Chapter 7
The teaching building of Yanyuan No.1 Middle School is shaped like the Chinese character "回" (hui), with a hollow center and a half-person-high railing for protection. It has five floors in total.
Jiang Wanwan's class is located on the south side of the third floor, right next to Ren He's class.
Zhou Yuhe was a strong young man, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, but his skin had a sickly pale color.
Jiang Wanwan had only said four words when she saw the other person lift one foot and straddle the blue fence.
A black pen fell from mid-air and hit the floor on the first floor with a crisp sound.
"Zhou Yuhe, what are you doing! Get down here!"
Jiang Wanwan's pupils contracted sharply as a complex mix of emotions—shock, fear, and worry—rushed into her heart, causing her to hold her breath.
She rushed forward without hesitation, grabbing the boy's fat body tightly. Her slender hands turned white from the excessive force, and veins bulged on her neck.
"I've long since given up on living!" Zhou Yuhe writhed and struggled like a silkworm pupa, showing a sense of despair.
Seeing that she was losing control, Jiang Wanwan hurriedly shouted in the corridor, "Ren He, come out quickly! Help! Ren He—"
She knew that Ren He also had a class during the first period today, and he was currently in the class next to hers, so she wanted to quickly call him out to help.
Ren He, who was in class, twitched his ears as if he heard some noise outside the door, but at first he thought he had misheard, so he did not go out immediately.
He didn't react until he heard the shouts a second time. He immediately put down the teaching aids he was holding and rushed out.
At this moment, all of Jiang Wanwan's strength was concentrated in her arms, and her body was bent to its limit, like a folding knife.
Upon seeing this, Ren He, who had run out of the classroom, felt a sudden jolt of energy in his forehead and rushed over to help Jiang Wanwan grab the boy.
But Zhou and He had already resigned themselves to death, and like trapped beasts before their demise, their strength was astonishing.
Ren He was already thin, so even with him added, the two of them still couldn't pull Zhou Yuhe down.
Just as the two sides were deadlocked, several teachers suddenly ran over from not far away.
Leading the group was Lu Meng, followed by Lu Dachuan, Ren Jie, and others.
They were all shocked to see the scene at the fence and rushed over to help.
With everyone's combined efforts, Zhou Yuhe was finally brought under control and pulled down.
The boy, who had regained his footing on the floor, tried to resist, but Lu Dachuan easily subdued him and pinned him to the ground.
Jiang Wanwan also fell heavily to the ground, panting heavily, as if she had lost her soul and was still in shock.
During the struggle with Zhou Yuhe, her mind went blank, with only one thought remaining—to save him!
If a vibrant life were to perish before her eyes, she would never forgive herself for the rest of her life.
All her previous bravery had vanished; now she trembled all over, her eyes filled with lingering fear.
My icy hands rested on the icy floor, unsure where to direct the warmth.
"Wanwan, are you alright?"
Lu Meng walked over, squatted down, and tried to help Jiang Wanwan up.
She looked at Jiang Wanwan's face, and it was even more unpleasant than the boy who wanted to commit suicide.
Jiang Wanwan stood frozen on the ground, mechanically saying, "I'm fine..."
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and her expression instantly turned anxious. "Where is Zhou Yuhe?"
"He's fine. I had Lu Dachuan take him to the office."
Only then did Jiang Wanwan realize that everyone else had disappeared and the corridor had returned to calm.
Ren He went back to class, and Lu Meng told Jiang Wanwan to go to the restroom to wash her face before returning to the office to deal with the matter.
Under Lu Meng's arrangement, Class 7's original Chinese class was turned into a self-study session. Although the students were curious about what was happening outside, they dared not do anything out of line because the grade director had spoken.
In the mirror, a young woman with disheveled hair looked nothing like the elegant female teacher she once was.
Jiang Wanwan bent down, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it on her face.
The cold touch slowly brought her back to her senses. She wiped the water droplets from the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, and even she couldn't tell whether it was tears or water.
Normally, if she encountered such a dangerous situation, she might first find a place to cry her heart out, or call her parents for comfort.
But now, she is a teacher, and there are students and teachers in her office waiting for her to handle their affairs.
"call--"
Jiang Wanwan took a deep breath, patted her cheeks, composed herself, and walked towards the office.
In the office, several teachers who didn't have classes surrounded the boy, as if they were trying to find out what was going on.
But Zhou Yuhe was like an outsider, sitting alone in a chair, head down, picking at his fingers.
No matter how Lu Meng asked, he remained silent.
"It's fine if you don't want to talk to us. Now that your homeroom teacher is back, you can tell her whatever's going on."
Lu Meng winked at Jiang Wanwan, then held up his phone, indicating that he had already contacted Zhou Yuhe's parents.
Jiang Wanwan nodded and went to Zhou Yuhe's side.
"Yuhe, have you encountered any difficulties recently?" Jiang Wanwan asked gently.
Zhou Yuhe was extremely surprised to see that the other party neither questioned him about playing cards nor accused him of jumping off the building, but instead asked such a trivial question.
He shook his head and picked a piece of dead skin off his finger. "No."
