A Special-Grade Teacher's Apology

Morning light streamed through a gap in the curtains, casting a slender band of light across the floor.

Liu Xu lay on his stomach in bed, clutching the little green bird doll tightly to his chest. The wounds on his back still ached dully, and whenever he moved even a little, the fabric rubbed against his scabbed skin, sending a sharp sting through him.

His father's shouts and blows from last night seemed to echo in his ears, and the burning sensation of the belt striking his body remained as vivid as if it had never faded.

With a clang, the bedroom door was flung open. Two meat buns, cold all the way through, landed at the foot of the bed and rolled several times before coming to a stop.

His father stood in the doorway, his eyes sweeping over Liu Xu's hair. Only after making sure it was neither disheveled nor broken did he frown and speak. "Hurry up, finish eating, and go to school. Don't be late. Remember, stay out of trouble at school and take care of that hair of yours. If I find out you've been arguing with anyone again, just wait and see how I deal with you!"

Liu Xu said nothing. He only raised his head slowly, his face as pale as paper, the redness in his eyes not yet entirely gone. He watched his father turn and leave. The door slammed shut with a bang, and the room fell deathly silent again.

He pushed himself up and slowly moved to the foot of the bed, picking up the two rock-hard buns. Their skins had dried and cracked, hard enough to hurt his teeth when he bit into them.

Buns in hand, he sat on the edge of the bed. He had little appetite and only stared blankly at the bird doll in his hands. The message Wen Shiming had sent last night was still on his phone. The words "I'll bring you bandages and iodine tomorrow" were like a little sun, warming his heart.

But when he thought of the state he was in and his father's warning, he couldn't help lowering his head again. Gently stroking the doll's plush feathers, he whispered, "Little bird, when will I be able to fly freely like you?"

After a long while, Liu Xu finally managed to take a bite of a bun. The dry, hard dough had little flavor as he chewed. He quickly finished one, then found his school uniform and carefully pulled it on, moving as gently as if afraid of pulling at the wounds on his back.

Once dressed, he walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. Soft black hair fell over his forehead, and the loose sleeves of his uniform covered the injuries on his arms. He looked clean and fresh.

He picked up a comb and gently combed his hair. As his fingertips passed through the strands, he remembered how Fu Li had pulled his hair yesterday and called him a "freak," and how much he hated his hair.

But his father's words were like a rope, binding him tightly and leaving him afraid to cut it or touch it.

He took a deep breath, smoothed his hair, then put on his backpack, opened the door, and carefully left home.

The stairwell was dim, and Liu Xu walked slowly, each step light. When he reached the ground floor, he looked up at the sky. The weather was lovely today, the sun bright, the wind carrying the scent of spring.

He headed toward school. His backpack held bandages and iodine for Wen Shiming, along with his own small hopes: that he would see Wen Shiming at school today, that he could get through the day in peace, and that the warm ray of sunshine that belonged to him would keep shining on him.

Meanwhile, Wen Shiming stood at the dining table, stuffing the breakfast Fu Yanzhi had made into his backpack.

There were golden-fried eggs, sesame-coated fried dough sticks, and warm milk in a thermos. He even grabbed a great handful of the cranberry cookies Fu Yanzhi had just baked.

"Big Brother, can I have another egg? Liu Xu definitely hasn't had breakfast," Wen Shiming said, smiling at Fu Yanzhi.

Fu Yanzhi leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching his younger brother bustle around. He couldn't resist teasing him. "If you keep packing like that, your backpack's going to burst. If you really don't think that's enough for Liu Xu, why don't you just pack me up and give me to him too? Then you won't have to bring breakfast to school every day. I can just go make it for him myself."

Bo Qing, who was sitting on the sofa, couldn't help laughing. Beside him, Li Huanhuan nodded in agreement. "Exactly, Third Brother. You're even nicer to your deskmate than you are to me. Last time you brought me candy, you only gave me one piece!"

Wen Shiming's face reddened. He stuffed the last cookie into his backpack and glared at Fu Yanzhi. "Big Brother, don't talk nonsense! I just... I just think Liu Xu's too skinny. He needs to eat more."

Fu Yanzhi raised an eyebrow but stopped teasing him. He handed him a thermos cup instead. "Take this too. There's hot porridge inside, so be careful not to burn yourself. Take it slow on the way and hold it carefully. Don't drop it."

Wen Shiming took the thermos cup and answered with a cheerful "Got it!" Then he slung on his backpack and ran to the door, getting into the car with his younger brothers to go to school. He had messaged Liu Xu last night, but Liu Xu had only replied, "I'm fine." Unable to put his mind at ease, he wished he could fly straight to school and see how Liu Xu was really doing.

