Chapter 336 - 211: Backed by a Trillion Lu Fans! Jiang Sifan Gives Thanks

Chapter 336: Chapter 211: Backed by a Trillion Lu Fans! Jiang Sifan Gives Thanks

"Old Xu, step outside for a moment," his superior said.

Mr. Xu quickly stood up and followed his superior into the hallway.

His superior looked at him, his tone calm but tinged with scrutiny. "That lawsuit... is your son involved?"

"Yes," Mr. Xu nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed.

His superior was silent for a few seconds before speaking. "Old Xu, you’ve worked at the court for so many years. You should know the implications of something like this. Our court is under public scrutiny, so the conduct of our families and our image are very important."

Mr. Xu lowered his head, unsure of what to say.

His superior patted his shoulder, his tone softening. "I’m not criticizing you, just giving you a reminder. You need to handle this properly. No matter what, you can’t let personal matters affect your work."

"Sir, I understand," Mr. Xu replied quickly.

After his superior left, Mr. Xu remained standing in the hallway, not moving for a long time.

He took a deep breath and began walking briskly toward the exit, calling Mrs. Xu as he went.

"Where are you? Meet me at the courthouse entrance. We’re going to the school, now."

...

「Twenty minutes later」

Mr. and Mrs. Xu arrived at the school in a frantic hurry.

Pushing open the office door, Mr. Xu’s eyes immediately fell on Xu Junjie, who was standing off to the side.

He had his head down like a child who’d done something wrong, but his face still held a trace of defiance.

A wave of fury surged through Mr. Xu.

He strode over and, without a word, raised his hand and slapped him across the face.

SLAP!

The crisp sound echoed through the office.

Everyone froze, stunned.

Xu Junjie clutched his face, staring at his father in disbelief.

Mrs. Xu rushed forward to hold Mr. Xu back, crying out, "What are you doing?! Why are you hitting him?!"

The others in the office hurried over to intervene, pulling Mr. Xu away.

"Mr. Xu, calm down, please calm down!" Principal Luo urged.

Mr. Xu was panting, the rims of his eyes red with fury.

He turned to Principal Luo and the other teachers and gave them a deep bow.

"Principal Luo, to all the teachers, I am so sorry." His voice was hoarse, laced with suppressed anger and helplessness. "I have failed to discipline my son. A child’s misdeeds are the father’s fault. I have caused trouble for the school."

Principal Luo quickly helped him up. "Mr. Xu, please, don’t do this. We can talk this out."

Mr. Xu straightened up, turned, and pointed a trembling finger at Xu Junjie.

"How many times have I told you? Huh? How many times have I warned you?" His voice grew louder and sterner. "Stay out of trouble, stay out of trouble! But you just wouldn’t listen! And now look! You’re being sued! Slander, picking quarrels and provoking trouble—do you have any idea what those charges mean?"

Clutching his face, Xu Junjie finally started to panic.

He looked at his mother, his voice breaking into a sob. "Mom, I was wrong. I was really wrong... Teacher, I was wrong..."

He then turned to Principal Luo, tears welling in his eyes. "Principal Luo, how about this? I can go find Jiang Sifan and apologize. I’ll apologize to him, is that okay?"

"It’s not as simple as an apology anymore," Principal Luo sighed, his tone filled with resignation. "Jiang Sifan’s guardian seems dead set on pressing charges, and they’re demanding the school take an official stance. I don’t know if you’ll be able to settle this privately."

Hearing this, Xu Junjie was thrown into a full-blown panic.

He was only one year away from graduation. If he was expelled over this, or worse, went to jail...

He couldn’t bear to think about it.

He looked at his father, his voice cracking. "Dad, what do I do? You have to help me! I really know I was wrong now!"

Mr. Xu looked at him, his heart aching with a mixture of anger and pain.

But getting angry was useless now.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He looked at Principal Luo and asked, "Principal Luo, would it be possible to have Student Jiang come here? We’d like to apologize to him in person."

"I’ll make a call and ask," Principal Luo said with a nod after a moment’s thought.

He stepped out of the office, took out his phone, and dialed Lu Fan’s number.

"President Lu, this is Principal Luo." His tone was very respectful. "Xu Junjie’s parents are here. They wish to apologize to Student Jiang Sifan in person. What are your thoughts...?"

On the other end of the line, Lu Fan was silent for a few seconds. "Let him decide for himself," he said. "If he wants to forgive them, fine. If he doesn’t, I’ll back him all the way to the end."

"Right, I understand," Principal Luo replied at once.

