"It's like this, Auntie," Ji Ruochu placed her cup on the table and stood up obediently. Her voice was sweet, but her words were organized and clear.
"Today in our pottery class, Qi Yibin deliberately damaged my artwork because he thought mine looked better than his."
Upon hearing this, Tong Yuqing furrowed her brows instantly.
Her own son had indeed been in a fiercely competitive phase recently. Not only with his classmates, but even during family meals, he wouldn't allow anyone to eat faster than him.
It did sound like something he would do.
"I didn't do it on purpose! I already said it wasn't intentional!" the chubby boy panicked, afraid that his mother would turn against him and give him a scolding. He quickly defended himself.
"That's not true," Ji Ruochu said seriously, "You said 'this time it wasn't intentional,' which means the previous occasions were intentional!"
Without waiting for Qi Yibin to respond, she began counting on her fingers, "Before you accidentally damaged my artwork this time, you deliberately walked over to my desk and intentionally bumped into it, causing my work to be damaged for the first time. And this morning, when we were entering the classroom, you suddenly rushed over to push me. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I would have fallen."
After finishing, Ji Ruochu looked towards the homeroom teacher nearby and said, "Teacher Lin, can you testify for me?"
Caught in a difficult position between both sides, Teacher Lin reluctantly nodded.
"Yibin."
At that moment, Tong Yuqing's gaze turned dangerous. She only knew that her son had been spoiled by the elderly in the family, but she had no idea that he would dare to physically harm others.
"But you didn't fall!" the chubby boy pleaded, feeling extremely wronged. "I'm the one getting hurt every time..."
In the blink of an eye, the furious mother turned into a clueless one due to her son's foolishness.
"Teacher, considering his behavior, is it really suitable for him to be in the advanced class?" Tong Yuqing turned her head and earnestly asked the homeroom teacher.
Teacher Lin forced a smile, finding it difficult to respond.
"You're joking."
The next moment, Tong Yuqing turned her gaze towards the little girl who had already obediently sat back down. Her voice softened by a degree.
"Little Ruoru, what Yibin did was wrong. Auntie will apologize on his behalf—"
"Mom!" Qi Yibin panicked instantly and rushed forward to cover his mother's mouth. "I won't let you apologize!"
"Right." The mother, whose anger had reached its peak, took a deep breath and composed herself. She gently pressed her eyelid, trying to control her emotions. "I've only heard of fathers repaying their debts and sons repaying their fathers' debts. Where does it make sense for a mother to repay the debt? When we get home, I'll talk to your father and have him come to the school to apologize tomorrow..."
"No, no!" The image described by his mother scared the chubby boy even more.
At this point, knowing that the principal and the homeroom teacher were using this opportunity to educate the mother and son, they immediately made room for the two.
Even Ji Ruochu, who was still absentmindedly drinking honey water from her cup, was gently led out of the classroom with soft words.
"Well, what do you want then?"
Seeing that there was only herself and her foolish son in the classroom, Tong Yuqing no longer held back her emotions.
"You should stand up for me!"
"That's not possible." Tong Yuqing shrugged helplessly, with a look of resignation. "We're living in a civilized society, not ancient times. In your own home, you can have your own way, be like an emperor, but out here, it's a place where we discuss right and wrong. No matter how clever you are, no matter how spoiled you are at home, if you're wrong, you're wrong."
"I'm not wrong!" Qi Yibin, a chubby kid whose pride had been completely shattered, stuck out his neck and said with a face full of arrogance.
"Yes, yes, you're not wrong, just like your grandmother said, we, clever children like you, how could we make mistakes?"
Seeing that reasoning wasn't getting through, the mother had to change direction:
"It's your father and me who are wrong, my dear son. Don't worry, as long as your father and I are alive, any mistakes you don't admit, we will bear the consequences. You can continue to bully your classmates, and your father and I will kneel at the school gate every day to apologize to the other students. When you grow up, if you commit murder or arson, your father and I will go to jail for you. Anyway..."
"No, no! No kneeling!" Qi Yibin, afraid of his mother's increasingly frightening words, quickly interrupted, "I won't kill anyone, and I don't like playing with fire! I won't go to jail!"
...
Seeing her son about to start crying in a panic, Tong Yuqing finally hugged him in her arms and spoke softly:
"Yibin, do you know why your father and I went through so much trouble to send you to school here?"
"Because this place is good." The chubby kid sniffled, his voice muffled.
"That's just part of it. The main reason is that there are children here who are smarter than you, and there are people here who are more powerful than your father. Since you were little, you've been clever and thought that no one could surpass you, and you wouldn't allow anyone to surpass you.
But, my son, there are always people better than us, and there are always higher mountains. You have had very limited interactions with people so far, our country is so big, the world is so vast, there will definitely be people who are better than you in certain aspects.
You need to learn to accept your shortcomings and improve upon them in order to become a better person. Instead of getting angry and hurting others when you see someone better than you.
If you keep going like this, you might end up going astray sooner or later, and when that time comes, it will be too late, and no one will be able to save you."
Astray?
The chubby kid looked up in confusion.
He took a small step back after getting up.
Stand up straight, stand properly.
"Mom, Yibin is not going astray at all."
He's being straightforward!
Tong Yuqing:...
Damn it, this foolish son is impossible to teach!
