Chapter 39: May I Have a Word With You Alone?

While reading the latter half of Xia Wei’s diary, Xu Qing frowned the entire time.

She absolutely would not allow Xia Wei to be with Zhou Ziyang. This was not even considering her relationship with Zhou Guowei; even if the two families had no connection at all, Xu Qing would never permit her daughter to date a boy from a broken home. It was true that her own family was also divorced, but she believed there was a fundamental difference between boys and girls.

Xu Qing prided herself on having raised Xia Wei well—she was beautiful, studious, and polite. Looking across the entire small county, Xu Qing felt no other girl of her age could compare. Xia Wei deserved better.

Truthfully, in her heart, Xu Qing believed Zhou Ziyang was a boy who had been ruined by his upbringing. Although she had only met him a few times, she was a primary school teacher who had seen countless children; she could usually judge a boy within a few glances. Combined with the situation of his family, she knew Zhou Ziyang’s mother was a paranoid woman. Although she had never interacted with the woman directly, she often heard stories about her—how she had caused a scene at the procuratorate when Zhou Guowei was younger and philandering, and how she had told Zhou Ziyang not to acknowledge Zhou Guowei as his father. To Xu Qing, none of these actions were those of a normal woman. What kind of child would be raised by such a mother?

Then there was Zhou Ziyang’s father, Zhou Guowei. At Xu Qing’s age, it was impossible for her to have fallen in love with him at first sight and pursued him passionately. What she valued in Zhou Guowei was nothing more than his career. She wanted to marry him so that when her daughter eventually got married, she wouldn’t seem so vulnerable. Word would get out that her daughter had a teacher for a mother and a prosecutor for a father—a respectable, clean family background worthy of a higher social standing. Everything she did was for her daughter.

As for Zhou Guowei’s approach to parenting, Xu Qing did not approve of that either. Zhou Guowei was a man with deep-seated insecurity. To be honest, Xu Qing felt that if you were divorced, a man ought to pay child support. Yet, he refused to provide it. He preferred to help Xu Qing with her living expenses—ignoring the rumors swirling about them—rather than help Zhou Ziyang’s mother. His goal was to use this method to control his ex-wife, hoping to force her to return to him with Zhou Ziyang. He never thought about how to educate his son; he only thought that as long as the child was with his mother, it didn’t matter, as he could simply buy him a house and a car later on.

Truthfully, Xu Qing did not agree with Zhou Guowei’s methods, but they were certainly advantageous for her and Xia Wei. Therefore, she was willing to be submissive before him; everything was for the sake of her child.

As a woman, if she didn't act this way, what else could she do? All her hopes rested on Xia Wei. As long as Xia Wei was admitted to a good university and, through Zhou Guowei’s connections, found a good family, her own life’s mission would be complete. But under no circumstances had Xu Qing ever considered letting Xia Wei be with Zhou Ziyang. Her daughter deserved better.

On the way to the school, Xu Qing’s expression was particularly grave. She was contemplating how to talk to the teacher to make them pay attention to the interactions between Zhou Ziyang and Xia Wei. However, before she even reached the stairwell, she saw a boy and a girl pulling at each other ahead. Xu Qing initially thought to herself that the education at the County No. 1 High School wasn't very good if students were acting like this in public. But when she saw who the two people were, she felt a sudden, sickening jolt.

She walked up to them with a blank expression. Xia Wei was clearly terrified; her face turned pale, and she stammered for a long time before she could utter a complete sentence: "Mom... why are you here?"

To be honest, when she first saw them tugging at each other, Xu Qing had been filled with anger. But by the time she stood in front of them, she suddenly felt a profound sense of exhaustion. "Can I not come here?" she asked, her voice flat.

"No... it’s not that..." Xia Wei didn’t know why, but she felt like a child caught in a secret romance. She stuttered, for she was, after all, just a young girl. Subconsciously, she had come to think of Zhou Ziyang as her boyfriend and couldn't help but grab his arm. Seeing this, Xu Qing felt deeply disappointed.

Xu Qing continued to ask calmly, "What were you two doing just now?"

"I," Xia Wei remained tongue-tied, not knowing what to say.

Xu Qing’s professional life as a primary school teacher gave her a certain aura when dealing with children. Just as Xia Wei was struggling, Zhou Ziyang said quite calmly, "Auntie, we were just discussing our studies. Is there something you need?"

"Discussing studies..." Xu Qing almost wanted to laugh. How could this child lie so brazenly? She looked at Zhou Ziyang. He was wearing a clean school uniform and stood a head taller than her. He looked back at her with composure, lacking the guilty conscience of other children caught in the act.

Their gazes met. A normal boy would have looked away, but Zhou Ziyang was actually observing Xu Qing quite naturally. This look was as if he had often heard about her and, seeing her in person for the first time, felt that she was nothing special. This gaze made Xu Qing very uncomfortable, even flustered. She adopted the tone she used with troublesome students and asked with a frown, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing. I often hear my father mention you. You’re more beautiful than I imagined, Auntie," Zhou Ziyang said with a faint smile.

Your father? Often?

Usually, being complimented on one’s beauty would be something to be happy about. But hearing it from Zhou Ziyang’s mouth felt wrong. His tone clearly carried the implication of a man scrutinizing a woman. Yet, Zhou Ziyang was a junior; how could he say something like that? And yet, there was no way to refute it. You couldn't exactly get angry at someone for calling you beautiful. Xu Qing felt very uncomfortable, but she had to accept it. Internally, however, she marked Zhou Ziyang down as being impolite.

With a sour expression, she replied indifferently, "Thank you. Your mother is also very beautiful."

Zhou Ziyang smiled and said nothing. His mother certainly couldn't compare to Xu Qing; his mother was forty-two, while Xu Qing was only thirty-seven. Honestly, Zhou Ziyang’s praise wasn't just idle talk. He had seen Xu Qing a few times after graduating from college, but back then, she hadn't just looked much older—her style of dress had been relatively conservative. It wasn't like now; even at thirty-seven, she looked no older than thirty-three or thirty-four.

Since becoming involved with Zhou Guowei, Xu Qing’s life had clearly improved. She wore a black professional suit, her dark, long hair was coiled at the back of her head, and she had willow-leaf eyebrows and bean-paste-colored lips. She carried an LV handbag, and the tailored suit jacket she wore featured a deep V-neck that revealed a white shirt underneath. She bore a thirty-percent resemblance to Xia Wei, though Xia Wei appeared more innocent.

Zhou Ziyang could understand why his old man would disregard the gossip and rumors just to keep a woman like this. A woman like Xu Qing was better at satisfying a man’s desire for conquest.

Zhou Ziyang’s scrutiny made Xu Qing feel very uneasy. Finally, she spoke up: "Ziyang, can I have a word with you alone?"