Chapter 31 What about me?
As Xiaotang shouted, everyone's attention was drawn to the roadside.
A tall, imposing man suddenly stopped and turned around. His towering height allowed him to spot the people surrounded in the crowd at a glance.
The next moment, he strode over without hesitation, walked through the crowd, and stood directly beside Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang.
"What's going on?" Song Juelan's gaze quickly swept over the aggressive family of three, finally landing on Wen Zhi's pale profile, his expression slightly hardening.
Seeing that there was one more person on their side, Xiao Tang immediately felt more confident and less afraid.
He stretched out his little hand, grabbed one of Song Juelan's fingers tightly, and angrily complained, "They were mean to Zhizhi!"
Song Juelan's eyes immediately turned cold, and the air pressure around him dropped several degrees.
He stepped forward and blocked Wen Zhi's path, staring at the couple with hostility; his tall figure exuded a strong sense of oppression.
The two who had been so arrogant just moments before fell silent, their eyes filled with suspicion as they sized up the seemingly unapproachable young man, wondering about the relationship between Song Juelan and Wen Zhi.
A moment later, the middle-aged man met Song Juelan's cold gaze defiantly and said, forcing a smile, "We didn't bully him! It was that kid who hurt my child. We're just asking them to apologize. Is that too much to ask?"
Wen Zhi frowned upon hearing these distorted statements, fearing that Song Juelan would be misled. She was about to explain the whole story to Song Juelan.
But Song Juelan remained unmoved and asked coldly, "Do you have any evidence?"
The couple was speechless for a moment, then exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming even more unpleasant.
They all knew they had no evidence and didn't dare to argue and force Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang to apologize like they had before.
After all, the tall man in front of them looked like he could easily throw them onto the street with one hand.
The woman's eyes darted around guiltily, then she suddenly pointed at the onlookers and raised her voice: "Everyone saw it! Just now during the sparring session, that kid kicked my child to the ground right away, and he fell really hard!"
People around started whispering, and after a moment, a young mother spoke up first: "That's a standard kicking motion. If there were any problems, the coach would have pointed them out long ago. Who gave you the right to say that!"
The middle-aged man next to him chimed in, "It's inevitable for kids to bump into each other during sparring. I think you should have your child practice more. What's the point of making things difficult for others if he can't even beat such a young child?"
After someone started it, other passersby who couldn't stand it also spoke up, speaking up for Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang, and pointing fingers at the family of three.
Through the few words exchanged, Song Juelan had pieced together the general outline of what had happened. He looked at the three of them with a cold gaze and said, "In that case, I'll accompany you to check the surveillance footage and then to the hospital for a checkup, how about that?"
The chubby boy trembled at his cold gaze and forceful demeanor, and hurriedly hid behind his parents.
Whether it's checking the surveillance footage or conducting an inspection, their lies will be exposed, so the two of them naturally dared not agree, their faces turning pale and then red.
After a moment of silence, the middle-aged man seemed to feel embarrassed and glared fiercely at the woman beside him, his voice suddenly rising: "I told you not to be so petty! You have to make such a big fuss over such a small matter!"
After saying that, he grabbed the pale-faced woman and tried to slink away from this place that had made them lose face.
The next moment, a tall figure, like a wall, blocked their way.
Song Juelan stared at them coldly with his eyelids lowered, and uttered a few words from his thin lips: "You haven't apologized yet, and you want to leave?"
Although the middle-aged man was somewhat intimidated by the man's imposing presence, he still stubbornly stuck out his neck and glared at him, saying defiantly, "Why should we apologize?"
Song Juelan's deep voice was devoid of any warmth: "You slandered people without cause and even frightened my child. Shouldn't you apologize?"
Just like the couple who blocked Wen Zhi's way earlier, he also stood in front of them, making it clear that he wouldn't let them leave until he heard an apology.
The middle-aged man's expression changed several times. Seeing that more and more people were gathering around, he finally lowered his head and gruffly squeezed out, "I'm sorry!"
The woman's expression turned even uglier. She never expected that they would be the ones to lose face in the end, and that they would even have to bow their heads and apologize to the other party.
However unwillingly, he could only swallow his anger and quickly said "I'm sorry" to Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang.
After saying that, the two couldn't wait to leave.
"Wait." Another clear and pleasant voice rang out, stopping them.
