"Are you saying that I’m lying?"
Chen Ying adjusted her black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, her expression slightly displeased.
"Teacher, you’ve misunderstood me. I just want to understand the incident from beginning to end."
"What prelude and consequence could exist between kids? I’ve taught many classes and seen small squabbles often, but this is the first time I’ve seen a child cry like this from being hit."
Chen Ying was very impatient, as the chubby kid’s crying was incessant, as if he had lost an arm or a leg.
Chi Youyou frowned. She could clearly sense the teacher’s dislike, especially with the words just spoken, which were almost calling them uncultured children from the countryside.
"Chi Zaozao, you tell us."
Seeing this, Chi Youyou directly turned her head to ask Chi Zaozao.
Even if Chi Zaozao did hit someone, she believed there must have been a reason.
She had watched the little guy grow up. The siblings often bickered, but getting into fights—never from childhood till now.
Chi Zaozao disdained to hit someone.
"I didn’t hit him. He fell on his own."
Chi Zaozao calmly said, his big eyes were exceptionally clear.
"Listen to this, so young and already learning to lie!"
Before Chi Youyou could speak, Chen Ying promptly labeled Chi Zaozao as a liar.
"Why did he fall?"
Chi Youyou, as if ignoring Chen Ying’s voice, continued to ask.
"He pushed me! Teacher Chen! He pushed me! Kick him out of the school!"
Before Chi Zaozao could speak, the chubby kid who was crying yelled, pointing at Chi Zaozao.
Chi Youyou still acted as if she didn’t hear, "You tell us."
"He wanted to hit me, so I dodged. He’s so fat, he lost his balance and fell toward the bookshelf."
Chi Zaozao couldn’t be bothered to explain at length and clarified the situation in a few sentences.
"You liar! You pushed me!"
"Sister Zaozao, your Zaozao is a troublemaker, lying without thinking! What will become of him when he grows up?"
"Teacher Chen!"
Chi Youyou frowned and raised her voice several decibels, interrupting the homeroom teacher, "Did you see Zaozao hit him with your own eyes?"
"You... although I didn’t see it, can’t you see how badly Li Shuai is crying!"
"If you didn’t see it with your own eyes, then I ask you not to jump to conclusions. They each have their own version. Clearly, someone is lying, but there’s a fifty-percent chance either way. If I were an unreasonable parent, I could completely say it was Li... Li Shuai, right? I could completely say it was Li Shuai lying to frame my Zaozao!"
Naturally, Chi Youyou sided with Zaozao; she believed he wouldn’t lie.
But without evidence, she couldn’t make empty claims.
"You..."
Chen Ying was rendered speechless by Chi Youyou, and just then, a sharp voice sounded at the door.
"Son! Where’s my darling son?"
A luxuriously dressed, plump middle-aged woman rushed in anxiously.
"Mom!"
"Little Shuai!"
The chubby kid’s crying intensified upon seeing her, and the entire office was filled with his sobs.
"Let mommy see where you got hurt? Is it serious?"
She treated the others as air, thoroughly checking her son over, "Oh dear, his head is all red!"
"Mom! He hit me! He hit me! Make him leave!"
"Okay, okay, my precious darling!"
After coaxing for a while, the plump woman stood up with a grim expression, "Teacher Chen, now tell me, what are you going to do about this? Look at what he did to my Little Shuai!"