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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 184: If You Want to Blame Someone, Blame Us for Being Broke
The sun blazed outside, and the temperature in the Director's Office was also extremely high. A fan whirred loudly, yet Director Zhao's face remained flushed.
“Zhang Qiu, why did you get into another fight?” Director Zhao slammed his hand on the desk.
Zhang Qiu was already used to Director Zhao's outbursts; after all, he didn't dare retaliate. He thought whatever happened was fine by him. However, he was curious about who that Fatty was, as Director Zhao seemed to have learned about it very quickly.
In fact, this was a misunderstanding on Zhang Qiu's part. After Lu Bin got into the car, he headed straight home. He thought about stopping at a hotel but decided against it since he felt too dirty to show his face there, opting instead for the longer journey home. At that moment, Lu Bin was in his bathroom at home, repeatedly scrubbing his hefty body while the shower sprayed water everywhere, causing his flesh to jiggle. Meanwhile, his phone on the bed outside buzzed incessantly.
Zhao Guohong pushed Zhang Qiu hard: “The director is asking you a question; answer him.”
“Director, is it because of that Fatty?” Although Zhang Qiu suspected it was about Fatty, he still needed confirmation to avoid any misunderstandings.
Director Zhao raised an eyebrow: “What Fatty? That’s Lu Bin, Master Lu!” He continued, “It’s really you, Zhang Qiu. Do you know how much I wished you were just using the restroom when the Security Chief mentioned seeing you there? But now it seems I was completely wrong; it was indeed you!”
Zhang Qiu instinctively nodded; he didn’t even register the latter part of Director Zhao's statement. If even the director referred to him as 'Master,' it seemed this Fatty was quite extraordinary. As Zhang Qiu pondered Fatty's background, Gao Zhi chimed in teasingly: “Isn’t that still Fatty?”
“What did you say?” Director Zhao jumped up and pointed at Gao Zhi, then asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Director, this matter concerns me too; I know how it all happened.”
“You!” Director Zhao angrily approached Gao Zhi, nearly pressing his stern face against Gao Zhi’s so closely that Gao Zhi could see the faint curls of sweat on Director Zhao's forehead.
“I went to use the restroom during class and saw this Fatty…”
“It's Master Lu!”
“Alright, alright! I saw Lu—uh!” Gao Zhi still refused to refer to him as Master Lu. “I saw him bullying someone and went over to say a few words. I didn’t expect him to hit me.”
Director Zhao emphasized, "Did he hit you, or did you hit him?"
"Of course he hit me. With his size, I couldn't possibly fight back."
Director Zhao snorted coldly and looked at Zhang Qiu, asking, "You hit him too, right?"
Zhang Qiu met Director Zhao's gaze fearlessly: "Director, I did hit him. That Fatty deserved it; he bullies people."
Before Director Zhao could speak, Zhao Guohong stepped forward and said sternly, "Watch your tone when speaking to the Director. Be more respectful; if you've made a mistake, just admit it. The Director won't make things difficult for you." After that, Zhao Guohong turned to Director Zhao, advising, "Director, please don't be angry. Let's first understand the situation clearly."
Director Zhao also felt that his reaction was somewhat excessive; a director shouldn't lose composure like this. However, Principal Wu had personally instructed him to handle this matter seriously. After calming down a bit, Director Zhao asked, "Do you know who you hit?"
"Lu Bin."
"You knew and still hit him!"
"I only learned his name from you; otherwise, who would know who that Fatty is?" Zhang Qiu didn't care about his background; no matter how impressive he was, he ended up getting beaten into the dirt. If he wanted to mess with his brother, there was no way.
"You’re still laughing!" Director Zhao was furious. How could Zhang Qiu, after causing such a big mess, still have the nerve to laugh? It was simply infuriating.
"Zhang Qiu, don’t think you’re so impressive; you’ve really gotten yourself into big trouble this time."
Zhang Qiu listened quietly. Judging by the Director's expression, this Fatty was indeed quite significant. Who exactly was he? Director Zhao knew that his uncle was Police Chief Wang Guodong, yet here he was causing trouble. Could this Lu Bin be the county chief's son? That didn’t seem right either; the county chief’s surname was Chen, while Fatty’s surname was Lu. He hadn’t heard of anyone with the surname Lu before.
As Zhang Qiu pondered this, Director Zhao provided the answer: "Master Lu, the eldest son of our city's leading enterprise—Jin Hao Group. Lu Bin is also an alumnus of our school. He came back to invest in building a gymnasium for our school. Now that you've caused such a ruckus, everything is in disarray!"
Suddenly everything clicked for Zhang Qiu. He understood why Director Zhao reacted so strongly; no wonder the school was making such a big deal out of it. However, what puzzled him was that if this was such a prominent enterprise in the city, how could they have such a foolish son?
"Zhang Qiu, before calling you in, Principal Wu just received a call from the Security Chief, who went directly to see him. I tried to speak well on your behalf, but Principal Wu has already made it clear: this matter will not be tolerated by the school, even if it affects your college entrance exams."
