Chapter 73: The Wish
Unexpectedly, the culprit of the theft was caught in just two days.
The case was reported in the newspaper, detailing the process of the police’s stakeout and investigation. At a mobile phone repair shop, the criminal brought several phones to cash in. The owner, who had been notified in advance, secretly called the police. Not long after, the police arrived and caught him red-handed.
Only one person was caught. It was obviously not very smart for this person to sell the stolen goods in such a short time. It was said that he was afraid that the phones could be tracked, so he was in a hurry to get rid of them. This guy was also a coward. It wasn’t long before he confessed to his two accomplices, one of whom was a second-year student at No. 1 High.
From Class 5, named He Zeyu.
On the phone of the person who was caught, the call records and voice messages were still saved. The police entered the campus during class, searched He Zeyu’s dorm, and found two iPhones and 2000 yuan.
The homeroom teacher of Class 5 was very shocked. In his eyes, this student’s family was not well-off, and his grades were average, but he was very honest and shouldn’t have done such a thing.
After class, Ye Wei called He Zeyu to the office. Tong Yao got the news and also wanted to see what this student was like, so she followed.
“Student He Zeyu, on the morning of January 2nd, where were you?”
Ye Wei asked. Tong Yao saw the boy obviously flinch, and then he said very calmly, “I was sleeping in the dorm.”
“Then how come there are other students’ phones in your dorm? And where did the two thousand yuan come from?!”
The boy was taken aback for a moment and instantly understood. This was a Hongmen Banquet. The knives were already sharpened, just waiting for him to lie on the chopping block.
He knew that the school’s surveillance was very blurry, and the school rarely cared when students lost things. The police were also too busy to deal with such a small case. He had thought he could escape the law, but he didn’t expect to be found out in just two days.
In the heavy atmosphere of the office, this boy, in the end, actually grinned.
“I stole it.”
No teacher could face this kind of thing calmly.
“Why did you steal?” Tong Yao frowned. “Not enough money to spend?”
The boy lowered his head and didn’t say anything.
“I’ve already called your parents. Think about how you’re going to face them,” Ye Wei said in a deep voice. “You’ve brought shame to your parents.”
The boy sneered and said, “Do whatever you want. They’ve long since stopped caring about me.”
Tong Yao was not surprised. A child who had gone astray always had various external factors. She looked down at the information and said, “Do you know that you might go to jail?”
The boy looked up at her, his eyes cold, and didn’t answer.
“You think you’re a minor, so you can escape the punishment of the law?” Tong Yao continued. “You’re 17, not 15. You already have to bear criminal responsibility. Maybe because you’re a minor, you won’t be locked up for long, but that’s still jail. Do you understand?”
She stared at this boy, but the boy just laughed.
“You’re so annoying.”
Tong Yao was taken aback.
Ye Wei slammed the table. “How dare you talk to a teacher like that?!”
“You’re going to expel me, right?” He Zeyu snorted. “Do you want me to wag my tail at you?
“Teacher Tong, do you know that you’re really a busybody? You have to manage the discipline even when you pass by our class during evening self-study. You make a test paper for the tutoring class, and the whole grade has to do it. You even give your card to students to eat… ” he said with disdain. “Do you think we poor students and poor people especially need your help? Are you that lacking in a sense of superiority? Do you know how many people hate a saint like you?”
Ye Wei couldn’t listen anymore and threw the pen holder on the desk to the ground. “Get out!”
“Don’t let him go, Teacher Ye,” Tong Yao sat firmly in her chair and said softly. “I have something to say.”
She looked up at He Zeyu. The first time she saw this name, she thought it was a good name, suitable for both boys and girls, a bit artistic. But now, she had given up on lecturing and reforming him, as if she understood the meaning of being beyond saving. She said slowly, “Let me explain. Your homeroom teacher’s wife is pregnant and needs to be taken care of, so he entrusted me to manage the discipline every time I pass by your class. The math paper was for my tutoring class, but other teachers wanted to give it to you to do, and I couldn’t refuse.
“You ask me if I think you need help. I think you do. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a teacher helping a student, and I don’t know where I showed a sense of superiority.”
She paused and said in a low voice, “The amount of money you personally stole is not large. If someone helps you, it’s very likely that it won’t be classified as a crime.
“Alright, the police are coming soon. I’ll leave the rest to Teacher Ye.”
After she finished, she got up hastily, walked out quickly, and closed the door. He Zeyu stood there in a daze, with no sarcasm, and no one knew what he was thinking.
On the way, Tong Yao was greeted by a student. She quickly lowered her head, responded in a small voice, and hid her slightly red eyes.
She was just an ordinary person.
When the work she had put her heart and soul into was denied, she would also be sad.
And it was denied by a student.
Even though she knew that the other party was just trying to provoke her, she couldn’t help but care.
Maybe she really wasn’t that good.
She wasn’t strict enough, too easily soft-hearted. She had increased the students’ workload, even if it wasn’t her intention. She was known to be biased, and she even had feelings for a student.
When you think you’re doing well, and you’re ruthlessly hit on the head, it’s not a good feeling. The last time she had such a sense of frustration was when she was called a “wasted talent” behind her back in university.
She really was just an ordinary person who had been reborn and was trying her best to do well.
**
No. 1 High exploded.
Figuratively.
A student from Class 5 was taken away by the police—on this day when the theft incident had not yet subsided, it was like a bolt from the blue, stunning all the onlookers.
Everyone has their own values. Many people don’t care if their classmates smoke, drink, fight, skip class, or cheat, but if a classmate steals, even if the amount is small, most people’s attitude is the same—contempt.
“I can’t believe that He Zeyu stole… I’ve even talked to him.”
