It's the students' fault if they are too popular.

"Soft?"

Ruan Qian carried the suitcase in both hands, walked up the stairs, and took a breath:

"I wanted to give you a surprise."

She seemed to have changed a little, becoming less childish and more heroic. She was dressed in a white shirt and blue pants, clean and refreshing, with her neat ponytail swaying lightly.

Tong Yao reacted and immediately helped to carry the box, but the little girl said no, picked it up, and dragged it into the room on wheels. Dong Yang, who heard the noise, ran out and shouted in surprise:

"Ruan Qian!"

"Have you been listening to Teacher Tong recently?" The little girl touched Dong Yang's head in a mature tone.

"Of course!"

Tong Yao discovered that every time the two of them were with Dong Yang, that was when Dong Yang was most active.

She whispered:

"Why did you come back suddenly?"

The little girl put away her luggage and smiled at her:

"Celebrate Dongyang's birthday."

Then he stood up and approached her, "Besides, I miss Teacher Tong too."

Tong Yao was stunned, her face slightly hot, and then she heard another sentence:

"Can we sleep together tonight?"

Her face suddenly turned red.

"……Um."

-

-

In the middle of the night, Dong Yang got up to go to the bathroom. After pouring himself a glass of water, he happened to see Ruan Qian coming out of his aunt's room carrying a basin and a towel.

"Ruan Xi." She called softly.

It was pitch black, and Ruan Qian, who was wearing pajamas, was startled, but then she calmed down and said:

"what's wrong?"

"Are you and your aunt still awake?" the child asked, tilting his head cutely.

"...we're discussing where to take you for dinner tomorrow." Ruan Qian suddenly had an idea and said, "Oh, it's already past midnight. Happy birthday, Dongyang."

Dong Yang smiled happily: "Thank you Ruan Qian."

"Go to sleep."

Fortunately, children are easily fooled.

She breathed a sigh of relief, put her things back where they belonged, and entered Tong Yao's room again.

"Dongyang saw me coming out just now."

She hugged Tong Yao from behind and said.

Tong Yao, who was already drowsy, trembled and asked:

"……Then what?"

"Then I coaxed him back."

"..." She realized she was being fooled. She wanted to show her anger, but she didn't have the energy. School was about to start in a few days, and she had half-heartedly acquiesced to the indulgence from last night until now. Her body felt like it was about to fall apart.

It’s all self-inflicted.

The air conditioner was on cold and she was naked, but she felt very comfortable sleeping next to the little girl. When she fell asleep, the little girl was also obedient and just hugged her.

The next day, she couldn't get up, so she asked the little girl to book a restaurant for Dongyang's birthday. After a day of rest, they had a big meal in the evening, bought a cake, and finally walked around the pedestrian street for two hours. After having Dongyang, they all put the child at the center, not to mention it was the little guy's birthday.

"Auntie, auntie, take a photo!"

There is a shop on the street that specializes in photo booths. It is very simple, with a machine and a curtain, and the outer shell is pink. "I am coming." She smiled and opened the curtain, and stuck together with Dongyang. The little girl went out again and called Ruan Qian to come in and take pictures together.

"Will I take pictures too?" Ruan Qian asked tentatively, her heart pounding.

"Of course the family should take photos together!" Dong Yang said, and then he jumped and pulled Ruan Qian to her left, while he sat in the middle and smiled happily at the camera.

Tong Yao and Ruan Qian looked at each other, Tong Yao smiled, and Ruan Qian turned to the front awkwardly. The headshots were naturally put together. Two adults and one child squeezed together and took many photos. Some of them laughed together, some took photos in pairs, and in the end they all made faces. The photos were printed out in stacks, one for each of the three people. Dong Yang liked the first one the most, which showed his gentle and quiet aunt, Ruan Qian who looked embarrassed but wanted to take a good photo, and himself who was happy.

Many years later, when I flip through the photo album, I will probably still think of today.

