Chapter 99: After the Rain Comes Clear Skies
In the past two days, Huang Lian’s mood had been terrible.
Mischievous students and troublesome parents.
They even threatened to complain about my behavior to the principal. What garbage…
Why would an elementary school teacher act like that?
Huang Lian was also in a bad mood during today’s morning reading session. Everyone seemed equally unenthusiastic. She called on a few students who couldn’t answer and scolded them before making them stand at the back of the class.
At this moment, several unfamiliar students ran into the classroom, causing Teacher Huang to be displeased.
“Which class are you from? It’s almost time for class, what are you doing here?”
Liu Shiyang, trembling with fear, handed over a glass teacup to Teacher Huang.
“Teacher Huang, I’m sorry. Yesterday afternoon, while checking the cleanliness, I accidentally knocked over the table and broke your cup…”
The entire class immediately fell silent, all eyes fixed on the podium.
This was a huge piece of news.
Everyone was waiting for Huang Lian’s response.
“Is… Is it you?”
“Why didn’t you admit your mistake earlier?”
“I… That…”
Huang Lian’s expression was even more miserable than if she had eaten something bitter, as she could only criticize Liu Shiyang.
This ignorant thing! Even if you needed to say something, you should have done it privately, not specifically when class was about to start and all the students were seated…
Isn’t this intentionally trying to humiliate me?
Huang Lian looked behind Liu Shiyang at the two familiar faces. They were Lin You Xi and Mei Fang, both from Class 9. Lin You Xi was the top student in the grade, her ideal student.
As for the male student, she couldn’t remember his name, but they had met yesterday.
Both of them had good grades, but they often hung out with Xia Yuan and Peng Xue during breaks, which was disappointing.
“What are you two doing here?”
Mei Fang explained expressionlessly, “We are friends with Xia Yuan and Peng Xue. After hearing about her experience last night, we investigated the situation today and learned the truth. Even a student can easily find out the results, so as a teacher, shouldn’t you avoid such low-level mistakes?”
“Since someone has already admitted to breaking the cup, shouldn’t you feel ashamed about how you treated Xia Yuan and Peng Xue last night?”
The students whispered among themselves.
“Teacher Huang really went too far this time.”
“I said it wasn’t Peng Xue, if she did, she would have admitted it…”
Huang Lian quickly realized that these two students were here to support their friend and cause trouble for her.
“What’s too far? You just listen to whatever they say. Last night, Peng Xue acted disrespectfully towards her elders and the teacher; isn’t that going too far? As long as I’m here, I won’t let her come back.”
“But according to what I know, you hurt Yuan Yuan first, and Peng Xue clashed with you to protect Yuan Yuan. While she did wrong by clashing with the teacher, shouldn’t you apologize as well?”
Lin You Xi, with a stern tone and confident demeanor, intimidated everyone present. With her natural leadership qualities, she stood out in this confrontation, drawing the attention of all the students.
“Isn’t this Lin You Xi… the Class 9 monitor, who has never ranked below first place in the grade exams…”
“How can there be such an amazing person? She’s cool and handsome, and her grades are great. What a heroine!”
“Compared to our class’s students who only focus on their homework, she truly stands out. This is a true prodigy… no, a genius!”
Huang Lian was stunned by Lin You Xi’s rebuke for a moment. The bell rang, bringing her back to reality.
“Go back to class, you three. Our class issues will be handled internally.”
Liu Shiyang was already eager to escape.
What kind of scene is this? I’m just a tiny hygiene committee member who accidentally broke a cup and has to pay for a new one, how did I end up in the spotlight?
I wouldn’t even come if you paid me to be on the podium of Class 8!
But Lin You Xi’s imposing presence made him hesitate to move.
Also, Mei Fang was holding his wrist tightly.
Clearly, neither Lin You Xi nor Mei Fang intended to leave. Lin You Xi continued, “We hope to receive your apology to Yuan Yuan and Peng Xue before we leave.”
“What do you mean? Are you forcing me to apologize?”
Huang Lian was infuriated by Lin You Xi’s “unreasonable” behavior, “Why should I apologize? How can a teacher apologize to a student? Do you still respect the principle of respecting teachers?”
