The little hands that were once warm and cozy are now ice-cold.
He bent down and squatted in front of Qin Xiao, looking at his son whose head was almost drooping to his chest.
"Xiao'er." Gu Tang gently but firmly lifted Qin Xiao's chin.
He looked Qin Xiao in the eye and asked, "Are your classmates like this usually?"
Gu Tang's voice was calm, and his gaze was calm as well.
Qin Xiao's eyes flickered.
He dared not look his father in the eye, nor did he dare to break free from the grip on his chin.
Qin Xiao could only look pitifully into the distance.
"Is that so too?" Gu Tang asked again.
His tone was still patient, but Qin Xiao felt he heard the barely suppressed anger hidden beneath that patience.
Is Dad angry?
Qin Xiao's eyes widened instantly.
He looked at Gu Tang with a panicked expression and shook his head vigorously.
Then, he nodded quickly.
"So, that's what your classmates usually say about you?" Gu Tang's voice turned somber.
Qin Xiao blushed and looked at Gu Tang, at a loss for what to do.
He didn't know whether he should nod or not.
He had never seen a father like this before.
He didn't care at all about his classmates or what others said about him.
They didn't even care what the teacher said about them.
But he was so scared!
He was afraid that Gu Tang also disliked him and would call him a barbaric and cold-blooded little monster.
He's not a monster!
Qin Xiao shook his head frantically.
No, he's not a little monster!
His eyes also reddened, and his big, round eyes were filled with tears.
"Don't cry." Gu Tang reached out and gently wiped away Qin Xiao's tears that were about to spill.
He straightened up and took a deep breath.
Then he lowered his head and smiled slightly at his son.
The smile was cold, but not as cold as Gu Tang's voice: "Come on, Dad will take you to teach them a lesson. Talking badly about others behind their backs is what really means to be ill-mannered."
Qin Xiao's heart immediately settled back into his chest.
He was led by the hand by Gu Tang and walked out of the teaching building.
Every step felt like walking on clouds.
Light and airy, like a dream.
—It turns out that Dad didn't blame him at all.
—It turns out that Dad was on his side.
But……
Qin Xiao had only been floating around for a short while when he felt a little guilty and secretly went to look at Gu Tang.
Does Dad know that he scared his classmates to tears by piloting a mecha at school?
If I knew, would I...?
Qin Xiao's little heart was about to twist into a knot again.
what to do?
He not only scared his classmate to tears by piloting the mecha, but also frightened the other person so much that he wet his pants and developed a persistent high fever.
They even called my parents in!
He kept it a secret from Gu Tang.
what to do?
If Dad finds out about this, will he scold him?
Will I ever like him again?
Qin Xiao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
With the gate right in front of him, a brilliant idea struck him.
Qin Xiao quickly tugged at Gu Tang's clothes and swiftly accessed his personal terminal, typing: "Toilet."
"Do you need to go to the restroom?" Gu Tang stopped in his tracks as expected.
He looked around, made sure he knew which way was which, and led Qin Xiao toward the restroom at the end of the corridor.
As soon as they reached the bathroom door, Qin Xiao immediately let go of Gu Tang's hand and rushed inside.
He was really anxious. As soon as he closed the door, he immediately brought up his personal terminal and quickly sent a message to Qin Junche: "I ran into classmates and parents. They're going to complain. It's really urgent!"
He quickly sent the message, not daring to stay inside any longer for fear of worrying Gu Tang.
Qin Xiao took a deep breath, turned around, opened the door, and ran out.
Although he was still a little scared, the thought that his other father was also at the academy at the moment gave Qin Xiao a little more confidence.
Gu Tang smiled reassuringly at him and took his hand again as they walked out of the teaching building.
Outside the Imperial Royal Kindergarten building, more and more students and parents gathered.
They were mostly from wealthy or noble families, and they knew each other to some extent.
When they gathered together, they used criticizing and blaming Qin Xiao as a topic, which quickly opened up their social circle, and they naturally started chatting together.
When Gu Tang walked over hand in hand with Qin Xiao, it was like a sudden blast of lightning in a bustling crowd.
Initially, it was the parents facing his direction who saw him.
Soon, more and more parents and students saw Gu Tang, and Qin Xiao, who was being led by the hand.
They instinctively shut their mouths.
Although these people all look down on Qin Xiao and Gu Tang.
But their background and upbringing still made them feel that talking badly about others behind their backs was not a very honorable thing to do.
Gu Tang could feel his son's little hands become cold and sweaty again.
He looked down and smiled at him.
Then he looked around.
He looked at the ever-changing expressions on the parents' faces, raised an eyebrow, and smiled somewhat sarcastically: "So many adults and children gathered together just to talk badly about my son behind his back?"
Gu Tang's provocation angered one of the parents.
He immediately shouted, "Like father, like son! Your son is unreasonable and domineering, barbaric and cold-blooded at such a young age. What? You, as a father, think it's something to be proud of raising such a son?"
"Exactly! The whole family are poor people with no manners."
"Being poor is nothing to be ashamed of; what's terrible is not being ashamed of it but taking pride in it."
"Absolutely! How could the academy admit such a student? It's utterly disgusting!"
...
This time, the parents stopped gossiping behind each other's backs and started attacking each other to their faces.
"Are you finished?" Gu Tang interrupted them coldly, "What heinous thing did Qin Xiao do to provoke such a large group of you to attack him?"
"What did he do?" one parent sneered. "He's always been a loner and doesn't know how to socialize. But because a classmate didn't invite him to their birthday party, he beat the kid so badly that the kid developed a high fever and is still in the hospital."
"They even injured my son."
“They hung my son on a big tree on the hill behind the school. He couldn’t get up or down, and he cried for a long time before we found him and rescued him.”
"Even my daughter was scared to tears by him."
...
Once one person started it, everyone else began to feel indignant.
Well……
Gu Tang was genuinely a little surprised.
He thought his son was isolated and bullied by his classmates because he was quiet and talented in mecha.
Wasn't that the case before?
Gu Tang looked down at Qin Xiao.
He couldn't just listen to one side of the story: "Xiao'er?"
He called Qin Xiao's name softly.
Qin Xiao quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at Gu Tang.
Gu Tang understood somewhat; it seemed that these things weren't entirely fabricated.
He didn't care that so many students and their parents were still angrily criticizing Qin Xiao.
Gu Tang leaned down, his gaze meeting his son's, and said softly, "Xiao'er, Dad knows you're not a bad child. Can you tell Dad why you did these things?"
Qin Xiao's face turned bright red, and she twisted her two little hands together in front of her.
He still refused to speak, and Gu Tang was a little helpless.
He wasn't the kind of father who blindly protected his son.