Power and Wealth

Chapter 2021

Morning.

Around 8 a.m.

Lü’an City First Experimental Kindergarten.

Dong Xuebing drove the old Mercedes van that he had given to Qu Yunxuan years ago to drop off his child at school. As soon as he turned onto the street leading to the school, the car couldn’t move forward — the road was packed with vehicles dropping off kids. It was almost impossible to move an inch. This kindergarten was the best in Lü’an City. Every government official and businessperson in town wanted their kids here. So the traffic was understandable. At any other kindergarten, parents would likely use bikes or walk — this level of congestion wouldn’t happen.

With no other option, Dong Xuebing parked on the roadside, unbuckled his seatbelt, and waved to little Qianqian in the passenger seat.

“Come here, baby.”

“Heehee!” Little Qianqian crawled over immediately.

Dong Xuebing picked up his daughter and got out of the car. “Let’s go. Daddy’s taking you to school.”

Last night, Qianqian had kept them up again — wetting the bed and crying — and Qu Yunxuan had been up all night taking care of her. Now that Dong Xuebing was back, she handed the child over to him and finally went to catch up on sleep. So the task of taking Qianqian to kindergarten naturally fell to Dong Xuebing. But he didn’t mind at all — in fact, he was pretty happy. He’d never taken his daughter to school before and was in high spirits, humming a tune as he carried her through the school gates.

“Waaah!”

“I don’t want to go to school!”

“Mommy! I want to go home!”

It was chaotic both inside and outside the school. The air was filled with the cries of distressed children. Some of the kids had only started kindergarten a few days ago and hadn’t yet adapted to being apart from their parents. Crying and tantrums were everywhere.

But when Dong Xuebing looked at his daughter, she was calm and composed — what a trooper. Little Qianqian was even younger than most of the other kids, yet she wasn’t crying or fussing. She just looked around with a carefree smile while nestled in her dad’s arms.

“What class are you in?” Dong Xuebing asked.

“Class One — small group!” Qianqian replied in her babyish voice.

Dong Xuebing grinned. “Alright then. Let Daddy take you in.”

At the entrance to Class One’s room, many parents were dropping off their kids. For older groups, parents were usually not allowed inside to avoid chaos, but since this was a new class for young children, parents were permitted to enter.

“Qianqian!”

“Qianqian’s here!”

“Qianqian!”

As soon as they arrived, six or seven little kids greeted her. Two boys even came running up.

Dong Xuebing laughed and patted his daughter’s head. “Wow, look at you! So popular already, huh? Just like your old man back in the day.” (Of course, he was bragging — he was never that popular.)

Qianqian giggled and waved at them from her daddy’s arms. “Mingming! Tiantian! Pangpang!”

A little girl said, “Come down! I brought an entertaining toy today — my daddy bought it for me yesterday. Hey, is that your daddy?”

“I’ve never seen your dad before.”

“Isn’t it always your mommy who brings you?”

Qianqian’s little friends looked at Dong Xuebing curiously.

He set her down, and Qianqian proudly declared, “That’s my daddy! My daddy! Super pow! Power!” (She was still learning to speak correctly, but her pride was evident.)

“What makes your daddy powerful?” asked Mingming.

“Just is!” Qianqian didn’t know how to explain. But she was visibly proud.

Dong Xuebing felt a wave of warmth flood his heart. It was hard to put the feeling into words.

At that moment, a teacher said coolly, “Alright, time for class. Parents, please leave.”

Dong Xuebing crouched down and kissed his daughter’s cheek. “Daddy’s leaving now. Be good and listen to the teacher, okay?”

“Okay!” Qianqian said sweetly.

“Good girl.” He kissed her again and reluctantly turned to leave.

Qianqian clumsily ran into the classroom and began playing with the others. Everyone liked her. She was just too adorable. Not only the children but even the parents loved her. In the class, Qianqian was like a little celebrity — wherever she went, kids flocked to her. It was the power of her mother’s beautiful genes. Beauty did open doors. Dong Xuebing, on the other hand, had never been noticed as a child.

