Chapter 40: Lala’s Husband Has Many Social Engagements

The teacher was helpless. She shook Mini Ni by the shoulder, pulled her up, and shouted, "Whoever did this, stand up voluntarily! Otherwise, there will be consequences!" She then looked at the students in their seats; they stared at each other in silence.

Mini Ni was sobbing, looking deeply distressed. She whimpered, "Teacher Zhao, I don't want to be the class monitor anymore! Nobody listens to me!"

Similar situations had occurred in other classes, but Teacher Zhao was not the homeroom teacher. Besides, the class monitor was elected by the students themselves, so she had no authority to intervene. She could only offer comfort: "I will speak to Teacher Wang about your concerns. Go back to your seat now; class is about to start."

This worked well. Though nothing had actually been resolved, it gave Mini Ni a way to save face. She went back to her seat, still sniffling.

Teacher Zhao considered that the class was only forty-five minutes long and, having already lost time, decided not to dwell on it. She placed her books on the desk and announced to the students, "Everyone is sleepy in the afternoon, but today's content is very important. I hope you will pay attention!"

The students, still tense from the earlier incident, were wide awake and stared at her intently.

Teacher Zhao’s image naturally caught my eye: she had a standard face, stood about five-foot-ten, and was around twenty-six years old. Her hair was dark, glossy, and shoulder-length. Although she wore no makeup, her youthful charm remained. She wore a black teacher's skirt suit, which gave her an air of authority.

Despite Teacher Zhao's long preamble about listening carefully, she couldn't keep their attention for more than twenty minutes before the students were once again overcome by sleepiness.

Jiang Meili raised her hand high and waved it back and forth.

Many students shifted their gaze toward her. Teacher Zhao saw it too and waved her hand in approval.

Jiang Meili stood up and asked an unexpected question: "Teacher, why do students get sleepy in class?"

Though young, Teacher Zhao had five or six years of teaching experience. She had discussed this topic before, so she took the opportunity to explain the typical reasons to the class.

"First, you have too much on your mind and didn't rest well at night. Second, you aren't paying attention in class. Third, you need to adjust your mindset and approach things correctly."

I couldn't find a reason for it; whatever the teacher said must be right. The class remained noisy, with constant, endless questions.

The bell rang.

The students, having waited impatiently, shoved their desks and chairs aside and rushed out of the classroom with their schoolbags. Some students, seeing the class monitor, spat at her, while others glared with fierce eyes and muttered, "Stop being monitor! Just go die!"

I couldn't stand it any longer and shouted, "Stop bullying people! If anyone dares to run their mouth again, see if I don't punch them!"

Hearing this, Mini Ni felt she had found a protector. She ran over, crying, and grabbed my arm tightly. "Zhengtai, they’re all bullying me!"

The students actually muttered right in front of me, "Do you really think Zhengtai will protect you? He’s got Jiang Meili right there!"

Mini Ni wasn't stupid; she immediately hugged Jiang Meili’s shoulder and said, "You have to protect me too!"

Jiang Meili, who usually loved to flatter the class monitor and had me backing her up, yelled loudly, "Don't bully her! Or I’ll never hear the end of it with you!"

Some male students were defiant and shouted, "So what if you have Zhengtai? If they need a beating, they get a beating!"

This enraged me. I locked eyes with the boy who spoke and shouted, "Give me your dog's name. See how I beat you to death!"

There were many onlookers. A teacher happened to pass by the classroom door, sensed something was wrong, peeked in, and asked, "School is over, why are you all still crowding in the classroom?"

Afraid of being reported to the homeroom teacher, the students scattered quietly.

I was the only one who walked out of the classroom with a swagger. In my heart, I understood clearly: she wasn't our class’s teacher, so she was being far too meddlesome.

The teacher didn't even glance at me as she left.

I wanted to start trouble, but I couldn't. Mini Ni took my left arm, Jiang Meili dragged my right, and we headed downstairs, with the other students following at a distance.

There was a tree over ten meters tall by the bulletin board. To show off my strength, I shouted to the students, "My name is Zhengtai! I'm going to put on a show for you!"

This drew a large crowd. Jiang Meili and Mini Ni stood to the side, clapping vigorously. Soon, the students formed a circle around the tree, their eyes fixed on me.

I didn't even have time for an opening speech. I slammed my shoulder into the tree, making it rustle loudly. I retreated ten meters, took a running leap, and delivered a powerful kick to the trunk. With a loud "thud," a large piece of bark flew off.

