Chapter 41 What on earth did you say to Zhou Ziyang?

"You wouldn't want to affect Weiwei's college entrance examination, would you?"

In all honesty, Xu Qing hadn't thought much of it at first.

It was only when she caught the way Zhou Ziyang was looking at her.

Xu Qing always felt that something was a bit off.

Xu Qing asked, "Why don't you just state your demands?"

Zhou Ziyang replied, "My demand is very simple. Leave my house."

"That's out of the question."

The moment Zhou Ziyang finished speaking, Xu Qing rejected him outright.

This just went to show how childish young boys were these days.

She had already been by Zhou Guowei's side for three years, a fact known to all their friends and colleagues.

To ask her to leave Zhou Guowei now—

How would she face people in the future? Would she become a laughingstock?

Putting aside the fact that Zhou Guowei was the best match Xu Qing could possibly find under the circumstances, her daughter was about to take the college entrance examination and would soon enter university and start dating.

The moment people heard she came from a divorced family—

No matter how breathtaking Xia Wei's looks were, or how impressive her grades, crossing social classes would remain an impossibility.

Zhou Ziyang was simply making an unreasonable scene.

With an icy expression, Xu Qing said, "The matter between your father and me isn't something I can just walk away from on a whim."

"Your father and your mother divorced years ago. They've both moved on, so what is it that you can't let go of?"

Zhou Ziyang declared that he didn't care about that.

"You constantly claim you're doing this for Weiwei's sake, yet you aren't even willing to make this small concession. Are you truly doing this for Weiwei? If you ask me, you're only doing it for yourself," Zhou Ziyang challenged, piercing right through Xu Qing's facade.

Zhou Ziyang insisted that if she truly cared about Weiwei, she should leave his father.

"That way, Weiwei and I can be together. You're almost forty years old; can't you make a little sacrifice for your daughter?"

"When it comes down to it, you're just selfish."

Xu Qing looked at Zhou Ziyang in silence, thinking to herself: *As if you're good enough for my daughter.*

The only reason she clung to his father was for Weiwei's sake. If she were to leave him—

To put it bluntly, they might not even be able to scrape together Weiwei's tuition fees.

However, she could never voice such thoughts to Zhou Ziyang.

Therefore, faced with Zhou Ziyang's accusation, Xu Qing simply retorted, "If that's how you want to see it, then let's just say I'm selfish."

"Like I said, this isn't something I can unilaterally decide. Even if I were willing, your father has grown accustomed to my care. If I were to leave him, would he even be able to adjust?"

Zhou Ziyang answered, "He can just hire another housekeeper."

Hearing this, Xu Qing scoffed. "Talk to me after you actually start making your own money."

"There is no future between you and Weiwei. Stop wasting your energy on futile efforts; you and Weiwei are simply not cut out for each other."

"I have nothing more to say to you."

"With the college entrance exams right around the corner, my only hope is that you won't disrupt Weiwei's testing. If you genuinely care for her, you should consider her well-being. I originally came to the school to speak with your teachers, but since I ran into you, I'll let it go. I trust that you're a sensible young man."

Having said that, Xu Qing chose to end the conversation.

Just then, the bell rang signaling the end of break. Having no patience to waste any more breath on Zhou Ziyang, Xu Qing told him to head back to class.

On her walk home, Xu Qing's expression remained grave.

She replayed her conversation with Zhou Ziyang over and over in her mind, sensing that he had deliberately tried to trap her. The boy was only eighteen, yet his gaze held a distinct air of frivolous cunning.

At the time, Xu Qing hadn't thought much of it, but upon returning home, the realization suddenly hit her.

The brat must have done it on purpose.

To be so calculating at just eighteen years old—

It was truly worrisome.

After parting ways with Xu Qing, Zhou Ziyang returned to the classroom.

Meanwhile, Xia Wei had been pacing anxiously inside like an ant on a hot pan. After all, her mother had caught her holding hands with Zhou Ziyang earlier.

To make matters worse, her mother had called Zhou Ziyang out alone.

Xia Wei was terrified of what her mother might have said to him.

Fortunately, Zhou Ziyang returned after ten-odd minutes.

