Chapter 98

Chapter 98: We Will Go With You

After You You and Mei Fang parted ways, he escorted Xia Yuan back to her home and encouraged her to tell her parents about what happened. Initially, Xia Yuan was very hesitant about telling her parents because she felt it would be troublesome for them, but Mei Fang insisted that she should.

Her parents would listen attentively to their daughter’s concerns and they had the capability to help her. Keeping such matters from parents would only lead to problems.

When Xia Yuan’s father, Xia Xun, learned that his daughter had been beaten, he immediately wanted to drive over to confront the homeroom teacher, but was stopped by his wife, Teacher Yu.

“There’s no way such an unreasonable teacher could do this without evidence and still accuse your friend, and even dare to hit my beloved Yuan Yuan… Wife, don’t stop me!”

“I’m just as angry, but doing this won’t solve anything.”

Xia Yuan’s admission to Class 8 was a result of Teacher Yu’s efforts. The heavy academic pressure had already made Xia Yuan feel uneasy, and the fact that she had been placed in the wrong class added to her self-blame.

At this point, Xia Yuan was exhausted, so Mei Fang took over and provided more details.

“I’ll contact the school principal tomorrow and report the situation. In this day and age, corporal punishment isn’t supported, yet she did this. I think she’s not fit to be Yuan Yuan’s teacher… No, she’s not fit to be anyone’s teacher.”

Teacher Yu’s words made Mei Fang feel very comfortable.

In his previous life, Mei Fang didn’t have any teachers he particularly liked or disliked, but Teacher Yu, who listened to students’ thoughts and communicated with them actively, left a deep impression on him. Almost no student in the class disliked her, and she became a benchmark in Mei Fang’s mind.

“Teacher Yu, I have another question… It’s about Peng Xue’s incident. She attacked the teacher because she was wrongly accused and also because Yuan Yuan was beaten. Can she still return to school?”

“Firstly, fighting is certainly not something to encourage. But if it’s confirmed that Peng Xue was wronged, then the possibility of her being expelled is much lower because the homeroom teacher was at fault first.”

“Alright… Thank you, Teacher Yu. I understand.”

Mei Fang looked at the drowsy Xia Yuan and then quietly said to her parents, “Teacher Yu, can you help Yuan Yuan take a day off tomorrow? Me and You You will find the real person who broke the cup. If Peng Xue can’t continue her studies due to defending Yuan Yuan, Yuan Yuan will blame herself.”

“Sure! I’ll make the call!”

Xia Xun stormed towards his phone but was stopped by Teacher Yu again.

After scolding her husband, she earnestly educated Mei Fang.

“Afang… I’m grateful for how you’re protecting Yuan Yuan, but remember to control your emotions and use legal means to protect yourself. Don’t act impulsively, okay?”

“You can trust me, Teacher Yu.”

Mei Fang patted his chest. “I grew up listening to your teachings and will never do foolish things.”

“That’s right, that’s the kind of good student I raised.”

Teacher Yu smiled and patted Mei Fang’s head, giving him some instructions before sending him home.

The next day, Mei Fang and Lin You Xi met early at the bus station. Since it was Saturday and there was a holiday adjustment, they had time to operate.

On the day Xia Yuan rested, Mei Fang and Lin You Xi planned to clear Xia Yuan and Peng Xue’s names.

The junior high school classrooms in the county hadn’t started being used as exam venues, so there were no surveillance cameras inside, which was unfortunate.

But Xia Yuan had explained clearly yesterday how the cup was broken.

When Xia Yuan and Peng Xue were both present, the cup was intact; when Xia Yuan went to the restroom for about five minutes, Peng Xue stayed in the classroom waiting for the cleaning inspection. It was after Peng Xue argued with the inspector that she noticed the cup was broken.

Lin You Xi pondered, “Considering the time Xia Yuan spent in the restroom and the time Peng Xue waited for the inspection, the time to break the cup must have been less than a minute, maybe even half a minute. At that time, no one else was around except Peng Xue and the cleaning team. Afterward, Peng Xue didn’t notice anyone entering or leaving the classroom, so we should start by questioning those cleaning team members.”

Mei Fang reminded, “I remember our class’s hygiene commissioner, Tang Yu, was also checking the cleaning yesterday. Let’s ask him first to see who was involved.”

They arrived at school early, but the classroom door was still locked, so they waited outside.

A while later, Class 8 students arrived first and unlocked the door.

Mei Fang remembered Teacher Yu’s advice and hesitated when looking at the classroom door.

“What are you looking at over there?”

Mei Fang replied, “I’m thinking of a proper way to search the classroom.”

“Is only one person in Class 8 now?”

Mei Fang nodded and suddenly realized something.

“So, we can do this…”

Lin You Xi entered Class 8, knocked on the door frame, and a student stood up, “What do you need?”

“I’m Lin You Xi, the class monitor of Class 9. May I ask you something?”

“Oh… Sure.”

While the student turned around, Mei Fang quickly slipped into the empty classroom.

He searched the podium… nothing; he checked the drawer… nothing…

Could it have been taken away?

Mei Fang saw a stack of letter paper on the homeroom teacher’s desk and rushed over to check.

It was the essay they submitted last time.

Just as Mei Fang was panicking, Lin You Xi’s voice outside the classroom suddenly got louder. Mei Fang couldn’t leave in time and bumped into a girl from Class 8.

This girl seemed somewhat familiar; he suddenly recalled she was his primary school classmate, Song Sisi.

“Mei Fang? What are you doing in our class?”

“No, nothing. I’m just looking for Yuan Yuan’s stuff,” Mei Fang quickly changed his statement. “She’s on leave today.”

As Mei Fang was about to leave, Song Sisi called out to him.