Someone shouted, "He's destroying school property!"

I looked around, but couldn't find the culprit; otherwise, I would have beaten them to a pulp!

This commotion brought over two school administrators. They glared at me and growled, "Who told you to do that? Get your parents here!"

I wasn't afraid of them, but I was afraid of my parents being called. My wife was already working hard enough, and I didn't want to cause her more trouble. Despite this, I felt stifled. I grabbed Jiang Meili with my left hand, held Mini Ni with my right, and walked away with a swagger.

One of the administrators yelled, "Pick up the bark and put it in the trash, and get your parents here to see how to deal with this tree!"

I saw he had an ugly, toad-like face. I was already fuming, and he dared to keep nagging? See if I don't punch him!

Mini Ni, trying to curry favor with me, voluntarily picked up the bark and tossed it into the bin. Jiang Meili pulled my hand, urging me toward the school gate. Seeing my wife's electric scooter parked there in the distance, I dared not speak another word.

The administrators followed us to the gate and stared at me. No one knew what was going on.

Jiang Meili stood on the left, Mini Ni leaned on the right.

Just as I was getting on the scooter, one of the administrators shouted, "Wait!"

My wife looked around, confused.

The two administrators rushed over, and one of them explained what had just happened.

A thick wall of students formed around us. My wife had no choice but to follow the administrators to look at the tree. After a conversation, she reluctantly pulled money from her purse to pay the fine and signed a document before returning to me, glaring with reproach.

"Don't go around kicking and hitting things at school again! Your mother works so hard! Your father is still in the hospital undergoing surgery; can't you be a little patient? You go around causing trouble, and I have to pay for it both in apologies and money!"

I gritted my teeth and had to endure it in silence.

The electric scooter started with a whir. Jiang Meili and Mini Ni disappeared from my sight. In the blink of an eye, we stopped at the entrance of the residential complex. I got off, and my wife turned the scooter around and rode off. She stopped at the side of the road, looked back, and shouted, "Zhengtai, go home and do your homework! Don't play on your phone!"

I gave a perfunctory reply and watched as she pulled her phone from her bag and held it to her ear... I really wanted to hear if it was the man with the scar calling.

But it was too far away. I went up to the fourth floor, feeling dejected. Just as I was about to open the door, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my schoolbag, took a look, held it to my ear, and shouted, "Hello? What now?"

Jiang Meili’s anxious voice came through immediately: "Ask your mom for more money. We still need to buy gifts, you hear me?"

The money issue was driving me crazy. My wife had just paid a fine; if I asked her for more, not only would she refuse, I'd get scolded. I could only say, "I only have twelve yuan on me right now. I’ll just give that to you!"

Jiang Meili wouldn't let it go so easily: "No! I don't care! It's your job to get the gifts, you figure it out!"

"I really can't figure it out; couldn't you have thought of this earlier?" It seemed being a boyfriend to these girls involved a lot of social obligations. I had to be vague: "Let's figure it out when we meet!"

Jiang Meili hadn't gotten the result she wanted, so she urged me again: "You must get the money. Twelve yuan isn't even enough for a birthday cake!"

I loved Jiang Meili and couldn't let her down over money, so I said, "I'll find a way!"

The call ended. I opened the door, went inside, and locked it behind me. I paced around my small room, but still had no solution. I had to bite the bullet and call my wife. She picked up in less than a minute and asked, "What is it?"

I hesitated, breaking into a cold sweat, but I had no choice: "Mom, it's like this; a classmate has a birthday, and I need to buy a gift, but I don't have a single cent!"

There was a long silence before her voice came through: "I don't have any money either, not after paying the fine at school. I only have five yuan in my purse."

This reminded me, and I thought for a moment before asking, "Are Grandpa and Grandma there? Can you let them answer the phone?"

There was a brief silence on the line, then the old man's voice came through: "Is there something you need?"

I was a stranger to the old man, but wanting the money, I had to be bold: "Grandpa, it's a classmate's birthday today, can you give me some money?"

The old man considered it for a moment before replying, "How much?"

I didn't know how much would be enough, so I repeated what Jiang Meili had said.

After a long pause, the old man told me to come over and get it.

Thank goodness. I hung up, threw my schoolbag on the bed, jumped up and down, locked the door, and headed to the bus stop, waiting for a while...