Shi Lang’s tone made the teachers understand that he was not here in peace. His aura turned cold as his gaze fell over Aria. He sensed Shi Tao shiver and controlled his anger. The people all fell silent, and an old teacher asked, “Teacher Shi, is something the matter?”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Sir, please call over student Aria, she will be the one to tell you all what the matter is.”
The teachers seemed to know Aria and their gazes all turned to her almost simultaneously. Aria was a girl with golden brown curly hair and a round face with big eyes. It seemed as if she was a doe straight out of the woods. When she was gazed at by the teachers, her eyes flickered with some guilt but it was covered up quickly.
She composed herself and then said, “Teacher Shi, I do not understand what happened?”
Shi Lang sneered and said, “Are you sure about that, student Aria?”
The cold tone made everyone shiver as his gaze was avoided by a lot of students and teachers alike, but Aria was looking back at him with no change in her expression. Shi Lang was not going to kill her but he will definitely not allow to let her to get away with this.
Aria said, “Yes, sir.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Very well.”
Then he controlled his communicator and then the holographic video of what happened a few minutes ago played in front of everyone. The faces of the people changed. The teachers of the advanced class looked at Aria with dark faces.
They found the well-composed girl to be shocked. Shi Lang smiled and said, “You are very nice, to think that you would dare to go through the security network of the school and then you will delete the surveillance footage. Very gutsy of you, student Aria.”
The old teacher asked in a stern tone, “Student Aria, what is this all about?”
Aria was flustered and Shi Lang looked at the girl behind Aria and said, “Student, come forward and act as a witness, or you will face the same punishment as her for not stepping up and stopping her. Just so you know, the one who watches wrong things happening is no less wrong than the culprit.”
The student beside Aria was her best friend, and she was scared by this threat. She said, “Sir, Aria and I were in the cafeteria when your daughter also happened to arrive. We were behind her in the queue and the cafeteria head was on serving duty, when she saw your daughter, she smiled and gave her extra sweet candy.
Aria frowned at this and mumbled, selling cuteness is such a profitable job and that too at such a young age.”
The faces of the other people changed and Shi Lang’s gaze turned cold, the people could sense that his anger was rising with every single second. Shi Lang looked at the girl and said, “Continue.”
The student nodded and said, “Then your daughter took out a bottle of pills and ate them. This flared up Aria, and she went up to scold the child without checking the source of the bottle. She used a lot of abusive terms. At the end, when the little girl told her not to say such things, she slapped her.”
Shi Lang clenched his fist. He looked at Vanessa from the corner of his eyes and said, “Tao, baby go stand with sister Vanessa.”
Shi Tao did not ask him to leave her alone, as her heart has calmed down after crying earlier. She climbed down and went to stand with Vanessa after the words from Shi Lang. The man said, “Putting aside the fact that private fights are banned, you hit a child. Forget her student status or not, you did not care about the fact that you are a cultivator while she is not. Do you know what would have happened if she had gotten hurt more than a bruise?”
Aria did not look back at him, but suddenly Shi Lang said, “Raise your head.”
His soft voice was akin to a spell that she could not break and raised her head, and then the scarlet eyes of the young man in front of her shone. Aria only saw herself standing in front of her house as Shi Lang walked in front of her. Then she watched how Shi Lang tied her to the chair and then killed all her family one by one in front of her.
The method was ruthless. It was unlike what a human will do, it was like a monster, who liked playing with his prey before killing them. She did not know what to do or how to stop him and could only watch him kill her family. None of the living beings were spared, he even killed the pets in the house and made her watch.
Suddenly, when he walked towards her she woke up from the illusion and fell on her knees. Shi Lang did not let her fall to the ground and picked her up. He looked into her eyes and said, “Aria, you are the star of the advanced classroom. I want to tell you that what you saw just now would have been real, if not for the fact that you kept your strength in check.
Another thing is that the people outside the federation are stronger than me. You as someone who will have the responsibility of the federation on your shoulders cannot act the way you did today. Because if you offended someone you shouldn’t have, the entire civilization might have to pay the prince.
Do you understand, what I am trying to say to you?”
He channeled his spirit energy through her body to make her calm down. His voice was calm and his gaze was soft. He did state that he would have done what she saw just now. Aria was shaken to the depth of her soul. Shi Lang asked, “Now, student Aria, can you tell me why did you target my daughter?”
The girl said in a soft voice, “I heard that she has been consuming the school resources without any payments because she is your daughter. I come from a small house and have to work hard for everything, so, I could not take it. I am sorry, Teacher Shi.”
Shi Lang sighed, he placed her on the ground and patted her head gently, and said, “My daughter has been learning the ways to meditate and nothing else. The pills you all see are the ones I personally refined for her to help her medical condition. She has been frail and sickly for a long time, and that pill is just to keep her healthy. I have all the receipts to prove that. If I found this bullshit rumor circulating around once more, I will find out the source, and then, regardless of anything, I will have you dance in the school ground naked.”
His words scared the people more than a death threat, as respectable personas they preferred their dignity more than life. After all, talent can be killed but not humiliated. Shi Lang then said, “Forget it, I hope this does not happen again.”
Aria, who stood with her head down, while she blamed herself for acting on impulse, the people around her looked at her scornfully. Shi Lang turned back and came to Shi Tao. The little girl was watching Aria the whole time and then the people around her. She said, “Dad, can we bring that sister with us too?”
Shi Lang was surprised, he looked at her and asked, “Why?”
Shi Tao said, “She is lonely like Tao was. This is not a good thing and she apologized earlier.”
Shi Lang looked at Aria and said, “Go, ask her if she wants to come over to learn with us.”
The teachers were taken aback, after all, earlier Shi Lang was so furious. Looking at the teachers around him, Shi Lang said with a faint smile, “I did not get angry because of Aria slapping my daughter. It is only normal for students to have feuds. I had the biggest feud in school history. I was angry about the reason why she acted out.
As a valedictorian, she is supposed to be better than others and I have held her in high regard. This is not a lie. I did not expect her to act like this and thus the anger.”
The people finally understood what was happening, and they also understood why Aria lost control. She was a go-getter, everything she had, came from blood sweat, and tears. So, her built-up frustration burst out over the little girl.
At this moment, Shi Tao stood in front of Aria and with a slight caution, the little girl asked, “Big sister, are you alright? Would you like to learn from my dad? He is a good teacher.”
She acted cutely and her innocence broke the last restraint on Aria’s tears. She knelt down and cried while hugging the little girl, who not knowing what to do, patter her back like Shi Lang did for her.