After speaking, Teacher Xu left with an air of great arrogance.
She didn't believe she was wrong. The reason she had always been unwilling to go along with these other teachers was precisely because they always treated the students as too fragile.
Back in their day, forget about studying, they often didn't have enough to eat. Being able to study was like a pie falling from the sky; many people wanted to study but couldn't.
But now? These teachers, just because these kids come from wealthy or well-connected families, handle them with excessive caution.
Even when there are clear problems, they don't dare speak directly.
She wasn't like these people who beat around the bush; she preferred to speak her mind bluntly.
Teacher Wu always said her way of speaking was too direct and hurt the children's self-esteem.
How ridiculous.
If they're that fragile, what are they doing coming to study? They might as well go home and farm.
These teachers also, relying on Si Nian's connection with the Deputy Director, all try to curry favor with her.
But Teacher Xu refused to do so.
After listening, Wu Ren'ai was speechless.
Teacher Xu was notoriously harsh, and the students were all afraid of her.
It wasn't as if there hadn't been feedback from parents before about their children being physically punished by her and coming home crying, not wanting to go to school.
But even in their school, replacing a teacher wasn't a simple matter.
Especially not a teacher for the top-tier class.
Although Teacher Xu wasn't likable, her strictness did make the children dare not fool around in her class and dare not neglect their studies.
Their math scores consistently ranked in the top three in the entire school.
So even if parents felt sorry for their children, seeing their grades improve was considered worth it.
Let alone causing trouble for her.
It was precisely this situation that led Teacher Xu to become increasingly arrogant and look down on everyone.
Although Wu Ren'ai was the homeroom teacher, he had arrived later.
Teacher Xu was considered his senior, so he couldn't easily say much.
Seeing Si Nian frowning, he explained, "Teacher Xu's words aren't pleasant to hear, but she doesn't mean it intentionally. Don't take it to heart."
Si Nian glanced at him, thinking to herself, "He really is still a greenhorn fresh into society."
Teacher Xu was clearly displeased with her, clearly intentional, even mocking him along the way, yet he was quite good at comforting himself.
However, Si Nian wasn't concerned with Wu Ren'ai's thoughts right now; she was worried about her eldest son.
From Teacher Xu's attitude, it was clear the other woman strongly disliked her and was certainly aware of her eldest son's situation and held a grudge against him.
For a teacher to have an impression of a child and feel displeasure, something must have happened.
Combined with her eldest son's unusual behavior, Si Nian could guess he might have been targeted in class.
Back when she transferred from a rural elementary school to a town school, she had suffered similar malice.
When handing in homework, that teacher wouldn't even glance at her, casually tossing her homework on the ground. Si Nian still remembered it vividly.
Not to mention now, in this era where class distinctions were even more severe.
Si Nian asked Wu Ren'ai, "Does Teacher Xu know our Xiao Dong's grades?"
"The grades were informed to us by the Deputy Director and the Principal. We all saw the exam papers. However, Teacher Xu questioned it at the time, saying he..." Wu Ren'ai trailed off.
"Saying how could Xiao Dong, coming from the countryside, have such good grades?" Si Nian finished the sentence.
Wu Ren'ai nodded. "Yes, but the Deputy Director and the Principal explained your situation. That matter was settled a long time ago."
Si Nian nodded. "The Deputy Director and Principal's explanation, of course she wouldn't listen to it."
After all, in Teacher Xu's eyes, she was someone with the Deputy Director's backing.
If the Deputy Director really wanted her child to get in, there were certainly ways.
Grades and such could easily be falsified.
Adding to that, Xiao Dong came from a remote rural area, making it even harder to believe.
That's why she held such a strong bias against Xiao Dong, calling him a problem child.
Otherwise, with Xiao Dong's low-profile, almost invisible demeanor, most teachers wouldn't even notice him.
After listening, Wu Ren'ai also felt it made sense and said, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things for you. I won't let the child be bullied."
Si Nian nodded. "Thank you for the trouble."
Si Nian returned to her seat and inquired with Wang Xiaoli about Teacher Xu.
Only then did she learn there was a reason Teacher Xu disliked her.
Teacher Xu's son was the same age as Xiao Dong. For three consecutive years, she had tried to get him into the school, but he failed to meet the academic standards.
In Teacher Xu's eyes, any class other than the top-tier class was a "bad class."
Originally, even if her son couldn't get into the top-tier class, he could have entered one of the other regular classes.
But Teacher Xu, considering herself above such things, how could she bear to have her own son enter a "bad class"?
This back-and-forth caused delays, and he never got in.
Yet Si Nian's son transferred directly from the countryside into their top-tier class. Of course, she was unhappy about it.
She immediately thought it was shady and clamored to see the grades.
Later, the Deputy Director and Principal showed the grades to all the teachers, but she still found it impossible.
Because even the top-performing student in their top-tier class couldn't possibly get perfect scores in every subject.
It was even more impossible for Zhou Zedong, coming from the countryside.
Everyone knew how poor education was in rural areas.
She was almost certain Si Nian had used connections to get the answer key in advance.
To get into the top-tier class, she would actually do such dirty things.
Teacher Xu was utterly disgusted.
Having sorted out the whole story, Si Nian was even more convinced this teacher must have said something to the child.
Her expression darkened.
Having mocked Si Nian and Wu Ren'ai, Teacher Xu felt quite pleased and went to teach her next class.
She was different from other teachers. Besides focusing on one specific class, other teachers usually taught at least three classes.
But because math was difficult and she taught well, the Principal only assigned her two classes.
One top-tier class and one regular class.
And both were first grade.
Because these students were new, although it was first grade, laying a solid foundation was very important, especially for a subject like math that builds on basics.
However, she wasn't particularly strict with the first graders.
Not because she was easier on the younger ones, but simply because this was a regular class. She couldn't be bothered; after all, they wouldn't be her students later anyway, so whether their grades were good or not was of no concern to her.
Managing one top-tier class was tiring enough.
If these people themselves weren't willing to study properly, who could they blame?
Holding this mindset, she arrived at the first-grade classroom.
Seeing a group of children gathered around one, making a racket, her professional habit kicked in. She barked, "What's all this noise? Get back to your seats and sit properly! Can't you hear class has started?"
The children were startled and hurried back to their seats.
Only then did Teacher Xu see a child wearing a gray cloth garment under his school uniform, a strange-looking outfit.
He didn't look like a proper student at all.
Her face darkened. "Zhou Zehan, right? Who taught you to dress like that? Don't you know the rules?"
Zhou Zehan blinked his big eyes, while tucking his new clothes inside his school uniform.
Because everyone wanted to see the cloth shirt his grandmother made for him, that's why he wore it underneath.
He said, "I wanted to wear it this way, so I did. The school never said we can't dress like this?"
Teacher Xu's face turned black. "You dare talk back? If I say you're wrong, then you're wrong!"
Zhou Zehan thought this teacher was really strange; why should he be wrong just because she said he was?
