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In the afternoon, after school, Zhuang Zi’ang walked out of the school gate and instinctively glanced at the bus station. A hollow emptiness settled in his chest.
The time at six ten no longer held any significance for him.
In a world without her, everything seemed to have lost its color.
A white sedan was parked by the roadside, its license plate eerily familiar.
Zhuang Zi’ang wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen it and walk past.
But the car door swung open, and Zhuang Wen Zhao stepped out, reeking of smoke, his hair slightly greasy—evidence of a long stay at a mahjong parlor.
In the passenger seat, Qin Shulan, her makeup heavy and thick, leaned out.
“Zhuang Zi’ang, why is your phone always off? I’ve been trying to reach you,” Zhuang Wen Zhao questioned sternly.
“I blocked you,” Zhuang Zi’ang replied coolly. “If you have something to say, say it quickly. Don’t waste my time.”
“I got a call from someone in the village saying you went back home over the weekend and brought a girl with you. Was it the same one you had rice noodles with last time?” Zhuang Wen Zhao’s expression was serious.
“Yes. What about it?” Zhuang Zi’ang’s voice was calm, his gaze unwavering.
He no longer felt the need to appease anyone. He had long since abandoned any illusions of fatherly affection.
Zhuang Wen Zhao bristled at his attitude and immediately launched into a tirade.
“How old are you? You’re still in school, and you’re already dating?”
“You brought a girl home? Do you have no shame?”
“And what does your homeroom teacher think about all this? Does being a good student mean fooling around with girls all day?”
…
Over the past few days, Zhuang Wen Zhao had received several calls from old acquaintances in the village, each one laced with mockery, teasing that he was about to become a grandfather.
When he pieced the situation together, his anger flared.
Dating in high school? Utter nonsense.
Bringing a girl home so openly? Absolutely disgraceful.
After Zhuang Wen Zhao’s furious outburst, Zhuang Zi’ang responded calmly, “I’m eighteen. I’m an adult. I can handle my own affairs without explaining myself to you.”
“Even if you were eighty, I’m still your father! You think I can’t control you?” Zhuang Wenzhao snapped.
Zhuang Zi’ang arched an eyebrow. “Do you ever listen when Grandpa talks to you?”
The words struck Zhuang Wenzhao like a slap. His fists clenched as he instinctively rolled up his sleeves, ready to retaliate.
The argument between father and son at the school gate quickly drew a crowd.
“Zhuang Zi’ang, the guy who always ranks first, is actually talking back to his dad like this.”
“They mentioned something about dating? Even the top student has a love life?”
“If my grades were like his, I’d ride my dad’s neck every day.”
…
Once upon a time, Zhuang Zi’ang would have cared about what others thought.
But not anymore.
“I’m not dating anyone. I brought a friend home to visit my grandparents. If you came all the way here just for this, then you clearly have too much time on your hands,” Zhuang Zi’ang said firmly.
“You spend all your time with that girl. Be honest—do you like her?” Zhuang Wen Zhao challenged.
Zhuang Zi’ang thought for a moment, then answered resolutely, “Yes. I really like her.”
A man should be straightforward about his feelings—there was nothing to hide.
It was perfectly normal for an eighteen-year-old to have a crush.
The surrounding students gasped.
“Wow, even the top student thinks about girls all day. Just like us.”
Zhuang Wen Zhao’s face darkened. Embarrassed by the spectacle, he snapped, “A girl who doesn’t even know how to protect herself, running around with you like that, probably isn’t from a decent family.”
“Shut up!” Zhuang Zi’ang’s voice was sharp with anger. “I won’t allow you to insult her.”
To him, Xiao Yudie was pure and flawless.
He would never let anyone tarnish her name.
Zhuang Wen Zhao faltered under his son’s intense gaze.
What was so special about that girl that made Zhuang Zi’ang defend her so fiercely?
“Zi’ang, that’s not how you talk to your father,” Qin Shulan interjected haughtily.
“Mind your own business!” Zhuang Zi’ang shot back coldly.
“You…” Qin Shulan was so furious she could barely speak.
Zhuang Zi’ang ignored her and turned back to his father.
“I genuinely like Xiao Yudie. People should be with the ones they love.”
“I’m not like you. You never loved my mom, yet you got her pregnant and forced her into marriage.”
“Those five years of a messy marriage must be hard to look back on, huh?”
Zhuang Wen Zhao stiffened, guilt flickering across his face as he took a half-step back.
“Zhuang Zi’ang, do you even know what you’re saying?”
Zhuang Zi’ang stepped forward, his voice unwavering.
He pointed at Qin Shulan. “You probably don’t even like this woman either, do you?”
Zhuang Wen Zhao’s face twisted in rage. “You’re talking nonsense!”
“A man who’s been married twice, dragging around baggage, settling for whatever woman he can find.”
“You don’t love her—that’s why you’re addicted to gambling, why you barely come home.”
“Dad, you’re over forty, and you’ve never truly loved anyone. That’s the real failure.”
Zhuang Wen Zhao’s composure snapped.
With a furious kick, he sent Zhuang Zi’ang sprawling to the ground.
Weakened from illness and barely recovered from a fever, Zhuang Zi’ang struggled to rise.
Qin Shulan shrieked, “Wen Zhao, let’s go! This is humiliating. If you want to hit him, do it at home—family matters should stay within the family.”
“He deserves a beating for his disrespect!” Zhuang Wen Zhao fumed.
At that moment, a sleek black luxury car pulled up beside them.
Lin Mu Shi rushed out and helped Zhuang Zi’ang up. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Zhuang Zi’ang muttered weakly.
Lin Mu Shi turned a fiery gaze on Zhuang Wen Zhao. “How could you hit him? Do you even know—”
“Mu Shi, don’t say it!” Zhuang Zi’ang interrupted forcefully.
His eyes met his father’s, dull with exhaustion.
“My life is yours to give. If you kill me, then I owe you nothing.”
The crowd fell silent.
The top student they admired, Zhuang Zi’ang, had been living in agony all along.
Pain coursed through his body. His vision blurred, his legs buckling beneath him.
“Zhuang Zi’ang, are you okay?” Lin Mu Shi called out, panic in her voice.
She signaled for the driver, who helped lift Zhuang Zi’ang into the backseat. The car sped toward the hospital.
Zhuang Wen Zhao stood frozen for a moment before scoffing, “Just a kick, and you’re acting like you’re dying? With acting skills like that, you might as well apply to film school.”
On the way back, Zhuang Wen Zhao drove irritably.
Qin Shulan, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly asked, “Are you really like he said, and have never liked me?”
Zhuang Wen Zhao responded impatiently, “What do you mean by liking? That’s something only kids care about. We’re grown-ups; we just muddle through life together, right?”
Love was like a ghost.
Everyone had heard of it, but no one had ever seen it.