CH 86

When the headteacher returned to the classroom, he sat on the podium and glanced at Hua Miaomiao. He saw that she was using a book to shield up her face. Initially, he was angry, but now he was absolutely livid, “Does the class president have some issue with me? Instead of doing your math homework, why did you take out the biology book?”

Miaomiao set the book back down, but she still didn’t want anyone else to see her crying. She hated when others saw her crying since it gave others an easy opportunity to attack her, to mock her. She especially hated crying when she was at her lowest.

The headteacher spoke, his voice full of ire, “You’re already crying after two sentences. When you join society later, will you cry and use your tears to garner people’s sympathy?”

Miaomiao despised herself for crying. She also hated this kind of verbal attack.

The rest of the class was shocked. They had never witnessed such a scene before.

Zhou Yuan frowned. He peered at the person sitting on the podium and coldly said, “In Article 8 from the Teacher Law of the People’s Republic of China, the fourth section points out the obligations that a teacher must fulfill. It stipulates that teachers should love and care for all students and respect their individuality.”

The headteacher was taken aback.  His attitude towards Zhou Yuan differed entirely from his attitude towards Hua Miaomiao since Hua Miaomiao had affronted Zhou Yuan before, so he didn’t worry at first. But he never expected Zhou Yuan to lecture him on the laws of his nation.

Zhou Yuan spoke again, but this time, he slowed down his enunciation, “Perhaps my comprehension is terrible, but do you have a completely different way to care for and love your students? I don’t seem to remember our previous teachers possessing this type of attitude towards students who are in tears.”

The headteacher’s face was red from anger because Zhou Yuan had rebuked him in front of so many people.

The other students had no idea what was going on; therefore, they could only send furtive messages on their mobile devices to Miaomiao.

But Miaomiao didn’t have the time to worry about them. She tugged the hems of his clothes from under their desk and gestured to him to let go of the matter. 

Zhou Yuan was livid, but he held Miaomiao’s hand in his hand. His eyes were still fixed on the person on the podium, and he didn’t look at Miaomiao.

Zhou Yuan first discovered that Miaomiao was crying when she returned to the classroom; her eyes were tinged in red and were teary. He immediately became incensed, and he wasn’t able to suppress his ire any more.

Even though he had entered the world of adults and experienced the disarray and chaos that came along with it, he had never been so angry before.

These people were bullying the little, who had blossomed into this brave, strong girl, and made her cry rivulets of tears. What did they do to her in order to make her cry?

Everyone gazed at the headteacher with ambivalence and uncertainty. Since he was the authority figure in the room, it was impossible for him to admit that he had wronged Hua Miaomiao in front of so many students.

The main reason why he had harangued Hua Miaomiao with such ire and acridity was because he felt that she was challenging his authority. He wanted to save what was left of his reputation by humiliating Hua Miaomiao.

He angrily stormed out of the classroom.

The classmates didn’t know what to say, so they could only stare at Miaomiao.

One classmate gave Miaomiao a note, “Miaomiao, what’s wrong?”

When Miaomiao was about to receive the note, she realized that Zhou Yuan was still clutching onto her hand.

His palms were strong and wide; therefore, she couldn’t pull her hand out.

Miaomiao tugged at his hand.

Then, Zhou Yuan let go of her hand and commented, “When you were little, you always held onto my hand whenever you were upset.”

Upon hearing those words, Miaomiao felt a surge of inexplicable warmth in her heart. When she was a child, she often loved close contact. She often asked her mother to hold her hands and to hug her…

Miaomiao hummed in assent and said, “Thank you.”

Zhou Yuan questioned her, “What happened? Could you inform me what had happened?”

Miaomiao was stunned, and the headteacher’s words resounded in her mind once more. But upon seeing Zhou Yuan’s intense stare, she swallowed down the words that were about to slip out of her mouth.

If I tell him, how will Zhou Yuan see me?

While Zhou Yuan thought that she was naive and clingy when she was a child, she didn’t want him to think that she was annoying…

She felt as if the world was gazing at her festering wound.

She felt uncomfortable, so she couldn’t do it. 

Miaomiao shook her head, “It’s nothing.”

How can it be nothing?

From her appearance, Zhou Yuan knew that the issue wasn’t just wrong, but it definitely was no trifling matter.

Miaomiao sat upright, and she started to shift through her papers and solve the math problems, attempting to swerve her attention to something else.

She wasn’t a renminbi. It was impossible for everybody to like her. Someone would surely take umbrage with her actions, maybe even detest her for them. This happened all the time in the real world.

The more Miaomiao mused over it, the more she panicked as if there was a dark cloud hanging over her head, and she felt as if her head kept wallowing in this despondency.

Did I really do something wrong? I…

Zhou Yuan interrupted her thoughts by handing over a note, “Are you going to the Dong Hot Springs this weekend?”

She felt a storm of comfort knowing that Zhou Yuan had taken the initiative to ask her about these things, and she cheerfully responded, “Do you like soaking in the hot springs?”

“It’s okay.” Zhou Yuan scribbled down another line on the piece of paper, “When you were a kid, we traveled to the hot springs together. When you first caught sight of it, you tried to jump in without a care in the world.”

Miaomiao knew that he was bringing up old childhood memories in an attempt to divert her attention. After all, Zhou Yuan had never drawled about old childhood happenings before.

Miaomiao scribbled, “I caused you a lot of trouble when I was a kid. I really appreciate that you supported and cared for me.”

Zhou Yuan perused the words she wrote down, and then he replied, “Do you know why I didn’t contact you?”

Miaomiao: “…” She instantly became a little dejected. What had just occurred made her feel vulnerable and weak.

She didn’t show this vulnerability, though. Instead, she replied with a question mark. However, within the recesses of her heart, she surmised that it was because of her naivete and clinginess during her childhood years. At least, that was what her inferences had led her to believe. The two people lived in two different worlds.

Zhou Yuan began to write with the utmost solemnity on the paper. Miaomiao had no idea what he was writing about. At this moment, fear had seized her; she didn’t want to know the answer.

When the paper was handed over, Miaomiao saw the handwriting on it. It was neat and clear.

“I know that contacting you even once would revert me back to being a child. I didn’t enjoy that childish behavior at the time but looking back at it now, perhaps I was wrong.”

He hearkened back to the time he was in the car, and the car was heading in the direction of the university. He kept looking in the rearview mirror. It was the first time he felt hesitation like that. 

When Miaomiao perused his words, a feeling of wistful melancholy began to engulf her; she almost felt like crying, as though something had bounced right off her heart.