No one knew who arranged the program list, but the juxtaposition of
elegance
and
vulgarity
was glaring. The combination of
piano
and
poetry
, paired with
China's traditional culture
and
iron sand palm
brick-breaking, was simply a masterpiece that made people gasp in awe.
Yin Bingsong
had done many bad things, but he had to be acknowledged as a good father. He came back risking his own safety just to support his daughter. He had prepared well for his performance—his hair was sprayed with gel, he wore a long black leather coat with the collar turned up, and as soon as he appeared, the crowd cheered.
Yin Weiran
clapped modestly, feeling extremely proud.
Jian Shiyu
and
Mei Xin
sat beside her, showering her with praise: “Big sis, your dad is so cool.” “Your dad looks like someone from TV,
Yan Shuangying
, yes,
Yan Shuangying
!”
The boys in the audience were whispering, trying to figure out who this parent was. Some recognized
Yin Bingsong
and said he was the most powerful boss in their shipyard district, a
gangster
king, and that he was the father of a girl in Class 5. Someone replied, “So this girl must be the
gangster princess
.”
Sitting in the row ahead,
Yin Weiran
was even more pleased hearing this discussion. Every girl had a
princess dream
, and as long as you were a princess, the prefix didn’t matter.
The host of the event,
Ling Siyuan
, was wearing a red suit skirt, festive and gorgeous. She smilingly invited
Yin Bingsong
onto the stage.
Yin Bingsong
remembered the cute, baby-faced teacher and began to perform his special skill. A desk was placed on the stage, and he put his bag on it with a loud thud to emphasize the weight. He then grabbed the microphone and began boasting: “I used to work in the factory's security department. You can go home and ask your parents or grandparents if they’ve ever heard of my name.”
His bragging lasted for five minutes, seriously overrunning the time.
Ling Siyuan
, standing off to the side, held up a sign that read:
Watch the time!
Still not missing a beat,
Yin Bingsong
added a few final harsh words: “My daughter is in Class 5. If anyone dares to bully her, I’ll go to your house and demand an explanation.”
Ma Xiaowei
, who was backstage, felt disdain and anger at
Yin Bingsong
's arrogant attitude. But since
Ali
was nearby, he just shook his head and sighed in a dignified manner: “This parent is really something.”
Finally,
Yin Bingsong
got to the main part. He took out a red brick and said, “Today I’m going to perform
barehanded brick breaking
. If you think your head is harder than a brick, come practice with me.”
He held the brick in his left hand and swung his right palm. With a shout, he stomped his foot to add intensity—but unfortunately, the brick didn’t break. Instead, his palm stung with pain.
He had been careless, realizing immediately that the prop had been switched. This wasn’t the brick soaked in vinegar—it was a real brick.
Barehanded brick breaking
wasn’t a particularly difficult skill if you practiced, but he had never trained for it. Now, it was too late to make a last-minute attempt, and the biggest problem was figuring out how to finish the performance.
The entire audience fell silent, waiting for
Yan Shuangying
’s next move.
At this moment, there was nothing else to do but to go all out.
Yin Bingsong
gritted his teeth and shouted again, trying to break the brick with his hand. The pain made him grimace, and it felt like his hand was about to snap, but the brick didn’t even crack.
This was beyond embarrassing. Under the lights, it was hard to tell if
Yin Bingsong
's face was red, but
Ling Siyuan
, quick-witted, immediately noticed the issue and rushed to the stage to help. She said, “
Mr. Yin
just drove all the way from out of town. It’s been a long trip, and he hasn’t even had a meal. Let’s give him some applause.”
The audience applauded loudly, though some laughter mixed with the clapping was clearly not entirely kind.
Yin Bingsong
's face burned with embarrassment. The mighty man was bested by a brick. What he most wanted to do right now was grab a hammer and smash the brick, but that would be even worse—it would cost him all his face.
Backstage,
Ali
felt the most uncomfortable. She was too kind-hearted to watch others suffer.
Yin Bingsong
was embarrassing himself on stage, and she felt so awkward she could have crawled into a hole.
Yi Leng
couldn’t bear to watch anymore. He had been hoping to see
Yin Bingsong
make a fool of himself, but now that one bad apple was ruining the entire event, he had to step in.
Yi Leng
quickly walked to the stage, snatched the brick from
Yin Bingsong
's hand, and with a swift motion, the brick split into two halves.
Then, he picked up the remaining bricks from the table and, using either his palm or fist, broke all ten bricks in one go with powerful movements.
