Infinite Game Ch.77.2 – End

Chapter 77.2 – Ordinariness is the Greatest Miracle of Life

The results of the second mock exam were released in the morning, and the parent-teacher meeting was scheduled for the afternoon. When the scores were released in the morning, he was still helping someone look for a small cat. The person who entrusted him to find the cat searched the large courtyard with him for half a day but couldn’t locate it.

The cat was small but surprisingly fast; it disappeared in an instant, diving into the bushes and never to be seen again.

Originally, he had anticipated completing the job in the morning. However, when they finally found the cat, someone passing by frightened it away.

Continuing the search into the afternoon, when the person who entrusted him mentioned feeling a bit hungry, Jiang Yujin suddenly realized that it was already quite late.

At noon, Xu Tonggui, who was still at the SIU, received a phone call from Boss Jiang. There seemed to be something urgent on the other end, as the pace of speaking was rapid:

“Chen Jing has a parent-teacher meeting this afternoon, and I won’t make it in time. You have the afternoon off today, right? Help me attend.”

Getting straight to the point, simple and direct.

Xu Tonggui lightly tapped his finger on the desk and didn’t say much, only responding with a simple “okay” and asking if there was anything he needed to prepare.

The other side told him that there was no need to prepare anything; he just had to wait for some praise.

After the brief negotiation, Jiang Yujin on the other end hung up the phone, then dialed another number.

Before the parent-teacher meeting started, Chen Jing, who was at school, received a call from his father, informing him that someone else would be attending the meeting.

“I found a friend to come over. He’s a very good person, very gentle, easy to talk to, not stern at all. Remember to get along well with him.”

After saying the last sentence, the call was ended.

Chen Jing had just put away his phone when a classmate next to him called him to go to the school gate to wait for parents. He responded with a simple “okay.”

Learning from the lessons of previous parent-teacher meetings, and to prevent random individuals from entering the school during the event, the school required parents to be escorted into the school by their children, otherwise, they would not be allowed in.

During the entire grade’s parent-teacher meeting, the school gate was filled with students and parents peeking in.

Chen Jing looked at the crowd.

The person who was still catching the cat mentioned that he had seen this friend before, and the friend also knew him. He just needed to stand at the school gate and wait.

Chen Jing didn’t really care if no one came to the parent-teacher meeting. However, if the other party insisted on having someone attend, then he would wait here.

Although he was waiting, he hadn’t actually thought about who would be coming. He didn’t know many friends of Jiang Yujin, and it seemed that none of them were easygoing and not stern.

As the classmates gradually found their parents, they began to lead them into the school.

In the bustling crowd, Chen Jing unexpectedly saw someone he thought would never appear here.

It was Xu Tonggui. He seemed to have just come from the SIU, wearing a black top and cargo pants, tall and with long legs, easily visible in the crowd.

His gaze searched through the crowd, focusing on the students in school uniforms.

This person has a child?

— These things are no longer important. After the connection was severed, he had no extra curiosity about these matters.

With only a slight movement of his eyebrows, before the other noticed, Chen Jing withdrew his gaze.

At the same time he withdrew his gaze, the person standing in the distance looked over.

Then Chen Jing watched as the person walked toward him.

Very direct, very certain, walking straight toward him, and then stopping in front of him.

“Hello, I’m your dad’s friend, Xu Tonggui,” the man said. “We’ve met before, do you remember?”

Chen Jing: “…”

Chen Jing had a strong impression.

The man’s voice was icy, and he had an absolute advantage in height. His features were sharp, and standing in front of him felt quite oppressive.

Chen Jing briefly recalled the words the person catching the cat had said to him on the phone.

Gentle, easy to talk to, not stern at all.

“…”

Chen Jing said, “Hello.”

As they walked towards the teaching building, Chen Jing’s expression remained wooden.

It was now almost time for the parent-teacher meeting to officially begin. The classroom seats were mostly occupied, and students who had arranged seats for their parents were standing outside the classroom corridor chatting.

Facing the gazes of his classmates, Chen Jing led Xu Tonggui into the classroom.

The classroom seats were not small, and at least before, when real parents came, there was plenty of space to move around, and they could even play mobile games with their legs crossed. But now, with this person sitting down, it could be said that the space seemed a bit cramped.

After leading the person to his seat, Chen Jing left. As he walked out of the classroom, several male students immediately surrounded him, curious.

“Is your dad really so handsome, class monitor?”

“What does your dad do? Why does he look like he’s in uniform?”

Although Chen Jing felt that the person he saw today was somewhat different from his memory, it didn’t stop their curiosity.

Chen Jing felt a bit headache: “I don’t know, and I’m not sure.”

