Chapter 38

High schoolers are probably the most energetic yet most bored people in the world. Day after day of intense studying leaves them with nowhere to put their excess emotions; once there’s an outlet, they pour every cannon into it.
And Qiao Zhenzhen had become that outlet.
Most people resent privilege, and this new post accused Qiao Zhenzhen of using her privilege to protect her own interests. It instantly stirred up the majority; even those who had thought she and Chi Shen made a good match suddenly changed their tune.
When the forum moderators saw the post, they deleted it without a second thought, but that only poured gasoline on a raging fire. Many students who hadn't been involved were now furious and kept posting, questioning whether the school director's daughter was somehow above the rules, could she make a mistake and have it simply swept under the rug?
The topics escalated. For every thread the moderators removed, dozens more popped up. Soon the school administration was alarmed. The homeroom teacher posted a clarification and asked the moderator to pin it to the top, but the students, caught up in their frenzy, wouldn't listen. They called her intimidated by the board director and demanded Qiao Zhenzhen be expelled.
They wanted, in their own way, a slice of so‑called justice.
When Qiao Jian heard about it he was in a meeting at the company. The news made him slam his cup onto the table; it shattered and he began to tremble with rage. Dozens in the office exchanged glances, afraid to speak.
"Shut it down, shut the forum down!" Qiao Jian ground out through clenched teeth.
A hesitant voice came through the phone. "That will only enrage the students more. Several of them have reportedly filed complaints with the education bureau, and many have signed a joint letter demanding Zhenzhen's expulsion. If this isn't handled carefully, it could even affect your influence on the board."
High school admissions are a top priority; if this escalates and affects next year's enrollment, Qiao Jian could be ousted from the board.
Qiao Jian understood all this. He frowned and asked, "Then what do you suggest?"
There was a pause on the line. "Public opinion got out of control, that's the school's fault, but the situation is already irreversible. To prevent it from developing into a full scandal, the best course is… to have your daughter transfer."
Qiao Jian fell silent. A transfer would be tantamount to admitting that a teenager had been cohabiting with a man.
"I know Miss Qiao Zhenzhen is in a difficult position, but there's no other way. Right now only the homeroom teacher and your wife can vouch that Qiao Zhenzhen was going home for tutoring; there is no other evidence. Even if the teacher and your wife testify personally, their positions alone won't convince everyone. Please consider it." The speaker was polite, but the implication was clear: the homeroom teacher and Qin Jing were protecting Qiao Zhenzhen.
Qiao Jian sat brooding for a long time. After he hung up he grabbed his coat and left the office with a cold face.
"Mr. Qiao Zhenzhen, is the meeting cancelled?" his secretary asked urgently.
"Cancelled? Of course," he snapped, giving her a sharp look that silenced her at once.
He drove home at a speed that flirted with recklessness. When he walked in the door he found Qin Jing sitting on the sofa reading. He flung his coat to the floor. "How can you sit there like nothing's happened?"
Qin Jing frowned. "What are you angry about this time?"
"Angry?!" Qiao Jian laughed wildly, his face purple with fury. "Have you any idea how you've raised her? Tell me, Qin Jing, how did you raise a child with no shame?!"
"Mind your language!" Qin Jing's face went cold the moment he spoke of Qiao Zhenzhen so nastily.
"What good is minding my language if your daughter isn't 'pure' anymore!" Qiao Jian shook with anger, pointing at her. "Why didn't you tell me about Zhenzhen living with a man?!"
Qin Jing was taken aback. "Living together?"
"Don't tell me you didn't know! Weren't you the one who vouched for her when this blew up?!" Qiao Jian threw his phone at her. "No wonder you were quarrelling with me about that Chi Shen, you were hoping to make him your son‑in‑law. You have no judgment?!"
Qin Jing opened the phone with a cold face and saw the post that should have been deleted earlier.
Seeing the photos and comments, her expression grew grave. She finally understood why the homeroom teacher had called yesterday.
Qiao Jian stared at her, a twisted satisfaction flaring in him. "You always complain about how hard you work at home, how much you try with the kids, how I don't care enough. But even if I didn't care, I'd never, like you, stand by and watch her go astray..."
"She didn't," Qin Jing said expressionlessly, looking straight at him. "She was just tutoring."
"Do you think I'll believe that?" Qiao Jian demanded.
Qin Jing watched his flushed face, her heart full of nothing but disappointment. "You don't even trust your own daughter, yet you believe these out-of-context photos?"
"Yes! I simply don't believe it!" Qiao Jian snapped.
Qin Jing drew a deep breath. "Then there's nothing more to say. I'll find a way to handle this, you don't need to worry."
"How will you handle it? Students all over the school are boycotting me and they're going to report me to the city. I spent so much money to get onto the school's board, and you people have ruined everything!" Qiao Jian kicked off a nearby slipper.
