Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 185: It's a Shame You Were Born in the Wrong Era
Not long after Zhang Qiu returned to the classroom, the homeroom teacher, Zhao Guohong, followed in. Zhang Qiu looked at her, thinking she would call him aside for a talk, but unexpectedly, Zhao Guohong just sat down behind the podium and didn't even glance in his direction. Zhang Qiu shook his head lightly; it was fine not to talk, he would just wait for the school's notification.
As class was about to end, Zhao Guohong pulled the blackboard aside to reveal a large display screen that took up about half of the blackboard's area. Clearing her throat, she said, "Everyone stop writing for now. If you haven't finished, you can complete it after class and hand it in to the class representative. Class is about to end, but I have something to announce."
Zhang Qiu was startled. No way, the homeroom teacher wasn't going to publicly announce his achievements, was she? He glanced at Gao Zhi and saw that Gao Zhi was also looking at him; what should have been a serious matter made him involuntarily smile.
Wang Zhengxiang bit on his pen cap and asked Zhang Qiu, "Boss, why are you grinning like an idiot?"
"How can you tell this is a grin? It's a disaster looming over me!"
Upon hearing the words "disaster looming," Wang Zhengxiang perked up, practically jumping onto the desk. "Brother Qiu, what happened? The homeroom teacher looking for you feels off; why won't you let me come along? What’s going on?"
"Wang Zhengxiang!" Zhao Guohong shouted sharply, glaring at him. Wang Zhengxiang, who had just been eager to know more, immediately quieted down and lowered his head behind a stack of textbooks.
Zhao Guohong tapped on the blackboard and announced loudly, "Everyone look at the screen; this is a notice just issued by the school. This May Day, students from an American high school will be coming to our city for an exchange activity. Because our school has ranked first among all high schools in the county for ten consecutive years in college entrance examinations, they will also be visiting our school for exchanges. Therefore, the school has decided to change the originally scheduled holiday on May 1st to May 3rd and 9th so that we can give our international friends a good impression and show them what Chinese high school students are like."
Listening to Zhao Guohong's words, Zhang Qiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief; at least he wasn't being singled out in front of the whole class. As for this American exchange group arriving on this date—he had plans with Liu Fangfei for May Day. After missing out once before, he couldn't afford to miss again. More importantly, after May Day, Liu Fangfei would start working; who knew when he would have another chance to meet her?
Just as Zhang Qiu was troubled by this matter, the bell rang for class dismissal, and the homeroom teacher left the classroom with some papers in her arms. As soon as Zhao Guohong walked out, Wang Zhengxiang immediately asked, "Brother Qiu, what happened? What’s going on?"
"Zhang Qiu!"
Just as Zhang Qiu was about to respond, the homeroom teacher turned back and called his name.
Zhang Qiu walked over to Zhao Guohong while Wang Zhengxiang watched his back with frustration; why did his question get interrupted by the homeroom teacher? But soon enough, that frustration was replaced by worry. After Zhang Qiu left with Zhao Guohong, Wang Zhengxiang jumped across several desks to get closer to Gao Zhi.
In the hallway, students passing by occasionally glanced quickly at Zhang Qiu and Zhao Guohong. Zhang Qiu ignored them and focused on Zhao Guohong, asking, "Teacher, you called me; what’s up?"
Zhao Guohong did not turn back and replied, "The handling result has come down."
"How was it handled?"
"Let's discuss it inside." Zhao Guohong opened the door to the Director's Office. Zhang Qiu followed him in and realized that it wasn't just Director Zhao sitting inside.
Sitting in the office chair usually occupied by Director Zhao was a man with a square face, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers. The man had his hair neatly parted and slicked back, his face very pale with cheeks that sagged slightly. Zhang Qiu immediately recognized him as Principal Wu Deyu from Beiluan No. 1 Middle School, who often spoke to them on stage.
Director Zhao stood respectfully behind Wu Deyu and introduced Zhang Qiu, saying, "Principal, this student is Zhang Qiu."
As Zhang Qiu assessed Wu Deyu, Wu Deyu was also sizing up Zhang Qiu. At that moment, Director Zhao spoke up, and Wu Deyu slowly said, "You are Zhang Qiu?"
"Yes." From Wu Deyu's expression, Zhang Qiu could see no sign of emotion.
"Please sit." Wu Deyu gestured toward a row of sofas against the wall.
"No need. I’ll have to get up soon anyway. How do you plan to handle this matter?"
"Just sit down." Wu Deyu insisted.
Zhang Qiu nodded and sat down on the sofa, leaning back with his left leg crossed over his right. Director Zhao sternly said, "Sit properly."
Zhang Qiu smiled slightly, uncrossed his legs, and continued to observe Wu Deyu.
After Zhang Qiu entered, Zhao Guohong closed the door and left. With Principal Wu and a director present, there was no need for him to stay. The atmosphere in the Director's Office felt somewhat strange; Wu Deyu quietly watched Zhang Qiu while Zhang Qiu quietly regarded Wu Deyu. Their gazes met as they sized each other up.
Director Zhao stood behind Principal Wu, glancing between them and feeling anxious for Zhang Qiu. This child had no sense of propriety; it was one thing to be bold with him, but why was he even more audacious in front of Principal Wu?
