Chapter 20: A Father's Intervention
Fu Guanxian's math problem, which was only missing the final answer, remained unfinished.
After asking around, he found out that Ban Shengkai had been taking every opportunity to bother Xiang Yang, eating lunch with her in the cafeteria every day, and even claimed to have walked her home. Fu Guanxian knew that walking her home was impossible, at most they would have walked together to the intersection. But even that was enough to make him angry. At the same time, Fu Guanxian also learned that Xiang Yang had only come in second place in the grade for the midterm exams.
After the boy finished telling him, he asked strangely, “Guanxian, why is your face so dark? Oh, right, someone just mentioned that the girl was called to the office before Ban Shengkai. I heard her homeroom teacher made her cry. It's true; they seem to be the first couple to openly spread rumors of dating in school! But what kind of taste does that second-year girl have? Why would she like Ban Shengkai? Ban Shengkai…”
Lian Rui saw that Fu Guanxian was already in a bad mood, so he nudged the boy who was still talking nonstop with his elbow, “Shut up!”
“Why? It's rare that Guanxian is curious, I'm just giving him some background information!”
Lian Rui was really annoyed by his lack of awareness, “If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!”
“Lian Rui!” The boy was annoyed.
Fu Guanxian slammed his pen on the desk with a “bang” and stood up angrily.
Lian Rui felt something was wrong, “Guanxian, what are you doing!”
“Nothing!”
Fu Guanxian walked to the classroom door, leaned against the railing, but his eyes were fixed on the office, which was about ten meters to his left. He waited for about ten minutes, and then he finally saw a figure walking out of the office. Fu Guanxian suddenly smiled.
Ban Shengkai felt innocent because the teacher had wrongly accused him. He just thought Xiang Yang was excellent and pretty, and he liked being around her, even if it was just talking to her. Her gentle way of speaking was really comforting. Besides, she had a beautiful voice. He didn't want to bully her, and he never thought about dating her or anything like that. But he didn't know why the teacher thought of him that way, why she had misunderstood him.
Ban Shengkai was lost in thought, so he wasn't prepared for Fu Guanxian. When he was about to reach the classroom door, he was suddenly grabbed by the collar.
Fu Guanxian grabbed his collar tightly with both hands, raised his right leg, and slammed his knee into Ban Shengkai's abdomen.
Ban Shengkai was hit with a sudden, powerful blow out of nowhere, and he clutched his abdomen in pain, howling, “Help! Help!”
Lian Rui heard the sound and immediately rushed out with the other students.
“Guanxian! What are you doing! Stop it!” Lian Rui shouted when he saw what was happening.
Fu Guanxian wouldn't stop. He raised his right hand and slammed his elbow into Ban Shengkai's back. There was a muffled sound, and the students were stunned. Some girls were scared and rushed to report to the teacher. Lian Rui and the other boys realized that Fu Guanxian was really strong because they couldn't stop him.
Fu Guanxian pulled Ban Shengkai, who was bent over in pain, up and punched him in the face. Ban Shengkai's mouth immediately swelled up.
Lian Rui was terrified, “Fu Guanxian! Are you trying to kill someone? Stop it!”
Fu Guanxian snorted coldly, “It doesn't matter if I kill someone, my family will naturally pay to settle it. Ban Shengkai, guess how much money it will take to pay for your worthless life if I beat you to death!”
“Fu Guanxian, stop it!” The homeroom teacher rushed over and saw that the students in the class weren't studying, they had all run out to watch the fight. Even many students from other classes had heard the commotion and stuck their heads out to watch. This chaotic scene had never happened before!
“What kind of behavior is this?” The homeroom teacher was furious.
Fu Guanxian didn't care about the teacher's words and punched him again.
The principal and a male teacher who had heard the commotion rushed over and took a lot of effort to pull them apart. But when Fu Guanxian let go, he ran away. Lian Rui quickly chased after him. The teachers were busy sending Ban Shengkai to the hospital and couldn't care about Fu Guanxian anymore.
