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

Xia Zhi clenched his fists, looked up at Tong Yao's eyes, and pursed his lips into a straight line.

"There are some knowledge points...the teacher didn't explain." She said softly.

"Didn't say that?" Tong Yao thought she had misheard.

"He really didn't tell me," Xia Zhi was afraid that Tong Yao wouldn't believe him, so he spoke anxiously, "Or rather, he did tell me, but he just mentioned it briefly in class. He explained it in detail in the cram school."

But she has no money to attend cram school.

Tong Yao was stunned, digesting this information in her mind. Xia Zhi bit her lip and said in a low and aggrieved voice:

"What I said is real."

She didn't want Teacher Tong to think that she was a bad student who slandered the teacher.

However, she was also afraid that Teacher Tong, as a teacher, would side with the other teachers.

The cold wind blew, and the dead leaves fell. The cold November air made the thin girl shiver.

"...I understand." Tong Yao said slowly. This incident was a bit shocking to her. Is it true that there are all kinds of birds in the forest? She could not accept such a person as a teacher. Of course, she would need to ask more students later, but now, she felt that her monitor was not lying.

She looked at Xia Zhi, smiled at her, and tried her best to reassure her student: "Xia Zhi, you can trust me."

The class bell rang at this time.

"Go to class," she said without delay, "Wear more clothes, don't catch a cold."

Xia Zhi was stuffed with a hot pack.

Simple care is like gentle spring breeze and warm sunshine, even in winter.

All of which she never had.

Xia Zhi walked quickly into the classroom. Before entering the door, he looked back and saw Teacher Tong holding his forehead with his hand, a hint of sadness between his brows.

Tong Yao felt uneasy the whole day.

After each class, she would talk to a few students and ask them what they thought of their physics teacher. Fifteen or sixteen-year-olds knew not to offend anyone, and they would only let her in when she expressed her opinion very seriously and sincerely, saying that the physics teacher did miss some key points in the lecture and that he also held a remedial class on weekends, which lasted two hours each time and cost 1,500 yuan per student per semester.

"Then...are there some important knowledge points that are not taught much in class and are left for the remedial class?" she asked.

The student was silent and nodded.

Tong Yao didn't know what her mood was.

Heavy? Students who want to make progress are being abused like this.

Angry? How can such a person who lacks teacher ethics be called a teacher?

During the evening self-study, she took advantage of the absence of other teachers and went to see the physics teacher privately. The physics teacher was called Xiangyang, a man in his forties, slightly fat, and wearing glasses. She knocked on the door and came in directly, without waiting to say hello, and said directly:

"Teacher Xiang, I want to talk to you about the physics in our class."

"Oh, Teacher Tong," Xiang Yang clasped his hands together, looking a bit like a leader, "What's the matter?"

She simply stood up and put the report card on the table:

"You have also seen the physics grades in the class. I asked many students, and they said that you did not explain some knowledge points in detail..."

Xiangyang squinted his eyes, glanced at the report card, and said lazily: "This is not my problem, they should look for the reason from themselves. Teacher Tong, I teach Class 3 and your Class 9 at the same time. The physics results of Class 3 are considered good among the experimental classes. I can't treat the two classes differently, right?"

He put both elbows on the table and sighed, "Oh, I know, Teacher Tong, you are also anxious, but this is my teaching method. The students in Class Nine are not as talented, so they can absorb less effectively. I will make some adjustments next time, don't worry."

Tong Yao looked at him steadily and said:

"What about the cram school? Many students told us that you specifically taught us important exam points in the cram school, but you didn't teach them in class."

"Can I ask which student it is?" Xiangyang frowned and took a sip of tea.

"Sorry, no. So what do you say to the teacher?"

"What can I say?" Xiangyang laughed, a deliberate, artificial laugh, "I always have to pick something to talk about in cram school, and it just happened to be on the test this time."

He talked about it in class, but his explanation was not detailed enough or good enough. But the quality of teaching is something abstract, and only the students who listen to the class can judge whether it is good or bad.

"Teacher Tong, do you have any questions?"

That's probably the way a veteran in the workplace looks at a newcomer.

Tong Yao forced a smile and said "that's all", then took the report card back and turned to walk out.

The winter chill becomes more biting.

She returned to the office and turned on her phone, feeling somewhat helpless. There was no movement in the parent group. If it was No. 1 Middle School, the parent group would explode as soon as the midterm results came out, but in this class, the parents didn't seem to care much about their children's grades. She even felt that if she told the parents that the physics teacher was not teaching well, these parents would think it was their children's problem because the physics results of Class 3 were good.

