Chapter 106: Li Yifan Cried

Li Gengsheng was a stern-looking man. Even standing there, he seemed to radiate an invisible authority that made people afraid to speak. Now, with his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he scanned the room, he immediately gave off a dangerous air.

It was the intangible aura born of years spent in leadership. The longer one endured the trials of office, the stronger it became.

“I hit him. So what?” Yuan Yuqing said. “What, your son is allowed to bully our Xiangqing, but I’m not allowed to teach him a lesson? You failed to discipline your own son, and now you come here throwing your official weight around in front of me? Tch! Get lost, as far away as you can. I’m not here to serve you.”

Now that was what one called dominance. Zhang Ye sighed inwardly, completely overturning his previous impression of her. The whole thing felt almost unreal.

“Dad, you’re here.”

At that moment, Guo Haijun arrived. He had been inspecting a factory when his daughter called. He had immediately dropped everything and rushed over, without even having time to change out of his work clothes.

His attire looked somewhat rustic, but the moment he stepped into the office, both the principal and Li Gengsheng, the executive deputy county magistrate, underwent a subtle change of expression.

It was two against one. If it had only been Yuan Yuqing, Li Gengsheng would not have had any reservations. But with Guo Haijun added to the equation, his expression instantly darkened.

Guo Haijun’s recent successive moves had become difficult even for him and County Magistrate Bai Qiushan to withstand. Worse still, his own family had begun to fall into disorder. His younger brother had already lost his position as director of the Forestry Administration Bureau, while his eldest son was facing imprisonment. Although he might be able to pull strings and avoid jail, the situation was still far from favorable.

In the past, he could claim that he was not afraid of Guo Haijun, the top leader of the county party committee. Now, however, he had no choice but to take him seriously. Li Gengsheng was a clever man who understood when to advance and when to retreat. The repeated blows had made him increasingly cautious. Was it really worth completely offending Guo Haijun?

Li Gengsheng weighed the matter carefully. Before long, he realized that in his current position, and in every aspect of this confrontation, he was at a disadvantage. Most importantly, his opponent wielded greater authority than he did.

And so—

Smack!

“You do nothing all day but disgrace yourself and cause trouble for me. You’ve completely ruined my reputation.” Li Gengsheng swung his hand and slapped Li Yifan across the face, shouting, “All you know is how to fight and get into brawls. Sooner or later, you’ll ruin your own life.”

Another slap.

Li Yifan stared at his father in disbelief, then burst into tears.

For Li Yifan, the entire day had been bleak. Three different people had slapped him in succession, leaving his whole face swollen. If pain alone had been the reason, he would have cried long ago. What truly brought him to tears was the humiliation, the helpless frustration, and the disappointment.

“Secretary Guo, I failed to raise my son properly. On his behalf, I apologize to you and to Guo Xiangqing.” Li Gengsheng forced the words out stiffly, then grabbed Li Yifan and dragged him away.

By then, he had long since lost the face to remain there. As for what had really happened and who was right or wrong—who cared?

“Thank you, Aunt Yuan. And thank you, Uncle Guo.” Zhang Ye offered his sincere thanks.

At first, Zhang Ye had thought Yuan Yuqing slapped Li Yifan to vent her anger on behalf of Guo Xiangqing. Only when Li Gengsheng had questioned her did he realize that she had actually been shielding him.

The marks of the slaps on Li Yifan’s face were unmistakable. If Yuan Yuqing had not struck him first, then when Li Gengsheng came asking questions, he would certainly have targeted Zhang Ye instead. Without a sufficiently powerful background, being singled out by the other man would have brought him nothing but trouble.

“What happened this time?” Guo Haijun had a favorable impression of Zhang Ye. If not for Zhang Ye’s help the last time, his daughter would have suffered.

“This time, it was mainly because of me. I should be the one thanking Guo Xiangqing.” Zhang Ye rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, then began explaining.

“Well, as long as nothing serious happened. Come over to Uncle’s house for dinner sometime.” Guo Haijun said little more. He nodded and offered the empty courtesy before leaving. He was a busy man and had rushed over only because of his daughter. Upon learning that she had not been involved in the matter, his expression did not change in the slightest.

“Director Yuan, about what happened this time…” Dong Honghao asked cautiously.

Principal Wang Dapeng’s face darkened. He glared at Dong Honghao and said, “What happened today?”

Then his expression changed as swiftly as flowers blooming in spring. He smiled broadly and said, “Welcome, Director Yuan, to inspect the grand opening of First High School. Shall I show you around?”

“Heh, Principal Wang, you’re too polite. I merely came to take a look. Since nothing happened, I’ll be leaving.” Yuan Yuqing smiled in response.

After exchanging a few polite words, she offered Guo Xiangqing some meaningless advice about studying hard. At the end, she glanced at Zhang Ye, then left as well.

Zhang Ye rubbed his nose, somewhat puzzled. Why had there seemed to be a trace of resentment in Aunt Yuan’s eyes just now?

…

The class bell had rung long ago, and the entire schoolyard, classrooms, and corridors were quiet. Zhang Ye went straight to the teaching building, opened the closed classroom door, and called, “Reporting in.”

At once, more than fifty students—over a hundred eyes—turned toward him.

“Stand there,” said the teacher, Miao Jianghong, who was also their homeroom teacher. He taught Chinese literature. Although the school year had only just begun, he was a practical man. Whenever he had the opportunity and the time, he never wasted it. The moment he found an opening, he began lecturing, determined to get his students into the rhythm of studying as quickly as possible.

Zhang Ye pursed his lips helplessly and obediently stood by the door, facing the students’ gazes. Soon, he found Li Qianqian’s worried eyes among them, and his heart settled at once.

Li Qianqian happened to share a desk with Huang Meixia, which had brought the two girls—already close friends—even nearer. Zhang Ye smiled toward them. Though the gesture was extremely subtle, Zhao Haidong, seated in the back, saw it all. The sight made him feel even more miserable.

He spent the entire afternoon in a foul mood. He had no appetite for food or drink, obsessing over the rumors from that morning about Zhang Ye and Huang Meixia until he had worked himself into a dead end.

“Come in.”

After making him wait for more than ten minutes, Miao Jianghong finally let Zhang Ye enter. As he passed Li Qianqian, Zhang Ye smiled at her again before walking to his seat.

His deskmate had arrived as well. He was thin and slightly gaunt, and he usually kept one hand raised to cover his face because of a black mole about the size of a little fingernail. It had made him somewhat self-conscious.

Zhang Ye smiled and nodded, then took out his books.

At that very moment, the bell signaling the end of class rang. Miao Jianghong stopped lecturing and said, “All right, we’ll end here for now. Remember to review your lessons carefully tonight. Tomorrow’s examination will have a major bearing on which class you’re assigned to.”

With that, he gathered his textbooks and left.

“What? An exam? Tomorrow?”

Zhang Ye was stunned.

………………………………………………………………………………

This chapter was scheduled for release. A friend called suddenly to say it was his birthday and insisted that I go over, so I had no choice but to postpone yesterday’s planned second update until now. I’m truly sorry. I’ll probably have to stay over there for the night, which means there can only be one update tomorrow as well. Not having a backlog of chapters really hurts.