Chapter 36: The 1990s Teacher Supporting Character Who Despises the Poor and Favors the Rich (13)

Wang Guohai turned his head and saw it was Fang Yuwei holding the stick, making him even more enraged: “Let go of it!”

“The person you want to hit is my student, and I won’t allow it.” Fang Yuwei’s expression was calm but she tightened her grip.

“He got into a fight with my grandnephew and beat him up like that?” Wang Guohai spoke righteously.

That was the most treasured grandson of his eldest brother Wang Guomin, Wang Mingyu — the eldest grandson of their generation in the family. How could he be bullied by others?

Fang Yuwei glanced over. Wang Mingyu was sitting on a nearby chair with two scratch marks on his face, looking indifferent compared to Yang Liyu.

He seemed to know someone would defend him.

Su Yue, sitting next to Wang Mingyu, glanced at him then Yang Liyu, acting as a mediator: “Why don’t the two kids apologize to each other and settle it? Kids fighting is normal, but making it bigger is not good.”

After saying that, she looked at Yang Liyu and advised, “You and Mingyu apologize to each other, or we’ll have to call the parents.”

Yang Liyu turned his face away and clenched his fists.

Wang Guohai seemed to have Yang Liyu’s weakness and said sternly with a grim face: “Make him call his dad to school, contact the parents immediately!”

Yang Liyu was a left-behind child. His parents hadn’t come back for years, no one knew if they were still together, how could they come back?

Hearing the talk about calling parents, Wang Mingyu looked even more triumphant and provocatively glanced at Yang Liyu standing in the corner.

Yang Liyu noticed Wang Mingyu’s gaze and Wang Guohai’s words. He bit his teeth tightly, his lowered eyes full of darkness, rage filling his small chest, and seeds of hatred beginning to take root and sprout wildly.

He didn’t want to study anymore, didn’t want to come to school anymore, and never wanted to see a bunch of disgusting teachers again.

Just as Yang Liyu was about to explode, Fang Yuwei suddenly came to his side. She raised her hand, gently patted his shoulder to comfort him, and spoke softly, “Tell me what really happened. Who hit who first?”

Yang Liyu didn’t say a word.

“What else could it be? He always causes trouble. Nobody cared before, but this time he hit my grandnephew—”

“Teacher Wang.” Fang Yuwei interrupted Wang Guohai, her tone calm but firm, “This is a school. Your identity first is a teacher, then a parent. Are you here as a teacher or Wang Mingyu’s parent?”

“What difference does that make?” Wang Guohai scowled.

Fang Yuwei carefully checked Yang Liyu’s injuries and found a swelling above his forehead, with some purple and bruised skin. She gently lifted his hair to look more closely. Yang Liyu resisted and didn’t let her see, clenching his fists so tightly his shoulders trembled slightly.

She did not insist and continued in a lowered voice, “If you’re a teacher, then speak less. After all, you’re neither Yang Liyu’s teacher nor Wang Mingyu’s teacher. This is a matter for me and Teacher Zhong to handle.”

Wang Mingyu’s homeroom teacher, Zhong Quan, was standing to the side. Hearing this, he pulled the corners of his mouth awkwardly.

Wang Guohai came in and scolded the student right away. The other party was a senior teacher and also related to Principal Wang. Then Su Yue also showed up. Zhong Quan truly couldn’t get a word in and didn’t want to stir up trouble.

Anyway, he wasn’t Yang Liyu’s teacher. He even wanted to gloss over the matter vaguely so it wouldn’t cause him any trouble.

However, Wang Guohai bypassed him and took charge of the matter. He did feel some dissatisfaction in his heart. Not to mention, Wang Mingyu was taller than Yang Liyu by a head and was no ordinary kid.

“He hit my grandnephew and I can’t even speak?” Wang Guohai’s face darkened as he scolded loudly.

He was relying on being a senior teacher. This happened in his school. If he didn’t protect his side, how would he maintain his authority and reputation within the family?

“If you want to act as a parent, shouldn’t you at least find out the truth first?” Fang Yuwei’s tone grew stern. “My student has a swollen lump on his head. Was it Wang Mingyu who hit him?”

As soon as she said this, Wang Mingyu, who had been lounging leisurely in the chair, suddenly tensed up.

“Regardless of who is right or wrong, the child is injured and needs to be treated first. He needs to be examined.” Fang Yuwei looked at Wang Mingyu. “What about you? Where are you hurt?”

