3: Chapter 3 Mother Shen Ziwei

"The experimental class is already under a lot of scrutiny, and you two are top students in the top ten of the grade; every move you make will be magnified and scrutinized."

Zhang Qingyun paused and made a decision.

"Let's do this: I need to communicate with your parents as well."

"Comrade Weidong, your mother is at the school, so I will go talk to her directly."

"Yingying, your parents are in Yancheng, so I need to give them a call."

Wei Yingying's face went pale, and she said, "Teacher, please don't call my parents... They are very busy with work, and we really didn't..."

Zhang Qingyun waved his hand and said, "Whether you did or not is not for you to decide. As your homeroom teacher, it is my responsibility to let parents know about their children's situation at school."

"That's it for now. You two go back to the classroom first."

By the time they came out of the office, it was already time for the first class of the afternoon.

The hallway was empty, and only the sounds of lectures coming from the various classrooms could be heard.

Qian Fugui snorted coldly and walked away quickly without looking back.

Zhou Yang hesitated for a moment, then said to Xu Weidong and Wei Yingying, "Thank you for testifying for me just now."

Xu Weidong replied indifferently, "It was the right thing to do."

Zhou Yang looked at them, wanting to say something but stopping himself, and eventually turned and went back to the classroom.

Only Xu Weidong and Wei Yingying were left in the hallway. Wei Yingying's eyes were red, and her voice choked up as she said, "What should I do? If my parents find out... they will definitely be worried."

Xu Weidong comforted her softly, "Don't worry, we didn't do anything wrong."

"Teacher Zhang also said that we were just discussing our studies."

"But..."

Wei Yingying bit her lip and said, "My parents didn't want me to transfer to Hanzhou in the first place; it was I who insisted on coming."

"If they think I'm not studying hard here, they might make me transfer back to Yancheng."

Xu Weidong was silent for a moment. He and Wei Yingying had become desk mates starting from the second semester of their freshman year of high school. Because their grades were similar and they had similar interests, they gradually became good friends.

Although they did have mutual affection, they both understood that the most important thing during high school was studying, so they had always kept an appropriate distance.

Today's incident was purely an unprovoked disaster.

"If that really happens, I will have my parents help explain it."

Wei Yingying looked up at him in surprise. She knew that Xu Weidong's family was unusual, but Xu Weidong had never said in detail what his background was, and she had never asked.

This was the tacit understanding between them.

"Your parents..."

Xu Weidong smiled and said, "Don't worry, they are very open-minded."

"Especially your dad. Didn't he meet with my dad when he came to Hanzhou for a business trip last time?"

Wei Yingying was stunned for a moment, then realized something, and her face turned slightly red.

Her father had indeed come to Hanzhou for a business trip a month ago and met many people, but she didn't know that Xu Weidong's father was among them.

"You mean..."

Xu Weidong nodded and said, "My dad knows your dad. Although they aren't close, they are both within the system."

"So don't worry too much."

Wei Yingying felt a little more at ease. Her father worked in a ministry in Yancheng, and her mother was a university professor. Her family was well-off, but her upbringing was extremely strict.

If it were an ordinary matter, she would indeed be very afraid for her parents to know.

But if it was a family like Xu Weidong's... She remembered that after her father returned from that meeting, he had specifically asked her about her relationship with Xu Weidong.

At the time, he just casually said that the boy was good and came from a good family. Now that she thought about it, her father probably already knew about Xu Weidong's background long ago.

It was just that she had been kept in the dark the whole time...

"Let's go, it's time to go back to class."

When the two returned to the classroom one after another, the math class had already begun.

The teacher glanced at them, didn't say anything, and continued the lecture.

But the eyes of the whole class were focused on them—some curious, some sympathetic, and some gloating.

Qian Fugui lowered his head, pretending to listen carefully to the lecture, but the pen in his hand hadn't moved.

Zhou Yang sat straight, looking intently at the blackboard, as if nothing had happened.

Wang Ming and Li Jing's seats were empty; clearly, they had been called away by Teacher Zhang to write their self-criticisms.

Xu Weidong and Wei Yingying returned to their seats, opened their textbooks, and tried to focus their attention on the class.

