Chapter Eleven: Xia Qianrou

For thousands of years, a teacher hitting a student had been one of those unspoken rules of the trade. Comrade Gao Zhugan had merely exercised his authority a little, and now he actually had to spend a week in the hospital. If time could run backward, Comrade Gao Zhugan would surely have said, “Brother Nan, sleep however you like, I was only passing through...” Too bad time could not run backward. Comrade Gao Zhugan could only lie in the hospital under observation for a week.

He was probably even being counted as a work injury. A student had beaten him during class—if that did not count, what would? Fortunately, there was no threat to his life; otherwise, Brother Nan would not merely be heading to the office for a talking-to.

Xia Qianrou was wearing a beige business suit on the outside, with a creamy tube top underneath. Though the outfit looked quite proper on her, Zhuo Nan, sitting opposite her, could still smell the mature scent drifting from a married woman’s body... Xia Qianrou sat in her chair, talking without pause, while Zhuo Nan stood before her. As long as he lowered his head a little, his eyes could slip through the gap above the tube top and see what was inside... Damn, it was actually a black bra.

By visual estimate, Zhuo Nan studied the size of Xia Qianrou’s swelling curves and could not help nodding to himself. A thirty-six D, indeed, was no ordinary thing. It was a feast for the eyes, but the aftereffect came at once. Xia Qianrou had nearly talked herself hoarse, and Zhuo Nan had merely nodded along, which made her furious.

If it had been any other student, Xia Qianrou would never have stood here talking so much. She would have simply called the parents in. It was only because the offender was Zhuo Nan that she had gone to such lengths to speak patiently and at length, while Brother Nan had not absorbed a single word.

Xia Qianrou leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked at Zhuo Nan. “Zhuo Nan... did you hear a word I said?”

That change of posture made Zhuo Nan extremely unhappy. The pleasure of peeking, that thievish thrill, like a million tiny ants crawling back and forth inside his heart, was gone. How could he not feel disappointed? Hearing Xia Qianrou question him, he answered instinctively, “What?” The words had barely left his mouth before he regretted them. Seeing Xia Qianrou’s eyes about to bulge out of their sockets, he quickly corrected himself. “Teacher Xia, don’t be angry. I heard everything you said.”

Xia Qianrou was seething inside. This boy had just been off somewhere in his own thoughts and had not heard a single word. She said, “All right, then repeat what I just said.”

“Teacher Xia, if I repeat it all, can I go home?” Zhuo Nan asked, looking at her.

“You’re still thinking about going home? Let me tell you, the dean of discipline, Director Wang, is definitely going to talk to you later. Stop bringing up going home. Just repeat what I said a moment ago, and when Director Wang talks to you, say exactly that.” Xia Qianrou had truly been defeated by this student. He had beaten up a teacher and still looked as if nothing had happened. He was simply too immature.

Zhuo Nan gave an “oh” and said with a smile, “Teacher Xia, are you helping me?”

Xia Qianrou shot him a glare. Though she put on a very angry face, in truth she felt quite relieved. At least this student knew she was trying to help him. She said sternly, “You are my student. If you end up with a demerit or disciplinary punishment, I won’t look good either.”

At that moment, Zhuo Nan once again displayed his award-worthy acting skills. He crossed his hands over his chest, narrowed his eyes, and said pitifully, “Teacher Xia, I really know I was wrong. Please don’t be mad at me, all right?”

A teacher’s job was to teach and nurture. One could not simply write a student off because he had made a mistake; there had to be room for repentance and correction. More importantly, Zhuo Nan did seem sincere. His grades had always been rather good as well, and that had been precisely why Xia Qianrou had asked for him to be transferred into her class. If she were to reject this student now, would that not be the same as rejecting her own original decision?

Xia Qianrou sighed and said with the expression of someone who hated iron for not becoming steel, “Zhuo Nan, do you realize how serious today’s mistake was?”

After Zhuo Nan nodded slightly, Xia Qianrou went on, “Right now it all depends on Teacher Gao’s attitude. You should know that in the more than fifty years since First High School was founded, something like a student beating a teacher has never happened. Even the students in Classes Five and Six would never dare do such a thing. But you, of all people, actually beat Teacher Gao so badly that he ended up in the hospital. The school will definitely handle this very seriously. We were speaking to you just now because we were afraid you’d have a mental burden. If your case is serious, you may even be expelled. Tell me, how am I supposed to help you?”

