She stared at the empty doorway, the scene of those stern-faced men taking her father away replaying in her mind like a slow-motion film.
"Dad..."
She murmured, tears once again overflowing.
A cold dread, like countless tiny hands, clutched tightly at her heart, leaving her breathless.
It was over, everything was over.
She collapsed onto the floor, her body trembling uncontrollably, her gaze fixed blankly on the direction Zhang Jianguo had been taken.
What to do? What was she to do?
Since childhood, she had been a princess held in the palm of his hand; Zhang Jianguo was her sky, shielding her from wind and rain, smoothing over everything. But now, the sky had fallen.
She haphazardly wiped away her tears, fumbling in her bag for her phone.
On the screen, the glaring trending topics were still constantly refreshing, every word like a sharp knife, piercing deeply into her heart.
That's right, Mom! She still had her mother!
Zhang Yining seemed to grasp at her last straw of hope, her fingers trembling until she finally dialed her mother Lin Zhiling's number.
The phone rang several times before it was answered. A slightly languid, yet still sweet and delicate voice, with a hint of elegance, came from the other end: "Hello, Ningning, it's so late, is something wrong?"
This voice, if heard normally, would have been pleasant to the ear, but at this moment, in Zhang Yining's ears, it seemed to come from another world, completely out of sync with the despair before her.
"Mom...Mom! Dad...Dad was taken away! Wuwuwu..." As soon as Zhang Yining heard her mother's voice, all her strength crumbled instantly, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
Lin Zhiling on the other end was clearly stunned for a moment, then her voice rose a few octaves, losing some of its sweetness and gaining a sharper edge: "What? Taken away? What happened! Who took him?"
"It was...it was people from the Disciplinary Committee...Wuwuwu...Mom, what do we do..." Zhang Yining choked, gasping for breath.
"The Disciplinary Committee?" Lin Zhiling's voice turned cold. "Ningning, stop crying first, speak slowly, what exactly happened?" Although her tone feigned calmness, the slight tremor in her voice still betrayed her inner turmoil.
Zhang Yining sobbed, speaking intermittently, and with great difficulty, she roughly recounted the events, from when Lu Xuan produced the PPT until her father was taken away.
Of course, she deliberately concealed the details of how she had "betrayed" her father by informing Lu Xuan.
Silence fell on the other end for a few seconds, then Lin Zhiling's voice rang out again, tinged with suspicion and gravity: "That Lu Xuan...how could he have so many, such detailed incriminating evidences against your dad? What is his background? Is he some high-ranking cadre's child with powerful connections?"
"I...I don't know," Zhang Yining choked. "My dad checked before, he said his family were just ordinary farmers, no background..."
"Hmph, ordinary farmers?" Lin Zhiling snorted coldly, her tone carrying a hint of disdain and contempt for Zhang Jianguo's ability to handle things. "Your dad is also useless! He can't even handle such a small matter! All those so-called friendships he painstakingly cultivated over the years, not a single one can be relied upon at a critical moment!"
She paused, then said in an unquestionable tone: "Ningning, don't panic, and don't be afraid. Mom will book a flight to Yanjing tonight. Your dad can't be relied on anymore, for this matter, I have to go back and ask your maternal grandfather for help."
When she mentioned the words "maternal grandfather," Lin Zhiling's voice unconsciously carried a hint of confidence.
"You go back to your dorm immediately, don't think about anything, get a good night's sleep, and wait for Mom to arrive."
Lin Zhiling impatiently gave a few instructions, then hastily hung up the phone, as if speaking another word would be a waste of time.
Zhang Yining held the beeping phone, rising to her feet in a daze.
Maternal grandfather...Mom is going to find maternal grandfather...Her impression of her maternal grandfather was very vague; she only knew that her maternal grandfather's family seemed to have a lot of influence, but her mother hadn't contacted that side of the family for many years.
She walked out of the restaurant in a daze, the night wind blowing on her face, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
Back at the dorm, she pushed open the door. The usually lively dorm was silent.
Her roommates were all sitting in their own places, but they had all stopped what they were doing in unison, looking at her in perfect synchrony.
Their gazes were complex and difficult to decipher, containing surprise, contempt, schadenfreude, and a faint hint of pity.
Clearly, they had all seen the trending topics online.
Zhang Yining's cheeks burned, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.
She lowered her head, walked silently to her bed, and quickly pulled the bed curtain, isolating herself from those scrutinizing gazes.
She threw herself heavily onto the bed, pulled the quilt tightly over her head, and muffled sobs escaped from beneath the covers.
She couldn't understand how things had turned out this way.
Brother Xuan...
She pulled out her phone, refusing to give up, and dialed Lu Xuan's number again. The familiar message "The number you dialed is currently busy" still came from the receiver. She knew she had been blocked.
Still unwilling to give up, she opened her green bubble app, found that their friendship was still intact, and quickly clicked on the chat box, her fingers flying across the keyboard, sending message after message:
"Brother Xuan, why did you do this to me?"
"What did I do wrong?"
"You clearly promised me, as long as I was obedient..."
The messages were like stones sinking into the sea, with no response.
Zhang Yining looked at the familiar profile picture on the chat interface, the side profile she had secretly drawn countless times, her heart aching as if cut by a knife.
She liked him so much, even to gain his approval, she didn't hesitate...she didn't hesitate to reveal her father's plan.
But what about him? He mercilessly pushed her and her family into the abyss.
Tomorrow, no, perhaps even tonight, the school would talk to her, and then came the withdrawal notice.
Her father had been taken away; she dared not imagine what would happen next.
Crying and cursing, Zhang Yining finally fell into a deep sleep, exhausted by humiliation, anger, and endless fatigue.
Meanwhile, after Lin Zhiling hung up the phone, her beautiful face had long lost its sweetness, replaced by a frosty expression.
Lin Zhiling, ten years ago, was a popular idol singer, famous across the country for her pure image and sweet voice.
However, at the peak of her career, she suddenly announced her permanent retirement from the music industry, disappearing without a trace, causing countless fans to sigh in regret.
No one knew that she did it for love, for Zhang Jianguo, who was nearly ten years older than her, was just a low-ranking clerk at the time, but was handsome and eloquent.
In those days, Zhang Jianguo was indeed graceful and distinguished, otherwise he wouldn't have fathered such an outstanding daughter as Zhang Yining.
With his sweet talk and relentless pursuit, he managed to charm Lin Zhiling, a favored daughter of heaven pursued by countless people, to the point where she was willing to break ties with her family to marry him.
Lin Zhiling's father, Old Master Lin, was an extraordinary figure, and he naturally disagreed with this marriage one hundred percent.
In his eyes, Zhang Jianguo was useless except for his face and his words, completely unworthy of his beloved daughter.
The father and daughter fought fiercely over this, and in the end, Lin Zhiling was determined to follow Zhang Jianguo and move far away, barely contacting her maiden family for many years.
At this moment, Lin Zhiling looked at her well-preserved face in the mirror, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes.
Zhang Jianguo, that useless man, more likely to mess things up than to succeed! It seems she had no choice but to humble herself and go back to beg the Old Master.
She just wondered if, after so many years, the Old Master would still acknowledge her as his daughter.