On his first day at the new kindergarten, after Yun Su left, the teacher took Gu Yan by the hand and led him into the classroom.
Gu Yan’s new teacher was a gentle woman with a soft voice and a kind demeanor. She looked to be under thirty years old.
The teacher briefly introduced Gu Yan to the other children. Since he had transferred midway through the term, all of his classmates were curious about him.
As soon as Gu Yan sat down, the little girl beside him struck up a conversation.
“Why are you only coming to school now? Didn’t you go to kindergarten before?”
Gu Yan glanced at her and answered expressionlessly, “I used to attend a different kindergarten.”
“Then why didn’t you keep going there?” The girl looked genuinely puzzled, leaning closer and closer as though she sincerely wanted to know the answer.
Gu Yan felt uncomfortable.
He didn’t like people getting so close to him.
Before he could reply, the teacher spoke up.
“Everyone, no more talking. Please return to your seats. You can get to know your new classmate after class. Right now, let’s begin our drawing lesson…”
The teacher started teaching at the blackboard, and the little girl had no choice but to return to her seat.
Gu Yan finally felt that things had become peaceful again.
At lunchtime, Gu Yan sat quietly at his desk reading a book.
The same girl from earlier came over once more and stood beside his desk.
Seeing this, several other children gathered around as well.
Soon, Gu Yan’s desk was completely surrounded. The crowd was so dense that when he looked up, all he could see were heads.
Frowning, Gu Yan had no idea what they wanted.
The girl from earlier asked, “Your backpack is really pretty. Did your mom buy it for you?”
Hearing that, Gu Yan instinctively touched his little bear backpack. The tightness between his brows eased slightly.
“No! Sister bought it for me.”
“You have a sister? Your sister is so nice to you.”
The other children also looked curiously at the items on Gu Yan’s desk.
All of Gu Yan’s stationery had been chosen by Yun Su. They were the sort of novel and cute designs that children naturally liked.
When Gu Yan didn’t say anything else, the girl continued, “Can I try wearing your little bear backpack?”
Gu Yan instantly looked at her warily.
“No!”
The girl’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly startled by his harsh tone.
She had only wanted to try on the backpack.
However, it belonged to someone else. Since Gu Yan wasn’t willing to lend it to her, she decided to return to her own seat.
Unexpectedly, a chubby boy standing nearby immediately became angry after overhearing their conversation.
The boy slammed his clenched fist down on Gu Yan’s desk, causing it to shake.
“Why are you being so mean to her? She just wanted to look at your backpack!”
Supporting the desk, Gu Yan replied stiffly, “I wasn’t. But I can’t give you the backpack.”
The chubby boy became even more dissatisfied.
He had clearly been rude to Xiao Xue just now, and now he had even made her upset.
Xiao Xue had merely wanted his backpack, yet he refused to share it.
In the past, whenever the boy wanted something, he simply took it.
Now, this new student wasn’t even afraid of him.
The chubby boy immediately climbed over the desks and reached for the straps of Gu Yan’s backpack.
Seeing this, Gu Yan quickly pulled the backpack into his arms and hugged it tightly.
The chubby boy missed his target. Turning to glare at Gu Yan, his fists clenched tightly as he stared at him down.
Looking at the boy, Gu Yan thought he resembled a kettle that was about to explode.
Then…
At the worst possible moment, he burst into laughter.
The chubby boy had still been thinking about how to snatch the backpack when he noticed that Gu Yan was actually laughing at him.
Humiliated and enraged, he released his fists and lunged toward the backpack in Gu Yan’s arms.
The force caused Gu Yan to stumble forward, but he still protected the little bear backpack with all his might.
The chubby boy was much larger than other boys his age and significantly heavier. He was also much stronger, likely accustomed to bullying others through sheer size.
The other children watched the struggle unfold, too afraid to intervene.
Only the girl named Xiao Xue stood nearby and shouted,
“Shao Jun, why are you bullying the new student?”
The chubby boy, Shao Jun, immediately protested.
“I’m not bullying him. He just won’t give me the backpack!”
Gu Yan was stunned by the absurdity of his reasoning.
“The backpack belongs to me. Why should I give it to you?”
Shao Jun bared his teeth and continued trying to seize the backpack. At the same time, he lifted his foot and kicked Gu Yan.
“I like this backpack. You should let me play with it.”
After being kicked, pain shot through Gu Yan’s leg, causing it to buckle.
The backpack in his hands was instantly snatched away.
Holding the backpack triumphantly, Shao Jun carried it over to Xiao Xue.
“Xiao Xue, you like this backpack, right? Try it on. It’ll definitely look good on you.”
Xiao Xue didn’t take it.
Shao Jun had always relied on his strength to bully others, and Xiao Xue had never liked talking to him.
Rolling her eyes at him, she puffed out her cheeks and walked away without another word.
Shao Jun couldn’t understand why Xiao Xue was still unhappy even after he had gotten the backpack for her.
If Xiao Xue wasn’t happy, then neither was he.
The chubby boy threw Gu Yan’s backpack onto the floor and stomped on it several times.
“What a lousy backpack. Tomorrow, I’ll have my mom buy me one that’s even better looking.”
After saying that, Shao Jun turned to leave.
The next moment, Gu Yan’s fist smashed solidly into his face.
Gu Yan had put a great deal of strength into the punch.
Although he wasn’t as heavy as Shao Jun, he wasn’t a pampered child either.
Shao Jun clutched his face, stunned by the blow, and remained frozen for a long while before collapsing onto the floor and bursting into loud sobs.
He had always ruled over the kindergarten like a little tyrant.
Only he bullied others.
Who would have thought that someone would actually hit him?
And it hurt so much. No one had ever hit him before.
The chubby boy cried louder and louder while shouting,
“You actually dared to hit me! Waaaah! Mommy! I want my mommy to hit you!”
The commotion quickly attracted the teacher’s attention.
After bringing both children to the office, she tried to find out what had happened.
Unfortunately, one child only knew how to cry, while the other simply hugged his backpack in silence.
Having no other choice, the teacher contacted both sets of guardians.
When Yun Su received the teacher’s phone call, she was happily applying a facial mask while watching television dramas.
Since it was Gu Yan’s first day at kindergarten, she had even been planning to throw a small party that evening to celebrate the beginning of his new school life.
Who would have imagined that the teacher would call to inform her that Gu Yan had gotten into a fight at school?
This was only his first day!
Yun Su’s immediate concern was whether Gu Yan had been injured. After questioning the teacher, she learned that he didn’t appear to have suffered any serious harm.
Hanging up the phone, Yun Su quickly got ready and drove to the kindergarten.
Countless thoughts raced through her mind during the journey.
Gu Yan wasn’t the type of child to provoke others first. With his cool and reserved personality, he rarely even spoke to people.
So how had he ended up fighting someone?
Could it be that his classmates had been bullying him because he was new?
Had he gotten hurt?
Yun Su arrived at the teacher’s office in a state of anxious urgency.
Before she even stepped through the door, a shrill female voice rang out from inside.
“He must kneel down and apologize to my son! Just look at what happened to my son’s face! Where is his guardian? Why hasn’t the guardian arrived yet?”