Chapter 287 - 208: Fulfilling Her Mother’s Duty?

Yang Hui had just sat down when he heard a nearby teacher say to a male student in exasperation, "Jin Bo, I’m up here teaching everyone how to spell. Why are all the other students reading along, but you aren’t?"

The voice was rather loud, so Yang Bing glanced over at them, deciding to wait until they were finished before speaking with Yang Hui. She took out a disposable cup and poured him some water. ’Even though this man is pretty annoying, he’s still Du’Er’s parent.’ She made sure to observe all the proper courtesies.

Yang Hui then heard the little boy explain, "Teacher, that ’B’ you had us read... my mom says it’s a swear word, so I can’t say it."

He couldn’t help but look over and saw that the female teacher, who must have been the English teacher, was so exasperated she put her hand to her forehead. "Jin Bo," she said, "your mom’s ’B’ is not the same as Teacher Zhang’s ’B’!"

Yang Bing, who was in the middle of pouring water, felt her hand tremble, spilling some. Yang Hui saw her face flush beet-red. He himself almost burst out laughing and had to quickly turn his head away to keep from laughing out loud.

Just then, he heard the English teacher say earnestly, "Your mom’s ’B’ is for swearing, but Teacher Zhang’s ’B’ is used by foreigners."

Finally, Teacher Zhang finished lecturing the little terror and led him out of the office. But now, the atmosphere inside was a bit awkward. The blush on Yang Bing’s face still hadn’t faded.

Forcing down her discomfort, Yang Bing composed herself and said calmly, "Mr. Yang, Du’Er’s performance at school is excellent."

Yang Hui sensed the "but" coming. He had assumed this was about Du’Er’s grades slipping or her not turning in homework, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Yang Bing paused. Wenren Du’Er was a pretty, cute child and a natural-born top student, beloved by all her teachers. But she had one issue: she loved to play pranks on her classmates. That was likely her only problem.

She had originally planned to make a home visit to better understand the child’s family situation. ’How could such a nearly perfect little girl have such a mischievous streak?’ But after seeing Yang Hui today, she felt she had finally found the source. ’It’s true what they say: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’

Then, as Yang Bing began to explain, Yang Hui heard all about Wenren Du’Er’s shocking stunt at school.

Last Friday afternoon, around 4:00 PM, the roar of the school sports meet reached a fever pitch. The boys’ 400-meter final had just ended, the air over the track still thick with the dust kicked up by the sprinters and the sound of their ragged gasps. Over the loudspeaker, the gym teacher’s hoarse voice was screaming for the girls’ high jump group to check in, the sound cutting and distorted through the horn speakers.

In a gap between the roar of the crowd and the piercing broadcast, a sudden, sharp, almost off-key shriek violently tore through the air in one corner of the field.

"AHHH—!"

The voice sounded as if its owner was being strangled by something terrifying, filled with a primal panic and the shock of sudden, intense pain. Instantly, the clamor in the immediate vicinity seemed to hit a pause button as countless gazes snapped toward the source of the sound.

It was Feng Yan. She was clutching her stomach, having sprung up from a rest bench near the high jump area in a bizarre, twisted posture. Under the blazing sun, her face was as white as a sheet, and large beads of sweat instantly broke out on her forehead and the tip of her nose. She was doubled over, as if she’d been punched hard in the solar plexus, or as if an invisible hand was frantically churning and tearing away at her insides.

"Feng Yan, what’s wrong?" a girl beside her asked, reaching out to help.

"Don’t touch me!" Feng Yan practically shrieked, batting her friend’s hand away. Her voice trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes were unfocused from the violent, cramping pain.

"Move! Get out of my way! I have to get to the restroom—!!"

She sprinted with all her might toward the restroom closest to the field; in her eyes, the path was a stairway to heaven. The tempest in her stomach raged, each wave more violent than the last. She finally reached it. She could feel the sweat dripping from her brow. Closer, closer... just as she was about to charge inside.

Her anticipated salvation was just ahead, but Feng Yan froze on the spot, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her. Hanging on the restroom door was a brand-new cardboard sign. It was clearly a rush job—the edges were roughly cut—but the words on it were meticulously, almost rigidly, written in bright red marker: "OUT OF ORDER FOR REPAIRS. TEMPORARILY CLOSED"

There was clearly no time to find another restroom. Feng Yan steeled herself, about to charge in anyway, when someone unexpectedly walked out. It was Wenren Du’Er.

"Feng Yan, it’s under repair in here. You can’t go in." Spreading her arms, she blocked the entrance, causing Feng Yan to miss her final, crucial moment. SPLATTER— Wenren Du’Er pinched her nose and said, "On second thought, you can go in."

A moment later, Feng Yan’s heart-wrenching sobs could be heard from inside.

First-year middle school girls, especially the more mature ones, are already self-aware and care about their appearance. For something like this to happen, and for her classmates to find out... how could she ever show her face again? The worst part was, she was stuck in the restroom and had no idea what to do.

Eventually, a classmate notified Yang Bing of the situation. She rushed over to see what was happening and went out to buy Feng Yan a change of clothes, which is how the incident was finally resolved.

Afterward, Feng Yan realized that the "Out of Order" sign was nothing like the ones the school normally used; it was obviously a fake. Besides, she had been in the restroom for a long time, and no one had come to do any repairs. So who could have faked it? Wenren Du’Er was the undeniable suspect. Later, when Yang Bing called Wenren Du’Er in for questioning, she readily admitted that it was her prank.