

"Um."

"A few days?"

Five to seven days.

Wang Qiang turned to look at Zhao Zixuan. Zhao Zixuan turned to look at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo pushed up his glasses.

"Supplementary Sample Record: In resource allocation decisions between his girlfriend and his family of origin, Li Chen explicitly prioritized his girlfriend over his parents for the first time. This behavior marks a structural shift in his emotional focus, consistent with the developmental stage in Bowlby's attachment theory where 'the partner replaces the parents as the primary attachment figure'—"

"Speak like a human being." Zhao Zixuan threw a pillow.

"His father can't see his daughter-in-law anymore."

Wang Qiang slapped his thigh. "Will your dad beat you?"

"He can't hit me. I'm in Linjiang, he's in the capital."

"That was the tone you used on the phone. You'll be kneeling on a washboard when you get home, won't you?"

Li Chen opened Yan Xi's chat window.

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

He recounted what had just happened in the most concise way possible. He typed. He sent.

[Li Chen: I refused my dad's request to bring you home. I'd like to go on a trip with you during the holidays. A road trip. Heading south along the coast. You decide the date.]

Send it out.

Thirty seconds.

No reply.

One minute.

Wang Qiang leaned closer. "Didn't you reply?"

Don't look at my phone.

One minute and thirty seconds.

The phone lit up.

[Yan Xi: What was your dad's reaction?]

[Li Chen: Slammed his fist on the table.]

Eight seconds.

[Yan Xi: Aren't you afraid?]

[Li Chen: I'm scared. But I want to go out with you even more.]

Twelve seconds.

[Yan Xi: How many days?]

[Li Chen: You're in charge.]

[Yan Xi: Five days. I'm going home on the first day of junior high.]

[Li Chen: Okay. Shall we leave the day after tomorrow?]

Six seconds.

[Yan Xi: Tomorrow.]

Li Chen's thumb stopped on the screen.

tomorrow.

He glanced at the textbooks and test papers that hadn't been tidied up on the table. Then he glanced at the wardrobe.

[Li Chen: Okay. What time tomorrow?]

[Yan Xi: 7 AM. I'll drive. You'll be in charge of navigation.]

[Li Chen: I'll decide the route?]

[Yan Xi: You decide. Send it to me when you're done. There's one request.]

[Li Chen: Say it.]

[Yan Xi: There must be a sea along the way.]

Li Chen stared at the last four words.

He opened the map software. South of the river. Along the coast.

Slide your finger across the screen.

Blue arcs of cities, highways, and coastlines unfold on the screen.

He marked the first point.

Then the second one.

The third.

Wang Qiang peeked out from behind. "You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Um."

"What's the route?"

"In the planning stages."

"Do you need my help?"

"Need not."

Li Chen turned off Wang Qiang's outstretched head. He then turned on the computer.

He started doing what he did best.

Scrape weather data for coastal cities. Include the probability of precipitation, wind speed, and sunrise/sunset times for the next five days.

We selected highly-rated, less-visited guesthouses. We excluded trendy, Instagrammable spots. We kept restaurants recommended by locals.

Calculate the driving time for each segment of the trip. Mark the distances between gas stations and rest areas along the route.

Two hours later.

A 47-page PDF has been generated.

File name: Coastal self-driving tour - five days.

Day 1: Linjiang → Haining. Total journey time: 3 hours. Arrive in the evening. Stay in a guesthouse converted from a seaside fishing village. A five-minute walk to the rocky beach. Sunset time: 17:12.

Day 2: Haining → Shengsi Islands. Ferry. Sailing time: 40 minutes. There is a ring road around the islands. You can visit the lighthouse in the afternoon.

Day 3: Shengsi → Wenling. Shitang Town. Stone houses. The waves were huge after the typhoon. There was a noodle shop on the edge of a cliff that only sold seafood noodles, limited to thirty bowls a day.

Day 4: Wenling → Xiapu. Mudflats. Sunrise time: 06:47. According to local photography forum data, the best spot for photographing mudflats in winter is the third viewing platform on the east side of Beiqi Village.

Day 5: Xiapu → Return trip. Taking the inland expressway. Expected arrival in Linjiang before 4 PM.

Each page includes notes.

Which road has many curves and requires slowing down? Which service area has clean restrooms? Which guesthouse uses buckwheat pillows?

The last page.

He added a line of text.

"P.S. I'll keep your favorite kind of yogurt in the car fridge. Low sugar. Not the stirred type. You said the stirred type is too sticky."

He sent the PDF to Yan Xi.

Three minutes later.

[Yan Xi: On the third day, the noodle shop in Shitang only serves 30 bowls a day. What time does it open?]

[Li Chen: 6:30 AM. I suggest arriving at 6:00 AM.]

[Yan Xi: It's still dark at six o'clock in the morning in winter.]

[Li Chen: I'll go queue up. You sleep in the car for another half hour.]