Zhuo Nan figured he really might be expelled. If that happened, there would be no way to explain it to his family. As the old saying went, “Once a teacher, always a father.” Beating a teacher was the same as beating one’s own father. Zhuo Nan would certainly have an added badge of filial disgrace pinned to his forehead.

“So what do I do now?” Zhuo Nan had no idea what to do, so he could only ask Xia Qianrou.

Xia Qianrou said with a grave expression, “When Director Wang talks to you later, admit your mistake on your own, repeat what I just said, then ask your parents to come to the school. It would be best if they could take you to the hospital to see Teacher Gao and persuade him not to pursue the matter any further. Try to turn a big issue into a small one, and a small one into nothing at all.”

Call his parents? Zhuo Nan frowned. If his mom and dad found out that he had beaten a teacher at school, they would be heartbroken. In their eyes, he was already a good child. How could a good child like him possibly do something like beating a teacher?

Still, for now he could only agree and get through this hurdle first.

“Teacher Xia, I understand. Thank you...” Zhuo Nan said with an adorable smile, and Xia Qianrou felt only relief when she saw it.

Sure enough, Xia Qianrou had guessed correctly. The director of discipline, Wang, called her and asked her to bring Zhuo Nan over. Xia Qianrou glanced at Zhuo Nan helplessly and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to Director Wang. Once we get there, be sure to keep your attitude straight, understand?”

Zhuo Nan nodded and said firmly, “Don’t worry, Teacher Xia. Since you’re helping me this much, I definitely won’t make things difficult for you.”

Xia Qianrou smiled lightly and said nothing. She stood up and walked ahead to lead the way. The two of them went together to the discipline office. Zhuo Nan walked very slowly, all the while admiring Xia Qianrou’s figure from behind. A mature woman really was different from a young girl; even the sway of her hips as she walked was quite another thing. Zhuo Nan thought to himself, No wonder so many men in this world like married women.

Seeing that Zhuo Nan was walking so slowly, Xia Qianrou turned back to urge him on. But the moment she turned around, she saw him staring fixedly at her with a thoughtful look on his face. After so many years as a teacher, having dealt with countless boys and girls, Xia Qianrou immediately saw through his little thoughts. Embarrassment was inevitable, especially since the person in front of her was her own student. But aside from embarrassment, what she felt most was anger. This student had caused such a huge mess, and he still dared to be so disrespectful to her.

So Xia Qianrou asked, “Zhuo Nan, what are you looking at?”

Pulled back from his wandering thoughts, Zhuo Nan immediately caught the unfriendly expression on her face and realized at once that his earlier gaze had been a little too brazen. He hurriedly said, “Teacher Xia, I wasn’t looking at anything.”

Xia Qianrou did not believe a word of it. She said sternly, “Do you know that as your homeroom teacher, I have the authority to ask the school to expel a student like you?”

Hearing this, Zhuo Nan genuinely panicked and quickly tried to explain, looking very sincere. “Teacher Xia, please listen to me. I admit I was looking at your backside just now.”

Of course Xia Qianrou knew what he had been looking at. She had always been very confident in her figure, but to have it stated so plainly by a student still made her feel embarrassed.

Zhuo Nan glanced at Xia Qianrou’s expression and saw that she was listening to his explanation, so he went on. “Teacher Xia, I really wasn’t thinking anything dirty just now. Please believe me. I was only driven by curiosity. As a teacher, you should understand very well that students our age are in adolescence, and curiosity is perfectly normal. I think that kind of curiosity needs guidance and education from teachers and parents, not blind suppression and criticism. Because when those of us with rebellious tendencies are told even more firmly not to know something, we only want to know it more. And in the end, that can lead us to do things that harm society, harm other people, and harm our families.”

Zhuo Nan spoke with such authority that he sounded as if he were delivering a formal report.

Xia Qianrou even wondered if her ears had deceived her. What exactly was this student talking about? It was only a minor matter, and he had somehow elevated it to the level of harming society and family. Worse still, the way he put it sounded almost as if teachers like them were the ones pushing students down that road.

Xia Qianrou was at a loss for words. In all her years of teaching, this was the first time she had met a student who had done something wrong and still came armed with a whole stack of excuses. But thinking it over, what he said did have some logic. Only the topic had drifted far too much, all the way into adolescent sex education, and as a female teacher, she really could not continue discussing that issue with a student.

Her face flushed red, and she said awkwardly, “All right, enough. Stop going in circles. I won’t blame you, so hurry up and walk.”

With that, she turned around and once again presented her back to Zhuo Nan.

Zhuo Nan grinned, having smoothly muddled through another hurdle...