SFBF CH75

On Wednesday, Shen Qing went to Duo-duo’s parent-teacher meeting as promised.

The elementary school Gu Duo attended was originally found for him by Gu Huaiyu’s second brother, Gu Huaiyao. It wasn’t an elite private school gathering the best of the best, but rather a very ordinary public elementary school.

Shen Qing had previously asked Duo-duo if he wanted to transfer schools.

First of all, this school only provided basic bilingual education, which obviously couldn’t satisfy Young Master Duo’s learning intensity.

Secondly, Mingbao had been frequently calling Shen Qing lately, asking if Duo-duo could transfer to his school so they could study together.

“No.” Faced with Mingbao’s repeated proposals, Gu Duo would knit his mature little eyebrows and directly veto it every time.

He stated, “There’s no need. I can learn anywhere.”

The rejected Mingbao: “Sob, sob, sob!”

He wiped his tears while crying.

Shen Qing: “…”

Although he understood Mingbao’s desire to play with his friend every day, Shen Qing always respected Duo-duo’s choices.

If Boss Duo said no to transferring, then they wouldn’t transfer.

Shen Qing’s own elementary school had been very average. While the environment certainly has an impact on children, a lot more depends on the teachers’ proficiency and the kids themselves.

To Shen Qing, he actually preferred Duo-duo’s classmates to be a bit more “ordinary,” rather than all being like Mingbao, who knew both English and German from a young age…

After all, aside from those natural-born overachievers who genuinely loved the grind, most people were forced into the “involution” grind by a competitive environment.

Therefore, Shen Qing felt that a slightly more ordinary elementary school wasn’t a bad thing.

School ended right on time, and at most, parents would drop their kids off at an after-school care program, rather than instantly demanding the kids learn foreign languages, play the piano, or practice public speaking right out the gate.

Moreover, according to Young Master Duo, the reason he liked this school was precisely because it dismissed early.

…Since school ended early, he had free time after class to go learn the knowledge he actually wanted to learn…

In short.

Shen Qing went to attend Duo-duo’s parent-teacher meeting.

There were over thirty kids in Gu Duo’s class. In the school’s words, this was considered small-to-medium class teaching, placing great emphasis on educational quality.

When Shen Qing arrived at Gu Duo’s classroom, he felt the environment was quite nice. The classroom was large, fully equipped with modern facilities, and the desks and chairs were ergonomically designed. In a class of thirty-something people, even those in the back row could clearly see the blackboard…

It’s just that with his Duo-duo’s height, he was sitting in the very last row??

Wasn’t that a bit inappropriate?

“Hello, may I ask which student you are here for?”

Seeing Shen Qing enter the classroom, the homeroom teacher, who had been talking to other parents at the front, proactively asked.

Shen Qing wasn’t dressed overly formally today, but he was dressed appropriately.

He wore a light blue sweater over a stand-collar shirt, paired with jeans and brown leather mid-calf boots, topped off with a well-tailored cashmere coat.

His legs were very straight, and his figure was tall and slender. Even with a face mask on, just the exposed bridge of his high nose and his gentle, watery almond eyes easily led people to assume this must be a very handsome young man.

It’s just… a young man?

Judging by his eyes and skin condition, this young man was definitely under thirty.

So the homeroom teacher was also taken aback—in recent years, more and more parents had become perfunctory in looking after their children. Letting grandparents attend the meeting was one thing, but some people even got random relatives to proxy for them!

Even more outrageously, some parents would just hire a random person to attend the meeting…!

The homeroom teacher intuitively felt the young man in front of him fell into the second or third category, which was why he stopped him to ask.

But the young man didn’t panic at all.

Standing firmly, his handsome eyes curved into a smile, and his clear, crisp voice flowed like a gentle stream: “Hello, teacher. I am Gu Duo’s parent.”

The teacher: …Sure enough!

He immediately said, “Why did Gu Duo’s parent hire someone so young this time? Go back and tell Gu Duo’s dad that even if he isn’t willing to cooperate with the school for the parent-teacher meeting, he shouldn’t hire someone to attend. This is highly disrespectful to the school, the teachers, and even to himself and Gu Duo!”

Shen Qing: …?

Wait, what do you mean “hire someone to attend”?

Shen Qing: “I’m sorry, but I am Gu Duo’s dad.”

Homeroom teacher: “?”

Meeting his scrutinizing gaze, Shen Qing earnestly stated: “His real one.”

