Her treasured niece, whom she doted on every day, had actually been bullied, and Zhou Lanfang now wished she could take a knife and slash the culprits.
"They threatened me not to tell anyone."
Zhou Siyu spoke through her sobs, her crying breaking Zhou Lanfang’s heart.
"You’re supposed to be studying well at school, how did you get involved with gangsters outside of school?"
"They think I’m pretty, so..."
She didn’t finish her sentence, but Zhou Lanfang understood.
Her niece was now tall and thin, with a beautiful face, which had prompted some rascals to get the wrong idea. She just hadn’t expected that despite all precautions, they had guarded against in-school troubles but failed to anticipate those from outside the school.
"How many gangsters were there?"
Although she hadn’t seen them, she knew that these people liked to hang out in groups.
At least there were two.
Zhou Lanfang was someone who was assertive with the gentle and timid with the strong. She was somewhat afraid of small-time hooligans from the streets. She had first thought of attacking them in anger, but now she was feeling a bit cowardly.
"Your dad isn’t home, and I, a woman alone, can’t beat them!"
"Then what do we do?" Zhou Siyu’s lips quivered, and she began to cry again.
"How about we don’t go to school today? Your dad should call back in a couple of days. I’ll talk to him about this and have him come back." After all, no matter what, Zhou Lanfang couldn’t allow Zhou Siyu to be bullied.
"How can that be?" cried Zhou Siyu. "If you miss three days of school now, you’ll get expelled. Besides, the high school exams are just a few months away, how can I not attend class?"
Right now, every day of learning is very important, okay?
"..." Zhou Lanfang gritted her teeth, "Come on, I’ll take you to school."
That was the response Zhou Siyu had been waiting for. With Zhou Lanfang present, even if Xu Haiyang was bold, he would definitely have some apprehensions.
Zhou Lanfang didn’t bother to wash the pots and pans, changed her clothes, and rode her bike to drop Zhou Siyu off at school. They were anxious the whole way, but fortunately, they didn’t run into anyone.
In the evening, Zhou Lanfang went to the school to pick up Zhou Siyu again.
After a week of back and forth , at first nobody noticed anything amiss, but gradually people started to sense something was unusual.
The more gossiping classmates went directly to Shen Mianmian to inquire, "Mianmian, why has your mom been taking Zhou Siyu to school recently? She’s already grown up, why does she still need to be taken to school?"
In the rural areas where they went to school, even if you were just a few years old, you would go to school with your peers, and the adults didn’t have the time to take you every day!
Zhou Siyu’s treatment seemed a little too good.
"Maybe because her hands get cold riding the bike!" Shen Mianmian casually made up an excuse to brush off the curiosity.
It seemed that Zhou Siyu was really scared of Xu Haiyang! By this situation, it looked like Zhou Siyu would be living in fear for some time more.
Maybe because her mind was preoccupied with this, Zhou Siyu had become a lot more subdued recently, which was a rare break for her.
The time for the monthly test in January came quickly. Before the exam, Li Qiumei repeatedly reminded them that this was the first test of the semester. Whoever showed improvement in their studies, she would reward personally with three toffees each. Check latest chapters at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩
Those who regressed would have to stand at the back of the classroom and listen to the lesson.
While everyone felt motivated, they also felt the immense pressure.
Some students were very diligent, while others gradually gave up, feeling that with their poor academic performance, there was no chance of getting into high school. They might as well just get through the semester and settle for a middle school certificate.
So when they saw Shen Mianmian studying so hard every time, some classmates couldn’t help but make sarcastic comments.