“Alright, alright, stop yelling. I’m getting old; you might give me a heart attack,” Wang Youfu raised his hand in a gesture to quiet her down. “I’ll go get Shen Xingruo, Lu Xingyan, and He Siyue to hear their side of the story.”
Though Wang Youfu spoke calmly, his movements were leisurely. He closed the thermos cup, then leaned on the desk before standing up, muttering to himself, “Oh, the sunlight is so nice here. I don’t feel like moving at all.”
Zeng Guiyu nearly choked on her words watching his theatrics.
He Siyue suppressed a laugh at the door, quickly composed himself, and knocked politely. “Mr. Wang.”
As soon as Wang Youfu saw him, he greeted, “Ah, just the person I need. He Siyue, goes to the classroom and fetches Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo. I want to hear what’s going on, why you’ve upset Ms. Zeng like this.”
He Siyue nodded, replying, “Of course.”
While He Siyue went to find Wang Youfu, the class didn’t quiet down. Everyone was buzzing, gossiping about Zeng Guiyu’s past and speculating that she was probably going to complain to Wang Youfu.
Shen Xingruo and Lu Xingyan, the focal points of the incident, remained unfazed. Shen Xingruo had seated herself after Zeng Guiyu left and had opened a bottle of milk, while Lu Xingyan hadn’t stood up once.
Lu Xingyan tapped Shen Xingruo’s head with a pen. “What’s wrong? Are you mad?”
“…Well,” she was pretty annoyed, but she couldn’t act out just yet. Wang Youfu would probably come to summon them to his office soon, so for now, she needed to drink some milk to calm her emotions.
Lu Xingyan continued, “Are you dumb? There’s no point in explaining to her. Just tell her I didn’t write it, and she can’t do anything to me.”
“…”
“Shut up already.”
Thinking she might be sensitive to criticism and still a bit slow to recover emotionally, Lu Xingyan tapped her head again. “Alright, it’s not a big deal. When Wang Youfu comes to question us later, just keep quiet. I’ll handle it. Okay? You can just mumble an apology at the end…”
“Why should I apologize?” Shen Xingruo eyed him. “It’s because of people like you, who shout slogans loudly but back down when it matters, that our country lags in development.”
“No, your peacock mentality is quite noble…”
“It is noble.”
Before they could say much more, He Siyue returned and called them both to the office.
Of course, Wang Youfu didn’t do much. He asked about the incident, mildly criticized them, and then made them copy the political outline a few times before letting them go.
Zeng Guiyu watched coldly from the office. When she heard Wang Youfu say, “Regardless, it’s wrong to defy a teacher,” she thought he was just starting, but then he said, “Alright, you can go back now. Each of you copy the political outline three times.”
Once everyone left, she snapped back to reality. “Wang Youfu, is that it?”
Wang Youfu replied, “We’ve criticized them. What more do you want? I didn’t do anything wrong, and it’s to maintain your dignity as a teacher that I made them copy the political outline three times.”
Zeng Guiyu retorted, “But how does copying your political outline relate to the issue in my math class?”
Wang Youfu shrugged. “Well, what else should they copy? Math formulas? That’d be quite the camaraderie, but math formulas have fewer words.”
Before Zeng Guiyu could respond, he added, “I’m just saying, Guiyu, you’re over forty. Instead of squabbling like chickens with these kids, why not let it go? It’s not a big deal. Both of them took the test; it’s just that one paper went missing. Look at how much fuss you’ve stirred up.”
“Are you still upset because Shen Xingruo topped the grade twice, and because of that incident last time when you defended that girl in your class against Shen Xingruo’s retort? You’re both adults and teachers. Winning first place in the grade is just a 2000 RMB prize. If Shen Xingruo comes first next time, I’ll treat you to a meal.”
Zeng Guiyu felt like staying in Wang Youfu’s office any longer would inevitably lead to her suffocating to death from anger. She waved her hand, indicating she wouldn’t say anything more to him, and started to leave.
But Wang Youfu just couldn’t stop talking. As she reached the door, she could still hear him saying, “As teachers, the most important thing for us is to be magnanimous…”
Right now, she was anything but magnanimous.
Exiting Wang Youfu’s office, Shen Xingruo walked in the middle, with Lu Xingyan and He Siyue on either side, each comforting her in their way. After He Siyue finished consoling her, he even offered, “If you don’t have time to copy the political outline, I’ll help you.”
Lu Xingyan chuckled and glanced over, his tone casual. “Class monitor is so kind. How about helping me copy too?”
“Mr. Wang should be able to recognize your handwriting,” Siyue replied without missing a beat.
Shen Xingruo was getting annoyed by their banter. She pressed her temples and quickened her pace. “Enough, neither of you need to copy.”
As they reached the classroom door, she turned back to warn them, “No one is allowed to copy.”
After enduring Shen Xingruo’s torment for so long, Lu Xingyan felt he understood her somewhat. He had a feeling this matter wasn’t over yet.
Shen Xingruo didn’t do much for the rest of the morning. By the time school ended, she walked out quickly.
Li Ting had been keeping an eye on Shen Xingruo’s movements all morning. She felt anxious the whole time and didn’t have much of an appetite for lunch. She grabbed something quickly and headed back to the dorm.
As she returned to her dorm, Shen Xingruo was coming out. Shen Xingruo didn’t say anything, just gave her a cold glance before heading downstairs.
But Li Ting couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. Shen Xingruo likely knew it was her doing, but as Zhai Jiajing had said, without evidence, she couldn’t do anything.
During the two-hour break, Shen Xingruo didn’t return to the dorm.
Li Ting felt oddly satisfied thinking about how Shen Xingruo had been criticized today. She even had a good dream during her nap.
In the afternoon, she went to school with Zhai Jiajing and Shi Qin. Shi Qin was still worried because Shen Xingruo hadn’t come back to nap, probably because she was upset about being criticized today.
Li Ting sneered sarcastically, “I have to say, she’s quite arrogant. Clearly in the wrong, yet she acts like she’s so righteous…”
She continued speaking as she walked into the classroom, subconsciously glancing at Shen Xingruo’s seat. She noticed Shen Xingruo was already there, and she fell silent.
Seeing people arriving, Shen Xingruo gently tapped He Siyue and asked for a workbook. Then she nudged Lu Xingyan and requested a notebook.
Lu Xingyan was dozing off and lazily handed over his entire bag. “Just take whatever you need.”
“…”
“What’s the difference between you and a pig if you can sleep eighteen hours a day?”
Lu Xingyan didn’t catch what she said and just shifted to sleep on the other side.
Shen Xingruo couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She found a blank workbook and got up.
At that moment, Li Ting was just sitting down, ready to chat with Meng Feng in front of her, when Shen Xingruo suddenly walked up to her desk and slammed three workbooks onto it. With a cold expression, she ordered, “Copy the political outline twelve times, not a single word less. Get it done.”