Beyond the Rift (Campus 1V1) - 12.

12.

The night is not calm.

Ling Jia follows Zong Du back home. The driver knocks on the door. He bows his head.

“Your father waits downstairs.”

Zong Zaichi waits about half an hour before she sees Zong Du’s figure.

The driver opens the passenger door for Zong Du.

Zong Du sits down. Zong Zaichi asks.

“Why don’t you answer the phone?”

“Too lazy to pick up.”

Their communication is never smooth. Zong Du’s reply is within Zong Zaichi’s expectations. But she comes here not to exchange cold words with Zong Du.

The Zong family’s situation is not optimistic now.

To outsiders, it appears harmonious and united. But inside, everyone has their own schemes.

Zong Min’en returns from Li Jin. Without the old man’s approval, Zong Caizhi could not make this happen.

As for why Zong Caizhi favors Zong Min’en,

Zong Zaichi doesn’t wish to dig deeper.

She reminds Zong Du.

“I don’t care what you do outside, but have some restraint. Don’t cross lines you shouldn’t. You know better than I what kind of person your grandfather is.”

If Zong Chengxun hadn’t interfered years ago,

She would have two children.

Who could imagine the amiable old man acts so decisively?

Zong Caizhi’s cries from the hospital bed still linger in his memory.

Because of this, he always feels guilt toward Zong Caizhi.

Her changing expression reflects clearly in the rearview mirror for Zong Du to see.

It’s truly disgusting.

Zong Du raises his hand. He turns on the car stereo. Soothing piano music slightly eases his current agitation.

“Maybe not.”

He looks at Zong Zaichi in the mirror.

Such refined clothing.

Such a nauseating face.

The expensive suit hides a naked body with a graceful nude woman.

Who could imagine the stoic Zong family heir has his own sister’s naked body tattooed on his back?

Her spread legs align with his hips,

A visual unity.

The image is like a nightmare. It haunts him since childhood, chasing him relentlessly.

Even looking at his own face feels revolting.

He mocks. He hides no malice. He smiles.

“How do I feel you know him better?”

Silence.

Zong Zaichi’s face looks grim in the rearview mirror. She stares at the son in the passenger seat, whose young face resembles her own.

“We elders’ matters don’t need much explanation to you. But if you take us as a lesson, that’s for the best. Either way, I don’t want you to be foolish, son. Hold your position steady, okay?”

Such a considerate family.

But Zong Du has no interest in playing along.

He glances at the driver outside. The driver understands. He opens the car door for him.

As he’s about to step out, Zong Zaichi stops him.

“In two days, it’s your aunt’s birthday. I’ve always been good to you. Don’t miss the party.”

“Aunt, calling me out specially, not just to remind me about a gift, right?”

Zong Min’en finishes speaking. Zong Caizhi’s sitting across from him. She laughs.

“Expect a gift from you? That crystal ball you gave me last year still sings. Your uncle thought some kid sent it. Min’en, at your brother’s age, your grandfather already took him to the company. Why don’t you ever grow up?

You and brother are so capable. It’s reasonable for me to lie low. Besides—”

She clutches her chest. She shows a frail expression. She speaks weakly.

“My heart isn’t good.”

Zong Caizhi signals the waiter to pour hot tea for Zong Min’en.

“You need to learn to share your brother’s burdens. Yan Xue is the student council president at Qianchuan now, right? Min’en, Qianchuan is our Zong family’s school. How can an outsider hold power? Your brother has no interest in this. You need to take up this responsibility, as a birthday gift to your aunt, okay?”

Zong Min’en lowers his gaze, looks at his fingers, and smiles after a moment.

“Sure, student council president, managing students, setting rules—I’m good at that.”

Leaving the teahouse, Zong Min’en looks up at the sky. He asks the driver waiting nearby.

“Do I look like a fool?”

The driver dares not speak.

Zong Min’en feels wistful.

“How can Aunt think I’m a fool? First, make me student council president. Next, have me replace my brother? After all, I won’t live long, and my brain’s no good. When Grandpa dies, the position naturally falls to Aunt. But I’m not that stupid, am I?”

The problem is, in the years he’s away from Li City,

What does Zong Du do to offend Zong Caizhi?

Doesn’t she treat him like her own son?

Why would she want her son replaced, supporting an unfamiliar nephew?

“Still going to the hospital?”

The driver asks hesitantly.

Zong Min’en stretches his muscles.

“Of course. My classmate got hurt because of me. How can I not visit?”

