After all five parents arrived, the homeroom teacher brought along a primary school student.
"Xiao Liang, what brings you here?" the woman from the port city asked.
Du Xiaoliang forced himself to stay awake and called out, "Auntie."
Class teacher: "Du Xiaoliang, tell me, what exactly happened?"
"I……"
Upon seeing his younger cousin arrive, the middle school student exclaimed indignantly, "What else could it be? He bullied my brother first and beat him up!"
The other four boys also started shouting, and now they seemed to have found their confidence, each one louder than the last:
"Yeah! We went to find that kid because we saw the boss's younger brother get beaten up!"
"We originally wanted to have a proper talk with him, but he was extremely arrogant!"
"He wants to take us on one-on-one!"
"He provoked us first and angered us! That's why we acted rashly in anger!"
"This isn't entirely our fault! He was in the wrong first; we just meant well but things went wrong..."
The principal slammed his hand on the table: "Shut up, all of you!"
Upon seeing the principal's anger, the students quieted down, and the four parents dared not utter a sound.
Only one man, wearing rimless glasses, adjusted his glasses and calmly spoke:
"Principal Chen, banging on the table won't solve anything. Is it really appropriate for a principal to be so short-tempered?"
The principal frowned, and the homeroom teacher leaned close to the principal's ear and whispered, "This person is a top lawyer."
Well, the lawyer is number one at causing trouble!
Just as the principal was feeling quite troubled, the homeroom teacher added, "That woman's husband works for the Education Bureau."
The principal: "..." His head hurt even more.
This matter is more complicated than I imagined.
The principal originally planned to call the students' parents over, offer some compensation, and sincerely apologize, which would smooth things over and allow everyone to live in peace.
But now he wants to downplay the issue, which is obviously impossible.
The principal looked at Du Xiaoliang: "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Du Xiaoliang moved his lips, about to speak, when the lawyer parent said with a smile, "You'd better think this through. There are many things that you can't prove. If someone wants you to admit something, don't be foolish enough to actually do it."
Du Xiaoliang was also quick-witted. Before coming here, he felt that what he had done had been exposed and he was definitely doomed.
But now, after hearing what the lawyer parents said, they suddenly had the courage to lie again.
The person who was originally dejected and listless suddenly regained his spirits and straightened his back:
"Han Chengshan always beats people up at school. I saw him bullying girls, so I went to stop him and he beat me up. My cousin only helped me get revenge because he knew I was beaten up for standing up for others."
The homeroom teacher retorted angrily, "That's not what you said before!"
“You clearly said that you hit Han Chengshan because a female classmate gave him a love letter and was rejected by him, which made her cry.”
"I did not say that."
The principal pulled back the angry homeroom teacher and shook his head at her: "This child will never tell the truth again."
"What do we do now?" The homeroom teacher asked anxiously, her face turning red.
"The key person is the female classmate who sent the love letter."
Not long after, the homeroom teacher brought the girl over, accompanied by her own homeroom teacher.
Seeing so many people in the principal's office, the girl was a little scared.
"Student, don't be afraid. We've asked you to come here to act as a witness. We have some questions for you."
"Yes, you can ask."
"Do you know these two students?" The principal pointed to Du Xiaoliang and Han Chengshan.
The girl nodded: "I know him."
Were you there when they were fighting?
"exist."
"Do you remember what caused it?"
The girl glanced at Han Chengshan furtively, her face flushed, and nodded: "I remember."
"Could you tell us the specific details of what happened at that time?"
"then--"
Du Xiaoliang interrupted loudly: "Back then, when you were being bullied by Han Chengshan, I stood up for you, and as a result, Han Chengshan hit me. I fought back in self-defense!"
"Nobody wants you to answer!" the principal said sternly.
Under Han Chengshan's incredulous gaze, the girl nodded: "It's just like Du Xiaoliang said."
"Student, think carefully before you answer." The principal frowned.
"Han Chengshan comes from a poor family and often extorts other students at school. That day, he blocked me and asked me for protection money. Du Xiaoliang stood up for me and protected me, but Han Chengshan beat him up."
"You're talking nonsense!" Han Chengshan's face was contorted with rage.
The girl hid behind her homeroom teacher in fear, her voice trembling: "That's how he yelled at me that day."
Han Chengshan wanted to rush up and explain, but Han Fei held him back.
"Let go of me! She's talking nonsense, she's slandering me! When have I ever asked anyone for money? Am I someone who needs money?"
Du Xiaoliang sneered: "That's right, you're never short of money because you always extort money from other classmates!"
"Nonsense!" Han Chengshan started reaching into his pocket and pulled out six hundred-yuan bills.
For a primary school student, being able to carry 600 yuan with him is indeed quite wealthy.
Du Xiaoliang pointed at Han Chengshan's grandfather: "Your grandfather is a garbage collector and a good-for-nothing. How could you possibly have so much money? There's only one possibility: this money isn't yours; you stole it from other classmates!"
"My grandpa hasn't collected trash for a long time! This money was given to me by my older brother!"
"Who are you kidding? Your older brother is just a student, where would he get so much money to give you?"
“This money was indeed given to him by his older brother.” Han Fei held Han Chengshan down to prevent the boy from rushing up and beating people, thus confirming his crime of being violent and assaulting others.
"Impossible!" Du Xiaoliang simply didn't believe it.
“His older brother is indeed a student, but he has excellent grades and has been tutoring his classmates for a long time. He also gives his younger siblings pocket money every month. Recently, he has been helping out at my stall. I give him 6,000 yuan every month, and he gives his younger siblings 200 yuan each as pocket money.”
Han Chengshan was surprised, not expecting that the old man knew about his older brother giving them pocket money.
Meeting Han Chengshan's surprised gaze, Han Fei sighed: "Originally, the allowance should be given to you by your grandfather, but your eldest brother spoils you too much. Giving you two hundred yuan a month to a primary school student is already a lot. If I give you more money, it will encourage you to spend money recklessly."
"How could you possibly have that much money? Six thousand a month? Who are you kidding!"
"Exactly! How could an old man who collects garbage possibly give his child six thousand a month!"
"They're definitely lying!"
The elementary school teacher who accompanied the girl suddenly asked, "Are you the old man who sells candied hawthorns at the elementary school gate every day after school?"
The old man usually wears a hat, and for hygiene reasons, he wears a mask and gloves, so the homeroom teacher didn't recognize him at first.
"It's me."
"If it were the old man selling candied hawthorns in front of our school, I could vouch for him. Given how popular his business is, he certainly has the money."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com