Ruan Tian had no intention of apologizing.
She would rather drop out of school.
After all, there were other good high schools in the entire city, not just Mingli. If she apologized now, she would never be able to face anyone again.
How could she say it?
That she had a delusion of grandeur? That she was shamelessly trying to be Xie Heng’s girlfriend? She was the school flower, for heaven’s sake! If she said that, she might as well never show her face again.
Transferring to another school might also bring gossip with it, and she certainly didn’t want to be laughed at!
Ruan Tian directly took a leave of absence. She had decided to lay low at home for a while and let her Dad help her find another school.
When Father Ruan saw how determined she was, he couldn’t do much.
She was his only daughter, and he had spoiled her like a little princess since she was a child. Every time she cried, he softened. He couldn’t really let her do what Mrs. Xie suggested, stand on the flag-raising platform and apologize to the entire school, could he?
Ruan Tian was thin-skinned, not like a boy who could brush things off easily.
Father Ruan quickly found another high school for her, a prestigious one with excellent conditions. The only problem was that the school required qualification checks, so she couldn’t transfer immediately.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t as rich as the Xie family and couldn’t just donate a building to make things go smoothly. If he could, the admission process would have been completed in no time.
He had no choice but to wait patiently.
When Ruan Tian learned that she couldn’t transfer immediately, she was a little upset. “How long do we have to wait? Is it really so difficult to just get enrolled?”
Father Ruan comforted her, telling her not to rush. She should rest well during this time, and if it came down to it, he would pay for her to go abroad for a vacation.
However, the next day, Father Ruan ran into a problem.
His company mainly dealt with landscape architecture, and recently, he had been negotiating a large contract with a famous international amusement park. If it went through, his company would be responsible for the entire landscaping and greening project of the park, which would expand his business many times over.
Things had been going well for a while. The person in charge over there had been friendly, even hinting that the project was almost his.
But suddenly, it was reported that they had signed a contract with another company, his competitor!
Father Ruan was stunned.
Of course, he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. He immediately contacted the person in charge, wondering why they had suddenly changed their mind. There had to be a reason!
The attitude from the other side had completely shifted, turning cold and evasive. They refused to give a clear explanation.
Father Ruan tried to gather information, and only one old acquaintance of his gave him a hint.
“You really have no idea who you’ve offended? Of all people, you had to mess with Xie Yizhao?”
Father Ruan felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over him.
He never expected that such a trivial matter, involving kids, would be remembered so bitterly by Xie Yizhao. What was Xie Yizhao planning to do? Block his career? A grown man being so petty?
Father Ruan was furious. He had never been treated like this, not even when he first started his business.
Soon, his partners and several shareholders found out about the issue.
They weren’t Ruan Tian’s father, so they didn’t care how much he loved his daughter. All they knew was that President Ruan had gone crazy to challenge Xie Yizhao. What was his background and what kind of resources did he have? Could he really compete with Xie Yizhao?
If an apology would resolve the issue, that would be the best outcome. Face? What’s face worth?!
Father Ruan had no choice. Even though he was grinding his teeth with resentment, he dared not act out of impulse.
He set aside his pride and personally went to Xie Corporation, hoping to meet Xie Yizhao and apologize once again.
However, when he arrived at Xie Corporation, not only did he fail to meet Xie Yizhao, but even his assistant said that Mr. Xie was too busy to see him, and only relayed a message from him.
“Mr. Xie has instructed not to entertain any other notions. He has no intention of targeting Mr. Ruan. He hopes Mr. Ruan will do what he is supposed to do.”
Li Xiao found it amusing.
What does this Mr. Ruan think? He’s clearly overestimating himself. Does he really think Mr. Xie would specifically target him?
It’s just that people in the circle know how to flatter Xie Yizhao, hoping to get on his good side.
Xie Yizhao couldn’t be bothered to intervene but didn’t feel the need to help the Ruan’s either. After all, this was a mess of their own making.
And just at that moment, he received more bad news about the transfer school.
They had rejected him on the grounds that ‘the admission slots for this year were full and the principal didn’t approve.’
“……”
Father Ruan clenched his teeth.
Need it be asked? It’s certainly related to Xie Yizhao! His connections are so wide, and so many people are eager to please him…
That evening, after returning home exhausted, Father Ruan knocked on his daughter’s door.
“Tiantian, listen to Dad. The transfer isn’t going to happen for now.”
Ruan Tian widened her eyes. “How is that possible?”
Father Ruan sighed. “Well, maybe you should apologize? Otherwise, I can only help you transfer to a school in another city.”
He sat down patiently to analyze the pros and cons with his daughter. If she refused to go out of town, she would have to attend a regular local high school.
Ruan Tian was stunned.
She was on the verge of breaking down—how could this happen…
“It’s too late. The classmates already know, and now they’re all laughing at me!”
Though she hadn’t gone to school in the past couple of days, she still couldn’t resist checking the forum, where a few friends had shared what was going on in school.
So, even though she’d been avoiding it, there was no escaping it.
On the forum, someone had posted, describing nearly everything that had happened in the office that day.