“Hold on.”

Song Sisi quickly walked to the podium and took out a stack of letter paper from her drawer, handing it to Mei Fang.

“Are you looking for this?”

Mei Fang glanced at the content, “Yes… This is it. How did you get it?”

“Teacher threw these things in the trash last night, and I picked them up, thinking they might be useful…”

Before Mei Fang could speak, Song Sisi continued, “Can you go back and apologize to Xia Yuan for me?”

“Unlike her, I can’t be brave like that. I can only do this much. I hope it helps.”

“Thank you, I’ll pass it on to Yuan Yuan.”

Perhaps Peng Xue, who was unique, had few friends in class, but it was different for Xia Yuan.

Although no one spoke up at the time, many truly supported Xia Yuan…

After Mei Fang found what he needed, he left Class 8 and reunited with Lin You Xi. The classroom door was now open, and hygiene commissioner Tang Yu sat at his seat, about to enjoy his rice dumpling, but was blocked by Mei Fang and Lin You Xi.

“What’s going on?”

“We need to ask you something.”

Lin You Xi took over, “It’s about the cleaning inspection yesterday afternoon.”

Fortunately, it had been a short while, so Tang Yu remembered clearly, “Yes, that’s right. Class 8’s Peng Xue was discussing scoring issues with us. One of our hygiene commissioners was stubborn and wouldn’t let go of a small issue, and they argued at the door for quite a while…”

“Was she arguing with one person?” Lin You Xi asked, “What were the others doing?”

“I remember, Class 10’s Xu Yang and Class 11’s Wang Jinghan came to inspect our class, while the others watched…”

Mei Fang asked, “Did you notice anyone acting strangely after inspecting Class 8?”

“Well… I didn’t really pay attention.”

Lin You Xi and Mei Fang exchanged glances, “We’ll have to ask each one individually.”

“But with so many hygiene commissioners, asking each one during breaks might not be enough…”

Lin You Xi thought for a moment, “Let’s inform Teacher Li. He might allow us to conduct early morning inquiries. With a teacher’s help, it’ll be easier to find people to ask.”

Their homeroom teacher, Mr. Li Shibing, was a relatively young math teacher. Although he could be fierce when serious, he also enjoyed mingling with students and wasn’t keen on too much homework. Class 8 only mentioned him as a model during mid-term and final exams.

Last night, he seemed to disapprove of Huang Lian’s actions. During private chats in the hallway, the younger teachers expressed dissatisfaction with middle-aged teacher Huang Lian. Mei Fang, sitting by the window, heard clearly.

“If you think it’s feasible, let’s go ask together.”

Mei Fang nodded, “After all, Mr. Li values you greatly.”

Thus, Lin You Xi and Mei Fang told Mr. Li about their intention to investigate. After hearing, Mr. Li praised Lin You Xi greatly.

“This is the attitude my students should have. Some teachers… forget it, I won’t say more. You know what I mean. Go ask each class, tell the homeroom teachers it’s my arrangement.”

So, during the 1.5-hour break between early morning classes, Mei Fang and Lin You Xi continuously visited each class to inquire about the events of the previous afternoon. The news of Peng Xue fighting with the homeroom teacher spread widely, and despite their efforts, they finally got some answers.

“I remember Liu Shiyang from Class 7 was the last one to leave Class 8. That day, he seemed odd. I was supposed to have him fill in average scores, but he filled in total scores instead. Did you ask him?”

“He didn’t say much when we asked.”

But he seemed to blink continuously at the time.

Indeed, it was a sign of guilt…

Now, the early morning reading period had ended, and it was break time. Lin You Xi and Mei Fang decided to find Liu Shiyang again.

Coincidentally, they encountered Liu Shiyang at the door of Class 8, hesitating.

He was looking into the classroom, as if searching for someone but afraid to enter.

Mei Fang tapped Liu Shiyang’s shoulder, and he jumped in fright.

“What do you want?”

“We were about to ask you, what were you doing at the door of Class 8?”

“Nothing… Just passing by…”

“I’m asking you a question, answer me properly.”

Although Lin You Xi’s tone was commanding, Liu Shiyang seemed to obey.

“Alright…”

With Mei Fang and Lin You Xi’s cooperation, Liu Shiyang finally revealed the truth—

Peng Xue was chasing another hygiene commissioner to discuss scores, and as the last one to leave the classroom, he accidentally bumped into the podium, causing Huang Lian’s glass teacup to shatter on the floor.

Mei Fang and Lin You Xi were nearly stunned by this revelation.

“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday?”

“Yesterday… nobody saw, so I thought I could get away with it. I thought about it for a long time and decided not to let others take the blame for me. I planned to buy a new cup to apologize to Teacher Huang, but then something big happened last night…”

Liu Shiyang pulled out a similar-sized glass teacup from his clothes, “I was going to give this to their homeroom teacher, but now I’m too scared… Could you help deliver it?”

“Hey, Liu Shiyang, are you a man? You don’t have the courage to take responsibility?”

“I know I was wrong…”

Unlike Mei Fang’s lecturing, Lin You Xi stared fiercely at Liu Shiyang.

Though she didn’t say anything, Liu Shiyang was already intimidated by her.

“Alright… I’ll go myself! Class is about to start, I’ll go after the next class.”

“No, since Teacher Huang is still in the class, go now.”

Mei Fang grabbed Liu Shiyang’s wrist and said seriously, “If you’re scared, we’ll go with you.”

“Right, right,” Mei Fang suddenly had an idea, “We should ask Old Li to bring that person over. Maybe it will make things easier.”

“That person…?”

Don’t rush, there’s another chapter coming. This section will be completed in the next chapter. You can read it later.

(End of Chapter 98)