Qin Jing froze, looking at him in disbelief. "You're throwing such a tantrum not because you're worried about Zhenzhen, but because you're afraid of losing your position?"
Qiao Jian, unwilling to argue, fell silent for a moment and then said darkly, "I've made up my mind, send Zhenzhen abroad early. She leaves next month."
"What do you mean by that?" Qin Jing's face darkened.
"What else could it mean? She made such a huge mistake, how can she stay at the school? Get her out of here to study abroad so she won't be an eyesore," Qiao Jian snapped impatiently.
Qin Jing stared at him, feeling as if all the blood in her body had chilled; her heart felt squeezed. "Do you realize that if Zhenzhen leaves, it's tantamount to admitting this?"
"What's the point of worrying whether it's admitted once she's gone?" Qiao Jian frowned. "Right now the priority is calming the students and saving my board seat. Everything else can wait. Tell her not to go to school tomorrow, I'll take care of the withdrawal paperwork in a couple of days."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Qin Jing sat in the living room for a long time, finally leaning back on the sofa, exhausted.
An hour later, she called the homeroom teacher.
"Teacher Zhou, could you do me a favor?"
The school's gossip was still simmering; Zhenzhen read it with a frown, and Chi Shen's expression was grim, obviously the matter had put him in a bad mood. Fortunately, although the online uproar was loud, no one dared cause a scene in front of them.
She stared at it for a long while, then turned off her phone. "Forget it. They won't listen to explanations, they'll insist on forcing the 'we live together' story, so I'm not even going to look."
Chi Shen pressed his lips together; though he hadn't read the posts, he could imagine there was nothing pleasant there.
He once again regretted not having killed Zhao Lianqiao that night.
Evening study ended soon. Zhenzhen wasn't in the mood to go to extra lessons with Chi Shen, so she messaged Qin Jing early to ask her to come pick her up.
"Don't overthink it. Let them scream for two days and it'll blow over," Zhenzhen comforted.
Chi Shen nodded, watched silently as she climbed into the car, then turned and walked toward the residential complex. Passing a shop near the complex, he suddenly stopped and stared at the surveillance camera in the corner.
Meanwhile, Zhenzhen got into the car. After settling in she realized a driver had come to pick her up and, curious, asked, "Where's my mom?"
"Your mother went out earlier; she got home about half an hour ago and asked me to fetch you," the driver replied.
Zhenzhen frowned slightly, gave a brief "okay," and the driver set off.
The drive home was smooth. Zhenzhen hopped out, grabbed her backpack and went upstairs; when she pushed open the door, the apartment was pitch dark.
"...Wasn't she supposed to be home?" she muttered, pressing the light switch as she stepped inside, only to be startled by a dark figure on the sofa the moment the lights came on.
Seeing it was her mother, she patted her chest. "Mom, why weren't you making a sound?"
Qin Jing sat there, expression grave, saying nothing.
Zhenzhen hesitated, then stepped forward, worried. "Mom, what's wrong?"
"The thing at school, why didn't you tell me?" Qin Jing asked, looking at her.
Zhenzhen blinked. "How did you find out?"
"Your father told me!" Qin Jing snapped. "Zhenzhen, have you grown some nerve? How could you keep something this big from me? Were you waiting until your reputation was ruined before remembering you have a mother?!"
"...I just didn't want you to worry. I didn't mean to hide it, and you know I'm innocent," Zhenzhen said timidly.
"It's precisely because you're innocent that I feared you'd be wronged!" Qin Jing's eyes reddened. "Do you think I'm such a useless mother that you can't tell me anything?"
"No, no, I never meant that!" Zhenzhen hurried to reassure her.
Qin Jing calmed a little under her daughter's soothing and, after a moment, said softly, "Your father said you shouldn't go to school tomorrow."
Zhenzhen froze, suddenly grasping the severity of the situation. "Mom..."
"What are you looking at me for?" Qin Jing frowned.
Zhenzhen swallowed, then said slowly, "I won't agree. Even if you side with him, I still won't agree."
Qin Jing was taken aback; the frown between her brows deepened. "When did I ever say I support him? So in your mind your mother is not only useless but also unreasonable and simply follows whatever a man says?"
"...So what do you mean, then?" Zhenzhen asked cautiously.
Qin Jing fell silent. After a long while she said slowly, "Tomorrow morning I'm going to school with you."
"Why are you going to school? To shout at people for me?"
Qin Jing shot her a glance. "You didn't tell me about your matters, why should I tell you about mine?"
Feeling guilty, Zhenzhen gave an awkward laugh and dared not ask further.
"By the way," Qin Jing called after her as she was about to go back to her room, "are you still friends with Zhao Lianqiao?"
Zhenzhen paused. "Why do you ask?"
"Answer me."
"No," Zhenzhen hurriedly replied.
Qin Jing nodded. "All right, go back to your room and sleep."
Zhenzhen: "?"