My heart was pounding.
Upon arriving at the education office, the two sides confronted each other.
Zhou Yaohua was fearless all the way because his father and the director of the teaching department were all smiles.
Zhou Qingchi, Bai Yixia, and the other two who came down behind them didn't look too good. Teacher Yuan leaned closer and asked them what was wrong, and Zhou Qingyan naturally told her everything without holding back.
Teacher Yuan had taught Bai Yixia and Zhou Qingchi, and knew their character best. She was also Zhou Qingyan's homeroom teacher, having taught him for a year, and knew he wasn't the type to cause trouble.
She's definitely biased towards her good students, but seeing that Zhou Sheng and the head of the teaching department seem to have a good relationship, she's afraid she'll show favoritism.
As expected, when they arrived at the office, the director brought out a chair for Zhou Sheng to sit down alone, while Zhou Yaohua stood smugly behind his father.
Bai Yixia and the other two stood opposite, facing the three people on the other side, like prisoners being interrogated.
The director asked about the situation again, and Zhou Qingyan only kept the fact that Bai Yixia hit Zhou Yaohua to himself, but told him everything else without changing a single word.
He said this, but Zhou Yaohua was not happy and insisted on making up his story about asking for directions.
Bai Yixia was speechless; even her usually praised good temper couldn't be maintained at this moment.
But she didn't say anything at the moment, since she was at school as a parent today. She glanced at the headmaster, wondering what Zhou Sheng had promised him that made him look at Zhou Qingyan with such suspicion.
The two younger ones couldn't control their tempers and started arguing again. Zhou Qingyan had learned his older brother's calm and sharp tongue well, leaving Zhou Yaohua speechless and only able to swear, either cursing Zhou Qingchi or Jiang Yinghua.
However, since they were still at school, it was impossible to let them continue arguing like that.
To defend his son, Zhou Sheng abandoned all pretense of decency, glancing sideways at Zhou Qingchi before speaking to the director, "When he entered the school, I saw Zhou Qingyan's photo on the honor roll. Now he doesn't even recognize his father or his brother, and he's spewing filth. What's there for everyone to learn from him? Old Hu, I think you should just forget about this school."
Director Hu was unwilling to let the benefits he had just received slip away, so without thinking, he glared at Zhou Qingyan, as if he was about to scold him.
Zhou Qingchi sneered, "What younger brother? Zhou Yaohua is Zhou Qingyan's younger brother from that place?"
His voice was chillingly cold, his eyes devoid of any of their usual gentleness. He stared at the father and son opposite him with a dark and sarcastic smile, "So you want to expose our family scandals?"
"Okay, it's neither my fault nor Zhou Qingyan's fault."
He wasn't intimidated by Zhou Sheng's threatening gaze at all, and sneered, "Younger brother? If I remember correctly, Zhou Yaohua is three or four months older than Zhou Qingyan. Zhou Qingyan was already one year old when you and my mother divorced."
"You!" Zhou Sheng gritted his teeth and shouted when he saw that the man actually dared to say those words, "How dare you!"
Zhou Qingchi snorted coldly, "What do I have to be afraid of? Did I say something wrong?"
Zhou Sheng was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged. He pointed a trembling finger at Zhou Qingchi and tried to use his father's status to intimidate him, "So what if your mother and I are divorced? You're surnamed Zhou, and you're still my son! How dare you talk to your father like that? A college student from a prestigious university, huh!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingchi lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable, but one could sense that his emotions had suddenly become even more somber.
Bai Yixia had never seen him so indifferent before, but at this moment she felt neither curiosity nor appreciation, only a pang of pain in her heart.
She looked at Zhou Sheng and his son with displeasure; how dare this man say such things.
Zhou Sheng thought Zhou Qingchi was intimidated by him because he was silent, but when Zhou Qingchi looked up, his eyes were full of mockery. "What? So many people in the world have the surname Zhou, are they all your sons? Then you're a bit too arrogant."
"Zhou Qingchi!" Zhou Sheng was furious and stood up abruptly, raising his hand as if to strike again.
Bai Yixia stepped forward and stood in front of Zhou Qingchi, pushing Zhou Qingchi back a step.
Looking at Bai Yixia, Zhou Sheng finally dared not continue hitting her and slowly lowered his hand.
Bai Yixia didn't let him off the hook. She didn't argue with the "elder" to avoid being caught red-handed, and instead pointed the finger at Zhou Yaohua.
"So that's why you resort to violence so easily. It turns out someone in your family taught you to do that."
As soon as Bai Yixia finished speaking, she felt a hand gently land on her shoulder and squeeze it, as if to tell her to stop talking.
Bai Yixia was about to say a few more words, but Zhou Qingchi shielded her behind him, allowing her to avoid Zhou Sheng's spittle.
When Zhou Sheng lectured Bai Yixia, he mostly said that she had no manners and meddled in other people's family affairs.
His words turned the school fight into a family farce, and Director Hu and Teacher Yuan couldn't even get a word in edgewise.
Zhou Sheng, panting heavily, then took another jab at Zhou Qingchi, saying sarcastically, "Your mother really raised you well. So what if you don't want to acknowledge me as your father? You still have my blood."
Zhou Qingchi said, "My mother isn't you, of course she can teach us well." He then put on a disgusted expression, "You're quite self-aware, knowing that we think you're dirty, so this disgusting thing is a way of getting back at us."