The hospital is far from peaceful.

Yu Yuan’s mother never imagines getting a call at night saying her son is in the hospital.

She arrives. She sees Yu Yuan’s bandaged feet. She nearly faints.

She angrily questions the doctor and the teacher who brought Yu Yuan. She demands to know what happened.

But upon hearing the Zong family’s name, her fury helplessly fades.

Yu Yuan’s father arrives half an hour later. His collar reeks of strong perfume. Seeing his wife, he frowns impatiently.

“You’re supposed to care for the kid, and this happens. What can you do right?”

Yu Yuan’s mother is usually domineering. She lowers her voice humbly.

“Ah Yuan got hurt at school by that Zong family son exiled to Li Jin.”

“Zong family?”

Yu Yuan’s father frowns.

“How does he provoke someone from the Zong family?”

This is what Yu Yuan’s mother wants to know too.

Yu Yuan’s father glances at the ward, confirms Yu Yuan isn’t in danger, then leaves hurriedly.

Yu Yuan’s mother seethes with resentment. Her husband is never faithful. He keeps a flock of women outside. He’s now entangled with a new secretary. That young secretary, in her early twenties, is full of collagen. It outshines her high-tech beauty. She comes to their home to pick up her husband’s forgotten files, calls her “Madam” in a sultry tone, says Mr. Yu works hard and won’t return tonight. She promises to take good care of him.

She doesn’t hate these vixens outside. She only hates that financial control isn’t in her hands.

If she holds the money, the power dynamic shifts.

There were such times.

When she introduces that foolish old friend to the Yan family,

The Yan family returns the favor. They give the Yu family several deals. During that time, her husband treats her like a VIP, comes home on time daily, and plays the perfect husband.

Sun Huizhen…

That woman was truly beautiful.

When she first visits her home, even her husband has thoughts about her.

At school, too, being friends with her, everyone’s eyes focus on Sun Huizhen.

If that handsome thug hadn’t gotten her pregnant,

She might marry better than her.

Good thing she’s now—

“Auntie, what are you thinking? Why does your expression look strange? Are you okay?”

A girl with a face like Sun Huizhen’s bends down in front of her.

Yu Yuan’s mother jumps. Her expression is terrified.

“You, you—”

Ling Jia smiles. She sits beside her.

“You forget me? I’m Sun Huizhen’s daughter, Ling Jia. I visit your home with my mother before. I’m friends with Yu Yuan too.”

Yu Yuan’s mother composes herself. She speaks coldly.

“The doctor says Ah Yuan needs rest. You don’t need to visit.”

“That’s not polite.”

Ling Jia speaks earnestly.

“After all, Yu Yuan gets targeted by Zong Min’en because he’s my dance partner.”

“What did you say?!”

Yu Yuan’s mother hears clearly. She flares with anger. Her pent-up rage finds an outlet. She looks at Ling Jia’s face. She instantly understands the whole story.

“You dare come here? When your mother brought you to my house, I knew you’re no good! Now you get my Ah Yuan sent to the hospital. Are you satisfied?”

Living in luxury for years, her curses grow sparse.

If it were over a decade ago, she’d throw out words like “whore” or “slut.”

Soaked in high society too long, people turn hypocritical.

She shouts accusations sharply. She still shows off the dazzling jewelry on her fingers.

“Auntie, what are you saying? I visit because I worry about Yu Yuan. Besides, I don’t know Zong Min’en targets him. Just like you don’t know my mother gets sent to prison by the Yan family, meets an accident, and suddenly passes away, right?”

That face…

That face, too similar to Sun Huizhen’s.

It always makes her heart race with fear when it looks at her.

Her expression control fails.

What she thinks shows clearly on her face.

Ling Jia finds it amusing. She asks softly.

“Auntie, why do you look so pale? Is Yu Yuan’s condition bad? Well, with such hard steel pellets hitting his feet, no one recovers that fast, right?”

When she leans forward, she reveals a vivid red bite mark near her collarbone.

The suggestive mark sparks too many thoughts in Yu Yuan’s mother.

“You… you do it on purpose?!”

“How can you say that? He’s my friend. Because we’re friends, I invite him to the dance, make him my partner. I can’t predict what happens after.”

Ling Jia smiles. She comforts her.

Her face is too deceptive.

Malicious words. Yet her round, clear eyes make them seem so sincere. As if it’s all unexpected, purely accidental.

To Yu Yuan’s mother, it’s like a porcelain doll from a horror movie that devours hearts and livers.