After Qiao Lanshu finished examining Xiaxia’s back, her expression immediately turned serious.
This was clearly a case of bullying at school.
Of course, at the time, “school bullying” wasn’t a popular term. All Qiao Lanshu knew was that her daughter had been stabbed in the back with a pencil tip by a classmate at school. How painful must that have been?
Her precious daughter—the one she and Qin Yuanzheng couldn’t bear to scold harshly—was being treated like this at school.
How could Qiao Lanshu tolerate it?
Qiao Lanshu pulled Xiaxia aside and gently lifted the back of her collar to peek inside. Xiaxia’s back was fair and flawless, with no visible injuries.
Thank goodness.
Qiao Lanshu breathed a sigh of relief.
With a grim expression, she looked at Teacher Qian. “Teacher Qian, we need to get Li Taohua’s parents here to deal with this. I want an explanation today, and I mean it.”
Before Teacher Qian could respond, Qiao Lanshu added, “I want this resolved today. If you can’t handle it, then call in the head teacher or the principal. If that still doesn’t work, I’ll call the police and let the officers handle it. What do you think?”
Teacher Qian’s face darkened. “There’s no need to blow this out of proportion. It’s just a conflict between kids.”
She paused, then added, “Fine, I’ll have someone call Li Taohua’s parents…”
But then she hesitated, looking at Qiao Lanshu with a warning tone. “Teacher Qiao, are you sure you want to call Li Taohua’s parents? Her father is a section chief at the Education Bureau.”
Teacher Qian felt she had no choice but to say this.
Qiao Lanshu was also a teacher, and future evaluations would pass through the Education Bureau. If she knew what was good for her, she should stop now.
But upon hearing this, Qiao Lanshu’s expression grew even more stern.
She fixed her gaze on Teacher Qian and said coldly, “Teacher Qian, is this why you’ve been letting Li Taohua bully her classmates? Because her father is a section chief at the Education Bureau? Just because Qin Qiaoxia’s father doesn’t work at the Education Bureau, she deserves to be bullied?”
Seeing that Qiao Lanshu wouldn’t budge, Teacher Qian grew annoyed. “Fine, Teacher Qiao. Since that’s your attitude, I’ll call Li Taohua’s parents over. You two can sort it out yourselves.”
Clearly, Teacher Qian didn’t want to get involved anymore. To put it bluntly, she simply didn’t want to offend Li Taohua’s family, so she planned to dump the responsibility on Qiao Lanshu.
After all, however it was resolved, it would be between the parents.
Wang Lanying and Qiao Lanshu were colleagues, both high school teachers.
Wang Lanying arrived quickly, since the two schools were only separated by one street. As soon as she entered the office, she saw Li Taohua standing timidly across from Qiao Lanshu, whose face was stern.
Wang Lanying rushed over, shielding Li Taohua, and glared angrily at Qiao Lanshu. “Teacher Qiao, what’s this supposed to mean? You come to school just to bully my daughter?”
Qiao Lanshu replied grimly, “Your daughter sits behind my daughter. She keeps pressing her desk into my daughter’s back, making it hard for her to even stand up. And she’s been using a pencil tip to stab my daughter. Look for yourself—these are all the marks.”
As she spoke, Qiao Lanshu pulled at the back of Xiaxia’s school uniform to show Wang Lanying, so she wouldn’t claim it was made up.
She continued, “Li Taohua herself admitted everything. Teacher Qian was here listening too, so don’t say I’m lying.”
Wang Lanying was speechless.
Wang Lanying didn’t like Qiao Lanshu, and by extension, she didn’t like Xiaxia either.
She didn’t think her daughter had done anything wrong. Casually, she said, “So what if she poked her with a pencil a few times? What’s the big deal? Kids play around—that’s normal. Who didn’t get poked by a pen as a child?”
Wang Lanying was about to say more, but suddenly Qiao Lanshu grabbed a pen from the desk and swiftly jabbed it into Wang Lanying’s arm.
Wang Lanying let out a shriek, clutching her arm, staring at Qiao Lanshu with shock and rage. “Qiao Lanshu, have you lost your mind?”
Qiao Lanshu said nothing. She moved quickly, silently stabbing Wang Lanying’s arm several more times. After Wang Lanying pushed her away, she lunged again, jabbing randomly at Wang Lanying’s body.
Wang Lanying screamed wildly, scrambling backward to escape.
Everyone present was stunned by the sudden turn of events.
