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Yesterday’s incident at the noodle shop had reached Zhuang Wen Zhao solely through Zhuang Yuhang’s account.
Of course, Zhuang Yuhang didn’t mention that he had been the one to provoke the situation; instead, he painted Zhuang Zi’ang in a terrible light.
In his words, Zhuang Ziang was utterly vicious, deserving of severe punishment.
“Dad, no matter what, Zhuang Zi’ang hit Yuhang, and that’s a fact. He must apologize to Yuhang. You can’t just protect him blindly,” Zhuang Wen Zhao said to Zhuang Jianguo.
Zhuang Jianguo frowned, glaring disapprovingly at his son.
To him, Zhuang Zi’ang was Zhuang Zi’ang, while Zhuang Yuhang was simply Yuhang.
This subtle difference revealed just how stifling Zhuang Zi’ang’s life was in this family.
Qin Shulan chimed in, fanning the flames.
“Now he dares to hit his younger brother; in a few days, he’ll dare to hit his parents, and then will he think about hitting his grandfather next?”
“With such poor character, how can he read so many books? He’ll only cause greater harm to society in the future.”
“Before he commits an even graver error, we must discipline him strictly.”
…
Seeing her spiteful demeanor, Zhuang Jianguo paid her no mind and turned his attention to Zhuang Zi’ang.
“Zi’ang, tell Grandpa, why did you hit Yuhang?”
Zhuang Zi’ang glanced at Zhuang Yuhang and replied, “Because he deserved a beating.”
“You coward! You’re asking for it, aren’t you?” Zhuang Yuhang shouted loudly.
Now that he had the backing of his parents, he felt emboldened.
In Zhuang Yuhang’s eyes, Zhuang Jianguo was just an old fool, someone he rarely saw throughout the year.
“Dad, look at Zhuang Zi’ang’s attitude. Does he show any remorse?” Qin Shulan huffed heavily.
“Beast! Acting so arrogant after doing something wrong, do you really not care about me?” Zhuang Wen Zhao shouted, pointing a finger at Zhuang Zi’ang.
Zhuang Jianguo angrily replied, “The facts aren’t even clear yet, and you’re all just blaming Zi’ang!”
Qin Shulan sarcastically said, “If you insist on favoring him, then there’s nothing I can do. Our mother-son duo is truly unfortunate, bullied by you all.”
Zhuang Wen Zhao was still respectful toward his father, trying to explain patiently.
“Dad, many neighbors saw what happened yesterday.”
“Zhuang Zi’ang isn’t studying well and is dating a girl of questionable character.”
“When Yuhang caught them, he got embarrassed and furious, leading to a serious escalation.”
Zhuang Zi’ang’s eyes widened in anger, his voice rising sharply, “Who are you calling a girl of questionable character?”
“What?” Zhuang Wen Zhao was taken aback.
The phrase “girl of questionable character” was Zhuang Yuhang’s description of Su Yudie.
Zhuang Wen Zhao repeated the words he had heard, not expecting Zhuang Zi’ang to react so strongly.
“At such a young age, not focusing on school but fooling around with girls; who knows what disgraceful things he’ll end up doing,” Qin Shulan continued to stoke the fire.
That comment was already quite over the line.
The phrase “disgraceful things” was understood without needing to be spelled out—everyone knew what it implied.
Zhuang Zi’ang clenched his fists, wishing he could rush up and slap this woman hard.
At the same time, he felt guilty toward Xiao Yudie, knowing that because of him, she was being slandered like this.
Zhuang Jianguo finally understood why Zhuang Zi’ang had run away from home.
If he were in such a family, he would feel suffocated as well.
How many years had Zhuang Zi’ang endured cold stares and scoldings?
Thinking of this made his heart ache.
Zhuang Zi’ang glared at Zhuang Wen Zhao. “Dad, did you really try to understand what happened yesterday?”
Zhuang Wen Zhao insisted, “Of course, so many people saw it. You slapped Yuhang in public.”
“No, you didn’t understand.” Zhuang Zi’ang shook his head forlornly. “Deep down, you’ve already decided that Zhuang Yuhang is your precious son, and no matter what I do, I’m always in the wrong.”