Now, everyone at school knew that she was going to apologize to Xie Heng!
[No way, no way? So the campus queen wasn’t actually dating the school tyrant? Then why did she have XH send her home?]
[The key is… when he refused to send her, she made a scene in the principal’s office and even invited the school tyrant’s Dad over? What kind of princess thinks the whole world should cater to her?]
[I suddenly feel bad for the school tyrant. He got dragged into this for no reason.]
There were also discussions about Xie Heng’s stepmother.
The poster didn’t say much about Lu Xi, just briefly summarizing.
[Xie Heng’s stepmother… well, quite a formidable person. Xie Heng listens to her, and even his Dad listens to her. Can you imagine Mr. Xie, that tall and muscular CEO, carrying his wife’s tiny handbag? And imagine this: the school tyrant getting flicked on the forehead by his stepmother. He didn’t get angry but instead blushed and smiled. You guys missed out on five billion!”
The onlookers were stunned.
???
[Is this for real? Who exactly is Xie Heng’s stepmother? She can’t possibly be some kind of sorceress who’s cursed both father and son, right?]
Ruan Tian was so angry that she didn’t even have the strength to cry. She reported the post, wishing it would be deleted immediately!
The tone of this post was clearly from those few boys, and the post only described what happened after they entered the scene midway.
Unable to sleep in the middle of the night, she got up to eat something and saw the light leaking from her father’s study.
It was already early morning, and he was still working. She heard him on the phone, talking about that project and expressing concerns about the future of the company…
Ruan Tian’s expression darkened.
Maybe… she was wrong after all. She shouldn’t have been so naïve, thinking that Xie Heng liked her, thinking she was beautiful, that everyone else should like her and accommodate her…
If she had just apologized in the office that day, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so bad.
Ruan Tian was extremely reluctant, but she knew she had no other choice.
The next day, she went to school early in the morning. She could only bear the strange looks from others.
At the school’s 7:30 flag-raising ceremony, after the director finished speaking and covering some important matters, the next segment was for problem students to give self-criticisms.
In those few short minutes, Ruan Tian had never felt so uncomfortable in her life.
Under the surprised and complicated gazes of all the teachers and students, she walked up to the podium, feeling as if her legs were made of lead. It barely felt like her own body.
She took out the self-criticism she had written the night before, her face flushed as she read aloud, word by word.
“…Here, I solemnly apologize to Xie Heng and his family. Because of my stubbornness, I caused him severe negative impact. I hope Xie Heng can forgive me and my family…”
Among the crowd, Xie Heng stood with his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless as he listened.
He showed no reaction, not even the slightest hint of smugness despite everyone looking at him. He just couldn’t help yawning.
Once the flag-raising ceremony ended, he took long strides toward the classroom, making a quick detour to the bathroom.
Just as he turned into the corridor outside the second-floor restroom, he heard some commotion ahead.
A few boys were gathered, carelessly mentioning his name.
“That damn Xie Heng really doesn’t know what’s good for him. Ruan Tian liking him must be blind!”
“Who knows, maybe Xie Heng’s Dad pressured people, throwing money around. He even donated a building to the school!”
“Like father, like son. Just because they have money doesn’t mean they’re impressive…”
Xie Heng frowned, about to step forward.
Suddenly, he saw a short boy come out of the bathroom, adjusting his glasses. The boy said, “Stop talking nonsense. Ruan Tian already apologized, and Xie Heng isn’t as bad as you say.”
Xie Heng froze for a moment.
This kid… wasn’t he the one who dropped his pen at Xie Heng’s feet that day?
He didn’t stand out much in class, just a good student, probably the Chinese class representative or something.
They had never interacted, so why was this well-behaved student suddenly speaking up for him?
The others laughed at him, seeing his thin frame, and one of them shoved him hard, sneering, “What do you know, you nerd? You believe in that crap? Do you want me to push you into the bathroom?”
With that, the boy swung his fist menacingly.
The boy is called Luo Xuan. He had never been in a fight before and immediately turned pale with fear, closing his eyes.
However, the fist didn’t come down.
The force that had been pressing down on him suddenly loosened, and he heard an exclamation, followed by a cold and lazy voice.
“Heh, funny. This kid is my classmate. I’ve got his back. You wanna try pressing him again?”
The boy smiled with a hint of cynicism, looking carefree, yet his brows were tightly furrowed. He effortlessly grabbed the other boy and even lifted him a little.
The previously menacing boy was startled. “S-sorry…”
Xie Heng snorted, and after releasing him, kicked him. “Get lost.”
The group of boys fled in a hurry, attracting a crowd of passing classmates.
Xie Heng furrowed his brows.
He was very familiar with those gazes. Cautious, somewhat fearful, yet disapproving. They saw him as the school’s outcast, the troublemaker who only relied on his Dad’s wealth as a spoiled rich kid.
He was used to it.
There was nothing to say to these people.
“Weren’t those a few second-year students? How pathetic, bullying a first-year, then getting taught a lesson by the school tyrant. They only pick on the weak.”