"Thank you, Director, I understand." Zhang Qiu was unusually calm, as if nothing had happened.
Gao Zhi grabbed Director Zhao's arm and emphasized with his loud voice, "Director, we were just acting in good faith. Fatty was bullying people, and we stepped in to help. Besides, it was Fatty who started it."
Director Zhao tried to pull his arm away while saying, "I will report your situation to the principal. Let go first, let go."
Zhao Guohong also came over to pull Gao Zhi away, saying, "Quickly let go of the director."
Zhang Qiu looked at the three entangled together and said, "Gao Zhi, let go."
Gao Zhi glanced at Zhang Qiu, feeling unconvinced: "Brother Qiu, are we really just going to accept this punishment?"
"Listen to me, let go. We didn't do anything wrong; we don't need to beg anyone. If there's blame, it's because we don't have money."
Hearing Zhang Qiu's words, Gao Zhi reluctantly released his grip. The freed Director Zhao rubbed his arm, which had several red marks from where Gao Zhi had grabbed him. Zhang Qiu said, "Director, I accept any consequences. Before that is handled, can we go back to the classroom?"
Director Zhao took a deep breath and nodded, his thoughts momentarily stuck in his throat. Zhang Qiu's words about blaming their lack of money felt like a knife piercing his heart, awakening certain memories. Back in '97, he wasn't even a director; he couldn't get promoted for several years until he eventually bribed someone with five thousand yuan to become the director.
Zhang Qiu bit his lip and smiled awkwardly as he walked up to Zhao Guohong and apologized, "I'm sorry, teacher. I've caused you trouble again."
Zhao Guohong looked at Zhang Qiu and remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Let's head back."
Zhang Qiu and Gao Zhi left the Director's Office one after the other. At the moment they closed the door, Zhao Guohong asked, "Director, are you really going to handle this?"
"Principal Wu is very angry. Not only will it be handled; it will be handled seriously."
"Last time there was such a serious fight, it was all overlooked. Why is this time different..." Zhao Guohong still held onto hope; after all, Zhang Qiu was his student. Mischief was one thing, but if something serious happened, he still needed to protect him.
"Last time it involved too many influential people in our county; that's why it ended that way. This time is different. Zhang Qiu is a good kid but just too prone to causing trouble. In this society, people like him won't fare well. Just wait and see; he will suffer because of this." Director Zhao sighed and gently shook his head.
In the hallway, Gao Zhi complained to Zhang Qiu, "Brother Qiu, we really got the short end of the stick this time. We were just helping others, and look at what happened to us."
"There are many wronged people and many wronged situations. What can we do? We can only become stronger. Just try to think positively," Zhang Qiu replied.
"Brother Qiu, I can't think positively."
"If you can't think positively, then don't think at all. Just go back and continue working on your assignments. Anyway, the May Day holiday is almost over. If they want us to reflect, just consider it an extension of your holiday."
"Brother Qiu, I don't have your level of understanding."
Zhang Qiu chuckled, "What level of understanding is that? It's just being powerless and not dwelling on unhappy things. As long as my family is well, I can see Jiang Xue, and I have you good brothers with me, that's enough. Anything else seems unimportant."
"Brother Qiu, I think I understand now," Gao Zhi said thoughtfully.
Zhang Qiu asked, "Understand what?"
"Never mind, I just understand."
Zhang Qiu laughed and patted Gao Zhi on the shoulder. "Right now, we have one big task: to develop the Hall Society. As long as we become strong, no one will bully us anymore. Then we can invest in building a gymnasium for the school. The principal would be so happy to welcome us!"
"Brother Qiu, if we really had money, would you actually build a gymnasium for this school?"
Zhang Qiu thought for a moment and replied, "That depends on whether there are physical education classes in senior year."
With that, both Zhang Qiu and Gao Zhi burst into laughter.
"Alright, let's go in. The punishment won't last more than a class period; we still have to continue studying here. Once the punishment is over, we'll go to White Day Fire to drink with Yang Yu."
"Brother Qiu, I am actually looking forward to the punishment."
"Go on in," Zhang Qiu said with a smile as he pushed Gao Zhi gently, and they both entered the classroom.
Jiang Xue had been worried since Zhang Qiu was called out. When she saw him return, she wanted to stand up and rush over but was afraid that the homeroom teacher would come in right after and see her. She hesitated, watching Zhang Qiu. Fortunately, Zhang Qiu walked directly to Jiang Xue's side, smiling as he lifted her chin and asked, "Were you worried about me?"
"Yes! Did something happen to you?"
"Yes," Zhang Qiu admitted without hiding anything.
Jiang Xue nodded quietly, feeling a weight lift off her chest. After experiencing so much, she had become quite indifferent to such matters. She smiled lightly and said, "Don't be unhappy."
"I won't be unhappy as long as you're here. If I need to reflect at home, I'll come pick you up after school."
"Okay," Jiang Xue replied with a nod.
"Then I'll head back to my seat now." Zhang Qiu ruffled Jiang Xue's hair a few times, and she smiled with her lips pressed together.
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