After the parent-teacher meeting began, Xu Tonggui understood what Jiang Yujin meant by “just endure praise.”

Chen Jing consistently performed well in his studies, always ranking at the top of his class from before until now. Every parent-teacher meeting had a praising session, where Chen Jing would receive compliments, and his parents would also be commended for their good upbringing.

After the parent-teacher meeting, there was no need for further classes, and students could go home directly with their parents.

Xu Tonggui drove Chen Jing home, and when the car stopped downstairs, they coincidentally encountered Jiang Yujin, who had just returned after catching the cat.

Jiang Yujin waved his hand, and the three of them went upstairs together.

The next day, Xu Tonggui also had a day off, and Jiang Yujin directly suggested that he should stay overnight.

The eldest son was diligent and immediately went to tidy up the guest room.

Jiang Yujin originally thought his bed was quite spacious, enough for one more person. However, when he saw his big son starting to clean, he didn’t say much.

He turned to look at Xu Tonggui’s expression and couldn’t help but laugh. He patted him on the shoulder and said, “Our good son specially cleaned it for you. Just sleep in the guest room comfortably.”

That night, Xu Tonggui, who could have slept in the master bedroom, slept in the guest room.

Before going to bed, Citizen Jiang, holding the big goose, solemnly announced that all three of them should get up the next morning to have breakfast, welcoming a beautiful day and promoting emotional connection.

Upon hearing the phrase “promoting emotional connection,” Chen Jing raised an eyebrow slightly.

The next morning, except for the one who made the solemn announcement while holding the big goose, the other two were already awake.

Chen Jing woke up early, always the first one at home to get up. However, this time when he woke up, the aroma of cooking was already wafting from the kitchen.

It was Xu Tonggui, preparing breakfast, and it smelled quite delicious.

“…”

Early in the morning, Chen Jing was instantly awake.

“You’re awake,” Xu Tonggui took off his apron and said, “The congee is ready. I’ll go wake him up.”

Citizen Jiang struggled to get out of bed, needing a tactical battle just to get him to rise.

The sunlight streamed into the room, and Xu Tonggui patted the person in the bed who only showed the top of his head from under the covers. The person inside stirred briefly but then remained still.

Xu Tonggui patted them again, saying, “Wake up.”

“No.”

The person inside reached out, clutching the blanket tightly, eyes closed, and said, “…I want to marry the blanket.”

It was clear this person was still not fully awake.

Xu Tonggui reached out to pull the blanket but couldn’t move it. He changed his strategy, bent down, and said, “If you marry the blanket, what about me?”

The person in bed loosened their grip on the blanket, as if contemplating.

Seizing the moment when the hand relaxed, Xu Tonggui swiftly took away the blanket.

Jiang Yujin finally opened his eyes, looking at Xu Tonggui with an incredulous expression.

People forced to wake up early carry more resentment than ghosts. While getting ready, Jiang Yujin, with lifeless eyes, occasionally glared at passing Xu Tonggui.

The idea of everyone getting up for breakfast was Jiang Yujin’s suggestion, and the one who received the glares was Xu Tonggui.

Sitting at the table, enjoying the delicious shrimp congee, Citizen Jiang stopped glaring after having breakfast.

Smiling, he looked at the high schooler still eating congee, and carefully said, “The taste is not bad, right?”

The high schooler nodded, “Yeah.”

Jiang Yujin continued, “The feeling of a family of three is pretty good, isn’t it?”

The high school student widened his eyes, “…Huh?”

Introducing him, the father said, “Meet Xu Tonggui, your stepfather.”

“…”

On this calm morning, the high schooler’s CPU, unharmed by 【0】, was unexpectedly overwhelmed by these few sentences.

*

Before the college entrance examination, the three high school students met.

Upon learning that Chen Jing had a stepdad, Xiao Pang and Zhang Xin expressed a mixture of surprise and understanding. They congratulated him, relieved that he no longer had to bear the burden alone.

Xiao Pang: “By the way, can you tell us who your stepdad is?”

Chen Jing replied, “Xu Tonggui.”

Xiao Pang and Zhang Xin’s initial reaction was to think they misheard. They signaled Chen Jing to repeat, and confirmed the truth.

“…”

Okay, they didn’t mishear.

Xiao Pang and Zhang Xin made the most shocked sounds of their lives, gesturing wildly with their hands, struggling to describe the explosion of emotions.

It turned out that someone had been silently playing a big game.

And it was the biggest game.

In just a few words, a massive amount of information was conveyed, even more impactful than the news of the college entrance examination.

Or rather, for them, the impact of the college entrance examination was indeed not significant.

