Chapter 20: I’ll Get It Back for You
Facing Zhou Wanfeng’s gaze, Zhou Zhiru’s heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were deep and sharp, as if they could see through to his true intentions.
After she entered, she hadn’t approached him. Zhou Zhiru realized he had been wrong before. From his long desk to where she stood,
this girl, who shared his features, had never thought of getting close to him, nor had she ever expected his fatherly love. Her cold, rational gaze and deafening warning inexplicably sent a chill down his spine.
“Who are you?” Zhou Zhiru’s gaze darkened. Only now did he truly size up this girl who had made him feel a little apprehensive.
“My mother was traditional and stubborn, with a shallow understanding and no culture. The thing she was best at in her life was using her own life to threaten those around her. Anything that didn’t go her way was forcing her to die. A selfish and foolish person like her could never have raised a child like you,” Zhou Zhiru’s eyes were filled with coldness.
“Who exactly are you? As far as I know, Zhou Wanfeng had no opportunity to learn martial arts in Dongshan. I’ve had someone ask about the boxing you practice in the backyard every day. It’s not an ordinary style at all. I’ve also asked Zhou Zhicheng and Zhou Zhilong in Dongshan. According to their descriptions, the person I’ve met is completely different from the person they described. How do you explain that?”
Zhou Wanfeng walked forward slowly, her fingers digging into her hair. She pulled out a few strands of black hair and slammed them on the table, her gaze fixed on Zhou Zhiru, her face filled with sarcasm. “Take them for a paternity test.”
Zhou Zhiru looked down at the few fine hairs on the table, his heart still filled with an unsolvable doubt. He was sure that the person before him was his biological daughter, and that she had come from Dongshan. His relatives back home wouldn’t dare to lie to him. But why was there such a big difference in personality?
Zhou Wanfeng stood at the door, then suddenly stopped and turned around, smiling. “By the way, I didn’t cause trouble on the first day of school. Someone provoked me first. But from now on, every day at school, I might cause trouble every day. If you want to blame someone, blame Yang Yijun for finding me such a good school. That class is unbearable without some tidying up.”
Zhou Zhiru’s brow furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line. A complex and indescribable emotion spread through his heart.
Zhou Wanfeng went upstairs, preparing to continue her studies. But she heard a soft noise from the first floor. She peeked down and vaguely heard Yun Lan’s voice, but there was no one in the living room.
Yun Lan had been pulled into the Go room by Yang Yijun.
“Mom, what’s the rush? You could have waited for me to go upstairs and change,” Yun Lan said. She had just come back from a meal with her classmates and had had a little to drink. Her breath smelled of alcohol.
The lights in the Go room were not on. It was dim and gloomy. Yun Lan disliked the Go room the most. It always gave her a feeling of being closed in and oppressed. “Mom, if you have something to say, let’s go outside.”
Yang Yijun held Yun Lan’s wrist tightly. “You sit down properly.”
Hearing her mother’s stern scolding, Yun Lan stopped fussing and immediately knelt down obediently. But she had had a little to drink, and now the alcohol was kicking in, making her head spin. In less than a second, her upper body slumped to the side.
Seeing her state, Yang Yijun, no matter how angry she was, could only pull her to her side, let her lean against her, and massage her temples. “Qiqi, how many assets do you have?”
Yun Lan’s nickname was Qiqi, the “qi” from “weiqi” (Go). When Yang Yijun was pregnant, she had dreamed of a Go game, so she had given her that fetal name.
Yun Lan hummed. “Assets? Just the money in my card. What’s wrong, Mom? Are you short on money? I’ll transfer it all to you tomorrow.”
“How much money can you have in your bank card? Do you know how many joint assets you and Zhou Zhiru have? He was penniless before he married you. You should get half of everything he earns now, whether it’s money, houses, or the company. Do you have any idea how many assets Zhou Zhiru has?”
Yun Lan was pushed up. She hummed and muttered, “Houses? I have a house to live in. Zhiru is very good. He’s very thoughtful and asks me every month if I have enough money to spend. He even says to ask him for more if I don’t have enough.”
Yang Yijun heard this. “What do you mean, ask him for more if you don’t have enough? Weren’t his salary card, company dividends, and year-end bonuses all in your hands before?”
“Yes, they were. Zhiru said that money needs to be used to make more money, and that he wanted to invest in some projects, so I gave them back to him. Besides, I can just ask him for money whenever I need it. And if I want to buy something, he’ll even help me analyze it. That’s pretty good, isn’t it?” Yun Lan leaned back again, her eyes closed, feeling sleepy.