These words struck Zhou Sheng's sore spot. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he slammed his hand heavily on the table, panting heavily. He stared at Zhou Qingchi with a vicious look in his eyes: "You, you! You and your mother are just like each other! You both look down on me! What's so great about you!"
After he finished speaking, he launched into a string of profanities, cursing Zhou Qingchi and then Jiang Yinghua.
Although Jiang Yinghua was busy with work, Bai Yixia received a lot of care from her when she was at home, and she always brought back many gifts when she returned from business trips.
Hearing her beloved and respected elder being insulted like this, Bai Yixia almost wanted to rush up and punch Zhou Sheng a few times.
But she knew that Zhou Qingchi and Zhou Qingyan were suffering even more than she was right now. That was their mother, who had single-handedly raised them and supported the whole family.
Zhou Qingyan was blocked behind her, and he was obviously furious, but he did not speak or make any moves rashly. He just held tightly to Bai Yixia's clothes.
Bai Yixia turned to look at him. The boy was tall and straight, already a head taller than Bai Yixia. He pursed his lips tightly, forming a straight line, and his eyes were red.
After all, he was a younger brother she had watched grow up, and Bai Yixia felt sorry for him when she saw him like this. She reached out and patted his forearm comfortingly.
What pained her even more was Zhou Qingchi.
When Jiang Yinghua divorced, Zhou Qingyan was just over a year old and couldn't remember anything. But Zhou Qingchi was already five years old at that time. No matter what, Zhou Sheng had taken care of him. Even if he was a bad father, the vague image of his father in Zhou Qingchi's mind was still him.
Bai Yixia was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes. She stopped thinking about taking things slowly, about creating distance, or about breaking free from dependence. She reached out and grasped Zhou Qingchi's hand, squeezing it slightly harder, just as Zhou Qingchi had given her strength earlier.
Zhou Qingchi was slightly taken aback. Zhou Sheng's words were indeed harsh, but it also showed that he had really hit a nerve, otherwise Zhou Qingchi wouldn't have reacted this way.
Looking at this father in a biological sense, Zhou Qingchi felt only disgust, disgusted that he was his son, disgusted that he and he looked a little similar.
He wasn't afraid of Zhou Sheng's insults, and he also thought Zhou Sheng's jumping-up appearance was very unsightly. He had already thought about how to respond to him. Zhou Qingchi just listened to him coldly.
But I felt a warm sensation in my hand.
Bai Yixia's hands were much smaller than his, and in autumn and winter, she liked to apply all kinds of hand creams to her hands, making them soft and supple.
The four fingers that were being held were gently squeezed, and a warm ripple spread through Zhou Qingchi's heart.
He lowered his head. Every time he saw Zhou Sheng, he felt extremely bad, but this time he quietly curled the corners of his lips.
Bai Yixia has always been the person who can most affect his emotions since childhood.
If it weren't for the unexpected encounters with Zhou Sheng and Zhou Yaohua, he wouldn't be here right now.
Besides the reward he originally intended to give Zhou Qingyan, he also wanted to talk to Bai Yixia and ask her why she had been so cold to him for the past two months.
One's true feelings cannot be hidden.
The attraction I feel now is hard to hide.
As Zhou Sheng got older, he got tired of cursing and saw Zhou Qingchi lower his head, so he assumed that Zhou Qingchi was feeling guilty.
Before the smug smile could even form, the young man's calm voice rang out, "We don't need to respect you."
Zhou Qingchi's eyes were expressionless, as if he were looking at Zhou Sheng as if he were an insignificant person. "You really are nothing special."
"I don't know what you've accomplished so far, or who's given you special treatment." He raised an eyebrow, his tone mocking. "But in our eyes, you'll always just be trash."
Zhou Sheng was so angry by his words that his eyes widened and his chest heaved. He grabbed something from the table and threw it at Zhou Qingchi.
Fortunately, it wasn't anything big, so Zhou Qingchi didn't dodge. Instead, he stood in front of Bai Yixia and her brother, and finally said casually, "Actually, I sometimes thank you."
Zhou Sheng's face was still ashen.
Zhou Qingchi smiled slightly, "Thank you for always being so indifferent when I was a child, which made me feel no affection for you at all."
Zhou Sheng raised his hand to strike.
QQ.
Zhou Sheng's movements faltered.
The office door was knocked twice symbolically and then opened from the outside.
Lin Shuyang smiled, but looked at Zhou Sheng with a warning look in her eyes, "Who are you going to hit?"
Zhou Qingchi was a little confused. "Why is Aunt Lin here?"
Bai Yixia was overjoyed. Her mother was still abroad attending an exhibition yesterday. She peeked out from behind Zhou Qingchi and exclaimed, "Mom!"
Lin Shuyang gave the three children a reassuring look, then looked at Director Hu and said, "Sorry to bother you, Teacher Hu. I was just thinking that since my child was here for the parent-teacher conference, we could have taken him out for dinner on our way back."
Her face was gentle, her features delicate, and she seemed to lack strength, but her words and gaze were sharp. "I waited for too long, but then I saw Xiao Chi hurrying inside. When I followed, I found that there were other people I knew."
Lin Shuyang's gaze swept over the swelling on Zhou Yaohua's face and landed on the bruises on Zhou Qingyan's face. She beckoned him with concern, "Xiaoyan, come and tell Aunt Lin what happened?"
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