Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts

Huang Lian’s mood had been absolutely terrible these past few days.

Mischievous students, troublesome parents.

They even threatened me to complain about my behavior to the principal. What a nonsense…

What is that elementary school teacher supposed to mean?

Huang Lian was also in a bad mood during morning reading today, and everyone seemed less enthusiastic. She scolded a few students who couldn’t answer and made them stand at the back.

At this moment, several unfamiliar students rushed into the classroom, causing Huang Lian to feel displeasure.

“You all, which class are you from? It’s almost time for class, why are you running into our class?”

Liu Shiyang nervously handed a glass cup to Huang Lian.

“Um… Teacher Huang, I’m sorry, it’s just that, I, um… yesterday afternoon during the sanitation inspection, I accidentally bumped the table and then, I, I dropped your cup…”

This was a huge breaking news.

Everyone was waiting for Huang Lian’s response.

“Did… did you do it?”

“Why didn’t you admit your mistake earlier?”

“I… um…”

The expression on Huang Lian’s face now was more uncomfortable than if she had eaten a fly, because she had no other words to say except to criticize Liu Shiyang.

This blind fool! If you had something to say, you should have said it in private. Why did you deliberately choose the time when the class was about to start and the students were all in their seats?

Isn’t this deliberately humiliating me?

Huang Lian looked at the two people behind Liu Shiyang, she recognized these two, they were the top students in Class 9, the Class Monitor Lin Youxi, the excellent student she had always dreamed of.

As for the boy, she didn’t remember his name very well, but they had met yesterday.

These two people have good academic performance, but unfortunately, during class breaks, they always play with Xia Yuan and Peng Xue together, willingly falling into decadence.

“Why are you two following him?”

Mei Fang explained expressionlessly, “We are friends of Xia Yuan and Peng Xue. After hearing about their situation last night, we specifically investigated the situation and found out the truth. I believe that even students could easily uncover the truth. As a teacher, you should not make such a low-level mistake of lashing out at others.”

“Now that someone has admitted that he broke the cup, shouldn’t you feel ashamed of your attitude towards Peng Xue and Xia Yuan last night?”

The students below started whispering to each other:

“Teacher Huang was so excessive and really went too far that time.”

“I knew it wasn’t Peng Xue. If it was her, she would have admitted it…”

Huang Lian quickly understood that these two students had come to stand up for their good friends and cause trouble for her.

“What’s so excessive about it? You only know how to listen to their nonsense. Last night, Peng Xue showed no respect, she was disrespectful to me, a teacher, isn’t that excessive? As long as I’m here, I definitely won’t let her come back.”

“But as far as I know, it was you who hurt Yuan Yuan first, and Peng Xue confronted you to protect Yuan Yuan. While it was wrong for her to do that to a teacher, don’t you think you owe her an apology?

Lin Youxi’s stern and assertive tone, coupled with her dignified and commanding presence, quickly captivated the attention of the entire class. She exuded a natural leadership aura, and appeared formidable in this confrontation, drawing the gaze of all the students.

“Is that Lin Youxi, the Class Monitor of Class 9? They say she has never ranked anything other than first in the exams for the entire grade.”

“How can there be someone so amazing? She’s both assertive and pretty, and her grades are excellent too. Is she a character from a novel?”

“Compared to those in our class who only excel in doing homework, the difference is like night and day. This is a true academic overachiever, no… I should say a genius!”

Under Lin Youxi’s reprimand, Huang Lian was momentarily stunned. It was only when the bell rang that she snapped back to reality.

“Quick, let’s go back to class. And you three, our class’ matters will be handled by us.”

On the side, Liu Shiyang was already itching to escape.

What scene is this!? I’m just a small sanitation officer who accidentally broke a cup and had to pay for a new one. How did I end up in the center of this stage? I wouldn’t even come here if I had the choice!

But Lin Youxi’s powerful presence made him dare not move an inch.

Of course, another reason was that Mei Fang was tightly gripping his wrist.

Clearly, neither Lin Youxi nor Mei Fang had any intention of leaving. Lin Youxi spoke in a low voice, “We hope to receive your promise to apologize to Yuan Yuan and Peng Xue before we leave.”

“What do you mean by that? Are you forcing me to apologize?”