A faint trace of blood seeped from his fingers, but he seemed oblivious and continued what he was doing.
Jiang Wanwan frowned, surprised by the other party's stubbornness, but her worries deepened.
"Then when the teacher asks, you answer yes or no, okay?"
Jiang Wanwan knew that asking directly would not yield any results, so she tried a different approach to see what was on Zhou Yuhe's mind.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuhe remained silent for a long time before softly humming in agreement.
"Yuhe, is someone bullying you?"
"No."
Has anyone misunderstood you?
"No."
...
The boy's attitude was stable, and he didn't seem to be lying.
It's hard to imagine that just now, this same boy impulsively wanted to jump off a building!
After asking him for a while, Jiang Wanwan discovered that he didn't seem to have encountered any difficulties recently.
This put Jiang Wanwan, who is usually good at communication, in a difficult position. She couldn't get any information out of her, and she was extremely anxious and worried.
The parents hadn't arrived yet, and Jiang Wanwan didn't dare let the boy leave freely, fearing that he might have another suicidal thought and jump off the building again.
So she found him a classic novel and told him to read it in his office.
The hands of the clock turn, and time slowly passes.
Jiang Wanwan crossed her arms and rested them on her forehead, her mind racing with thoughts.
Finally, the office door was pushed open, and the person who had been waiting for so long finally arrived.
"Hello, Teacher Jiang, I am Zhou Yuhe's mother."
A well-dressed middle-aged woman walked in, carrying a designer handbag. She was slightly overweight, and her tone was very friendly, making people feel as if they were in a spring breeze.
Jiang Wanwan invited her to a chair and personally poured her a cup of tea.
The tea has a rich aroma and a slightly bitter taste.
Jiang Wanwan truthfully and objectively told Zhou Yuhe's mother about Zhou's situation.
The purpose was not to file a complaint, but to find out if she had noticed anything unusual about her son recently.
When she heard that Zhou Yuhe was going to jump off the building, Zhou's mother stood up abruptly, slammed her teacup on the table, and looked furious.
The spilled tea soaked Jiang Wanwan's lesson plan, and the black ink smudged into a blob.
"Zhou Yuhe, you've got some nerve now, daring to jump off a building?"
Zhou's mother shoved her son's shoulder hard, then pointed it forcefully at his head, her expression contorted with rage.
Being treated like this in public made the teenage boy feel humiliated, and he immediately turned hostile.
He abandoned his previous composure and angrily roared, "So what if I want to die? Nobody cares about me anyway!"
Although he appeared fierce, his slightly reddened eyes betrayed his vulnerability.
Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother seemed stunned by her son's sudden outburst, standing there blankly, at a loss for what to do.
Just as Jiang Wanwan was trying to ease the tension, Zhou's mother suddenly stepped forward and hugged Zhou Yuhe, breaking down in tears, "What will I do if you die? Are you going to abandon me like your bastard father?"
The woman burst into tears, completely abandoning her composure when she entered the room, and pounded on the boy's back as she cried.
The thumping sound made Jiang Wanwan's heart tremble.
She quickly pulled Zhou's mother aside and said, "Let's talk this out. The child has just been frightened; don't upset him further."
"This is a family matter, what does it have to do with you? Besides, it must be because your teachers didn't teach my son well that he's like this!"
Zhou's mother slapped Jiang Wanwan's hand away and pushed her backward. Jiang Wanwan lost her balance and fell backward instantly.
Fortunately, there was a computer chair behind her, and she landed on it, thus avoiding falling.
"Hey, don't do it!" Lu Dachuan, who was observing from the side, couldn't help but frown and remind him.
As Jiang Wanwan's master, Lu Meng had been secretly observing her all along. Seeing her being wronged, he instinctively wanted to speak up for her.
As soon as she opened her mouth, she saw Jiang Wanwan shake her head at her.
So, Lu Meng could only cough lightly and take a sip from the thermos beside him.
“Mrs. Zhou, we teachers are heartbroken about what happened with He today, so we hope you can help us find the root of the problem and prevent similar incidents from happening again.”
Jiang Wanwan stood up again, looking at the woman with a sincere expression and a gentle tone.
"If it happens again..." Zhou's mother murmured, her emotions gradually calming down.
She seemed to snap out of her daze, suddenly grabbing Jiang Wanwan's hand and saying anxiously, "Teacher Jiang, I'm so sorry! I was just too anxious... I didn't mean to..."
"It's alright." Jiang Wanwan waved her hand and pulled Zhou's mother to sit down.
Immediately afterwards, the woman who had just been acting like a shrew transformed into a resentful woman.
With tears in her eyes, Zhou's mother poured out all her family's troubles to Jiang Wanwan, like spilling beans.
"I recently divorced my husband. He was a bastard and had no responsibility towards my child or me at all..."
According to Zhou's mother, Zhou's father was a pilot with an annual salary of one million. He spent his days indulging in pleasure and seeking out women outside the home, and rarely came home.
"Teacher Jiang, do you know about the fairyland on earth? His father often goes there."
A paradise on earth?
Jiang Wanwan frowned slightly. She had never heard of this place before, but it didn't sound like a proper place either.
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