Chapter 12: Calling the Parents

“You’ve always been motherless. What right do you have to tell me what to say?” Lin Juan shouted, her voice trembling with humiliation. She had been slapped—twice—and now stood pinned against her desk, seething with rage. Pointing at Cheng Yuan, she snapped, “You’re at the bottom of the class, and you think you can get into Shanghai University? Delusional!”

Her words grew sharper, more venomous. “If you’re so bold, then let’s talk. I heard your real mother ran off with another man. She didn’t even want you. Called you a burden!”

Cheng Yuan’s expression darkened. Lin Juan smirked, satisfied. So what if she’s pretty? She’s still a motherless girl!

Slap!

Cheng Yuan struck her again without hesitation.

“ah…. “

Enraged, Lin Juan lunged at her like a wild animal.

---

Later that evening, the school called Cheng Yuan’s father.

“Yuanyuan, are you okay?” Cheng Huaien arrived at the school in a rush, his brow furrowed with worry. He found Cheng Yuan and Lin Juan standing in the office, waiting for their parents.

Cheng Yuan held her Chinese textbook, calmly memorizing a classical passage as if nothing had happened.

“Dad.” Cheng Yuan glanced up, then looked away again. She had been summoned to the teacher’s office before, always to be met with a stern lecture from her father about behaving properly and focusing on her studies. Already feeling wronged, their conversations usually ended in arguments.

But this time was different.

“Who bullied you?” Cheng Huaien asked, his eyes scanning her from head to toe, concern etched into every line of his face.

“She hit me! I want an apology!” Lin Juan cut in sharply, pointing at her reddened cheek.

Cheng Yuan opened her mouth to explain, but Cheng Huaien stepped in front of her, his voice calm but firm. “My daughter doesn’t hit people without a reason.”

He remembered how he had once scolded her again and again, urging her to avoid conflict and keep the peace. But after all their fights, after learning the truth about the bullying, he knew now—he had failed to protect her.

This time, I won’t make that mistake again.

Cheng Yuan stared up at her father in stunned silence. He believes me? He’s not jumping to conclusions?

Just then, Teacher Lu arrived. She sighed as she assessed Lin Juan’s defiant stance and began explaining the situation to both families.

Cheng Huaien’s expression shifted from concern to fury. His fists clenched at his sides as regret burned in his chest. All those times I told her to stay calm, to endure… and she was being humiliated like this?

“Teacher Lu,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, “my wife loved Yuan deeply. She didn’t run off with someone else—she disappeared. And my daughter is not an unwanted bastard.”

His voice caught slightly on the last word. The realization hit him hard—his daughter had been enduring that kind of cruelty from her classmates.

“Mr. Cheng, Mr. Lin,” Teacher Lu began carefully, “both girls were in the wrong today. I’ve already reprimanded Lin Juan—she should never have said those things. But Cheng Yuan shouldn’t have resorted to violence either. Hitting someone isn’t the solution.”

It was their senior year. With the college entrance exam approaching, a conflict like this could throw everything off course.

“For both your daughters’ sake, let’s put this behind us. If they can just apologize to each other—”

Before she could finish, Cheng Huaien interrupted her.

“Teacher Lu,” he said, voice low but firm, “if someone insulted your mother, would you really stand there and take it?”

Teacher Lu hesitated. In truth, if someone had dared speak about her mother like that, she would’ve flown into a rage.

She glanced awkwardly at Lin Juan’s father, unsure of what to say.

“I heard it from people in your village,” Lin Juan said loudly, clearly unrepentant. “Your mom ran off. You could’ve insulted me back, not slapped me! What gives you the right?”

Smack!

This time, the slap came from her father.

The force matched Cheng Yuan’s earlier blow. Five red finger marks bloomed on the opposite side of Lin Juan’s face.

Lin Juan stared at him, stunned. “Dad… you hit me?”

Tears welled in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. Cheng Yuan’s slap had stung her pride. Her father’s slap pierced her soul.

“Who taught you to speak like that?” Father Lin snapped. He turned to Cheng Yuan and Cheng Huaien, bowing his head slightly. “I apologize for her behavior. I’ll deal with her properly at home.”

As an elementary school teacher, he was shocked and ashamed. He had never expected his daughter to speak so cruelly.

Cheng Yuan stepped forward calmly. “Uncle Lin, I shouldn’t have hit her either. But she insulted my mother… I couldn’t stay calm.”

Her voice was steady. She wasn’t trying to avoid responsibility, but she wasn’t going to apologize for defending her mother’s dignity, either.

“Apologize, Lin Juan,” her father ordered.

Lin Juan clenched her fists, glaring at him. She caught sight of Cheng Yuan’s calm, composed expression—and it made her want to scream.

“I won’t apologize! I’d rather die than apologize!”

With that, she turned and ran out of the room, tears blurring her vision.

Father Lin quickly explained the situation to Teacher Lu, then rushed out after her.

Cheng Huaien turned to his daughter.

“Yuanyuan…” His voice was gentle now, almost apologetic.

“Thank you, Dad.” Cheng Yuan looked up, smiling brightly.

Her heart felt light. For the first time in a long while, she felt truly seen.

“Mr. Cheng,” Teacher Lu began, shifting the conversation, “since I’ve already called you in… I wanted to mention something. Cheng Yuan’s ambition is admirable, but Hai University is one of the top schools in the country. With her current grades, I’m worried she might—”

“I believe in my daughter,” Cheng Huaien cut in firmly. “If she says she can do it, she will.”

Teacher Lu: “……”

---

Outside, Lin Juan crouched in a dark corner of the bamboo grove behind the teaching building, sobbing uncontrollably.

Why does Cheng Yuan’s father stand by her, but mine slapped me in front of everyone?

She bit her lip, tears dripping from her chin.

Suddenly, she heard voices.

“Li Liang, over here. No one’s around.”

She froze, clamping her hand over her mouth.

“We’ve got to teach her a lesson,” hissed Li Liang, his voice low and full of menace.

Lin Juan’s heart skipped a beat. Her? Are they talking about Cheng Yuan?