**Chapter 102: Don’t Cry**
“How’s it going? Still hurt?”
“It hurts… a bit. It feels like some big sand got into my eye, and I can’t get it out!”
Xia Yu’s voice quivered, sounding just like a sobbing little girl.
Got into the eye? That’s not good at all.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Xia Ling turned off the faucet in front of Xia Yu. “Since the sand is stuck in there, washing it out won’t help. Let’s find a teacher and get them to take us to the health center outside!”
I have to say, at this moment, Xia Ling was remarkably calm, really stepping into her role as the big sister.
So, Xia Ling helped Xia Yu out of the restroom, aiming to find a teacher to drive them to the health center for Xia Yu’s eye.
Sure, the health center was just across the street from the school, but hey, this was the school, and it was still quite a trek!
However, as Xia Ling was assisting Xia Yu out of the restroom, she spotted a bunch of teachers striding quickly toward them.
Of course, their fifth-grade homeroom teacher, Wang Ruixue, was among them.
Seeing Xia Yu next to Xia Ling covering her eyes and looking pained, Wang Ruixue realized things just got serious.
But of course, as their teacher, he had to ask, “Xia Yu, are you okay? What’s going on?”
“My second brother got sand thrown into his eye! There’s still some sand in there that won’t come out with water. So hurry and find a car to take her to the health center! I’ll wait here with my brother.”
With so many teachers around, Xia Ling didn’t need to go searching; she just explained Xia Yu’s situation.
Much to her dismay, her worst fears were confirmed. Wang Ruixue felt a headache coming on.
Indeed, the reason so many teachers rushed over was because of the earlier incident where Xia Le fought with those two boys.
When they started throwing punches out in the hallway, it was only natural for someone to sneak off and tell the teachers. They had just gotten interrupted by the teachers by the time it escalated further.
Through some questioning, Wang Ruixue and the other teachers in the office had pieced together what happened during the fight.
But never mind dealing with those mischievous students; Wang Ruixue was more worried about Xia Yu, so he immediately dropped everything and dashed over.
Unfortunately, it still didn’t end well.
Upon hearing about Xia Yu’s situation from Xia Ling, Wang Ruixue wasted no time and jogged off to hop on his motorcycle, ready to take Xia Yu and Xia Ling to the hospital.
On the way, Xia Yu desperately tried to keep her eyes closed, but with something in there, she just wanted to scratch at it!
So, Xia Ling held Xia Yu’s hands tightly, preventing her from scratching, worrying that scratching might push the sand in even deeper and hurt her eyes.
Three minutes later, Wang Ruixue rode them to the health center outside the school.
At that point, thanks to other teachers notifying them in advance, the health center was ready with a doctor waiting for Xia Yu.
“Careful now, Xia Yu, don’t move or rub your eyes. I’ll carry you down.”
A male doctor lifted Xia Yu off the motorcycle effortlessly, using his strong arms to scoop her up right from the seat.
They soon laid Xia Yu on a bed, and a female doctor came over with some cotton swabs to help clear out the sand from her eyes.
Not long after, a small car pulled up steadily at the health center, and Xia Hong and Wang Wenjuan hurried out in a fluster.
Seeing Wang Ruixue outside having a smoke, Xia Hong was not in a good mood and angrily demanded, “Where’s Xia Yu? How is she doing?”
Wang Ruixue turned around and, exhaling smoke, replied, “She’s in the treatment room. The doctor is still trying to remove the sand.”
“I just sent my child back to school yesterday, and now this happens! What are you all doing about it?”
With that sharp remark, Xia Hong stormed off, ignoring any explanations from Wang Ruixue, dragging Wang Wenjuan along to find their son, Xia Yu.
At this moment, Xia Yu was receiving treatment, and Xia Ling was beside her. So when Xia Hong and Wang Wenjuan entered the treatment room, they quickly spotted Xia Ling first.
Seeing her parents arrive, Xia Ling couldn’t bring herself to say a word, but her puffy, tear-streaked eyes told the story—Xia Yu’s situation didn’t seem good.
Sure enough, when Xia Hong asked the doctor how Xia Yu was doing, the doctor informed him that some sand had indeed gotten into her eye and couldn’t be removed, so they’d have to see how well Xia Yu cooperated.
Xia Yu’s situation couldn’t be rushed. After some encouragement from both Wang Wenjuan and Xia Hong, he went outside to tackle Xia Le’s situation.
Of course, if there was an incident involving fighting, the parents surely had to step in.
So not only did Xia Hong come to school, but the parents of the other two students involved also arrived to deal with the matter.
Throughout all this, the two mischievous fifth graders who had gotten in trouble hadn’t whispered a word.
