The little boy, whom Teacher Yao had finally managed to coax, started crying again as soon as he saw a woman.
"Oh my god..."
Upon seeing this, Lin Shengmiao's eyelids twitched, and she had already started to get a headache.
With both sets of parents present, Teacher Yao began to recount what had happened.
"Here's what happened. About twenty minutes after the fourth period this morning, a student suddenly came to me and said that Zhang Ting and Luo Xiaozhe were fighting. When I arrived, Zhang Ting was pinning Luo Xiaozhe to the ground, and... she pulled his pants down in front of the whole class."
Lin Shengmiao: "..."
Luo Xiaozhe's mother: "...How could you do this! This girl is so ill-mannered! How did you raise her? You've raised such a shameless girl..."
"Wait a minute!" Lin Shengmiao interrupted her loudly, turning to Zhang Ting, who had a defiant look on her face, and asked, "Tell me yourself, why did you do this?"
Zhang Ting glanced coldly at the woman and Luo Xiaozhe, who was hiding in her arms, and scoffed.
"Who told him to untie my bra strap from behind! He said my breasts weren't even as big as two eggs and told me to eat some papaya to make them bigger, so I just pulled down his pants to take a look."
She clicked her tongue in disdain and said to Luo Xiaozhe, "Your thing is really small. You should go home and have your mom bake you a couple of quail eggs to help you get some filling!"
Luo Xiaozhe: "..."
Luo Xiaozhe's mother: "..."
"Cough cough cough," the male teacher who was listening to the gossip at the desk next to him suddenly choked on his own saliva.
Lin Shengmiao clenched her fist to hide the smile on her lips, looked at the trembling Luo Xiaozhe, and asked fairly and kindly, "Do you have anything to add?"
Luo Xiaozhe burst into tears, shaking her head and unable to speak. She kept burrowing into her mother's arms, clearly suffering significant psychological trauma.
Luo Xiaozhe's mother's fingers trembled as she roared, "You brat, if you dare say another word, I'll tear your mouth off! What kind of upbringing did your parents give you?"
Lin Shengmiao stepped forward, looking down at the woman.
“You don’t need to worry about my sister’s upbringing. You just need to keep your son in check. Instead of blaming others, you should teach your own children to respect women and remember today’s lesson so that they don’t repeat the same mistake.”
After being stunned for a while, Teacher Yao quickly came to her senses and said, "Calm down, calm down!"
Then, turning to look at Zhang Ting, he said with dissatisfaction, "Why didn't you tell the teacher before?"
Zhang Ting thought to herself: You're making it sound nice now, but the moment I walked in, you made me stand facing the wall and only cared about comforting that fat guy who could cry. Did you ever give me a chance to speak?
However, he lowered his head and looked somewhat uneasy as he said, "I was too angry just now and forgot."
Lin Shengmiao looked at her younger sister, whom she had previously known nothing about, and secretly praised her intelligence. Teenagers are easily unreasonable and disdain the idea of "keeping the peace," and very few of them know when to stop.
"Now that we know what happened, both children have done something wrong."
Lin Shengmiao said, "Then let's quickly discuss a solution. It's getting late, lunch break is almost over, and we have classes this afternoon."
With sweat beading on her forehead, Teacher Yao suggested, "How about this, Zhang Ting and Luo Xiaozhe, each of you apologize to the other, promise not to make the same mistake again, and submit a self-criticism. Then this matter will be over."
"Why should my Xiaoze have to write a self-criticism?!" Luo Xiaoze's mother's chest heaved with anger. "What kind of homeroom teacher are you? I'm going to report you to your principal!"
Upon hearing this, Teacher Yao's eyes sharpened, and she quickly went into battle mode: "Luo Xiaozhe's mother, this whole thing was started by Luo Xiaozhe. If it weren't for his inappropriate behavior..."
Zhang Ting quietly yawned and tugged at Lin Shengmiao's sleeve.
Lin Shengmiao understood and said to Teacher Yao, who had shifted the focus of the conflict, "Could you please write a leave slip? Because of this incident, Zhang Ting didn't eat much at noon, and the cafeteria is closed now. I'd like to take her out to eat something and try to get her back before the first class this afternoon."
Teacher Yao's attitude towards Zhang Ting has softened considerably. She wrote a leave note neatly and gently said, "If you encounter something like this in the future, tell the teacher immediately and don't hit anyone."
Zhang Ting glanced at the mother and son, then smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, teacher. I will definitely finish writing my self-criticism as soon as possible, and I won't act impulsively again."
