When Zheng Yang got home, it was hard for Zheng Shiqiang not to notice her state.
Every time he saw her worrying about high school stuff, he felt like laughing.
After all, in his eyes, Zheng Yang might be a daughter, but she also had thirty-eight years of life experience and a male perspective—
Dealing with high school matters should have been a piece of cake for her.
But clearly, it wasn’t.
He just found it amusing.
He asked with a smile, “What’s wrong this time?”
“Dad, let me ask you something.”
Zheng Yang sat on the sofa, hugging a pillow and resting her chin on it.
“If a girl, she… ah, forget it, no use beating around the bush. That girl is me…”
Zheng Shiqiang smiled and nodded.
So Zheng Yang told him everything:
How she used to sling her arm around Zhang Zihan’s shoulders, how after her period she felt a little more feminine awareness and didn’t want to be so close with boys anymore, but Zhang Zihan kept initiating the shoulder-hugging and she didn’t know how to refuse.
She didn’t mention Siyuan, though—
She’d already talked about him last time.
Besides, if the Zhang Zihan problem got solved, the Siyuan issue would naturally resolve itself.
Zheng Shiqiang nodded seriously.
“Mm, before, you acted that way. Now you don’t want to, but a guy does that to you. If you flat-out refuse, it could indeed look like you’re being hypocritical.”
Seeing how serious he was, Zheng Yang felt touched.
“Dad, don’t you think this is so trivial and childish?”
“Why would I?”
Zheng Shiqiang looked puzzled.
“My daughter’s matters are all big matters. How is that trivial?”
Zheng Yang pursed her lips and smiled, feeling warm inside.
Zheng Shiqiang asked, “What’s that boy’s name again?”
“Zhang Zihan… Dad, you’re not going to mess with him, are you?”
“Where’s your head at?”
Zheng Shiqiang said, torn between laughter and tears.
“Let me ask you: before, did you only sling arms with him?”
“No, with several boys…”
Zheng Yang blushed just talking about it.
She had no idea how she’d done that back then.
“And now, how many people actively sling arms with you? A lot, or just Zhang Zihan?”
“Just Zhang Zihan.”
Zheng Yang felt like she knew what her dad was getting at.
“Mm, then this isn’t your problem—it’s Zhang Zihan’s problem.”
“Wow, Dad, you make it so simple and clear!”
Zheng Shiqiang chuckled.
“You could have figured it out too, but your emotions clouded your judgment.”
Zheng Yang thought about it—
That did seem to be the case.
But then Zheng Shiqiang made a joke that made her a little uncomfortable.
He said, “That’s how girls are, right.”
Yeah.
Men generally thought women were emotional creatures, easily swayed by feelings.
She used to think that way too, and now she’d become that very “species,” being teased about it by her father.
She didn’t want to be like this either…
“Getting back on track, Yangyang.”
Zheng Shiqiang gave a very kind smile.
“First, you need to tell yourself that the reason you’re uncomfortable now is that your body and mind are both telling you: some boundaries can’t be crossed anymore. That’s not being hypocritical—that’s growth.”
Zheng Yang froze.
Her first thought was:
I’m thirty-eight and I have to start growing from fifteen? But it made sense—
Her “female age” was less than half a year.
So she bit her lip and nodded.
“Second, I believe that since only Zhang Zihan acts this way toward you, he must also know in his heart what he’s doing. Otherwise, why would the other boys have a sense of boundaries and he doesn’t?”
“True.”
“So you can talk to him. If he calls you hypocritical, you can use the other boys to rebut him.”
“Mm…” Even though she agreed it made sense, Zheng Yang still seemed reluctant.
Zheng Shiqiang laughed again. “Are you afraid of hurting him?”
“I… I just haven’t figured out what exactly to say yet.”
“That’s fine. Say it when you think of it. If you really can’t think of anything…”
Zheng Shiqiang rubbed his chin.
“You can talk to your homeroom teacher, Li Chuandao. I’ve looked into that teacher—he’s a really, really good person.”
Right!
Zheng Yang’s eyes lit up.
The last time Teacher Li secretly watched me and I didn’t make a fuss, now I can call in that favor.
Wait, no—
There I go again, thinking like an old office drone.
Even without any favor, Teacher Li would definitely help me.
The fact that she hadn’t even thought of asking Teacher Li for help was because she was used to solving problems on her own after so many years.
But she told Zheng Shiqiang—
This man she trusted one hundred percent—
And he helped her figure it out.
She lunged at him, hugged him, said “Thanks, Dad,” and rubbed her cheek against his.
But the next second, she regretted it—
Not out of embarrassment, but because Zheng Shiqiang said, “Is Siyuan jealous?”
Zheng Yang was stunned.
She let go of the hug and sat down beside him.
“Nothing gets past you!”
Zheng Shiqiang smiled, patted her head with a look that said “I won’t ask more—the rest is up to you,” then stood up and left.
‘Leaves it at just the right point, Dad.’
—
The next day, Zheng Yang was still hesitating, but Siyuan’s coldness made up her mind.
She made an appointment with Teacher Li during lunch break, when the office was empty.
After explaining the situation, she made a point to add, “Teacher, I’m not telling you this to snitch.
Zhang Zihan can be a little mischievous—
He even gave me a nickname at the start of the semester—
But he’s actually a pretty decent person.”
Li Chuandao took a sip of water and smiled.
“I know. Brother Yang isn’t the type to snitch.”
“Teacher, how come even you…”
Zheng Yang pouted in exasperation.
Her cute look made Li Chuandao instinctively pat her head.
She didn’t flinch.
Because Teacher Li—
Even though she used to call him little bro in her mind—
His touch was nothing like Zhang Zihan’s.
It wasn’t clingy, didn’t cross any lines—
it was like her dad’s.
“Alright, Yangyang. How would you like me to handle this? Do you have any ideas?”
Zheng Yang thought for a moment, then said, “Teacher, how about this: pick a time to talk to Zhang Zihan alone. Say that you saw him putting his arm around my shoulder—more than once—and ask him what he thinks he’s doing. Tell him to watch his behavior.”
Li Chuandao asked, “What if he says, ‘Zheng Yang and I are just buddies—you’re overthinking it, Teacher’?”
“Then ask him why none of the other boys do those intimate moves.”
“What if he says, ‘Because I’m closest to Zheng Yang’? How should I respond?”
“…Just say: ‘You’re special, huh? Only you get to sling arms with Zheng Yang? Why don’t others do it? Because they know boundaries—they know what jokes to make with a girl and what jokes not to make…’ Something like that.”
Teacher Li looked at her, didn’t press further, just smiled.
“Alright, got it.”
He stood up and patted her on the shoulder.
“Yangyang, you’re a good kid.”
Teacher Li said.
“You don’t want to hurt anyone, and you don’t want anyone to misunderstand. Leave this to me. I’ll talk to Zhang Zihan. Don’t worry—I won’t say you told me.”
Zheng Yang’s eyes felt a little hot.
“Thank you, Teacher.”
“What’s with the formality?”
Teacher Li raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“You’re my class president—if I don’t help you, who will?”
Hearing that, Zheng Yang scratched her head and let out a silly laugh.
Walking out of the office, she let out a long breath.
She didn’t know exactly how Teacher Li would talk to Zhang Zihan, but she trusted him.
Turns out, not having to carry everything on her own felt pretty good.