“Respecting teachers is for those who genuinely communicate with their students. I don’t think you deserve to use that term.”
Mei Fang chimed in, “Until you recognize your mistakes, you don’t deserve to use that term.”
“You three… really—”
Huang Lian stood up to go to the neighboring class to find Li Shibing, but Lin You Xi and Mei Fang blocked her path. She yelled at her own students, “What are you sitting there for? Move! Are you still my students? A bunch of ingrates!”
Although Huang Lian tried to rally her students to help pull Mei Fang and Lin You Xi away, and Liu Shiyang, who was blocking the way, none of her students moved, including the class monitor, who hesitated but ultimately sat back down.
With Peng Xue’s injustice cleared, Xia Yuan being beaten and Peng Xue dropping out of school made Huang Lian’s actions seem unjustified. If she could acknowledge her mistakes and apologize, it might lead to a better resolution.
The dissatisfaction in the class towards Huang Lian was much deeper than it appeared. At this moment, Huang Lian was seen as a clown, and anyone who helped her would become a clown too.
Clearly, Huang Lian had no intention of resolving the situation amicably. Her face turned pale as she said viciously, “I’ve taught for over twenty years, and I’ve never heard of a teacher who can’t discipline students. Don’t think I won’t dare hit you because you’re from another class! I’ll teach you a lesson for Li Shibing’s sake!”
Huang Lian raised her hand to strike Lin You Xi, but Lin You Xi didn’t flinch, staring determinedly like Xia Yuan.
Moreover, Mei Fang was standing beside Lin You Xi, ready to shield her from any attack.
Just then, a thunderous roar came from outside the classroom window:
“Huang Lian! What are you doing!”
The sudden shout startled everyone, including Mei Fang and Lin You Xi, making their hearts sink heavily.
This was Principal Xu Mingde’s angry roar, nearly causing the girl sitting by the window to faint.
His glare through the window created a terrifying pressure.
Since middle school, every student had heard stories about Principal Xu Mingde.
Some had even experienced it firsthand.
It was rumored that the most terrifying death glare in Experimental High School didn’t come from your homeroom teacher, but from this principal, because his actions were unpredictable.
This septuagenarian principal was still actively involved in education. His favorite pastime was walking around the campus, observing the students’ academic activities.
He was happy to see students studying hard, and he would knock a walnut on the head of those who were distracted in class. Many students had their phones, MP3 players, and game consoles confiscated by him, but he returned them during holidays.
This time, however, his observation target wasn’t a student, but a teacher.
Well, not entirely.
After all, Xu Mingde had indeed been Huang Lian’s high school homeroom teacher.
At the scene of the Huang Lian incident, Principal Xu Mingde was accompanied by the grade director, several other class teachers, and Li Shibing, who had invited people to watch the drama. He whispered to the teacher from the neighboring Class 10:
“See that Lin You Xi? She’s our class monitor, a student I’ve raised.”
Old Yue shook his head, “You’d better not cause trouble, or you’ll upset her.”
“I always maintain fairness and integrity. How could I possibly be challenged by our Lin You Xi?”
“Look at you, so smug.”
Xu Mingde strode into the classroom, his eyes like copper bells, fixed on Huang Lian.
“You’ve been teaching for decades, is this how you educate students?”
“Every day you encourage students to admit their mistakes, yet you do things behind their backs, right?”
“It’s not that complicated. Why is asking for an apology so difficult? Is this how I taught you when I was your teacher?”
“You’re even preventing others from attending school… I don’t need you to teach anymore! You’re ruining my reputation! Go back and learn yourself before you come back to teach! Do you understand?”
Huang Lian, who had been arrogant in front of everyone, now stood meekly with her head down, like a guilty student. Clearly, Principal Xu Mingde’s authority had persisted since their student days.
Mei Fang and Lin You Xi watched her face turn green, red, white, and purple as she gathered her lesson plan and followed Principal Xu Mingde and the grade director out, seemingly for a discussion.
Meanwhile, Mei Fang, Lin You Xi, and the Class 8 students were unsure what to do. Suddenly, Principal Xu Mingde roared at the class, “What are you looking at? Study! And you three, get back to your classes or I’ll kick you out!”
