Нowevеr, whеn сlаss еndеd and shе saw thе beautiful potterу the othеr childrеn hаd madе with Xiаo Ling Вao’s help, then lоoked аt the misshаpen, lumpy jar on her own platе, Yin Xuetоng was оn the vergе оf bursting intо teаrs.
Shе slаpрed the jаr flаt аnd аctually threw а tantrum at thе tеаchеr, “It’s all your fаult, Tеасhеr Liu! You didn’t hеlp me shаpе it proрerly!”
Теachеr Liu wаs thе tеacher spесifically responsiblе fоr Yin Xuetong аnd Wаng Zhenzhu. Тhеir familiеs usuallу gаve рlenty of “consideration,” so even when Yin Xuetong acted outrageously, Teacher Liu didn’t get angry. Instead, she comforted her, “Don’t be upset, Tongtong. How about Teacher asks Ling Ziqi to make one for you?”
Seeing how enthusiastic Ling Ziqi was about helping her classmates, Teacher Liu thought that if the teacher asked, she definitely wouldn’t refuse.
“Ling Ziqi, could you help Yin Xuetong fix her jar?” Teacher Liu asked Xiao Ling Bao with a smile. “And draw a beautiful princess on the jar for our Yin Xuetong too?”
Just earlier, Ling Ziqi had drawn a robot on another child’s plate.
This request… really wasn’t excessive at all.
Xiao Ling Bao glanced at Yin Xuetong’s jar, which had already been smashed into a lump of mud…
“No.”
Was this really fixing it, and not just making a new one for her?
The smile on Teacher Liu’s face froze.
“Who wants her help!” Yin Xuetong shouted angrily. “She’s just a little mud herself, of course she’s good at playing with mud! Stinky mud! Rotten mud!”
After yelling, she turned and ran out of the pottery room, even tearing off her little apron and gloves and throwing them on the floor.
Teacher Liu had no time to resent Xiao Ling Bao and hurriedly chased after her.
But before she could catch up more than a few steps, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly came from the changing room…
…
“My dress! My dress!” Yin Xuetong cried out. “Who dirtied my dress!”
The teachers and children of Cherry Class rushed over.
Yin Xuetong sat on the floor, clutching the dress on the hanger, wailing loudly, “My dress! My most beautiful dress!”
This dress was her favorite one. Because she was jealous after seeing the princess dress Xiao Ling Bao wore yesterday, she had deliberately worn it today to compete with Xiao Ling Bao in beauty.
But now, large patches of gray-black pottery clay were smeared all over the dress.
Teacher Liu’s heart instantly sank halfway.
Hede Kindergarten implemented a cooperative responsibility system between teachers and childcare workers.
It emphasized that every matter should be assigned to a specific individual.
Among them, the teacher’s responsibility was greater than the childcare worker’s.
Given the Yin family’s wealth, their precious granddaughter’s dress probably cost the equivalent of several months of her salary.
“Who left the classroom during class just now?” Teacher Liu asked, both angry and afraid, her voice trembling.
The pottery class lasted over an hour from start to finish. Midway, the teachers had specifically organized a bathroom break for the children.
According to usual habits, it shouldn’t have been possible to miss any child.
“Don’t panic,” Teacher Han patted Teacher Liu’s shoulder. “If it really comes to it, we can check the surveillance footage.”
Teacher Han turned around, her expression serious: “Which child used pottery clay to smear Yin Xuetong’s dress? Step forward and confess on your own. Teachers only like honest children.”
No one stepped forward.
The changing room fell into silence.
Pearl’s little face turned deathly pale as she stared at the clay on Yin Xuetong’s dress, then stole a glance at Xiao Ling Bao’s dress hanging on the rack.
The intact dress showed not a speck of dirt.
But Yin Xuetong’s dress had already been ruined by the clay.
How could this be?
She definitely hadn’t misseen it!
