Chapter 38: Secretary Zhang was somewhat annoyed

  Zhang Dingguo returned home and the first thing he did was call Zhang Peng.

  Zhang Peng didn't dare to go home today, he knew that if his father found out about what happened in Feng Wuqing's class today, there would be serious consequences. So he hid himself in the dormitory like an ostrich, praying that he could escape unscathed. Of course, secretly cursing Chen Chufan and Yang Tao was a must.

  Originally, Chen Chufan was at the top of his hate list, but because of Yang Tao's slap today, he has already put Yang Tao and Chen Chufan in the same first place. At this time, he is thinking in his heart that after Chen Chufan is officially expelled from school, how to play with Yang Tao to death. But before he could think of a way, the dormitory phone rang.

  There was only him in the dormitory. The other three saw Zhang Peng's gloomy face and didn't dare to disturb him, so they found excuses to leave. This made him hesitant about whether to answer the phone, he was afraid it was his father calling. As he hesitated, the waiting time for answering the phone passed, the ringing stopped, and Zhang Peng let out a sigh of relief. But before he could even finish exhaling, the piercing ringtone echoed in the dormitory again.

  "Hello, who is it?" In the end, Zhang Peng chose to answer the phone. He also figured it out and knew that it was his father's call, he couldn't avoid it no matter what.

  "Zhang Peng, get back here! Beep...beep...beep."

  Upon hearing this, Zhang Peng immediately knew that something was amiss. His hand trembled as he hung up the phone. He was truly afraid of his father, although since middle school, his father had never hit him. On one hand, it was because he had indeed never done anything too out of line, or even if he had done something wrong, he hadn't let his family know. On the other hand, it was also because there was a doting mother at home, but today she just so happened to have an engagement and couldn't come back tonight, and had even specifically called him to tell him to eat by himself in the cafeteria.

  He really didn't want to go home at this time, but if he didn't go back now, his father's temper would only get worse, so Zhang Peng could only grit his teeth and walk out of the dormitory.

  "What's going on with you in Professor Feng's class today?" Zhang Dingguo said coldly, looking at Zhang Peng with a gloomy face as he walked into the house and sat down beside him on the sofa.

  "I just spaced out for a moment!" Zhang Peng said, sitting beside his father and bowing his head in explanation.

  "Get up for me, did I let you sit?" Zhang Dingguo saw his son's dejected appearance and suddenly became angry again, loudly scolding him.

  "Are you out of your mind? You were so distracted that even when the professor called your name three times, you didn't hear it. You were so distracted that you dared to shout 'get out' in class. Who did you want to get out? The professor? Your classmates? How dare you, Zhang Peng! I really underestimated you! Tell me, what were you thinking at that moment?" Zhang Dingguo's sudden outburst scared Zhang Peng into trembling with fear.

  "I...". Zhang Peng didn't know how to explain the absent-minded episode today, was he fantasizing about Chen Chufan kneeling down and begging for mercy in front of him, then getting excited to the point of almost fainting?

  "What's wrong with you!" Zhang Dingguo saw his son in a distracted state and became furious.

  "Let's put this matter aside for now. I'm asking you, after Chen Chufan beat you up and you went home, was everything you said true? Let me tell you, the school leaders are now loudly investigating this incident. If you dare not to tell me the truth now, if something happens, just wait and see how I'll deal with you!" Zhang Dingguo said coldly.

  "Ah?" Zhang Peng was stunned. To be honest, when he deceived his family at that time, he never thought that someone would investigate this matter.

  What's the big deal about framing an ordinary student who has nothing to do with anything? Is it even worth investigating? Not even his own father would have the leisure to pay attention to such a trivial matter.

  What's going on now? The school leaders want to investigate this matter with great fanfare? Are the school leaders so idle that they have nothing better to do? But if an investigation is really necessary, how should it be conducted? At the time, there were at least hundreds of students gathered at the entrance of the cafeteria watching the whole incident unfold. What's the truth of the matter? It doesn't need any investigation at all! Just ask anyone and you'll get a clear idea. There's no way to cover it up!

  After all, he is Zhang Peng's father. Seeing Zhang Peng's reaction at this time, Zhang Dingguo probably had a plan in his heart. The incident where his son clashed with Chen Chufan would not be as his son said, and it was likely that his own son had provoked others first.

  "What are you spacing out for? I'm asking you something. Let me tell you, the school leadership issued an emergency notice today and will be inspecting our College of Literature tomorrow. Ostensibly it's an inspection, but I'm not afraid to tell you, Zhang Peng, they're coming because of Chen Chufan being expelled. If you don't tell the truth today, if I lose face in front of the school leadership tomorrow, what consequences do you think there will be? You can figure that out yourself!" Zhang Dingguo's tone became even more severe, he had to know the truth from Zhang Peng's mouth in order to decide how to respond.