Yang Yijun’s hands couldn’t help but tremble, her temples throbbing. Looking at the still foolish and naive Yun Lan, who knew nothing, she was so angry that she pulled her up.
Suppressing her anger, she continued to ask, “So, you have no idea how much money Zhou Zhiru has now? He just gives you a little money every month?”
“He doesn’t. I have money in my card. Hehehe, Dad gives me spending money every month. If I don’t have enough, I’ll ask Zhiru for more,” Yun Lan said with a yawn, her eyelids drooping as she tried to get up and go back to her room. “Mom, I’m sleepy. I want to go to bed.”
Yang Yijun’s head was about to explode with anger. She was speechless for a long time.
Yun Lan didn’t notice anything. She swayed and snuggled up again, muttering, “Dad… Dad doesn’t have any money either. The shop on Fenghua Street is closed. He said the business was bad and he was losing money. He even told me to spend less. I’ve been obedient lately. I haven’t bought… bought anything very expensive.”
Yang Yijun was taken aback, her brow furrowed. “Qiqi, wake up. What do you mean your dad doesn’t have any money? The Yuxiang Pavilion on Fenghua Street is closed? When did that happen?”
Yun Lan looked like she was about to fall asleep. Yang Yijun was so angry that she slapped her on the back. “You fool, you’re still sleeping. You wouldn’t even know if Zhou Zhiru sold you.” She really wanted to tell her everything Zhou Wanfeng had said.
“Zhiru would never sell me. He’s very good to me,” Yun Lan retorted groggily, not allowing anyone to speak ill of Zhou Zhiru even in her half-asleep state.
“You silly child, if he’s so good to you, he should have given you all his money, not just asked you if you had enough. And you have to ask him for it. Wake up! Zhou Zhiru is too scheming. Look at how he cares for Jingya. It’s all an act, you understand? In his heart, Jingya has nothing to do with him. You’re so muddle-headed, you… you’re going to be the death of me,” Yang Yijun said, deeply regretting her past parenting methods. That was why she was now trying so hard to cultivate Jingya.
Yun Lan had fallen asleep, but Yang Yijun felt a sense of urgency. Whether for Yun Lan or for Jingya, she had to think things through carefully.
In the early morning, the eastern sky was turning a fish-belly white. Zhou Wanfeng rode her bike out of South Lake Mansion. Not long after she had turned onto the main road, a bicycle followed about three meters behind her.
Zhou Wanfeng pulled over to the side of the road, but the black bicycle behind her didn’t speed up, still maintaining a three-meter distance. She glanced back. A tall, thin figure, a fair and handsome face, and a pair of bright black eyes were also looking at her.
Jiang Yi?
This person had almost no presence in the class. She vaguely remembered that the loud-mouthed and boisterous Zhu Junling was his deskmate.
He probably hadn’t expected her to live in South Lake Mansion either.
The two of them arrived at the school one after the other. After parking their bikes in the shed, Jiang Yi went to the classroom, and Zhou Wanfeng went to find the homeroom teacher, Sun Mulan.
In junior high, the homeroom teacher would be in the classroom during morning self-study to supervise.
Zhou Wanfeng walked to the first-grade homeroom teachers’ office and called out loudly, “Reporting!”
“Come in,” a teacher who had just returned from checking the classes and was sitting near the door said, taking out his teaching materials. He looked up. “Zhou Wanfeng?”
Yesterday’s impression had been too deep. He had unconsciously remembered her name and called it out when he saw her.
Sun Mulan looked up at the sound. Zhou Wanfeng was already standing in front of her. She glanced around. Several of the homeroom teachers in the office were looking over, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Seeing Zhou Wanfeng, Sun Mulan’s heart immediately started to race. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but she was a little nervous seeing Zhou Wanfeng, more nervous than when she was facing the head of the teaching and research group.
“Is there something you need, classmate Zhou Wanfeng?”
Zhou Wanfeng carefully sized up Sun Mulan. She was in her early twenties, too young. Now that she was staring into her eyes, her gaze was wavering and unfocused.
“Teacher Sun, do you remember what I said to you at the end of yesterday?” Zhou Wanfeng’s brow furrowed. “For a class like First Grade, Class Nine, the school should have found a teacher like that to be the homeroom teacher.” The homeroom teacher of Class Eight, Wang Chenggang, who had been mentioned, just smiled and said nothing. The school had approached him, but he had refused.