Fu Guanxian rushed into the second-year (2) class. The students were doing their homework. When Fu Guanxian entered, he walked to Xiang Yang's seat with a fierce look on his face and dragged her away. Most of the students didn't react in time.
Xiang Yang was even more frightened. When she saw that the person grabbing her wrist was Fu Guanxian, she wanted to tell him to let go, but she noticed that his face was incredibly grim. Xiang Yang was scared and didn't dare to speak. She was dragged out of the classroom.
As Xiang Yang passed the last desk, she accidentally heard Zhang Peng sneer, “I said last time that they were involved, and he dared to beat me up. Now isn't this proof?” When Xiang Yang heard this, her face changed drastically.
Fu Guanxian bumped into Lian Rui in the hallway. Lian Rui grabbed his hand nervously, trying to stop him, “Fu Guanxian, is it really necessary? Are you crazy!”
“Necessary! Lian Rui, if you're a brother, don't stop me!”
Lian Rui glanced at Xiang Yang and saw that she was almost out of her mind. She was probably scared, her face pale. So he said, “Fu Guanxian, calm down.”
“I'm calm. I just want to ask her a few questions, and then I'll come back to clean up the mess.”
Lian Rui was breathing heavily and was hesitant, but in the end, he chose to respect him and let go. He turned to Xiang Yang and said, “You have to stop him, don't let him get any more impulsive.”
Xiang Yang didn't understand because her mind was blank.
Fu Guanxian wanted to take her off campus, but the school gate was locked, and they couldn't get out without a leave slip. He took her to a secluded corner of the garden and asked her, “How could you be so stupid, letting that kind of person bully you like that!”
Xiang Yang felt wronged, “I don't want to.”
“If you don't want to, why don't you refuse! Tell him to scram!”
Xiang Yang lowered her head, wanting to cry, but she held it back.
“Next time he comes looking for you, just tell me, and I'll beat him until his parents don't recognize him!”
“Fu Guanxian…” Xiang Yang felt useless because she couldn't help it. As soon as she called his name, her throat tightened, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Fu Guanxian watched her lower her head and cry. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he held back.
“You cry whenever something happens. Xiang Yang, how useless are you?” He clearly wanted to make her stronger, but why did his words sound so harsh? Fu Guanxian thought to himself that he really didn't know how to comfort people.
Xiang Yang actually wanted to cry after leaving the office, but she held it back. She could even pretend that everything was fine. In reality, her heart was racing, but on the surface, she could act nonchalant and sit in the classroom to write her English homework.
But all her pretense was shattered by Fu Guanxian's few words.
She raised the back of her hand, wiped her tears, and sobbed a couple of times before saying, “Fu Guanxian, can you please stop bothering me? Stop talking to me. I just want to study quietly. I just want to be unnoticed. I don't want to be watched by everyone when I eat with someone. I don't want to have to constantly be aware of keeping my distance from others because I'm good at my studies. I just want to be like a normal student, have good relationships with people, and study happily, not have so many rumors. I know, maybe this is impossible. You're right, maybe I'm stupid and clumsy and useless, so I haven't handled my relationships with other students well. I even make myself so miserable. Fu Guanxian, please don't add to my burden, okay? Outside of school, I can accept anything you want. Please, just don't go to my class or talk to me at school. I'm afraid that next time, you'll be the second Ban Shengkai to make me feel so embarrassed.”
Fu Guanxian frowned at her, listening patiently to her long heartfelt words. This was the first time she had expressed her true feelings to him since they were little.
After Xiang Yang finished speaking in one breath, she felt relieved, but she also worried that Fu Guanxian would get angry.
She waited nervously for a long time before she heard Fu Guanxian say gruffly, “Don't compare me to that trash. I'm much better than him!”
Xiang Yang really wanted to ask him, “Better in what way?” But she didn't ask because Lian Rui, who was acting as a lookout for them, suddenly said, “Guanxian, run, the teacher is coming!”
Fu Guanxian frowned and then said to Xiang Yang in a low voice, “Go back first. If anyone dares to talk about this, I'll tear their mouths apart.”
Xiang Yang instinctively felt that Fu Guanxian had gotten into trouble again, “What did you do? Why is Lian Rui telling you to run?”