“I… I…” Wang Mingyu stammered with flickering eyes. “My face just hurts a little.”

Fang Yuwei took Yang Liyu’s hand and was about to leave. “He hit his head. I’m taking him to the hospital for a check-up.”

As soon as she said she would take him to the hospital, everyone present was stunned.

Ordinary people wouldn’t go to the hospital over minor issues. Was it really that serious to need a hospital visit?

The school was full of left-behind and poor students. No one looked after them and no one stood up for them. If they were bullied or hurt, and the teacher was irresponsible, it would all just be brushed aside.

Wang Guohai blocked her path. “If you’re taking him to the hospital, who’s paying?”

Fang Yuwei replied, “Whoever is at fault, whoever hit him, pays.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Mingyu immediately stood up from his chair in panic and said, “I didn’t mean to hit him. I told him to move and he wouldn’t. He insisted I pay for his meat bun and even tried to fight me.”

“So you hit him first?” Fang Yuwei turned and asked Wang Mingyu.

Wang Mingyu looked extremely guilty.

“Why are you being so loud?” Wang Guohai stepped forward, trying to stop Fang Yuwei from pursuing the matter further.

Fang Yuwei kept her eyes on Wang Mingyu and sternly asked, “I’m asking you. Did you hit him first? And you hit his head? If the hospital finds anything wrong, you’ll be fully responsible.”

Wang Mingyu immediately argued, “I didn’t hit him. I just gave him a push and he hit himself.”

Wang Guohai signaled to Wang Mingyu to stop talking, but it was too late. Fang Yuwei turned to Zhong Quan and said, “Teacher Zhong, did you hear that? Wang Mingyu knocked over the boy’s bun, refused to compensate him, told him to go away. When the boy didn’t, he hit him first and even pushed him. Tell me, who is right and who is wrong?”

With just a few words, she summed up the situation.

Zhong Quan had already suspected things weren’t so simple. Out of respect for Wang Guohai, he didn’t dare reprimand Wang Mingyu and only said, “You’re older than him. It’s definitely wrong to hit first.”

Wang Guohai saw Wang Mingyu shrinking his neck and knew this situation lacked justification. So he turned to Fang Yuwei and said, “No need to call the parents. Let the kids make peace.”

“Teacher Wang, that’s easy for you to say. Wang Mingyu hit first and even injured him. How do we just make peace?” Fang Yuwei bypassed him. “I’m his homeroom teacher. I have to take responsibility for him. Now I’m taking him to the hospital for a check-up. If anything happens to him, who will be responsible? Who will bear it?”

Wang Guohai was left speechless by her last few sentences, and Zhong Quan remained silent as well.

As soon as the word ‘responsibility’ was brought up, everyone started to avoid it.

After Fang Yuwei took Yang Liyu away, Wang Guohai said angrily, “She’s just trying to stir things up. Showing off her authority as a homeroom teacher.”

Seeing that Fang Yuwei had taken the student to the hospital, Wang Mingyu’s face turned pale. He looked at Wang Guohai with anxiety, silently pleading for help.

He used to bully this one and hit that one in class. Everyone knew his grand-uncle was a teacher here and that he also knew the principal. Another relative was even the English teacher.

The kids he bullied didn’t dare say a word. If they were pushed too far, they wouldn’t even come to school. Even if their parents asked, many would hold it in and not say a thing.

Outside the teaching building.

Yang Liyu shook off Fang Yuwei’s hand. “I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

“You hit your head. You need a check-up.” Fang Yuwei insisted.

“I’m not going!” Yang Liyu lowered his head, never looking at her.

Fang Yuwei looked at him and said softly, “A head injury is no small matter. If it’s serious, it could cause irreversible damage. I’ve heard of many cases like that. Some kids didn’t take it seriously at the time, and within a few days their brainstem started bleeding. Some ended up bedridden and mentally impaired. What will you do then?”

She wasn’t saying this to scare Yang Liyu. Cases like that were not uncommon. Also, he was coughing a lot and the swelling on his head was getting worse.

He really needed a hospital visit for peace of mind.

Moreover, even though Yang Liyu was still a child, he already showed a cruel streak. After dropping out of school, he drifted around the streets. Taking advantage of the still-undeveloped social system, he actually made quite a bit of money. But he became a major antagonist and took revenge on many people who had bullied him and even obstructed the school’s development.