-

-

On the day Ruan Qian went to the university to report, Tong Yao had already officially entered the No. 1 Middle School branch. She moved a table and sat at the door of the classroom early in the morning, waiting for students to register. The process was simple, just a few polite words and a stamp on the student handbook, and she was done. She had already adapted to the discussions and onlookers that her appearance and age would cause.

"That's the head teacher of Class 9? Are you sure she's not a senior?"

"Fuck, why am I not in Class 9..."

"Is that Teacher Tong?"

"Who is Teacher Tong?"

"Don't you guys watch Bilibili? Teacher Tong's ghost videos have a high number of views."

After hearing this, Tong Yao couldn't stand it anymore. She was clearly a person who made online course videos, so how did she get involved with ghost videos?

Blame those who did secondary creation...

But you still have to put on a smile when facing the next student and parent.

"Teacher Tong, can we change the dormitory bed? My son wants to sleep on the lower bunk."

"Well... the school selects beds on a first-come, first-served basis. If you go now, there may be a lower bunk available."

Throughout the day, she met all kinds of students, and she could tell what kind of people they were by just asking a few questions. Some were ambitious, some were muddle-headed, some were just interested in playing, some were lazy, and some were… bad, with permed hair, blue tattoos on their sleeves, and a strong smell of cigarettes—and there were more than one.

After a busy day, she went to the office and found that the academic atmosphere of the teachers here was not as strong as that of the main campus. Several male teachers went out for drinks, and the remaining female teachers wore heavy makeup and talked about luxury. She was suddenly very disappointed. Only then did she realize that the main campus of No. 1 Middle School was not only an ivory tower for students, but also an ivory tower for young teachers like her.

She left quietly, and when she passed by the small supermarket on campus, she thought about buying some snacks for Dongyang. The education at the branch school didn't catch up, but the facilities did. The supermarket was small, but it had everything. It was the first day of reporting, and many people came to buy daily necessities. The business was booming. She picked a bag of snacks, and when she lined up, there were more than a dozen people in front of her.

Some waited.

She took out her phone and had set up a class group today, and was talking to students and parents about precautions. But after a few minutes, she gradually felt something was wrong. Why didn't the team move?

"Student, please don't cut in line."

She suddenly heard a gentle yet firm female voice coming from the cashier in front.

"We didn't cut in line," a boy said jokingly, "my friend helped me line up."

"But there are too many of you," the girl reasoned, "and the school rules prohibit cutting in line, and you can't ask others to help you line up or reserve seats."

"Hey, just once, can you swipe the card for me first?" The boy began to get impatient.

The girl was still calm but wavering, but she still said:

"No, you are cutting in line and affecting the people behind you. They have no right to let you stand in front of them. Classmate, please go to the back..."

"Fuck," the boy finally cursed, probably because he felt that his face was lost, "If you had time to talk, you would have paid the bill long ago."

He threw the things he bought on the cash register, deliberately making them very messy and difficult to clean up, in order to force the girl to start collecting money. But the girl lowered her head, holding the barcode scanner, and did not move for a long time, insisting on what she thought was right.

But she was weak and afraid.

She looked at the old lady employee who was having dinner nearby for help, and even raised her eyes in hope, hoping that the people behind her would stand up to protect their rights and stop the boys from cutting in line. Finally, as if God heard her prayer, a boy behind the group of boys spoke up:

"That's it... I don't care."

A few others echoed him.

In an instant, the girl's heart sank to the bottom.

The boy who cut in line looked at her smugly and said:

"Don't waste everyone's time."

His companions started to jeer:

"That's it. Hurry up."

The girl lowered her head, pursed her lips, silently picked up the scattered snacks on the table, and scanned the codes one by one. The boys laughed at her, and her hands trembled more and more until a drop of water fell on the stainless steel table. The girl raised her tear-stained face and choked up and said:

"Obviously... you are wrong."

She put down the scanner in her hand and ran out, leaving a string of tears in the air.

