It should have been a normal day, Zhan Shiqing thought to herself.
But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, the atmosphere in the classroom felt strange.
Especially the way her classmates looked at her, there was something undeniably off about it.
Finally, Zhan Shiqing overheard others discussing her.
"Did you hear? The third class was playing with fire and set a tree ablaze. Zhan Shiqing was nearby at the time, and when she saw the fire, she had an episode and was shaking uncontrollably. She looked so terrifying."
"Don't spread rumors. Maybe she was just scared?"
"If she was just scared, why would she be shaking like that the whole time? It was like she had… had a seizure."
"That exaggerated? Could she really have some kind of illness?"
Zhan Shiqing couldn't stand it any longer. She admitted she had been trembling from fear, but it wasn't as extreme as they described.
"I didn't, stop talking nonsense!"
The classmate persisted, "I'm not talking nonsense. Other students from different classes saw it, and the whole school is talking about it now."
"Zhan Shiqing, just tell us, do you really have an illness?"
More classmates joined the fray.
"Don't bother explaining. My brother was there too, and he saw it."
"If you're sick, you should go home and get treatment. Why come to school? Aren't you afraid of infecting us?"
"No, I'm not sick, you're all lying. I was just… just a little scared."
"What's the point of you saying that?" a voice cut through the air. The other students automatically made way for the speaker. "Why don't we just test it and see?"
"Test it?" Zhan Shiqing didn't quite grasp what he meant.
"Zhou Shuai is right. If you're really not sick, how about we give it a try?"
In this class, there were bound to be small cliques, and Zhou Shuai was undoubtedly the leader of the male group.
Thanks to his family background, he had attracted quite a following at a young age.
And it was he who had spread the news about Zhan Shiqing's incident.
Before Zhan Shiqing could react, she was surrounded by her classmates and led out of the classroom to the back playground.
It even attracted students from other classes.
Zhan Jinzhi had already been worried about Zhan Shiqing's condition. To think that such a thing would happen again so soon, he rushed over.
Zhan Shiqing was brought near a pile of trash. Sometimes, when the school janitors were lazy, they would simply burn the garbage here.
Zhou Shuai looked at Zhan Shiqing and smiled, "We'll just light this garbage on fire and see how you react."
Zhan Shiqing could previously control her fear according to her own will, but she never imagined that her fear would be witnessed by so many people.
She immediately felt helpless. Even before the fire was lit, she had already started to feel afraid.
Finally, in front of her, Zhou Shuai threw a lighter into the pile of garbage. Flames immediately erupted and grew larger.
Zhan Shiqing was terrified. She stood frozen in place, unable to even cry, her mind completely blank.
Soon, however, she began to tremble, curling up into a ball, shaking uncontrollably.
"See, I told you she was sick," Zhou Shuai said triumphantly.
But as soon as he finished speaking, a hook punch landed on his face.
Zhan Jinzhi's face was ashen, and he glared at Zhou Shuai.
Zhou Shuai was startled and momentarily froze.
Zhan Jinzhi walked to Zhan Shiqing's side and knelt down to check on her.
But Zhan Shiqing's condition was clearly worse than before, which further angered Zhan Jinzhi. He got up again and lunged at Zhou Shuai.
The two quickly started brawling.
Fortunately, the girls in Zhan Shiqing's class couldn't stand it and rushed to find a teacher, who finally managed to separate them.
Zhan Shiqing, Zhan Jinzhi, and Zhou Shuai were all taken to the office.
Before the homeroom teacher could even understand the situation, Zhan Mohan and Wei Yumeng had already arrived.
The homeroom teacher broke out in a cold sweat. She had intended to try and resolve the matter quietly, but she hadn't expected these two to be so well-informed.
Zhan Mohan simply sat down, and the atmosphere became incredibly oppressive.
Wei Yumeng, with a worried expression, hugged Zhan Shiqing tightly. "It's okay, Mom is here."
Zhan Mohan remained silent, his gaze fixed on the homeroom teacher.
The homeroom teacher wiped away a bead of sweat and asked Zhou Shuai, "Can you explain why you did this?"
Zhou Shuai, however, looked defiant. "I just wanted to prove to everyone that Zhan Shiqing really is sick."
Upon hearing this, Zhan Jinzhi made to attack him again.
"But I heard that you were the one who deliberately spread this news in the class, is that right?" the homeroom teacher's voice grew stern.
After all, if the matter wasn't handled properly in front of Zhan Mohan, it would be a big problem.
"I…" Zhou Shuai seemed to be searching for an excuse, but ultimately couldn't find a suitable one.
"I think you know that what you did was wrong. If Zhan Shiqing wasn't ill, your actions could have made her sick. I've already contacted your parents, and I will speak to them directly about the arrangements."
The homeroom teacher was now completely on Zhan Shiqing's side, not even daring to pursue the matter of Zhan Jinzhi hitting someone.
But Zhou Shuai merely snorted, "Teacher, are you ignoring the fact that he hit me just because her parents are here?"
"This…" The homeroom teacher was at her wit's end. She didn't want to offend Zhan Mohan, nor did she want to offend the Zhou family.
Seeing the situation, Zhan Mohan spoke calmly, "Please call his parents here. I will have a good talk with them."
Hearing this, Wei Yumeng looked at Zhan Mohan with some concern. With Zhan Mohan's methods, this family might be in trouble again.
Sensing Wei Yumeng's gaze, Zhan Mohan turned to her and signaled for her to relax.
Soon, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou arrived. They were also surprised to see Zhan Mohan and Wei Yumeng.
The homeroom teacher directly arranged a meeting room, allowing Zhan Mohan to resolve the matter with them privately.
Perhaps to avoid affecting the children, Wei Yumeng did not participate in the meeting, staying outside to comfort the two children.
Zhan Shiqing finally recovered and looked up at Wei Yumeng. "Mom, did I cause trouble for you again?"
Wei Yumeng shook her head. "It's okay, it's not a big deal. Mom and Dad will handle it for you."
Zhan Jinzhi also held Zhan Shiqing's hand tightly.
Suddenly, Zhan Shiqing felt a warmth in her heart. Sometimes, she truly had nothing to fear, because whether it was Zhan Jinzhi or her parents, they would always be by her side, protecting her and being her strongest support.
The shame of being ridiculed by everyone and the terror of facing her fear head-on had completely vanished.