Back to the 70s: My Childhood Sweetheart Spoils Me Rotten-Chapter 817 - 819: What Is Integrity?

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Xu Zhengming hesitated for a long time. It was so late already, who could it be? It couldn’t be someone coming to eat, could it?

He thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out who it might be. Although his small restaurant had only been open for a few days, not many people had come to eat, which was fortunate since the daily income was decent. Xu Zhengming was quite satisfied.

However, the knocking continued. Thinking it over, maybe someone really was here to eat. Luckily, Xu Zhengming had worried about having evening guests and prepared some food. As for fish and chicken, he had some at home.

After considering the stock at home, he felt much more at ease, at least not having to worry about guests leaving disappointed.

"Old Xu," Zhuge Zhi saw the courtyard door was ajar and quickly slipped inside.

Zhuge Zhi was genuinely worried that the proud Old Xu would see it was them coming to eat and would shut the door out of embarrassment.

Furthermore, he was absolutely certain they wouldn’t try knocking again that evening, and more importantly, he worried Old Xu might not open the restaurant.

"Old Xu," Wan Dajun couldn’t help but laugh at Zhuge Zhi’s cheeky behavior, but he managed to hold back and greeted Xu Zhengming.

Hearing such a familiar voice, Xu Zhengming’s first instinct was to shut the door, but he couldn’t match Zhuge Zhi’s swift movements.

Xu Zhengming felt all kinds of helplessness. The reason he wasn’t eager to contact old friends was that he didn’t want them to see how difficult his life was now.

"You’ve opened up a place, not even informing us. Afraid we might come mooching off you, are you?"

"Exactly, Old Xu is the most cunning. He wouldn’t share delicious food with us and would only secretly eat it on his own."

Zhuge Zhi and Wan Dajun took turns poking fun at Xu Zhengming, painting him in such a poor light, it seemed like Xu Zhengming had run off with their money and was caught by the creditors.

Gong Ruini was amazed at how Zhuge Zhi and Wan Dajun could chat so easily. She was baffled watching them. Having known Zhuge Zhi for so long, practically growing up together under the same roof, Gong Ruini had never seen Zhuge Zhi be so talkative.

Moreover, they were constantly teasing others; she was genuinely surprised. Was this another side of them?

"So scary," Zhao Guangran said, his mouth wide open.

Scary? What was scary about it? Gong Ruini couldn’t understand why Zhao Guangran would say that.

"If they were like this at home one day..." Zhao Guangran really couldn’t imagine such a scene.

"I always thought my brother was fierce when teasing others, never imagined..."

"No way, I can’t let my brother learn from this, otherwise I’ll be in for it."

Thinking about how his brother might turn on him like this, Zhao Guangran felt faint. He couldn’t handle that at all.

This poor kid had probably been fooled by Zhuge Zhi and his gang into losing his mind, not realizing Zhao Xuran was right there beside him.

Even as Zhao Guangran lowered his voice, worried the elders might hear him gossiping, Zhao Xuran could still hear him.

Zhao Xuran maybe hadn’t even considered using this tactic to discipline Zhao Guangran, but when this silly kid mentioned it, Zhao Xuran took note.

Zhao Xuran didn’t think much of Zhao Guangran’s attempts to sully his reputation; it was expected behavior from his brother.

What annoyed Zhao Xuran was why Zhao Guangran had to bring it up in front of Gong Ruini. Had he been too lenient and relaxed with him, letting him get away with so much?

"Guangran, I think I might discuss this with Grandpa Zhuge sometime." Zhao Xuran said softly behind Zhao Guangran.

Though the words were whispered, in Zhao Guangran’s ears, they were as explosive as a landmine, "No, don’t!"

"Brother, please don’t." Sarcasm, teasing, jeering... oh my gosh, just thinking about that scene drove Zhao Guangran crazy.

Holding his head, filled with all kinds of regrets, Zhao Guangran lamented how stupid he had been to say such things, and now his brother had caught him red-handed.

Alas, even though they grew up together, why didn’t they support him in critical times? Zhao Guangran looked at Gong Ruini with a longing gaze.

Gong Ruini turned her head away, unwilling to look. She wanted to help but not at the expense of getting herself involved, "You were the one who spoke too fast."

Aaah, Zhao Guangran wanted to cry. This was truly his fault, alas, why was everything going wrong today?

Sigh, it must have been Wan Yihui’s thick-headed... no, it was that guy constantly laughing at him that provoked him into making continuous mistakes.

While Zhao Guangran held his head and mourned, he didn’t notice that everyone around was watching him, including

"You could just stop making mistakes." Zhao Xuran said nonchalantly.

Stop making mistakes? He didn’t want to make mistakes either, but the thing was, "Is it possible for me not to make mistakes?"

"Would I still be me if I didn’t make mistakes?" Zhao Guangran wanted to proudly say he wouldn’t make mistakes, but he couldn’t guarantee it.

The important thing was, if he promised not to make mistakes, they would definitely bring up all the silly things he had said today, and that would be a huge disaster. Just thinking about it felt terrifying to Zhao Guangran.

This made everyone chuckle. Even Zhuge Zhi and the others, who had been causing all sorts of commotion, stopped to hear what ambitious things Zhao Guangran might say, but they hadn’t expected him to be so spineless.

"Can’t you have a bit more spine?" Zhao Guangran’s shameless reply left Zhao Xuran at a loss for words.

"Can you eat pride?" Zhao Guangran looked puzzled, "I want to have pride, but if I make mistakes later, you all will definitely bring this up for ages."

This guy was really slippery. Everyone was used to Zhao Guangran’s ways, only here did it not feel out of place.

Recognizing your own shortcomings and not promising to do things you can’t is better than putting on a brave front. Of course, if he could avoid making mistakes so easily, it would be even better.

Can you eat pride? Xu Zhengming wavered. His whole life he believed you shouldn’t lose your pride, yet how could a child say such a thing with ease.

A faint displeasure filled Xu Zhengming’s heart. Though he didn’t go out much, he was aware of the outside world’s changes.

Due to family reasons, he had to do some things against his will, but why could such a young child say such things so effortlessly?

"Alright, let’s go inside and eat." Seeing Xu Zhengming’s expression soured, Zhuge Zhi immediately held him, recalling his friend’s definition of pride.

"Today, you must show your best. You know this is my treat, celebrating two kids from the family doing well in their college entrance exams."

Zhuge Zhi genuinely cared for Zhao Xuran and the children, like grandchildren, not wanting them to leave a bad impression on Xu Zhengming.

Ah, didn’t he not get along well with his brothers? Also, haven’t there been no successful kids from the Zhuge Family? Had he missed so much while being cooped up at home these past years?

"Not those fools in my family." Now wasn’t the time to discuss this. Zhuge Zhi signaled he’d explain later.