Chapter 31: The Outcome (4)

There was no such thing as a secret that wouldn’t leak. In less than a day, word of Su Ting’s confrontation with Duan Xiaoying had spread.

In the Family Residential Compound, everyone was discussing the matter. Some said Su Ting was making a fuss over nothing, while others believed Teacher Duan hadn’t handled things well. But soon, a conclusion was reached—

Duan Xiaoying was removed from her position as Homeroom Teacher.

To be fair, most people never thought being a Homeroom Teacher was a good deal— the salary was only three yuan higher than that of an ordinary teacher, yet the responsibilities multiplied several times over.

The teachers at Military Elementary School weren’t all eager to take on the role of Homeroom Teacher.

However, when someone who had been serving as a Homeroom Teacher without any issues was suddenly dismissed, it naturally raised suspicions.

Officially, Duan Xiaoying claimed that she had too many family obligations and wanted to spend more time with her loved ones. But the Han family had always had three children—it wasn’t as if they had just recently appeared. Back when her kids were younger and needed more care, she never said she was too busy. Now that they were older, she suddenly found herself unable to juggle responsibilities? Who would believe that?

What’s more, Su Ting had just gone to Military Elementary School to demand an explanation, and then immediately afterward, Duan Xiaoying was dismissed. No matter how one looked at it, something seemed off.

The Family Residential Compound was abuzz with speculation. Most believed she must have made some kind of mistake.

But that raised another question—what kind of mistake could a teacher possibly make?

In the past, no one would have been able to think of anything. Sure, she might have treated high-achieving students and struggling students differently, but children were simple, and she had always been subtle about it. No one had ever really considered it before, which was why she had always maintained a good reputation.

However, after what happened with He Yan, people’s thoughts began to spiral.

If she had targeted He Yan when it came to the performance, was it possible that she had also treated other students unfairly in other situations?

Could that have been the real reason for her dismissal?

Once this idea was voiced, the other military wives reacted differently. But for those whose children had studied under Duan Xiaoying, particularly the parents who had previously approached her hoping to get their child into the performance, the reaction was intense.

After all, if He Yan had already been selected and was practicing diligently, yet Duan Xiaoying could still kick him out on a whim, what about their own children? Could it be that their sons or daughters weren’t chosen because Duan Xiaoying had been deliberately excluding them?

At first, they might have let the He Yan situation slide. But then, there was Li Xiaoming—a child who hadn’t originally been selected but somehow ended up on the final performance list. Was there something shady going on?

So they all went to demand an explanation—not from Duan Xiaoying anymore, but from the new Homeroom Teacher. After all, it was now her responsibility.

The new Homeroom Teacher was overwhelmed by the flood of parents. Though she had been on good terms with Duan Xiaoying before, no one enjoyed constantly cleaning up someone else’s mess.

So, after being approached by one parent after another, she decided to settle the matter once and for all. On Sunday, during the school’s rest day, she organized a full-class singing competition and invited all the parents to watch.

Not only did the military wives from the Family Residential Compound attend, but even parents from nearby villages whose children studied at Military Elementary School came to observe.

As a result, on Sunday, the first-grade Class Two classroom was packed to the brim, leaving no space to move.

Due to the large number of participants, many children who had signed up for the competition were so scared when they got on stage that they couldn’t sing a single note. Even some who were usually fine at singing found their tunes going off-key once they stepped on stage, which caused the audience to burst into laughter.

The children who had been selected for the choir program performed mostly well, as they had prepared for the stage performance well in advance. Seeing so many people did not faze them, and their performances were fairly normal.

There were also some who went above and beyond, such as He Yan. He enjoyed being the center of attention. After stepping on stage, his expression, voice, and overall performance were flawless.

Of course, there were also those who performed exceptionally poorly, with Li Xiaoming being a prime example. He had been forced into participating in the choir program by his mother, and he had no natural talent for singing—he even had a bit of difficulty staying on pitch. His performance on stage was a disaster.

In the end, except for Li Xiaoming, everyone else retained their spots for the upcoming performance at the gala.

There were also some parents who were dissatisfied, feeling that their child hadn’t had enough time to practice singing, while others had been rehearsing for a long time. It was only natural that the other children performed better. If their own child had been selected for the program earlier, perhaps it would have been their child who performed well.

The new Homeroom Teacher felt like rolling her eyes upon hearing this, but she held herself back and patiently complimented the other parent’s child. She also subtly explained that the gala would begin next week, and changing participants now would likely affect the performance’s outcome. The leaders of the event would be difficult to explain things to if the performance was disrupted.

Then she added that if the school wasn’t just planning to hold this one gala, but intended to hold more in the future—if this year’s event went well and the leaders were satisfied—there would surely be more opportunities for the children to perform next year. This finally calmed down the dissatisfied parents.

In the end, the competition was deemed a success, and both the school and the parents were mostly satisfied with the results.

If anyone was dissatisfied, it was definitely Xu Fen. After forcing Li Xiaoming into the choir program, she had been bragging around the Family Residential Compound, claiming her son was handsome and could sing well, and that the Homeroom Teacher had high hopes for him.

After this competition, all the boasts she had made fell apart.

Li Xiaoming wasn’t exactly unattractive, but anyone with a discerning eye could tell he had nothing to do with being handsome. As for his singing skills, he was at the bottom of the class, wasn’t he?

This competition had solidified the fact that Li Xiaoming had gotten onto the program through the back door.

Because of this, Xu Fen had been too embarrassed to go out for a while.

Another person who was avoiding going out was Duan Xiaoying. Since it was now clear that Li Xiaoming had been placed in the choir program through special treatment, as the former Homeroom Teacher of Class One, she was naturally under suspicion.

To be precise, Duan Xiaoying had been confirmed to have treated students unfairly and given preferential treatment. After all, how could someone with no sense of pitch like Li Xiaoming have replaced He Yan on stage?

After the competition, the parents of Class One were extremely angry with Duan Xiaoying, and parents of other students she taught as the Chinese Language Teacher began to grow suspicious of her as well.

If she had treated students unfairly when she was a Homeroom Teacher, how was she behaving as the Chinese Language Teacher?

The parents of the students who performed well in class might have been more understanding, but the parents of those who struggled began to think more broadly. They wondered if their child’s poor performance in Chinese was due to being treated unfairly by Duan Xiaoying.

Would they continue allowing Duan Xiaoying to teach their child?

This is how people are. If a teacher shows favoritism toward their own child, they will be pleased. But if their child isn’t the favored one, and the teacher is proven to be unfair, even without concrete evidence, they will start suspecting that their child was treated differently.

Soon, parents began frequently visiting Military Primary School to express to Principal Jiang that they didn’t want Duan Xiaoying teaching their children. Principal Jiang found herself in a difficult position.

She had originally thought that removing Duan Xiaoying from her position as Homeroom Teacher would settle the issue and appease Su Ting. She didn’t anticipate that it would set off a chain of events. The parents’ dissatisfaction with Duan Xiaoying grew, snowballing in size until it completely overwhelmed her.

At this point, Principal Jiang had no choice but to consider removing Duan Xiaoying from her teaching position.

However, the school was limited in size, and there were very few positions available. If Duan Xiaoying couldn’t teach, what else could she do? The school’s funds were not enough to keep her on the payroll without her teaching, so should she be dismissed?

And if she was dismissed, the school would have to hire another teacher. Who could they hire? Would the new hire be able to adapt quickly to the work?

These were all pressing issues.