Homeroom teacher: “…”

The homeroom teacher’s face clearly said: I don’t believe a word you’re saying!

Shen Qing could obviously tell the teacher didn’t believe him.

This was a situation he hadn’t anticipated before coming to the meeting.

He only found out later that back when Duo-duo was fostered at Gu Huaiyao’s place, his second uncle was totally unreliable. Let alone attending the kid’s parent-teacher meetings, the homeroom teacher had never even managed to reach the man!

At first, the teacher simply couldn’t find him—the phone number left on file never went through. The one who came to pick up Duo-duo every time was the family driver, and the driver stated he was only responsible for picking up the person, not for helping the teacher contact his boss. So the teacher was out of options; he couldn’t exactly follow the car home for a home visit.

Later on, probably annoyed by the constant searching, the slightly wicked Gu Huaiyao came up with an “absolutely brilliant” plan: he sent a family servant to attend Gu Duo’s parent-teacher meeting.

Unfortunately, no one in the entire Gu family mansion treated Duo-duo and Aozai as young masters, let alone considered their well-being. The servant who went to the meeting treated it entirely as a task assigned by the Second Master. Once he got there, he fell asleep and even started snoring…

Later, his identity was naturally exposed.

That was why the homeroom teacher had such deep grievances against Gu Duo’s parents.

The homeroom teacher continued to scrutinize Shen Qing, whose clothes bore no recognizable brand logos but were clearly made of high-quality materials: “Are you really Gu Duo’s dad?”

…Looking at his getup, it really did fit the style of Gu Duo’s dad.

—Having a bit of money and not knowing how to show off properly, sending drivers to pick up the kid all day, and sending servants to attend parent-teacher meetings.

He didn’t even know how much money this parent had spent to get the kid into this school. Every time he reported this situation to the principal, the principal would just say Gu Duo was a special student and tell him not to fuss over the parent not showing up…

Thinking of this, the homeroom teacher immediately put on an air and said, “You truly are a busy VIP. It’s been over a semester, and this is the first time I’m seeing Gu Duo’s dad.”

Shen Qing: “…”

Catching the discordant tone in the other’s voice, Shen Qing felt like he had inadvertently taken the blame for something.

In front of so many people, he didn’t want to explain too much to this homeroom teacher about how exactly he became Gu Duo’s dad.

That was a long story, after all…

Shen Qing just vaguely replied: “Ahem, the previous guy wasn’t me.”

The teacher and the surrounding parents were collectively shocked: “You’re his stepdad??”

Shen Qing: “…You can’t really say that either…”

The teacher and parents: “?”

Just then, a child’s voice—sounding tender at first but slightly husky upon closer listening—rang out. Gu Duo appeared at the classroom door and called: “Little Dad.”

Everyone turned around. Having grown a bit taller over the past couple of days, Gu Duo, who now reached Shen Qing’s ribs, walked into the classroom.

This parent-teacher meeting was meant to be a private communication between parents and teachers, not a format where students were allowed to be present. So this afternoon, the students had been dismissed after just two classes.

Those with parents picking them up could go straight home.

Those planning to wait at school to go back with their parents could play freely on the small playground or go to the teachers’ office to do their homework.

Clearly, Gu Duo hadn’t chosen to go straight home.

Although Tian Yi had come along, and Shen Qing had originally planned for Assistant Tian to take little Duo-duo home to do his homework first.

But he hadn’t expected Gu Duo to stick around.

The parent-teacher meeting hadn’t officially started yet, so the homeroom teacher didn’t push Gu Duo out when he walked in. He only confirmed with him again: “…So, he really is your dad?”

Gu Duo nodded.

“He’s my Little Dad.”

Homeroom teacher: “…Why Little Dad?”

Shen Qing: “Because there is also a Big Dad.”

The surrounding people: “???”

Homeroom teacher: “…So the one who hired someone to proxy the parent-teacher meeting was the kid’s Big Dad?…”

“Ah, no, no.” Shen Qing quickly denied it. “It wasn’t him either.”

Everyone: “…???”

What kind of complicated family structure was this?

So who exactly was the kid’s dad!

The homeroom teacher scrutinized Shen Qing again: “Regardless, you are Gu Duo’s guardian now, right?”

“Yes.”

Shen Qing repeated: “I am his dad.”

“…As long as you are.”

The homeroom teacher rubbed his temples painfully. He also knew there were too many people around, making it inconvenient to ask what exactly was going on.

