Chapter 226: Brushing It Off Lightly
After attending the auction, and then having the wine tasting coming up, if there hadn’t been several days in between, Gu Qinghuan probably wouldn’t have been able to hold up.
The students of Class Three all felt that Gu Qinghuan had really been pushing herself this time. They secretly slipped snacks into her desk, or whenever they bought something tasty, they made sure to share a bite with her.
Gu Qinghuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she still accepted everyone’s kindness.
Meanwhile, Bao Qingsong’s investigation had hit another bottleneck—Wei Yan had cleaned things up far too thoroughly back then. So he decided to put it aside for now and handle something else.
That’s right—he went to find Lin Zhulu.
Lin Zhulu was quite surprised to receive Bao Qingsong’s invitation to lunch.
Although everyone in Class Three got along well, when it came to eating lunch, people still tended to stick with their closer friends.
Her seat was one row away from Bao Qingsong’s—they weren’t close enough for him to casually invite her to lunch.
But precisely because of that, his invitation must mean he had something to talk about, so Lin Zhulu readily agreed.
Because it was spring, Mingde’s cafeteria had recently introduced “Spring Bento”—pre-packed meals that could be reheated and taken anywhere on campus for a picnic.
At first, however, the students preferred to call it the “Rabbit Lunchbox.”
Not because of any rabbit-themed presentation, but because the dishes were light and fresh—full of spring vibes. In other words, it was basically all vegetables.
Out of curiosity, Gu Qinghuan had tried it once. After finishing, she went straight to the student council’s message board and wrote a three-hundred-word rant, criticizing it for lacking oil and meat, being bland and tasteless, and not suitable for teenagers’ growth.
Under student council supervision, the cafeteria made improvements to the side dishes, and only then did everyone start calling it “Spring Bento.”
Today, Bao Qingsong and Lin Zhulu each took a Spring Bento and found a quiet pavilion. They set down their meals and chatted while eating.
“Um…” Bao Qingsong began awkwardly, “Recently, because of the class monitor’s situation, I’ve been… investigating the Wei family.”
Just hearing the words “Wei family,” Lin Zhulu already guessed that Bao Qingsong had traced things back to her.
Perhaps because she had already prepared herself to tell everyone about it, she didn’t feel nervous at all upon hearing this. Instead, she felt a weight lift from her heart.
She gave Bao Qingsong a faint smile. “As expected of the head of intelligence—you found me, didn’t you?”
Seeing that she didn’t seem offended, Bao Qingsong relaxed, and his speech became much more natural. “Yeah… I didn’t expect your mother to be Wei Yan’s ex-wife—and that you’re his daughter.”
“Ugh,” Lin Zhulu’s face scrunched up like a bitter melon. “I really don’t want to hear that man’s name, nor have anything to do with him. After all, my mom had already divorced him by the time I was born.”
Bao Qingsong hurriedly apologized, flustered. “No, no, sorry, I worded that badly, I—”
“Don’t worry, I’m not blaming you,” Lin Zhulu quickly reassured him. “Let’s talk about the main issue. Since you found this out, what are you planning to do?”
Bao Qingsong gave a disclaimer first. “The situation is a bit complicated, and there’s no concrete evidence yet. After you hear this, you absolutely can’t tell anyone else.”
Lin Zhulu nodded firmly. “Alright, I won’t tell a soul. If I break my promise, I’ll eat rotten melons for the rest of my life!”
In Class Three, that kind of oath carried maximum weight. Only then did Bao Qingsong reveal his suspicion—that Xu Zhishu might have been a human trafficker in the past.
This guess truly shocked Lin Zhulu.
After calming herself, she asked, “So you think we could use this angle to influence the Wei family?”
Bao Qingsong scratched his head. “I haven’t fully figured it out. But if Xu Zhishu really is a criminal, Wei Yan would probably distance himself from her. And since Wei Xiao is her child, he should be affected too.”
“It’s just… I don’t know how much it would affect him. Though honestly, I’d love for Wei Xiao to transfer out of Mingde—then the class monitor’s problem would be solved too.”
