DLSRWAR Chapter 12 I side with family, not with reason.

At dusk, the clouds drifted across the sky, and the orange sunset cast its warm glow through the window, settling on the girl sitting by it. The light made her appear even softer and more delicate.

Ye Hancheng, bored, fiddled with his pen, his gaze fixed intently on Qin Yumian, who was seated in front of him.

“Brother Han, want to team up for some games?” Big Fatty suddenly turned around, only to find himself caught in the young man’s penetrating stare.

Big Fatty: “??”

Was Brother Han really staring at the back of his head? And wasn’t his gaze a bit too intense?

Big Fatty asked, “Brother Han, is there something on my back?”

Ye Hancheng tore his gaze away from his wife’s graceful back, which had now become Big Fatty’s broad face, and said expressionlessly, “No.”

Big Fatty asked shyly, “Then why are you staring at me?”

Ye Hancheng: “?”

Ye Hancheng: “…”

Fuck! He obviously had been looking at his wife!

Noticing Ye Hancheng’s expression darkened, Deng Yuanze quickly intervened, “Brother Han isn’t looking at you. He’s clearly looking at the sports rep.”

“Looking at the sports rep?” Big Fatty was puzzled. “Is there something on her back?”

He turned to look at Qin Yumian, only to be met by the imposing figure of Chen Lanping storming in from outside.

Chen Lanping slammed the lesson plan onto the podium and, pointing at the door, yelled, “Qin Yumian, get out!”

Big Fatty muttered, “Looks like Sun Erniang is at it again with the sports rep.”

Ye Hancheng’s attention was caught by Big Fatty’s words. “Again?”

“Since Sun Erniang started teaching our class, she’s had it in for the sports rep. She’s always finding fault with her and making her stand outside as punishment.”

Ye Hancheng frowned at this, his gaze returning to the calm girl rising from her seat.

Qin Yumian expressionlessly looked at the furious woman. “Reason.”

Chen Lanping sneered, “Reason? How dare you ask for a reason? Don’t you know what you’ve done?”

Yang Mao called out loudly, “What did the sports rep do?”

Was it worth making such a fuss over?

“What did she do? She hit one of the top students from the advanced class, someone with the best chance of getting into a top university,” Chen Lanping said coldly. “If this leaves any psychological scars and causes her to fail the entrance exams, even if you served her the rest of your life, you wouldn’t make up for classmate Xu Lili’s loss.”

Qin Yumian remained calm, barely even lifting her eyelids. “Who is Xu Lili? How can you prove it was me who hit her?”

Chen Lanping let out a mocking laugh. “Classmate Xu Lili is a student in the advanced class, one of the top ten in her grade. Do you really think she would falsely accuse you?”

“Qin Yumian, let me tell you, this school is not a place where you can run amok. If you apologize to classmate Xu Lili and she forgives you, we might be able to settle this matter. But if she doesn’t forgive you, you can expect to be expelled!”

Qin Yumian leaned against the wall, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “I don’t know any Xu Lili. Teacher, if you’re looking for a scapegoat, you should at least get your facts straight first.”

Chen Lanping was infuriated by Qin Yumian’s words, her eyes flashing with anger as if they were sharp blades ready to flay her alive.

“Fine, you don’t admit it, huh? I’ll call Xu Lili over right now so she can confront you!”

With that, Chen Lanping stormed out to call Teacher Xu of the advanced class.

Yang Mao turned to Qin Yumian. “Sports rep, is what Sun Erniang said true? Did you hit someone?”

Qin Yumian lowered her long, thick eyelashes, her expression inscrutable.

“It’s definitely false. My wif—” Ye Hancheng, who had changed seats without anyone noticing, interjected, “The sports rep would never hit anyone.”

His wife was so obedient and soft; not only would she never hit anyone, but even if asked to step on an ant, she probably wouldn’t be able to bring herself to do it!

“Right, it must be that they are wrongfully accusing the sports rep,” Hao Jiajia agreed. “I know Xu Lili—she’s just a typical white lotus, always playing the victim as if everyone else in the world is at fault and she’s the only one innocent.”

A girl sitting on the left in front of them suddenly spoke up. “Chen Lanping isn’t wrong about Qin Yumian. She really did hit someone.”

The girl was the class’s academic committee member. Relying on her good grades, she often looked down on Qin Yumian and her friends, who were seen as underachievers and were only known for their indulgence in eating, drinking, and partying.

“This afternoon, I went to the bathroom and saw her slap Xu Lili twice with my own eyes. She even grabbed Xu Lili by the hair and dragged her to the sink…” The girl glanced at Qin Yumian as she spoke, but quickly looked down, as if frightened.

Hao Jiajia was taken aback, her voice uncertain. “Sports rep, is what Du Yuehe said true?”

Yang Mao patted her on the shoulder. “What do you take the sports rep for? She’s not a bully. There’s no way she would hit someone without a reason. Xu Lili must have been the one who started trouble, and the sports rep only acted out of frustration.”

“No.” Qin Yumian’s tone remained calm and untroubled. “I hit her simply because I didn’t like her.”

Yang Mao: “…”

Yang Mao and Hao Jiajia exchanged glances, both falling silent in unison.

Qin Yumian smiled, but the smile held no warmth.

At that moment, Ye Hancheng, who had moved to sit behind her, spoke up. “Was it because of this that your uniform got wet?”

Qin Yumian glanced down at the corner of her uniform, which had already dried significantly. Her tone was indifferent. “Yes.”

Ye Hancheng said, “It’s not good to do this.”

The coldness in Qin Yumian’s eyes grew more pronounced.

Ye Hancheng continued, “Next time something like this happens, let me handle it. Hitting people will hurt your hands. I’ve got tough skin, so I’m not afraid of pain.”

Qin Yumian: “…”

Hao Jiajia & Yang Mao: “???”

Qin Yumian looked at the young man. “Don’t you think hitting people is wrong?”

Ye Hancheng shook his head. “I side with family, not with reason.”

The Ye family was notorious for being protective of their own. Besides, this was his wife; as a couple, they were one and the same. So, of course, he would stand by his wife’s side.

Qin Yumian: “…” They didn’t even seem to be friends, did they? So where was this loyalty… came from?

Chen Lanping had Qin Yumian step outside, and Teacher Xu, accompanied by Xu Lili from their class, arrived.

The students from Class 4 all craned their necks to peer out the windows, and those from the neighboring class had also come out to see the commotion.

Standing next to Teacher Xu was a girl with a delicate face, but now there were two symmetrical red handprints on her cheeks. Upon seeing Qin Yumian, her eyes filled with tears, and she timidly hid behind Teacher Xu.

Chen Lanping grabbed Qin Yumian’s arm and roughly yanked her in front of the girl, her sharp nails digging into the fabric as if they wanted to penetrate into flesh and bone.

“Look at how scared she became? Apologize to her now!”

Qin Yumian was caught off guard by the sudden pull, stumbling a couple of steps before regaining her balance. She smiled and pushed Chen Lanping’s hand away, her voice icy. “Teacher, if you pull any harder, I might start to suspect you’re trying to twist my arm off.”

Chen Lanping glared at the girl with gritted teeth. She might have wanted to do just that!

——