Back to Three Years Old: Crushing Scumbags on a Parenting Reality Show 172

Chapter 172

It was Zhang Luren’s eighteenth year as an elementary school teacher, and his fifteenth year as a homeroom teacher. Over the years, he had met with countless parents.

But a scene like today’s, he had never encountered before.

Zhang Luren sighed, his steps heavy as he walked onto the podium, he looked at the twenty-nine students and their parents, whose number far exceeded twenty-nine, with a helpless expression.

Who would have thought, in a class of just forty-two students, excluding the two who were sick yesterday and missed the incident at the school gate, twenty-nine of the forty children had performed an “act of kindness.”

This wasn’t just calling in the parents; this was practically a parent-teacher conference…

“I’ve called you all here today mainly to discuss the chaos at the school gate yesterday after school…” Zhang Luren began, but his words were immediately interrupted by the voices from below.

“It wasn’t chaos, it was an act of bravery!”

“Why did you call us here? What’s the problem?”

“The school just taught them to be helpful last semester, what did my child do wrong?”

“It’s clearly the security guard’s fault, our children did the security guard’s job, are you going to pay us?”

“Quiet down and listen to the teacher, it’s not the teacher’s fault!”

“Right, children are small and weak, even good deeds shouldn’t be reckless, we already disciplined our child yesterday.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong! You hit me, you’re the bad guy!”

…

Zhang Luren listened to the chattering below, he glanced at the person at the center of the incident, who was sitting quietly, his gaze swept past the elderly woman with gray hair next to her, he sighed inwardly, tapped the blackboard eraser on the podium twice, and said loudly, “Quiet!”

It was a meeting with the parents, not a criticism session, Zhang Luren quieted the classroom, then conveyed the school’s message about discipline and safety. He didn’t say the children were wrong, he just hoped they would realize there were better ways to handle things and that they should be more aware of their own limitations.

Based on his years of teaching experience, this was just a formality. After all, yesterday’s incident was clearly captured by the surveillance cameras at the school gate, the victim demanded that the school take responsibility, they had to go through the motions.

But… take responsibility, what responsibility? They were just first graders, minors, even if they… ahem, it was just throwing some dirt and grass, splashing some leftover ink from their calligraphy practice yesterday afternoon, crowding around and chasing the person away from the school gate, and saying some not-so-polite but truthful words.

As for the student who rushed over like a wolf and bit the victim, triggering the chaos… The surveillance footage clearly showed that she came from outside the school, she wasn’t even wearing their school uniform.

After going through the motions, Zhang Luren dismissed the other parents, then asked Cheng Tingyan and her guardian to stay. He didn’t have anything else to say to them, he had already said everything yesterday, he just wanted to prevent any irrational parents from taking it out on them.

But…

Zhang Luren, waiting by the classroom door, watched as Cheng Tingyan, accompanied by her grandma, thanked her classmates one by one. Mmm? What were those small boxes they were giving out? Thank-you gifts?

The classroom gradually emptied, no one made things difficult for the elderly woman and the little girl, but several parents did discipline their own children after receiving the gifts.

Of course, Zhang Luren also received a small box.

Butter cookies, bunny-shaped, the kind shown on the variety show.

No wonder those little ones were whispering about finally getting to try them.

Zhang Luren, after seeing the elderly woman and the little girl off, locked the classroom door, took out a cookie, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Mmm~~~ Crispy and fragrant~~~

As the homeroom teacher of Class 1-5, before Cheng Tingyan’s variety show aired last semester, Zhang Luren had heard about her three-year-old little sister, who went to the kindergarten next door, always waiting for her at the school gate after school, bringing her homemade food. Zhang Luren wasn’t surprised, he had heard about that kindergarten’s unique characteristics, but the first graders who left school with Cheng Tingyan every day, they were different, who had such a thoughtful little cutie bringing them warm, fragrant fried snacks?

For a while, Zhang Luren kept hearing the little ones in his class discussing having a younger sibling…

He had thought asking for a younger sibling was already the most outrageous thing, but yesterday’s incident surpassed it.

Zhang Luren, after watching the surveillance footage of the school gate, could only say, sometimes, the victim truly… deserved it!

It was just the little Maomao from next door saying a few words, did Cheng Feiying have to grab the little baby by the collar and lift her up like that?