Lin Zhulu felt it might not be that simple. Even though Wei Xiao was Xu Zhishu’s child, in Wei Yan’s eyes, he was still his son.
Even if Xu Zhishu had issues, Wei Yan would likely separate Wei Xiao from her—after all, that was the son he had always wanted.
Still… could they take advantage of this somehow? Like those times before when everyone worked together to stir things up?
Lin Zhulu couldn’t think of a good idea. Looking up, she noticed Bao Qingsong’s troubled expression. “Is there something else?”
“Nothing major,” Bao Qingsong said. “It’s just… your situation. It may not be related to this matter, but I’m not sure if it might affect things later.”
“It wasn’t that hard to uncover. I found it this time, but someone else might find it next time. I think… maybe you should find a chance to tell everyone?”
After saying that, he carefully watched Lin Zhulu’s reaction.
Lin Zhulu nodded calmly. “I was already planning to.”
She was a victim of Wei Yan’s preference for sons over daughters. She believed that once her classmates knew her identity, they wouldn’t doubt her stance.
However, she couldn’t guarantee that no one would feel that her previous silence meant she had been “standing by and doing nothing.”
Even if they understood, such a perception could still leave a chill in people’s hearts.
Hearing her answer, Bao Qingsong finally relaxed and continued eating his lunch.
As Lin Zhulu ate, she thought about how to tell everyone. In the end, she decided to go find Gu Qinghuan first—her class monitor would definitely come up with a suitable plan.
When Lin Zhulu approached her, Gu Qinghuan was momentarily stunned. “Huh?”
She had thought Lin Zhulu looked so serious because she wanted to discuss something important—but it turned out she was just revealing her identity…
Wait—Gu Qinghuan almost broke out in a cold sweat.
She had learned so much from the system lately that she had forgotten—in reality, she shouldn’t have known that Lin Zhulu was Wei Yan’s daughter.
Hearing it now, she should act more surprised.
Caught off guard, her “shock” wasn’t very convincing. Fortunately, this wasn’t Lin Zhulu’s focus, so it barely passed.
Lin Zhulu simply asked seriously, “Class monitor, how do you think I should tell everyone about this?”
Gu Qinghuan replied, “Just say it directly. Explain why you didn’t say it before, too. Everyone will understand—after all, no one wants to be related to a cockroach.”
Lin Zhulu burst out laughing, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. “When you put it that way, it feels like I’ve been taking this too seriously. The Wei family isn’t even worth that much attention!”
Gu Qinghuan wholeheartedly agreed. Stroking her chin thoughtfully, she came up with a new idea. “How about this?”
She explained her plan to Lin Zhulu, who nodded repeatedly after hearing it. “Let’s do that! It’s perfect!”
So, when another classmate came to slip snacks into Gu Qinghuan’s desk, she casually brought up the auction.
“At the auction, I even saw Wei Xiao’s mother, Xu Zhishu. He really does look like her—good thing he doesn’t resemble Wei Yan, or he’d lose his only advantage in appearance.”
“I heard Xu Zhishu is Wei Yan’s second wife. I wonder who his first wife was.”
At that moment, Lin Zhulu, who just happened to be “passing by,” casually chimed in, “That would be my mom.”
Like a stone dropped into water, it caused ripples everywhere. Instantly, everyone surrounded Lin Zhulu.
But since it involved personal matters, no one knew how to ask directly, and they all hesitated awkwardly.
Lin Zhulu, however, spoke openly, saying it wasn’t anything worth making a big deal of, and laid out her identity in one go.
The classmates reacted with indignation, offering comfort to Lin Zhulu. Having encountered someone like that, her mother must have suffered greatly.
And as for having such a biological father—it was best to never have anything to do with him for the rest of her life.
Lin Zhulu listened with a smile, then secretly winked at Gu Qinghuan.
Gu Qinghuan smiled back.
Even though she still didn’t know what Lin Zhulu’s most tragic fate would be, at least now, if Lin Zhulu clashed with Wei Xiao at school, everyone would pay attention to her situation.
No matter what, having people on your side meant you wouldn’t be alone—and perhaps you could stay a little further away from the worst possible ending.