“You can know a person’s face, but not their heart.”
“Ruan Xi, hurry up and make that He guy give you back your money!”
Someone eagerly instigated, as if urging a good show to begin.
“I’ll wait for the school’s notice,” Ruan Xi shook her head.
The boys next to her were discussing. When they came to a certain topic, they looked at Ruan Xi, intending to strike up a conversation with the pretty girl in the class.
“Ruan Xi, did you know that Teacher Tong was crying just now?”
Ruan Xi was taken aback.
“What did you say?”
“Damn, don’t talk nonsense,” another boy shouted. “I just saw that Teacher Tong’s eyes were red when I came.”
“Maybe she was cried to anger…” someone added in a small voice.
As the voice grew louder, the number of people paying attention and gossiping immediately increased.
“It must be that bastard who stole something that made her angry!” The protector of the flower said indignantly. “Serves him right to go to jail!”
“Should we go comfort Teacher Tong…”
The discussion fell silent for a moment. Ji Chen volunteered, “How about I…”
Bang!
With a dull thud, the young girl stepped on the chair of the sleeping Jiang Yiming and jumped out, disappearing in a flash.
The remaining people looked at each other. A boy muttered, “Are they for real…”
Even Ruan Xi didn’t know the answer to this question.
Whether it was real or fake, only Teacher Tong’s words counted.
She ran to the office. Inside, there was only Labor Reform’s puzzled expression, which scared her so much that she quickly retreated. The next class was politics. For a second-year science student, a liberal arts class was equal to self-study—so the choice was easy.
She had to find Teacher Tong.
With a few minutes left before class, she ran back, borrowed a phone from a classmate, and dialed the number she knew by heart.
The dialing tone.
“…Hello?”
The voice on the phone was soft.
“Teacher Tong,” Ruan Xi hid in the stairwell, peeking out from time to time to prevent other teachers from coming over. “Where are you?”
“Ruan Ruan?” The person on the phone was surprised. “I… I’m outside.”
“I want to come find you,” Ruan Xi said.
“But… aren’t you in class?”
There was a commotion on the other end, and the faint roar of “pass the ball” could be heard.
Ruan Xi stood in the hallway. From here, she could see the boys running on the white soccer field. The ice and snow made the grass slippery, but they were still playing soccer. She held her phone and smiled.
“Teacher Tong, I’ll be right there.”
The bell for class rang.
On the sports field, Tong Yao was holding her phone in a daze, sitting on a chair by the track. Ruan Ruan is coming to find me? Why?
Before she could figure it out, the young girl’s figure was already in her eyes. The young girl ran over from a distance, almost slipping. Tong Yao was so scared that she quickly went over and chided, “Why did you run over here instead of going to class?”
The young girl stuck out her tongue, bluffing her way through, and panted, “They said… Teacher Tong, you were crying.”
Tong Yao was silent, blinked, took off her own scarf, and tied it around the young girl.
“Teacher Tong, you… were you crying?”
“No.”
Tong Yao lowered her head, then quickly raised it, smiling gently.
Ruan Xi suddenly held Tong Yao’s hand that was tying her scarf, held it in both her hands, and warmed it in her palm.
“Teacher Tong, I’m changing my wish. I don’t want to touch your stockings anymore.”
She said seriously, “If you have anything that’s bothering you, can you tell me?”
She wanted to be closer to Teacher Tong, to share her joys and sorrows, to be completely open with her.
She wanted to slowly become a reliable person in Teacher Tong’s eyes.
Tong Yao was taken aback for a moment. The young girl in front of her, in her heart, was becoming less and less like a child who needed to be taken care of. Her eyes were gentle, and she suddenly smiled.
“You really don’t want to touch them?”
The young girl nodded.
“But you have to tell me your troubles. Was it that thief He Zeyu who made you angry?”
Tong Yao was amazed at Ruan Ruan’s sharpness. Under such a sincere gaze, she pursed her lips slightly, withdrew her hand, as if she were about to tell a secret she couldn’t speak of.
“Ruan Ruan… are there a lot of people in the grade who hate me?”
Her thoughts were very fine, like fine noodles, like falling withered leaves, soft and fragile. Miss Tong had a heart of glass. Her overly smooth second life had made her so fragile. Confidence was like equipment enhancement in a game. Some people would fail again and again without achieving anything, and their equipment would not be downgraded or damaged. Some people would succeed in strengthening all the way, and then fail once at the end, and then it would break.
Ruan Xi’s eyes widened, as if she had heard something incredible.
“How is that possible! Everyone likes Teacher Tong very much!”
“Don’t you think I…” Tong Yao said sullenly, “like to be a busybody?”
“Of course not!” The young girl gritted her teeth. “That person said that about you? He’s just jealous!”
“Jealous of whom?”
“Jealous of…” The young girl was at a loss for words and said in a small voice, “Jealous of me…”
“Pfft,” Tong Yao couldn’t help but laugh. “It seems I’ve been too biased towards you, to the point of making people jealous.”
“Not at all!”
Ruan Xi blushed. “Teacher Tong… shouldn’t you be a little more biased towards me?”
Tong Yao’s smile froze. Is this… a hint for me to take responsibility?
That kiss, the memory was still fresh. It was just a touch, but it had penetrated deep into her heart.
After all, it was her first kiss in so many years.
“Yes, yes…” she turned her head away shyly. “I’ll continue to be a little more biased towards you in the future… is that okay?”
Ruan Xi didn’t answer. She pinched the scarf around her neck and said silently in her heart—
She doesn’t want Teacher Tong’s favoritism.
What she wants is Teacher Tong’s whole heart.