He then looked at Luo Xiaozhe and said slowly, word by word, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pulled down your pants in front of the whole class and called you small."
Lin Shengmiao blocked Luo Xiaozhe's mother's murderous gaze and coughed lightly, saying, "Let's go."
--------------------
Author's Note:
I don't know why, but during my school years, all the female teachers I encountered were the kind who were much fiercer to girls than to boys.
Ugh... so unlucky!
When I used to live in a dormitory, my roommates and I would say things like, "The dormitory supervisor treats the boys like her sons, but treats the girls like her daughters-in-law."
Chapter 19 Entrapment
Lin Shengmiao opened the car door: "What would you like to eat?"
"Is this your friend's car?" Zhang Ting glanced at the light purple parasol that had fallen onto the passenger seat, as well as the exquisite and cute accessories inside the car. Her fingers paused for a moment, then she opened the back door and got in.
"What?" Lin Shengmiao didn't hear clearly.
Zhang Ting leaned forward and hugged the back of the seat in front of her. "Is this the friend you mentioned last time, the really important one? Is this car hers?"
“Yes,” Lin Shengmiao started the engine and asked again, “What would you like to eat?”
Zhang Ting poked the Hello Kitty cushion with her finger and said with some disappointment, "Oh, it's your best friend. I thought it was your boyfriend."
Lin Shengmiao glanced at her in the rearview mirror and smiled, "Let's have KFC then."
“Okay,” Zhang Ting’s attention was quickly drawn: “I want to try the new burger that just came out!”
...
After finishing the new burger she'd been craving, Zhang Ting dipped some fries in ketchup and popped them into her mouth. Looking at her sister, who was engrossed in dessert, she asked, "Sister, you've lived abroad for so many years, haven't you gotten tired of KFC yet?"
Lin Shengmiao put down her spoon and chuckled: "Actually, you'll find that when you go abroad, only the KFC in our country is the best in the world, with the most variety and the best localization. KFC abroad is just a very ordinary fast food restaurant, and there are very few options to choose from."
"I remember when I first arrived at school and settled in, I hadn't figured out the way around yet. I somehow ended up in front of KFC and ordered a burger. I regretted it after only a couple of bites. For about the same price, I should have gone to the bakery next door and bought a donut. But I was poor back then, so I ate most of it anyway."
"So, what about the other half? Were you just thrown away?" Zhang Ting asked, resting her chin on her hand.
"How could that be? I paid for it," Lin Shengmiao said dismissively. "I walked to the bridge and, without noticing, a seagull snatched it away. I was stunned. That's when I realized why the senior who gave me directions told me I could feed pigeons over the bridge..."
"Hahahaha..." Zhang Ting slapped the table and laughed nonstop, attracting the attention of others. "Are all those seagulls so thuggish?"
"So, for the next few years, I deliberately avoided that road," Lin Shengmiao said with a smile. "Even if I had to take it, I didn't dare to carry any food with me."
"...Alright, you've eaten enough. I'll take you back to school."
"Hey, no, sit a little longer," Zhang Ting smiled ingratiatingly. "There's no rush. The first and second periods in the afternoon are both PE classes. Our PE teacher is crazy. He starts with frog jumps and the 800-meter run right away. Every time I finish PE class, my legs hurt for a week."
"That won't do. I've already told your teacher that we need to send you back as soon as possible."
Lin Shengmiao said this, but the expression on his face was: Well, that depends on your performance.
Zhang Ting looked at her for a while, then slumped onto the table and said weakly, "Okay, I admit it. Actually, I deliberately walked in front of Luo Xiaozhe today, and I also deliberately wore a halter bra. He used to only bully a few introverted girls in our class. I've been wanting to find a chance to teach him a lesson for a long time. It's his fault for being so greedy and wanting to take off girls' bras whenever he sees them."
"Who taught you entrapment?" Lin Shengmiao asked, somewhat surprised.
Ms. Pei Wei is a proud and aloof person, and Uncle Zhang Cheng is a kind and honest man; neither of them seems like the type to raise their daughter this way.
She looked at Zhang Ting carefully.
Because of the air conditioning, she took off her thick coat and put it aside, wearing only a sweatshirt underneath. She looked like a very cold-resistant little stick, with a slender figure and some signs of puberty. The bra strap was tied around her collarbone and behind her neck, with a long tail that looked very pretty and... easy to pull.
"Does this even need to be learned?"
The young girl raised her eyebrows slightly, with a hint of smugness and boasting towards the older man.
