Chapter 9: After-school chat

After saying that, she smiled at Wen Shuren: "I like it. Hello, teacher."

"You have good vision, young student. Economics is a very interesting course. You come to the front."

Wen Shuren walked back to the podium and carried the chair to the side of the podium: "Sit down for the next class. Standing is too tiring. Even though you are young, your legs will be uncomfortable if you stand for a whole class."

"My dear classmate, how old are you?"

Wen Zhile looked at him with admiration: "Sixteen."

Wen Shuren's eyes flashed with surprise: "I have a daughter, the same age as you."

Wen Zhile pursed her lips, then her expression returned to normal: "She must be very happy to have you as her father."

Wen Shuren didn't answer.

The couple gave all their love to their daughter, but they always felt that there was a barrier between them and her and could not see through her true heart.

He couldn't tell whether she was happy or not, and it seemed like Nuannuan had been hiding something from them.

"You should still be a sophomore in high school this year. Why did you want to attend classes at a university?"

Wen Zhile put away all her smiles and showed a bitter expression: "I may not be able to take the college entrance examination, so I came to see the school I dreamed of applying to."

Wen Shuren frowned: "Why can't you join? Who is stopping you?"

Wen Zhile bit her lip and shook her head.

He observed Wen Zhile's clothing and malnourished figure, and made a vague guess: "We'll talk about this in detail after class."

He wanted to help the child.

Apart from his deceased parents, this girl was the only person he had ever met who looked like him. From listening to her communicating with the students just now, he could tell that she had a strong ability to understand and would not be bad at studying.

Wen Shuren therefore felt sympathy.

If the family is poor and does not want the child to continue his studies, he can provide financial support.

The class ends at half past four.

Considering that there were some things he was not comfortable saying, Wen Shuren took Wen Zhile to the English department teacher's office and called his wife out.

Wen Zhile had a confused and nervous look on her face, and she watched her mother walk towards her without blinking.

Today, Mom was wearing a white shirt with a lapel, a blue skirt, and a thin black belt around her waist. This was her favorite outfit in the summer of 1989.

"Old Wen, what is this?"

Wen Shuren introduced: "A little classmate, the same age as Nuannuan, she and I get along well, let's treat her to a meal and chat about something."

Shu Ying saw Wen Shuren winking at her and responded in surprise.

Wen Zhile immediately said, "Hello, teacher."

"Hey, hello..." This child...

Shu Ying looked at her, then at Wen Shuren. Why did this child look so much like Old Wen?

The three of them walked towards the teachers' cafeteria, with Wen Zhile walking in the middle. While they were not paying attention, she looked left and right, pursed her lips, and felt like crying.

She really wanted to call mom and dad, but she couldn't now.

【Sister, don’t be sad. 】

Wen Zhile gave an ugly smile.

There were few people in the teachers' cafeteria at this time. Wen Shuren asked Wen Zhile to sit down first and went to get food with Shu Ying. On the way back, he briefly explained the whole story.

Shu Ying sighed.

After returning, the two smiled and placed the food in front of Wen Zhile: "Have you been waiting for a long time?"

Wen Zhile shook her head.

"My dear student, there is no one around now. Can you tell the teacher who is preventing you from taking the college entrance examination?"

Wen Zhile hesitated for a moment. She looked around before carefully saying, "My parents."

Wen Shuren and Shu Ying thought to themselves that it was just as expected.

They all thought it was because of tuition fees, but they heard the girl's next words, even softer, "They asked me to marry the head of our village."

"Nonsense!" Wen Shuren was an intellectual, and he couldn't think of any words that were too harsh when scolding people. The idea of ​​letting his sixteen-year-old daughter give up her studies and get married was beyond his expectations and world views.

Wen Zhile lowered his head even lower: "The village chief is already over 40 years old and has a son who is the same age as me. I didn't want to be like him, so I ran away."

Shu Ying's expression was horrified.

Wen Shuren was so angry that he stood up.

A few teachers who were having lunch looked over. Wen Shuren took a deep breath, sat down again, calmed down, sorted out his thoughts, and asked, "Little classmate, where do you go to school?"

Wen Zhile silently reached into her cross-body bag and took out her student ID.

Shu Ying took it and opened it, and Wen Shuren looked at it with her.

The student ID card says Jianghe County No. 1 Middle School, Dai Zhi.

They immediately grasped the key points: Jianghe County, Dai.

Shu Yinglian thought of her distant cousin, and so did Wen Shuren.

The two looked at each other, closed their student ID cards, and thought in their hearts.

Wen Shuren put the water cup next to Wen Zhile: "Drink some water first, and eat if you are hungry."

Wen Zhile drank the water obediently and picked up the chopsticks.

She took a piece of braised pork from her plate, stretched out her arm and put it on Shuying's plate, and also put a piece on Wen Shuren's plate: "Teacher, you guys eat too."

Shu Ying stared at her arm closely, her hand tightly grasping Wen Shuren under the table, but her face remained gentle as she picked up the piece of meat and ate it.

They all saw the scars on Wen Zhile's arms, which were obviously caused by being beaten and strangled over the years.

Shu Ying hasn't been this angry since her family was rehabilitated. Who could have the heart to abuse such a good child?

She watched the girl eat in small bites, her eyes falling on her eyebrows, feeling uneasy, and asked in a mysterious way: "Student Dai, where is your hometown?"

Wen Zhile swallowed the food in his mouth and replied softly, "Daijia Village."

Wen Shuren sat up straight and couldn't help asking, "What are your parents' names?"

His voice was a little loud, and Wen Zhile looked at him timidly: "Dai Rong, Zhang Danhua."

Shu Ying stood up suddenly.

She took the chopsticks off the table, staining her blue skirt with some red roast pork sauce.