He spent most of his time at home, so how could he have crossed paths with someone so powerful? Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Mr. Shi thought of his daughter and immediately dialed Shi Feifei's number.
"Shi Feifei, did you offend someone you shouldn't have?" he demanded.
Shi Feifei was startled by his tone. "Dad, why are you yelling at me?"
"What exactly did you do?"
It was the first time Shi Feifei had ever been spoken to so harshly by her father, and she was taken aback. "I didn't do anything," she replied, on the verge of tears.
"Nothing? Our entire family is about to be ruined, and you say you did nothing?" Mr. Shi's anger flared.
Someone that even a figure as feared and respected as Zhao Yanwang would try to appease was definitely not someone he could have imagined. The fact that they hadn't even made a direct move yet, but just a slight gesture, had nearly destroyed them. If they did take action, the Shi family would be finished.
Shi Feifei was frightened. "Dad, I just had a conflict with that little bitch Zuri. I didn't offend anyone important. She's just an orphan. What could she possibly do?"
It seemed the issue revolved around this girl named Zuri.
"You need to apologize to her right now—immediately!" Mr. Shi ordered.
"I won't!" Shi Feifei shouted, hanging up the phone in defiance.
Why should she apologize? As for her father's claim that they were facing ruin because of her, she dismissed it as nonsense.
Looking at the disconnected call, Mr. Shi wasted no time. He instructed his driver to head to the capital immediately, not daring to delay for a moment.
By the evening, Mr. Shi had arrived at the school, found Shi Feifei, and dragged her to a lecture hall. Classes had just ended, and many students were still around. When they saw Shi Feifei being dragged by her father, they all stopped in their tracks.
Mr. Shi pulled her right in front of Zuri. "Zuri, I apologize on behalf of my daughter for her disgraceful actions. I'm here to make her apologize to you."
He then turned to Shi Feifei, commanding, "Apologize!"
Shi Feifei stubbornly stuck out her neck, refusing to back down. "No, I did nothing wrong," she said defiantly.
"Will you apologize or not?"
Mr. Shi's anger grew with every second. Seeing his daughter's unrepentant attitude, he suddenly felt the weight of his past indulgence, which had clearly led to her arrogance and lack of awareness.
In front of everyone's stunned gaze, Mr. Shi kicked Shi Feifei in the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel. He then pressed her head down in front of Zuri.
Shi Feifei was completely dumbfounded. It wasn't until her father was forcing her to bow her head to Zuri in apology that she realized what was happening.
Zuri was equally shocked by Mr. Shi's actions, jumping in surprise. "Uncle, there's no need for this."
But Mr. Shi held Shi Feifei down, not letting her up even as she cried and struggled.
If he didn't make her understand the severity of the situation today, the Shi family would inevitably be destroyed by her someday. He needed her to feel the weight of her actions!
The surrounding students were all stunned, staring in disbelief at Mr. Shi and then turning their eyes to Shi Feifei.
Mr. Shi signaled to the two subordinates he had brought with him, who quickly moved to hold Shi Feifei down.
"If you don't apologize today, don't bother getting up. As far as I'm concerned, I have no daughter named Shi Feifei."
Shi Feifei saw the grim look on her father's face and heard the finality in his words. It was then that she finally realized her father was serious and that Zuri indeed had the power to bring down their family.
All her previous pride and arrogance crumbled in the face of this harsh reality.
"I'm sorry! I was jealous of you and spread those rumors on purpose. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said through tears, which flowed freely as her eyes blurred with emotion.
More and more students crowded around to see what was happening. Zuri glanced at the growing throng and then turned to Mr. Shi. "This really isn't necessary. Please, let her get up."
"Zuri, you're a good girl. It's my failure as a father that led her to act so recklessly. I should be the one apologizing to you," Mr. Shi said, bowing deeply to Zuri in a formal apology.
His gesture left Zuri utterly taken aback.
Later that day, Mr. Shi left the school with Shi Feifei, and they also completed her withdrawal from school. The incident created a huge stir throughout the design department.
Zuri's reputation quickly spread across the entire department.
"We haven't even made a move, and her father is already here apologizing. Could it be..." Azura thought of the Feng family and the lunches that arrived every day.
Lunches delivered every day meant constant monitoring. Something as significant as this would have certainly caught the Feng family's attention immediately, but Azura hadn't expected them to act so swiftly.
In just one day, they had forced the other side to come and apologize.
What Azura had guessed, Zuri also considered.
After exchanging a glance with Zuri, Azura decided to say no more.
With Shi Feifei gone, a bed in the dormitory was left vacant. Both Esme and Shen Menglai felt a mixture of fear and curiosity after hearing others talk about how Shi Feifei's father had been forced to make her kneel and apologize to Zuri. They couldn't help but wonder about Zuri's background.
When Zuri entered the dormitory, Shen Menglai hesitated several times, wanting to speak, but couldn't bring herself to say anything.
Seeing that Zuri was about to get some hot water, Shen Menglai smiled and said, "I have hot water here. You can use mine first."
Zuri gave her a glance. "No, thank you."
She walked out of the dormitory with her kettle. As soon as she left, Shen Menglai's face darkened, and she muttered, "What's so great about her?"
Esme looked at her, then returned to her book.
Frustrated by Esme's indifference, Shen Menglai climbed onto her bed, pulled the covers over herself, and started scrolling through her phone. When she logged into the campus network, a prominent headline caught her attention.
When Zuri returned with hot water, Shen Menglai excitedly said, "Zuri, check out the campus website. You're on the list of campus beauties, and you're currently ranked in the top three."
"Oh," Zuri replied indifferently, taking a seat and opening her book.
Shen Menglai's enthusiasm was quickly deflated by Zuri's cool response. She almost snapped back but held her tongue, knowing that if someone like Shi Feifei couldn't afford to cross Zuri, she definitely couldn't.
In a dorm room in the finance department, the students were discussing the campus beauty competition. A girl entered the room, and the others quickly asked, "Ruoxi, did you get my idol's autograph?"
An Ruoxi walked in with a long face. "Don't even mention it. The tip from the fan site was wrong, and I went for nothing. I even got there early to grab the best spot."
An Ruoxi was a die-hard fan of Owen, and she was a prominent figure in his fan club, enjoying a certain level of respect.
Naturally, her dorm mates, who were also Owen fans, all looked up to her.
"What were you all talking about?" An Ruoxi asked.
"This year's campus beauty contest. You should check it out—there are a few new students who are really stunning. Xu Yanrui might lose her crown this year."
An Ruoxi's interest was piqued. "Let me take a look."
She scrolled through the list of contenders, but when she saw Zuri's photo, she paused. This girl looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen her before.
The profile said she was a new student, so it wasn't someone she had seen around campus.
It must have been somewhere else...