Song Juelan, who was about to step aside, immediately blocked their path again upon hearing this.
Many of the onlookers were parents who knew each other, and they were all whispering about the family of three.
The middle-aged man, enraged and embarrassed, turned a deep purplish-red. He wanted to explode, but dared not act rashly in front of Song Juelan. He could only stop and look at the handsome young man on the other side: "Is there anything else?"
Wen Zhi spoke slowly and deliberately: "During the sparring just now, your son pushed my child, that was a violation of the rules, shouldn't you make him apologize?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Tang immediately recalled how she had been pushed hard and almost fell to the ground when she went to help the chubby boy.
He gripped Wen Zhi's fingers tightly, revealing a wronged expression.
The chubby boy stopped sobbing and glared at Xiaotang with his narrow, slit-like eyes, clearly resentful.
Suddenly, he was slapped on the forehead. A woman's sharp voice yelled, "Apologize to him! You're always so lazy and don't practice. You can't even beat someone younger than you. You're a disgrace!"
The chubby boy covered his reddened forehead, pouting as if he wanted to cry again, but under his parents' glares, he obediently apologized to Xiaotang.
Seeing his pitiful appearance, Xiao Tang generously forgave him, saying, "It's okay."
Song Juelan turned his head and exchanged a glance with Wen Zhi. Seeing that he had no intention of pursuing the matter further, he stepped aside.
The couple breathed a sigh of relief and, without lingering for a moment, dragged the chubby boy away in a disheveled state.
The matter was resolved satisfactorily, and the onlookers gradually dispersed, leaving only the three of them in the same spot.
Wen Zhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't expected that this thorny issue would be resolved so easily because of Song Juelan's appearance.
However... he had never seen this side of Song Juelan before. Unlike his usual calm and gentle demeanor, when he became serious and stern, he was even a little frightening.
I estimate that when he gets truly enraged, he will be a hundred times more terrifying than he was just now.
Wen Zhi felt inexplicably guilty, but she put the thought aside and walked to Song Juelan's side: "Juelan, what are you doing here?"
At this time, Song Juelan should be working at the swimming pool.
Song Juelan's cold aura vanished instantly, and he raised his hand to touch the back of his neck: "I have the day off today, so I'm just wandering around the neighborhood."
Today was supposed to be the day he was supposed to teach Xiaotang, but Xiaotang asked for leave. He couldn't concentrate on anything else at home, so he decided to come out for a walk to clear his head.
As I walked, I remembered that the swimming pool staff had mentioned that there was a taekwondo gym to the north of the swimming pool. I also remembered that Wen Zhi was taking Xiao Tang to a taekwondo class today, so my feet unconsciously moved closer to this place.
Just as he saw the Taekwondo gym sign, he heard Xiao Tang calling his name, and then he saw Wen Zhi in the crowd.
Wen Zhi thought for a moment and asked, "So you don't have anything else to do right now?"
Song Juelan gave a soft "hmm".
"Let's go then." Wen Zhi's lips curved into a soft smile. "Didn't we agree to treat you to dinner last time? We're both free now."
Song Juelan was stunned for a moment, as if a cannonball coated in honey had hit his heart, and countless brilliant fireworks exploded in his mind.
He unconsciously raised the corners of his lips and replied, "Okay."
Xiao Tang, who was standing next to her, immediately raised her hands and cheered, "Okay, let's eat!"
On the way to the restaurant, Wen Zhi turned her head slightly and glanced at Song Juelan's right shoulder, asking, "How's your injury?"
"It's much better now." For Song Juelan, it was just a minor injury; he only exaggerated it a bit in front of Wen Zhi.
Thinking of this, he felt a pang of guilt and lowered his eyes to look at his toes.
My gaze shifted downwards, and I noticed a bracelet on Wen Zhi's slender, fair wrist. The colorful gemstones sparkled in the sunlight, swaying as she walked.
The fancy bracelet looked indescribably beautiful on Wen Zhi's fair wrist.
His gaze was immediately drawn to her, and he stared at her for a long time, feeling that Wen Zhi was very suitable for wearing these beautiful accessories.
At Xiaotang's strong suggestion, they went into a bustling hot pot restaurant and were led by a waiter to a table for four.
Wen Zhi felt a little embarrassed that she only treated Song Juelan to hot pot, so she said to him, "I originally wanted to treat you to a more formal meal, but Xiao Tang just likes these kinds of things. I'll treat you to a nicer meal next time."