Later, Fang Yuwei herself became one of his targets. This kid ended up twisted in his heart. He didn’t have a good end. When the authorities cracked down, they discovered he had been involved in a murder case and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

He was ultimately a pitiful child. She didn’t want him to go down that road.

“I’m not afraid.” Yang Liyu said that, but after a while, he added, “My family has no money for the hospital. My parents haven’t come back in a long time.”

Maybe they had already abandoned him.

Compared to becoming paralyzed or mentally impaired, his current problem was just having no money.

To him, being poor was the most terrifying thing.

Fang Yuwei told him, “He was the one who pushed you down. This examination fee should be paid by them. Not only that, they also have to compensate.”

Hearing this, Yang Liyu immediately lifted his head, as if trying to confirm whether it was true.

“Come on, let’s go to the hospital.” Fang Yuwei held his hand again and led him outside the school.

Her palm was very warm. Yang Liyu thought it felt like a mother’s.

He didn’t struggle, quietly following behind her.

“You need to eat breakfast first,” Fang Yuwei took him to a breakfast shop and got him a meat bun and a cup of soy milk.

She handed him the breakfast and spoke to herself, “When asking him for compensation, I think the meat bun he knocked over should be counted too. By the way, how did he knock it over?”

Yang Liyu took the meat bun and soy milk, and softly replied, “He rode his bike and crashed into me.”

“He crashed into someone and didn’t apologize? That’s outrageous!” Fang Yuwei said as she also packed a piece of cake for him. “This one is new and doesn’t sell well. Try it.”

Yang Liyu looked at the colorful cake in his hand and awkwardly muttered, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome~~” Fang Yuwei took him toward the bus stop.

The hospital in town couldn’t perform detailed examinations, so they needed to take a bus to the city.

After boarding the bus, Fang Yuwei paid the fare. Yang Liyu sat in the front while she sat behind him.

As the bus started moving, Yang Liyu slowly ate his meat bun. The steaming bun was soft and tender, and the meat inside was savory and fragrant.

He took small bites, chewing slowly, reluctant to finish it.

As he ate, the corners of his eyes began to sting. He lifted his sleeve to wipe his eyes again and again, sniffled quietly, and then continued eating the cake with his head down.

Fang Yuwei looked out the window, pretending not to notice.

At this age, he was still just a child.

An hour later, Fang Yuwei brought Yang Liyu to the City People’s Hospital.

Yang Liyu had developed trust in Fang Yuwei and lowered his guard. When the doctor asked, he answered honestly and even pulled up his pants leg.

The knee of his school pants was torn, and his skin was broken and still bleeding.

Seeing this, Fang Yuwei furrowed her brows tightly.

When Yang Liyu said his head felt a bit dizzy, the doctor recommended a CT scan. However, the price was high. Even a plain scan of the head would cost several dozen yuan.

Many county hospitals didn’t even have CT machines. This hospital had only one second-hand machine, and the price was already considered reasonable.

Yang Liyu looked at Fang Yuwei nervously.

“Doctor, please write the slip,” Fang Yuwei said to the doctor.

The doctor wrote the slip and prescribed the medicine, then said to Fang Yuwei, “After the scan, take the child to have the wound treated.”

“Okay.”

Fang Yuwei held Yang Liyu’s hand as they walked through the large hospital. He followed closely behind her, not daring to glance around.

“This place is so big. Besides giving birth, I’ve never been here before,” Fang Yuwei said while walking. “I need to figure out where to pay. You better stick with me. If you get lost, I wouldn’t know where to find you.”

Yang Liyu nodded hard and followed even closer. His anxiety eased a little.

Not just him, it turned out the teacher was also unfamiliar with this place.

Fortunately, the examination results showed nothing serious. Fang Yuwei felt a great weight lift from her heart. When she brought Yang Liyu back to school, it was already one o’clock.

Classes were scheduled for the afternoon, so Yang Liyu didn’t have time to go home. Fang Yuwei brought him back to the shop so he could eat lunch with her.

Yang Liyu felt a little embarrassed and insisted on returning to school.

“The classroom doors are locked right now. How are you going to get in?” Fang Yuwei pulled him over and served him a bowl of rice. “I accompanied you to the hospital. Now you accompany me for a meal.”

Mother and Father Lin and her two children had already eaten. Lin Yan waited for Fang Yuwei, so he hadn’t eaten yet.

