Hearing the word “teacher” mentioned, the group of students instantly grew a bit apprehensive.
They knew that they were in the wrong and that they were the ones bullying others.
Ming Siling opened her mouth, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something, but she hesitated. She gave Mo Guiyi’s sleeve a slight tug and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Let’s just forget it.”
If anyone else from the Ming family had come, Ming Siling wouldn’t have let the matter drop so easily. But of all people, it had to be Mo Guiyi. Besides, getting bullied by classmates was too embarrassing a thing to air out in public. She didn’t want Mo Guiyi to catch her in such a pathetic state.
Giving Ming Siling a head-to-toe inspection and confirming that she wasn’t physically hurt, Mo Guiyi let out a sigh of relief. Catching Ming Siling’s worried expression, she gave her a reassuring pat on the back. “Don’t be afraid. We haven’t done anything shameful, so what is there to be afraid of?”
Ming Siling wanted to retort: Your family background is bad, and you still want to make a scene? I’m afraid even the teachers won’t care about that.
Before long, a teacher hurried over. Upon seeing the scene, the teacher’s face showed no trace of surprise; instead, there was a flicker of annoyance at being disturbed. Throwing a displeased, judgmental glance at Mo Guiyi, the teacher said in a deep voice, “What’s all this shouting and ruckus about? It’s completely unseemly.”
Mo Guiyi laid out the facts of the situation. When she finished and saw the teacher’s casual, dismissive expression—as if to say “this is just a trivial matter”—a surge of white-hot anger flared up inside her. Coldly, she challenged, “You just stand by and watch your students bully people? Is this how an educator is supposed to behave?”
Hearing that, the teacher’s temper flared up just as quickly. “Who’s to blame here? You have only yourself to blame. If the Ming family hadn’t shielded a black-category element like you, would she be ostracized by her classmates in the first place? If you ask me, someone with your background should be proactively volunteering to go down to the countryside for reform and atonement. How on earth do you have the thick skin to keep staying here?”
Mo Guiyi’s expression chilled completely. “My family background isn’t something I could choose, but my family has never done a single thing to wrong anyone. We sold our land and our house, and donated the money to support the country, making our contribution to the motherland. We have never let anyone down. Furthermore, if you have a grievance against me, take it out on me. Why vent your anger on a student?”
Mo Guiyi’s voice grew increasingly cold, every word ringing out with undeniable strength and conviction. “I am standing right here today. If anyone has an issue with me, bring it up with me directly on the spot. Don’t act like spineless cowards who only know how to pick on others.”
The male student who had just been bullying Ming Siling immediately wanted to charge forward and tear into Mo Guiyi with a fierce public denunciation. Before he could even take a step toward her, Ming Siling threw herself forward and blocked him. “What do you think you’re doing? With me here, let’s see who dares lay a finger on my sister-in-law!”
She was both furious and terrified. Mo Guiyi was someone who couldn’t lift a heavy object or exert herself, and usually didn’t even do housework at home—she was pampered to the core. Why was she putting on a tough front now? These students had lost all sense of rationality; what if they actually attacked her? If Mo Guiyi got hurt, her older brother would undoubtedly blame her when he got back.
“It’s fine, Siling,” Mo Guiyi said, giving Ming Siling’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. She then turned her gaze back to the eager-to-fight boy and declared, “My husband is a soldier who defends our country. We are military dependents. While you enjoy the peace that soldiers bought with their lives, you turn around and attack their family members. You pride yourselves on being righteous—is this what your idea of justice looks like? Does the textbook teach you to point your bayonets at your own people?”
“Not moving anymore? Done with the denunciations?” Mo Guiyi continued sharply. “Fine. After today, if anyone dares to bully Ming Siling again, we will take this all the way up to the commanding officers and let them judge the matter. Explain to me how it makes any sense for a soldier to be out there risking his life in battle while his sister gets harassed back home.”
The group of students exchanged glances, and their previous arrogant swagger instantly evaporated.
“And you.” Mo Guiyi turned her attention to the nearby teacher. “If Siling is bullied by them again and you choose to look the other way, I will take this straight to the principal’s office and let him decide who is in the right.”
The teacher turned pale, unable to utter a single syllable in response.
“Let’s head back,” Mo Guiyi said, reaching out to take Ming Siling’s hand. She tugged, but Ming Siling didn’t budge.
