LWDC Chapter 86

Chapter 86 – Falling

Chapter 86 – Falling

Chapter 86 – Falling

Ji Zhenwei’s scandal was neither too big nor too small, and it was resolved smoothly. But once it started spreading, it became a case of “low damage, high insult.”

The worst part was that Xiang City’s tabloids even published photos of him being taken out of a hotel by the police with a foreign woman! Even though there were thin black bars over his eyes, acquaintances could immediately tell who it was, making it difficult for Ji Zhenwei to deny. He was furious that these third-rate media outlets freely published his photos and information, complained that his eldest son and younger brother in Shenzhen hadn’t handled the aftermath properly, and even demanded a thorough investigation into who sold the information to the media. However, with Duan Yunhong deliberately dragging his feet and even secretly creating obstacles, the self-important Ji Yuechi naturally couldn’t find out the truth.

The only answer he could give his dear father was that someone had been following the police action that night, and the photos were stolen and sold to Xiang City’s tabloids. But who exactly did it was impossible to find out.

“…So, Ji Zhenwei just swallowed this bitter pill?”

Lin Shengjia finally learned about Ji Zhenwei’s scandal from before the new year. Although he’d heard rumors at school, he didn’t know the details, and he only found out the whole story when he saw the tabloid (the original) at Ning Fei’s place.

“I can’t believe something like this happened… Well, I’m not surprised that Ji Zhenwei would go buy a prostitute, but he actually got caught in a crackdown, and they couldn’t suppress it!” Lin Shengjia exclaimed, “I thought the Ji family was so amazing. Shouldn’t they have just said, ‘The weather’s getting cold, let’s bankrupt that newspaper,’ and solved the problem?”

Ning Fei glanced at him: “Where do you find the time to read this kind of trash?”

“Domineering CEO dramas, I’ve heard plenty about them even if I haven’t watched them, do I need to spend time reading novels?” Lin Shengjia retorted, “Besides, that’s how the original owner described the Ji family to me. Look at how lawless Ji Xingzhe and Qin Ran are, isn’t that proof?”

Ning Fei scoffed, picking up the tabloid: “They can only throw their weight around in Nancheng. It’s not as effective in Shenzhen, let alone Xiang City. Those people in Xiang City don’t even care about the people in Beishi.”

“A strong dragon can’t suppress a local snake,” Lin Shengjia sighed. “Looking at it this way, I was smart to choose Shenzhen, which is far away.”

“The Ji family is nothing close to a strong dragon, they’re just a local snake in Nancheng at best.” Ning Fei put the tabloid aside and tapped the table with his fingertip. “Alright, gossip’s over, do your homework.”

Lin Shengjia’s eyes darted around: “Ning teacher, can I discuss something with you?”

“Spit it out.”

“If I can get in the top 15 in the class on this month’s exam, will you buy a computer? It doesn’t have to be for me, it can be yours.” Lin Shengjia blinked at him, trying to be cute. “Can I play on it for an hour every Saturday and Sunday?”

Ning Fei asked back, “Tell me what you want to do first. Just playing games and watching porn is not allowed.”

Lin Shengjia was a little speechless: “I’m not really a kid anymore.”

Ning Fei: “Men love that stuff until they die.”

“…” Lin Shengjia said helplessly, “I just want to see how far the internet has actually developed, what famous forums there are. Games, I might play a little bit, but my ultimate goal is to try making my own games—” He saw Ning Fei suddenly narrow his eyes and quickly added, “Of course, after I go to university.”

Ning Fei’s expression returned to normal, and he confirmed: “You want to make games? You’ll form your own team?”

“I’ll see what the situation is when the time comes. Anyway, when I go to university and become an adult, they’ll give me my half of the company, and I can find people myself or set up a professional studio.” Lin Shengjia replied. “So, do you agree?”

“Top 10, then you can.” Ning Fei said plainly. “But if you drop 5 places on the next monthly exam, this benefit will be revoked. Oh, and you’re not allowed to play for 7 days before the monthly exam. And if unforeseen circumstances occur, I may also cancel your right to play on the computer at any time.”

Lin Shengjia: “…Do you have to make it sound like we’re signing a contract? Anyway, the computer’s here with you, if you say I can’t play, can I force my way onto it?”

“Better safe than sorry, to save time arguing over this little thing later.” Ning Fei reminded him, “Since you want to get involved in the computer industry, English is even more important, you better know that you have to work harder.”

“Am I not working hard enough now? The brainpower and effort I’ve spent these past few months feels like more than I used in my entire past life.” Lin Shengjia sighed. “People always say you have to work even harder in your third year of high school, I can’t even imagine it. It must feel like suffering in hell, with no light in sight. Thinking about it that way, Ji Xingzhe escaped school so easily, could it be that he thinks even if he doesn’t go to school, the Ji family will guarantee he becomes one of the elite?”

“Don’t think too much. Just finish the assignments I give you every day and go to sleep. As for what Ji Xingzhe will do, what does it have to do with you now? That fake, he’s a good match for that rotten father, it’s like giving the wrong child to the right dad.” Ning Fei didn’t comfort him at all, replying indifferently. “Just empty your mind, blindly follow my pace, and I guarantee you can reach the peak of your life too. It’s only a year and a half, it’ll pass quickly. Now, do your homework, no more nonsense.”

