Chapter 798: The Woman Who Stirs Trouble
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
With a hearty laugh, Sun Wei strode into the classroom, a smug look on his face. “You should be grateful that I’m even telling you this,” he began, his voice dripping with arrogance. “I saw your notebook this morning, but I couldn’t stand the sight of it. It reeked of the countryside. So, I threw it in the trash. What can you do about it, Su Li? As far as Teacher Zhou is concerned, you’re just a naughty child who didn’t do his homework.”
Sun Wei’s confession hung in the air, causing Su Li’s fists to clench in anger. He was ready to pounce on Sun Wei and give him a good beating, but Gao Ming, who was standing next to him, held him back.
“Can’t you see?” Gao Ming whispered, “He’s trying to provoke you. Even if we know he’s the one who threw away your notebook, without it, Teacher Zhou won’t take your side. Don’t act rashly.”
Su Li gritted his teeth, swallowing his anger. He glared at the despicable Sun Wei. “I now believe that your mother isn’t a farmer,” he spat out, “You’re far worse than any child of a farmer. You’re utterly vile, Sun Wei. You’ll pay for this. You’re going to hell!”
Sun Wei, however, was unfazed by Su Li’s words. Seeing Su Li’s distress brought him immense satisfaction. He hummed a little tune as he sauntered out of the room, leaving Su Li to vent his frustration by punching and kicking at the air in Sun Wei’s wake.
The rest of the afternoon was a struggle for Su Li. He couldn’t shake off his gloom, even though he knew that his misery would only fuel his adversary’s triumph.
After school, Su Li was still in low spirits. Seeing his friend’s plight, Gao Ming reluctantly offered up his allowance for the week. He suggested they go to the food stalls outside the school to cheer up. The stalls, a popular hangout spot for the students, sold a variety of snacks that Su Li and Gao Ming loved.
As they were leaving with their purchases of crispy potatoes, they noticed a commotion at one of the stalls. “Isn’t that the stall run by those older boys who dropped out of school?” Su Li asked, “Their special pancakes are delicious. Why has it been vandalized? Come on, Gao Ming, let’s go check it out.”
Without waiting for a response, Su Li pulled Gao Ming towards the scene. Su Bing, who had been trailing behind them, wanted to stop them but was too late. He had no choice but to follow.
What they saw next left them stunned. The woman causing trouble and vandalizing the stall was none other than Su Li’s homeroom teacher, Zhou Hua.
Zhou Hua was currently confronting the ringleader of the group of young boys, her expression filled with disgust as she reprimanded, “You little ruffians, instead of attending school as you should, you’ve chosen to set up shop here.”
She paused, allowing her words to sink in before continuing, “I suspect your real intention is to corrupt the students of this school. As a teacher here, I will not tolerate such behavior. You are not allowed to set up shop here again. If you do, I will personally escort you to the police station.”
The surrounding crowd, unaware of what had transpired, could only gather around to watch the spectacle unfold. Upon hearing that the woman was a teacher, many naturally assumed that the boys were at fault. A couple of parents even joined in the accusations.
“I’ve been wondering why my son has been so insistent on buying your pastries,” one parent chimed in. “I thought they must be delicious, but now I see that you’ve been brainwashing him with your bad influence. Thanks to this teacher, we parents are no longer in the dark. She’s right, we absolutely cannot allow these hooligans to ruin the school’s atmosphere.”
“Did you hear what the teacher said?” another parent added. “You’re not allowed to set up shop here anymore. Leave now. You’re lucky this kind-hearted teacher didn’t take you straight to the police station.”
Su Li and Gao Ming watched the scene with furrowed brows, and Su Li’s face darkened. Recalling the morning’s events, he said to his brother, “Bro, this Teacher Zhou is too much. She doesn’t dare to confront me directly, so she resorts to underhanded tactics. She had her class representative throw away my homework book and accused me of not handing in my homework. I had to stand for the entire math class today. I can’t stand it!”
Although Sun Wei didn’t explicitly say that he was acting under Zhou Hua’s instructions, his words implied as much. He wouldn’t dare to be so arrogant without the certainty that Zhou Hua would back him up.
Su Li continued to watch as Zhou Hua drove the boys away. Their food had been destroyed, and they weren’t going to back down easily. However, perhaps due to their lack of education, they could only clench their fists and watch as Zhou Hua and some parents berated them, unable to articulate a single argument in their defense.
Su Li’s gaze darkened. If it weren’t for their mother, the fate of those boys could very well be his and his brother’s future. Although he didn’t want to be a bad kid, he also didn’t want to burden his mother with everything. Even with their mother around, he shouldn’t give up on his own growth. That way, their mother wouldn’t have to work so hard.