“What on earth is wrong with the teachers at your tutoring center? Look at what they’ve done to our child! You must give me an explanation today, or I’ll sue you for negligence resulting in death. Then we’ll see if your tutoring center can stay in business!”
“Yuhao’s mom, you can’t put it that way. When we went out for activities, our after-school program teachers repeatedly warned the kids not to go to dangerous places and to stay within the teachers’ sight. But Yuhao just ignored our warnings—wherever we told him not to go, he insisted on going anyway. That’s why he got hurt. You can’t blame us entirely for this!
“Of course, we’re deeply concerned about Yuhao’s injury. We’re willing to cover half of his medical expenses…”
“How dare you speak to me like that? We entrusted our child to you out of trust. Now that he’s injured, not only do you fail to apologize, but your offer of compensation is so insincere. Are you trying to shut down the program?” After hearing Xing Hui’s words, Yuhao’s mother was seething with anger. What had her child done wrong? It’s all the tutoring center’s fault!
Haoyu’s mother wouldn’t let it go, while Xing Hui stood by, trying to placate her. The class of students who went out for the activity today was originally led by Li Xue, but a few days ago it had been handed over to a new female teacher—who happened to be Xing Hui’s cousin—which is why Xing Hui was the one standing there explaining.
Li Xue, meanwhile, had been reassigned to be Xing Hui’s assistant—which basically meant doing menial tasks and being run ragged. Ever since Li Xue refused to go to social events, her treatment had gone downhill. The others had been arguing for quite a while when Li Xue finally returned from outside, carrying two large cardboard boxes, her face covered in sweat.
No sooner had she set the boxes down—she hadn’t even had time to wipe the sweat from her face—than Xing Hui yanked her over: “Here, this is their homeroom teacher. Just talk to her about whatever you need.” After saying that, Xing Hui walked right away, as if the matter had nothing to do with her anymore.
“Are you the teacher in charge of my son’s class?” With Xing Hui gone, Yuhao’s mother could only turn to Li Hui. Usually, her child was picked up and dropped off by the grandparents, so she herself hadn’t been there very often.
“I was indeed in charge before, but I handed over the class to another teacher a few days ago. I didn’t participate in this activity either. Of course, I’m very sorry to hear your child was injured, but I really don’t know the specifics…” Li Xue was completely bewildered at this point. She hadn’t been involved at all and didn’t want to get mixed up in it, so she could only patiently explain the situation, but the other woman looked thoroughly impatient.
“What on earth happened here?” Before Yuhao’s mother could really lose her temper, the owner of the tutoring center walked in from outside, his eyes practically bursting with rage. Were his employees just sitting around doing nothing? They couldn’t even handle such a minor issue. Didn’t they see the crowd growing outside? What good would this commotion do for the tutoring center?
“You’re the owner? Let me tell you this: if you don’t give me a satisfactory explanation for what happened today, we’re not done yet…” Yuhao’s mother recounted the entire incident at length, as if she’d suffered the greatest injustice.
“How about this: we’ll cover all of Yuhao’s medical expenses, and throw in two months’ worth of lunch vouchers. Would that work?” Yuhao only comes in the afternoons and on weekends; he doesn’t come for lunch, as his grandparents always pick him up.
“That’s a bit too little. Add another two thousand yuan for nutritional expenses, and I’ll agree.” There’s free money to be had—she’d be doing herself a disservice not to squeeze out as much as possible.
“Five hundred!” He opened his mouth and immediately slashed the offer by three-quarters.
Seeing the other party’s displeasure, the owner stepped forward, chose his angle, and whispered to Yuhao’s mother, “Let’s not take this too far. You know our teachers have reminded him three times already—the child isn’t entirely without blame. Besides, a mischievous child is a headache for any tutoring center. If he really gets expelled, it’s not certain that any nearby tutoring centers would even accept Yuhao. Why not back down now? You’ll still get some money. If we really burn bridges, it won’t benefit either of us.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you this: I’m only agreeing because of you. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have agreed.” ”After hearing the owner’s words and seeing the look in his eyes, Yuhao’s mother didn’t want to keep arguing. She seized the opportunity to save face. Somewhat satisfied with the compensation, she shifted her focus to other issues: “Regardless, the fact remains that my son was injured. I’ve seen your sincerity, Mr. Owner, but doesn’t the teacher owe my son an apology? As long as the teacher apologizes, this matter will be settled.”
This was another source of her anger. From the moment her son was injured until now, not a single teacher had come forward to say “I’m sorry”—which was one of the reasons she’d caused such a scene.
“That’s only fair. Li Xue, come here.” ” Seeing her back down, the principal breathed a sigh of relief and readily agreed to the apology—after all, he wouldn’t have to handle it personally. Glancing over, he spotted Li Xue standing nearby and immediately singled her out. Though he knew full well that Li Xue hadn’t been teaching a class lately and had been doing odd jobs, who was he to argue? He was the principal, after all—he could be as capricious as he pleased. Whoever he chose, that’s who it would be.
“Boss, I’m not in charge of this class.” Why should I apologize for someone else?
“But you’re still the class advisor on paper. When the reassignment was made, it was agreed that Xiao Mei, being new, would learn from you. Now that a mistake has been made, of course you’re the one who has to apologize.” Seeing that the matter was about to be settled, Xing Hui jumped in again.
“I’m not apologizing. I didn’t go with them. Even if something went wrong, it’s not my responsibility. As for what you said, I never heard a word of it.
Remember what you told me back then: ‘Li Xue, I don’t think you’re capable of being a homeroom teacher anymore. Step down immediately and let a more capable teacher take over. You won’t have to manage this class anymore.’
Now that something’s gone wrong, you’re coming at me with all this nonsense. I’m not doing it. If anyone needs to apologize, it’s you…”
All the anger Li Xue had been bottling up these past few days poured out in one go. This wasn’t just about picking on her—she was being made to take the blame for someone else’s mistakes, and her little shoulders couldn’t bear that weight.
“Are you trying to quit? If you don’t want to do this, just say so—there are plenty of people who’d take your place.” Xing Hui’s face flushed red and then turned pale as she was confronted, and she could only resort to her old tactic of threats. In the past, Li Xue had gritted her teeth and endured it all for her family’s sake, and Xing Hui assumed this time would be no different.
Li Xue clenched her fists so tightly her veins bulged, and a wave of humiliation welled up inside her. At that moment, it wasn’t just Xing Hui watching her—there were many others there to gawk. Besides her colleagues and students from the tutoring class, there were parents and passersby who’d heard the commotion and come in to watch. Even Yu Hao’s mother didn’t care; all she wanted was for the teacher to apologize. As for who it was, she didn’t care.
Surrounded by a ring of people, Li Xue suddenly became the target of everyone’s ire. Her gaze swept the crowd, finally settling on the face of the tutoring center’s owner: “Do you also think I should apologize?”
“As a member of this tutoring center, I have a responsibility to uphold its honor.” His stance on making her apologize hadn’t changed.
Li Xue’s expression kept shifting, and just then, she heard a familiar voice: “We won’t apologize.”
Lin Yanan finally pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. She had heard every word. Not to mention Li Xue, the person directly involved—even as an outsider, she was furious.
Originally, when she saw Li Xue returning from outside, she had wanted to call out to her. But her electric scooter blocked others’ path, so she had to move it out of the way. By the time she returned, she never expected Li Xue to have been cornered into this situation.