At the school gate, Liu Xu was walking slowly with his head lowered when he suddenly heard someone call his name. "Liu Xu!" Wen Shiming's voice came from behind him, clear and bright in a way particular to boys his age.

Liu Xu turned around and saw Wen Shiming running toward him with a bulging backpack, a little sweat on his forehead.

"What took you so long? I've been waiting for ages." Wen Shiming ran up to him, panting, and immediately examined his face.

"What happened to the corner of your mouth? Did your dad hit you?" As he spoke, he reached out to touch it, but Liu Xu instinctively dodged.

Liu Xu took a step back, his gaze evasive. "I'm fine. I just bumped into something by accident." He didn't want Wen Shiming to see him in such a sorry state, much less worry about him.

Wen Shiming frowned but didn't expose his lie. He simply pulled a thermos from his backpack. "I knew you hadn't eaten breakfast. My big brother made porridge, and there are eggs too. Hurry and have some."

He poured some porridge into the lid of the thermos cup and held it out to Liu Xu, then peeled an egg and pressed it into his hand. "Eat up, or it'll get cold."

Liu Xu looked at the warm egg in his hand, then at the concern in Wen Shiming's eyes. His nose suddenly stung. No one had ever packed so much breakfast and brought it to school for him.

He took a bite of the egg. The aroma of the yolk spread through his mouth, and warmth slid down his throat into his stomach. Even the pain in his back seemed to ease a little.

"Oh, right." Wen Shiming suddenly remembered something. He pulled a packet of strawberry candy from his backpack and handed Liu Xu a piece.

"This is for you. I thought the one you gave me last time was really good, so I bought a packet. If you're hurting, have a piece. Sweet things can stop the pain," Wen Shiming said with a smile.

Liu Xu took the candy, its wrapper sparkling in the sunlight. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth. The sweetness of strawberry melted on his tongue and slowly spread into his heart.

He looked up at Wen Shiming. The boy was smiling at him, his eyes as bright as the morning sun, dispersing some of the gloom in his heart.

"Come on, class is about to start." As Wen Shiming spoke, he took Liu Xu's hand naturally, his fingertips brushing lightly against his wrist.

Liu Xu's hand stiffened, but he didn't pull away. He let Wen Shiming lead him forward.

Sunlight fell over them, stretching the two boys' shadows out long and close together, like a pair of inseparable companions.

When they entered the classroom, their classmates looked at them curiously, but a warning glance from Wen Shiming sent them silently lowering their heads.

Wen Shiming put the rest of the breakfast in Liu Xu's desk compartment and whispered, "Remember to eat it during the break. Don't go hungry. If anyone bullies you again, tell me. I'll help you."

Liu Xu nodded, looking at the breakfast filling his desk compartment and then at Wen Shiming beside him. It was as if something had filled his heart, soft and warm.

After the class bell rang, Wang Chenchen walked into the classroom with a smile, holding an English test paper. She walked up to Wen Shiming and threw the paper on the floor, her voice smug. "You can go through the withdrawal procedures now. You only scored eighty-eight points. You didn't meet our agreement."

Wen Shiming froze. He bent down to pick up the test paper, his fingers brushing over the score, unable to believe it. "That's impossible. I checked it several times..."

Liu Xu froze too. He looked at the paper in Wen Shiming's hands, the number eighty-eight stabbing at his eyes. He had clearly gone over every topic with Wen Shiming. How could he be two points short?

Wen Shiming gripped the paper, his knuckles turning white from the force. He looked at Liu Xu and met his worried gaze, and his heart suddenly tightened. He had promised Liu Xu he would score ninety points and make Wang Chenchen apologize to him, but now...

Liu Xu looked at Wen Shiming's profile and quietly clenched his fists. He knew Wang Chenchen had done it deliberately, but how could he help Wen Shiming? He couldn't let Wen Shiming be forced to leave school because of him. Absolutely not.

During the break, Wen Shiming charged up to Wang Chenchen and demanded, "Did you deliberately change my answers to make them wrong? I never changed my answers to those questions during the test."

Wang Chenchen crossed her arms and sneered. "I graded it perfectly clearly. If you didn't pass, you didn't pass. Don't be a sore loser." Wen Shiming trembled with anger, but there was nothing he could do.

Liu Xu, meanwhile, took Wen Shiming's test paper and ran to the dean's office. "Dean, could you check the surveillance footage of the grading? Someone tampered with Wen Shiming's test paper."

The dean didn't even look up. He waved a hand dismissively. "You're a student. You're not entitled to see the footage. Besides, how could Teacher Wang possibly have altered the test paper? Stop making trouble here and get back to class."

Looking at the dean's indifferent face, Liu Xu felt his heart turn halfway cold. He took the test paper and walked out of the office. The sunlight fell on him, but he couldn't feel the slightest warmth.