“I just beat up some trash. Humph, why run? A real man should be able to stand by his actions!” Then he continued, “Didn't you say you don't want to talk to me at school? So why are you talking to me! Go back!”
Xiang Yang really couldn't figure him out. One minute he was saying one thing, the next he was saying something else. He was the one who dragged her out, and now he was the one telling her to go back.
Xiang Yang didn't know what happened to Fu Guanxian later. When she went back, the teacher asked her what was going on with Fu Guanxian. Xiang Yang had to lie and say that Fu Guanxian had gotten the wrong person.
The teacher said a few more things, implying that she should focus on her studies and not get involved with too many boys.
Xiang Yang obediently replied, “Yes, teacher.”
After class, Fu Guanxian's amazing feat spread like wildfire.
When Xiang Yang heard this, she couldn't help but feel worried.
Ban Shengkai was sent to the hospital, and Fu Guanxian was asked to call his parents.
Fu Guanxian hesitated for a long time about whether to call his father or his uncle, Fu Qingrui, to come to the rescue. In the end, he chose to notify his father.
He thought that it would be better to face the consequences sooner rather than later, rather than wait for his father to find out and then add a charge of deception.
Fu Jinting was in a meeting when he received the call. After the teacher briefly explained the situation and asked him to come to the school immediately, he stopped the meeting, brought his secretary with him, and rushed to the school. As he left, he sighed helplessly and cursed, “This little rascal is causing trouble for me at school again!”
When Fu Jinting arrived at the school, the principal personally greeted him. In the principal's office, the principal introduced everyone, including the principal, several deans, and the father of the student who had been beaten.
Fu Guanxian's homeroom teacher and another dean, along with Ban Shengkai's mother, were at the hospital waiting for the doctor to treat Ban Shengkai.
Fu Jinting saw Fu Guanxian standing alone, looking arrogant, and his face darkened.
After listening to the dean who was present at the time explain the general situation, Fu Jinting remained silent for a while and then asked Fu Guanxian, “Why did you hit him?”
Fu Guanxian took a deep breath and refused to speak. He was clearly still angry.
Fu Jinting knew that his son was a troublemaker, but he also knew that he was honest. If the student hadn't done something, he wouldn't have hit him for no reason.
Fu Jinting didn't scold him. Instead, he said to the principal, “I'll talk to him alone.”
The principal respectfully said, “As you wish.”
In the multimedia classroom next door, Fu Jinting looked at him and asked casually, “Why did you hit him?”
Fu Guanxian didn't say anything.
Fu Jinting said, “We men, no matter what we do, good or bad, we have to take responsibility. I've been telling you this since you were little. You remember, right?”
Fu Guanxian tried to calm his anger and finally spoke, “I remember.”
“Then I'm curious, you hit someone and ran away. Why did you come back to take responsibility?”
Fu Guanxian immediately retorted, “Who ran away! I just knew that they would never finish dealing with this. I just went to ask a question.”
“Ask who? Ask what?”
Fu Guanxian didn't dare to hide it, so he said in a low voice, “Xiang Yang.”
Fu Jinting thought for a moment, “So you fought because of Xiang Yang?”
Fu Guanxian didn't say anything. He just said, “I've disliked that guy for a long time!”
“You can hit people just because you dislike them? Fu Guanxian, only useless people think about using violence to solve problems. You always think you're smart, but you're the stupidest one. Did hitting him solve the problem?”
Fu Guanxian didn't say anything. After a while, he said, “I vented my anger.”
“No, I see you're still angry.” Fu Jinting lectured him, “Not only did you not solve the problem, but you also brought so much trouble upon yourself! Smart people don't let themselves get caught up in trouble.”
Fu Guanxian couldn't argue with his father's logic and looked at the ground in dissatisfaction.
Fu Jinting asked again, “Did that boy bully Xiang Yang?”
“Yeah.” Fu Guanxian snorted.
Fu Jinting sighed helplessly, “If you want to stand up for her, I have no objection, but you shouldn't have used violence. That was your biggest mistake. Fu Guanxian, I'm settling this for you this time because of Xiang Yang. Next time, if I have to come to school again, you can expect the consequences.”
