“I just said that she has a melon seed-shaped face, only that it is upside down. Does that count as calling her names? If so, let it be.” Mengmeng was not afraid at all. She raised her head slightly to gaze at the male teacher.
“What?”
The male teacher subconsciously glanced at Ning Hui. An upside-down melon seed-shaped face… The corners of his mouth twitched a bit.
After taking two seconds to calm himself down, the male teacher said with a faint smile, “As classmates, you should befriend one another, help one another…”
“Teacher, it’s definitely not fair to let them go without an apology. My dad hasn’t left yet. How about I get my dad here?” Ning Hui, who was standing sullenly aside, insisted.
As soon as those words came out, Li Muen stared at Ning Hui and said, “Last time, both of our parents were called in. The next day, the other party was banned from school. We have never been afraid of anyone when it comes to the competition of who’s got the more bad*ss father.”
“Then, shall I call my dad here?”
Mengmeng was a little hesitant.
If she really called her father over, wouldn’t it mean that Ning Hui would not be allowed to attend school? Indeed, Ning Hui had put the blame on her and told on her to the teacher, but…
“If you don’t call your dad over, then I won’t call mine.”
Mengmeng was, after all, a sweet girl. Too soft-hearted to do that, she made that suggestion to Ning Hui.
Now, the male teacher was troubled.
“This is really a headache.”
“What should I do?”
The male teacher raised his eyebrows slightly.
It seemed that it was time to assert his authority as the teacher in charge.
He knew that the kids’ quarrel was no big deal. Once he revealed his strict side, the kids would let it go in a while.
As for Ning Hui, she felt a little flustered when she saw that Li Muen and Mengmeng were not bothered about her threat at all.
“What’s going on?”
Just as the male teacher was about to say something, a man rushed toward them from the side.
The male teacher turned his head and when he saw who was coming over, his expression instantly became more serious.
It was said that this new vice-principal had great connections and a strong backer. He had only taken this position in this school to enhance his social status. Perhaps, he would advance to a higher position in just a few years. The director had informed them specifically that this new vice principal was one of the figures they could not afford to upset.
“Why is he here?”
The male teacher did not know what to do. “Is it because there is a small dispute right at the beginning of the semester and he can’t stand it?”
“A new official is usually on the ball when he is new in the office. I can’t be the first one to suffer from his vigorous measure, can I?”
“Clatter!”
Thinking of this, the male teacher’s heart seemed to miss a beat and he became a little tense.
“Good morning, Principal.”
“Good morning, Principal.”
Mengmeng and Li Muen greeted the man in clear voices.
“Hi.”
Their former principal smiled warmly.
“Mengmeng, why are you standing here?”
“Huh?”
The male teacher’s pupils contracted.
“I had a fight with my classmate,” Mengmeng replied, “but don’t mind that, Principal. We’re going to call our dads here.”
“Gurgle…”
The male teacher clearly heard the vice-principal gulping.
“Uh, this, uh…”
The former principal grinned and said dryly, “Well, don’t rush matters. You are Teacher Bai, aren’t you? Haven’t you dealt with this matter yet?”
As he spoke, the former principal fixed his eyes on the male teacher.
“Ah, this, I, uh…”
He was also a little stunned, but his reaction was relatively fast. Two seconds later, he hastily answered, “Principal, I’m dealing with it. It is just a minor dispute.”
“Then I’ll let you sort it out. Just be fair and just and uphold the principle of unity and friendship,” the former principal cautioned.
Then, he smiled at Mengmeng and said, “I’ll go over there and check it out. When the ceremony is over, I’ll come and see how your teacher has handled the issue. You don’t have to call your father here for now. He’s a very busy man after all.”
“My Daddy is not busy at all. His job is to be with me and Mummy,” Mengmeng retorted.
“How could he be busy? He has nothing to do most of the time.”
