Chapter 45

“How did this kid end up here? Could he really be dating my daughter? I never noticed… Damn, if Song Qian sees him, she’ll take it as truth no matter if it’s a misunderstanding—this could blow up…”

Qiao Weidong spotted He Chen and his mind raced instantly; he felt utterly miserable, terrified his daughter was falling for someone too early, and even more afraid his ex-wife would lose her mind. He regretted not exchanging phone numbers with this kid he’d gotten along with—now he couldn’t even arrange to send He Chen away early.

He stopped paying attention to his daughter’s speech, fixing his gaze tightly on his ex-wife’s expression and eyes, subtly twisting his body to block any possible view of He Chen.

He dared not make any large movements, lest he draw his ex-wife’s attention.

As he contorted his body, he felt how utterly miserable he was.

To get his daughter to show up for the speech, he’d waited outside the self-service ticket counter; when he saw his ex-wife coming, he immediately locked the door with a chain, hoping to trap her inside until the speech ended.

Unfortunately, he’d forgotten there was another exit—his ex-wife slipped out, so he dropped the chain and rushed over to chase and block her, snatching the ticket from her hand and tearing it up, pleading with her not to disrupt the event and hurt his daughter’s dignity and feelings.

But his ex-wife was determined to get in. After a fierce struggle, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t match her public scream of “Sexual harassment!”—he was instantly KO’d, forced to buy another ticket and follow her inside. Luckily, the deputy district chief’s wife intercepted and calmed her down at the last moment; otherwise, he couldn’t imagine what kind of blow his daughter might have suffered.

What you fear is exactly what comes.

His overly “graceful” posture and constant vigilance toward his ex-wife still caught her attention. When her gaze turned his way, though he desperately tried to hide it, He Chen—sitting tall and conspicuous among the crowd—immediately seized her eyes.

After a brief pause, Song Qian’s face turned ashen, her whole body trembling.

“Don’t get worked up, it’s not as bad as you think—maybe it’s just a misunderstanding…” Qiao Weidong hurriedly tried to soothe her.

But the more he spoke, the worse it got—Song Qian shot him a look of extreme revulsion, and in that moment, it felt exactly like when she’d once suspected him of cheating and he’d desperately tried to explain.

She exploded, leaping to her feet and shouting at He Chen: “You little brat, stay away from my daughter!!!”

Her scream shook the entire hall, leaving everyone stunned.

Qiao Yingzi, standing on the stage, felt her mind go blank—she couldn’t utter a word, watching helplessly as her mother shouted at He Chen, shoved aside her father trying to intervene, and rushed forward crying, grabbing her arm and dragging her out.

“Come home with Mom! You’re never coming here again!”

“I won’t go! I won’t go!” Qiao Yingzi’s head buzzed; she instinctively clung to the stage, refusing to move. As her mother’s grip tightened and curious glances from the audience grew heavier, she sank down onto the floor, trying to make herself smaller.

“Still not moving? What are you trying to do?” Seeing she couldn’t pull her daughter away, Song Qian’s rage boiled over: “Is this the speech you lied to your mother about, the one you made your father lock me up just to come see? You came here to meet up with this little brat! How could you betray me like this?!”

“I didn’t! I didn’t!” Qiao Yingzi pleaded, both heartbroken and frantic.

But Song Qian wouldn’t listen.

She’d lived it herself—when she was young, Qiao Weidong was devastatingly handsome, and she was stunningly beautiful; she knew better than anyone how powerful the attraction between a handsome man and a beautiful woman could be.

Though Qiao Yingzi herself and everyone else knew she hadn’t inherited either parent’s high looks—only their intelligence—Song Qian, as a mother, had no such awareness.

In her eyes, her daughter was the most beautiful.

He Chen appearing here now, and her daughter going through all this trouble just to come—there was no doubt: they were dating.

This was unacceptable!

Not only was she in her final year of high school, and Song Qian firmly opposed any romantic distraction from studies—but worse, it was with He Chen, a boy too handsome to be trusted, destined to cheat, already a disrespectful, troublemaking student.

Just thinking of it made her furious—she couldn’t possibly listen to her daughter’s explanations.

“Mom, don’t push me!!!” Qiao Yingzi watched as her mother refused to hear her out, repeating phrases like “It’s not me pushing you, it’s you pushing me!” Her father tried to intervene but was shoved aside, then slapped across the face with her mother’s free hand. The entire venue was in chaos. She screamed a warning, her mind overwhelmed by the suffocating pressure her mother was forcing upon her.

Every day she had to drink disgusting medicinal soups, eat stinking sea cucumbers, forbidden even a single snack. Her entire year’s schedule was rigidly planned out.

When her mother finally took her to the movies, it was a film she’d already seen secretly—but to make her mother happy and avoid anger, she pretended she hadn’t watched it, sat through it, and when she accidentally commented on a scene, her mother flew into a rage, stormed out, and in front of everyone, screamed and cried at her, forcing her to sob and shriek: “I just wanted you to be happy!”

The reply was an even louder scream from her mother: “I DON’T NEED IT!!!”

This suffocating life went on every single day, and would continue for at least another year—likely more. She dreamed of applying to universities outside the capital, anywhere, just to escape her mother. But knowing her mother, she was certain Song Qian would never allow her to leave Beijing.

She was truly breaking down.

Now, after all this, she’d finally found a small joy to relax her nerves—and her mother came crashing in, making this public scene. No matter how she pleaded, her mother once again lost control and refused to listen.

She couldn’t take it anymore.

“Don’t push me! Don’t push me!!!”

Qiao Yingzi screamed, her voice rising. Seeing her mother remain unmoved, she shoved away the hand clutching her and ran toward He Chen.

Under Song Qian’s horrified stare, Qiao Yingzi threw herself onto He Chen, her legs ungracefully wrapping around his waist, arms clasping his neck, desperately pressing her lips against his.

“Yingzi, no!”

“Let go of Yingzi!”

Amid the screams of Qiao Yingzi’s parents, He Chen looked into her eyes—already blurred with tears, her expression one of utter resolve: “It’s all your fault.” He thought: “No wonder she’s Lao Bai’s daughter.”

Yet as he heard her screaming “Don’t push me! Don’t push me!” he almost blurted out: “Kuihua… Kuihua… Kuihua Acupoint Technique!”

He could’ve used a technique similar to the Kuihua Acupoint Technique to stop her from taking advantage of him—especially since she was neither attractive nor in good condition, and this whole act was utterly devoid of grace.

But seeing her heartbroken, resolute expression, and the crowd of onlookers, he feared hurting her dignity—given her state, she might do something reckless. Plus, he’d just been insulted again by Song Qian, adding new grievances to old ones. After much hesitation, he chose not to stop her retaliation against her mother.

And in truth, Qiao Yingzi had no intention of taking advantage—she clumsily bit down twice, then immediately let go, turned away, consumed by a bitter, vengeful release, and shouted at her stunned mother: “Are you happy now?!!!”