CHAPTER 108: 106 ATTACK OF ZHOU ZHENG

Actually, what Tian Sangsang said before must have been true, right? She saw Zhou Zheng and Tian Tian getting intimate on the back mountain. But how did she respond to her at that time? She didn’t believe her and even thought she harbored dirty intentions.

Chen Ying thought about this, her heart aching bitterly with a mix of guilt and grievance, and without realizing it, her eyes reddened.

Chen Ming frowned, staring blankly as Tian Tian descended from the stage. Her smile was radiant, her figure graceful and alluring, her demeanor delicate and obedient. To anyone unfamiliar with her, seeing her like this, no one would ever think she was an indecent girl.

Tian Tian quickly sensed Chen Ming’s familiar gaze lingering on her. The smile on her face grew even brighter—he still couldn’t let her go... Chen Ming. Such a pity. From today on, they were destined to be people from two different worlds. Very soon, she and Zhou Zheng would be leaving this dilapidated village.

"Teacher Zhou is about to take the stage." A voice drew everyone’s attention.

Zhou Zheng was dressed in a worn Zhongshan suit, washed so much it had faded, but it fit him well. He stood straight, scholarly, genteel and courteous; the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and the black fountain pen tucked into his front pocket further symbolized his identity as a learned man.

The village girls couldn’t take their eyes off him.

Five years ago, Ye Jiang, who suddenly arrived in the village, was the heartthrob. Now, Zhou Zheng was the village’s new heartthrob. Although the young man staying at Tian Sangsang’s house now looked even better, that man had a lame leg.

Chen Ming’s veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Zhou Zheng on the stage, wishing he could tear him apart. That hypocrite!

Chen Ying’s face was cold. Before, Zhou Zheng like this would have captivated her. But now, what she felt more was heartbreak. She had already seen through the soul underneath Zhou Zheng’s refined exterior—it was completely different from Ye Jiang’s soul. Was she really in love with Zhou Zheng, or with Ye Jiang? Zhou Zheng and Ye Jiang, in her heart, were two entirely different people.

She still remembered that time when her father had asked her to go and greet the new teacher. She stood at the village entrance, watching as a tractor carried him into the village. He stepped off, looking somewhat disheveled but carried an air of solemnity.

"My name is Zhou Zheng. I want to be a teacher, a good teacher." Those were his very own words.

The him from back then and the him now were completely different. Back then, she had truly fallen for the man he was, and that feeling had gone straight to her heart.

Tian Sangsang saw the scene unfold and felt nothing in particular. She was only a little curious—looking at Chen Ming and Chen Ying, it seemed they knew the truth now. How could Zhou Zheng still act so freely, yet nothing had escalated? And there wasn’t even a whisper from anyone about Chen Ming and Tian Tian’s affair. It was as if the whole village still didn’t know.

Standing on the stage, Zhou Zheng’s smile was serene and composed. "Hello Deputy Secretary, hello village chief, hello everyone, elders and fellow villagers. Seeing everyone so enthusiastic today, I’d like to humbly offer a song to our great motherland, to our shared homeland."

The Deputy Secretary, having overheard the villagers’ chatter earlier, leaned toward the village chief and asked, "Is this young man the village’s teacher?"

"Yes," the village chief replied. "Just transferred here at the start of the year to teach primary school."

"Last time you mentioned Yingzi had a teacher as her partner, was it him?"

"Yes," the village chief hesitated, "but they’re no longer together now."

The Deputy Secretary looked puzzled.

"Let the young people handle their own affairs," the village chief explained. "Maybe it was just a short-lived fling. They didn’t get along, so they broke up. Young hearts are fickle."

The Deputy Secretary didn’t push the matter and instead asked calmly, "Did he volunteer to transfer to the village as a teacher?"

"Not exactly," the village chief shook his head. "It’s said that he caused some trouble at a city school and was sent to our village for rehabilitation. Apparently, it concerned... conduct issues."

Conduct issues—those things were all too familiar.

The Deputy Secretary nodded and smiled slightly. "Let’s not discuss conduct issues today. Teacher Zhou’s rendition of ’China’ was truly remarkable."

As the melody progressed, Zhou Zheng’s passionate yet heartfelt singing awakened the villagers’ deep-seated patriotism. By the end of the song, Zhou Zheng received overwhelming praise.

"Teacher Zhou really lives up to being a city person. His singing is far better than mine from earlier."

"No doubt about it. Tian Tian’s singing was good too, but the two of them were the best."

"I’ve never heard this song before. I’m barely literate, but just hearing Teacher Zhou sing it, I can understand its meaning."

"As expected from a scholar. He even thinks about the nation. All we think about is our daily life—we don’t get that deep."

"What nonsense! If the nation prospers, so do we. If the country fails... think about the tough times the older generation endured. Compared to them, we’re already blessed."

As talk of the older generation arose, many couldn’t hold back tears. Some had been children back then, and now, through the vicissitudes of time, they had grown old, become grandparents themselves.

No, no, no! Zhou Zheng wasn’t what everyone thought he was! He wasn’t that good at all!

"Zhou Zheng!" Chen Ying suddenly stood up with a jolt, her eyes blazing with anger, her face full of hatred as she pointed at him.

"Yingzi." Zhou Zheng seemed surprised to see her stand, but his gaze carried a hint of meaning as he looked directly at Chen Ming.

"Yingzi, what are you doing? Everyone’s here. Sit down," Chen Ming said nervously. Zhou Zheng, that despicable hypocrite! "Whatever it is, we’ll talk about it later."

The villagers’ curiosity was instantly piqued. Yesterday, Teacher Zhou was beaten—supposedly by Chen Ming. And someone said Chen Ying and Zhou Zheng had broken up, though they hadn’t believed it at first. Now it seemed like it was true. But the reason they broke up was... ???

"I’m not sitting!" Chen Ying brushed away Chen Ming’s hand, her voice impassioned, as her eyes swept over the villagers. She raised her voice in anger. "Today, I’m going to tell everyone something. Some people, once they’ve done something, they’ve done it. Don’t think they can cover it up. Let me tell you all, Zhou Zheng, he—"

"Yingzi," Tian Sangsang suddenly stood up as well. Her voice was calm but carried a quiet authority that made everyone instinctively look at her.

"Chen Ying is trying to help me speak. I’m going to sing," Tian Sangsang smiled.

"No, that’s not it!" Chen Ying’s eyes widened in disbelief. What was she saying? Why interrupt her?

"I’m going to sing." Tian Sangsang repeated herself, making sure everyone heard her declaration.

"You..." Chen Ying murmured. She wanted to stop her. They had grown up together—she knew Tian Sangsang couldn’t sing. She was setting herself up for humiliation.

The villagers were equally astonished.

Zhou Zheng observed Chen Ying’s anxious expression and felt a secret sense of triumph. Wasn’t this exactly what he wanted? For Tian Sangsang to go up and sing. If she couldn’t sing, all the more reason for her to do it.

He hadn’t expected them to bring it up first.