Because he had spent another night away from home, Song Xiaomei was filled with furious rage. When she saw her son being dropped off right outside their apartment building by a rough-around-the-edges, swaggering man on a motorcycle, her anger made her tremble even harder.
“What’s the meaning of this? You’ve barely transferred to that school and you’re already pulling stunts like staying out all night twice? Did you bomb yesterday’s exam again? Growing a pair of wings now, are you? Get inside!” Enraged, Song Xiaomei yanked Fei Qinan by the arm and dragged him straight toward the building entrance.
Before she could take more than a few steps, Qi Shun rushed forward and shoved her aside. Glaring coldly at Song Xiaomei, he demanded, “You’re this guy’s mother?”
“Who are you? Where did you crawl out from? I’m disciplining my own son, what business is it of yours?” Song Xiaomei shrieked.
“Who the hell I am is none of your concern. Since he’s your son, he didn’t come home all night and instead of asking if he was hurt, you’re freaking out over his goddamned exams?! Is that any way to be a mother?!”
Qi Shun wasn’t the kind of person who let himself be pushed around or bullied. Growing up in his sort of household, he had long been exposed to the dark underbelly of society at an early age; though he had never lacked material comforts, he had simultaneously missed out on the simple innocence most kids his age enjoyed.
“You!! Xiaonan, who is he? He’s talking to your mother like this and you’re just standing there without saying a word? Or is it really true that adopted kids never learn to care?!” Song Xiaomei shrank back, startled by Qi Shun’s overwhelming presence.
“He’s my classmate, Qi Shun. You should go back first,” Fei Qinan said, unbothered by the hurtful words Song Xiaomei tossed around so casually. He was simply worried that if Qi Shun lost his temper and threw punches, things would blow up into a massive mess.
“Didn’t you hear how this shrew was talking? She beats you half to death just because you’re adopted, and yet she has the nerve to call herself your mother? She doesn’t even deserve to be called human!” Qi Shun finally understood the origin of Fei Qinan’s scars, it was precisely because he wasn’t biological that they could treat him with such cruelty.
“Look at the kind of trashy delinquents you’re hanging out with at school! I never expected a prestigious school like that to harbor such parasites. The moment I get the chance, I’m calling the school to report that an underage kid is riding a motorcycle and dragging students into staying out all night!!” Song Xiaomei was no pushover herself.
“Listen up, you crazy bint, I’m warning you..this guy belongs to me now. If you ever dare lay a finger on him again, see if I don’t tear your entire household apart. And let me tell you this, you’d better go report me to the school first so you can find out exactly who I am, or else you’re going to regret everything in your future!” The chilling cruelty flashing in Qi Shun’s eyes forced Song Xiaomei to stumble backward in sheer terror.
Seeing that his warning had hit its mark, Qi Shun patted Fei Qinan on the shoulder, told him to “call me if anything happens,” and swung his leg back over the motorcycle. Before pulling down his visor, he didn’t forget to flash him an arrogant, triumphant smirk.
Was he trying to show off at a time like this? Hah… This abnormal man is seriously childish.
As soon as she got inside, Song Xiaomei dialed her husband at work with a barrage of relentless phone calls, dragging him back home. Whether it was Qi Shun’s threat or something else, the couple refrained from rushing into beating Fei Qinan this time. Instead, they forced him to kneel on the living room floor while they frantically debated how to call and chew out the school principal.
To their absolute shock, when they brought the matter up to the principal, he flat-out shut them down, sternly advising them not to pursue the matter any further or risk facing disastrous consequences.
Fei Zongming, his adoptive father, looked down at the kneeling Fei Qinan and demanded, “Does that classmate of yours have some serious family backing? How is it that even the principal is taking his side?”
“Maybe.” In truth, Fei Qinan had no clear idea just how powerful Qi Shun’s family background actually was.
“You!! Fine! If you won’t answer me, I can’t find out on my own? Get your ass back to your room and study! If you ever dare disobey me and stay out all night again, I’ll break your legs!!” Restrained by the principal’s warning, Fei Zongming didn’t dare resort to violence right away.
“Xiaonand, if you want to repay us for raising you, you need to study hard and stop messing around with those shady classmates, understand? We might have been a bit too harsh on you all these years, but at least we gave you a warm home, put food in your belly, and sent you to such a great school. So you need to know how to show some gratitude, alright?”
This time, Song Xiaomei switched to a seemingly gentle approach to warn Fei Qinan, making sure he knew how to choose his path.
“Okay, I understand.” Fei Qinan nodded and retreated to his room.
Meanwhile, Fei Zongming placed a call to a friend, asking him to investigate what kind of background a boy named Qi Shun could possibly have. After all, the Fei family came from a civil service background and held a certain amount of social standing—how could they let themselves be threatened out of nowhere by some punk kid?
Fei Qinan went to sleep quite early that night. Devoid of the anticipated beatings and terror, he reached up to touch the bandages on his body and sent a text message to Qi Shun: Thank you. Tonight was nice.
A reply came back almost immediately: Idiot!