And as a teacher, the most pressing thing he needed to do right now was to talk to Gu Duo’s guardian about all the issues!

The homeroom teacher immediately poured out all the criticisms he had suppressed for a long time without anyone to vent them to. Mostly, it was complaining about how Gu Duo’s parents could never be reached, and how the principal surprisingly wouldn’t let him ask too many questions.

“I am a teacher, and my duty is to educate students and report their true situations to the parents! Since you don’t need me to manage him, why even send the kid to me?! If you’re so capable, why don’t you just teach him at home yourselves!”

Shen Qing had no choice but to apologize on their behalf, stating: “Yes, yes, yes, please don’t be angry, teacher. I promise you’ll be able to reach me anytime from now on.”

Homeroom teacher: “What’s the use of being able to reach you anytime? You parents should be paying attention to your child at all times!”

Shen Qing: “Ah, yes, yes, yes, you’re right.”

Homeroom teacher: “I’ve never seen such irresponsible parents! Having a bit of money and not knowing how to squander it properly, even hiring people to attend parent-teacher meetings?! If you’re so rich, why didn’t you send the kid to a better elementary school, or just go to a private school! I’m truly baffled. Are you all really that busy? Do you have any heart as parents? There are only three or four parent-teacher meetings a semester, and you can’t even spare the time!”

Shen Qing: “Ah, yes, yes, yes… no, no, I’ll be able to spare the time in the future…”

“Teacher, I think that’s about enough.”

Before Shen Qing could finish his promise, a gloomy child’s voice suddenly rang out beside them. It was Gu Duo.

Gu Duo told his teacher directly: “I already told you it wasn’t my Little Dad who hired that person. Besides, if you have something to say, you can tell him in private, instead of…”

Wearing his elementary school uniform, Gu Duo looked exactly like a little adult.

He swept his gaze to the side and noticed the other parents laughing at his Little Dad along with the teacher. His eyes darkened.

He deliberately raised his voice and said, “Moreover, my performance is excellent. I’m always first in the grade in all exams, major or minor, and I’ve never been late, left early, or made a mistake…”

At this point, Gu Duo paused slightly.

With his hands in his pockets, he tilted his chin up slightly. Looking the homeroom teacher straight in the eyes, he said, “I really can’t figure out what it is you need to tell my dad?”

…

The homeroom teacher was suddenly startled by his demeanor. After all, in his impression, Gu Duo had a dull personality, never uttering a word no matter how much he was scolded.

He wouldn’t say anything when asked, wouldn’t even look up, and spent half his time completely alone…

But Gu Duo had a lot to say today: “You look for Huang Jiancheng’s parents because he doesn’t hand in his homework. You look for Tang Shuang’s parents because she talks and eats snacks in class. You look for Kong Haifeng’s parents because he is dead last in the grade…”

The parents in the classroom suddenly fell silent.

Looking closely, the parents of the kids named by this little boy were the very ones who had been secretly gloating nearby, echoing the teacher and complaining about Gu Duo’s dad just moments ago—

Earlier, Huang Jiancheng’s dad had said: “I can see this young man is unreliable. There really are all kinds of people nowadays; even someone like this can be a parent, tsk tsk.”

Tang Shuang’s mom had said: “Do the parents not care about the child at all? I see this kid looks quite handsome. What a pity, this child will definitely be ruined by them sooner or later!”

Kong Haifeng’s dad had said: “Tell me about it. Since they’re so rich, they should just take him back and teach him themselves. What a poser. Better not let his kid lead our little Feng astray here!”

…

The parents who had just been trash-talking Shen Qing all hushed up. They weren’t sure if this little boy named Gu Duo actually recognized them, or if it was just a coincidence…

But it did remind them that this kid, whose parents never attended the meetings, was indeed the number one student in the whole school…

The father of Kong Haifeng—the one who was dead last and afraid Gu Duo would lead his kid astray—was the first to lower his head in shame.

Right.

In this situation… why did the teacher insist on finding Gu Duo’s parent?

Their own kids were disobedient, had poor grades, and caused worry; they were used to being sought out by the teacher.

But judging by little Gu Duo’s tone, he didn’t seem to have committed any of these faults…

However, could a child this small really hand in his homework on time, rank first in the grade every time, and not have a single disciplinary issue? …

That was something even much older students might not necessarily be able to achieve!

Yet, seeing the homeroom teacher speechless, the parents realized that this little boy, Gu Duo, truly hadn’t made a single mistake last semester.