Han Ye watched the chaos unfold. Quietly, he shifted his position. When Wang Lanying stumbled back in panic, he silently stuck out his leg.
Wang Lanying shrieked again and crashed to the floor with a loud thud.
“Qiao Lanshu, stop! Are you trying to kill me?” Wang Lanying screamed.
Qiao Lanshu stabbed Wang Lanying’s arms and body maybe twenty or thirty times. She didn’t count exactly, but it was a lot.
Teacher Qian snapped out of it and pulled her back. “Teacher Qiao, calm down, calm down! Let’s talk this out peacefully.”
Teacher Qian was utterly shocked.
She never expected Qiao Lanshu to be so fierce.
Before this, Teacher Qian’s impression of Qiao Lanshu was just that of a gentle, soft-spoken, refined female teacher.
Even her daughter seemed to inherit her personality—timid, introverted, and quiet—easy to pick on.
But now…
Teacher Qian’s hair stood on end from the tension.
Qiao Lanshu still clutched the pencil tightly in her hand. The pencil tip wasn’t sharp, having been used for writing, so it was somewhat rounded.
But she had jabbed hard enough to cause real pain.
Still unsatisfied, Qiao Lanshu stood there, her face dark, and asked Wang Lanying, “Teacher Wang, what’s the big deal? I just poked you a few times with a pencil. Why are you yelling so loudly?”
Wang Lanying was in agony. Her arms, shoulders, and stomach throbbed from the jabs.
Sitting on the floor, she was so furious her eyes turned red. “You’ve gone too far! I’m reporting you! Reporting you! You’ve got no morals—you used violence on me!”
Qiao Lanshu shot back, “So poking someone with a pencil a few times is violence on you, but a minor thing when it’s my daughter? Wang Lanying, are you even human?”
She put down the pencil and said to Teacher Qian, “Teacher Qian, even Li Taohua’s mother admits that poking someone with a pencil is an act of violence. I demand that Li Taohua apologize to Qin Qiaoxia and be immediately transferred to a different class. I won’t allow them to stay in the same class.”
Wang Lanying was dizzy with rage. “If anyone’s transferring, it should be your daughter! As if my daughter wants to be in the same class as her! What a nuisance!”
Seething, Wang Lanying got up and reached for a pen, but Han Ye was quicker, snatching the pen holder away.
Wang Lanying glared at him furiously and swung her bag at him. “Who are you? Get lost!”
Han Ye dodged her attack, hiding behind Teacher Qian, and made a face at her. “Who am I? I’m your daddy!”
Wang Lanying's face was green with fury. Clutching her bag, she lashed out wildly at Han Ye. "You bastard, you tripped me just now, didn't you? I'm going to report you, I'll have the police arrest you!"
Han Ye dodged behind Teacher Qian, retorting, "Turning things upside down! Trying to have your own father arrested—your grandpa wouldn't allow it."
Teacher Qian took the brunt of it, getting smacked several times on the head and face by Wang Lanying.
Now she was furious too. Seeing that Qiao Lanshu had no intention of intervening, she spun around and pointed at Han Ye, yelling, "Can you stop causing trouble? Get the hell out of this office right now!"
Han Ye shrugged his shoulders and said with a grin, "Didn't you just call me in here? Now you're telling me to scram—so, do I still apologize or not?"
Teacher Qian's face darkened as she pointed to the office door and roared, "Right now, this instant, get the hell out of here!"
Han Ye crossed his arms. "I'm not leaving until Li Taohua formally apologizes to Qin Qiaoxia."
Wang Lanying had never met Han Ye before. At that moment, she demanded angrily, "Teacher Qian, who on earth is he?"
She had originally thought today's conflict was just between her and Qiao Lanshu.
But now, there were others involved?
Before Teacher Qian could answer, a man's voice suddenly came from the doorway of the office. He said, "He's my son, Han Ye."
Everyone froze and turned to look.
Standing at the office entrance was a middle-aged man in a police uniform, his face stern as he watched them.
The people in the office wore various expressions.
They had no idea how long this police officer had been standing there.
Teacher Qian was the most visibly shaken.
She straightened her clothes, walked to the door in shock, and looked at Han Wenlin, lowering her voice to ask, "Director Han, what brings you here?"
Then, a delayed realization hit her as she pointed at Han Ye. "You just said he's your..."
Han Wenlin nodded expressionlessly. "That's right. He's the son I told you about, the one now in middle school. His name is Han Ye."
Teacher Qian stood speechless.