“That’s because he is always available to you and your mother. He doesn’t have time for other people. Countless rich men want to visit him, but he’s rejected them all. Alas…”
The corners of the former principal’s mouth trembled. Eventually, he left with a bright smile on his face.
“Right, I know what to do.”
The male teacher responded hurriedly.
He certainly had to be fair and just and uphold the principle of unity and friendship.
“You’re such a wily old man.”
The male teacher complained in his head. Now, he felt that his head had grown heavier under the pressure.
It seemed that there were some powerful people in the class. Since the issue had caused the new vice-principal to come over personally, how could the parents of those kids be ordinary people?
“Well, you should be united and friendly to your classmates. It’s normal to quarrel with your friends. Let me see, Zhang Yumeng, Li Muen, come with me now.”
Teacher Bai planned to talk to them separately.
After calling Mengmeng and Li Muen to the side, he finally asked with a smile, “What really happened between you and Ning Hui? Could you tell me in detail?”
“Ning Hui meant to knock me to the ground. I dodged it. But then she said that she fell because I tripped her,” Mengmeng replied.
It was not until this moment that she revealed the truth.
“Why did she want to knock you over? Is there any misunderstanding?” Teacher Bai was a little taken aback.
“It’s all because of that tall guy. What’s his name again? Oh, it’s Bei something. Ning Hui is his little sister. But, he kept staring at Mengmeng. I caught him eyeing Mengmeng. Since Mengmeng is so pretty, maybe he fell in love with her at first sight. Then, Ning Hui walked over to Mengmeng and suddenly lost her balance. But in such a flat field, how is it possible for her to fall on Mengmeng. Who knows what she was thinking?” Li Muen snorted.
“Er…”
Teacher Bai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“So she was just being jealous?”
“In that case, Zhang Yumeng has been blamed for no good reason.”
“Alas.”
“This is a sticky situation.”
Mr. Bai sighed in his head and then smiled.
“Okay, I see what happened. You can go back and line up first. This is not a big issue. There are always some small frictions at the beginning of school. In fact, the students in every class are in the break-in period. Things will get better when you know one another. Maybe Ning Hui can turn out to be a relatively naive and lovely classmate. You are still young, but you have already reached a period when your emotional feelings start budding. It is normal for you to be jealous of others. But whether you are a boy or a girl, you have to behave with honor and dignity. After all, you are still young. A little conflict will soon be water under the bridge. Later, I will talk to Ning Hui. So now, go stand in the line. You’ve already made an impression on your teacher even before you entered the classroom.”
Teacher Bai was indeed good at coaxing people. He personally escorted Mengmeng and Li Muen to the front of the line.
After seeing the two little girls walking to the rear, he turned around and came to Ning Hui.
“Ning Hui, can you tell me in detail what happened before?”
“I-I walked toward Zhang Yumeng and she tripped me…”
“Did Zhang Yumeng trip you or did you sprain your ankle yourself? Now, it’s between you and me. You have to tell the truth” Teacher Bai said softly.
“I-I don’t remember.”
Ning Hui did not dare to tell the truth.
However, looking at her expression, Teacher Bai already knew what had really happened. What Zhang Yumeng and the other girl had said was true.
Although he knew the truth, he did not intend to force Ning Hui to tell the truth. At the same time, he was kind of gratified. At least, Ning Hui had not stuck to her false accusation. If that was the case, the nature of this matter would be totally different. There was still a line between throwing a tantrum and being mean.
“I saw that you came together with that tall student in the class. His name is Bei Jin’nan, isn’t it? You both graduated from the Yuelan Primary School, didn’t you?” Teacher Bai asked.
“The four of us were from the same class in Yuelan Primary School.” Ning Hui pointed to the back.
“Oh, well, it’s inevitable to have some disputes with your new classmates when you meet them for the first time. You just need to solve the problem amicably. You did a good job today. If there are any problems in the future, you should come to me at once. Don’t ask your parents to come here whenever you have an issue with others. Your parents are also very busy. If you do this repeatedly, they would not be at ease with you in school. So, when there are conflicts, you should come to the teacher. Let’s leave things like this today, okay?”
