It was a week after the start of the semester.
Before evening self-study, Yu Na did not go to the cafeteria but stayed in the office to tutor students.
While she was explaining, the office door was suddenly knocked. "Teacher Yu, this is bad!"
It was Hao Lei's voice.
The office door was open. Yu Na turned her head and asked, "What's the matter that you are in such a hurry?"
"It's Qiao Rui... Qiao Rui got into an argument with the principal!"
Yu Na gasped and immediately stood up, "Got into an argument?"
"Yes, Qiao Rui was with Xu Yi. Principal Qin is also there. Please go take a look!"
Yu Na closed her books and said to the student next to her, "Go back to the classroom first, I'll come back to continue the lesson later."
"Okay, Teacher Yu."
Yu Na only patted her shoulder and rushed out of the office without saying anything else. She jogged downstairs.
The senior year started a month earlier so the only students on campus were the seniors. Without the usual hustle and bustle, any noise could be amplified.
Just like now.
She hadn't reached the playground yet but could already hear the argument from that direction—
"How many times have I f*cking told you, no means no!"
"You think you're right huh? Who the f*ck are you cussing at? Principal Qin, call Teacher Yu down here!"
"..."
Yu Na heard it loud and clear. She thought, oh no.
She didn't know what had happened but Qiao Rui talking back to the principal meant big trouble. Both he and his unlucky homeroom teacher were done for.
Yu Na ran over to the playground and interrupted their confrontation. "Principal, Principal Qin."
Qiao Rui had his hands in his pockets, completely fearless. Meanwhile, Xu Yi stood to the side with her head down, sobbing softly.
Seeing this scene, Yu Na vaguely guessed what had happened.
Sure enough, the first thing Principal Qin said when he saw her was an accusatory question: "Teacher Yu, what is the relationship between these two students in your class?"
Xu Yi suddenly looked up, gazed at Yu Na pleadingly, and shook her head.
Qiao Rui did not offer any explanation. He just stood there lazily.
"Principal, Principal Qin, they are—"
Before she could finish, the principal waved his hand to stop her from continuing because he wouldn't believe anything she said.
The principal said impatiently to Yu Na: "Teacher Yu, I've been holding my tongue because of you before. I've been a principal for so many years but no other homeroom teacher has had these kinds of troubles. How is it that as soon as you took over, the students in your class are completely out of control, causing some incident every other day?!"
Principal Qin was getting more and more agitated. His voice grew louder and louder. He pointed at Qiao Rui, "And he's involved every single time! Teacher Yu, how can he remain incorrigible under your management? Qiao Rui's brother has come to the school several times. At this rate, I bet you're already familiar with his brother!"
"..."
Yu Na didn't know how to respond for a moment.
The principal chimed in, "Teacher Yu, I think Principal Qin is right. Teacher Wang Li and Teacher Sun Yan in your office are very experienced homeroom teachers. I thought as a new teacher, you would learn diligently from them. But who would've thought under your leadership, the students in your class are becoming more and more unruly. Even swearing and talking back to teachers, they dare to do that! How can I feel assured leaving the seniors in your care?"
He calmed himself down a little, "I don't want to waste my breath. Contact Xu Yi and Qiao Rui's parents immediately and have them come to school. You said they're just classmates. Well I want to ask their parents face to face, do they really think feeding each other food is normal classmate behavior."
Yu Na looked troubled. "Principal, Principal Qin, this matter is—"
"That's enough Teacher Yu. I've been making allowances for you before. Other homeroom teachers have never had these kinds of troubles. Yet as soon as you took over, the students in your class are becoming more and more out of control, swearing and talking back to teachers, how can they do that?!"
Principal Qin was getting more agitated. His voice grew louder and louder. He pointed at Qiao Rui, "And he's involved every time! Teacher Yu, how can he remain incorrigible under your management? Xiao Chen has come to school several times. At this rate, I bet you two are already familiar with each other!"
"... "
Yu Na didn't know how to respond for a moment.
In the office.
Yu Na contacted Xu Yi's mom first.
Xu Yi's mom hadn't gotten off work yet but hearing she was summoned to school, she assumed it was serious. She had to take time off work and rushed over from her company.
After contacting Xu Yi's mom, Yu Na steeled herself to call Xiao Chen.
The phone only rang once before he picked up, as if he had been waiting for her call.
Yu Na had the call on speaker. She was afraid he would say something flirtatious so as soon as he picked up, she spoke first, not giving him a chance: "Xiao Chen, hello."
"..." Xiao Chen was smart. Hearing her tone and at this time, he quickly realized what was going on.
He coughed and suppressed the urge to flirt. He asked seriously, "Teacher Yu, what's the matter?"
Yu Na: "Do you have time now?"
Xiao Chen was silent for a few seconds. "Qiao Rui got into trouble again?"
Yu Na glanced at the principals and took a deep breath, answering calmly: "Don't worry, it's not serious enough for suspension yet."
Xiao Chen: ?
Principal Qin looked at her disapprovingly.
His expression said, who allowed you to make that decision?
Yu Na deliberately avoided his gaze and continued: "If you have time, please come to the school and we can discuss in person."
Xiao Chen: "Okay."
After hanging up, Principal Qin questioned her: "Teacher Yu, Qiao Rui was disrespectful to the principal, has no regard for school rules, and was being intimate with a female student on the playground. Who said there's no need for suspension?"
Yu Na was extremely calm. "Principal, Principal Qin, let's wait until the parents are here before making a decision. After all, it's the critical senior year. Qiao Rui is already struggling to keep up. Suspending him would be too detrimental."
...
When Xiao Chen arrived at the school gate, he was stopped by the security guard.
The guard was new.
He had a bad attitude. "Hey! It's already self-study time, why are you only coming back now!"
At first Xiao Chen didn't think much of it and casually responded: "Uncle, the teacher called me back."
But the guard asked an explosive question: "Which class are you in?"
