Chapter 104: Out of Spite

Under the principal's reluctant gaze, Shi Jin bowed to the two arrogant, wealthy students and their parents, apologizing softly.

However, the other side clearly belonged to the type who push their luck; the boy's mother, adorned with jewelry, snorted haughtily: "Don't think an apology is enough—you hit my son, causing him how much psychological trauma, and you just want to brush it off lightly?"

Shi Qing frowned and asked: "Then what else do you want to do about it?"

"It's simple—have him drop out or… transfer; in short, don't let him appear at this school again."

"Sir/Ma'am, your words are rather unreasonable!" the principal stepped forward sternly: "Do you know how serious the two words 'drop out' are for a student? Especially for an excellent student like Shi Jin, I will absolutely not allow this to happen!"

After speaking, the boy's mother also felt a bit unsteady; meeting the principal's firm gaze, her eyes darted about guiltily.

Only Shi Qing, after some thought—her lowered gaze shifting several times—finally said: "All right, I will have Shi Jin transfer."

As her words fell, even the air grew a little quieter.

Shi Jin looked at his mother in utter disbelief, wondering if he had misheard.

Stepping out of the principal's office, he still hadn't reacted, stunned and confused: "... Mom, why?"

Shi Qing's expression was not heavy like Shi Jin's; she suddenly asked: "Little Jin, do you know about Ya Zhu?"

Shi Jin had certainly heard of it.

Ya Zhu, the top-ranked international aristocratic school in Jing Shi, admits only students who are truly either wealthy or noble.

"... I know."

"And then?"

"Little Jin, do you want to go study at Ya Zhu?" Shi Qing's expression faintly excited, she said: "Tonight we're going to Grandma Pei's house for dinner; at the table you can tell Grandma Pei what happened today, act a bit aggrieved, complain to her, and say you dare not continue studying here anymore—understand?"

"..."

Shi Jin gradually began to understand Shi Qing's meaning, but he felt more confused and at a loss: "Is this the reason you just agreed to let me transfer?"

"Yes."

Shi Qing stepped forward, grabbed her son's shoulders, and told him: "Little Jin, Ya Zhu's admission slots are extremely hard to get, but if you have Grandma Pei's help, it will be much easier."

"Mom guarantees, Ya Zhu will be a million times better than your current school; Ya Zhu's teacher qualifications and course quality are top-notch."

"Most importantly—" as she reached the key point, Shi Qing's breath caught, her eyes brightening: "Little Jin, if you study at Ya Zhu, you'll be able to befriend the children of officials and nobles, which is tantamount to stepping onto a rung of high society."

"..."

Shi Jin fell silent.

He thought his mother made him apologize out of fear of the influence of those two boys' families.

In Shi Jin's heart, he always felt sorry for Shi Qing; his mother had single-handedly raised him and his sister with hardship, also juggling work, which was especially difficult; he didn't want to see his mother struggle, and even began to self-reflect why he hadn't just endured more instead of lashing out.

That's why he compromised and apologized.

As long as it spared his mother trouble, he was willing to swallow his pride and let go of his self-respect.

A real man, it's nothing.

But Mother wanted him to transfer, to Ya Zhu—

In this world, the place Shi Jin dislikes most is the Pei Family manor, because he hates seeing his mother, in front of Grandma Pei, with downcast eyes and a servient demeanor, just to hear a couple of bland pleasantries from her and pick up whatever scraps of benefit leak from between her fingernails.

For example, his sister's various clothes, accessories, expensive violin lessons, the valuable violin she uses… and so on.

The price of those benefits is having his mother act like that, which he utterly despises.

"Little Jin, Mom's agreement to your transfer isn't impulsive; as long as you bring it up tonight in front of Grandma Pei, it will surely be arranged—Grandma Pei's granddaughter, Pei Muyin, studies at Ya Zhu and has consistently ranked first in her grade."

All one could hear was Shi Qing growing more enthusiastic: "Once you go to Ya Zhu, you'll be first in your grade—just imagine how glorious that will be—"

"I won't go to Ya Zhu."

Shi Jin directly interrupted his mother's words, frowned, and declared: "I'll keep studying here; I don't want to go anywhere, and I have no interest in being classmates with officials and nobles."

"And from now on, I won't follow you to the Pei Family anymore."

"..." Shi Qing's excitement slowly faded; she stared at Shi Jin with wide eyes, hardly believing her usually obedient son would contradict her: "You, you say that again?"

Meeting his mother's solemn gaze, Shi Jin's eyes remained firm, and he repeated word by word: "I won't go to Ya Zhu, nor to the Pei Family."

"Shi Jin!"

"Are you trying to make me die of anger?"

"I didn't mean to anger you." Shi Jin pressed his lips, calmed his emotions, and spoke softly, gently: "Mom, I've never been dissatisfied with our current life; we're just ordinary people, able to eat our fill and stay warm, a family together—that's already wonderful and happy, isn't it?"

I don't know which word of Shi Jin's sentence struck Shi Qing, but her face instantly darkened.

"I tell you, Shi Jin, this is not negotiable—Ya Zhu and the Pei Family, you will go whether you like it or not; since I've already spoken of your transfer, I won't take it back."

"If you don't go to Ya Zhu, then you don't need to stay here either; I'll still arrange your transfer, and taking this opportunity, the farther the better—so I won't have to be annoyed by seeing you."

Shi Qing's words carried both threat and inducement, betting that her son would be unwilling to leave her.

However, upon hearing this, Shi Jin did not, as she expected, meekly compromise again; the teenager's emotions piled up layer by layer, also condensing into a surge of spirit.

"... All right."

All they saw was him feigning nonchalance as he tugged at his lip and said: "Recently there's a transfer student from An Shi in our class; I heard he says An Shi is not bad and also far enough—why not, Mom, help me transfer there instead?"

…

The trigger for Shi Jin's transfer was offending two wealthy heirs, but his "forced transfer" was actually because of his mother.

His sister Shi Yao urged him to yield to his mother, but yielding meant going to the Pei Family.

Shi Jin refused.

He came to An Shi betting on a breath of defiance.

At first he was also stubborn, not contacting his mother, but as days passed, his mother never reached out either.

This cold treatment made Shi Jin panic.

…

"Mom, are you still angry with me?"

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, Shi Qing said: "Little Jin, you and Yao Yao are both my children; I originally thought you were the one I needed to worry about least, but now it seems I was mistaken."