The Wisdom of the Older Generation Jumping off a building I was thinking about exercising...

“Shh, shh!”

Tang Shouye hurriedly raised a finger to his lips, so startled he nearly jumped to his feet.

They were plotting in secret right now, talking behind closed doors. Why were they making such a commotion? Were they afraid no one would hear them?

Wouldn’t that make all their earlier acting completely pointless?

Tang's Mother came back to her senses and nodded. “Where did you hear this?”

Tang Shouye rummaged around on himself, pulled out his phone, and frantically tapped at it. At last, he opened the post he had saved earlier.

The post was rather long and packed with information. Tang's Mother read it for quite a while. The farther she got, the deeper her frown became, until her brows were tightly knit.

“Isn’t this just nonsense? Isn’t anyone going to do something about it?” Tang's Mother’s first instinct was that it was fake.

She simply didn’t believe it.

Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t believe what the post said about Ye Cheng’s “unusual relationship” with the two young girls. What she didn’t believe was that Ye Cheng would suddenly go and try to take his own life.

Ye Cheng was exceptionally resilient. Even the old man in their family approved of him and liked him. There was no way he was the sort of person who, after hitting a rough patch, would try to end his life.

“Mom, so what do you mean?” Tang Shouye froze.

This reaction seemed... rather different from what he had expected. He had thought his mother might faint from fright or something, but aside from crying out when she first heard the news, she had been unexpectedly calm.

Come to think of it, that was probably his “contribution.” If he hadn’t said Ye Cheng looked like he was about to die, his mother probably wouldn’t even have reacted at all.

Smack!

Tang's Mother sprang up and gave Tang Shouye a hard whack on the head, making his skull buzz.

“Hiss...” Tang Shouye clutched his head. The pain nearly brought tears to his eyes as he squatted off to one side, looking exactly like his younger brother next door. He didn’t dare make a sound.

“You’ve spent all those years studying for nothing. Use that smooth brain of yours—does Xiaocheng look like the kind of person who’d jump off a building because he couldn’t cope?”

Tang's Mother stared at her foolish son in speechless exasperation.

“Besides, who knows when this happened? Xiaocheng was perfectly fine when he came to our house a couple of days ago—full of energy. He didn’t look like someone with a problem at all, did he?”

“So... Mom, what are you saying?” Tang Shouye asked tentatively.

“It’s obviously AI-generated. Isn’t that what you young people are all into these days? A couple of days ago, I saw Xiaobao watching videos, and suddenly a dog stood up and started talking...”

Tang's Mother spoke with a thoughtful, reminiscing tone.

Tang Shouye: “...”

“Uh... Mom, well... is there any chance that the video isn’t edited?”

Tang Shouye wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had already considered whether the video was real. He had even hired professionals to examine it, and they confirmed that it was one hundred percent authentic, with absolutely no signs of alteration.

Completely original footage.

Which meant... Ye Cheng had genuinely jumped off the building.

Tang Shouye: “...”

The moment that post went up, Tang Shouye knew there was no way the contents could be fake. Ye Cheng might not have much of a background, sure—but did the poster not see which two fierce little girls he’d gotten tangled up with now? And they still dared to spread rumors?

They must have a death wish!

Once they got chopped into dumpling filling, they’d learn to behave!

And reality… turned out exactly as Tang Shouye had predicted. As one of the parties involved, Mo Liangxin expressed profound remorse and declared that he would never again work in any field related to journalism for the rest of his life.

Never fucking trust those so-called three elements of news reporting again. He had never been this well-behaved in his entire life…

Apparently, teachers still held something back when they taught. For example… the traditional three elements were best not applied to people with power and status.

Especially the local kind with knives, guns, and cannons. Those people actually had the muscle to track you down in the afternoon after you posted a video that morning—and deliver a nice big gift basket of “ginseng.”

As for who got to be the ginseng… don’t worry about it.

“What?! It’s not edited?”

Tang’s Mother’s eyes widened, the wrinkles on her face stretching open as she tapped the video again and watched it over and over.

“That can’t be right. If it were real, jumping from that high up would leave him crippled, wouldn’t it?”

“Back in the army, I don’t think there were many people like that… No, wait… maybe there actually were…”

Tang Shouye: “???”

Hearing his mother seriously trying to recall something, Tang Shouye was completely dumbfounded… What did she mean, there actually were?

So the army back then was a monster-spawning dungeon or something?

That video was so absurd—anyone would think it was someone jumping off a building. Most people’s first guess would even be that it was AI-generated or something. Yet his mother’s reaction was, “There used to be people like that in the army.”

That… didn’t really sound like normal human beings, did it?

“Fat Boy, wait here. I’ll drag your dad over and ask him.” After thinking it over, Tang’s Mother still felt something was off. She handed the phone back to Tang Shouye and ran next door to pull in her old man.

A moment later.

Old Master Tang was dragged in.

“What is it, Guilan?” A question mark seemed to float above Old Master Tang’s head.

“Look at this.” Tang’s Mother played the video of Ye Cheng jumping from the building.

Old Master Tang clicked his tongue in admiration. “Damn, that’s impressive. Never expected the kid to have those skills.”

Tang Shouye: “???”

“Dad, are you sure this isn’t someone jumping off a building?” Tang Shouye’s mouth twitched as he finally asked. Was there anyone normal in this family?

