"I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were coming for a home visit today. As you can see, I haven't tidied up. The place is a mess." The Middle-Aged Woman spoke politely, no differently from the other parents Teacher Liu had met. But she kept her back turned to her, which felt deeply unsettling.
"Xiao Guo's mother? Are you feeling unwell?" Teacher Liu looked at the Middle-Aged Woman's back. Tangled black hair covered her shoulders. Despite being in her own home, the woman was dressed to the nines in an expensive outfit that didn't quite fit.
"This really isn't a good time for me. Has Xiao Guo been causing you trouble? That wretched child. I'll give her a good beating tonight." The Middle-Aged Woman stepped backward, slowly backing out of the bedroom.
As the woman approached, Teacher Liu felt her breath catch, but she immediately pulled Xiao Guo protectively to her side. "This has nothing to do with the child. I think there's a problem with your approach to parenting. Constantly beating and frightening a child will interfere with her normal development..."
Teacher Liu stopped halfway through, because the Middle-Aged Woman had already backed right up to her. Her thick black hair was only a foot away.
The living room was deathly silent. Teacher Liu felt terribly stifled and involuntarily took a step back.
The Middle-Aged Woman wasn't looking where she was going, yet she backed through the room without bumping into anything, as though she had eyes in the back of her head.
"Xiao Guo's mother, since you're not feeling well, I'll come back another day." Teacher Liu thought the Middle-Aged Woman had some kind of mental illness. Taking Xiao Guo's hand, she started toward the exit.
But the moment she turned around, she discovered a man standing outside