After Chen's father followed Qi Weichen away, the head teacher took the remaining students to a small office, closed and locked the door before sitting down at the table.
Several people stood at the farthest place from the head teacher and looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, the fat boy asked innocently, "As a father...what does that mean?"
Qi Muyang paused, and looked at Chu Qing with a guilty conscience. Chu Qing coughed and said, "You don't understand this? Father Chen is Chen Xiu's father, and he is interfering in Chen Xiu's affairs again. Of course, he should talk to Qi Weichen as a father."
“… But why do I feel that what Qi Shen said is as if he has become a father too?” The little fat man was a little confused. “When he stopped Uncle Chen just now, I really seemed to see the radiance of a father in him.”
Qi Muyang said impatiently: "What nonsense are you talking about? He is only eighteen, how can he be a father?"
"Yes, you really think too much. How could God Qi have the brilliance of a father?" The treacherous minister couldn't help but laugh at the little fat man.
The little fat man sighed and said, "I just said that. Of course I know he can't be a father at his age."
Qi Muyang and Chu Qing looked at each other and relaxed a little.
"Okay, don't think too much about it. He probably said that to remind Mr. Chen of his identity. The most urgent thing now is to worry about the outcome of their negotiations." Chu Qing said at the right time.
When she said this, everyone immediately focused their attention on Chen Xiu. Chen Xiu, who had been silent since she entered the room, said bitterly with half of her face swollen, "Did I screw up?"
Qi Muyang responded by slapping him hard on the back of his head. This time he showed no mercy, and Chen Xiu's head made a dull sound, and he lowered his head.
The noise attracted the attention of the head teacher. The little fat boy and the treacherous minister suddenly became nervous. They thought the head teacher was going to scold Qi Muyang, but unexpectedly she just sneered: "He really deserves a beating. It's not a big deal. He is always looking for death. If it weren't for the school's rule that corporal punishment is not allowed, I would have wanted to kick him."
"Teacher, kick him to death, the fool with bubbles in his brain." Qi Muyang said irritably.
The head teacher looked at Chen Xiu with a stern face, and finally suppressed the anger in his heart for a long time: "Forget it, he is not sober, can I beat him sober? Chen Xiu, I hope this kind of idiotic thing will be the last time. If it happens again, even if your father agrees that you stay in Chengde, I will not let you stay in our class. I can't bear the responsibility for your personal safety."
"I understand, teacher." Chen Xiu murmured with her head down.
The head teacher pursed his lips and asked in a slow voice, "Why don't you want to transfer to another school? Are you so reluctant to leave these bad friends?"
"Teacher, how can you say that? We are really good friends." The treacherous minister was immediately dissatisfied.
The head teacher glared at him and said, "Good friend? Are there good friends like you? Don't think I don't know you. You're a little smart, but your grades are always mediocre. You either play games or skip school to surf the Internet all day. If you really regard him as a friend, why don't you teach him a lesson?"
“… You’ve already said it, I won’t learn it either.” The treacherous minister wilted.
The head teacher glared at him: "You think you are right if you don't study?!"
The treacherous minister dared not speak any more, and curled his lips at the little fat man, looking very helpless. The office became quiet, and a group of people were waiting for Qi Weichen to come back. After waiting for a while, Chu Qing couldn't hold it anymore: "Teacher, how about I go and take a look?"
"What are you going to see? Qi Weichen can handle it himself." The head teacher didn't even raise his head.
Chu Qing frowned: "But Father Chen doesn't seem to be very reasonable, and Qi Weichen speaks too bluntly. What if the two of them quarrel and Qi Weichen suffers?"
"If he really gets into trouble, how can you, a girl, help?" The head teacher looked at her unhappily.
… She can really help. She can fight three people like Chen's father. The treacherous minister, the little fat man and Qi Muyang looked at each other and said nothing.
Chu Qing frowned: "Teacher..."
"Okay, Qi Weichen is not as useless as you think. He is best at persuading others," the head teacher sneered, "otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to let him tutor you and Qi Muyang just because of a few words from him."
"Yes, you believe him." Qi Muyang pulled Chu Qing's sleeve.
Chu Qing pursed her lips and sighed for a long time: "Okay, wait a little longer. If he doesn't come back within half an hour, I will definitely go find him."
The head teacher paused and looked at her thoughtfully: "You care about him a lot?"
"Of course... It's not that I'm concerned about him, but I feel that given Chen Xiu's current state, if his father beats Qi Weichen again, he will psychologically reject everything about his father." Chu Qing changed the subject under the scrutiny of the head teacher.
The head teacher frowned and looked at her for a moment. Seeing that there was nothing unusual on her face, he lowered his head again and said, "Everyone sit down and wait. I have sent a message to Qi Weichen. He should be here after talking to Chen Xiu's father."
The people standing looked at each other and had to move their stools together to sit down. The fat man also moved one for Chen Xiu. After the stool was moved, Chen Xiu still lowered his head in a daze. Qi Muyang kicked him and said unhappily: "Sit down!"
Chen Xiu paused, then sat down in silence. After a long while, she whispered, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been impulsive."
