Chapter 191: Differential Treatment
When Wei Xiao got home, he was full of anger. He tossed his schoolbag straight at the servant who came forward to greet him. Fortunately, the servant reacted quickly and caught it—otherwise, if it had fallen to the ground, they would have been scolded again.
Without even sparing a glance, he walked straight inside and dropped onto the sofa, leaning his head back against the cushion, looking completely drained.
Xu Zhishu came out and asked with concern, “What happened?”
“The student council recruitment results came out. I’m not on the list.” Wei Xiao took a deep breath, but his displeasure was still obvious. “And I heard I ranked last in the voting. How exactly do people at Mingde judge things?”
By the end, he was already muttering curses.
Xu Zhishu gently patted his back to comfort him. “Maybe the one who got selected had connections beforehand. It’s just a high school student council—no need to get so upset.”
She didn’t know about Wei Yan and Wei Xiao’s plans. To her, the Mingde student council was just a group of high schoolers playing house—nothing worth taking seriously.
Hearing this, a trace of mockery flashed in Wei Xiao’s eyes.
He didn’t explain the true significance of the student council. Instead, he stood up and walked toward his room without looking back. “I’m going to rest. Let me know when Dad gets back.”
Xu Zhishu assumed he was just upset from the setback. She told the kitchen to prepare his favorite dishes for dinner, then returned to her room to continue watching her drama.
Wei Yan didn’t come home until after nine in the evening. He had been drinking, and his face was flushed.
Xu Zhishu had the kitchen bring over some sobering soup and asked a servant to call Wei Xiao.
Wei Yan sat on the sofa, slowly finished half a bowl of soup, then set it aside. He looked at Wei Xiao, who had just come over. “The student council results came out today, right? How did it go?”
Wei Xiao felt a little guilty and didn’t answer immediately.
Wei Yan already had his answer. He stood up and walked toward the study. “Come with me.”
Xu Zhishu was about to follow, but Wei Yan glanced at her, the haze of alcohol already gone from his eyes. “You don’t need to come. The two of us will talk.”
Since he said so, she could only stop awkwardly.
In the study, Wei Yan had already sat down behind his desk, leaning back and exhaling slowly. “Close the door.”
Wei Xiao did so and stood in front of the desk.
Without looking at him, Wei Yan asked calmly, “Didn’t get selected?”
That single word—“didn’t get selected”—sounded especially harsh to Wei Xiao.
He nodded unwillingly, then tried to justify himself. “But I already got in touch with Bai Hanshan and Xia He—”
“In a selection process that follows procedures, do the vice president and president have room to manipulate it?” Wei Yan cut him off.
Wei Xiao deflated. “No… voting is done through the app, results are immediate. But if they had spoken in advance…”
“Did you confirm whether they actually spoke on your behalf?” Wei Yan’s question remained sharp.
Wei Xiao fell silent.
Only then did Wei Yan look at him and say earnestly, “Since they never guaranteed anything, why were you so certain you were a chosen candidate? And during the interview, did you pay attention to how others performed?”
Now Wei Xiao had nothing to say. He hadn’t cared about others at all—he thought it was just a formality.
But hearing the word “others”, he suddenly thought of something else and protested, “I heard Gu Qinghuan didn’t even go through the process and was admitted directly…”
It wasn’t exactly a secret at Mingde that Gu Qinghuan had joined through connections. At the beginning, some student council members had resisted.
But who would dare oppose Xia He’s decision? His erratic behavior wasn’t new. Besides, she was only added as a personal secretary—not placed into any department to cause trouble—so everyone simply turned a blind eye.
Moreover, after she joined, Xia He even paid out of his own pocket to upgrade everyone’s office furniture. Not only did conditions not worsen—they improved.
As for working with her, it was even more reassuring.
Student council members: If you’re going to come in through connections, at least be like Gu Qinghuan, thank you.
Hearing Wei Xiao’s complaint, Wei Yan’s expression didn’t change. “That’s because Gu Qinghuan caught Xia He’s attention. You didn’t.”
Wei Xiao fell silent again.
After a moment of thought, Wei Yan asked, “After the one-month probation period, how likely is it that the selected student will remain?”
If the probation failed, the council would take the next person in line based on votes.
Wei Xiao found it even harder to answer. He ranked third—he wouldn’t even get the chance.
Seeing his reaction, Wei Yan understood. He sighed and rubbed his temples. “Forget it. What we need is just the student council member list. There are other ways to obtain it besides joining.”
“Think about it and tell me your plan,” he waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not satisfied with this outcome. Don’t disappoint me again.”
Wei Xiao left the study. As soon as the door closed behind him, he kicked at the air in frustration.
Other ways to get the list? What other methods could there be?
These connections couldn’t simply be bought. Even if he managed to trade for a few contacts, they would only be peripheral names.
Bribery? Hacking? The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded.
He even began to feel his father was overreacting. Even if those former student council members had achieved great success, would they really care about juniors from the same school?
If it was only meant as an entry point, how much value could it have?
Even so, the thought that he couldn’t even obtain a simple list made his mood even worse.
Then he thought of how Gu Qinghuan had dropped all pretense of politeness at lunch—leaving the meal he had ordered without hesitation. Extremely rude.
Ah, right—she was the president’s secretary. That meant she should have quite high access within the council.
Wei Xiao’s eyes flickered.
If he remembered correctly, during the interview voting, it was Gu Qinghuan who operated the backend of the student council app on her phone.
Perhaps she could easily obtain the member lists of past student councils?
If so, wouldn’t that mean—as long as he got Gu Qinghuan under control, everything would be solved?
Before returning to the country, his father had warned him not to “play with people mentally” like before. So he had been relatively restrained with Yu Yuan.
But Yu Yuan was a potential fiancée. What was Gu Qinghuan?
Even if Xia He backed her, as long as she herself didn’t think anything was wrong, Xia He wouldn’t be able to intervene.
Wei Xiao adjusted his clothes and walked toward his room.
It had been a long time since he had played like this. Might as well take this opportunity to relax a little.
Inside the study, Wei Yan pinched the bridge of his nose, then opened a drawer and took out a folder.
Inside were just a few thin sheets of paper—the first two were clearly personal files.
He flipped past the first page and looked at the photo on the top right corner of the second.
He couldn’t help clicking his tongue.
If he didn’t know that Lin Yueji would never cheat during marriage, he would have suspected this daughter wasn’t his at all—how could she look nothing like him?
She resembled Lin Yueji very much. Especially the eyes.
“Lin Zhulu…” he murmured, curling his lips. “Contending for supremacy under heaven, huh? A girl with a name like that—does she even have what it takes to carry it?”
Although he had no real interest in this daughter, she was still his blood, so he had someone investigate her after returning to the country.
From the results, Lin Zhulu was fairly average. That made him even less concerned.
As for the student council list—if Wei Xiao couldn’t get it, then so be it. It would only mean he needed to reconsider how to train him.
Still, he decided to give him a bit more time.
Who knew—maybe he would find another way.
Wei Yan closed the folder and tossed it back into the drawer.
After all, his son was still young. Spending more time to cultivate him was normal.
He just needed to be patient.
