Chapter 89: Your Dad is Here to Pick You Up
’That’s not how it’s supposed to be...’
’She’d imagined it countless times. He was supposed to smile, crouch down, and pat her head.’
’How did it turn out like this?’
’It must be Cao Xueshan!’
’That wretched girl must have been bad-mouthing me to him!’
’It has to be her!’
Cao Jiajia gritted her teeth.
"Brother... did Shanshan tell you some nonsense? Don’t believe her! She’s a compulsive liar! My dad didn’t want her because she’s bad luck! She caused our grandparents’ deaths, and even her own mother... she... she..."
Ling Zhiwei slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing the girl who was still babbling nonstop.
"You think I don’t know what kind of life she used to have? Your dad is blind and can’t tell right from wrong, and you have no heart. So young, yet instead of learning to be a good person, you specialize in stabbing people in the back. I’m telling you, say one more bad word about my sister, and I’ll make it so you can never show your face around here again."
Cao Jiajia trembled all over. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the cold ground.
Immediately after, she burst into loud sobs.
A teacher heard the commotion and hurried out of the office.
Cao Jiajia threw herself into the teacher’s arms, clinging tightly to her arm.
The teacher glanced at Ling Zhiwei, who was standing to the side, and frowned deeply.
"Are you from the high school division? I’ve seen you a few times. You’re here to pick up your sister, right?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"She ran over and started cursing out my sister, so I just said a couple of things to her."
"You call that ’just a couple of things’?"
The teacher’s voice grew stern.
"How much older are you than her? You’re a boy getting into it with a little girl? Can’t you talk things out properly? Did you have to scare her like this?"
The teacher said, gently patting Cao Jiajia’s back.
Ling Zhiwei didn’t move. He just stared quietly at the blubbering girl in the teacher’s arms.
He suddenly took a step forward, closing in on Cao Jiajia.
"Next time, I won’t just make you cry. I’ll make it so you can’t even set foot in this school."
"I know you’re scheming against my sister, hanging around her every day, pretending to be nice while you spread rumors behind her back. But I’m telling you, don’t you dare come near her again."
"If I catch you pulling any more tricks, don’t blame me for showing no mercy. What I said last time was no joke."
Cao Jiajia’s face was deathly pale, her lips trembling in fear.
The teacher, having never encountered a situation like this, looked livid.
She shot the boy a few harsh glares and, without another word, pulled Cao Jiajia away in a hurry.
After that, the way Cao Jiajia looked at Ling Zhiwei changed completely.
But whenever she thought of Shanshan and how she was thriving even more than herself now, that jealousy would bubble up inside her again.
"Shanshan, you’re finally out of school!"
"Elementary schoolers are even busier than high schoolers. Your schedule is packed all day. Aren’t you tired? How was your day? Did anyone bully you?"
"Of course not! Fourth Brother, you’re misunderstanding me, aren’t you?"
Shanshan said with a smile, clutching her schoolbag in one arm.
"If anyone got bullied, it would have to be them getting bullied by me! Do I look like the kind of pushover who gets bullied?"
Ling Zhiwei’s smile widened.
"No misunderstanding. I just saw an annoying pest and thought I’d ask."
His gaze swept lightly over the crowd.
"Oh? Who?"
Shanshan tilted her head curiously and followed his finger to look.
There, on the sun-drenched steps, her eyes met Cao Jiajia’s furtive glance.
"Her?"
Shanshan scoffed after getting a clear look.
"Don’t worry, Fourth Brother. I don’t even have to do anything. All my friends treat her like she’s invisible. They walk around her and pretend not to see her when she talks. They don’t let her get anywhere near me."
She puffed out her little chest as she spoke, her head held high.
She made no effort to hide her relationship with Cao Jiajia, nor did she feel the need to be secretive about it.
The families of her close friends in class all had some dealings with the Ling family.
During their idle chats over tea or after dinner, the adults had long since made her family background perfectly clear.
She was the Ling family’s most doted-on youngest daughter.
Because of this, no one dared to look down on her, let alone provoke her in the slightest.
"You’re amazing, Shanshan."
Ling Zhiwei looked down at her and gently squeezed her palm.
"But, you know, you can’t always rely on others to protect you. You have to be a little more street-smart yourself. Let me teach you an old saying. A thief might try to steal for a thousand days, but you can’t guard against them for a thousand days. Understand? You can defend yourself for a while, but not forever. The key is to learn to anticipate things and know how to protect yourself."
Shanshan rolled her eyes and gave their joined hands an unapologetic shake.
"Fourth Brother, do you really think I’m that stupid? Dad’s already told me that a million times. He says it at the dinner table, in the car, and even before bed. My ears are about to fall off from hearing it so much. You don’t need to remind me."
"Besides, that Cao Jiajia is ridiculously delicate. She can’t even tie her own shoelaces and needs someone to help her walk. What kind of trouble could she possibly stir up? Even if you let her make a scene, she won’t get very far."
"Haha!"
Ling Zhiwei was finally so amused by her that he threw his head back and laughed.
"Alright, alright. It looks like this little girl really got the best of her big brother today. I can’t win an argument against you. I surrender!"
Shanshan lifted her little face, looking smug.
"Good, as long as you know! From now on, don’t try to lecture me with all that grown-up stuff. It doesn’t work on me!"
She sounded relaxed, but Ling Zhiwei still felt uneasy.
After getting home, he didn’t say much more about it, but he did secretly mention it to Ling Anxun in the study.
"Uncle, I saw Cao Jiajia staring at Shanshan again after school today. The look in her eyes wasn’t right. Even though she’s not doing anything right now, I have a feeling... she’s up to something."
Ling Anxun was reviewing documents and looked up when he heard this.
"Noted. I’ll keep an eye on it."
The next day after school, the school gate was as crowded as ever.
Suddenly, a gleaming black SUV slowly drove up.
The door opened, and Ling Anxun stepped out, dressed in a crisp military uniform.
He stood firmly at the school gate, his gaze sweeping across the area.
"Whoa! Shanshan! Your dad is here to pick you up?!"
"Your dad came in a luxury car, right? That... isn’t that a special car for a leader? Oh my god, it looks so high-class!"
Shanshan was looking down, organizing her schoolbag. She froze when she heard the shouts, immediately dropped what she was doing, and rushed to the window.
Sure enough, beside the pitch-black car at the school gate stood a tall, upright figure.
"My dad? He... he didn’t say he was coming to get me."
Shanshan’s mouth fell slightly open.
When she left this morning, her dad had said he had an important meeting and that Fourth Uncle would be picking her up instead.
"Your dad is so handsome! His presence... he’s like a VIP from a movie!"
Another girl couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
"That car... I think I’ve seen it on the news. Isn’t that the kind of official vehicle that only people from the big government compounds get?"
The classroom instantly fell silent.
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the car and the man, occasionally stealing glances at Shanshan.
"Wow, I’m so jealous! My dad never picks me up from school. I always have to walk three stops home by myself, and I have to use an umbrella when it rains..."
A girl with a ponytail sighed.
"Shanshan, your dad is so awesome! He always sends a special car to pick you up, and it’s not even just a driver, he comes himself! That’s so cool!"
Someone couldn’t help but shout.
The little girls by the window erupted into a cacophony of excited chatter.