"This is fine." Song Juelan didn't care much about what he ate; as long as he could be with Wen Zhi, he felt good.
They ordered a hot pot with two broths, and a table full of ingredients. While waiting for the hot pot to boil, Song Juelan poured drinks for the two of them and brought a small apron for Xiaotang to put on.
Wen Zhi stared longingly at the still-unboiling hot pot, feeling a bit craving herself. She was mentally deciding whether to add the shrimp paste or the tripe first.
"Mr. Wen?" A familiar, gentle voice suddenly came from behind.
Wen Zhi was taken aback, not yet recognizing the voice, when Xiao Tang beside her greeted her sweetly, "Hello, Teacher Xia!"
Teacher Xia walked to their table, greeted Xiao Tang with a gentle smile, and then her gaze naturally fell on Wen Zhi: "What a coincidence, are you having dinner here too?"
"Yes, Teacher Xia just got off work?" Wen Zhi gave a friendly smile, her mind still on the hot pot that was about to boil.
"Yes, you have another class tonight." Teacher Xia paused, her tone softening. "I heard from Xiaotang that you injured your foot. How is it now?"
When Wen Zhi took Xiao Tang to class, she rarely went into the art studio. Even when she did go in, she walked very quickly, not giving Teacher Xia a chance to talk to her.
So it wasn't until now that Teacher Xia finally found the opportunity to ask this question.
"I'm all better now, thank you for your concern." Wen Zhi maintained a polite smile.
Teacher Xia's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the hand he was holding on the table, and she suddenly said, "This bracelet suits you very well."
Song Juelan, sitting across the table, had a slightly somber expression.
When he saw the bracelet on Wen Zhi's wrist, he also thought it was very beautiful and was still thinking about how to casually compliment it, but he didn't expect this guy to beat him to it.
Wen Zhi paused for a moment, looked down at the plastic bracelet on her wrist, and her ear tips immediately turned a light pink. She explained somewhat embarrassedly, "This is a toy that Xiao Tang wore on my wrist. I was in a hurry to leave and forgot to take it off."
He wanted to take off the cheap-looking gemstone bracelet, but Xiaotang grabbed his hand and said in a soft, coquettish voice, "Zhizhi looks good in it, don't take it off."
Wen Zhi had no choice but to give up and continue wearing the gaudy bracelet.
Looking up, they found that Teacher Xia was still standing by their dining table, showing no sign of leaving.
Wen Zhi's attention was completely drawn to the bubbling hot pot when she suddenly remembered that Xiao Tang's painting class was almost over.
No wonder Teacher Xia stood next to them the whole time.
Wen Zhi brought up the matter herself: "Teacher Xia, Xiao Tang has been very happy with your classes lately, and we plan to extend the course by ten more lessons next time we go."
The painting class was originally chosen for Xiaotang by his parents, and it will continue unless something unexpected happens; it wasn't a decision he made on his own.
Song Juelan listened to their conversation with her eyes down. When she heard "ten more lessons," her expression stiffened slightly, and her fingers on her lap curled up.
Teacher Xia's smile deepened, and after making a few more polite remarks such as "I'm really looking forward to Xiao Tang's performance," she finally returned to her own table.
Wen Zhi couldn't wait to pick up the shrimp paste in front of her and was about to pour it into the clear soup pot when she suddenly heard Song Juelan across from her speak in a low voice.
What about me?
Wen Zhi raised her long eyelashes in confusion, not understanding Song Juelan's meaning for a moment. Her clear eyes appeared somewhat misty after the steam from the hot pot.
Song Juelan stared at him intently for a moment with her dark eyes before asking in a low voice, "Do you plan to continue swimming lessons after summer vacation?"
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Author's Note: Thanks to Bread Without Sauce and Mozi and Fish for the landmines!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution!
104 bottles of "Fatty Meat Rolling Open"; 20 bottles of "Sweet Wine"; 10 bottles each of "Fermented Rice" and "Beacon Fire"; 5 bottles each of "Bright Moon," "Up and Down Melody," "Xiao Bao is My Wife," "YAoooo," and "Mao Bu Mao Mao"; 2 bottles each of "One and Two"; and 1 bottle each of "Don't Want to Go to Work," "Yi Zero," and "41501337."
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