Sun Mulan was taken aback. It was true that after the incident with moving the books at the beginning of the school year, she had found it a little difficult to manage Class Nine. But she didn’t understand why Zhou Wanfeng was saying this.
“Let me assist you, teacher. I’ll be the class president of First Grade, Class Nine. What the teacher can’t manage, I’ll manage. What the teacher instructs, I’ll arrange,” Zhou Wanfeng said, looking at Sun Mulan, her voice cold and commanding.
Only then did Sun Mulan understand what Zhou Wanfeng had said yesterday. So that was what she meant.
What would have been an incredibly arrogant and presumptuous thing to say, coming from Zhou Wanfeng’s mouth, with her serious and sincere eyes and proper expression, it actually seemed perfectly natural to all the homeroom teachers.
Sun Mulan had been worried that she wouldn’t be able to handle the class’s affairs. Hearing Zhou Wanfeng’s words, she felt a sense of relief. But then she remembered something and said nervously, “No… no fighting.”
But Zhou Wanfeng just smiled. “The teacher doesn’t have to worry about that.”
Morning self-study was at 7:20. At 7:25, there were still a few empty seats in the classroom.
Zhou Wanfeng and Sun Mulan walked into the classroom together. The students who had been slouching and lying on their desks were now energized, their eyes wide, their backs straight. Those who had been talking to the people in front, behind, and to the side were now all sitting properly, their gazes fixed on Zhou Wanfeng as she walked to the back of the classroom.
She didn’t move from her seat in the third row. Zhao Shenyu behind her had changed seats. Now another boy was sitting there, with a very wide gap between their desks.
Sun Mulan stood at the podium and clapped her hands, indicating she had something to say. But the entire class’s heads were like sunflowers following the sun, all turning to follow Zhou Wanfeng.
Zhou Wanfeng walked straight to the cleaning corner at the back of the classroom. The new brooms and mops hadn’t been collected yet, only a few old ones were there. The mop handles were made of solid wood, either poplar or willow.
Zhou Wanfeng picked one up, raised it with one hand, and with a crack, broke it against the back wall where the cloth was tied, leaving a wooden stick more than a meter long.
Amidst the stunned silence of the entire class, she walked to the podium with the stick. Sun Mulan had already quietly moved to the side.
Zhou Wanfeng looked at the students below with a blank expression. The students who had been late were now peeking in at the door, unsure of what was going on, but they shamelessly came in and sat down.
By the time all the other late students had arrived, apart from Zhao Shenyu, who was at home recovering from his injuries, everyone in First Grade, Class Nine was present.
The class, which had been quiet at first, was now buzzing with whispers like bamboo shoots after a rain.
Smack. Zhou Wanfeng’s wooden stick landed heavily on the podium. Her eyes were cold and arrogant, her presence sharp and imposing, with an unquestionable authority. She looked at the students below and said, “My name is Zhou Wanfeng. I went to elementary school in Dongshan City and came here for junior high. I’m standing here to ask, who among you wants to be the class president of Class Nine?”
The students below were whispering to each other. “So she’s from Dongshan. I even asked my friends at home yesterday, and they all said they didn’t know. So she didn’t go to elementary school in Yunhai City.”
“Class president? Only a ghost would want to be the class president. It’s so much trouble. Whoever wants to do it can do it.”
“Where’s Dongshan City? Is it far from here?”
“No, what is she trying to do?”
Amidst the discussions, Zhou Wanfeng’s voice was neither loud nor soft, her pace unhurried. “The head of a class, in simple terms, is the boss of the class. Doesn’t anyone want to be the boss?”
Many gazes shifted to the back. Zhu Junling felt the many eyes on him and couldn’t help but rub his nose. He looked forward and met the cold, arrogant eyes on the podium.
A chill ran down his neck. He had just straightened his back, but now he slumped down again.
Zhou Wanfeng scanned the room and said coldly, “If no one wants to do it, then I’ll be the class president of First Grade, Class Nine. As the class president, I have three requirements for the people in this class.
“First, those who don’t want to study should not disturb the teacher in class. If you disturb others, I will throw you out.
“Second, the class’s affairs must be carried out as arranged. If you don’t do it, I’ll have your parents come to the school and do it for you.
“Third, those who have no backing and just want to show off and be tough, you’d better not provoke me. Those with backing who provoke me, you’d better not regret it.”
Zhou Wanfeng continued to look at the various expressions on the faces below and continued, “As the class president, I also have a duty to protect you from being bullied. For example, Zhu Junling, your pocket money was taken by the third years. If you’re willing, I can help you get it back. But if you gave it to them voluntarily, that’s another story.”