Chen Jing and Zhang Xin were competition participants, already confirmed for direct admission since the beginning of the semester. Xiao Pang’s grades were mediocre, but with a good brain, he signed an agreement with the SIU laboratory and secured an iron rice bowl.

Even though they were already assured of admission, they still participated in the exam.

On the same day as the end of the college entrance examination, a massive tree rapidly grew in the outskirts of the city. Its branches soared into the sky, and spores began to drift into the distance with the wind.

When Chen Jing walked out of the exam room, among the anxious and excited parents, he saw two figures. The person in the loose white shirt waved to him, and the person beside him also looked over.

Xu Tonggui drove over, and they all got into the car together after he came out.

Driver Xu drove in front, and Jiang Yujin, for once, didn’t play his favorite Xiaoxiaole. Chen Jing chatted with him for a few sentences.

They took him to a place, a residential area called Huayang Community.

After getting out of the car and walking on the road, Jiang Yujin told him, “Remember the way; this will be your place in the future too.”

They took him to register his face, complete the household procedures, and then took him upstairs.

Inside the house, in the living room, Chen Jing saw the trophy and certificate that had mysteriously disappeared from the family cabinet before.

In this clean and tidy house, there was a room specifically designated for him.

While Jiang Yujin was showing the prospective college student the room, Xu Tonggui stood at the entrance, bowed his head, and picked up the photo frame that had been put down on the cabinet.

In the photo, two people were casually wrapped in a red scarf, smiling with squinted eyes at the camera.

Jiang Yujin, who had returned to the living room after halfway through the house tour, happened to see him looking at the photo.

Xu Tonggui looked towards the approaching person with an easygoing stride and asked, “Did our son see it too? Has my job application been approved, boss?”

Boss Jiang motioned for him to lower his head.

Xu Tonggui obediently lowered his head, feeling that perhaps it was not low enough and bent down slightly.

The warm touch transmitted clearly to his brain through his thin eyelids, and the moment of contact was unforgettable.

Jiang Yujin ruffled his messy hair, “The boss stamped it for you; permission to start working is granted.”

In the room, Chen Jing heard the faint voices and laughter coming from outside. The room was well-lit, and through the window, one could see the faint shadows of trees above all the tall buildings.

The room had a bed, wardrobe, bedside table, desk, bookshelf, and the bedding was neat. There was an anti-slip carpet by the bed, and in the corner, a small figurine was placed, seemingly the preference of the adult, intentionally arranged there.

Previously, for the matter of securing admission, he went back to the shelter to retrieve documents and encountered the caretaker who used to be in charge of them. The caretaker, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, told him that among the people adopted in the same year as him, he was the only one who hadn’t been returned.

When the caretaker saw him return, he initially thought that after persisting for so many years, he was still going to be returned. To his surprise, it was for the sake of advancing in education, and he was heading to a top-tier school.

His eighteenth birthday gift was the completeness that was once unattainable.

“Prospective college student, come and fingerprint.”

Outside, the voice of Citizen Jiang could be heard, and Chen Jing took one last look at the room before going to the living room.

The other two were already standing outside the door, with one energetically waving at him.

Where there is someone full of vitality, there must be someone supporting him. Xu Tonggui on the side continued to set the door locks, then stood up, making way for the fingerprinting process.

After finishing the task, they returned to the old house.

After getting off the car and standing downstairs, taking advantage of this joyous moment, Jiang Yujin voiced his request, extending a finger and saying, “Add another bottle to today’s order.”

Xu Tonggui: “No.”

Chen Jing: “No.”

“??”

Facing a double rejection, Jiang Yujin was incredulous and in despair.

The barber shop owner, with a cigarette in his mouth, glanced over and chuckled, “Haven’t drunk yourself to death yet.”

Jiang Yujin nodded with a smile, “Hurry up and smoke yourself to death.”

Jiang Yujin glanced at the closed shopfront of the other party and asked, “Going to sweep the tomb again?”

“She doesn’t like it when the ashes accumulate too much,” the barber shop owner glanced at the other two, waved his hand, “Your family of three is quite lively.”

The family of three went upstairs, and the barber shop owner left with a rag and dried flowers in hand.

The street returned to its usual state, and the most magnificent aspect of life is its simplicity.

<< _ >>

**TN

Iron Rice Bowl – It is a metaphorical expression used to describe a secure and stable job or occupation, often one with guaranteed employment, benefits, and job security. The concept conveys the idea of a steady and reliable source of income, akin to a metaphorical “iron-clad” bowl that ensures one always has enough to eat.

There are still Extras~ 😀

Btw, I still have an ongoing supernatural BG romance, the romance there is late and subtle and it’s mostly action and adventure. Here’s the LINK. The TL is also almost done. Enjoy~ 😀