Ling Siyuan
was the first to applaud, and the audience followed with resounding applause, mixed with cheers.
“
How did you do it?
”
Ling Siyuan
asked, holding the microphone up to
Yi Leng
.
“Mainly one word—
fast
. You have to catch the brick off guard,”
Yi Leng
replied seriously. “
Yin Lao Si
talked too much and even stomped his foot. The brick got suspicious and didn’t break.”
The audience burst into laughter.
Only
Yin Bingsong
's face went pale, now alternating between green and white.
Ling Siyuan
said, “Actually, this was a little skit performed by two parents to bring us some fun. Let’s give them a round of applause.”
Ling Siyuan
really showed quick thinking. She smoothly saved the situation, easing the embarrassment and finding a way out for everyone.
Yin Bingsong
gave her a grateful look, remembered her face, and bowed to the audience before leaving the stage, his tail between his legs.
He was a man of appearance and cared about his dignity. He didn’t linger backstage and just left.
“No need to thank me,”
Yi Leng
called out behind him, returning to
Ali
's side.
Ali
quietly said, “He really should thank you.”
“I wasn’t doing it for him,”
Yi Leng
said. “
Saving a scene is like saving a fire
.”
Ali
asked, “How is it that your hands can play the piano and break bricks? How do you do it?”
Yi Leng
shrugged. “I can also cook.”
Just then, his phone rang—it was
Wu Yumei
, reminding him that the restaurant had customers and he needed to get back.
Meanwhile, in the audience,
Yin Weiran
’s sobs were drowned out by the raucous laughter. Her two best friends didn’t dare to comfort her.
Yin Bingsong
had truly embarrassed her, and she felt miserable for her.
Sigh.
The next performance began. It was
Mei Xin
's mother singing on stage. As a professional, she dominated from her dress and makeup to her vocal pitch. But the kids didn’t appreciate her style—they were still whispering about the funny scene that had just occurred.
Hearing the comments,
Yin Weiran
stopped crying. She shifted all her anger toward
Yi Warmwarm
. If it weren’t for her uncle causing trouble, her dad wouldn’t have embarrassed himself. This grudge needed to be avenged, and it couldn’t wait until tomorrow.
Yi Warmwarm
was sitting in the row ahead, scribbling in her notebook.
Yin Weiran
's anger flared as she thought of a plan. She whispered something to her two best friends and told
Jian Shiyu
to help her out. As the performance ended,
Mei Xin
approached
Yi Warmwarm
and said, “
Ali
teacher is looking for you. Come with me.”
Trusting
Ali
’s authority,
Yi Warmwarm
had no doubts and followed
Mei Xin
out the side door. The dark corridor led to the backstage.
Yi Warmwarm
, carefree, walked ahead, only to find
Yin Weiran
with crutches and a cast, and
Jian Shiyu
with hands on her hips.
Yi Warmwarm
instinctively tried to turn away, but
Mei Xin
blocked her path.
Bullying among middle school students is
illogical
—they just
go straight for it
.
Yin Weiran
had her two best friends grab
Yi Warmwarm
, and then she slapped her across the face. The sound of the slap rang out, but the force wasn’t much, leaving just a few red marks on her skin.
Yi Warmwarm
struggled, and her notebook fell to the ground.
Mei Xin
picked it up and handed it to the boss.
Yin Weiran
sneered as she flipped it open. The pages were full of
comics
—warm family scenes, drawings of
Ali
, and even
Feng Xiaoxiao
. Especially the drawing of
Feng Xiaoxiao
, so lifelike and full of rebellious youth—if
Feng Xiaoxiao
saw it, it would be a big deal!
Yin Weiran was consumed with fury
. How dare anyone lay a hand on the boy she liked? She yanked and tore at the notebook, and suddenly a photo fluttered out—it was
Yi Warmwarm's family photo
taken when she was ten years old. This was the emotional anchor she had relied on for the past four years. It was a
Polaroid
, no backup, just this one copy—destroying it meant it was gone forever.
Yi Warmwarm
struggled violently to free herself from their grip, throwing herself onto the photo, clutching it tightly.
Yi Jianmei
began stomping on her back repeatedly, leaving imprints all over. Finally,
Mei Xin
grabbed Yi Warmwarm by the hair and yanked her up. But Yi Warmwarm held onto the photo for dear life.
Jian Shiyu
pried open her fingers, one by one, until she finally wrenched the photo away and handed it to
Yin Weiran
like a
prized possession
.
