Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins
Years of Heartflutter · Page 145 of 214
He remembered that he hadn't set foot in the school for nearly half a month back then, moping at home the whole time and listening to no one. And after it all, the first thing he did upon stepping back through the school gate was find a few delinquent girls to beat Zhou Yanning up. Thinking about it now, Yang Ce felt a touch of regret. "September 30. Today I got taught a lesson by a few tough girls from outside. I know he's the one who sent them. I'm not going to tell the teacher this time—consider it letting him vent his anger. As long as he doesn't resent me anymore, that's enough.
"Ugh, I really did do wrong. I thought that as long as I broke him and Su Ya apart, I could be with him, but I was far too naive. Now I really regret it—but how am I supposed to make up for it?"
Watching Zhou Yanning's journey of the heart, Yang Yongjin shook his head and sighed, over and over. Who hadn't been young once? Those truly were innocent yet impulsive years. The stubborn devotion to a callow love, the longing for happiness—they could make a person throw caution to the wind. Zhou Yanning was like that, and hadn't he been the same? Here he was mocking Zhou Yanning for being foolish when it was really the pot calling the kettle black. He had actually hired people to beat Zhou Yanning up, and over the Su Ya affair he had even let himself go to ruin. Looking back now, those were truly unwise choices.
"Knock, knock, knock." A knock came at the door. Yang Ce hurriedly shut the diary and asked, "Who is it?"
"Daming, it's me, your dad." Yang Cheyan pushed the door open and walked in.
"Dad, what is it?" Yang Ce set Zhou Yanning's diary on the nightstand and sat up.
Yang Cheyan glanced at the diary on the nightstand and asked, a little puzzled, "Daming, you keep a diary?"
Zhou Yanning's diary was one of those special locked diaries you buy in the market, so it was obvious at a glance.
"Oh, it's not mine." Yang Heng laughed wryly. "It's Zhou Yanning's diary."
"Zhou Yanning?" Yang Cheyan blinked, frowning. "Isn't she that girl from middle school—the one who reported you?"
"The very same." Yang Shuoxuan did not deny it and nodded. Since he had already resolved in his heart to accept Zhou Yanning, he could not keep hiding it from his parents any longer.
"Even so, you can't go prying through her diary. That's hardly moral." Yang Cheyan had clearly misunderstood—he assumed Yang Ce had been reading Zhou Yanning's diary in hopes of finding something private to use against her.
Yang Xutang was caught between laughter and tears. "Dad, you've got it wrong. This diary—well, how do I even explain it to you?"
"What on earth is going on? If there's something to say, just say it. Why be so secretive with your own father?" Yang Cheyan shook his head. "If you can't give me a convincing reason, then stop reading it and take it back to her at once."
Yang Ce hesitated, weighing his words for a long while before speaking. "Dad, I can't explain this in a few sentences. Let me start from the beginning."
"Go ahead. I'm listening." Yang Cheyan wanted to hear Yang Juehuan's reasons too. He had a fair measure of confidence in his son's character, so there had to be a reason behind this—and Yang Cheyan wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"Dad, Zhou Yanning and I were classmates in university. But she got hurt because of me. She's in the hospital, and she still hasn't woken up," Yang Yanzhou said.
"What? She got hurt because of you and she's in the hospital?" Yang Cheyan was startled. "What exactly happened?"
"Dad, I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to worry." Yang Yanzhou finished and studied Yang Cheyan's expression; only after seeing him nod did he continue. "Earlier this year, while helping Uncle Chen crack a smuggling case, I was abducted by the smugglers and taken to their base. At the critical moment, Zhou Yanning took a bullet for me."