The Truth
Everyone instinctively looked towards Mrs. Qin. She stopped in her tracks, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Jiang Quqi nodded, took a step towards her, and the moment she raised her hand, Mrs. Qin covered her face.
However, no pain came. Mrs. Qin opened her eyes, blinking in confusion.
She had clearly heard the sound of a slap.
The chubby boy who had actually been slapped realized what happened belatedly and burst into loud wails.
“My son!” Mrs. Qin screamed.
“You hit my child, so I hit yours. Now it’s fair. Now we can talk about what happened.”
Jiang Quqi sat back down on the chair, pointed her slender finger at the teacher, and said, “You are the teacher. You speak first.”
The teacher was stunned. “Huh? Me?”
“Yes. Please.”
Swallowing hard, the teacher said, “Uh, here is what happened. During the break, Jiaming and Qin Jiao were playing around. You know how kids are, they wrestle and pull each other. Qin Jiao accidentally pushed Jiaming, and Jiaming fell down the stairs. Look, he even has a bump on his head. And Qin Bao saw it with his own eyes too.”
Jiang Quqi glanced at the chubby boy, who nodded with a red face.
Jiang Quqi seemed to understand, but before the teacher could relax, she asked, “Then why are you asking my child to apologize?”
The teacher took a deep breath, almost fainting from the pressure.
The woman sitting nearby, who had been silent all this time, put away her phone. Her face was cold as she said, “Just apologize.”
Jiang Quqi asked sincerely, “Why?”
“Your child pushed him, shouldn’t he apologize?”
“Do you have proof that my child pushed him? Or can you guarantee that your child didn’t provoke him first?”
The woman pointed at Qin Bao beside her. “He saw it! What else are you arguing about?”
“A kid from the elementary department just happened to be in the middle school section and just happened to see the whole thing? What a coincidence,” Jiang Quqi said, unwilling to waste more words. She slammed her hand on the table. “Since it happened in the hallway, let’s check the surveillance cameras.”
“Parents of Qin Jiao, the matter is already very clear.”
“Teacher, I don’t think it is clear at all.”
“Checking the surveillance is very troublesome, and there is really no need for it. It’s just a small matter, an apology will settle it.”
“I think it is necessary, Teacher.”
The teacher continued to argue, “If things weren’t like that, why didn’t Qin Jiao refute it? And Qin Bao can prove it too. Ms. Jiang, aren’t you just making trouble for no reason?”
Jiang Quqi sat calmly and insisted, “Check the surveillance.”
Under Jiang Quqi’s insistence, they finally retrieved the footage. The video clearly recorded everything: the boy with the bump on his head had walked up to Qin Jiao for no reason and started yelling at him for a long time. No one knew what Qin Jiao said back, but the boy tried to throw a punch. Perhaps he was clumsy, because Qin Jiao simply dodged, and the boy went tumbling down the stairs.
After watching the video, the teacher fell silent. Mrs. Qin held Qin Bao without saying a word. The boy with the bump kept his head down and said nothing.
The first to break the silence was the boy’s mother. She shot a cold glance at her son, apologized to Jiang Quqi and Qin Jiao, then turned around and left without hesitation, carrying her bag. The boy cried loudly and chased after her.
The room became quiet. Jiang Quqi didn’t plan to stay any longer. She looked at the mark on Qin Jiao’s face; it seemed to have faded a lot, leaving only a faint redness. She asked, “Do you want to go home, or stay for class?”
Qin Jiao didn’t speak.
“Silence means you want to go home.”
Jiang Quqi patted his shoulder. “Pack your things. We’re leaving early. Go ahead.”
Qin Jiao nodded and walked out.
With one less person, the room felt even emptier. Jiang Quqi then turned to the teacher and said seriously, “Teacher, you need to apologize.”
The teacher said awkwardly, “I’m sorry.”
“Not to me. To Qin Jiao.”
“Teacher, when I arrived, there were students crowding outside the office. Your handling of this matter was indeed biased. To put it harshly, it was against professional ethics.”
“Qin Jiao is in his third year, graduating soon. I don’t want to pursue what happened in the past, but I don’t want this to happen again. I need you to apologize to Qin Jiao in front of the entire class.”
The teacher nodded awkwardly. “Alright.”
Jiang Quqi pointed her finger at Qin Bao. “And you! You weren’t even at the scene yet you pretended to be a witness. You have to apologize too. Do it again next time and I’ll hit you, got it?”
Qin Bao was so scared that he hid in his mother’s arms. “You only know how to hit me!”
Jiang Quqi rolled her eyes, then cast a light glance at Mrs. Qin. Mrs. Qin shivered involuntarily, but in the end, Jiang Quqi said nothing more to her. She dusted off her clothes and walked out.
A voice came from outside. “All packed?”
“Let’s go home.”
“Mom, I want to go home too.”
Mrs. Qin stood there in a daze, watching Qin Jiao leave together with Jiang Quqi. An inexplicable feeling of loss washed over her, as if something had broken and could never be found again.
For once, she ignored Qin Bao. Her gaze followed Qin Jiao’s back until it was swallowed by the light, fading further and further away.
It had already been eight years. The skinny, messy boy who used to fight stray cats for food had finally grown up.