But Wei Yingying could feel that beneath Xu Weidong's calmness, there was also a trace of unease.

When the bell rang for the end of class, Zhang Qingyun appeared at the classroom door again.

"Xu Weidong, Wei Yingying, come with me."

The whole class fell silent again, and everyone's eyes followed them as they walked out of the classroom.

This time, Zhang Qingyun took them directly to the door of the vice principal's office.

"Principal Shen is waiting for you inside."

After Zhang Qingyun finished speaking, he knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

The door opened, and Shen Ziwei was sitting behind the desk, holding a document in her hand.

She was in her early forties, elegant in temperament, wearing thin-rimmed glasses, and looked like she had both the scholarly air of a scholar and the capability of an educational administrator.

"Teacher Zhang, thank you for your hard work."

Shen Ziwei stood up and said to Zhang Qingyun with a smile, "You go ahead and get busy. I will talk to the children."

Zhang Qingyun nodded, left the office, and gently closed the door.

Shen Ziwei walked over to the sofa and sat down, signaling for Xu Weidong and Wei Yingying to sit as well.

"Teacher Zhang has told me everything, and I have also watched the surveillance footage from the classroom."

Xu Weidong and Wei Yingying both looked at her nervously, but Shen Ziwei smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. I'm not here to criticize you."

"It's very clear in the surveillance footage that you were indeed discussing your studies and there was no inappropriate behavior."

Just when the two were about to breathe a sigh of relief, Shen Ziwei changed the subject and said, "However, Teacher Zhang's concern is also reasonable."

"You are now in the critical period of your senior year of high school and are students in the experimental class, so you really need to pay attention to your influence."

"Discussing studies among classmates is a good thing, but you also need to pay attention to the method and occasion."

She looked at Wei Yingying, her tone even gentler, and said, "Yingying, regarding your parents, Teacher Zhang has already called them."

"Your mother answered. She was very understanding and said she believes you can handle your studies and interpersonal relationships well."

"However, she also hopes you can be more careful. After all, girls at this age are prone to gossip."

Wei Yingying nodded, and the big stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.

"As for you..."

Shen Ziwei looked at her son again, a trace of teasing flashing in her eyes.

"Your dad knows about this too."

Xu Weidong was taken aback and said, "My dad? How did he know?"

"When Teacher Zhang called me, I was talking to your dad about something."

"After he heard about this, he said, 'Let the child do as he pleases,' and then continued reading his document."

Xu Weidong also laughed. This was indeed his father's style.

Seemingly strict but actually open-minded; he never interfered in his personal life as long as he didn't cross the line.

"So this matter ends here. But you must remember, during this final period of your senior year, you must put all your energy into your studies."

"If you have any thoughts, talk about them after the college entrance exam. Do you understand?"

"Understood."

The two answered in unison.

"Alright, go back to class."

Shen Ziwei stood up and patted her son's shoulder.

"Comrade Weidong, take good care of Yingying, but don't forget your own responsibilities."

"I know, Mom."

Coming out of the vice principal's office, Wei Yingying let out a long sigh of relief and said, "You scared me to death. I thought I was going to be criticized."

Xu Weidong smiled and said, "My mom is very open-minded."

"As for my dad... he never cares about these small matters."

"What exactly does your dad do?"

Wei Yingying finally couldn't help but ask this question that had been bothering her for a long time. Perhaps his parents knew, but she was truly confused.

Anyone who could meet her father would have to be at least at the division-chief level...

"I know you don't want to say, but..."

Xu Weidong stopped walking, looked at her, and said seriously, "My dad is an official in the Provincial Party Committee."

"I can't say his specific position for now."

"But when the college entrance exam is over, I will tell you everything."

Wei Yingying nodded and didn't ask any further.

She trusted Xu Weidong, just as Xu Weidong trusted her.

When they returned to the classroom, the second class of the afternoon had already begun.

This class was a self-study session. Zhang Qingyun was sitting at the podium grading homework, and when he saw them come in, he just nodded.

The whole class still cast curious glances, but this time, Xu Weidong and Wei Yingying were able to face them calmly.

They returned to their seats, opened their books, and began their afternoon studies.