Chapter 30: Even a Dog Deserves Respect for Its Master

An Xiya wanted to laugh; she felt her father was utterly ridiculous! Short-sighted, a frog at the bottom of a well! Although she knew she shouldn’t think this way about her own father, his words were simply beyond her acceptance.

She took a deep breath, fixed her gaze on her father’s eyes, her expression grave and solemn.

“The Cartier brooch Ling Xiao gave me is real.”

Her father’s brows knit together.

“What do you mean by that?”

An Xiya sneered lightly. “I mean, the gift Ling Xiao gave me is a Cartier collector’s brooch worth 1.6 million. There’s only one in the entire Jiangzhou, and he bought it to give to me!”

“What did you say?” Her father’s eyes went wide in an instant, as if he had seen a ghost!

Ling Xiao could actually afford a Cartier brooch worth 1.6 million? And he gave it away as a gift!

How was that any different from burning 1.6 million for fun? How much money did one need to be so reckless?

Seeing her father so stunned, An Xiya found it all the more laughable—no, pitiful.

She continued, “Not only that. Last time, I told you I’d offended a friend of the King of Zhenjiang. That friend was Ling Xiao. But today, the King of Zhenjiang bowed to him, addressed him respectfully as ‘Young Master Ling,’ like a dog!”

“What did you say?” Her father shot up from the sofa, eyes bulging like bronze bells!

If the Cartier brooch was a shell to his previous composure, then the King of Zhenjiang bowing to Ling Xiao was a nuclear bomb detonating in his mind.

He sat in a daze for several minutes, before his soul seemed to leave him entirely. He slumped back into the sofa, limp as a corpse, every fiber of his being filled with regret and self-reproach. He wanted to weep in despair.

Once, the ladder to glory had been right before him, but he hadn’t cherished it. Worse, he had pushed it away.

If not for his daughter’s presence, he would have slapped himself silly by now.

Why? Why had he been so foolish?

How could he have failed to see greatness before him?

Watching her father so consumed by remorse, An Xiya could only sigh deeply. Shaking her head, she turned and walked back to her room.

What use was there in saying anything now?

If her family had treated Ling Xiao better before, even if he had already refused her, she would still have had the courage to pursue him. But now, even she could not convince herself she had the face to do so.

She finally understood why she wanted to cry—she no longer had the courage to pursue Ling Xiao.

Having realized this, An Xiya could not hold back her tears any longer. She buried herself in her covers and wept bitterly.

...

The next day was the weekend. Naturally, Ling Xiao didn’t go to school and stayed home to cultivate.

On Monday, he returned to school. At the gate, he ran into An Xiya. In the instant their eyes met, Ling Xiao could clearly sense the longing, grievance, and affection in her gaze.

He merely nodded and greeted her. “Good morning.”

An Xiya bit her lip and replied softly, “Mm.”

The two of them entered the campus in silence and made their way to Class One.

Xiao Qing, upon seeing Ling Xiao arrive, shuddered with fright and immediately buried her head in her book, not daring to look at him.

After all, the shock Ling Xiao had given her on Saturday night was simply too great.

The morning’s classes were uneventful, and it wasn’t until the big break after second period that Zhang Wenhe invited Ling Xiao for a bite to eat, finally relieving some of his boredom.

As the two made their way to the cafeteria, they passed by a basketball court. Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind swept toward Zhang Wenhe’s head.

“Hey! Watch out!” Zhang Wenhe glanced up, his face turning ashen.

A basketball was flying toward him with great force; if it hit his face, it would hurt like hell!

But just as disaster was about to strike, a large hand casually reached over his head, opened slightly, and effortlessly caught the ball.

This scene stunned many on the court, bringing their movements to an abrupt halt.

A girl holding a bottle of Farmer’s Fist Water was so shocked, she spilled water without even noticing.

“Oh my God! Is he Spider-Man or something?”

Zhang Wenhe gaped, turning to Ling Xiao, patting his own chest.

“Good heavens, Ling Xiao, thank goodness for you! Otherwise, I’d be done for!”

Ling Xiao slowly withdrew his hand, saying nothing, but cast a cool, proud glance toward the basketball court.

“That guy—do you have a grudge with him?” he asked.

Zhang Wenhe followed his gaze, and upon seeing who it was, his expression darkened.

“Damn! I was wondering who’d throw a ball at me. So it’s that jerk!”

He paused, then explained to Ling Xiao, “That’s Shen Qing. He’s been my nemesis since we were kids—always going against me. In our sophomore year, he even stole my girlfriend. Damn it!”

As he spoke, Shen Qing was already approaching, surrounded by a few boys and a girl with light makeup.

Shen Qing gave Ling Xiao a cold glance, then, with a mocking look, sneered at Zhang Wenhe.

“Well, if it isn’t Zhang Wenhe! Sorry about earlier, slipped my hand and gave you a scare, didn’t I?”

Zhang Wenhe spat on the ground and replied coldly, “Shen Qing, drop the act. Don’t think I don’t know you did it on purpose! You were aiming for me!”

Shen Qing chuckled. “Not bad, you’re not stupid. Too bad for you, though—today you got lucky and had an expert by your side. Consider yourself fortunate! Now give me back the ball.”

“You try to hit me, and you still want your ball?”

Shen Qing rolled his eyes in disdain and sneered, “What, you want to challenge me? Zhang Wenhe, look at yourself. Have you ever beaten me at anything? My family has twenty million, yours just two. I’ve always been top three in the class—where do you rank? Even your girlfriend, Xiaoxue, is with me now. What makes you think you can show off in front of me? Give me the ball, or I’ll have my guys teach you a lesson right now!”

Zhang Wenhe’s face was icy cold. “Shen Qing, don’t push me too far!”

“I’m going to bully you—what can you do about it?”

Barely had he finished speaking when a basketball whistled past Zhang Wenhe’s ear and struck Shen Qing square in the face, sending him flying.

“A classmate of mine isn’t someone you can bully at will,” Ling Xiao said.