"In TV dramas, it's often said that you need a legitimate reason to fight, right? Just like if I want to beat up Luo Xiaozhe, I need to find a reliable reason first. It's the same principle."
Lin Shengmiao finished the last bite of her ice cream and asked her, "So... do you think you're standing up for those female classmates who are being bullied?"
"What do you mean 'I think'?" Zhang Ting protested. "Isn't this the truth?"
"Yes, yes, yes..." Lin Shengmiao followed her tone and changed her words, "But why didn't you tell your teacher, parents, or ask for help from others before dealing with it this way?"
Her tone wasn't accusatory or questioning, but rather a simple inquiry.
So Zhang Ting's answer was also very straightforward: "Because he simply won't change!"
"All parents can do is talk to the teacher, and the teacher can only say a few words to them or ask them to write a self-criticism. They can't be in the classroom to protect you all the time, but the people who bully you can always find an opportunity!"
The girl tapped her finger on the table, her eyes cold. "In sixth grade, a girl transferred to our class. She had skipped a grade. The teacher always praised her, so a few students in the class disliked her. They would throw her pencil case in the trash and hide her homework. She told the teacher, and the teacher punished those students. But after that, every student who played with her would be warned, ink would be poured into her cup, and her homework would be torn up. She was terrified and dared not tell the teacher anymore. Her grades got worse and worse, and the teacher gradually stopped mentioning her..."
"Sister, do you know how this matter ended in the end?" Zhang Ting asked.
Lin Shengmiao looked at her without saying a word.
Zhang Ting took a big bite of the fries, as if she were dipping them in someone's blood instead of ketchup.
"Until one day, they broke the fountain pen her father had given her. She took the nib and fought with them, almost blinding one of them. The incident caused a big commotion, and her family ended up paying some compensation. But no one dared to bully her again."
“In my father’s hometown, there is a custom that when you go to apologize, you have to bring a bag of eggs. When I was a child, my grandmother told me that if anyone bullied me, I should return the favor. She would rather bring eggs to other people’s houses than see others bring eggs to our house. After that, I understood why people say that old ginger is spicier.”
As she spoke, the thirteen-year-old girl laughed, "Sister, do you know what the funniest part of this is?"
Lin Shengmiao sighed, knowing that if she wasn't allowed to finish speaking now, she would probably choke on her words, so she readily asked, "What is it?"
A hint of sarcasm flashed in Zhang Ting's narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes.
"Later, that girl studied exceptionally hard and achieved outstanding grades. Suddenly, all the teachers started to take care of her. No one bothered her if she was late, left early, or didn't wear her school uniform. In fact, not long after she won a competition, her disciplinary record was removed..."
"So, sister, you see..."
Zhang Ting looked at her and poured out her unspoken confusion, pain, and realization to her unfamiliar relative.
“When we were little, we always learned the saying, ‘The silkworm spins silk until its death, the candle burns until it is ash,’ as if all teachers were saints who would selflessly dedicate themselves. Our parents only told us to listen to our teachers at school, but they never told us that teachers are also human beings and have selfish desires…”
Lin Shengmiao paused for a moment before speaking, "Logically speaking, I should tell you from all angles that you should trust the adults, trust that they are experienced and will have a better way to handle things, but... I think you are a very smart girl, and you actually understand all of this."
"As your older sister who is fifteen years older than you, what I want to say is that we are destined to cross countless rivers in our lives. Some rivers are narrow and can be crossed in one step, while others are wide and the current is rapid, making it difficult to cross, and some people may not be able to cross them at all."
“At this point, the smarter people will find their own way to cross the river. I am not qualified to judge whether your way of crossing the river is right or wrong, because... my own way of crossing the river is not so standard either.”
At this point, Lin Shengmiao even smiled.
“Educating you is your parents’ responsibility, so I won’t overstep my bounds. Besides, the fact that you took down my phone number and asked me to come here on behalf of your parents shows that you respect people and know how to keep things under your control…”
"So I'm not worried about you at all. You're just temporarily confused and trying to win me over to shut me up and stop me from telling your parents."
Zhang Ting: "..."
The girl, whose face was filled with sorrow, froze for a moment, a look of unexpected astonishment in her eyes.
“However, I like your intelligence,” Lin Shengmiao patted her head, his eyes gentle and tolerant. “Based on that, I’m willing to keep your secret.”
"But Xiaoting, don't try to use tricks on people who are smarter and more experienced than you next time. Not every smart adult is willing to cooperate with you."