“Nonsense! I’ve treated both of you equally!” Zhuang Wen Zhao defended.
“Look into your heart; do you even believe that yourself?” Zhuang Zi’ang smiled coldly.
Under Zhuang Zi’ang’s icy gaze, Zhuang Wen Zhao felt uneasy.
No matter how he tried to argue, he couldn’t cover up the fact that he treated his two sons differently.
“If you truly wanted to understand the truth, you should know that the noodle shop has surveillance cameras installed,” Zhuang Zi’ang’s tone suddenly became calm.
Zhuang Wen Zhao’s expression froze at that moment.
Zhuang Yuhang’s eyes gradually filled with unease.
Zhuang Zi’ang’s gaze turned to Qin Shulan. “Aunt Qin, would you like to see the graceful figure of my slap on your son?”
With that, he pulled out his phone and opened a video.
It turned out that yesterday, when Zhuang Zi’ang took a long time to return after paying the bill, he had actually asked the owner for this surveillance footage.
Zhuang Zi’ang knew Zhuang Yuhang’s character; unless he presented the evidence right in front of him, he would never admit his mistakes.
“You coward! You must have taken the wrong medicine that day to dare to hit me?”
“Who are you? Just the mistress of that coward?”
“You hanging out with that coward seems to indicate you’re not really a decent girl, either?”
Zhuang Yuhang’s arrogant words came blaring from the speakers.
In just two short minutes, Zhuang Yuhang had called Zhuang Zi’ang a coward multiple times.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Zhuang Zi’ang slapped him.
Zhuang Jianguo exclaimed, “Well done! If Zi’ang hadn’t done anything, would he still be a man?”
Zhuang Wen Zhao had no retort.
Even with his bias, he could see that Zhuang Yuhang’s repeated provocations were purely self-inflicted.
Qin Shulan opened her mouth but couldn’t find a decent excuse, so she fell silent for the moment.
She was thinking that Zhuang Zi’ang was quite clever for keeping the surveillance footage.
If it came to a dispute over inheritance in the future, Zhuang Yuhang might not stand a chance against him.
“Zhuang Wen Zhao, do you now understand which of your two sons truly needs discipline?” Zhuang Jianguo demanded sternly.
“Dad, I’m busy with work, and I didn’t get the chance to clarify this matter. Yuhang is still a child; he didn’t mean it,” Zhuang Wen Zhao defended himself, feeling guilty.
“He calls his own brother a coward, and that’s not intentional?” Zhuang Jianguo was furious.
Seeing the situation, Zhuang Wen Zhao realized he couldn’t continue to favor Zhuang Yuhang without justification.
He waved his hand, “Yuhang, come over and apologize to Zhuang Zi’ang. Let’s just drop this issue.”
“Why should I apologize when he hit me?!” Zhuang Yuhang remained stubborn and refused to admit his fault.
“I don’t need anyone to apologize,” Zhuang Zi’ang calmly shook his head.
What good is an apology? It can’t feed you or clothe you.
When words fail to defend one’s dignity, fists become the last weapon.
In front of Zhuang Jianguo, Zhuang Zi’ang didn’t want to linger on the topic any longer to spare the old man any heartache.
“Grandpa, I don’t want to stay here anymore; let’s go!”
Zhuang Jianguo nodded firmly, “Alright, let’s go. There’s no need to return to this family.”
After saying that, he shot Zhuang Wen Zhao a fierce glare.
Zhuang Zi’ang supported his grandfather and left without looking back.
“Dad, should I drive you back to the countryside?” Zhuang Wen Zhao suggested, looking guilty.
“No need; if you have so much free time, you should spend less time gambling and discipline your son more,” Zhuang Jianguo stubbornly walked away.
The grandfather and grandson left, leaving the trio behind, staring at each other in silence.
The atmosphere was extremely heavy.
“Dad, I just can’t stand that coward!” Zhuang Yuhang complained, still indignant.
Zhuang Wen Zhao slapped him across the face, “Shut up! He’s your brother!”