After a long pause, Wu Deyu spoke up, "Zhang Qiu, I've heard about your deeds multiple times. You are quite famous in our school."
Zhang Qiu smiled slightly; he detected the sarcasm in Wu Deyu's words but chose to take it as a compliment.
Wu Deyu continued, "Why don't you tell us what happened this time?"
Zhang Qiu nodded, "Alright, I'll start from the beginning. After history class, I went to the restroom with Gao Zhi and Zhao Pingchuan. I came out early with Zhao Pingchuan, but Gao Zhi was delayed and happened to run into a Fatty who was bullying someone..."
"It was Master Lu!" Director Zhao emphasized once again.
Wu Deyu frowned slightly and said, "Let him finish." He gestured for Zhang Qiu to continue.
Zhang Qiu went on, "While Fatty was in the restroom, he bumped into another student and refused to back down, even wanting to fight. Gao Zhi tried to mediate, but Fatty ended up hitting him too. That Fatty is so big; they couldn't possibly fight back. I was outside and heard the commotion inside, so I rushed in. Unexpectedly, Fatty came at me too, so I had no choice but to take him down." Zhang Qiu deliberately referred to him as Fatty with every mention and glanced at Director Zhao afterward. Director Zhao sighed in frustration; he thought that if Zhang Qiu could handle himself, he shouldn't be joking around with him.
Wu Deyu nodded slightly and said, "You're quite strong."
"I practiced before."
Wu Deyu asked again, "Are you sure about what happened before you went into the restroom?"
"Absolutely sure."
"Why is that?"
"Because the student who was bullied told me directly."
"Who is he?"
"I don't know him."
Wu Deyu said, "This time Lu Bin is coming back to our school to invest in building a gymnasium. This project is a major matter that affects thousands of students in our school. It's embarrassing that such an unpleasant incident happened to him while he was here."
Zhang Qiu replied, "I also feel embarrassed."
"Knowing it's embarrassing, why did you still resort to violence? The school rules clearly state that fighting is not allowed on or off campus. You've made the same mistake before; why do you keep breaking the rules? School regulations are not a joke. You're about to take your college entrance exams, and after three years of schooling, you still don't understand this?"
"I understand, so I accept punishment every time. Including this time, I will still accept punishment, but I don't feel embarrassed because of it; on the contrary, I'm proud."
"Not feeling ashamed but feeling honored?"
Zhang Qiu answered, "When I see someone being bullied and stand up to help them, I don't think it's shameful. It's Fatty who bullies classmates at school that I find embarrassing."
Wu Deyu did not engage with the mention of Fatty and emphasized, "You fighting is a violation of school rules."
"The law also doesn't allow for hurting others, but Principal, our political textbooks talk about standing up for justice."
"Zhang Qiu! How can you speak to the principal like this? This attitude after making a mistake!" Director Zhao was furious. Under his management, the Senior Year had repeatedly caused trouble, and now this Zhang Qiu dared to confront the principal—this was simply unacceptable!
"I don't believe I've done anything wrong, but I accept punishment. I know building the gymnasium is indeed important; I'm sorry for affecting the school's construction, but I will never apologize for hitting that Fatty," Qiu Wan said, looking directly into Director Zhao's eyes.
"What a person who won't feel sorry." Wu Deyu chuckled as Director Zhao prepared to speak and quietly stepped aside.
"Since you accept punishment, I will announce it. Zhang Qiu, you have violated school rules by openly fighting on campus in an egregious manner with a severely negative impact. You will receive a major demerit and must reflect at home for a week. Additionally, you must apologize to Lu Bin in person."
"Apologize? That's impossible." Zhang Qiu flatly refused.
"This is important, as it relates to Lu Bin's impression of our school. Don't you also want the school to build a gymnasium?"
"Of course I hope to build a gymnasium. I want everyone to be physically healthy, and I hope everyone can be mentally healthy!" Zhang Qiu emphasized the last four words. "Mentally healthy" echoed in Wu Deyu's ears like a series of firecrackers exploding.
"Pack your things, let's go home," Wu Deyu said.
"Okay." Zhang Qiu stood up and left without looking back.
From beginning to end, Wu Deyu showed no sign of anger, but this almost emotionless rationality made Zhang Qiu feel even more frightened and annoyed.
"Principal, he..." Director Zhao watched Zhang Qiu's departing figure, unsure of what to say. A student disregarding Principal Wu like that was truly eye-opening for him.
Wu Deyu remained expressionless and said lightly, "Let him be. I don't think he will apologize, so let him reflect on it. We still need to do more work with Wu Bin; we have already agreed that he will come again. When that time comes, the school's reception must be warm and welcoming, like home. This matter will be entrusted to you for supervision."
"Don't worry, Principal, I will make sure this is handled well," Director Zhao hurriedly promised. Given the situation, he thought Principal Wu would surely criticize him, but he didn't expect to be given such an important task; it couldn't have been better.
Wu Deyu continued to sit in his office chair, deep in thought as he looked towards the door. Zhang Qiu, oh Zhang Qiu, you are quite unique; it's just a pity you were born in the wrong era.
Comment 0 Comment Count