Zhang Luren, also intrigued, had watched the entire variety show, Cheng Tingyan was almost at the gate, what good would come from lifting Maomao up like that in front of her? Wouldn’t Cheng Tingyan rush over to protect her? Wouldn’t those classmates who were leaving with her, who envied the babies with homemade lunches, come over to see what was happening? That variety show had aired on TV, Zhang Luren guessed that most of the students in his class had watched it, he could imagine Cheng Feiying’s image in their minds. With both Yan Yan and Maomao confronting Cheng Feiying, it was normal for the classmates to help.

Of course… The situation escalating from helping to chaos started with the little girl, from who knew which school, rushing in from outside, biting Cheng Feiying, and then reaching for Little Maomao.

Thankfully, thankfully, that little girl was wearing a different school uniform, otherwise, this wouldn’t be just a formality.

Interestingly, later, when reviewing the surveillance footage, the cameras at the school gate even captured that little girl with an even younger girl, they didn’t know where they came from. It was already late afternoon, with no sun, but both little girls were wearing sunglasses, quite vigilant, but they were still wearing their school uniforms… He truly didn’t know what to say.

If they were just random passersby, then Cheng Feiying was truly unlucky.

Was Cheng Feiying unlucky?

Cheng Tingyan didn’t think so. She thought the little chubby bunny was the unlucky one, her classmates whose parents were called were unlucky, and that little girl who rushed in and bit Cheng Feiying was unlucky!

She was the unlucky one!

No…

It was… her fault.

She, who had made up her mind but hadn’t acted, causing the little chubby bunny to be lifted up by that man, it was her fault.

Heaven knew, when she was almost at the school gate, as usual, looking for that small figure with anticipation, only to see her in Cheng Feiying’s grasp, she almost lost it.

Perhaps the shock of that moment and the ensuing chaos had drained her energy, when Cheng Feiying opened the car door by the roadside, and she saw Liu Qiongfang inside, she didn’t even feel surprised.

In fact, there wasn’t anything to be surprised about.

It was already the end of March, Liu Qiongfang’s second surgery was scheduled, she could already get out of bed and move around in her wheelchair. And Grandma was learning how to drive recently, no one was at home to watch over her, it was the perfect opportunity.

Heh, she went to their house, she came to the school.

Who could Cheng Tingyan blame?

Herself!

Waiting for her to recover from surgery, waiting for the best timing…

But some people, some things, weren’t worth waiting for.

If she wanted to do it, she should do it now.

Liu Qiongfang hadn’t been having a good time these past few days. They were living in a three-bedroom apartment, but the other two seemed to treat her as if she didn’t exist. Little Maomao, who usually came over after school, hadn’t visited for days, even Zhang Shilan, who often came downstairs, hadn’t appeared.

At home, the lively atmosphere had turned quiet… no, it should be said, silent, Liu Qiongfang wasn’t used to it. But she didn’t dare to complain, she could only endure. Liu Qiongfang had initially planned to subtly mend the relationship between Cheng Feiying and Yan Yan, then have Yan Yan help her win over Chen Sujuan… But her first attempt to secretly bring Cheng Feiying to Yan Yan’s school turned into a chaotic brawl, right in front of Chen Sujuan…

It was a swift and complete failure.

And now, after Chen Sujuan’s cold lecture that lasted for over an hour that day, she hadn’t spoken to her again, she even stopped her driving lessons, staying at home and watching her like a jailer, she could only contact Cheng Feiying through her phone.

In the living room, Liu Qiongfang was scrolling through her phone, bored, when she heard the click of a lock.

She looked up and saw Cheng Tingyan coming out of the bedroom with a glass in her hand, completely ignoring her, she went straight to the kitchen.

A life without status, Liu Qiongfang thought, opening her chat with Cheng Feiying, his latest message was a suggestion to have dinner with Yan Yan again.

Right, he was her dad, she had custody, a dad had the right to have dinner with his daughter.

Liu Qiongfang, frowning, started to think of a solution, then her thoughts were interrupted by another click. She looked up at Cheng Tingyan’s bedroom door, which was now locked, so… this child, who even locked her bedroom door at home, how could she persuade her to see her dad, it was truly a headache.

But Liu Qiongfang didn’t know that her current headache would be her last, she would never have to think about this problem again.

