Chapter 86 — The Third Brother's Underling
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Mother Tang's heart sank at once. Her daughter could not really be carrying on a romance, could she? Yet seeing Tang Zhi's pale face, she could not tell whether the girl was frightened that her mother might find out, or whether Zou Ruoming had forced her to be his girlfriend.
But no matter the reason, apart from a certain sorrow, Mother Tang could not summon up any other feeling at all. A young master like Zou Ruoming was not someone she could afford to cross, and she knew well enough that anything she said would carry next to no weight.
Over the years, Mother Tang had seen more than her share of the world's coldness and fickleness, and she knew just how tiny the strength of one person was. Take the electronics factory where her husband had once worked — a machine had crushed his sciatic nerve, and now he lay paralyzed in bed, unable to look after himself, yet not a single cent of compensation had they managed to wring from the factory.
The owner of a small private electronics factory, merely because he had a few connections, had left Mother Tang with nowhere to turn, calling to heaven and earth alike and receiving no answer. The original contract had even been tampered with, so that there was not so much as a place to file a suit.
Simply because she had gone to the factory a few times to demand the medical fees, the owner had threatened to make trouble for her family, to have someone go after her daughter and burn her house down. With no recourse, Mother Tang had been forced to give up. After all, who was she but the weak and powerless?
The livelihood of the whole family had fallen upon Mother Tang's shoulders, and fortunately her daughter had done her proud, taking first place in the year last semester, which not only waived her tuition but brought in a scholarship as well, letting the family's life loosen just a little.
Today, upon hearing the news that her daughter had actually taken a boyfriend, Mother Tang was struck dumb. Even as she burned with anger at her daughter, she found herself wondering whether Zou Ruoming had forced her into it. And yet, if he truly cared for Tang Zhi, then so be it — from the look of things, Zou Ruoming's family was well off, and if her daughter ended up with him, she would not be at a disadvantage. Her only fear was that he was merely playing around, and would cast her aside once he tired of the game.
Though Mother Tang had no clear idea of how those rich young masters lived, she had nonetheless picked up a rumor or two.
Tang Zhi flushed red, wanting to protest, but at the thought of Zou Ruoming's reputation at school and all those rumors, she felt a pang of cowardice. Word had it that Zou Ruoming had once dragged a girl off to the outdoor toilets and had his way with her, and afterward had paid the girl's family a sum of money to have her transferred to another school, and that was the end of it.
It was only hearsay, yet the girl's transfer had been a real thing; only, since that girl's family had gained some benefit from it, naturally they would not breathe a word. So Tang Zhi feared that if she truly provoked Zou Ruoming, there was nothing he would not dare to do.
True, she would not be like that girl and keep silent for the sake of money — she would demand justice, no matter what. But then... what use was justice?
Tang Zhi lowered her head and fell silent, tears brimming in her eyes, feeling deeply wronged. She resented her mother somewhat for not driving Zou Ruoming away, but on second thought, her mother was powerless too, perhaps even more helpless than she was...
What good was this title of school beauty? Why was she so unlucky? She had already kept a low profile, never wearing makeup, never wearing anything but the school uniform, and still she drew other people's attention.
And Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were school beauties as well — yet would Zou Ruoming dare treat them like this?