“Xie Heng is so handsome… Did he just protect a classmate? Isn’t that a bit cool?”
“He doesn’t seem to have ever bullied a classmate, though…”
Xie Heng paused for a moment, stunned.
Did he hear that right?
These people weren’t talking badly about him, but… complimenting him?
Xie Heng pressed his lips together, a strange feeling rising in his heart.
So this is what it feels like to be acknowledged by peers. It’s… not so bad.
He never thought he needed such trivial things. If classmates feared or disliked him, he didn’t care. He had become like a terrifying legend at school, a rebellious figure who relied solely on his father’s fortune.
He was independent, living like a prickly hedgehog, not needing friends or others to like him.
But… does he really not care?
Or is it because he’s afraid of being misunderstood, so he doesn’t bother to explain?
Yet once he took the first step, he realized it wasn’t that hard. He wasn’t a bad kid, and neither were his classmates. Those curious, kind glances weren’t as annoying as he had imagined.
Even the air at school seemed fresher than usual.
Luo Xuan hurriedly ran up to him. “Thank you, Xie Heng, but hitting people is wrong. Please don’t randomly kick others next time.”
Xie Heng : “…”
What a troublesome nerd.
Xie Heng felt a headache.
Life at school continued.
Ruan Tian came back to class, feeling anxious every day, constantly feeling like people were talking about her wherever she went.
But gossip has a shelf life.
Apart from the person involved, no one has the energy to focus on her for long because the school is never short of new gossip.
And now, the most talked-about topic among Mingli students during breaks wasn’t the school flower or the school tyrant, but the school tyrant’s stepmother.
The school planned to redesign the uniform and invited parents to participate as designers.
The design proposals would be voted on at the end of the month.
The bulletin board in the forum and the one at the school gate both had a list of parents who entered the competition.
The first one on the list was Xie Heng’s parent—Lu Xi.
Xie Heng naturally saw it too.
He couldn’t believe it; he hadn’t known about this at all, and Ms. Lu hadn’t told him!
This was outrageous…
After evening study sessions ended and school let out, Xie Heng rushed home and found Ms. Lu practicing guitar in the living room.
“You… you’re designing our school uniform?” Xie Heng asked.
Lu Xi: “Yeah, you finally found out.”
Xie Heng curled his lip. What did she mean, ‘finally found out’? She had never told him in the first place.
He was a bit annoyed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lu Xi loved her daily bickering with Xie Heng because his fighting power was so weak that she could crush him effortlessly. She raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why tell you? Are you going to help me design it?”
Xie Heng : “…”
He had no comeback.
The teenager sulked, lowering his eyes. “I’m not talking to you. I’m going to my room to play games.”
“Wait a second.”
Lu Xi suddenly remembered something.
She put down her guitar and walked over to him. First, she scrutinized him from the front, then circled around him once, and circled around him in reverse. Finally, her eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands. “Got it, it’s you! On the voting day, there’s going to be a runway show. You can help me, right?”
Xie Heng was a bit taken aback. That’s it?
He was almost scared out of his wits thinking that she had discovered his secret. Actually, he wasn’t going to his room to play games but to do homework…
“Fine, whatever…”
Just as Xie Heng opened his mouth, he suddenly stopped.
Wait a minute—this is a good opportunity!
The teenager turned his eyes, cleared his throat, wiped away the nonchalant smile, and said in a low voice, a bit mysterious and serious, “I’ll help you as a model, but how much are you paying me?”
Lu Xi was still happy from the first half of his sentence, but when she heard the second half, her smile froze.
???
Is he joking?
His Mom asks him to do something, and he asks for money right away?
Is it because the money from Xie Yizhao isn’t enough, or is it that he wants more? Is the kid obsessed with money now?
At that moment, Xie Yizhao, hearing the noise, stepped out of the study holding a cup of tea and stood by the railing, listening to the mother and son argue.
Lu Xi puffed up her cheeks. “Xie Heng, you’re something else, huh? You’re really keeping score with your own Mom?”
Xie Heng took a step back.
He nervously touched his ear.
Actually, he didn’t want to ask, but recently, he hadn’t been able to come up with any way to make money. He even started dreaming about how if everyone in the world gave him just one yuan, not much! Just one! Then he would be rich and could buy anything for Ms. Lu.
But that was impossible.
Xie Heng raised his chin. “Your prize is two hundred thousand, what’s wrong with giving me five thousand? So stingy.”
Lu Xi : “…”
She was so angry. This ungrateful child—truly… My son has rebelled and broken my heart.
She caught sight of Xie Yizhao, who was leisurely watching the drama unfold, and all her anger found a vent.
“Xie Yizhao, you’re just sitting there, watching your son bully me, huh?” Lu Xi widened her eyes.
Xie Yiczao : “…”
At that moment, the only thought in his mind was : As the ancients say, don’t watch the fun. He shouldn’t have come out of the study.
The man’s handsome face stiffened for a moment, then he smiled helplessly. He turned his gaze to his rebellious son, his expression darkening slightly. “Alright, I’ll pay the money. You just make sure to work properly and don’t slack off.”