Chapter 148: Compassion

Everything happened very quickly.

When Tong Yao figured out what had happened, the girl had already run out. From the side profile of the girl, she unexpectedly found that she knew her. She was her student who had just reported to the class that afternoon.

She remembered that his name seemed to be Xia Zhi.

She also remembered that when she asked the child "What are you doing during the summer vacation", the child said that he was preparing for class and working.

For a moment, Xia Zhi's figure overlapped with another little girl in her mind - "It's obviously you who are wrong", Ruanruan seemed to have said similar words when she was wronged. In the face of that kind of grievance that is about to swallow up a person but has nowhere to release, few people can remain strong.

Some people are not afraid of hardship or pain, but they can't control their tears when they are wronged.

"Why did you leave? Who will take care of the cash?"

"There's an auntie over there. Hello, auntie, please help us pay the bill first."

The rest of the people looked at each other, with two thoughts in their minds:

Why did that girl run away? How irresponsible!

as well as.

If it were me, I would definitely not make such a humiliating scene over such a small matter.

Some boys were still passionate and wanted to stand up and speak for the girls, but when they saw the group of people with unfriendly faces, they backed off. He comforted himself that he was not afraid of fighting, but those hooligans did not care about the punishment, while he could not afford the price of punishment, so he was definitely not a coward.

But reason.

At the cashier counter, the old lady put down her bowl and cursed, saying "You ran away" and "If you don't do it, there are plenty of people willing to do it", and then she started to check out very reluctantly. Her reluctance was reflected in the fact that after scanning the items, she just threw the items aside, not caring whether your cookies would break or not.

Tong Yao felt more guilty at this moment.

She was my student, and as a teacher, I did not protect her in school.

It was her turn to work at the cashier counter. She took a step forward and put the snacks in the basket on the counter. Just at that moment, the door of the counter was pushed open. She looked up and was surprised to find that Xia Zhi had returned.

The girl seemed to have washed her face, looking weak and disheveled, with her hair gathered in clumps. When the aunt saw her, she was furious. Women of this age probably don't care about their reputation, and don't mind being considered a shrew by others. She cursed at Xia Zhi:

"You still remember to come back?! You don't want to spend your wages, right? Didn't you leave in such a cool and capable manner just now? I have to clean your butt before I even finish my meal..."

Xia Zhi lowered his head to cover his red eyes, pinched the corner of his clothes, and kept apologizing.

"Let's pay the bill first."

A clear voice interrupted them.

The farce came to an abrupt end. The aunt looked at her work badge and immediately fell silent. She returned to her seat to eat, mumbling. Xia Zhi was slightly startled. Her first reaction when she saw her class teacher was nervousness and timidity. She had only met this beautiful class teacher once when she was reporting. Her impression of her was probably arrogance, the kind of arrogance that made others feel it, like a swan landing in a quagmire or a classic book appearing in a pile of cheap magazines. Even if she didn't show it deliberately, others could still feel it.

Maybe it’s not that Teacher Tong is arrogant, but that she is too humble.

"Hello, Teacher Tong."

"Well," she said softly, "check out."

Xia Zhi pursed her lips. Her movements were very gentle. After scanning, she would neatly stack the snacks. She was actually a little surprised. QQ candies and cotton candies were mostly snacks that children loved to eat. Teacher Tong was definitely not a child at her age, so... was it Teacher Tong who loved to eat them?

The class teacher's cold and aloof image suddenly became lively and cute in the girls' hearts.

"Are you doing part-time work?" Tong Yao suddenly asked during the scan, "I want a bag."

"Well, forty minutes each at noon and in the afternoon." Xia Zhi took a large bag and carefully placed the snacks in it according to size and hardness. "Three days a week."

The nursery rhyme is clear.

After paying, she picked up the bag, raised her heels, and then slowly lowered them, looking back at the auntie who was eating in the corner:

"Auntie, the child was away for only a few minutes, she won't be paid less, right?"