Their homeroom teacher had a sharp tongue. All the parents knew this.

If there was even a tiny flaw he could pick on, he wouldn’t be this silent right now.

…

The other parents, who had originally looked at Shen Qing with disdain and contempt, suddenly became full of envy and admiration—

Imagine if your own kid didn’t need adult supervision, could do his own homework, always ranked first in his grade, and never caused trouble or violated school rules…

You’d practically wake up laughing from your dreams!

So what if they didn’t come to the parent-teacher meeting??

Wasn’t the parent-teacher meeting fundamentally a conference for teachers and parents to discuss the children’s issues?

That person’s kid didn’t have any issues! His parent just didn’t want to come waste time, so what???

“If it were me, I wouldn’t come either. If I met a teacher who caused so much fuss and I had the means, I’d hire someone too. Just thinking about it feels great, haha.”

A few parents who hadn’t stood near the teacher but had taken their seats early murmured among themselves.

“No, if it were me, I’d probably wish I could come every day. Coming here means being the parent of the top student in the school! …What glory! If that day ever came, I’d ask for nothing more in life!”

“Grades are secondary. The key is that the kid does his own homework… As long as my kid can do his own homework, doesn’t cause trouble at school, and doesn’t make the teacher constantly call me, I’d burn high incense to thank the heavens. He would be my ancestor.”

“I think a child’s high caliber is still inextricably linked to their parents. That parent seems to have such a good temper, looks highly educated, and is probably very self-disciplined in daily life.”

“I don’t know about self-disciplined, but being rich is probably true. …My son drew the logo of the car that comes to pick up this little Gu Duo, asked me what car it was, and said he wanted to ride in one too. I took a look, and good lord, wasn’t it a Bentley!”

“…”

The surrounding parents fell silent.

That parent added: “The key is, the next day, the logo of the car picking up Young Master Gu Duo changed again.”

Everyone: “?”

That parent looked completely dead inside: “It was a Maserati.”

“…………”

Over by the podium, Gu Duo finally said to his teacher: “…Last time, it was wrong of my second uncle to hire someone to attend the meeting. You’ve criticized me as you should have, so please don’t talk about my Little Dad anymore.”

At the end, he added a sentence in a consulting tone, asking their teacher: “Okay?”

Shen Qing: “…”

Shen Qing held Gu Duo’s little hand and pulled him gently.

But it wasn’t to stop him from continuing.

Knowing this cub usually spoke very little, and that he was saying so much right now entirely to stand up for and protect him, Shen Qing naturally wouldn’t stop him, much less contradict the cub in public.

He just subconsciously wanted to protect him well.

Besides that, what Shen Qing thought about more was—so Duo-duo had been this well-behaved and made all these efforts just to avoid having his parents called in…

Indeed, no child knows how to “involute” and overachieve right from the start.

For Gu Duo, only by acting perfectly without a single mistake would his teacher not contact his home, discover his family situation, and find out that he and his brother were orphans nobody cared about—unloved by their grandpa, neglected by their uncle.

The teacher probably couldn’t even imagine that Gu Duo getting into this school was something he had begged for himself…

Unable to help but squeeze Gu Duo’s little hand tightly, Shen Qing looked down at his stubborn and tough expression. He suddenly remembered when he was young, the uncomfortable and embarrassing feeling when others brought up the fact that he was an orphan.

Even if it was just mentioned, not mocked, and even if some parents and peers looked at him with eyes full of pity…

It still felt awful, because he was being mocked or pitied.

It was also very embarrassing, because he was different from everyone else.

And he didn’t want to accept people’s strange looks…

Yet, that was how Shen Qing felt back when he had his grandparents protecting him.

—He had someone to attend his parent-teacher meetings.

And with loving elderly figures around him, the people who truly knew he was an orphan were very few, almost nonexistent.

But for Duo-duo, who had absolutely no one to defend him at that time, how painful must it have been?

No one attended his parent-teacher meetings, and the teacher couldn’t reach his guardians. Stubbornly refusing to admit he was an orphan and holding out to avoid telling his story, Gu Duo thought that as long as he did well enough—so well the teacher couldn’t find a single fault—the other party wouldn’t call for his parents anymore…

But who could have imagined that Gu Huaiyao, after the teacher called his cell phone and then the landline at home insisting a parent must attend the meeting, actually hired someone to go.

