Chapter 8: The dumbest decision
Hu QiuSheng’s eyes was always on Tang Xiu when he was talking, the corner of his mouth slightly hooked up as he revealed a mocking smirk.
Hu QiuSheng initially felt that it was a great pity when Tang Xiu’s result fell, after all, Tang Xiu was ranked first in the entire cohort during the entrance exam and Hu QiuSheng had also spent a great amount of effort to snatched Tang Xiu into his class.
During year1, Tang Xiu had indeed brought honour to Hu Qiusheng by doing extremely well in any small and big exam or competition. However everything changed after the car accident in year 2. Even though Tang Xiu was still as passionate to learn as before, but Tang Xiu always forgets the things that he learned previously after learning new things, causing his results to be worst and worst, paper after paper.
Furthermore, as Tang Xiu’s results deteriorated, incidents such as copying of homework, cheating in exams, and getting into fights were all happening to him one after another. Even when Hu QiuSheng did not investigate on the truth with regards to those incidents, but seeing that there was really no hope in Tang Xiu’s results, Hu QiuSheng had already taken Tang Xiu out of his radius of attention.
“Teacher, if you really insist on kicking Tang Xiu out of class, then I would want to apply to be changed to class 10 together with Tang Xiu.” When Yuan ChuLing noticed that Hu QiuSheng had already firmly decided on this matter and would not retract back the dismissal, he stubbornly glared at Hu QiuSheng as he said loudly.
Hearing Yuan ChuLing’s words, Tang Xiu who was silently packing his stuff froze momentarily as he turned to look at Yuan ChuLing, feeling astounded.
Tang Xiu knew that Yuan ChuLing’s circumstances were completely different from him. Even if Yuan ChuLing’s result deteriorated, nobody could force Yuan ChuLing to leave the class if he do not want to because his parents’ influence in Star City was simply too great. That was why Hu QiuSheng did not want to offend Yuan ChuLing.
“Yuan ChuLing, I will need to seek your parents’ opinion with regards to you wanting to change class first, if your parents agree to it then I won’t stop you.” Hu QiuSheng knitted his brows as he saw how Yuan ChuLing kept on provoking him because of Tang Xiu, so he spoke in displeased, “please seat down now, we are starting class.”
Yuan ChuLing froze momentarily as he did not expect Hu QiuSheng to straight-forwardly agree to his request. Only when Tang Xiu gave him a tug did he gradually sat down.
Using only a few minutes, Tang Xiu had already packed all his stuff from his table and stood up as head towards the direction of the exit.
“Boss, where are you going?” Yuan ChuLing was still racking his brains on how to let Tang Xiu remain in class 1 but never would he have expected Tang Xiu to behave in such a manner, so he can’t help but asked feeling startled.
“Going to where I should be going.” Tang Xiu waved the bag on his hands as he gave a splendid smile towards Yuan ChuLing.
Yuan ChuLing’s startled sound had caught the attention of Hu QiuSheng who was still writing on the blackboard. When he saw that Tang Xiu had already walked to the classroom exit, he slammed his fist onto the teacher’s desk with his face filled with rage, “Tang Xiu, we are having lessons now, who allowed you to walk around freely?”
“Tiger Hu, I’m already not a student in this class anymore, do you think you can still control me around?” Tang Xiu glared at Hu QiuSheng coldly as he gave a subtle smile.
During the self-study session in the morning, Tang Xiu did not utter a word when Hu QiuSheng was scolding him, Tang Xiu also did not utter a word when Hu QiuSheng announced Tang Xiu’s dismissal in front of the whole class just now, but this did not mean that Tang Xiu had no temper, it was just that Tang Xiu did not want to be so calculative with Hu QiuSheng.
If Hu QiuSheng had allow Tang Xiu to walk out of class freely, then he wouldn’t have bothered taking the initiative to provoke Hu QiuSheng, after all, Hu QiuSheng had also taught Tang Xiu for more than two years and was also the main teacher-in-charge of his class, so Tang Xiu did not want to be seen as a person who do not respect his elders.
