Chapter 178: A Strange School

"Old Matriarch, I don't think we need to make a decision on this matter so quickly. Xiao Huan is still young and should be focusing on her studies. I think this can be discussed at a later time!" The man who looked somewhat like Zheng Yun stood up and said.

The Old Matriarch looked at him with displeasure and then said, "I have already spoken on this matter; it is settled. Anyone who opposes this is opposing me. Do you not understand?"

Hearing this, the man who had just spoken was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and hurriedly said, "I apologize, Old Matriarch. I did not mean to offend; it was my rashness!"

The Old Matriarch then scanned everyone present and asked, "Does anyone else have an opinion?"

The others hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to speak. Even the Old Matriarch's own son had been rebuffed; who would dare to court disaster at a time like this?

I wanted to say something, but the Old Matriarch glared at me, and I was so scared that I swallowed my words. This was simply giving a person no way out. My life was being arranged for me, and even the major events of my life had already been decided.

I lay in my room, feeling depressed. Although this house was more comfortable than any place I had ever lived, I felt a deep sense of loss.

It was true that this place was very good, but at least over there, I had friends I knew. I wondered how Zhang Wu and Zhang Yinuo were doing. My phone had been lost after I fell into the moat, and now I didn't have their numbers; I couldn't contact them at all. Fortunately, there was a computer here, and I could log into QQ and WeChat. But the awkward part was that because I hadn't logged in for a long time, WeChat required verification. My original phone number was gone, so I couldn't verify it at all. The same went for QQ. It was equivalent to me being unable to contact them now. I would have to get a new SIM card first and then see if I could recover my QQ and WeChat accounts.

During my few days at the Zheng family, I had roughly understood the situation. The Zheng family was basically divided into three factions. One was the eldest son, the man who had mocked Zheng Yun at the time. This eldest son was named Zheng Hong, and he had a son named Zheng Tao. Zheng Hong's faction had always been a popular figure in the Zheng family, and they were the most likely to inherit the Zheng family's business.

The second son was named Zheng Han, who had always been abroad, and he had a son named Zheng Yi. Zheng Han and Zheng Hong had never gotten along and often had disagreements at home. A significant portion of the family's assets was managed by Zheng Han, and he was the most likely person to snatch the successor position from Zheng Hong.

The third son was Zheng Yun. Zheng Yun was different from the first two. He only managed a small subsidiary of the Zheng family and basically had no real power in his hands. He had no ambitions regarding the family business and could be said to have no desires. He had a daughter named Zheng Wei, who was still in school and was the least likely to inherit the Zheng family's business.

Since Xiao Huan and I arrived, both Zheng Tao and Zheng Yi had come to find us, wanting to get close to us. But Xiao Huan had the same cold expression for everyone except me, and I didn't intend to get entangled with them. My main reason was that I didn't want to participate in the power struggle. It was obvious that they were coming to us to use us to suppress the other side and solidify their status in the Zheng family.

The Old Matriarch had spoken to me privately, mainly to investigate my background. For these people in the upper-class society, it was too simple to find out a person's information. The Old Matriarch didn't pay much attention to my past, only warning me not to use my previous name for the time being. She had created a new identity for me. I was now called Zheng Yun, an orphan without parents. Xiao Huan's parents had adopted me, Xiao Huan was my foster sister, and the Old Matriarch was my foster grandmother. With this identity, I could safely attend school in Jingcheng and act like a rich kid.

The Old Matriarch had arranged our schooling. To be honest, I hadn't planned on attending school here because I wanted to go back, but thinking about the promise I made to Grandpa Zheng to protect Xiao Huan, I couldn't just walk away. Since the situation in the Zheng family was still unclear, it wasn't certain whether Xiao Huan was safe here, so I couldn't leave for the time being. Therefore, I decided to shelve my plans to return for now.

Xiao Huan and I both started school. Xiao Huan had learned some knowledge from me before, and she wasn't resistant to learning. She was extra happy to know that she would be going to school with me. The only thing that made her unhappy was that we weren't in the same class. She was honestly attending the third year of middle school, while I was continuing my third year of high school.

It was December now, and the first semester of the third year of high school was almost over.

Looking at the long-lost school, I felt exceptionally comfortable, but what I didn't expect was that one day I would actually attend an elite school. This school was a famous aristocratic academy in Jingcheng. Those without status in their families couldn't get into this school at all. It was simply a gathering place for the children of the wealthy.

Because of the Zheng family, the principal and the head teacher were exceptionally polite to me. The teachers here were very courteous to every student, mainly because they were afraid. After all, the influence of these little ancestors' families was not simple. If they offended one by accident, their future days would be ruined.

I followed the head teacher to the classroom in a distracted manner. Passing by every classroom, I found that it was in complete chaos inside. It didn't look like a classroom at all, but rather a wet market. It was noisy, and people were doing everything inside: playing cards, sleeping, putting on makeup, and couples hugging and kissing—everything was there. Meanwhile, the teacher on the podium was lecturing as if nothing was happening, seemingly not daring to intervene.

I was truly helpless about such a school, but it didn't matter; it was just a way to kill time.

I followed the head teacher to my class, Class 6 of the third year. However, what surprised me was that this classroom was exceptionally quiet. Although few people were listening to the lecture below, everyone was unusually taciturn and didn't make a sound, except for the teacher lecturing on the podium.

The head teacher apologized to the teacher who was lecturing at the time, "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Zhang!"

After speaking, the head teacher walked to the podium, tapped the table lightly, and said, "Students, today we have a new student in our class. His name is Zheng Yun. Everyone should help the new student more in the future!"

The students in the classroom turned their eyes to me with looks of surprise and began to discuss. The originally quiet classroom instantly became noisy.

Just at this moment, a sudden shout: "What are you all arguing about? You're disturbing my sleep!"