Chapter 122 - 119: Sudden Disaster (Part 1)
Li Xiu stayed home to care for their child, do the laundry, cook, and manage the housework. He also picked up his wife from school and dropped her off, and in his spare time, he would wander the streets with his daughter in his arms. He was scouting for opportunities, hoping to earn some spending money for his wife and child.
Zhou Lian, for her part, had grown accustomed to this relaxed lifestyle. She attended classes during the day, and when it was time for a meal, her husband would arrive with their daughter in his arms to pick her up. When it was time for class, he would bring her to campus the same way. The trio became a sight to behold at Beijing University: a tall, handsome man, a fair-skinned, adorable child, and a beautiful, elegant woman. Every day, before and after classes, a crowd of students would gather to watch them, drawn by the simple fact that they were so pleasing to the eye.
It was a Monday. After a full morning of classes, Zhou Lian had just finished packing her bag when she saw her husband at the classroom door, holding their daughter. She stood up to leave without a second thought, but was immediately blocked. She looked at the two female students in front of her, confused. They looked vaguely familiar, but she didn’t know their names.
"Zhou Lian, you’re already married. Can’t you stop sleeping around?" The girl who spoke was in her early twenties, with a round face, short hair, and a sailor stripe shirt. Her words were vile.
Zhou Lian’s eyes narrowed. Her face was expressionless as she said, "Excuse me, who are you? For a young woman to spew such filth, don’t you find yourself disgusting? You had better explain yourself clearly right now, or we’ll be taking this to a professor."
The other students in the class were stunned by this sudden turn of events. People were generally more simple and pure-hearted back then, and besides, anyone who could get into the university was no fool. It was obvious slander, and the students all frowned. Zhou Lian didn’t live in the dorms; her husband brought her to and from school every day, and she mostly kept to herself in class. Still, everyone trusted her character.
"Sun Hongguo from the journalism department wrote a poem confessing his feelings to you, and you’re going to pretend you don’t know? You already have a husband, yet you’re still fooling around. You’re shameless!" the other girl, who had her hair in two braids, declared loudly and indignantly.
Zhou Lian raised her hand and slapped each of them across the face. She then turned to the class president and said sternly, "Please go find the guidance counselor and the dean of discipline. Insulting a fellow student for no reason! Such filthy minds! And these are the students of Beijing University."
"You dare hit me? I’ll..."
"You’ll do what? Did my wife say a single word out of line? So this is the caliber of students at the great Beijing University! Cursing out a fellow student with such abandon! Who gave you the nerve!" Li Xiu strode into the classroom with their child in his arms, cutting off the short-haired girl who was clutching her face. His presence was overwhelming.
He had his wife sit down and placed Nuonuo in her lap. Then, standing tall and poised beside Zhou Lian, he gave a faint, chilling smile. "I’ve never been to school, so I don’t understand how you university students think," he said softly. "But this habit of spewing insults reminds me of the landlords’ wives I saw back in the village as a child. The filth that comes out of your mouths... I fear even the courtesans of the Qinhuai River wouldn’t dare compete with you."
Everyone gasped. They saw this man almost every day, and he was always so gentle and caring toward Zhou Lian. No one had ever imagined his tongue could be so venomous. He had just compared female students of the prestigious Beijing University to courtesans—and found them wanting!
"Sir, your words are a bit out of line!" The dean of discipline, who had just rushed over, immediately interjected.
"Out of line? My wife was minding her own business when she was cursed at to her face. She doesn’t even know what this is about. And these are your ’pride of the nation’? Mouths full of filth, minds utterly depraved... Comparing them to courtesans would be a compliment." Li Xiu’s words were like daggers, aimed straight at the dean. If the dean wanted to protect these students, he would have to see if Li Xiu would allow it.
The dean wasn’t trying to protect these two arrogant, ignorant students. He was trying to protect the university’s reputation. If word got out that students of the prestigious Beijing University were being called courtesans, what would that make the university?
"Sir, please calm down. Let’s discuss this properly," Zhou Lian’s guidance counselor said, trying to placate Li Xiu. He knew the details of the situation. This was ultimately the school’s fault for failing in its duty to educate and supervise its students. Now that a student’s family had been confronted with it directly, any misstep in handling it could blow up into a major incident.
Li Xiu glanced at the surrounding crowd and said expressionlessly, "Fine. You are my wife’s professor. I expect you to arrive at a fair resolution."
"In that case, sir, let’s go to my office to discuss this," the counselor said quickly, seeing Li Xiu relent.
"No. We’ll settle it right here. My wife was publicly and baselessly slandered. It’s best we clear this up in front of everyone. My wife’s reputation is not to be questioned by anyone!" Li Xiu declared to the crowd, his tone leaving no room for argument. He had no intention of letting this matter be swept under the rug.
The counselor glanced at Zhou Lian, who sat impassively holding her child, and understood that a quiet resolution was now impossible. He looked over at the two girls still clutching their faces and decided to bite the bullet. This could not be allowed to set a precedent; these two students had to be dealt with.
He exchanged a glance with the dean of discipline, then said, "Very well. Student Wang Aijun, you’re the class president. You tell us what happened first. And don’t leave out a single detail!"
Glancing at the ever-growing crowd, Wang Aijun gave a helpless, wry smile. "Right after class, Student Wang Li and Student Sun Xiaoyan blocked Student Zhou Lian. Wang Li immediately said, ’Zhou Lian, you’re already married. Can’t you stop sleeping around?’ Student Zhou Lian didn’t seem to know them, so she asked, ’Excuse me, who are you? For a young woman to spew such filth, don’t you find yourself disgusting? You had better explain yourself clearly right now, or we’ll be taking this to a professor.’"
He glanced at Sun Xiaoyan, the girl with the braids, and continued, "Then Student Sun Xiaoyan angrily demanded of Student Zhou Lian, ’Sun Hongguo from the journalism department wrote a poem confessing his feelings to you, and you’re going to pretend you don’t know? You already have a husband, yet you’re still fooling around. You’re shameless!’ Those were Student Sun Xiaoyan’s exact words. After that, Student Zhou Lian slapped both of them and asked me to get the guidance counselor and the dean of discipline. Everything that happened after that, you and the dean know as well as I do."
The crowd of onlookers erupted. In this day and age, a woman’s reputation was paramount. Public insults like these could be enough to drive someone to suicide. The students looked at the two girls still clutching their faces and instinctively took a step back. ’How vicious can you be!’
"Student Wang Li, Student Sun Xiaoyan, is that how it happened?" the dean of discipline asked, his face grim. ’These are university students,’ he thought. ’No wonder the husband is furious. They’re practically asking for trouble! Instead of studying, they’re here fighting out of jealousy. The school has repeatedly forbidden students from getting into relationships. What do they think the school rules are?’
"Sir," Li Xiu said to the dean of discipline, "I think you should summon that student, Sun Hongguo, as well. To stop all this mud from being slung at my wife." ’Some little punk who doesn’t know his place actually dared to have ideas about my wife,’ he thought. ’Even if I don’t kill him, I’ll make sure he loses a layer of skin.’
The dean of discipline understood what Li Xiu was planning, but he also knew the request was perfectly reasonable. He sent someone to fetch the student named Sun Hongguo.