After hanging up, he said to a teacher standing nearby, "Please go and get Student Jiang Sifan."

...

「Meanwhile」

Jiang Sifan was in his workshop, going over the accounts.

Wen Wan was beside him helping, and the two worked in comfortable silence.

Suddenly, Jiang Sifan’s phone buzzed.

He picked it up to see a message from Jiali.

Jiali: [Sifan, regarding the Xu Junjie case, I’ve already filed the lawsuit. The school is also aware and is handling it. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your name is cleared this time.]

Jiang Sifan stared at the message, stunned.

He hadn’t expected Jiali to move so quickly; the suit had already been filed.

He was even more surprised that the school had gotten involved so fast.

He suddenly thought of the person behind Jiali.

Lu Fan.

’He must be the one pushing all of this forward.’

’Although I don’t want to admit it, I know that if it weren’t for Lu Fan, this would never have been handled so quickly or so thoroughly.’

He remembered what Jiang Silu had said.

"Dad has been silently lifting us up all this time."

’It seems... that’s really true.’

A complex mix of emotions suddenly welled up inside Jiang Sifan.

He felt moved, a sense of warmth, and something else he couldn’t quite name.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Student Jiang Sifan, Principal Luo would like to see you in his office," a teacher said from the doorway.

Jiang Sifan, surprised, asked, "What for?"

The teacher replied, "Xu Junjie’s parents are here. They want to apologize to you in person."

Jiang Sifan was silent for a few seconds, then stood up and said to Wen Wan, "I’ll go see what this is about."

Wen Wan nodded, her eyes filled with concern.

Just as Jiang Sifan reached the door, his phone buzzed again.

It was a text message.

He opened it. It was from Lu Fan.

Lu Fan: [Sifan, if you want to forgive them, Dad will support that. If you want to see this through to the very end, Dad will absolutely back you up. Don’t be afraid.]

Jiang Sifan stared at the message for a long time.

A warm feeling spread through his chest.

He put his phone away, took a deep breath, and walked toward the office.

...

Inside the office, the atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Xu Junjie stood in a corner with his head down, the red mark of a handprint still visible on his cheek.

Mrs. Xu was wiping away tears beside him, while Mr. Xu stood to the side, his face grim.

The door opened.

Jiang Sifan walked in.

All eyes fell on him.

Principal Luo quickly beckoned him over. "Student Jiang, come, have a seat."

Jiang Sifan shook his head. He remained standing and looked at Xu Junjie.

Mr. Xu stepped forward and gave him a deep bow.

"Student Jiang, I failed to raise my son properly, which led him to make such terrible mistakes. I apologize to you on his behalf."

Jiang Sifan was taken aback and quickly moved to help him up. "Sir, you don’t have to do this."

Mr. Xu straightened, his eyes slightly red. "Student Jiang, I know an apology isn’t enough, but I’m still begging you to give him a chance. He’s young and foolish, and he still has a whole life to live. Can you please find it in your heart to be the bigger person and forgive him this one time?"

Jiang Sifan was silent.

He looked at Xu Junjie.

Xu Junjie stood there with his head lowered, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Jiang Sifan suddenly recalled the text message he had just received.

[If you want to forgive them, Dad will support that. If you want to see this through to the very end, Dad will absolutely back you up.]

He suddenly smiled.

’That man... he’s really giving me the power to choose.’

He took a deep breath and said to Mr. Xu, "Sir, I can forgive him, but on one condition."

"Tell me. Anything," Mr. Xu nodded eagerly.

Jiang Sifan looked at Xu Junjie and said, word by word, "He must admit, in front of the entire school, that he spread those rumors. He won’t be apologizing to me. He’ll be answering to everyone."

Xu Junjie froze when he heard this.

’If I really do that, then everyone at school who knows me will find out what I did.’

After a two-second silence, Mr. Xu turned to his son and said in a low, stern voice, "Did you hear him?"

Xu Junjie kept his head down, silent for a long time.

Then, he lifted his head, looked at Jiang Sifan, and nodded.

"Fine. I’ll do it."

Jiang Sifan looked at him, then turned to Principal Luo and the others. "I’m sorry, Principal, for causing the school so much trouble."

Principal Luo quickly reassured him, "Not at all, not at all. It’s good that we can discuss things and resolve them. The important thing is to de-escalate."

With that, Jiang Sifan turned and walked out of the office.

In the hallway, sunlight slanted in, feeling warm on his skin.

He took out his phone and looked at the message again.

After a moment, he typed out a single word.

Jiang Sifan: [Thank you.]