Chapter Forty: Don't you know what I want?

"If you have something to say, just say it directly. Weiwei is your daughter, not an outsider," Zhou Ziyang said.

Hearing this, Xu Qing was momentarily speechless. She thought to herself, is this really about who is an outsider and who is family? To be honest, her dissatisfaction with Zhou Ziyang had reached its peak. First and foremost, he showed no respect for his elders and spoke with no manners. However, looking at her daughter’s cautious expression, she found it difficult to be too harsh.

After a moment of hesitation, Xu Qing stepped forward, took Zhou Ziyang’s hand, and said gently, "Ziyang, come with me for a moment. I have some things I want to discuss with you privately. Weiwei, you go back to the classroom first."

"Mom..." Xia Wei wanted to say something, but a single glare from Xu Qing silenced her.

Zhou Ziyang had initially intended to refuse, but Xu Qing didn't give him the chance. She remarked that she had heard he had placed first in the entire school and that it was quite impressive. "I hear about you from your father often; let’s have a good talk," she said, reaching out to wrap her arm around his shoulder in a casual, familiar way. "Come on, let’s go over there and chat."

In truth, this behavior left Zhou Ziyang feeling quite speechless. Throughout his life, he had encountered many adults who lacked a sense of boundaries. Even though Xu Qing was technically an elder, he was still a young man—was such an intimate gesture appropriate? Yet, Xu Qing acted as if it were perfectly natural, treating him just like a child.

He wanted to say something, but ultimately kept his silence and followed her. Xu Qing suggested they walk around the playground. Once they were off the school building grounds and he was sure Xia Wei wasn't following, Zhou Ziyang took the initiative to step away from her.

"You don't really have to do this, Auntie," he said. "If you have something to say, just say it. I’m about to take the college entrance exam—if you’re worried about affecting Weiwei’s grades, why aren't you worried about mine?"

At this point, Xu Qing no longer felt the need to keep up the charade. Seeing him pull away as if he were repulsed by her, she said coldly, "Stay away from my daughter."

She was a teacher, after all, and her ability to change her expression was swift. With her refined makeup, frost-covered face, and a gaze that was deep and sharp, an ordinary student would have been truly intimidated.

However, Zhou Ziyang remained indifferent. He simply stared at her and said, "Auntie, you look very beautiful even when you're angry."

This remark left Xu Qing reeling. She demanded to know who taught him to speak to his elders like that. Zhou Ziyang just laughed and denied it.

"I’ve always been curious why Weiwei is so beautiful. Now I know—she inherited your best qualities. Sometimes I even envy my dad, having two such beauties, big and small, at home every day. No wonder he didn't want me or my mom anymore."

He kept calling her beautiful, but for some reason, the tone was deeply unsettling. It was no different from a street thug. Even with her patience, Xu Qing was becoming incensed. With that kind of character, did he really think he could pursue her daughter?

The final straw came when Xu Qing said, "I know you have a natural hostility toward me, but Ziyang, you must understand: your parents' divorce had nothing to do with me."

"No, no, Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. I have no hostility toward you at all. I know my parents are two very different people; even without you, they wouldn't have lasted together. On the contrary, I am grateful to you."

"Thank you for taking care of my father these past three years. And I am sincere about Weiwei, Auntie. Please believe me and give me a chance. I promise I will treat her well."

Seeming afraid she wouldn't believe him, he even took her hand, looking at her with an earnest gaze. The searing intensity in the young man's eyes made it hard for her to look directly at him. It took a great effort to pull her delicate hand away, and she surreptitiously wiped it off. She cursed him under her breath—that little brat had quite a grip.

"Auntie believes you, but you know the relationship between your father and me. Strictly speaking, you and Weiwei..." She intended to blur the lines; that was the rumor outside, after all.

"What relationship? What could there possibly be between you and my father? Auntie, I’m young, I don't understand the complex webs of your adult world, but I only know that my feelings for Weiwei are real."

"Auntie, to be honest, you’ve been surrounding my father all this time hoping for a union between our families, right? Instead of wasting so much effort on yourself, why not facilitate things for us youngsters? What do you think?" Zhou Ziyang looked at her, appearing completely harmless.

No matter how good her temper was, being needled like this by Zhou Ziyang made her blood boil. Her expression turned icy. "Are you really that dense, or are you just pretending?"

"I'll tell you this once: as long as I’m here, you and Xia Wei will never happen!"

"Even if Weiwei never marries in her entire life, she will never be with a little hoodlum like you!" Xu Qing shouted in a rage.

Zhou Ziyang found this amusing. "That is not something you get to decide."

Xu Qing glared at him, but he remained completely unbothered. He didn't feel he was in the wrong at all. Xu Qing and Xia Wei were clinging to his father for his resources, and now she was trying to use her status as an adult to intimidate him and play mind games. It wouldn't be that simple.

He remembered that in his previous life, after he graduated from college, his father, Zhou Guowei, had taken him to the bank to withdraw 300,000 yuan for his renovation. Xu Qing had called to ask where his father was. When told he was getting money for the renovation, her voice had gone cold. She hadn't said much, but the implication was as if Zhou Ziyang had stolen the money from her. Every time he visited his father’s house, she made him feel like an outsider.

Regardless of whether it was Xu Qing or Xia Wei, he didn't like either of them.

Looking at her frozen, mask-like face, Zhou Ziyang said, "Actually, Auntie, it’s not impossible for me to stay away from Xia Wei."

"You only need to satisfy one request."

"Speak," the furious Xu Qing said, staring at him coldly.

Zhou Ziyang watched her anger and smiled slightly. "Don't you know what I want?"

"Your daughter cannot provide it, but I believe you can, Auntie Xu."