It was obviously a video of someone jumping off a building! Why was everyone acting like it was nothing? They were making him seem like the uncultured, ignorant one. Come on, they were family…

“Jumping off a building? What nonsense are you talking about? You could jump before that kid ever would. One look and you can tell he’s just working out.” Old Master Tang gave Tang Shouye a speechless look.

Tang Shouye: “???”

Dad… am I really your biological son?

For some reason, Tang Shouye suddenly had the urge to squat on the floor and draw circles. It felt as though something strange in his bloodline was about to awaken!

“Dad, are you sure anyone works out like that?” Tang Shouye forced himself to ask.

Old Master Tang thought for a moment. “Yeah, there is. Though it’s pretty rough on the knees. Back then, your old man saw someone doing it so easily, so I gave it a try myself…”

“You tried it?!” Tang Shouye’s eyes went wide.

“Yeah, I tried it. Ended up in the hospital for nearly half a month. Old Su and the others chewed my ears off…” Old Master Tang’s eyes shifted slightly, his tone carrying an inexplicable hint of nostalgia.

Luckily, he had been young and healthy back then. After half a month in bed, he was back on his feet.

As for the height... it hadn’t been much different from the height Ye Cheng had jumped from in the video.

And so, with Old Master Tang and Tang’s Mother both vouching for it, the video was ultimately deemed real—but it wasn’t Ye Cheng jumping off a building because he wanted to end his life.

He had “jumped” because of some other reason.

In any case, there was absolutely no way he had jumped because he was suicidal...

From Old Master Tang’s perspective in particular, it was far more likely that Ye Cheng had been using that method to work out than that he had jumped because he’d lost the will to live.

“Why are you all making such a fuss? My Brother Ye has a life force tougher than a cockroach’s. Maybe something upset him, so he went outside to lie low for a while. How could he possibly jump off a building?”

“Everyone, disperse. Go on, get moving... Oh, right, Guilan, what are we having for dinner tonight?” Old Master Tang waved a hand, looking utterly unconcerned.

Tang’s Mother: “...”

Tang Shouye: “...”

“Eat you! @#￥%...” Tang’s Mother unleashed a torrent of profanity.

Old Master Tang: “...”

Once again, Old Master Tang relived the experience from years ago of having his ears deafened by a scolding. This time, he didn’t even dare talk back. He could only slink outside to exercise or something.

Tang’s Mother and Old Master Tang were on the same wavelength: neither of them believed Ye Cheng would do something like jump off a building to kill himself.

The difference was that Old Master Tang was absolutely confident—so confident that he had been ready to personally guarantee it. And then... then he got scolded.

“You old fool, honestly!” Tang’s Mother was still grumbling and cursing.

If they followed her husband’s suggestion, not only should they not worry, they should even take the initiative to tell their eldest daughter that Ye Cheng had been “slandered.”

Boost her confidence!

Boost... my foot!

Tang’s Mother wanted nothing more than to drag her old man back inside and give him a good hard kick or two.

You old fool, you’re not worried at all—but what if telling her gave their eldest girl some kind of lasting trauma?

Their eldest daughter was already easily startled. What if the shock made her “sleep with her head down” again? Who would they blame then?

“Uh, so... Mom, what do we do now? Should we tell Little Sis about this?” Tang Shouye asked uncertainly.

Honestly... he thought his father had made a lot of sense. Ye Cheng didn’t seem like the type of person who would do something like that. Since it was all a misunderstanding, wouldn’t it be better just to tell her directly?

Smack!

Tang Shouye’s HP: -999...

Tang Shouye: “...”

“Tell her, my ass!” Tang’s Mother shot him a glare.

“What if you scare your sister half to death? Here’s what we’ll do: over the next couple of days, find some excuse to get your sister out of the house and take her somewhere for a while. Then we’ll see how things go...”

Tang’s Mother began laying out a plan.

Tang Shouye: “...”

“Mom, isn’t this a bit inappropriate? Besides, there’s no such thing as a wall that doesn’t leak. Paper can’t cover fire forever. Information travels so fast these days—they’ll find out eventually…”

Tang Shouye let out a sigh.

*Smack!*

Tang Shouye’s HP: -999…

Tang Shouye: “…”

“That’s why I told you to come up with a solution! Why are you telling all this to an old lady like me who barely had any schooling? What, do you expect me to solve it for you?” Tang’s Mother was completely unreasonable, yet spoke with perfect confidence.

Tang Shouye: “…”

No wall is airtight?

Not necessarily…

In a flash of inspiration, Tang Shouye thought of the perfect place!

“Mom, I’ve got it! I have a solution!”

*Smack!*

Tang Shouye: “???”

“Why did you hit me again this time? I hadn’t even said anything yet…”

“Huh? Oh, ahem, sorry, Fat Boy. It was a reflex. Go on.” Tang’s Mother coughed twice, looking a little embarrassed. It couldn’t be helped—her Fat Boy’s habit of suddenly making a fuss was just too punchable.

It made her hands itch. She always wanted to give him a couple of smacks.

Tang Shouye: “…”

Tang Shouye’s resentment: +999…

“Isn’t Second Brother stationed in the Northwest? She could stay in the military district…” As Tang Shouye spoke, Tang’s Mother’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

That’s right—there was their second son! If she was already staying in a military district… then it would be perfectly normal for there to be no signal or anything, for confidentiality reasons, wouldn’t it?

“Good! Fat Boy, think of a way to get your little sister over to the Northwest to stay for a while!” Tang’s Mother patted Tang Shouye on the shoulder, as if entrusting him with a mission of utmost importance.

Tang Shouye: “???”

Who… me?