Lifting her gaze, Mo Guiyi looked at her in confusion. Ming Siling was standing there in a daze, looking as if her soul had temporarily left her body. She stared at Mo Guiyi with a mix of shock and utter disbelief, thinking: Is… is this really the same squeamish sister-in-law of mine who was too haughty to even bother speaking to anyone? When did she become so formidable? Could she have been possessed by some sort of evil spirit? Should she go find a spirit medium to perform a cleansing ritual?
“Let’s go, what are you spacing out for?” Mo Guiyi asked.
Ming Siling shook her head.
Seeing that her sister-in-law was truly unharmed, Mo Guiyi took her by the hand and led her away.
Auntie Liu sighed in amazement from the side. “Ming’s wife, I never knew you were so formidable. You rattled off argument after argument, and had those educated students and teachers completely stunned and at a loss for words.”
Mo Guiyi didn’t think much of it and smiled. “We’re the ones in the right, so what is there to be afraid of? They were the ones in the wrong who started bullying people.” “Auntie, thank you for rushing over to let me know about Siling. Another day, we’ll formally visit your home to properly thank you. For now, Siling and I are heading back,” Mo Guiyi added.
“Go on back, you two head back first,” Auntie Liu waved her hand with a smile. The two of them surely had plenty to talk about once they got home. She never imagined that the Ming family’s scholarly daughter-in-law was actually such a capable woman when things mattered.
Back at home, Mo Guiyi intended to have a proper heart-to-heart talk with Ming Siling. Aside from getting the full details of what happened, she wanted to impress upon Ming Siling that she needed to share things with her family rather than bottling everything up inside. A teenager like her—what kind of problem-solving capacity could she possibly have? Some matters simply had to be handled by the adults.
After talking for a bit, Mo Guiyi noticed that Ming Siling was just staring at her blankly, clearly not processing much of what she was saying. Mo Guiyi sighed. “What is it? You couldn’t possibly have been scared out of your wits, could you?”
“I was not!” Ming Siling’s face flushed red, and she guiltily averted her eyes. Was she out of her mind? Why was she standing there staring in a daze at Mo Guiyi’s face? Even though Mo Guiyi’s face was admittedly quite pretty, she was usually so selfish and pampered that aside from her looks, she didn’t have a single redeeming quality. Yet here she was, actually feeling touched because Mo Guiyi stood up for her today! Ming Siling, wake up! You’ve been bewitched by her! This Mo Guiyi was putting a spell not only on her brother, but on her too. No wonder everyone in the family was so biased toward her—she must know some kind of sorcery.
“Did you hear a single word of what I just said?” Mo Guiyi asked.
“I heard it,” Ming Siling muttered softly.
“Repeat it back to me,” Mo Guiyi instructed.
Looking slightly impatient, Ming Siling nevertheless obediently recited, “If something happens, talk to you or my brother, or Mom works too. Can’t keep things bottled up inside, and family issues need to be handled by the adults.”
“Good as long as you know.” Mo Guiyi smiled, reaching out to pat her head with crinkled, smiling eyes. “Siling needs to be a good, obedient girl. You’re still young, so leave adult problems to the adults; you don’t need to try and act tough all by yourself.”
“I’m an adult, not a little kid. Stop patting my head!” Ming Siling muttered with a dark expression as she ducked away. What is she smiling for anyway? Just because she had a pretty smile didn’t mean she was going to let her guard down. If Mo Guiyi ever dared to eye their family’s belongings again or tried to cheat on her brother, she still wouldn’t let her off the hook. Don’t think a few petty favors could buy her over. Hmph, I won’t be fooled that easily!
Seeing that her sister-in-law had taken the advice to heart, Mo Guiyi’s mind finally put down its worries. She stood up and headed toward the kitchen. “I still had soup simmering before I went out. Why don’t you go wait in your room for a bit? The soup will be ready shortly, and we can all eat together once Mom gets back.”
Ming Xianbai probably won’t be coming back for lunch today, right?
Ming Siling was struck dumb with absolute astonishment. Did she just hear things? Mo Guiyi actually knows how to cook? She was simmering soup?!
Ming Siling bolted upright from her seat in a flash, rushing toward the kitchen in a panic. As she ran, she babbled anxiously, “Good lord, you didn’t blow up the kitchen, did you? What a mess have you made in there? Why are you trying to cook anyway? You don’t know the first thing about cooking, you—”
Ming Siling’s words abruptly cut off mid-sentence. Because she caught the rich, appetizing aroma of food wafting through the air. The scent was so alluring that it floated straight into her stomach, instantly waking up every hungry little craving inside her.