And the person he hired didn’t even put any effort in, getting exposed by their homeroom teacher on the spot!

…

Shen Qing couldn’t even imagine how Duo-duo had felt when he was called in for a talk by the teacher after that.

…What did Duo-cub do wrong?

He just didn’t want the way others looked at him to be the way they looked at an orphan…

Shen Qing immediately crouched down, adjusted Duo-duo’s clothes, and simultaneously pulled the cub into his arms to comfort him.

However, the homeroom teacher, who felt he had just been told off by Gu Duo, saw that Shen Qing not only failed to discipline his child for speaking to a teacher like that, but actually comforted his kid right in front of his face!

…Didn’t that mean this parent approved of Gu Duo’s behavior? He agreed with Gu Duo continuing, allowed him to talk back, publicly accuse the teacher, and passively-aggressively insult the other parents?!

He was encouraging his child to disrespect teachers!

Completely losing control, the homeroom teacher slammed his hand on the desk and said: “In my entire life, I have never seen a student who makes absolutely no mistakes! …Gu Duo, what do you mean? Do you think what you’re doing is good?! You…”

Unable to find any actual flaws with Gu Duo, the homeroom teacher declared: “During music and art classes, you secretly study French, and during P.E., you secretly study math… This is a lack of organization and discipline! It’s also disrespectful to the other teachers! Furthermore, you never play with the other kids; you have an isolated and withdrawn personality. Gu Duo, let me tell you, don’t think that being like this is normal. You have huge problems!”

As the homeroom teacher roared these words, Shen Qing suddenly covered Gu Duo’s ears.

Human cubs’ skin was still tender, and their little ears were a size smaller than adults’. When Shen Qing’s palms pressed against them, they easily covered the sides of the cub’s cheeks.

…

Gu Duo had originally been thinking about what he did wrong.

But feeling the warmth beside his ears, he abruptly looked up.

Shen Qing was crouching on the ground, his gaze solely on Gu Duo, his eyes firm and radiant.

He said, “Duo-cub, how about we transfer schools.”

After saying that, he opened his arms, picked the cub up, and stood up.

“…”

With his feet leaving the ground, Gu Duo’s little body suddenly stiffened.

The homeroom teacher, who was still listing Gu Duo’s faults, also stopped abruptly. He adjusted his glasses: “What did you say? Transfer schools?”

Noticing the looks from the other parents, the homeroom teacher also felt he had gone a bit too far with his words just now, but he still stubbornly held his ground: “Go ahead! If you’re so capable, then transfer. Transfer as soon as possible! Don’t lead the other students in our class astray!”

Shen Qing, who had scooped Gu Duo up in his arms, didn’t even want to look at him anymore.

But thinking about it, he was still furious. Although Gu Huaiyao’s arrogant actions were indeed very disrespectful to the teacher, and this homeroom teacher had reason to be angry.

But that was also because the principal hadn’t communicated well with this teacher.

No matter how you looked at it, as a teacher, he shouldn’t be taking his anger out on a child.

From the moment he heard Duo-duo say that this teacher had lectured him because he couldn’t find his real guardian over the proxy incident, Shen Qing had already been angry.

And then hearing the words he said about Gu Duo just now…

Shen Qing carried Gu Duo and directly stepped forward.

As he passed the homeroom teacher, he looked down at this balding middle-aged teacher, smiled slightly, and suddenly said: “May I ask, when Gu Duo studies French in music and art classes, does he disturb the other kids? And when he studies math during P.E., does he hinder others from exercising? Furthermore, does he disrupt the classroom or delay the teacher’s lesson in these classes?”

Not giving the teacher a chance to speak at all, Shen Qing stated directly: “We have no intention of disrespecting you as teachers. But for the music, art, and P.E. classes your esteemed school sets up—are they actually meant for the children to gain more knowledge and cultivate their sensibilities, or are they just so we can sit there, cater to the moods of a very few of you teachers, and play along with you?”

“What kind of talk is this! What do you mean play along?!”

The homeroom teacher lashed out: “I was wondering why Gu Duo was so hard to discipline. It turns out he has a parent like you!…”

Shen Qing: “Even that doesn’t compare to you, directly calling our child withdrawn and isolated right to his face.”

Saying this, he held Gu Duo tightly with one hand, picked up the child’s arm with the other and rested it over his shoulder, saying, “Let’s go. We’re not going to school here anymore.”

Gu Duo, who had always insisted there was no need to change schools, fell silent at this moment.