Following a class that felt like an agonizingly long ordeal—

The moment the bell rang, all the students rushed to the cafeteria for lunch. Xia Wei nervously approached Zhou Ziyang.

She asked, "My mom didn't say anything weird to you, did she?"

"She didn't say much," Zhou Ziyang replied.

Xia Wei breathed a sigh of relief and opened her mouth to speak further.

Only to hear Zhou Ziyang say, "From now on, unless it's necessary, don't come looking for me anymore."

"?" Xia Wei froze, stunned.

After a brief pause, Zhou Ziyang continued, "Oh, right, Weiwei, I think I owe you an apology."

This only deepened Xia Wei's confusion.

She heard Zhou Ziyang admit that, previously, lingering bitterness over his family situation had indeed made him biased against her.

"After thinking about it carefully later on, I realized how childish I was. I actually confessed to you, thinking that as long as I got together with you, your mother and my father would be out of the picture."

Zhou Ziyang spoke with the casual air of someone unburdened by the past.

Yet Xia Wei felt completely dazed, her voice dropping to an uncertain whisper as she asked, "What... what do you mean?"

Zhou Ziyang replied, "Just what I said about my confession before."

"You already knew, didn't you?"

"I confessed to you solely because of our parents' relationship, and for that I'm truly sorry. Fortunately, you were smart enough to see right through me."

Zhou Ziyang offered a light laugh. Yet, watching his breezy, nonchalant expression, a sudden wave of loss welled up inside Xia Wei. "Are you saying you only confessed to me out of spite?"

"Well, obviously~"

Zhou Ziyang chuckled, noticing her preoccupied expression.

He added, "You didn't actually think I liked you, did you?"

A single sentence jolted Xia Wei's head up, locking her gaze with Zhou Ziyang's.

Xia Wei parted her lips, wanting to say something, anything, but words failed her. She felt that if she dared to speak, tears would instantly spill over.

He... didn't like her.

"Alright, the exams are just around the corner. I hope I haven't ruined your mood."

"No matter what our parents do, let's both focus on doing well! You've got this!" Sporting the harmless, sunny smile of an ordinary boy, Zhou Ziyang even proactively extended his hand for a handshake.

Yet Xia Wei stood there completely hollowed out, her soul seemingly detached.

She had no recollection of how she managed to shake Zhou Ziyang's hand.

Then Zhou Ziyang mentioned he was heading off to lunch.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to offer her one last word of encouragement.

And Xia Wei, at that exact moment, felt as though she had lost her soul entirely.

She sat alone and desolate in her chair.

The setting sun cast her shadow long and lonely across the floor.

He...

Didn't like her?

Throughout the entire evening self-study session, Xia Wei remained utterly distracted.

She simply couldn't comprehend it—if Zhou Ziyang didn't like her, why had he pushed himself to study so hard for her sake?

Why had he spent every day running like a madman on the sports field?

During study hall, Xia Wei stole glances at Zhou Ziyang, only to find him laughing and joking with other girls, even patiently tutoring one of them in her schoolwork.

Could everything from before have been a lie?

To be fair, back when Zhou Ziyang used to hover around her and take advantage of every little chance to get close, Xia Wei had actually found it rather annoying.

Yet today, upon hearing him casually declare that he didn't like her—

She somehow felt even worse.

What on earth had her mother said to him?

The evening study session finally ended.

School was dismissed.

Today, Xia Wei rode her bicycle home alone.

Because of the day's events, Xu Qing was also feeling quite agitated. She silently warned herself that with the exams approaching, nothing could be allowed to go wrong; she had to keep her composure.

Hearing the sound of the front door opening, Xu Qing hurried over with a gentle, welcoming smile. "You're back?"

"Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

"I have no appetite," Xia Wei answered coldly.

Xu Qing was met with a cold shoulder, but reminding herself that her daughter was about to take her college entrance exams—

She held her temper.

Xia Wei had already walked up to the threshold of her bedroom, about to step inside.

Yet, unable to overcome the turmoil raging in her heart, she stopped.

She stepped back out, fixing Xu Qing with a glare that felt almost hostile.

Perhaps that description was a bit too strong, but her gaze burned with the stubborn defiance of a young girl.

"I want to know what exactly you said to Zhou Ziyang this afternoon."