Chapter 47: A Mother’s Wrath

Ring, ring, ring.

The final bell echoed through the halls. As the math teacher departed, the classroom instantly erupted with cheerful laughter.

The intense study session was finally over!

No one knew why they were being summoned to the gymnasium, but even the principal’s long, sleep-inducing speeches were better than studying!

This was the taste of freedom!

Hearing the bell, Lin Qing prepared to head to the dean of discipline’s office.

“Lin Qing, I’ll come save you.”

As he passed Su Yao’s desk, the words made him falter for a moment, but his pace remained unchanged.

‘What did she mean by that?’

He was just going to see the dean, not marching to his death. Why would he need Su Yao to save him?

And yet, there had been no hint of playfulness in her voice. The earnestness in her tone made it impossible to dismiss as a joke.

This left Lin Qing puzzled, but he didn’t alter his course. He planned to resolve the matter quickly during the break and then join his classmates at the gymnasium.

For Lin Qing, any school activity, no matter what it was, would be a first. He didn’t want to miss it.

With these thoughts in mind, he quickened his steps. Unlike the flocks of students heading toward the gymnasium, he walked in the opposite direction and soon arrived outside the dean’s office.

*Knock, knock.*

‘Come in.’

After a polite knock, Lin Qing pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The dean of discipline, Li Mingjun, was easy to recognize. He had a stern, rigid face and, despite being only in his forties, looked like a fussy old man.

He detested mischievous students and was merciless when dealing with delinquents. Liu Hong’s recent suspension to reflect at home had been partially his doing.

He was no stranger to retaliation from students, but rather than cowering, it only made him double down on his efforts to discipline them.

His attacks were indiscriminate.

This led to a situation where no student dared to lay a finger on the dean. In fact, if the delinquents caught wind of anyone trying to cause trouble for him, they would likely beat the person to a pulp.

Then, they would admonish them, asking if a peaceful school life wasn’t much better!

Of course, delinquents would still slip up and inevitably fall into the dean’s hands, their howls of punishment becoming one of the high school’s signature features.

Lin Qing’s school performance was unremarkable. Although his grades weren’t great, he had no record of fighting or causing trouble, making him an exceedingly average student.

Except, of course, for the long hair that hid his face.

Lin Qing had a good guess as to why he’d been summoned. It was likely related to Li Dong’s attack yesterday; perhaps there were new developments requiring his assistance.

If that was the case, it was terrible timing. He would probably miss the assembly in the gymnasium.

However, just as Lin Qing stepped into the office, a hand flew straight toward his face.

Fast, precise, and vicious.

But his body reacted faster. He took two quick steps back, the fleshy palm grazing past him, stirring a few strands of his black hair.

His eyes shot wide with alarm. He stared at the stout woman who had lunged at him and quickly darted toward the dean’s desk, putting as much distance as he could between himself and her.

In that fleeting moment, the woman’s malice toward him was laid bare. It felt like being watched by a grotesque toad, a sensation that sent a cold shiver down his spine and made his hair stand on end.

“Mother of Wang Fanran, what do you think you’re doing! Are you going to strike a student right in front of me? If you can’t control yourself, I’ll call the police!”

Everything had happened too quickly. By the time the dean reacted, Lin Qing had already dodged the slap. Yet Wang Fanran’s mother, her face contorted with rage, was unrelenting and poised to strike again.

Seeing this, the dean’s expression hardened, and he roared at her.

He had sent a teacher to fetch Lin Qing to verify the facts of the matter. Nothing had been confirmed yet, and here was Wang Fanran’s mother, assaulting a student in his presence. She was wasting her years on this earth!

A grown adult, hitting a child!

“Dean, my son was beaten so badly he’s in the hospital! As his mother, don’t I have the right to seek justice for him?”

Seeing that Lin Qing was quick on his feet and that the dean had intervened, the mother of Wang Fanran, though unwilling, could not press her attack. She could only glare at Lin Qing with venomous eyes, her words sharp, looking as if she might charge and pummel him at any moment.

Her undisguised aggression only deepened the dean’s displeasure.

The school was his workplace. The students were his responsibility—and under his protection. He would not allow anyone to disrupt that.

“Right now, all I have is your side of the story. How can I determine the truth?”

“My son would never lie.”

“Heh.”

“Is that any way for a teacher to treat a parent? Where’s your superior? I want to speak to your superior!”

His disdain for her now apparent, the dean dropped all pretense of courtesy. The shift was so obvious it stunned her for a second before fury surged through her. She thought to herself that in a rotten school like this, the teachers and students were all the same. No wonder her boy had suffered so much here!

“The principal is currently meeting with an important guest. You may schedule an appointment if you wish to see him.”

The dean had plenty of experience dealing with unreasonable parents like her, and he spoke with calm composure. He had initially felt some sympathy for her, but her actions moments ago had erased it completely.

Standing to the side, Lin Qing heard the name ‘Wang Fanran’ and immediately understood the source of the woman’s intense hostility. It seemed Wang Fanran just couldn’t learn his lesson.

Though Lin Qing hadn’t touched a single hair on his head, given Wang Fanran’s history, it was highly likely he had deliberately omitted the other delinquents and only mentioned Lin Qing’s name. Then he’d sent his mother to the school to demand an explanation.

It appeared Wang Fanran had run out of options and resorted to this final, desperate move.

“Fine. You just wait. I’ll make sure to expose this trash school!”

Upon hearing the dean’s words, the mother of Wang Fanran trembled with rage. She spat out her threat, her face flushed with anger, and turned to leave. But just as her hand touched the doorknob, she paused, as if leaving so easily wasn’t satisfying enough.

She turned her head, her gaze landing on Lin Qing, and sneered.

“A worthless creature like you must have come from equally worthless parents.”