He just kept his whole body tense as he was held by Shen Qing, not daring to wrap his arms around his Little Dad’s neck too tightly, afraid of bringing more weight and pressure onto him…

Gu Duo, who hadn’t studied mechanics yet, didn’t know that when being carried suspended in the air like this, his weight remained the same no matter what he did.

He only remembered that his Little Dad didn’t have much strength and would pant even carrying Aozai upstairs, so carrying him would be even…

At this time, some parents who truly couldn’t bear to watch any longer stood up and also criticized the homeroom teacher: “You’re always so demanding normally. We have to reply to every little thing in the WeChat group, parents have to grade the kids’ homework and check in, and you call parents in at the drop of a hat! Enough is enough.”

“Directly calling the child isolated? Mr. Wang, you’ve gone too far!”

“Although I don’t agree with making such a young child study so desperately, what the heck is ‘secretly studying French’ and ‘secretly studying math’… A normal teacher should be encouraging a child who can study independently. And if you can’t encourage it, at least speak nicely. Besides, if you said Gu Duo was falling behind in his core classes, that would be one thing, but he’s number one in the school every single time! Isn’t this teacher overstepping?”

“If my son was criticized in front of so many people and called isolated by his teacher, I would explode too. Mr. Wang, I really didn’t expect you to be this kind of homeroom teacher. Sorry, but I will be reporting this to the principal as well.”

With more voices of criticism, Mr. Wang actually felt wronged and couldn’t help but say to these parents: “What’s wrong with me saying a child like Gu Duo has problems? What kind of child self-studies French in class?! That in itself is a problem! Even setting aside him sneaking around to self-study other things in class, why don’t I believe a child this age is not only good at Chinese, Math, and English, but can also self-study French?! Is he really learning French? He’s just grandstanding! Deliberately flaunting that he’s different to make a fool out of the teacher!!”

“Oh? Is that so?” Shen Qing suddenly stopped in his tracks again.

Originally, he felt arguing was pointless and didn’t even want to say anymore.

But since the other party was saying this, Shen Qing couldn’t just let his cub be falsely accused for nothing.

He simply pulled out his phone.

“Phones nowadays all have translation apps. It doesn’t matter if Mr. Wang can’t understand it himself; the translation app can understand whether my cub actually knows French or not.”

Saying this, he opened the translation app he had downloaded because he occasionally wanted to hear what Gu Huaiyu and the cubs were saying when they practiced oral speaking. Shen Qing then asked Gu Duo to say a few sentences in French into the microphone.

Gu Duo thought for a moment, and then smoothly spoke several sentences in a row.

The translation app automatically translated and played the content back in an electronic voice through the phone speaker: “My Little Dad is always right.”

“My Little Dad is the most amazing.”

“I love my Little Dad the most.”

…

When the last sentence was translated, Gu Duo’s expression turned incredibly weird.

…He had clearly said “like,” leaning more towards a reverent, admiring kind of “like.”

How did it get translated into “love”?…

Once upon a time.

Probably the time when this person agreed to sign him up for French classes, he had mentioned love.

Gu Duo clearly remembered this person saying he signed him up for French classes because of love, because they were family, and he wanted to fulfill his wishes and make him happy, not for any other reason.

Gu Duo knew what love was.

It stemmed from his knowledge of the love his deceased mother had for him and his brother.

He had also experienced the feeling of being loved, but he never expected that one day, a French translation app would say “love” on his behalf to the man who signed him up for French classes.

Gu Duo’s eyes widened instantly.

…Even if this app translated it wrong.

But in the end, he maintained his silence.

He heard his Little Dad’s clear, bright voice ring out beside his ear, grinning: “So Duo-duo loves Little Dad the most now?”

Gu Duo: “…”

His hands clasping his Little Dad’s neck didn’t dare to move an inch. He still rigidly tensed his body, trying not to make his Little Dad so tired.

Gu Duo turned his head away.

But remained silent, saying absolutely nothing.

In the classroom, the parents didn’t quite catch the significance of “love” or “not love.” They only heard this kid named Gu Duo say a string of a language none of them could understand, which was then translated on the spot by a machine. They couldn’t help but state: “This isn’t hard to judge, it’s obviously French!”

“Mr. Wang, if you aren’t sure whether the kid is learning French or not, you could just search it online. In this information age, everything is quite advanced…”

“I really don’t understand how someone, upon seeing a young child learning a foreign language, would first think they are deliberately grandstanding, flaunting they are different, and intentionally causing trouble for the teacher… Why would a teacher think of children with such malice?”

