It had not even been an hour since it had been announced. Now, Zhou Zheng was being slapped in the face by reality. Zhou Zheng had no idea how he was going to clean up this mess.
Making a huge detour, Zhou Zheng successfully avoided other people and finally found Zhou Xing. “Xingxing, come over. Dad has something to tell you.”
Zhou Xing pouted and took small steps toward Zhou Zheng. She looked at Zhou Zheng straight in the eye as though she was asking Zhou Zheng what he had to say.
Obviously, Zhou Zheng had not forgotten that he had been sure that Zhou Xing had led Zhou Cheng astray, and he had even slapped Zhou Xing just some time ago. Zhou Zheng rubbed his nose awkwardly. “Xingxing, you’re a good kid, a good daughter, and a good sister, right? I know that I was the one who got it wrong about the last time. Chengcheng is still young and insensible. He committed a folly, but it had nothing to do with you. But Xingxing, you’re all grown up. You’re going into junior high school very soon. Chengcheng is still so young. He doesn’t know what he’s saying. Xingxing, you’ll protect your brother with me, right?”
After thinking about it, if he wanted to protect his beloved wife and son, the only solution was for Zhou Xing to admit that she had said those things and that she had been the one to lead Zhou Cheng astray. As for the reasons for that, it was because she did not want her younger brother to compete for her grandparents’ love.
“Don’t worry. Dad will treat you well in the future. I’ll never be angry at you, and I’ll never beat you in the future. How’s that? I’ll bring you over to stay with me once your younger brother’s matter is resolved.” That was just as well. If Zhou Xing spent less time with his parents, his parents would probably not treat Chengcheng differently from Zhou Xing.
As long as Zhou Xing lived with him, his parents would never know the truth if he were to say that Zhou Xing refused to visit his parents. After a while, his parents would believe that Zhou Xing was an ingrate. When that time came and faced with their adorable grandson, his parents would naturally forget about Zhou Xing and turn their attention to Chengcheng.
In that case, Huihui would no longer have to waste her efforts on teaching Chengcheng all these bad things.
“How do you want me to help Zhou Cheng?” Zhou Xing finally spoke up after a long while.
“Uh…” The awkwardness on Zhou Zheng’s face intensified. “Xingxing, you’re all grown up. Since you’re so smart, I’m sure you’ve already thought of a plan, right?” Thoughts were just thoughts. Zhou Zheng knew that Zhou Xing was not young anymore and should be quite aware.
If he were really to talk about his plan… He really was not so shameless to say it with his own mouth. In other words, he would try to avoid saying it himself, but instead, he would try to guide Zhou Xing into thinking of that plan herself. “Xingxing, I believe that you’ll definitely have a plan to help your younger brother as long as you try. Look. Your brother is still so young. He doesn’t know anything. Your brother must have scolded your grandparents only because he heard someone doing so and followed after them. Don’t you think so?”
“Then, who taught Zhou Cheng to say those things?” Zhou Xing asked.
“…” Zhou Zheng was getting impatient. “When that incident happened that day, there were only those few people who were by Chengcheng’s side. Think carefully about who’s always by Chengcheng’s side. Who do you think would say such a thing? Xingxing, don’t worry. Dad will help you no matter what happens. I’ll treat you even better than your grandma and grandpa do. If your grandma or grandpa get angry at you, I’ll help you.”
He should have made it clear with his words, right?
Hearing this, Zhou Xing smiled, turned around, and ran toward Father and Mother Zhou. Seeing this, Zhou Zheng felt a little uneasy yet expectant. Did this mean that Zhou Xing had understood what he had meant to say? Was that why she was going to ‘come clean’ to Father and Mother Zhou?
Zhou Zheng heaved a sigh of relief. There was no better way of resolving this matter than having Zhou Xing take the blame.
But Zhou Zheng’s sigh of relief had come too early. Before long, Zhou Xing’s crisp and clear voice found its way into Zhou Zheng’s ears. “Grandma, grandpa, Dad wanted me to tell you that I was the one who taught Zhou Cheng to say those things. He wanted me to tell you that I was the one who told Zhou Cheng to steal your money. Dad even said that he would help me in case you guys got angry at me. He also said that he would bring me back to stay with him in the future. Grandma, grandpa, I don’t want to leave you guys. I want to stay with you guys, not Dad. Can we go?”
In the face of his parents’ angry stares, Zhou Zheng was infuriated. “What do you mean by I told you to say these things? You were the one who did these bad things!” This wretched child! She was indeed not at all close to him since he had not raised her. Even his stepchild from Huihui knew to help him remove his shoes and bring him his slippers when he returned home from work.
“If you’re capable, don’t threaten Xingxing like that. Didn’t you say that Xingxing was the one who did those things and that it has nothing to do with your wife and son? Didn’t you even want to have a face-to-face confrontation? It’s been almost an hour. Since when has your house become so far from ours? It’s been an hour but your wife still hasn’t brought your son down to clear the air.”
Mother Zhou protected Zhou Xing and looked at Zhou Zheng coldly. This son of hers was getting promising by the day. In the past, she had wondered if Zhou Zheng really had no idea how that woman raised Zhou Cheng. But now, she knew for sure the moment Zhou Zheng had asked Zhou Xing to take the blame for Chengcheng that Zhou Zheng definitely knew that Zhou Cheng had indeed done those things.
To Zhou Zheng, his daughter was nowhere near as important to him as his son was. Now that the matter had become known to the neighbors, was he trying to sacrifice Xingxing to protect Zhou Cheng? Ha. That would depend on whether they agreed to it.
“Mom, it’s a misunderstanding. It’s all a misunderstanding. Huihui feels that Chengcheng might get frightened because there are so many people around and he’s still young. All this really has got nothing to do with Chengcheng. Chengcheng’s a good boy.” What else could Zhou Zheng do but beg for mercy from Mother Zhou, constantly hinting through his gaze that Zhou Cheng was the Zhou family’s only grandson and his only son, after all?
They should just let this matter go by letting Zhou Xing take the blame. Otherwise, Zhou Cheng’s reputation would be ruined once people knew that he had called his grandparents old foggies and had even stolen his grandpa’s money at just five years of age. He could not let a mistake made at such a young age impact his son’s development in the future.
Mothers knew best. Mother Zhou knew exactly what Zhou Zheng meant, but she was not going to let Zhou Zheng have his way and let Zhou Xing take the blame. “Don’t make excuses. That’s not what you said just now. Since your wife is scared that your son will be frightened because he’s too timid, and not at all worried that this matter will affect Zhou Cheng in the future, there’s no need for me as his grandma to worry about it either. Since we can’t clear the air, let’s forget about it. I’ll say it again. Your dad and I still want to live a long life, so don’t come looking for us even if anything happens. When your dad and I fell sick, it was Xingxing who took care of us. You didn’t even show up. It’s better if your family of four never shows up again.”
