Teacher Jin? Colleague?
Jiang Xuli’s body stiffened; a certain possibility instantly flashed through his mind.
For a moment, he desperately wanted to turn and leave. Clearly, the teenager found it hard to accept the sudden situation of his stepmother becoming his teacher.
But in reality, his expression only grew colder. His feet felt as if filled with wet cement, solidifying into heavy stones. He then walked into the office without a word.
This reaction, however, left the homeroom teacher utterly bewildered.
Jiang Xuli was a student in his class, from a well-off family. While he didn’t have the arrogance of some other rich second-generation students, his temper was quite stubborn. He often slept during Chinese class, making the Chinese teacher cry several times out of frustration.
Yet, the math and physics teachers regarded him as a treasure.
Faced with such a student who evoked both affection and exasperation, the homeroom teacher truly didn’t know how to manage him. If you told him to study hard for a prosperous future, he’d directly retort, asking if he’d earn more than his father.
How was the homeroom teacher supposed to answer that? Who didn’t know his father was Jiang Mingzuo, the founder of Mingji Technology, A City’s largest tech company!
So, upon learning Jiang Xuli had been in a fight at school, the homeroom teacher wasn’t angry but rather felt a sense of surprise: “He actually got into a fight?”
“Come on, tell me exactly what happened. The homeroom teacher of Class 7 has approached me several times, saying you punched their student and made his nose bleed. Is that true?”
Jiang Xuli nodded.
He had indeed hit the person. There was nothing to say.
The young man was defiant, unruly, and disdained explaining himself to others. In the homeroom teacher’s eyes, this was tantamount to an admission.
The teacher immediately frowned. “I originally believed you weren’t the type to casually resort to violence. But if you refuse to say anything, there’s no way I can stand up for you!”
His tone unconsciously turned stern.
Meanwhile, Jin Ran only glanced briefly at Jiang Xuli when he entered before averting her gaze.
She remembered his “warning” to her: outside, they must pretend not to know each other, to be the most unfamiliar strangers.
Right now, she was holding a textbook, seeking teaching experience from her older colleagues, not paying special attention to the scene. However, because the office was small, their conversation inevitably drifted into her ears.
A fight?
Jin Ran wasn’t actually surprised.
Jiang Xuli wasn’t a traditionally “good” kid—skipping class, riding motorcycles, arguing with his father—each act bore the hallmark of a rebellious teenager.
It was just that encountering her stepson in a fight on her very first day of work left her unsure whether to lament her good luck or bad.
And she subconsciously felt that Jiang Xuli wouldn’t hit someone without reason.
The root cause was probably that a young man who would adopt stray cats couldn’t have a heart that bad, right?
Thinking this internally, Jin Ran showed no outward reaction on the surface. She just listened casually for a few moments before redirecting her attention to preparing her lessons.
She had joined the staff mid-semester, which was neither ideal nor, truth be told, a little troublesome.
The first-year curriculum was already nearing its end. According to other teachers, since the previous math teacher left, the math classes for Class 3, Grade 1 had been temporarily covered by the teacher from Class 4.
Not being their dedicated teacher inevitably led to many oversights. Moreover, the students of Class 3 lacked a sense of connection with this temporary teacher and never asked questions. In the most recent monthly exam, Class 3’s math scores dropped significantly, falling from 5th place in the grade to 7th.
Jin Ran flipped through the school booklet and discovered the entire first year only had seven classes.
Worryingly rubbing her temples, she had expected challenges, but not ones this significant.
Even more unexpected was that, while she was pondering this issue, the situation beside her had already escalated to another level.
Bang!
A loud noise suddenly erupted, startling Jin Ran and the other teachers in the office. Everyone looked towards the source. They saw the homeroom teacher of Class 3 slamming his palm on the table repeatedly. “You hit someone just because they rubbed you the wrong way? What if you find a teacher disagreeable someday, would you hit a teacher too?”
Jiang Xuli replied lazily, “Wouldn’t dare.”
“I think you’re not just daring, you’re far too bold! In that case, I’m calling your parents!”
The homeroom teacher’s decision was final.
Jin Ran: “…”
Wait, she hadn’t been listening for just a moment. What had happened?
The scene before her was overly rich—a defiant, unbridled student, a furious teacher, and five or six colleagues watching the spectacle. Her first day of work was certainly eventful.
The homeroom teacher’s anger was genuine.
But to say his current actions weren’t partly theatrical would be inaccurate.
Jiang Xuli’s identity was rather special. The teacher didn’t dare investigate too deeply, nor could he let it slide lightly. So, he simply pushed the conflict outward, using the “call the parents” pretext to let someone else handle the mess.
The homeroom teacher’s strategy was indeed clever.
Upon hearing “call the parents,” the careless expression vanished from Jiang Xuli’s face, and he instinctively turned his gaze towards Jin Ran.
