The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 245 Single Parent
It was a hot summer afternoon.

The incessant chirping of cicadas penetrated the screen window.

The four of them entered Teacher Qu's small apartment, which immediately made the living room feel crowded.

The retired female teacher in front of me is over seventy years old, wearing a simple T-shirt and with short, gray hair.

Speaking of his colleague Yu Hongxia, who died young, Teacher Qu sighed, "Alas, time flies. If Teacher Yu were still alive, she would be like me, with students all over the world. Unfortunately, there are no 'what ifs' in this world."

"As far as we know, you and she were both teachers in the class that Xi Ziyun was in back then. Do you remember the conflict between Yu Hongxia and Xi Ziyun's father?" Qi Fei's polite tone could not hide his anxious emotions.

Upon hearing the name "Xi Ziyun," Teacher Qu frowned slightly: "Of course I remember. In all my years of teaching, I've encountered all sorts of parents, but I've never seen anyone as domineering as Xi Ziyun's father. I once advised Teacher Yu that we've done everything a teacher should do, but we can't solve all the suffering in the world. But Teacher Yu didn't listen and ended up suffering a lot as a result."

"It seems you know a lot about this. Could you tell me more about it?" Qi Fei leaned forward involuntarily, and the old rattan chair he was sitting in creaked.

Teacher Qu gazed at the green trees outside the gauze window, gleaming in the bright sunlight. The swaying leaves reflected in her eyes, as if she had returned to a distant past: "That was Teacher Yu's first time as a homeroom teacher. I was the assistant homeroom teacher. She taught math, and I taught Chinese. There were sixty-four children in the class, and I still remember every single one of their names. Needless to say, Teacher Yu put in all her responsibility, wanting to teach every child well."

One of the girls, in particular, was Xi Ziyun. She was very introverted and didn't like to talk, but her bright, dark eyes were exceptionally lively. She was clearly a smart child and could learn anything very quickly. In particular, she showed a talent that surpassed that of the other children in math, which took other children a whole semester to master, but she had already finished learning it on her own in just two weeks after the start of the semester.

Back then, Teacher Yu would often mention Xi Ziyun to me, her words revealing her obvious favoritism.

However, as we learned more, we discovered that Xi Ziyun's family might have special circumstances. She often skipped classes without reason, and when Teacher Yu asked her why afterwards, she always remained tight-lipped and refused to answer.

After several visits, Teacher Yu went to Xi Ziyun's home. I remember she came back very angry, saying she almost got into a fight with Xi Ziyun's father. Xi Ziyun was skipping school because her father made her stay home to do chores.

At that time, Xi Ziyun was only a first-grade student. Hongxia said she tried to persuade Xi Ziyun's father, but he turned out to be an alcoholic who started acting crazy while drunk. Seeing that he was about to hit Xi Ziyun, she took her child and left home to go back to school.

When Xi Ziyun enrolled, we knew she came from a single-parent family. As teachers, we all know that single-parent families often have some problems, but we didn't expect Xi Ziyun's father to be so extreme.

“Extreme?” Zhong Kui seemed quite interested when she heard the word.

"Yes, we thought that Ms. Yu was safe after bringing the child back, but we didn't expect that her father would come to the school soon after. I still remember his aggressive manner. The argument between the two sides got more and more intense. This man was like a wild beast. He tried to grab Ms. Yu by the neck. Fortunately, the male teachers and security guards at the school heard the noise and came to help, and they managed to drive the man out of the school."

"And what about Xi Ziyun?" Zhong Kui continued to ask. "The child didn't cry or make a fuss. She just quietly hid in the corner, timidly watching everything happen. After this commotion, we were even more hesitant to send the child home. With summer vacation approaching, Teacher Yu suggested taking the child back to her own home until she could contact the child's mother."

However, no matter how you ask, everyone says that Xi Ziyun's mother left home when Xi Ziyun was very young because she could not bear the domestic violence, and there has been no news of her since.

I remember when we were discussing finding Xi Ziyun's mother, the child who had been silent all along suddenly spoke up and said that her mother would never come back.

She spoke so calmly, as if it were someone else's business. Her appearance was truly heartbreaking; she's such a bright child," Teacher Qu said sincerely.

Qi Fei was moved by her pity for Xi Ziyun. Just as he was about to tell her his identity, he heard Teacher Qu continue, "I also heard that Xi Ziyun's father went to Teacher Yu's house, and the whole neighborhood knows about it."

"We came here because we heard about this from Yu Hongxia's neighbors. Do you know what happened after that?" Qi Fei asked.

"Of course I know that this matter has caused quite a stir. Teacher Yu called the police, but because she only suffered some minor injuries, Xi Ziyun's father gave a perfunctory apology at the request of the police, and that was the end of it. Teacher Yu was still worried about Xi Ziyun and wanted to keep her by her side, but Xi Ziyun eventually went home."

"Did Xi Changjiang take his daughter away?" Zhong Kui asked.

Teacher Qu shook his head: "No, it was Xi Ziyun who requested it herself."

This answer surprised everyone, except for Zhong Kui, who seemed to have known the answer all along and continued to ask, "Why?" This didn't sound like a question; rather, it had the feel of guidance during a psychological consultation.

Teacher Qu sighed, "This child is so sensible. She said if she stayed with Teacher Yu, her father would beat Teacher Yu again next time, and she insisted on going back. Although Teacher Yu disagreed, there was nothing she could do because the child insisted. To prevent the child from being bullied, Teacher Yu went to Xi Ziyun's house every few days, and the child skipped school less and less. However, her alcoholic father still couldn't change his bad habits. Xi Ziyun often had bruises all over her body, which was undoubtedly because her father had beaten her. Sigh!"

However, perhaps Teacher Yu's persistence touched Xi Ziyun's father somewhat, because during holidays, he occasionally agreed to let his daughter stay at Teacher Yu's house temporarily. Until…

At this point, she pushed up her glasses and lowered her head slightly, "Although it shouldn't be said this way, by the second semester, this child had finally made it through."

Her father drowned after falling into the river while drunk.

When her father had the accident, the child was staying at Teacher Yu's house. Since her mother was still unreachable, Xi Ziyun had to stay with distant relatives and transfer to another school. After that, many years passed without any news of her, until…”