Chapter 289 - 209: She Said You’re Ugly

When Yang Hui returned home, the little girl was sitting on the sofa with her head bowed. She must have known she’d done something wrong and was ready for a scolding.

Wenren Meng poured him a cup of tea and placed it in front of him.

"What’s wrong? Aren’t you usually quite the chatterbox?" He didn’t criticize her. To be honest, he had no idea how to discipline a child. He wasn’t even twenty-five—what did he know about these things? That was why he was so genuinely grateful when Yang Bing offered to step in and teach her.

Wenren Du’Er looked up at him, then lowered her head again. "Dad, I was wrong. I’m sorry I caused you trouble."

"This isn’t about causing me trouble. There’s a line you don’t cross when joking with classmates. Your actions could have caused your classmate Feng Yan serious emotional distress. If you take it a step further, what you did could be considered school bullying. Do you understand that?"

"I know, but—"

Tears began to well up in her eyes. "She’s always playing tricks on me with a toy spider, and I never complain. But she insulted my dad, and I absolutely won’t let that slide."

Yang Hui was stunned for a moment, and then his heart softened. He almost couldn’t resist giving her a thumbs-up, but he managed to restrain himself. ’Looks like I’m really not cut out for raising kids.’ He was just glad she had a good teacher willing to fulfill the duties of Du’er’s mother.

"Alright, alright. I’ll buy a gift, and we’ll go to Feng Yan’s house together to apologize. No matter how you look at it, you went a bit too far. She was just joking that I’m a pervert. What’s there to get so worked up about?"

Wenren Meng, standing nearby, shot Mr. Yang a strange look. ’How is Du’Er’s classmate such a good judge of character?’ she wondered.

The little girl stopped sniffling and retorted, "She didn’t say you were a pervert! That drawing of Tian Boguang is hideous. She was clearly calling you ugly."

Well, "there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes." A child’s perspective is truly different from an adult’s. Adults would find being called a "pervert" more serious, but for a child, "ugly" was the real insult.

He ruffled her little head. "Alright, have your auntie make you something delicious. I’m going to give Feng Yan’s family a call."

After Yang Hui left, Wenren Meng said to her dotingly, "See? I told you Mr. Yang wouldn’t get mad at you."

Wenren Du’Er immediately broke into a proud grin. "Of course! My dad’s the best."

In his study, Yang Hui called Feng Yan’s older sister. She turned out to be quite reasonable, insisting that her own sister was also partly to blame. Yang Hui, finding her very understanding, proposed buying a gift and bringing the little girl over to apologize in person. The sister politely declined a few times, but upon Yang Hui’s insistence, she agreed to a meeting the following evening. He and she then exchanged WeChat contacts, and he got her home address.

Her WeChat name was Feng Lin, likely her real name. He’d learned from Yang Bing that she was a junior at Qingzhou Art College.

Just as he was about to put down his phone, a friend request popped up on WeChat. The person had found him via his phone number, and the WeChat name was Yang Bing. It was, of course, Du’Er’s homeroom teacher.

After he accepted, a message from Yang Bing quickly arrived: "Don’t go home and start hitting or scolding the child."

’Tch. Just how deep is this misunderstanding? Am I that kind of person?’ At first, he couldn’t be bothered to reply. But then, considering she was the little girl’s homeroom teacher and had offered to step into the role of Du’er’s mother, he typed back, "Don’t worry, I’m a gentle soul."

Yang Bing nearly gagged when she saw his reply. ’It was obvious at a glance he was a pervert,’ she thought. ’The word "gentle" has nothing to do with him.’

-----------------

After finishing the regional meeting, Zhang Chun returned to his office.

President Zhao was waiting at the door. Presented with an opportunity to report to President Zhang, she mentally rehearsed how she would explain her rejection of the business terms between San Yang Xinyue Square and Yanghe Commerce.

"Xiaozhao, is there something you need? Why aren’t you reporting to President Miao?"

Zhang Chun had strict rules. Moreover, bypassing the chain of command was a workplace taboo. President Miao was the regional vice general manager and President Zhao’s direct superior.

"President Zhang, President Miao is out of the office on a business trip to one of the districts today. He instructed me to report on these matters to you in person."

He nodded. If President Miao had arranged it, that was another matter entirely.

President Zhao was clearly competent. Her report was concise and well-organized; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been groomed as a candidate for regional general manager. After she finished her report and received instructions from Zhang Chun, she seized the opportunity to add, "President Zhang, about those business terms for San Yang Xinyue Square and Yanghe Commerce... I made a mistake when I reviewed them."

After speaking, she looked up at Zhang Chun and found him watching her with an unreadable, faint smile. At his level, it was nearly impossible for President Zhao to decipher his thoughts from his expression.

"Xiaozhao, what mistake did you make?"

President Zhao was tongue-tied. She couldn’t just admit that she’d failed to grasp the leadership’s intentions, could she? On the surface, there had been nothing wrong with her review.

"Now, now, Xiaozhao. You handled this matter perfectly well. We can’t have a workplace built on false harmony; disagreements are normal. I’ve never said I want this place to be a one-man show. I let you all speak your minds in meetings. We always discuss things openly before arriving at a unified decision."

A chill ran through President Zhao. President Zhang was spouting corporate platitudes; clearly, he didn’t consider her one of his inner circle. She offered a few more pleasantries and was about to exit Zhang Chun’s office when she heard him say in a meaningful tone, "Xiaozhao, I hear you have a nephew working as a leasing manager over at San Yang Xinyue Square. He’s quite a capable young man, isn’t he?"

A sudden chill went down her spine. ’Zhang Chun is such a high-ranking executive, how would he even know about Zhao Rui? His words definitely have a hidden meaning.’ "Capable"? What a joke. She knew exactly what kind of person her nephew was. If she hadn’t been covering for him, there was no way he could have bluffed his way into a leasing manager position.