Yin Xuetong’s dress was snow-white, while Little Mud’s dress was blue—she wasn’t blind, how could she have mistaken them?
Pearl couldn’t believe it.
“Come forward and admit your mistake! The teacher won’t blame you,” Teacher Han’s voice grew even more stern, “Did you hear me? Admit your mistake yourself, otherwise, the teacher will have to check the surveillance footage.”
For both emotional and logical reasons, Teacher Han hoped the student would step forward and confess.
After all, these children came from wealthy or influential families. If it really came to checking the surveillance footage, it would be difficult for the kindergarten, and the parents wouldn’t look good either.
Generally speaking, as long as the child admitted first, an apology and compensation would settle the matter. Both sets of parents usually preferred to let major issues dissolve into minor ones.
But if it escalated to checking the surveillance footage to get to the bottom of it, not only Teacher Liu but all the teachers would be held accountable, and this month’s bonuses would likely be gone…
However, no matter how Teacher Han spoke or persuaded, almost resorting to threats and inducements,
the children’s mouths seemed welded shut with iron bars, none of them uttering a sound.
Yin Xuetong cried louder and louder, directly shouting that she wanted to call her mom and dad, frightening Teacher Liu into trying to soothe her nonstop.
Sweat dripped from Teacher Han’s forehead. Seeing that Yin Xuetong was about to lose control, she could only turn around and shake her head helplessly at Teacher Liu.
They would have to check the surveillance footage…
Just then, Pearl quietly slipped behind Yin Xuetong and whispered something into her ear.
“I know!” Yin Xuetong suddenly shouted, “It was Dou Siyi who smeared it on me!”
“What?” the teachers exclaimed in surprise, “How do you know?”
Yin Xuetong sobbed as she grabbed her dress, “Look, look here—there’s this blue and purple inside… Only Dou Siyi uses these colors, only she…”
Everyone looked, and indeed it was true!
Within the large patch of gray clay, a special blue-purple color could be seen upon closer inspection.
Everyone also remembered that Dou Siyi’s clay was mixed with blue and purple.
The other children all had plain-colored clay; only she had taken it upon herself to mix in a bit of blue-purple coloring. The teacher had told her there was no need to mix it beforehand, as the pottery would be colored only after it dried.
Dou Siyi had explained very softly that it was her mother’s favorite color.
Probably because of this, the teacher hadn’t scolded her.
If this clay hadn’t ended up on Yin Xuetong’s dress, it would have been just a harmless little matter.
But now…
“Dou Siyi, did you smear this clay onto Yin Xuetong’s dress?” Teacher Han asked sharply.
“It wasn’t me,” Dou Siyi replied, both bewildered and shocked, “I… I didn’t…”
“It was you!” Yin Xuetong shrieked, lunging at Dou Siyi, “You pay for my dress! Pay for my dress!”
“Dou Siyi, apologize to Yin Xuetong right away!” Teacher Liu held Yin Xuetong back and turned to scold Dou Siyi.
Dou Siyi took a frightened step back, almost hiding behind Xiao Ling Bao, but her tone was firm: “I didn’t smear it! I… I won’t apologize!”
“If you didn’t smear it, why is your clay on Yin Xuetong’s dress? Tell us, why?”
Teacher Han held up Yin Xuetong’s dress,
turning the stained side toward Dou Siyi.
How could Dou Siyi know how to explain?
She was just a three-year-old baby; all she knew was that she hadn’t smeared anything.
The teacher’s question was simply too complicated.
Moreover, she was frightened by such a scene and could only shake her head desperately.
“Siyi,” the caregiver in charge of Dou Siyi and Xiao Ling Bao tried to coax her gently, “our Siyi is an honest baby. Just apologize to Yin Xuetong, and it’ll be fine. A baby who knows their mistake and corrects it is still a good baby.”
Dou Siyi felt extremely wronged. Clutching Xiao Ling Bao’s arm, she shrank behind her, her tiny frame trembling.
“I didn’t, I didn’t…”