“…”

Mr. Wang once again became the target of public criticism. The few parents who originally revolved around him and supported him also suddenly distanced themselves from him. Mr. Wang truly didn’t know how to explain himself anymore.

He anxiously tried to explain to those few parents: “It’s normal that you don’t know, I’ve seen it so much so I know. Some kids are just born bad seeds!…”

Shen Qing hated hearing this the most and immediately interrupted him: “Who is a bad seed, I don’t know. But you, falsely accusing our cub and asserting he is deliberately playing tricks on the teacher—what are you?”

“Even if you don’t understand French, spending a little bit of time and effort to look into it wouldn’t be hard for you.”

“And you? You decided our Duo-duo had no one caring for him, so you treated him as a bad kid. You didn’t even want to learn the truth and directly judged that whatever Duo-duo did was wrong…”

At this point, Shen Qing was so angry his teeth were grinding.

Previously, he had been wondering how Duo-duo, such a reasonable and kind cub when he was little, ended up turning into an evil, vicious major villain in the novel.

Now he had somewhat found some of the reasons—in the original novel, even if “Shen Qing” came to Gu Duo’s parent-teacher meeting, with his mindset of not wanting Duo-duo to study well, upon hearing that Duo-duo was “secretly” learning other foreign languages in class, he would naturally team up with this homeroom teacher for a mixed-doubles beatdown, suppressing and oppressing Duo-duo together!

…Who knows how many years this homeroom teacher had been Duo-duo’s homeroom teacher in the original work.

Duo-duo was still so small, and young children don’t know how to protect themselves from this kind of subtle judgment and brainwashing.

Spending a long time with someone who fundamentally detested him and rejected him—it would be a miracle if he didn’t become twisted.

Thinking of this, Shen Qing added: “I will be reporting your situation to the principal of your esteemed school. Goodbye.”

Saying that, he directly carried Gu Duo and walked out, not wanting to stay for another minute.

Surrounded and scrutinized by numerous parents, Mr. Wang was even less willing to lose face and admit he was wrong. Instead, he kept muttering: “Report it or not, I did nothing wrong! What, just because your family has a little money and a good relationship with the principal, you can do whatever you want?”

“Transferring is for the best. With a child like yours staying here, I was afraid he would negatively influence the other students! Since your family is so amazing and your child is so amazing, why are you still staying at this school! Why don’t you hurry up and send him to an international school…”

“Mr. Wang, listen to what you are saying!”

Just as Shen Qing carried Gu Duo out of the classroom and into the hallway, a furious shout came from somewhere down the corridor. It was the principal’s voice.

Mr. Wang instantly fell silent.

And Shen Qing also stopped in his tracks. To prevent Duo-duo from having his mind negatively influenced by that teacher surnamed Wang, Shen Qing had kept telling the cub not to listen and chatted with him.

But right now, he stopped chatting and just stood rooted to the spot, his big head next to Duo-duo’s little head, looking into the distance.

In the distant hallway, the principal hadn’t come alone.

Beside him was Gu Huaiyu, moving forward with the help of a cane…

…

Wait, Gu Huaiyu?

President Gu???

Both Shen Qing and Duo-duo were dumbfounded. After all, the cubs’ Big Dad hadn’t said he was coming, and they absolutely never imagined their Big Dad would come “walking” over.

Even while using a cane, Gu Huaiyu’s walking posture was very standard, not looking awkward at all. Apart from being a bit slow, the cane in his hand looked more like an accessory.

Shen Qing knew this was because President Gu couldn’t stand for long periods of time…

Usually, when he accompanied his husband walking, the other would ask him to support him. But in reality, Shen Qing didn’t exert much force; he just looped his arm around President Gu’s to prevent him from falling if he lost his strength.

Even though President Gu had never actually almost fallen.

Now, watching President Gu—wearing a thick cashmere coat, tall, handsome-faced, and moving freely—approaching this way, Shen Qing was stunned.

…Or rather, stunned by how handsome he was.

Good heavens, his husband… aside from his face being a bit pale, he looked simply more handsome than the big bosses in movies!

What imposing presence!

Gu Duo was also in a daze, so dazed that the little boy finally forgot and stopped keeping his body tense. He stared blankly at his Big Dad across the way, almost not daring to recognize him.