He didn’t even know why he was looking. Only when his gaze met Jin Ran’s inexpressible expression did the corner of his mouth abruptly tighten. Those sharp, blade-like peach blossom eyes trembled slightly, like lilies of the valley beaten down by rain. A moment later, he stiffly turned his face away.
It didn’t matter.
He thought.
The young man pretended not to care, but anyone could see the awkwardness he tried to hide beneath that facade.
The homeroom teacher followed his line of sight and happened to see the new teacher looking “startled.” He coughed. “Well, Teacher Jin, since you’ll be teaching this class from now on, you tell me. In this situation, should we call the parents or not?”
Before Jin Ran could recover from the surprise of learning she was now her stepson’s direct teacher, she heard the follow-up question and reflexively answered, “If they’ve truly done something wrong, calling the parents is acceptable.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xuli pressed his lips even tighter together.
The homeroom teacher nodded with satisfaction. “A child’s education can’t rely solely on teachers. It requires parental cooperation as well.”
Jin Ran glanced at Jiang Xuli. The teenager had already lowered his head, his expression unreadable. She only saw two distinct hair whorls in his thick hair. According to online sayings, people with that usually had stubborn personalities. “What Teacher Chen says is correct.”
Then she shifted her tone. “However, I was thinking a fight can’t possibly be just one person’s fault. I heard there were three people on the other side who got hit? How did this classmate… Jiang, manage to give one of them a nosebleed?”
This question stumped the homeroom teacher.
As teachers, they generally only managed their own class students and rarely fished in others’ ponds. When the Class 7 teacher came to him, he hadn’t thought much about it. Now, something suddenly felt off.
“Could there be some misunderstanding?” Jin Ran asked earnestly. “Perhaps we could ask together with the Class 7 teacher? If it really is our student’s fault, then we call the parents. Otherwise, hastily summoning the parents, only to find it was a misunderstanding, would make things awkward to explain to them later.”
Jin Ran wasn’t saying this for anyone in particular; she simply thought this approach was more appropriate.
In her previous life as a volunteer, she had seen many students have their parents called in. Often, the purpose was more to intimidate the students, to make them obedient.
Could Jiang Xuli be intimidated?
Jin Ran doubted it. It might even provoke more severe rebellion from the teenager.
The homeroom teacher fell into thought.
Putting other factors aside, one thing Jin Ran said resonated with him. If he called that man over only to find it was a misunderstanding—and a misunderstanding concerning his own son at that—it would be rather troublesome.
After some consideration, the homeroom teacher went to the opposite office to find the Class 7 teacher.
After the two exchanged information, they eventually called all the students involved. The students who were beaten initially remained defiant, insisting it was Jiang Xuli’s fault. Later, Chen Xunliang and Wang Shuya, who had sneaked over, stepped forward. They explained that the others had been bullying classmates first, and that’s why Jiang Xuli had acted. Only then did the group reluctantly admit it.
At this point, the Class 7 teacher lost face. School bullying had happened in his own class! He couldn’t help but reprimand them severely and, in front of everyone, notified the parents of those involved.
As for Jiang Xuli, while his actions could be seen as righteous, he had used the wrong method by fighting publicly on school grounds. Therefore, he was punished with writing a 1000-word self-criticism.
Jin Ran wasn’t aware of the later developments.
Today was just her first day reporting for work. In this short time, she had gained several colleagues, collected three A4 pages worth of valuable teaching experience, and incidentally witnessed a slice of real-life drama.
By the time the last class ended in the evening, she nimbly packed her things, ready to go home.
As she reached the staircase, someone suddenly stepped out from around the corner.
Jiang Xuli stood with his hands in his pockets, looking as if he had been waiting for a while. Seeing her appear, his expression immediately turned complicated. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but Jin Ran had already walked past him as if he were invisible.
Jiang Xuli: “…”
A vein twitched on his forehead. He didn’t understand what the woman was playing at. He stepped in front of her again, blocking her path. “You…”
Jin Ran immediately made a gesture to stop him. First, she cautiously looked around, confirming no one else was nearby, then let out a sigh of relief. With deep meaning, she said, “Don’t worry, stranger. I understand.”
Jiang Xuli was instantly speechless.
The words he wanted to say couldn’t come out, nor could he swallow them back. For a moment, the young man’s handsome face flushed red.
Well, burgundy red.
/
Jin Ran spotted the familiar Porsche at the school gate.
She was slightly surprised. She hadn’t expected Jiang Mingzuo to pick her up; she had already prepared to walk home!
Her steps unconsciously lightened, turning into a small, quick trot as she approached. However, upon opening the car door, she found Jiang Mingzuo wasn’t inside.
“Mr. Jiang ran into some matters. He accidentally reopened the wound on his arm, so he asked me to come alone to pick you up,” the driver, Xiao Sun, explained.
Coincidentally, Jiang Xuli, who was pushing his motorcycle past, overheard these words and abruptly stopped in his tracks.
Jin Ran clearly saw the healthy wheatish color drain from the young man’s face bit by bit, until only a paper-like pallor remained.