Chapter 297 Awkward to the End
His brothers and sisters had never cared about whether he was tired or in pain. His cousins were only eyeing him covetously, waiting to trample him under their feet.
This was the first time he felt the warmth and beauty of a normal family. Zhuang Liu smiled inadvertently. The sweetness was like eating candy from Tan Rou.
After dinner, the few of them planned to go to the living room to sit and relax for a while. Zhuang Liu was in a wheelchair and did not need a sofa, so he stayed at the side. Tan Rou was about to sit on the sofa in the corner of the balcony when Tao Zheng suddenly ran over. He wanted to sit beside Zhuang Liu before Tan Rou to isolate them.
However, he didn’t notice the coffee table and he pounced on it. Zhuang Liu saw him fall over and subconsciously reached out to help him up. Coincidentally, Tao Zheng fell into his arms.
The two of them hugged each other tightly, and for a moment, they were so embarrassed that they forgot to separate.
Tan Rou stood there and teased her brother. “Second Brother, do you really like Third Brother Zhuang that much? Why did you throw yourself into his arms?”
Tao Zheng was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He struggled to get up, but Zhuang Liu’s wheelchair was not locked and he slid out. Tao Zheng came out of Zhuang Liu’s arms and lay on the ground again.
“Hey! Hey!” Tan Rou jumped over the sofa and grabbed the armrest before Zhuang Liu’s wheelchair hit the balcony door. “Thank god you didn’t hit anything.”
“What are you doing, Little Zheng?” Mrs. Tao asked in surprise when she saw her son lying on the ground. “The floor hasn’t been mopped yet.”
Tao Zheng wished that he could dig a hole in the floor and hide in it. It was enough to embarrass himself once but he humiliated himself twice in a row. If word got out, wouldn’t he be laughed at to death?
Tao Qi pounded on the sofa and laughed. As he laughed, he told his mother the joke he had just made. “Mom, you didn’t see how funny Second Brother was. Just now, he suddenly fell into big brother’s arms. Then, when he got up, he pushed big brother’s wheelchair away and fell to the ground like a toad.”
Mrs. Tao burst into laughter. “Little Zheng, why are you so raggatt? Hurry up and apologize to Xiao Zhuang.”
Tao Zheng got up from the ground and was about to walk over to push Zhuang Liu back when he accidentally stepped on the Lego pieces that Tao Qi had dropped on the ground. With a bang, he fell onto the sofa.
Tao Zheng rolled his eyes, looking like he had nothing to live for. Why was he so unlucky today?!
He wanted to give Zhuang Liu a warning to not get close to his sister, but he had failed due to his misfortunes. He fell in the same place three times in a few minutes and almost fainted.
Tan Rou pushed Zhuang Liu to the other side of the sofa. After securing the wheelchair, she came back to Tao Zheng and said, “Second Brother, let me take a look at you. You’ve completely lost your balance. Did you injured your head?”
Mrs. Tao became nervous. “Huh?! Hurry up and allow your sister to do a check up on you. Did you really hurt your head?”
Tao Zheng got up and looked at them with a red face. Then, he limped back to his room. “No, I’m fine. I’ll go back and look at the photos.”
After he left, a burst of laughter came from the living room. Everyone was laughing at him. Even Zhuang Liu couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He now felt that Second Brother Tan Rou was not only smart, but also very interesting.
“Come, come, come. Have some fruit.” Mrs. Tao pushed the cut fruit in front of Zhuang Liu. “Xiao Zhuang, don’t take it to heart. Xiao Zheng isn’t an emotionally stable young man sometimes.”
Zhuang Liu didn’t mind. On the contrary, he felt that this was quite interesting. Moreover, Tao Zheng was quite energetic. His leg was already badly injured, but he still limped back to his room quickly. He thought that Tao Zheng was in fact heroic.
They ate fruits and chatted about their daily life.
“Why haven’t I seen uncle?” Zhuang Liu asked.
“Dad went to work overtime,” Tao Qi answered quickly.
Tan Rou said, “Dad has been working overtime recently. Sometimes, he’s not back even when I’m back from school.”
“Well… it’s for the overtime benefit. He gets paid more.” Mother Tao quickly added nervously.
“Didn’t I tell you not to work too hard?” Tan Rou said.
“Our family doesn’t lack money.”
Mrs. Tao smiled. “How can I spend your money? Every time you give it to us, we’ll keep it for you. We can then spend it for you in the future if you need it.”
Tan Rou smiled helplessly. “Aiya, just spend it if I tell you to. Don’t be stingy. Your daughter can earn more.”
Zhuang Liu watched the interaction of the Tao family from the side. The gentle and understanding mother, the obedient, smart, and sensible daughter, the youngest son who would say a few witty words from time to time, and the second son who hid in his room because he was afraid of embarrassing himself. They formed a happy family.
It was too late. Zhuang Liu felt that he shouldn’t stay any longer, so he asked Xiao Mo to come and pick him up. Tan Rou and her family came out to send Zhuang Liu off; even Tao Zheng came out. He could not wait for Zhuang Liu to leave as soon as possible.