"It's okay. Didn't you say you're going to take the graduate entrance exam? Your room is exactly as you left it. I didn't dare touch your things. I had a cleaner come to clean the floor and bed, and I bought you new sheets and quilt covers. They're in the closet. Take them out if you want to use them, okay?"
Chang Shengnan pinched her cheek, her eyes full of affection.
"If you need anything else, just tell your aunt. I'm busy and don't come home often, you know. I was thinking maybe I should hire a nanny to come over, at least to cook you a few meals."
"No need, Aunt. Meals are easy. I prefer quiet."
"Okay, then let's leave it at that for now," Chang Shengnan paused. "Have you told your mother about this yet? Your mother is... Forget it. This weekend, I'll take the time to go back home with you."
Chang Xuyu pressed her lips together and nodded.
Today she was going back to the institution to collect her things. She had arranged to meet Xu Jia online.
Xu Jia had adopted a defeatist attitude. Since she couldn't find a job anyway, she might as well fight back. If she had to suffer, Jian Jiayue, the instigator, shouldn't be able to hold his head high in this industry either.
Chang Xuyu packed up and went downstairs to hail a taxi. Sometimes she thought she should get a driver's license and save up to buy a car. Once, Yi Zhuo had offered to give her a car, and she had been so startled that she refused, using the excuse that she had no time to get a license. But now it was different. She would soon have plenty of time to learn. She should reconsider.
They arrived at the institution quickly.
Chang Xuyu frowned, exhaled, and walked in without changing her expression.
Familiar classes, familiar students. A lot had happened in the past two days. Chang Xuyu was annoyed, but seeing those innocent, naive faces, she couldn't help feeling sad.
She would never see them again...
She hadn't even taken this class through the art college entrance exam.
While she was grieving, she suddenly heard noisy crying and scolding from another part of the corridor. She went closer and saw that it seemed to be a conflict between a student and a parent.
Such things happened often at the institution. The principal could only rely on experience, constantly playing the peacemaker.
Chang Xuyu squinted. The student crying miserably was Dai Yeye from her own class.
The little girl was small and thin, with a mushroom haircut, fair and clean, wiping away tears pitifully.
Chang Xuyu knew this student, Dai Yeye. She had no particular talent and was rather "stubborn," not easy to teach. Her usual sketching and color tests were not outstanding.
But she had heard that Dai Yeye's academic scores were very good—among the very best in the art student group.
For such a student, as long as she passed the art exam line, her high academic scores could get her into a good undergraduate university.
There had been such students in previous years, but they usually came for training around September or mid-August and took the art exams in November. Dai Yeye was only a sophomore in high school and had already come for intensive training—quite rare.
But for such college-bound students, teachers and parents didn't have to work very hard. What happened today?
Dai Yeye kept her head down, sobbing. Suddenly, she saw Chang Xuyu in her peripheral vision. She bit her lip, ran to Chang Xuyu, grabbed her sleeve, hid behind her, and tremblingly begged for help.
Chang Xuyu was a little confused. She gently patted the little girl's shoulder, telling her not to be afraid.
Not far away, a woman looked toward Dai Yeye and immediately spotted Chang Xuyu. She narrowed her eyes, thought of something, and her face darkened.
The woman strode straight over. The principal was stunned and quickly followed with his not-so-agile legs.
Chang Xuyu saw the aggressive woman and frowned, hiding Dai Yeye further behind her, because the little girl was trembling more and more, clutching tightly to her coat fabric, terrified.
The woman approached, pointed at Chang Xuyu, and her eyes were full of anger. She asked fiercely, "I saw the trending topic. How can a teacher like you teach students well? Our Yeye must have listened to you talk about some crooked stuff, that's why she insists on studying art!"
The trending topic said this teacher was of questionable character. How could such a person be a teacher? Ridiculous. No wonder her child insisted on learning art. With such good academic scores, she should just take the regular college entrance exam. Why draw? How capable was she? She could just go to a second-tier college and save money. Learning such expensive things—she never thinks about her younger brother. These fees could cover his arithmetic tutoring. She knows her brother's grades are poor...
Chang Xuyu was startled. Before she could respond, the woman, growing more angry, didn't give her a moment to explain and launched into a torrent of abuse.
It was now between classes. The commotion drew the attention of others—students and teachers alike.
Not far away stood Jian Jiayue, his serious face carrying a hint of mockery, as if admiring his own carefully crafted masterpiece.
The lights were dim. Suddenly, Chang Xuyu felt the surroundings fall silent. Time seemed to freeze like water in the chilly spring.
Then, the little girl behind her pushed her hand away, ran in front of her, spread her arms, and shouted at the woman defiantly, "Teacher Chang is not a bad person! She's the best teacher!"
The corridor acoustics were excellent. With Dai Yeye taking the lead, most of the students from Class One ran out, scattered around Chang Xuyu, nodding in agreement, their eyes bright.
A tall boy directly shielded Chang Xuyu behind him, assuming a "fighting" stance.
Several girls, usually boisterous, ran over and tightly grasped Chang Xuyu's hand. With their high ponytails, they turned to argue with the woman.
Chang Xuyu looked at the scene before her, feeling dazed, but her eyes instantly reddened.