Even when Wang Ruixue asked them why they spat at Xia Yu and Xia Ling and threw sand at them, they stayed silent.
This meant Wang Ruixue couldn’t give Xia Hong a proper explanation; he could only take him to meet those students and their parents, or he wouldn’t be able to get through this.
As they arrived at the elementary teachers’ office, Xia Hong saw his eldest son Xia Le with the two boys, and the adults standing nearby were presumably their parents.
“Dad.”
Seeing Xia Hong, Xia Le confidently approached him, convinced he hadn’t done anything wrong and that his dad wouldn’t punish him.
Sure enough, when Xia Le reached Xia Hong’s side, instead of scolding him, Xia Hong just grinned and patted his shoulder, saying, “Good job, kid! You gotta hit guys like that harder, you got it?”
Xia Hong’s reaction was a bit reckless, but Xia Le loved it, nodding eagerly. “Yeah!”
“Hey! What kind of parent talks like that? Is that how you raise your kid?”
That one statement shattered Xia Le’s smile, making his face turn serious again.
Xia Hong shot a cold glare at the parent who spoke up, retorting, “Is that how you teach your kid? If your kid’s causing problems, you should look in the mirror! Little Tong is still in the health center. If anything happens, do you think you can protect them?”
“W-well… your kid must have bullied mine first! Otherwise, my kid wouldn’t have done that!”
At this point, it must be said that some parents really have some incredible thick skin.
Xia Hong didn’t bother arguing with such unreasonable people. He turned to Wang Ruixue and stated his decision: “Once Xia Yu is better, I won’t let her return. I will send her to study in the city.”
Wang Ruixue nodded, “The school certainly dropped the ball on this.”
“And let’s sort out Xia Ling’s paperwork too. I don’t trust you anymore.”
Xia Hong pondered for a moment and then added more.
Wang Ruixue opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, remained silent.
Xia Yu and Xia Ling transferring would definitely affect the school’s reputation, especially since this was a rural area. Wang Ruixue knew the news would spread to neighboring villages in no time.
But there was just no other way, was there?
Switching perspectives, Wang Ruixue felt that if Xia Yu were his child, he would probably react the same way, so he understood where Xia Hong was coming from.
Having said all that needed to be said, Xia Hong didn’t linger. He wrapped an arm around Xia Le’s shoulder and left, not paying any mind to those parents behind him.
On the way home, Xia Hong told his eldest son, “Xia Yu’s situation is what it is. You’re about to graduate, and transferring now would be a hassle, so just stay here.”
“I understand,” Xia Le replied.
By the time they arrived at the health center, Xia Yu’s treatment had just concluded, with the doctor having put in quite a bit of effort to get things right.
Fortunately, Xia Yu’s eye wasn’t damaged; she could see but had some bloodshot irritation—unavoidable, really.
At that moment, Xia Yu sat quietly on the hospital bed, with Xia Ling and Wang Wenjuan by her side. It was hard to tell what was on her mind.
Xia Yu didn’t want to talk, so they didn’t push her—just kept her company.
“Let’s go home.”
Xia Hong, being the kind of man he was, wasn’t exactly the comforting type. After watching for a bit, he finally managed to spit out those four words.
So, after paying the medical fees out of pocket—because he didn’t expect those rascally parents to help—Xia Hong took his wife and kids back home.
Looking at Xia Yu, who still seemed dazed and not quite herself, it was impossible for Wang Wenjuan not to feel heartache.
And to prevent Xia Yu from doing anything impulsive like she used to, even back home, Wang Wenjuan and Xia Ling didn’t dare leave her side, sticking close by.
Xia Hong had no objections to this.
Sitting on her bed, Xia Yu stared blankly at the floor, lost in thought, as if she had been contemplating for ages. With Wang Wenjuan and Xia Ling keeping her company, she finally croaked out, “Am I… really that unlikable?”
As those words escaped Xia Yu’s lips, tears began to flow from her eyes without stopping. She… cried.
Because Xia Yu couldn’t understand—she hadn’t done anything wrong or caused any trouble, so why did those people treat her like this?
It had always been this way, and it still was.
Hearing Xia Yu’s hopeless statement, Wang Wenjuan and Xia Ling, without knowing why, found themselves a bit teary-eyed too.
But they held back and quickly set to comforting Xia Yu, trying to lift her spirits.
“Xia Yu, you’re not unlikable at all. It’s those people who are at fault. Don’t cry! Mommy and your sister are right here with you, okay?” Wang Wenjuan said, ignoring gender boundaries as she pulled Xia Yu into a hug for comfort, while Xia Ling kept handing her tissues to wipe away the tears on her face.