“It’s really hard for someone who’s not a genius to be a top student…” Lin Shengjia sighed as he looked back down, refocusing on the workbook in front of him.

Ning Fei himself turned to send a message to Duan Yunhong: 【Is Ji Xingzhe really planning to stay home for good?】

*

Of course, Ji Xingzhe couldn’t stay home for good.

Even if he wanted to, Ji Zhenwei wouldn’t allow it. That arrogant man wouldn’t allow his son to become such a coward. And the fact that Ji Xingzhe didn’t want to go to school just because Ji Zhenwei was exposed was even more ridiculous in Ji Zhenwei’s eyes. In the eyes of this Ji family head, it shouldn’t be a big deal at all, just hype from third-rate media, which wouldn’t have any real impact on the Ji family. Moreover, in Nancheng, others would always give him some face, wouldn’t—or rather, wouldn’t dare—mention this matter in front of him. As long as they didn’t mention it, it could be treated as if it didn’t exist.

In that case, what did his Ji Zhenwei’s son have to be afraid of? He should go to school openly and honestly, and use his own strength to shut everyone up.

However, Ji Zhenwei ignored the power of campus rumors. He believed that those middle school students who were not worth his attention wouldn’t say anything in front of Ji Xingzhe, but just gathering together and looking at Ji Xingzhe meaningfully a few more times would be a clear enough expression of their attitude. Moreover, Ji Zhenwei ignored the fact that Ji Xingzhe had been absent from school for a long time after his grades dropped, and hadn’t even taken the exams anymore. No one really knew what level his youngest son, whom he remembered as having excellent grades, was at now.

Even Ji Xingzhe himself couldn’t be sure how many points he could get now. Therefore, when there was another reason to escape home less than a week after returning to school, Ji Xingzhe was secretly relieved.

Unfortunately, he didn’t avoid it for long before Ji Zhenwei forced him to return to campus again. Oh, right, the reason Ji Zhenwei’s order was so non-negotiable was also because Duan Yunhong casually mentioned to him, “Xiao Zhe hasn’t gone to school yet? That’s not good, boys of this age will cause trouble sooner or later if they don’t go to school.”

So Ji Xingzhe was “kicked out of the house,” and just in time for the first monthly exam of the semester, causing Ji Xingzhe to have insomnia the night before.

The result of being in such a poor condition was that the monthly exam results were very unsatisfactory—even worse than before his fall.

82 points, at first glance, higher than the 80 points last time by 2 points, but it was actually a decrease in disguise. This monthly exam was relatively easy, and the scores were generally high, with many good students scoring 98 or 99. Even Lin Shengjia scored 90 points, which could be considered a score that didn’t drag down his ranking.

As for Lin Shengjia’s other subjects, his math remained at the top, his Chinese improved slightly, and the other science subjects didn’t create too much of a gap because they were difficult. Overall, he managed to reach 10th in the class and entered the top 100 in the grade. When he reported this result at home, the Lin couple were immediately overjoyed, feeling that the winter break was not wasted.

In contrast, Ji Xingzhe’s ranking not only dropped, but it also dropped further away from Lin Shengjia. His English wasn’t the worst, the worst was the combined science. During his home tutoring period, the teachers didn’t do too much high-intensity training on the exam questions, and the exam was difficult, he almost didn’t even pass the passing line. This time, Ning Fei didn’t even need to put psychological pressure on him, the science teacher directly called out his name in class and shook his head and sighed. Ji Xingzhe was the focus of the entire class, so embarrassed that he wanted to dig a hole in the ground and disappear on the spot.

But Ning Fei didn’t do nothing. When he was handing out the test papers, he gave the papers to Ji Xingzhe’s deskmate and specifically asked the classmate to bring Ji Xingzhe’s down as well, seemingly considerately saying, “Isn’t it still difficult for Ji Xingzhe to move around? You can bring it to him, he doesn’t need to come up here.”

The way he said it was like he was saying in Ji Xingzhe’s ear, “Try falling again if you dare.” Ji Xingzhe was distracted by what he heard, but he really didn’t dare to cause any more trouble. He took his test paper from his deskmate’s hand and didn’t look up the whole time, as if he was going to stare a hole in the paper.

Ning Fei didn’t take advantage of his victory and do anything else to Ji Xingzhe in class. But later, when the homeroom teacher came to talk to him again, he was very blunt and told the homeroom teacher, “I won’t talk to Ji Xingzhe again. He broke his leg after our last talk, and the way his mother came to me and was so aggressive is still vivid in my mind. I don’t want to go through that again.”

The homeroom teacher was very helpless: “Sigh, I know what you mean. But it’s not good to just give up on him…”

“He’s a child of the Ji family. If it really doesn’t work, contact his parents and tell them to get him tutoring if he needs it.” Ning Fei suggested again. “If they find famous tutors for one-on-one tutoring, it should be more efficient.”

“That’s the only way. I don’t dare to say anything to him anymore. He doesn’t come to school all the time, and I can’t say anything.” The homeroom teacher sighed. “But speaking of tutoring, I think you can be considered a famous tutor. Lin Shengjia’s grades have improved in all subjects this time, especially English. Everyone knows you live across from him and you tutor him on the side. With your ability, you have a great future, and our school probably won’t be able to keep you for long.”

Ning Fei was unmoved by this probing statement, as if he didn’t understand it at all.

He just smiled: “Don’t worry, I will do my best to send these children to the college entrance examination hall.”