Teacher Bai did not say much.
He hoped to play down the issue. After counseling each party for a while, he managed to let the matter slide.
If he did not take this measure, he was afraid that the competition of whose dad was more bad*ss would be on again.
Anyway, what Teacher Bai did truly represented the views of most people. After he had a few words with Ning Hui, he also escorted her to the front of the class, letting her walk to the back alone.
When Ning Hui passed by Mengmeng and Li Muen, she did not look at them. When she saw Bei Jin’nan and the others running to the back, she walked over.
Ning Hui was in a good mood again after she chatted with her friends for a while.
However, seeing that Bei Jin’nan kept staring at Mengmeng from time to time, Ning Hui felt a sense of loss.
“Brother Nan is always glancing at her back. Does he have feelings for her?”
“Yeah, it makes sense. She is so beautiful…”
“Drat, I’m so pissed. How could Brother Nan be like this?”
“I…”
Ning Hui felt her heart wrenching a little and every part of her body was ill at ease.
“Welcome, students.”
A school leader began to make a speech, talking about the history of the school, the strength of the faculty, and so on.
He issued some compliments as well as some instructions.
The freshmen were now junior high students, and their characters had just taken shape. Even their romantic feelings were budding. It was common for them to fight for other people’s affection. What was more, at their age, they had little idea of the magnitude of their behavior. It was easy for them to get green-eyed and lose their sanity. Every year, there were physical fights among students. If someone really got hurt, the school would also be liable.
Therefore, some of the school regulations were relatively stringent.
After the director droned on for quite a while, the vice-principal finally opened his mouth and said some encouraging words.
The ceremony lasted for quite some time. During the speech, some students in the second and third year of junior high school sauntered by. Basically, they all glanced at the freshmen. “Now that the new ones are here, we are now their senior schoolmates.”
They all became a little emotional. Or perhaps, it aroused their expectancy of life in high school and college.
Having taken up the self-study class in the morning, the admission ceremony was finally over.
“Students of each class, return to your classrooms in an orderly manner.”
At this time, two P.E. teachers took command and guided the students in four groups to enter the teaching building from the two sides and the middle.
Soon, it was the turn of Class 8. In the hall of the teaching building, there was a large staircase with an elevator on the side, but the elevator was only available to teachers.
The classroom of Class 8 was on the second floor, on the corridor on the left side of the hall. There were 40 classes in the first grade, which took up two floors.
When the students returned to their classrooms, they found that the tables and chairs in the classrooms were a little messy. Also, there were many pieces of paper and other rubbish on the ground.
“Everyone, sit wherever you like.”
Teacher Bai smiled as he led his students into the class.
“Mengmeng, let’s sit there.”
Mengmeng and Li Muen were at the rear of the line. So, the students before them had already picked their favorite seats. Most of them had chosen to sit in the third, fourth, and fifth row. Fortunately, not all the good places had been taken yet. There were still two adjacent seats in the fourth row, so the two little girls went over and sat there.
In the classroom, the desks by the window and against the wall were for two people. In the middle, the desks were for three people.
When all the students were seated, Teacher Bai walked to the podium, looked around at everyone, and said with a smile, “I’m very glad to be your lead teacher. I’ve only been in the First Middle School for two years. This is also the first time I’ve been a lead teacher of a class. I hope that I can make progress along with you guys. Let me introduce myself. My name is Bai Yilin.”
Bai Yilin looked well-groomed and decent. Except for the pair of glasses that slightly marred his attractive looks, he was, on the whole, good-looking.
“You might think my skin is quite fair, but that’s not because my surname is Bai. Otherwise, wouldn’t all the people surnamed Hei be black?”
Bai Yilin’s words made the whole class burst into laughter.