Huang Lian was instantly infuriated by Lin Youxi’s “unreasonable” behavior. “Why should I apologize? Since when does a teacher apologize to a student? Do you still have any respect for teachers and their teachings?”

“The respect for teachers and their teachings is meant for teachers who are willing to have sincere communication with their students. I don’t think you deserve to be associated with those words right now,” Lin Youxi retorted.

Mei Fang took over, “Those words don’t apply to you until you acknowledge your mistake.”

“You… you’re really——”

Huang Lian stood up, intending to go to the neighboring class to find Li Shibing to resolve the issue. However, Lin Youxi and Mei Fang blocked her way, and then she shouted at her own students, “What are you sitting there for? Do something! Are you still my students? A bunch of ungrateful wolves!”

Although Huang Lian tried hard to rally her students to help push aside Mei Fang and Lin Youxi, her students remained motionless, including their Class Monitor, and a few of Huang Lian’s most loyal disciples hesitated and was about to stand up, but ultimately sat back down.

Since Peng Xue’s injustice was cleared, the beating suffered by Xia Yuan and the withdrawal of Peng Xue from school have turned Huang Lian’s actions into a baseless malicious targeting. If she could admit her mistake and apologize at this point, Huang Lian would not be entirely unreasonable. By communicating with each other and understanding each other, it would lead to a very good and satisfactory resolution.

The dissatisfaction towards Huang Lian in the class was far greater than it appeared. In this situation, Huang Lian became a clown and anyone who went to help at this time would become part of the circus.

Huang Lian obviously did not intend to take that harmonious route. Her face turned red, and she said fiercely, “I have been teaching for more than 20 years, and this is the first time I’ve heard that a teacher cannot hit a student! Don’t think I won’t dare just because you’re from a different class! I’ll give you all a good education on behalf of Li Shibing!”

Huang Lian raised her hand to hit Lin Youxi’s face, and Lin Youxi, like Xia Yuan, stared back firmly.

Moreover, Mei Fang was standing next to Lin Youxi. He had mentally prepared himself ready to raise his arm to protect her from this attack.

Just at this critical moment, a thunderous roar suddenly came from outside the window at the back of the classroom:

“HUANG LIAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

This unexpected roar had a tremendous effect, scaring all the students inside the classroom, including Mei Fang and Lin Youxi.

This was a furious shout from the principal, Xu Mingde, which almost caused the girl sitting by the window to faint on the spot.

His deathly stare through the window also gave everyone a sense of dreadful pressure.

Since the first year of middle school, every student has heard legendary stories about Xu Mingde.

Of course, some had experienced it firsthand.

It was said that the most terrifying death stare at the window of Experimental Middle School didn’t come from your homeroom teacher but from Principal Xu himself. This was because of his unpredictableness.

This nearly seventy-year-old principal was still fighting on the front line of education. His favorite thing to do was to wander around and observe the learning dynamics of the students in the school.

If he saw someone studying diligently, he would be happy. If he caught someone slacking off in class, he would give them a stern warning. Many people had their phones, MP3 players, and game consoles confiscated by him, but he would return them one by one during the Lunar New Year.

However, this time, his observation target was not a student, but a teacher.

Well… that’s not entirely accurate.

After all, Xu Mingde was Huang Lian’s homeroom teacher back in her high school days.

At the scene of this incident, it was not just Xu Mingde alone. He was accompanied by the grade director, several homeroom teachers from nearby classes, and the “culprit” Li Shibing, who deliberately called people to watch the show. He even boasted to the teacher from the neighboring Class 10, Teacher Yue, in a low voice, “See, that Lin Youxi is the Class Monitor of our class, a good student I taught.”

Teacher Yue shook his head and said, “You better not mess around and make her unhappy.”

“I always behave properly and upright. I have always been a model teacher. How could I be criticized by Lin Youxi?”

“You are so proud of yourself.”

Xu Mingde walked into the classroom with big strides, glaring at Huang Lian like Zhang Fei^[1] with his eyes as wide as bells.

“You have been teaching for decades, is this how you educate students, huh?”

“You always encourage students to admit their mistakes, but what about yourself? What kind of behavior is this, huh?”

“You misunderstood the situation. Is it so hard to apologize? Is this how I taught you when I was your teacher, huh?”

“You won’t even let a student come to school… I think you don’t need to teach anymore! You are ruining my reputation! Go back and learn how to be a better person before you come out to teach again! Do you hear me?”