A stranger’s account, a series of posts with pictures and text, a few links, they completely shattered Liu Qiongfang’s illusions about Cheng Feiying.

In her bedroom, Cheng Tingyan sipped her water slowly.

The water was a bit hot, even though she drank slowly, her mouth still felt a bit numb.

For a person, what kind of person was it better to love?

Should she love a hypocritical person who would use her, but was alive and could give her the response she wanted?

Or should she love someone who might truly love her, but was already dead and could never give her a future?

Cheng Tingyan chose to have that person love someone who wouldn’t bring pain to her or the people around her, a dead person.

In her previous life, after Grandma passed away, Cheng Tingyan, while sorting through her belongings, found a photo of a young Liu Qiongfang and a man who looked very much like Cheng Feiying. She casually asked Liu Qiongfang about it, then witnessed her complete breakdown.

The past relationships of the previous generation, she shouldn’t have pryed. But at that time, Cheng Tingyan was suffocating under the combined pressure from the Cheng family and Liu Qiongfang, so she investigated that man, who looked exactly like Cheng Feiying and appeared before him.

And she unearthed more than she bargained for…

Who would have thought that in that era, that man had a Qzone account.

That man fell in love with Liu Qiongfang when she was still a minor, eloped with her as soon as she turned eighteen, then, after getting sick, pretended to cheat on her, broke up with her, sent her back, and wrote countless diary entries about his longing and regret… Cheng Tingyan still felt that he was… not a good person.

Especially… the last part of his diary, where he mentioned meeting another girl, innocent, lacking love, and rich, and how he, to live a little longer, to prolong his love, had to manipulate her, making her willingly sacrifice for him… It was truly disgusting.

In her previous life, when she had uncovered almost everything, the Cheng family, through Liu Qiongfang, pressured Cheng Tingyan into accepting a supporting role in Cheng Rongrong’s drama. At that time, Cheng Tingyan already had Little Cookie, her resistance to the long-term emotional manipulation was growing stronger. Under the constant pressure and cold violence, Cheng Tingyan finally chose to reveal everything about that man to Liu Qiongfang.

As expected, the things Cheng Tingyan found disgusting, in Liu Qiongfang’s eyes, were proof of his undying love, how he was willing to bear all the burden just to remember their love.

Liu Qiongfang, who had been obsessed with Cheng Feiying and tried to persuade Cheng Tingyan to fulfill his wishes, after receiving that information, became a different person.

A quiet, grieving widow.

She became a vegetarian, started chanting Buddhist scriptures, went to temples in her wheelchair to burn incense and light lamps… her life healthy and fulfilling.

As for who Cheng Feiying was, Liu Qiongfang never mentioned him again.

At that time, Cheng Tingyan was already an adult, custody was no longer relevant, the Cheng family, having lost Liu Qiongfang, could no longer control her, the shackles around Cheng Tingyan’s neck, almost suffocating her, were finally gone.

Of course… there were always trade-offs in this world.

From that moment on, not only did Cheng Feiying disappear from Liu Qiongfang’s eyes, but so did she, her daughter.

That mistaken life, enabled by her lover’s deception, was completely severed from Liu Qiongfang’s heart.

Truly… one shouldn’t indulge too much in the sweetness coating the poison. In this life, she was almost dragged into that endless struggle with the Cheng family again… and even caused the little chubby bunny to be lifted up by Cheng Feiying.

Decisive action was necessary.

In the bedroom, Cheng Tingyan sipped the hot water, her gaze on the closed bedroom door, her expression indifferent.

Reborn, they were still…

“Yan Yan~~ I made candied apples, do you want some~~~”

The ceiling panel opened, a little chubby bunny, lying on her stomach, holding an apple, poked her head through the opening.

Reborn, there were still good things, Cheng Tingyan thought, a faint smile appearing on her lips. She finished the last sip of hot water, put down the glass, and let go of her worries.

However…

“Baby, bring some bananas down for Yan Yan, Grandma said she’s been having some… digestive issues lately.”

“Ahhhh!!! I already opened the panel! Mommy, you didn’t even knock! Yan Yan heard everything!”

“Are you still bringing the bananas down?”

“Yes… I’ll take that bunch too, give me both.”

Cheng Tingyan: “…“ She was busy organizing documents in the bathroom and didn’t notice the time!

What else could she do… just go with the flow.