Chapter 69: Domineering Presence
Days flew by, and soon it was Saturday. As Su Lin arrived at school and sat down, he noticed Lin Xiaowan humming a tune at her seat.
“Wow, Xiaowan, you seem to be in a good mood today. Have you escaped the clutches of your parents and gained a new lease on life?” Su Lin teased with a smile.
“How did you know?” Xiaowan looked up at Su Lin, surprised by his guess.
“Heh, you’ve been so worried these past few days, you almost turned gray. Now, you seem to have broken free from their grasp,” Su Lin chuckled.
Giggling, Xiaowan said, “My dad didn’t come home last night; he rested at the city government building. My mom is still sleeping. She said it was my dad’s turn to drop me off today. Then, my dad said he would be busy later and let me go to school on my own.”
“Huh, why is he suddenly busy? Is he coming to the parent-teacher meeting today?”
“He should be. He said he would finish his work before noon and then rush over.”
“Well, that’s good. Too bad my dad won’t be here. He’s still in Donghai. Looks like I’ll have to wait until the summer holidays to see him,” Su Lin said lightly.
“Su Lin, I used to envy your freedom, but now, I feel sorry for you. Living alone must be tough,” Xiaowan said, her eyes filled with sympathy.
Su Lin was puzzled: “????”
“No, I’m doing quite well. It’s nice to be free and unsupervised.”
“But your dad has always been so busy. How did you manage before?”
Su Lin thought about his previous life and how he was somewhat introverted, probably due to his family situation. “Heh, I was confused at first, but then I got used to it.”
“How did you stop being confused?”
Su Lin held Xiaowan’s hand with a smile: “Because I met you.”
“Me…” Seeing the gentle smile on Su Lin’s face, Xiaowan impulsively hugged him and whispered, “Su Lin, I’ll be with you from now on.”
“Mhm~!!”
They embraced until footsteps echoed from the staircase, prompting Xiaowan to release Su Lin, her face flushed with heat.
Regretting her impulsive action yet not feeling sorry about it, Xiaowan thought about how optimistic Su Lin was despite living alone, making her realize she might have been taking her own fortunate circumstances for granted.
“Su Lin, Xiaowan! I’m here,” Xia Shiyu called out, entering with her lunch box.
Seeing the familiar lunch box, Su Lin smiled again. He couldn’t understand why Xiaowan felt sorry for him.
With two beautiful girls around him, breakfast delivered every day, plenty of money, excellent grades, and a worry-free life, what more could he ask for?
But Su Lin wasn’t about to share these thoughts with Xiaowan, letting her be emotional. It was good for their relationship, like their recent hug.
“Looks like the three of us are always the earliest in class now,” Su Lin joked as he took the lunch box.
Xia Shiyu replied with a light giggle, “It’s because you come early. I brought breakfast so you wouldn’t go hungry.”
Touched by her words, Su Lin turned to Lin Xiaowan: “I’m just worried Xiaowan would be bored alone in the classroom, so I came early.”
“So I should thank you, right?”
Su Lin casually put a peeled lychee into Lin Xiaowan’s mouth: “Thank Xiaoyu instead, I don’t even have this treatment at home.”
“Hehe, I was just bored and peeled them randomly.”
Lin Xiaowan saw Xia Shiyu smiling foolishly, her face full of contentment, and shook her head helplessly. Xia Shiyu was so single-minded; Su Lin could sell her out, and she’d probably help him count the money.
After lunch, all the students were mobilized to clean the classroom.
Xia Shiyu swept the floor in front, and Su Lin followed with a mop, their coordination seamless. As for Lin Xiaowan, she was busy with the parent-teacher meeting arrangements.
Once everything was settled, the parents began to enter the school. Until the parent-teacher meeting was about to start, Lin Xiaowan’s father had not appeared, which Su Lin thought was normal.
Others came for the parent-teacher meeting, but Lin Guoqiang’s visit was more like an inspection. With such a high-ranking official, even the principal had to accompany him cautiously.
Sure enough, after a while, Su Lin saw the principal and others accompanying Lin Guoqiang walking towards the classroom.
“Teacher Wang, how has my Xiaowan been performing in school recently?”
Wang Yi’s mouth spread into a grin like a blooming lotus flower: “Lin Xiaowan is outstanding. She’s the class president, actively participates in school activities, completes tasks perfectly, and her grades are top-notch.”
Lin Guoqiang nodded: “With your words, Teacher Wang, I’m much relieved. I’m busy with work and don’t often inquire about Xiaowan’s grades. Her achievements are inseparable from your cultivation.”
Wang Yi said, “Lin Xiaowan doesn’t need our teachers to worry. She’s very self-disciplined.”
Lin Guoqiang nodded again and then asked, “What about her interpersonal relationships at school?”
“Also very good. She gets along well with everyone and has several close friends who are top students, like Xia Shiyu, Su Lin…”
“Oh? Is Xia Shiyu the one whose father was sick?”
Wang Yi nodded: “Renal failure, just had a transplant.”
“Hmm, and Su Lin, is he the son of Su Zhenguo?”
“Yes, Su Lin is also a child we don’t need to worry about. His grades are excellent, almost full marks in all subjects.”
“In fact, language could also be full marks, but the school thinks it’s too much, so we symbolically deduct a few points each time.”
“That impressive?” Lin Guoqiang feigned surprise.
“Su Lin is our pride, a seedling for Tsinghua and Peking University. We dare not report this carelessly,” Wang Yi said solemnly.
“Hmm, I’ll talk to him later. A student with full marks in all subjects, there aren’t many in our Xia Country’s history.”
“Yes, a typical case of ‘like father, like son’,” Wang Yi admired.
Seeing this, Lin Guoqiang’s heart twitched. Another one praising Su Lin. Was this boy really that good?
Lin Guoqiang felt that Su Lin was being overly praised. His grades might be good, but his character couldn’t be that perfect.
Although not an expert in physiognomy, Lin Guoqiang could still discern someone’s character. Su Lin’s features indicated intelligence, wit, slickness, and shamelessness.
Such a person would do well in business or politics but was prone to walking a tightrope. That was one of the reasons why Lin Guoqiang didn’t want Lin Xiaowan to be too close to Su Lin.
A person who walks a tightrope is inevitably an adventurer. Adventurers are surrounded by uncertainty, and Lin Guoqiang wanted Xiaowan to have a safe and unadventurous life.
So, he decided to meet Su Lin himself.
As they approached the classroom, Lin Guoqiang immediately spotted Su Lin sitting in his seat.
And Su Lin also saw him right away.
At that moment, Su Lin could only think of the classic line from the movie “Let the Bullets Fly”: Dominance on display!!!
Was this a show of force or a warning? Su Lin’s mind raced, Lin Guoqiang face made it clear that he targeting him.
Damn!!!
Today was definitely not going to be easy. Lin Guoqiang was clearly not coming with good intentions.
Wang Yi, oblivious to the sparks between Su Lin and Lin Guoqiang, pointed to Lin Xiaowan’s seat: “Mayor Lin, that’s Lin Xiaowan’s seat.”
Lin Guoqiang nodded and then sat down at Lin Xiaowan’s spot. But his eyes weren’t on Teacher Wang at the blackboard; they were fixed on Su Lin.
Su Lin: “…”
Did he have to be so direct?
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