Chapter 53: Can I Trust You?

When Shen Chutang arrived, the fight was already over.

Luo Shencheng, Lu Wendong, and Xu Gaoyuan were being punished by having to stand in the corridor outside. Inside the teachers’ office, a parent was angrily grabbing her child by the ear, pointing at the wound on his cheek. “Look at this! Just look at this! I sent my child here in perfect condition, and now he’s been beaten like this! The school must give me an explanation today, or this matter won’t be settled!”

The child was a student from Class F, and at that moment, Ms. Zhu Yongmei, the Class F teacher, was forcing a smile. “Please, calm down. I assure you, I’ll give you a satisfactory explanation.”

The woman’s voice was still shrill. “I think you should just expel those three immediately! Otherwise, I’ll report this to the Education Bureau. Why must a decent school like this admit such troublemakers? One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel!”

As Shen Chutang entered, she spoke, “Can someone tell me what happened here?”

Zhu Yongmei explained, “She’s the homeroom teacher for Class F.”

The woman grew even more agitated. “So you’re their teacher? Look at what your good students have done! My son was only minding his own business in gym class, and they attacked him out of nowhere!”

Yang Xiuwen clutched his cheek. “Mom, my face hurts so much.”

“My son is going to get into a top university someday! You’re ruining his future, do you understand?”

Zhu Yongmei nodded rapidly. “Please, Mrs. Yang, try to stay calm.”

Then, raising her voice, Zhu Yongmei barked, “You three, why are you still standing out there? Are you waiting for me to invite you in?”

Luo Shencheng, one hand in his pocket, replied, “Weren’t you the one who told us to stand outside just now?”

Zhu Yongmei frowned. “Watch your tone. Is that how you speak to a teacher? Call your parents right now and apologize!”

None of the boys responded.

Zhu Yongmei snapped, “What, you think I can’t make you listen? Fine, I’ll call your parents myself!”

She pulled out her phone, muttering under her breath, “What a bunch of trash.”

The boys’ faces darkened, but none of them spoke up, as if they were used to this treatment.

“Ms. Zhu, what did you just say?” Shen Chutang’s voice broke the silence.

Zhu Yongmei was startled. “I—I said I’ll call their parents.”

Shen Chutang fixed her with a look. “As a teacher, isn’t it inappropriate to talk about students like that?”

Caught off guard, Zhu Yongmei’s cheeks flushed. She hadn’t expected her careless remark to be overheard.

“Yes, yes. But still, it really was their fault this time.”

Shen Chutang turned to Yang Xiuwen. “Why don’t you explain what happened?”

Yang Xiuwen, emboldened by his mother’s presence, immediately stepped forward. “I was just chatting with my friends, and they came over and started beating me up!”

Shen Chutang looked at Luo Shencheng. “Is that true?”

The three boys pressed their lips together, saying nothing.

Zhu Yongmei pointed at them and said to Shen Chutang, “See, Ms. Shen? Am I wrong? These boys are hopeless.”

Lu Wendong opened his mouth as if to speak, but Luo Shencheng shot him a look, and he fell silent.

A hint of smugness flickered across Yang Xiuwen’s face. Though his cheek was marked, Shen Chutang could see the injuries were superficial.

Something was off about this incident, but Yang Xiuwen’s mother was adamant, insisting the boys should be expelled.

Luo Shencheng spoke up at last, “Expel us then! I don’t care! And tell your son to mind his own business, or every time we see him, we’ll teach him a lesson!”

Yang Xiuwen’s mother shrieked, “Did you hear that? Is that how a student should talk? He’s nothing but a thug!”

Shen Chutang turned to Luo Shencheng, her expression stern. “Luo Shencheng, what really happened?”

He said nothing.

Shen Chutang tried again. “You didn’t hit him without a reason, did you?”

Seeing him remain silent, Lu Wendong quickly nodded. “No, we didn’t!”

Shen Chutang looked them each in the eye. “Can I trust you?”

Luo Shencheng was taken aback. It was the first time a teacher had asked him that.

After all, students from Class Z seemed to carry “bad student” written on their foreheads. Whenever something happened, the teachers just told them to apologize, never bothering to ask why.

To the teachers, they were troublemakers. To the parents, they were scum. No one ever cared what really happened.

They had long since gotten used to it.

But as Luo Shencheng met Shen Chutang’s eyes, for the first time, his resolve wavered. Could there really be a teacher who would speak up for students like them?

He looked at Shen Chutang and finally said, “Yes.”

Shen Chutang nodded. “Alright. Leave the rest to me.”