  "It was really him who hit me first at that time!" Zhang Peng, not knowing how to explain himself, simply stated a fact with a wronged tone, trying to muddle through.

  "What I'm asking now is not whether he hit you, but why he hit you! You tell me clearly!" Zhang Dingguo would certainly not be fooled by Zhang Peng's clever words.

  "I just teased him for two sentences, and he hit me!" Zhang Peng said, seeing his father's expression becoming increasingly stern, and confessed in a panic.

  "You ridiculed him for two sentences? If you're full and have nothing to do, why go ridicule others? What else did you ridicule?" Zhang Dingguo's heart grew colder and colder, he figured it out completely, this time his son probably really had no reason.

  "I didn't say anything, just that he was showing off yesterday and today he got criticized in the meeting, I asked him how he felt, then Yang Tao scolded me together with him, I lost my temper and said his ex-girlfriend had an affair with my brother, then he hit me!" Zhang Peng said in a low voice, of course omitting most of the details.

  "Great, as expected of my good son! Then tell me again, are you just bored after eating? Why did you go to the cafeteria entrance and provoke others?" Zhang Dingguo simply didn't bother with the details of what happened, he was already convinced that his son had started it.

  "Me..." Zhang Peng paused again, he didn't know if his father could accept the reason in his heart.

  "Speak quickly!" Zhang Dingguo suddenly shouted loudly.

  Zhang Peng was startled by his father's sudden outburst and trembled with fear, not daring to hesitate. He opened his mouth to explain: "Last school year, the first prize scholarship that should have been mine was snatched away by Chen Chufan. I felt uncomfortable in my heart, so I just wanted to find him to vent my anger. Besides, that first prize scholarship should have been mine anyway. Although my exam scores were slightly lower than his, I'm the student president, and I also took care of many student union affairs, but the school didn't consider it at all..." The more Zhang Peng spoke, the softer his voice became, because he saw his father's face getting darker and darker.

  "For this reason?" Zhang Dingguo stared at Zhang Peng, as if seeing his own son for the first time.

  "Yes!" Zhang Peng said with his head lowered.

  Zhang Dingguo knew that Zhang Peng was competing for the first prize scholarship, but he didn't stop him at the time. In his view, Zhang Peng's desire to compete for the first prize scholarship was a manifestation of his son's pursuit of progress, and letting him try his best would not hurt anything. Even if he couldn't get it, it could let him see his own shortcomings and continue to work hard.

  But he didn't speak up for his own son in this matter, probably because of his impartial attitude. It was also because of this reason that Old Xiao withstood the pressure and still gave the first-class scholarship to Chen Chufan.

  But Zhang Dingguo really didn't expect that his own son would actually hate Chen Chufan because of this small matter! And it caused such a big stir, is this really his own son? How could he be so narrow-minded? With such a narrow mind, what great things can he accomplish? This made him feel a wave of disappointment, so the gaze he gave Zhang Peng also became colder and colder.

  "Zhang Peng, you've let me down. What's the meaning of 'the scholarship that should have been yours'? Don't you understand the rules for evaluating the student union president's scholarship as a student? What is a scholarship? It's an award for students who have achieved academic success! Your grades aren't better than others, so it's only natural that you can't compete with them. What's there to be unhappy about?! You're not happy, but do you know how to work hard and surpass others next year?! Instead, you want to vent your frustrations by bringing down others?! How could I, Zhang Dingguo, have a son as useless as you?!" Zhang Dingguo scolded angrily.

  Zhang Peng hung his head and stood silently in front of his father, his body still shaking slightly.

  Seeing his son like this, Zhang Dingguo suddenly felt extremely exhausted. He still hadn't educated his own son well!

  "Bang, bang, bang!" Just then, a knock at the door rang out. Zhang Peng hastily ran to open it and found that Wang, the head of the student department, was standing in front of his own door.

  "Oh, it's Zhang Peng, is your father at home?" Minister Wang asked calmly when he saw that it was Zhang Peng who opened the door.

  "Come on in, Uncle Wang!" Zhang Peng hastily stepped aside and let Director Wang into the house.

  "Minister Wang, a rare guest!" Zhang Dingguo also stood up and welcomed him. Minister Wang's visit at this time, how could Zhang Dingguo not know the intention, so he opened his mouth to say to Zhang Peng again.

  "It's all right, Zhang Peng. There's nothing wrong at home. You shouldn't stay at home today either. Go back to your dormitory and think carefully about what I said today. See if you have any thoughts on it. We'll talk again next time!" Zhang Dingguo's words were not harsh, but his tone was very calm. Zhang Peng could hear the meaning of "hating iron for not becoming steel" in them.

  "Well, I'll be off then, Uncle Wang! See you later!" With that, Zhang Peng walked out of the house.

  As soon as Zhang Peng walked out of the house, Director Wang spoke directly to the point: "Secretary Zhang, what do you think about handling Chen Chufan's disciplinary action?"