"Hiss!" The pain in the corner of his eye made Ye Qiu furrow his brow, regretting why he hadn’t chosen Body Forging Technique as his skill.
"Teacher, how are you?" Liu Tong asked anxiously, then shielded Ye Qiu with his thin body, "If you want to do something, come at me, don’t hurt the teacher."
"Oh, still addicted to playing the devoted teacher-student relationship, huh? Rest assured, Young Master Jun won’t let you off."
Xuanyuan Junrui, named by Sima Kai, frowned with irritation, finding the unfolding situation increasingly tiresome. He wanted to leave but felt awkward with so many onlookers; under Sima Kai’s gaze, he unhappily kicked towards Liu Tong’s stomach.
"Stop, police! Who called the police?" To Ye Qiu’s surprise, the police arrived quite quickly.
Seeing several officers approaching, the students panicked briefly, but seeing Xuanyuan Junrui, Sima Kai, and Ouyang Yanming remain unmoved also calmed down. It’s just a few cops; even their office chief has to give face to their parents, what’s there to fear?
"I called the police." Ye Qiu raised his hand, "These students are ganging up to assault this teacher and this student."
"What’s going on?" Now that the police had arrived, the school leaders who had turned a blind eye to campus bullying finally appeared.
"Campus bullying? This is all a misunderstanding." The principal’s large, pudgy face squeezed together in a smile, greasy and particularly offensive to the eye. Get full chapters from novel⸺fire.net
"What misunderstanding? Liu Tong and I can go for an examination of our injuries." Ye Qiu said fearlessly.
The principal’s face visibly soured, glaring at Ye Qiu as though accusing him of tactlessness: "Mr. Ye, you should watch your words. We’re all adults here, don’t act as clueless as some children."
Speaking, he turned and continued with a change in his tone towards Liu Tong: "This must be student Liu Tong, right? I remember personally recruiting you. I heard your mother isn’t well; even though your grades dropped these past two months, I didn’t revoke your scholarship. How can you slander your classmates ? If there’s an issue with your morals, I might have to reevaluate your scholarship."
This was nothing short of a blatant threat. Ye Qiu coldly watched the principal bluff, then patted Liu Tong on the head: "Don’t be afraid, your teacher stands behind you always. Money is not omnipotent."
Liu Tong looked at Ye Qiu, as if finally resolving himself then firmly nodded: "Police uncle, I want to report, I’ve been beaten by my classmates."
As he spoke, he lifted his shirt, displaying bruises and discolorations, new and old, shocking to behold. Ye Qiu inhaled sharply; he knew Liu Tong had been bullied for a long time, but he hadn’t expected it to be this severe.
Sima Kai looked on and snorted coldly, Ouyang Yanming remained indifferent, but Xuanyuan Junrui furrowed his brows in surprise, then switched back to a dismissive expression.
"Student Liu Tong, you can eat messily, but you can’t talk carelessly. How can you prove these injuries occurred at school?" the principal asked menacingly, already plotting to delete the surveillance footage as soon as he returned.
Ye Qiu had expected the school to pull such a move, so he took out his phone: "I have a recording here that can prove it."
"Mr. Ye, don’t bite the hand that feeds you." The principal glared darkly at Ye Qiu.
"What’s happening? We’re still here!" The police also sensed that this was not a straightforward case; it was an elite school, frequented by the rich and powerful, and they, mere low-level officers, were in a tough spot. Still, they followed protocol, first taking the complainants and the main perpetrators back to the station.
In the end, Ye Qiu, Liu Tong, Xuanyuan Junrui, Sima Kai, the principal, and two students who had just hit Liu Tong were all taken to the police station. Since aside from teacher Ye Qiu, both victims and perpetrators were minors, their parents needed to be notified before further resolution could be pursued; after taking the parties to the station, the officers also hurried to notify their superiors.
"Hello, Mr. Ye, calling me now, have you changed your mind?" Liu Qin tensed up upon receiving the call, not wanting to lose a talent like Ye Qiu.
"Of course not." Ye Qiu paused before continuing, "It’s your stepson, Xuanyuan Junrui, leading the trouble, bullying one of my students, and I got injured in the process. If Mr. Liu is available, perhaps he could come to the station."
Liu Qin sighed, "I don’t dare control Junrui too much. Since he’s caused trouble at school, I’ll notify his father to make a trip."
"Thank you, Mr. Liu."