Liu Xiaocheng's face flushed with embarrassment. He knew that his mother had scolded Grandpa Wang last night, thoroughly offending the old man.
It was the biggest snub Liu Xiaocheng had received since he started working. He couldn't even give a gift to a school guard!
At that moment, another guard was looking at him as if watching a joke. Liu Xiaocheng felt his pride being roasted on a fire. How humiliating!
Fine! If the guard didn't want his gift, so be it! Liu Xiaocheng didn't believe that a mere guard could do anything to a full - time junior high school teacher like him!
He wiped the smile off his face, picked up the gifts, and returned to the office. He planned to share them with his colleagues to avoid waste.
But today, the atmosphere in the office seemed strange. His colleagues seemed to be avoiding him on purpose.
Liu Xiaocheng opened the box of Chinese cakes and offered one to the teacher next to him. "Teacher Jiang, have a piece. They're quite delicious."
Teacher Jiang packed up his teaching plan and stood up expressionlessly. "No, thanks. I have a class soon." Even Teacher Jiang, who was usually so amiable, rejected his offer.
Liu Xiaocheng sensed that something was wrong.
He had two classes in the morning, so he started to focus on preparing his lessons.
After the morning classes, when he returned to the office, he realized he had left his textbook in the classroom. So he had to go back to get it.
Standing outside the classroom, he heard the students chatting and laughing. "Do you know? Teacher Liu was having an affair at school yesterday. His wife caught him!"
"Really?"
"Is that true?"
"I heard it from students in another class. They were standing outside the teacher's office this morning."
Children speak without restraint. They didn't even fully understand what "having an affair" meant. They just thought it was fun to talk about their teacher's embarrassment. The students' laughter pierced Liu Xiaocheng's ears. He felt a rush of blood to his head and the world started spinning.
Wasn't it only Grandpa Wang who saw what happened yesterday? Who else could have spread the news? Did Grandpa Wang tell them, or did someone else hear about it?
Liu Xiaocheng was in a daze all day. He felt that everyone whispering was talking about him.
Near the end of the school day, the principal summoned Liu Xiaocheng to his office.
The principal sat behind his desk with a serious look on his face. "Xiaoliu, I always thought you were a good comrade. But now you're a teacher. Teachers should be role - models. For the reputation of our school, you shouldn't have been so irresponsible."
Liu Xiaocheng hung his head low, feeling extremely nervous. His mind was in a complete mess. He couldn't afford to lose this job. If his reputation was ruined because of this, his life would be over. No school would hire a teacher with a bad reputation.
He lowered his head and tried his best to defend himself. Finally, he mumbled, "Principal, it was Zhang Yu who... who came on to me first."
The principal gave him a disappointed look. Liu Xiaocheng seemed honest and hard - working on the surface, but he had no sense of responsibility. How could the principal trust him with the students?
The principal had planned to nominate him as an outstanding young teacher this year, but fortunately, he hadn't filled out the form yet.
Now wasn't the time to deal with this matter thoroughly. The principal thought for a while. "Well, Teacher Zhang Yu hasn't officially started working in our school yet. Ask her to go back. Let's not mention this again."
The two of them were in cahoots. Zhang Yu might not be a good person either. For the sake of the school's reputation, the only thing to do now was to send Zhang Yu away.
Hearing this decision, Liu Xiaocheng felt relieved.
"Okay."
The principal just glanced at him and knew what he was thinking. Did he think he could get away with it so easily? The whole school knew about this scandal. How could he just walk away from this mess?
That was impossible.
The principal snorted.
"Zhang Yu was brought here by you. You should go and explain the situation to her on behalf of the school and handle this matter properly." The word "properly" was emphasized, almost with gritted teeth. If Liu Xiaocheng didn't deal with Zhang Yu, the principal would have to deal with both of them.
Liu Xiaocheng quickly agreed. He didn't dare to say another word.
After leaving the principal's office, Liu Xiaocheng packed his things and went home. He couldn't stay in the school dormitory anymore.
He needed to go home and be alone for a while. Then he would figure out how to talk to Zhang Yu about this.
She should understand his difficulties, right? After she knew how this would affect him, she should leave on her own, right?
Liu Xiaocheng returned home in a daze. He smelled the aroma of a home - cooked meal.
Had Luo Yingshu come back?
Liu Xiaocheng rushed into the house and found that it was Zhang Yu who was there.
Grandma Liu said with a smile, "Look, how nice Xiaoyu is! She was worried that since Yingshu left, no one would take care of me, so she came here with ingredients to cook for me. Come and taste. Xiaoyu's cooking is really good!"
Zhang Yu blushed shyly. She secretly glanced at Liu Xiaocheng and handed him a pair of chopsticks. "Brother Liu, try my cooking. See if it suits your taste. If you don't like it, I'll cook something else tomorrow."
This remark had an ulterior motive. It would have pleased Liu Xiaocheng in the past, but not now. He calmly put the chopsticks back on the table and changed the subject. "Where's Yingshu? Did she come back today?"
At the mention of her, Grandma Liu's face fell.
"Why are you bringing her up?"
"No matter what, Luo Yingshu is my wife. As long as we're not divorced, this fact won't change. I can't just ignore her."
As soon as he said this, Zhang Yu's face turned pale. "Brother Liu... do you think I'm interfering with your family?"
She bit her lower lip tightly, looking extremely pitiful. "Brother Liu, I won't stay here. I came here because I was worried that Auntie is too old to cook. So I came to cook for her for a few days to repay her kindness. I'll leave as soon as Sister Yingshu comes back."
These words sounded much nicer than Luo Yingshu's usual harsh words.
Grandma Liu, a rural woman, wasn't used to such gentle words. She was so touched that her eyes turned red. She stroked Zhang Yu's hand and said, "Oh, good girl, why would you leave? Stay and be our daughter - in - law! Your Brother Liu is just being coy. Even if he doesn't agree, I do. I'll preside over your wedding!"
Zhang Yu's face turned bright red. Her eyes were full of amorous feelings as she looked at Liu Xiaocheng.
"Wow, your family seems so loving!"
A sarcastic voice came from outside.
Liu Xiaocheng looked up and saw Luo Yingshu's mother.
Behind her was Luo Yingshu's father, and... Luo Yingshu, whom he hadn't seen for a day.
For some reason, he had never missed her this much even when they hadn't seen each other for a month. Seeing her suddenly today, Liu Xiaocheng felt that she had changed a lot.