But Fu Guanxian thought to himself that when he was strong enough, he would be free from the restrictions of these adults and those so-called rules.
Fu Guanxian didn't know how Fu Jinting settled things, and he didn't go back to the principal's office. But after twenty minutes, before Fu Jinting left, he came over and said to him, “Go back to class. If you dare to cause trouble again, you know the consequences.”
Fu Guanxian snorted angrily. Consequences? He didn't believe he couldn't handle them!
But he still admired his father from the bottom of his heart. Yes, once he took action, everything would be settled perfectly.
Fu Guanxian didn't know what happened after that, whether there was compensation or anything else. He only knew that Ban Shengkai returned to class three weeks later, and he acted like a mouse seeing a cat whenever he saw Fu Guanxian. Also, because Fu Guanxian had been going to the cafeteria every day for lunch since the fight, Ban Shengkai no longer ate in the cafeteria. He went to eat fast food at a store outside the school every day.
Xiang Yang was surprised to see Fu Guanxian often in the cafeteria, but even though their eyes met several times, Fu Guanxian really did as she had asked and didn't communicate with her at school.
A couple of weeks later, the city-wide essay competition came around again. Following the usual practice, the first-place student in the grade would participate.
But there were objections from several teachers about whether Xiang Yang or Ding Wanjun should participate.
Some teachers said, “Xiang Yang's grades are stable. She should go. Besides, she has experience. She even won an award last year.”
Other teachers said, “We've always followed the usual practice. It wouldn't be fair to Ding Wanjun if we replaced her.”
In the end, Ding Wanjun was still chosen to represent the second year.
When the homeroom teacher announced this, she looked at Xiang Yang specifically. Xiang Yang knew what the teacher was worried about, but she didn't mind much. However, she suddenly remembered that Ding Wanjun and Fu Guanxian would be sitting together in the tutoring session.
But later, she heard Hou Xingrou say that Fu Guanxian didn't participate.
Fu Guanxian said he was still angry and didn't plan to participate in any competitions for the rest of the third year.
He already had a grudge against the school and the teachers.
Xiang Yang was surprised to hear this, but when she thought about it, she realized it made sense. Fu Guanxian probably felt that the school had invited his father, Fu Jinting, a powerful figure, to the school, which made him feel humiliated.
Because Grandpa Fu often said that Uncle Fu was also very smart when he was young, he always came in first place in his class, and he even mastered eighteen different skills. Of course, Xiang Yang knew that this was a bit of an exaggeration. But she knew that Uncle Fu had many skills and was very capable. He also participated in many competitions when he was studying and won many awards.
So she thought that Fu Guanxian was actually trying to compete with his younger self, trying to prove that he was better than Uncle Fu.
After the final exams, Xiang Yang heard that in the city-wide essay competition, besides a third-place award for a boy from the first year, the other two participants didn't win anything.
Xiang Yang didn't care about that. She was concerned about her own grades. Fortunately, she had climbed back to the top, coming in first place. Ding Wanjun, on the other hand, came in fourteenth place this time.
The second semester began, and the third-year students faced their graduation exams.
Xiang Yang noticed that she saw Fu Guanxian less often, except in the cafeteria and on the playground. He also seemed to avoid seeking her out.
Xiang Yang truly lived the quiet life of studying that she had desired.
The days passed peacefully and quickly.
After the midterm exams, the number of mock exams for the third year increased, but Fu Guanxian still consistently topped the charts, his total scores astonishing. He also performed well in the final exams, achieving a great score.
As Xiang Yang thought about him finally moving on to high school next semester, she also realized that her own junior high school career was coming to an end.
Looking back on her third year, all Xiang Yang could remember were textbooks, test papers, homework, and the loud chirping of cicadas in the afternoon.
On the day she returned to school to collect her acceptance letter, Xiang Yang looked at the familiar sights of the campus and thought about how she was going to face a new life and new challenges.
She didn't realize, however, that high school life would be far more challenging than she imagined.
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