Liu Xu returned to the classroom in disappointment. Seeing him like that, Wen Shiming comforted him. "It's okay. Don't worry, the truth will come to light."

Wang Chenchen kept pressing Wen Shiming to call his guardian. With no other choice, he called Fu Yanzhi.

Fu Yanzhi had been asleep when he got the call. After hearing what had happened, he said helplessly, "All right, little ancestor, this old servant will be there right away."

At that moment, the system laughed in his mind. [Little Zhizhi, I've noticed something. Third Brother is the one making friends, but you're the one doing all the hard work.]

Listening to the system's teasing, Fu Yanzhi replied irritably, "It's all the protagonist's fault. As long as Third Brother's with the protagonist, they really can stir up trouble for me every single day." He quickly got up, washed, and changed clothes, then had Zheng Long drive him to the school.

When Fu Yanzhi arrived and met Wang Chenchen, he spoke before she could even open her mouth. "Don't give me any useless talk. I don't want to hear it. Take me to the surveillance room right now."

Wang Chenchen's expression changed, but she forced herself to remain calm. "School rules say students' guardians aren't entitled to view the surveillance footage."

Fu Yanzhi sneered. "I'm not entitled? Fine. Get your principal over here to tell me that."

Wang Chenchen panicked. She hadn't expected Fu Yanzhi to be so forceful.

Fu Yanzhi went straight to the dean's office. Seeing another guardian he couldn't afford to offend that day, the dean felt a little intimidated.

He steeled himself and said, "Sir, that's against the rules."

Fu Yanzhi crossed his arms, his gaze sharp. "I don't care about your rules. Someone tampered with my brother's score, and I'm seeing that footage today. If your school won't give us an explanation, I don't mind making a big issue of it."

At the mention of making a big issue of it, cold sweat broke out on the dean's forehead. Just then, the principal hurried over. After learning what had happened, he weighed the pros and cons and finally agreed to let Fu Yanzhi view the footage.

The principal took Fu Yanzhi and the others to the surveillance room. But the person in charge of the cameras said, "The system's broken. You can't watch it."

Fu Yanzhi smiled. "Fine. You want to make trouble for me, is that it? All right, I'll have a good game with you today."

Fu Yanzhi pulled the teacher in the surveillance room to his feet. "I can fix it. Get out of my way. Once I know the truth, I'll tear your school down."

He turned on the surveillance equipment, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

After a while, Fu Yanzhi used his technical skills to quickly discover that someone had tampered with the surveillance system. He recovered some of the key footage.

In the footage, Wang Chenchen took advantage of an empty office to secretly alter the score on Wen Shiming's test paper.

At the sight, the principal's face turned deathly pale, while Wang Chenchen collapsed onto the floor, terror in her eyes.

Fu Yanzhi sneered and looked at the principal. "Now the truth is out. How does your school intend to handle this?"

The principal wiped away his cold sweat and hurriedly promised to deal with Wang Chenchen severely.

Fu Yanzhi then looked at Wang Chenchen and said coldly, "You deliberately targeted my brother and even tried to make him leave school. I won't settle this score so easily."

"Who do you think you are?! I'm a special-grade teacher. Do you dare lay a hand on me?" Wang Chenchen shouted like a madwoman.

Fu Yanzhi's gaze turned icy. He stepped forward and slapped Wang Chenchen across the face, hitting her so hard that he went flying.

"Trying to scare me? Let's see whether I dare lay a hand on you. You fucking dare shout at me? Ptooey, trash," Fu Yanzhi said contemptuously.

The principal hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Sir, we'll certainly deal with Teacher Wang severely and give you and your brother a satisfactory resolution."

Fu Yanzhi snorted coldly. "You'd better. If I'm not satisfied with the outcome, I have plenty of ways to make sure your school knows no peace."

Back in the classroom, Wen Shiming and Liu Xu waited anxiously for the result. Fu Yanzhi told them what had happened. Wen Shiming clenched his fists in excitement, and gratitude shone in Liu Xu's eyes.

The school severely disciplined and dismissed Wang Chenchen, and she publicly apologized to Wen Shiming and Liu Xu.

Wang Chenchen stood at the podium, her face as pale as paper, and apologized to Wen Shiming and Liu Xu in a trembling voice. The classmates below stared wide-eyed in surprise and whispered among themselves.

Wen Shiming walked up to Wang Chenchen and said coldly, "I hope this is the last time you do something like this." Wang Chenchen lowered her head, not daring to speak.

After this incident, the classmates' attitudes toward Liu Xu changed greatly. Those who had once followed Wang Chenchen's lead in bullying him also restrained themselves considerably.