Should she tell her parents?

It is always the students' parents who ask to change teachers. She has never heard of any class teacher asking to change his or her own class teacher or telling parents that a certain teacher is not good.

If she did this, she would probably become a traitor and a villain in the eyes of other teachers, and then be isolated. Being isolated is definitely not a good feeling. Even if she doesn't like the atmosphere here, she is likely to stay here until she graduates from Dongyang Primary School.

So, report Xiangyang’s cram school?

In the profession of primary and secondary school teachers, reporting tutoring is common, but students dare not, parents are unwilling, and the most reports are actually from colleagues. Once private tutoring is caught by the authorities, the lightest punishment is criticism, the worst is demotion to the countryside, and it is not impossible to be dismissed for one or two years.

But she is not inclined to resort to the method of "reporting".

She thought of what she had said to Xia Zhi, "You can trust me." What should she trust? Her scruples and hesitations?

She doesn't hate being a teacher, but she increasingly hates being a class teacher.

-

-

"There will be a parents' meeting next week. You don't have to attend then, but if you have anything you want to say to the parents, you can write a letter to them. It's a chance to... open your heart."

On Saturday, she distributed envelopes and writing paper to students in class. When she handed it to Xia Zhi, her eyes were slightly evasive. She hadn't explained the matter of the physics teacher yet, and she didn't know how to face this child. And, more importantly, she couldn't contact Xia Zhi's parents.

There were no mobile phones or WeChat, so to notify parents of a parent-teacher meeting, we had to use the traditional method of sending letters to that mountain village.

She didn't know whether Xia Zhi was willing to meet her parents, but after half a semester of speculation, she thought that he probably didn't want to. Before sending the letter, she asked Xia Zhi what he thought. Xia Zhi listened, lowered his head, and whispered:

"I don't want them to come."

The letter was not sent.

But does she have the right to do this? Does she have the right to prevent other people's parents from knowing about their children's parent-teacher conferences? She is not a judge or a police officer. Even if Xia Zhi's relationship with his family is bad, she can't do anything.

"Do you have... any other relatives?" Her brows were filled with fatigue.

"Yes," Xia Zhi pursed her lips and reported a number, "My aunt."

Chapter 162: Vanity

"Hello, hello, are you Xia Zhi's aunt?"

"It's like this, there is a parent-teacher meeting next week, and Xia Zhi wants you to attend. Do you have time?"

"Okay, I'll send you the exact time and location."

After hanging up the phone, Tong Yao breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Xia Zhi and said, "Your aunt is willing to come."

Xia Zhi smiled, but it didn't look like a smile. Her eyes didn't move, only the corners of her lips curled up, like Mona Lisa. She didn't feel relieved, but she made Teacher Tong feel relieved.

"Xia Zhi, as for the physics thing, I know..."

"No need," Xia Zhi interrupted her and shook his head gently, "I know this is very difficult for Teacher Tong. Now that I have reference books, I think the effect of self-study is also very good."

Tong Yao was stunned.

She could sense the girl's sincerity in her words. If it were someone else, at this point, they would probably praise the girl for being considerate and then find a way out, right?

But she didn't want to be a deserter. Not only did she not go down the stairs, she continued to move forward:

"It's nothing to worry about. This is about your studies and your college entrance exam. There is no such thing as a trivial matter."

She spoke slowly, as if she had made up her mind: "Just focus on your studies, and don't worry about other things. The teacher will take care of them for you."

In the second week, the parent-teacher meeting came as scheduled.

In the past, she was always a special guest, and now that it was her first time hosting a show, she felt a little nervous, fearing that she would not perform well and be looked down upon by the parents.

One hour before the parent-teacher conference, the whole class was cleaning up, and she received a WeChat message from Li Ming and his mother, apologizing and saying that they couldn't come to the parent-teacher conference due to something else. She couldn't help but frown and ask why. She was a little angry that they had given a week's notice, but suddenly told her that she couldn't come.

After repeated questioning, Li Ming and his mother told the truth:

"It was Minghe who didn't want us to come. He probably felt that we embarrassed him..."

This reason made Tong Yao angry and sad.

Li Minghe's parents set up a mobile stall to sell jelly at the school gate. Only Tong Yao knew about this. Others, perhaps some day students who bought breakfast there every day, had no idea that the jelly aunt and uncle they were talking about were Li Minghe's parents.