Huang Lian, who was previously arrogant in front of everyone, now stood meekly in place with her head down, like a guilty elementary school student. It seemed that Xu Mingde’s intimidation of her continued from her student days to the present.

Mei Fang and Lin Youxi saw her face turn red, then white, then purple, and then she obediently took her teaching materials and followed Xu Mingde and the grade director out, seemingly for a discussion.

As Mei Fang, Lin Youxi, and the students of Class 8 didn’t know what to do, Xu Mingde suddenly roared at the class, “What are you looking at!? Self-study! And you, get back to your classrooms and attend your classes, or I will kick you out!”

So Mei Fang, Lin Youxi, and Liu Shiyang hurried back to their respective classrooms.

“It’s a pity that Yuan Yuan and Peng Xue are not here,” Lin Youxi sighed.

“It’s okay,” Mei Fang shook his head, “Anyway, I guess Teacher Huang will have to meet them and apologize to them eventually.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know our principal.”

Mei Fang smiled slightly. “This has happened before.”

This was a real event that had happened in Mei Fang’s past life, except that the main character at that time was not Huang Lian.

With the firsthand witness of the principal and school leaders, and the crucial evidence provided by Mei Fang, which were the notes that Huang Lian’s students wrote to criticize Peng Xue.

Xu Mingde did not expel Peng Xue. Instead, he called Peng Xue, Peng Xue’s grandmother, Xia Yuan, and Xia Yuan’s parents to discuss the situation.

From the school’s perspective, Xu Mingde acknowledged the serious mistake made by the homeroom teacher, Huang Lian, but also criticized Peng Xue for her impulsive behavior of confronting the teacher. Considering that she was falsely accused, the school would not give Peng Xue a disciplinary record, but they required her to read a self-reflection during the next grade-level assembly in front of the whole grade.

As for Xia Yuan’s behavior in this incident, Xu Mingde showed great appreciation:

“If possible, I really hope that every student can learn from you, Xia Yuan. You are able to go against the tide, trust your friends, and be willing to speak up for them. This is an admirable and courageous behavior. Although you may seem weak and small, you are much stronger than many adults, and this will be an invaluable asset as you grow.”

When Peng Xue was called by the school, she was also confused. Sitting next to Xia Yuan, she muttered, “I was planning to work in Pengcheng…”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Who would hire you without an education?” Xia Yuan complained while holding Peng Xue’s hand.

Peng Xue also held Xia Yuan’s hand tightly.

After this incident, Peng Xue cherished her friendship with Xia Yuan even more, thinking that she would do anything for Xia Yuan’s happiness.

At the end of the conversation, Xu Mingde called in the former homeroom teacher, Huang Lian.

Initially, Xia Yuan and Peng Xue were furious to see Huang Lian, but to their surprise, she looked completely different from before, appearing exhausted. They didn’t know what to say for a while.

Huang Lian came in this time to apologize on behalf of the school and seek forgiveness from Xia Yuan and Peng Xue. She admitted to wrongly accusing them and hitting Xia Yuan for no reason. After speaking, she left on her own, clearly struggling to contain her anger and lacking sincerity in her apology.

Xia Yuan and Peng Xue were worried that accepting the apology would mean continuing to attend Huang Lian’s class. But they were also concerned that making further demands would be pushing their luck.

So when Xu Mingde asked for their thoughts, they looked at each other, appearing very conflicted.

In the end, Xia Yuan spoke first, “Principal, if someone apologizes, do we have to forgive them? My friend told me before that I don’t have to forgive those who hurt me, and not to go against my own feelings. So… I don’t want to forgive Teacher Huang.”

Peng Xue nodded beside her, “I don’t forgive her either.”

Xu Mingde laughed heartily upon hearing this. “Your friend is quite interesting. I like hearing you students speak honestly. Indeed… if apologies could solve all problems, then we wouldn’t have to work so hard on our studies, hahaha!”

Xu Mingde continued, “You don’t need to forgive, and as for the punishment for Teacher Huang, we will announce it in due time.”

The school ultimately suspended Huang Lian, and she did not continue teaching at the school afterward. No one knew where she went.

As for Class 8’s homeroom teacher, the math teacher temporarily took over, while the Chinese class was taught by the teacher from the neighboring Class 7.

After the rain, the sky cleared up.

Translator's Notes:

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