Everyone present looked at him. After a while, Chu Qing patted his shoulder comfortingly and said gently, "Let's take a step back. If he really doesn't love you, then even if you die, it won't punish him. Instead, it will make other people who love you sad, such as the people in this room. If something really happens to you, then we, and the teacher, will probably suffer every day from now on."
The head teacher, who had always been cold and stern, changed his expression slightly and turned away as if avoiding something.
"… Okay, I get it," Chen Xiu sniffed and looked at Chu Qing with red eyes, "I will never do that again."
"Be good." Chu Qing said this word gently, as if to comfort Qi Muyang.
Chen Xiu's shoulders trembled, and he actually felt a trace of the maternal love he had longed for. At this moment, he could no longer control himself, and tears fell in large drops. He cried silently, and the others accompanied him silently, and no one broke the silence in the room.
The silence in the room ended only when Qi Weichen appeared outside the door. Chu Qing ran over to open the door anxiously, and the first thing she said when she saw him was, "Are you okay?"
Qi Weichen was silent for a moment: "Why did you get hurt?"
"I'm afraid he will hit you. He seems a bit unreasonable." Chu Qing looked at him carefully and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that nothing was wrong.
"What happened?" Qi Muyang asked.
Qi Weichen's eyes swept calmly across the faces of everyone in the room, and finally landed on Chen Xiu: "He's waiting for you outside."
Chen Xiu trembled, and a trace of despair flashed in his eyes.
"If you have any demands, just talk to him nicely. You are not afraid of death, so why should you be afraid of communicating with him? Talk nicely and he will let you stay." Qi Weichen said lightly.
Chen Xiu said bitterly: "How is that possible? You don't have to comfort me."
"His mind hasn't changed," Qi Weichen said, ignoring Chen Xiu's pale face, and added calmly, "But after talking to me, he decided to give you a chance. By the end of the semester, if your grades haven't improved, he will take you away."
Chen Xiu didn't quite understand what he meant at first. When the little fat man and the treacherous minister cheered excitedly, he realized something and murmured in disbelief, "How could he let me stay? He's most afraid that I won't study well and embarrass him..."
"Wrong," Qi Weichen interrupted him, looking at him coldly, "What he fears most is that his only son will be in danger, Chen Xiu, no matter how right you are today and how wrong he is, from the moment you wanted to commit suicide, the only person who is wrong is you. There is still a long future ahead, no matter whether you and your son will eventually reconcile or break up, if you use suicide every time in the future to exchange for what you want, or perhaps use it as a punishment to make someone pay the price, then I will refuse Qi Muyang to have any contact with you again."
Chen Xiu stared at him blankly, her face pale.
"He already knows he was wrong," Chu Qing hurriedly pulled Qi Weichen's sleeve and turned to Chen Xiu, "Go out quickly and talk to your dad. Promise that you won't be impulsive again in the future. Don't let him worry."
Chen Xiu came back to her senses, responded softly and left the office.
The little fat boy was a little worried: "He won't quarrel with his father again, right? Should we go over and take a look?"
"Can you be with him forever?" Qi Weichen looked at him coldly.
The little fat boy shrank his head and suddenly dared not speak.
After Chen Xiu came out of the office, she prepared herself mentally for a long time before reaching the corridor entrance. Chen's father was already waiting there. I don't know what he had talked about with Qi Weichen. He seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.
It was the first time Chen Xiu saw him so frustrated. She moved her mouth but still couldn't speak. Father Chen's voice was a little hoarse: "I didn't accompany you when you were a child. Are you blaming me all the time?"
Chen Xiu shook her head and whispered after a while: "I just want you to respect me."
"Okay, I respect you, but you have to respect me too," Father Chen said, looking away as if all his strength had been drained out. "Did your classmate tell you that if you can get good grades by the end of the semester, I won't let you transfer. But if not, you have to follow my arrangements. It's very difficult to get into that high school. I worked so hard to find connections, I can't waste them."
Chen Xiu pursed her lips and responded.
Father Chen nodded, turned around a few times, and then his eyes fell on Chen Xiu's face which was half swollen. He raised his hand subconsciously, and Chen Xiu's face changed and he suddenly took a few steps back.
The fear in his eyes hurt Father Chen. His hand froze in mid-air, and fell down powerlessly after a long time: "Okay, go to class and study hard. If you have nothing else, I'll leave first."
"… Um."
Chen Xiu had his head lowered the whole time, and originally couldn't see Chen's father. But when Chen's father slowly walked down the stairs, he suddenly appeared in his sight.
This was the first time he discovered that his father’s back was not so indestructible.
Chen Xiu subconsciously called out, "Dad!"
Father Chen suddenly stopped, stood on the stairs on the next floor and looked at him through the gap. Chen Xiu whispered, "I will never do stupid things again, don't worry."
Father Chen's throat moved, and he waved at him seemingly unintentionally, then left without saying anything.
The author has something to say: Although this chapter is short, it was very difficult to write, and I feel even more emotional. I only hope that children can learn to understand and parents can learn to respect. If there is really no such thing, at least they can love each other more. If there is no love at all, then I hope that parents and children who are bound by their original families can break free from the shackles, not be burdened by the past, and bravely pursue a new life.