Outside the classroom—

“Hey, are you Qianqian’s parent?”

“Yes, I’m her dad.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Tiantian’s father.”

“Qianqian’s dad — we’ve never seen you before?”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy lately. Her mom usually brings her.”

A few parents started chatting as they walked downstairs together. With the kids as a common topic, conversation flowed easily.

Just as they were reaching the exit, someone mentioned that Class One had an “activity class” this morning — playing in the courtyard. Hearing this, Dong Xuebing reconsidered his decision to leave. Qu Yunxuan was sleeping at home anyway, and there wasn’t much to do there. So he quietly slipped away, found a hidden bench in a corner of the playground, and sat down. He decided to stay and secretly watch Qianqian. He couldn’t bear to part with her.

He lit a cigarette and waited.

About ten minutes later, the school gate closed, and the class bell rang.

Soon after, Dong Xuebing saw two teachers lead the kids downstairs. He immediately spotted Qianqian and smiled warmly. One female teacher led the activities, while a male teacher pulled out his phone and started playing with it on the side, completely ignoring the children. This made Dong Xuebing frown.

What kind of teacher is this? Playing on your phone during work hours — seriously? And this is the best kindergarten in the city? Irresponsible.

A few minutes later, the kids began running around and playing a game. Everyone was having fun — except Qianqian, who got bored quickly. She’d always been restless. She suddenly seemed to spot Dong Xuebing’s car outside the main gate and got excited, thinking her dad was still there. Her eyes lit up, and she ran toward the gate.

But the big iron gate was closed. She couldn’t get out.

“Qianqian, where are you going? Come back!” the female teacher called out. Seeing Qianqian ignoring her, she shouted to the male teacher, “Mr. Zhou, keep an eye on Qianqian!” She couldn’t leave — she had twenty kids to watch.

Little Qianqian clung to the gate and shouted, “Daddy! Daddy!”

Mr. Zhou, still playing on his phone, frowned and looked up. He put the phone away and walked over.

“Get back here! What are you doing?”

“Daddy! My daddy!” Qianqian pointed outside.

“All the parents are gone. Get back to class!” Mr. Zhou said impatiently.

Qianqian didn’t listen. She kept waving her arms, desperate to see if her dad was inside the van.

By now, Dong Xuebing had stood up, ready to go to her. But then, something happened that made his blood boil.

Mr. Zhou, annoyed, scowled and roughly grabbed Qianqian by the back of her collar, yanking her backward violently.

“Back to class!”

Qianqian was delicate — the beloved daughter of Dong Xuebing and Qu Yunxuan. They’d never even scolded her, let alone laid a hand on her. That sudden yank made her burst into tears.

“Waaah!”

The female teacher winced. “Be gentle!”

Mr. Zhou ignored her and went back to playing on his phone.

Dong Xuebing snapped.

“You son of a bitch!”

His eyes flared with rage as he stormed toward Mr. Zhou.

Qianqian spotted him and cried even harder. “Daddy! Daddy!”

Mr. Zhou looked up and saw Dong Xuebing coming, but it was too late. Before he could react, Dong Xuebing’s kick slammed into his gut, sending him flying over a meter before he hit the ground hard with a scream.

Dong Xuebing wasn’t done.

“You bastard! You dare touch my daughter like that? You out of your damn mind?!”

He kicked Mr. Zhou again.

“Ahhh!” Mr. Zhou screamed. But he wasn’t one to back down. He lashed out with his legs while still lying down, trying to fight back.

But could he beat Dong Xuebing? Not a chance. The gap in strength was too significant. He didn’t even land a hit and instead got kicked several more times.

The female teacher and all the children were stunned.

What kind of parent beats up a teacher like that?

The teacher rushed over to intervene. Upstairs, people noticed the commotion — more staff ran down.

“Stop fighting!”

“What are you doing?!”

“This is a school!”

“Who gave you permission to attack someone?”

“Mr. Zhou, are you okay?!”

Chaos erupted.