Yin Weiran
studied the photo with a mocking sneer on her face. “So this is the dead mom and dad you’ve been talking about?”
Yi Warmwarm glared at her, desperation in her eyes: “Give it back to me!”
The more Yi Warmwarm tried to show how much it meant to her, the more
Yin Weiran
reveled in her triumph. With her crutch wedged under her arm, she freed a hand and
ripped the photo to shreds
, tossing the pieces carelessly to the floor.
“Don’t ever speak to
Feng Xiaoxiao
again,”
Yin Weiran
spat. “If I see you talking to him, I’ll hit you every time.” After saying that, she turned and strutted off, her two lackeys in tow, walking as if she’d just vanquished a mighty enemy like the
Empress Dowager Cixi
, victorious and haughty.
Yi Warmwarm
didn’t have time to cry. She scrambled to collect the shredded pieces of the photo. Just then,
Ali
came out from backstage and saw Yi Warmwarm crouching, gathering scraps from the floor.
Ali
bent down to help her search, but as she picked up more pieces, her heart grew heavier. It didn’t take long for her to realize what had happened.
This wasn’t just a bullying incident—it was an attack on
Yi Warmwarm's most precious memory
—a memento of her deceased parents.
“Who did this?”
Ali
tried to suppress her emotions, reminding herself that as a teacher, she had to stay professional.
At this point, Yi Warmwarm had no reservations. She was determined to make sure these three girls faced consequences. She told
Ali
it was
Yi Jianmei
,
Yin Weiran
, and
Jian Shiyu
who had done this.
Ali
immediately called the homeroom teacher,
Ms. Zhang
, to ask for justice.
Ms. Zhang
, a short, plump woman in her forties with thick glasses, was usually warm and approachable, but when dealing with students, she could be strict. She agreed to address the situation but said, “The performance is still going on. We’ll deal with it after it ends. We’ll take firm action against any bullying.”
Ali
was just a substitute teacher, so she couldn’t take matters into her own hands. She could only comfort Yi Warmwarm, whose fragile emotions at 14 were like
delicate porcelain
, easy to break with a single touch. This was the most dangerous age.
Yi Warmwarm didn’t return to the auditorium. She followed
Ali
back to the classroom and waited for the event to end. When the students returned to the classroom,
Ms. Zhang
seemed to have forgotten about the issue, ready to dismiss them for the day.
Ali
, frustrated, walked up to the podium and announced, “I need
Yin Weiran
,
Jian Shiyu
, and
Mei Xin
to stay.”
The trio exchanged glances, clearly uneasy.
As the other students packed up to leave, they didn’t care about the three who were being left behind. Their parents were waiting at the school gate, eager for the upcoming three-day New Year’s holiday. No one was concerned about the three girls being kept behind.
The classroom was nearly empty when
Ms. Zhang
seemed to finally remember her duties. She began questioning the situation. First, she asked Yi Warmwarm to explain what had happened. Yi Warmwarm handed her the pile of torn pieces and said, “These were torn apart by
Yi Jianmei
,
Yin Weiran
, and
Jian Shiyu
.”
“
What have I taught you?
”
Ms. Zhang
began her usual lecture: “You should be united and kind to each other. Classmates are lifelong friends. You’ll understand the value of friendships after graduation…” She gave her standard lecture, then said, “You three need to compensate Yi Warmwarm for her notebook and apologize. If this happens again, I’ll have to call your parents.”
Yi Jianmei and her two friends felt a sense of relief. They were all pros at
fooling teachers
, lowering their heads with no sincerity. They muttered, “Sorry, I was wrong.”
Yin Weiran
even added, “I have a Japanese-imported diary with a leather cover at home. I’ll replace it for you later.”
But
Ali
, unable to hold her frustration anymore, spoke up: “
They hit her.
” She showed
Ms. Zhang
the
finger marks
on Yi Warmwarm’s face and the
footprints
on her back. These were
irrefutable
proof.
Ms. Zhang
realized this was more serious than she had thought, so she said, “You three will bring your parents here on the morning of the 4th.”
“I’ve had enough!”
Ali
snapped, her patience exhausted. She stepped forward and declared, “No one is leaving until this is settled.”
The trio was startled.
Ali
, usually so gentle, was now as fierce as a
raging lioness
.
Just then, the classroom door opened, and
Xiang Bing
entered. She had been delayed by business matters from her new company but had managed to catch a later train. The moment she found out her niece was being bullied, she rushed to the school and went straight to the classroom to find Yi Warmwarm.