It seemed he had never even considered that Big Dad could actually walk.

At this time, the principal, who had already heard what Mr. Wang said in the hallway, was so angry he jogged a few steps, rushed into the classroom, and called Mr. Wang out.

He didn’t want him to continue making a fool of himself.

And he didn’t want him to offend…

Sigh, he had always known Gu Duo belonged to the Gu family.

The second young master of the Gu family, Gu Huaiyao, used to have some ties with him, and because of this, the principal had some connections with the Gu family.

When looking for a school for Gu Duo, Gu’s Second Young Master had approached him. The other party clearly had absolutely no desire to care for this child and explicitly stated he didn’t want others to know Gu Duo’s identity.

The principal also knew Gu Duo’s background was pitiful. Since the Gu family didn’t want to publicize it, he didn’t run his mouth either.

He just never expected this Mr. Wang would actually…!

He had told him so many times before not to seek out Gu Duo’s parents and to just leave Gu Duo alone if nothing was wrong, but his words had gone completely in one ear and out the other!

Now, facing Gu Huaiyu—who was said to be even harder to mess with than Gu Huaiyao—the principal felt extremely embarrassed, rubbing his hands awkwardly. “Mr. Gu, you see…”

Gu Huaiyu hadn’t come alone either.

Behind him followed Assistant Li, Tian Yi, and a few bodyguards.

Assistant Li proactively stepped forward to ask for instructions from President Gu: “Since the Madam has already said he’s going to transfer the young master’s school, President Gu, should I handle this matter?”

Gu Huaiyu gave a slight nod.

His gaze had remained on Shen Qing and Duo-duo from beginning to end.

Just then, a loud, milky little voice rang out. It was Aozai, who was being carried by Uncle Tian in the back, suddenly shouting: “Brother!”

Aozai’s figure had been completely blocked by President Gu’s tall silhouette, so Shen Qing hadn’t seen him.

Now, hearing that Aozai had also come, Shen Qing bent down and put Gu Duo on the floor.

At the same time, Aozai, dressed like a little carrot with a small watermelon hat on his head, came running over pitter-patter and threw himself into Gu Duo’s arms.

“Brother, Big Dad brought me to pick you up from school, yo!”

Aozai, who had no idea what had happened, remained innocent and adorable.

And seeing him, Gu Duo had also forgotten the unpleasantness from just now.

Though in reality, he hadn’t really felt much unpleasantness.

Except for the very beginning when he heard the teacher scolding his Little Dad.

…Just now, his Little Dad had asked him: since the teacher treated the cub poorly, why didn’t he tell his dads? They shouldn’t have come back to this kind of school since the day it started.

At that time, Gu Duo really wanted to say that he hadn’t actually felt the teacher treated him poorly in the past.

…Compared to the days in the Gu family mansion in the past, life in this school was already considered very peaceful.

As long as he tried his best not to make mistakes, the homeroom teacher wouldn’t make things difficult for him, except for some clashes every time a parent-teacher meeting came around… But Gu Duo had naively thought that from now on, with Little Dad attending his parent-teacher meetings, the teacher wouldn’t find trouble with him anymore, and everyone would be happy.

He never expected the teacher would criticize his Little Dad in front of so many people.

If he had anticipated that, he would have brought up transferring schools long ago…

Gu Duo had regained his calm by now. Holding his little brother’s hand as they stood in the hallway, he secretly asked his brother how Big Dad was standing up?

Aozai: “Aozai is also very surprised!”

“Big Dad is so tall, ooh!”

Aozai clenched his little fists: “Aozai wants to grow that tall too!”

Over there, the principal was talking to the homeroom teacher, with Assistant Li—who was responsible for handling the young master’s school transfer—standing by.

And in the middle of the hallway, Shen Qing looked at the standing Gu Huaiyu and suddenly smiled.

—There was no helping it, seeing his husband like this was still just so handsome, ahhh!

“Why aren’t you in the wheelchair?” he asked Gu Huaiyu.

Gu Huaiyu moved his long legs, took two steps forward, and stood right across from him.

Looking into the young man’s eyes with a deep, dark gaze, he faintly curled the corners of his lips: “Didn’t you say that no matter what the future holds, the cubs would choose to see the way their Big Dad stood up?…”

Shen Qing: !

Seeing the young man’s surprised yet suddenly enlightened and radiant expression, Gu Huaiyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He smiled again, his voice low and hoarse: “So I came.”