Sometimes she didn't have time to make breakfast, so she also bought snacks from that stall. A modified three-wheeled motorcycle, with red words and QR codes for "Liangfen" and "Liangmian" on the glass, and a drawer filled with wrinkled change. The couple recognized her, called out to her but stopped talking, and finally smiled and passed it off. Probably because they had listened to their son's instructions not to mention his name outside.

A gangster who is famous in the grade and has parents who run a mobile stall may be shameful in Li Minghe's eyes - his opponents may say in a mocking manner, "Why are you so arrogant as a jelly seller?", "Do you want me to patronize your business?", and even his younger brothers will look down on him.

Boys of this age have nothing else to offer, but their competitiveness and vanity are stronger than ever. Primary school students all know who has a prettier and gentler mother. In high school, they compare food, clothing, games, and parents—especially parents. Family conditions are the simplest and most direct source of superiority.

"Li Minghe," she held the phone and looked at Li Minghe who was sweeping the floor lazily, "Come out."

Li Minghe shrugged, knowing that the teacher calling him must be up to no good.

But he didn't think it was his parents' business.

"Li Minghe, you told your mother not to come to the parent-teacher meeting, right?" Tong Yao asked him at the end of the corridor.

When Li Minghe heard this, he knew that his mother had communicated with the teacher, and he also knew that this kind of thing... was unfilial, so he kept silent.

Tong Yao lowered her head, glanced at the pair of AJs at the boy's feet, and said softly:

"Who bought you these shoes?"

Li Minghe didn't dare to look her in the eye. He put his tongue on one side of his face and looked at the other side:

“…My mother.”

"You were hungry in the middle of the night, and you received a phone call, and several bowls of cold noodles were stuffed through the railing. You were caught by the life teacher several times, and you even treated your younger brothers to food. Who brought you the cold noodles?"

Li Minghe tilted his head and said nothing.

"You don't live close by. Your parents get up before dawn every day and rush to the school gate. You should know how hard it is." Her voice was sincere and heavy. "You are in high school now. You should be sensible."

She found that her students were full of different life situations. Some were too sensible, while others were not.

Li Minghe was silent. He thought that he would ignore the woman's words as usual, but this time he found that he failed. People are not emotionless puppets after all. Tong Yao told him not to smoke, but he didn't care about his future health. He didn't care. But when Tong Yao mentioned his parents, he was touched. Dragons have reverse scales, and people have soft spots. His parents are Li Minghe's soft spots, hidden under the skin of the gang leader, hidden very deep, and not so soft, but still there.

He recalled that when he was in elementary school, there was also a parent-teacher conference. Other mothers were glamorous, but his mother was fat, ugly and not elegant. He felt ashamed and yelled at his mother, "I am so embarrassed that you dress like this." Then, he still remembers his mother's expression - shocked, embarrassed, heartbroken, and guilty. It is so clear, but he dare not recall it once.

"Can I tell her now to come to the parent-teacher meeting?" Tong Yao asked softly.

Young people all want to save face, and admitting mistakes is harder than climbing to the sky, but Tong Yao saw his hesitation and took the initiative to give up.

Li Minghe looked around, struggling and hesitating. Finally, he whispered:

"Ah."

-

-

The parents' meeting was officially held.

In order to make it easier to identify, Tong Yao's WeChat profile picture is a photo of herself. Even so, her high appearance and the fact that she is old enough to be the daughter of many parents still shocked some parents. Some students did not leave the corridor. They peeked at the content of the parent-teacher meeting from the window behind. Li Minghe's seat happened to be in the last row, so some people recognized her as the Liangfen Auntie outside the school.

"Isn't that the one selling jelly?"

"Brother Ming, is that your relative?"

Li Minghe did not leave either, playing with his phone in the corridor. When he heard his younger brother's question, his arrogant demeanor disappeared without a trace, leaving only clumsy dodges.

He finally didn't have the courage to admit:

"That person... is someone I know."

"Fuck, asking someone else to attend the parent-teacher meeting, Brother Ming is awesome." The younger brother exclaimed.

Li Minghe felt his tense nerves relax. He managed to preserve his elder brother's dignity, but he did not feel any joy.

The parent-teacher conference is over.

Tong Yao wanted to talk to Xia Zhi's aunt, but other parents surrounded her and asked her questions, making it impossible for her to get away. She looked in the crowd in the direction of Xia Zhi's aunt, and the seat was empty. In fact, the aunt didn't listen to the whole parent-teacher meeting, and was always looking at her phone.

The parent-teacher meeting ended at four o'clock, but she was pestered by the parents until six o'clock.

While I was talking to the last few parents, a strange man appeared in the corridor.