Now,
Ali
had an ally. When
Xiang Bing
heard what had happened, her face darkened, and she immediately demanded to see the parents of the three girls.
Ms. Zhang
, being indecisive, deferred to
Xiang Bing
and allowed Yi Jianmei to call her parents right away.
As night fell, the mothers of
Yi Jianmei
,
Yin Weiran
, and
Jian Shiyu
arrived at the school gate. Upon receiving the call, they sensed something was off. As soon as they walked in, the tension was palpable. The three mothers, who were all familiar with each other and lived in the same neighborhood, had no love lost for each other. They immediately took defensive stances, folding their arms and pouting.
Now, the classroom was filled with
two teachers, four students, and four parents
—ten women in total, all tense and ready for a confrontation.
Ms. Zhang
and the three mothers were all acquaintances, but not wanting to take the lead in this conflict, they pushed the responsibility onto
Ali
.
The standoff began with everyone introducing themselves politely. After that,
Ali
spoke up: “Tonight, we had a bullying incident.
Yin Weiran
,
Jian Shiyu
, and
Mei Xin
hit Yi Warmwarm, slapped her, stomped on her, and destroyed her personal property. I’d like to ask you to help us figure out how to handle this.”
The room went silent, with only
Ms. Zhang
letting out a nervous laugh.
The three mothers immediately began to defend their daughters.
Yin Weiran’s mother
,
Han Lanlan
, who worked in the finance department of a major corporation, arrogantly sniffed, “
How could my daughter hurt someone?
Maybe someone’s lying about her.”
Jian Shiyu’s mother chimed in: “My daughter is always so honest. She would never bully anyone.
Ms. Zhang
, you’ve known her since first grade, you know this.”
Mei Xin’s mother also added: “Exactly. I don’t believe it.”
Xiang Bing
pulled Yi Warmwarm over to show them the marks on her face and back, emphasizing that this was no minor incident.
After a moment of silence,
Han Lanlan
sneered: “
Do you have CCTV footage?
”
Ali
took a deep breath, her patience thinning. She knew what kind of person she was dealing with, but she would still speak the truth.
“This is Yi Warmwarm’s notebook, torn apart like this. This was her last family photo, now shredded,”
Ali
said, her voice breaking as she pointed to the scraps of paper. “Yi Warmwarm’s parents are both deceased. This was her only memento of them. Why did you do this to her?”
Mei Xin’s mother, still with some sense of decency, murmured, “It’s not such a big deal…”
Ali
replied sharply: “It’s not a big deal to adults, but it’s a
huge deal to a child
. This is bullying, and it shatters a child's view of the future, life, and society. I want you all to think about it: If this were your child, how would you feel?”
Jian Shiyu’s mother said, “Jian Shiyu, what happened?”
“It’s not my fault…” Jian Shiyu shrank back, clearly scared of the situation.
Mei Xin also lowered her head, knowing full well what had happened, but her pride and arrogance prevented her from admitting it.
“It went like this,”
Yin Weiran
finally spoke up, “We went to the bathroom and ran into Yi Warmwarm in the hallway. She was the one who tore up the notebook in front of us and started hitting herself. We were so scared, we just ran back.” She looked innocent, “Ms. Zhang, you know I’m the English class rep, right? Yi Warmwarm’s English grades are bad, and she always holds us back. I had to tell her off. I did it for the team’s honor, and now she’s making up stories to frame us.”
“You’re lying!” Yi Warmwarm shouted, her eyes blazing.
“You’re the liar!”
Yin Weiran
shot back.
Ms. Zhang
intervened: “How about this: let’s take Yi Warmwarm to the hospital for an examination. If there’s no serious injury, then we’ll have an apology. If there are injuries, we’ll resolve it between the parents.”
“No!” the four parents and
Ali
said in unison, creating an awkward silence.
“We’re not leaving until this is sorted,”
Xiang Bing
snapped, her voice rising with authority. “Don’t think you can bully my niece.”
Han Lanlan
remained calm. She took out her phone and dialed
Yin Bingsong
, “Get here quickly, something’s happened with
Yin Weiran
.”
Jian Shiyu and Mei Xin’s mothers also called their husbands, who were influential men in the community.
Ali
thought about calling her allies, but realized they wouldn’t make it in time. Just then, she received an unexpected call from
Ma Xiaowei
.
“
Ms. Ali
, why haven’t you come out yet? I’ve been waiting at the gate. I can drive you home now.”
Ma Xiaowei’s
gentle voice was the first glimmer of hope in an otherwise tense night.
[--------------------------------------------]
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