Today, Mother Lin cooked a plate of stir-fried greens, a dish of braised chicken wings, chive-fried eggs, and pork rib soup.

“No need to be shy.” Fang Yuwei gave Yang Liyu a chicken wing and put it in his bowl, then added some vegetables for him.

Yang Liyu looked at the chicken wing in his bowl, swallowed hard, but his strong pride made him act as if he didn’t want it.

He was just about to tell Fang Yuwei that he didn’t like chicken wings when he saw a little one standing on his right. That tender white face was lifted with big, round eyes looking at him.

Yang Liyu looked at him, then turned his head. Another identical-looking child was on his left, holding a mechanical duck toy, reaching it out to give it to him.

“Call him brother. This is Brother Yang Liyu.” Fang Yuwei said to her two sons. Since she hadn’t come home, Lin Yan waited to eat with her, and the two children also refused to nap.

“Guoguo,” Xiao Yangyang called out to him, stretching the toy duck toward Yang Liyu while grinning widely, showing his baby teeth.

“It’s brother!” Xiao Chaochao corrected his brother.

“Guoguo.” Xiao Yangyang pronounced carefully and continued trying to hand the toy to Yang Liyu.

Fang Yuwei placed the pork rib soup Lin Yan had served in front of Yang Liyu and softly said, “Brother hasn’t eaten yet. Let him eat first.”

Xiao Yangyang pouted thoughtfully and took the toy back.

Yang Liyu looked at him and solemnly promised, “I’ll play with you after I eat.”

“Mm-hmm.” Xiao Yangyang smiled with crescent-shaped eyes and sat quietly waiting.

Yang Liyu finished every grain of rice in his bowl and drank all the soup. He even insisted on washing the dishes himself, afraid of troubling others.

After tidying up, he didn’t forget to go play with the two little ones. He patiently taught them how to play with the toy and even showed a childlike smile on his face.

Besides using rebellion to disguise himself, once he let down his guard, he too showed the side of a child.

Wang Guohai had been making a fuss in the academic affairs office all morning. After Fang Yuwei took Yang Liyu to the hospital, he went silent in the afternoon.

He acted as if nothing had happened.

Instead, it was Zhong Quan who came to ask a few questions.

Fang Yuwei told him that Yang Liyu’s head injury wasn’t light. The doctor suggested a CT scan. Thankfully, the results were fine. His leg was also scraped, bleeding quite a bit. She even showed the hospital receipt to him.

Since it was Wang Mingyu who hit someone first and even beat someone up, this money definitely had to be paid by him. His parents must be contacted to come and resolve it.

If money needs to be paid, then pay it. If compensation is needed, then compensate.

When he heard about having to pay, Wang Mingyu was so scared that his legs turned weak. He kept begging Wang Guohai to step in. However, Wang Guohai directly informed Wang Guomin and told him to come to the school to handle it.

As for Yang Liyu, neither his father nor mother showed up. His grandfather was old and also poor. He was timid and dared not speak.

After he arrived, Fang Yuwei especially told him that the other party must pay and apologize. This money was paid by her and it had to be returned. If not pursued, it would not be recovered. After some hesitation, the old man finally insisted on pursuing it.

Since the matter caused a stir, Principal Wang also showed up.

When he heard that Wang Guohai had covered up the incident and almost caused a serious problem, his expression was unpleasant. Taking this opportunity, he also wanted to suppress Wang Guohai’s arrogance.

So the matter was dealt with more strictly.

The medical fees had to be compensated. Future treatment and recovery also needed support. Wang Guomin only symbolically gave a bit of money. The school uniform pants were torn and a new pair was compensated.

Originally, he still wanted to act shameless, thinking it was just a fight. Why not just let the kid hit back?

But after hearing that there were hospital receipts and that if it was reported to the police, it would become a big issue, he reluctantly paid the money.

At the morning exercise assembly, Principal Wang publicly criticized Wang Mingyu, issued a serious warning about such behavior, and gave disciplinary action. He instructed him to behave well or it would affect his graduation.

That day, after going home, Wang Guomin almost beat Wang Mingyu’s legs crippled. He also fell out with Wang Guohai. It was likely he spread bad words in the village too.

As a result, for quite a long time, whenever Wang Guohai saw Fang Yuwei, his expression was extremely unpleasant. Even when she greeted him politely, he responded with sarcastic remarks.

Fang Yuwei found it funny. Whenever they met, she simply ignored Wang Guohai.

As for what he thought, who cared?