Mei Fang, Lin You Xi, and Liu Shiyang quickly fled, returning to their respective classrooms.
“Pity that Yuan Yuan and Xiao Xue aren’t here,” Lin You Xi sighed.
“It’s okay,” Mei Fang shook his head. “Anyway, Teacher Huang will probably meet them later and apologize.”
“Yeah… How do you know?”
“Because I know our principal.”
Mei Fang smiled slightly. “There’s a precedent.”
This was a real event from Mei Fang’s past life, though the main character wasn’t Huang Lian.
With the principal and school leaders witnessing the incident firsthand, and with the key evidence provided by Mei Fang—the note Huang Lian had used to criticize Peng Xue—Principal Xu Mingde did not issue a dismissal order for Peng Xue. Instead, he called Peng Xue, Peng Xue’s grandmother, Xia Yuan, and Xia Yuan’s parents to verify the situation.
From the school’s perspective, Principal Xu Mingde acknowledged the serious mistake made by homeroom teacher Huang Lian, but also criticized Peng Xue’s impulsive behavior of clashing with the teacher. Given that she was wrongfully accused, the school decided not to record any misconduct against her, but required her to read a self-criticism at the next grade assembly.
Regarding Xia Yuan’s behavior during the incident, Principal Xu Mingde expressed strong approval:
“If possible, I wish every student could learn from you, Xia Yuan. You refuse to follow the crowd, trust your friends, and speak up for them. This is admirable and courageous behavior. Although you may seem weak, you are stronger than many adults, and this will be invaluable to your growth.”
Peng Xue was bewildered when she returned. She sat next to Xia Yuan and mumbled, “I was planning to work in Pengcheng…”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Who would hire you without a degree?”
While scolding Peng Xue, Xia Yuan held her hand tightly.
Peng Xue squeezed Xia Yuan’s hand tightly in return.
After this incident, Peng Xue valued her friendship with Xia Yuan even more. She believed she would do anything for Xia Yuan’s happiness.
At the end of the conversation, Principal Xu Mingde called in the original homeroom teacher, Huang Lian.
Initially, Xia Yuan and Peng Xue were furious when Huang Lian appeared, but unexpectedly, she looked completely different, appearing haggard. Neither of them knew what to say.
Huang Lian came to represent the school and seek forgiveness from Xia Yuan and Peng Xue. Besides the false accusations, she also mentioned the unprovoked beating of Xia Yuan. After speaking, she left, clearly suppressing her anger, but lacking sincerity.
Xia Yuan and Peng Xue were worried that accepting the apology would require them to continue working with Huang Lian in junior high, but they also feared asking for more might seem unreasonable.
When Principal Xu Mingde asked their opinions, they exchanged glances, appearing conflicted.
Finally, Xia Yuan spoke:
“Principal, if someone apologizes, do we have to forgive them? My friend told me before that I don’t have to forgive someone who has hurt me and not to go against my feelings. So… I don’t want to forgive Teacher Huang.”
Peng Xue nodded beside her, “I don’t forgive her either.”
Principal Xu Mingde laughed heartily.
“Your friend is quite interesting. I love hearing honest words from students like you. Indeed… if apologies could solve everything, we wouldn’t need to work so hard to study, ha ha ha!”
“You don’t need to forgive her. Regarding Teacher Huang’s punishment, we will announce it later.”
The school ultimately suspended Huang Lian, but she never returned to teaching after that. No one knew where she went afterward.
For Class 8, their math teacher temporarily took over as homeroom teacher, while Chinese lessons were covered by the teacher from the neighboring Class 7.
After the rain comes clear skies.
Finally, this chapter is finished!
Actually, this chapter mainly aimed to depict Xia Yuan and Peng Xue’s transformation and growth. However, I might have exaggerated the portrayal of the teacher, and the cliffhanger was poorly executed, causing discomfort. I apologize to everyone.
After all, not everyone experiences or empathizes with such bittersweet stories. In the future, I will take this lesson to heart and try to write more light-hearted and enjoyable stories.
(End of Chapter 99)