Yet, Hu QiuSheng had choose to impose his authority to berate Tang Xiu, and thinking back on all the humiliation that Hu QiuSheng had brought to him and his mother in the past 1 year, Tang Xiu naturally could not bear it anymore.
After finishing his sentence, Tang Xiu had stepped out of the classroom without giving Hu QiuSheng the chance to speak.
What Tang Xiu did not know was that when he said the word “Tiger Hu”, not only did he cause Hu QiuSheng to freeze on the spot, he had also cause the rest of the class to be left speechless.
Even though all the students had called Hu QiuSheng “Tiger Hu” behind his back, but nobody would dare to say this nickname out in public, or even more so in front of Hu QiuSheng because they did not dare to face his furry.
“I’m going to deal with you, I’m so going to deal with you, I do not believe that I can’t deal with you!” Hu QiuSheng managed to regulate his breathing after a long while. By this time Tang Xiu was no where to be seen and Hu QiuSheng could not help shivering in anger.
“Tiger Hu, I will take it that you have already agreed to let me switched over to class 10 to study, bye bye. Oh and before I leave I would just like to say this to you, letting Tang Xiu leave this class is the dumbest decision that you have ever made in your life, you will definitely regret it!” Just when Hu QiuSheng wanted to walk out of the classroom to chase after Tang Xiu, another voice resounded in the classroom.
When Hu QiuSheng looked over, he saw that Yuan ChuLing was actually carrying his study table and chair heading out of class, winking at him while he was at it.
“Yuan ChuLing, you… You leave and never think of coming back!” Thinking back on how Yuan ChuLing’s parents’ had kept an eye on him, Hu QiuSheng could not help but threaten Yuan ChuLing.
“Tiger Hu, since me your grandpa have decided to leave then I have never thought of coming back, even if you begged, your grandpa would still not come back.” Seeing that Hu QiuSheng was so angry that his soul seem to be flying out, Yuan ChuLing had an indescribable satisfaction as his steps became more joyful.
Very soon, Yuan ChuLing disappeared from Hu QiuSheng’s line of sight.
Hu QiuSheng did not attack with mean words when it comes to Yuan ChuLing because he was well aware of Yuan ChuLing’s circumstances; any mean words would be useless against Yuan ChuLing and may even backfire, getting himself humiliated.
When both Tang Xiu and Yuan ChuLing left the class, Hu QiuSheng who got heavily provoked by them could also not continue on with explaining the answers to the questions in the practice paper. With his mind preoccupied, Hu QiuSheng mumbled to himself as he hastily left the class and headed to the principal’s office.
“Principal Wei, I strongly request that we expel Tang Xiu. Not only is his studies poor, he also do not respect his elders and even lead others astray, if we continue to tolerate him and let him stay in this school then it would only tarnish our reputation!” In the principal’s office, Hu QiuSheng earnestly pleaded as he narrated and exaggerated the entire incident that happened in the classroom.
“Old Hu, I would also like to expel Tang Xiu, but you should also know that Teacher Han is always protecting Tang Xiu, he have even made a compromise to you by letting you dismiss Tang Xiu from your class. If you really want to make things difficult for Tang Xiu and wants him to be expelled then it’s nearly impossible.” Principal Wei slowly poured a glass of tea for Hu QiuSheng before smiling lightly and explaining to him.
“But… But…” Listening to Principal Wei, Hu QiuSheng felt suffocated and unbearable in his heart as he do not know what to say. Hu QiuSheng could not understand why Han QingWu, the teacher-in-charge of class 10, would protect Tang Xiu.
If not for Han QingWu protecting Tang Xiu, Hu QiuSheng would have already kicked Tang Xiu out of his class one year ago when his results deteriorated. As for agreeing to the pleading of Tang Xiu’s mum, Hu QiuSheng actually went along being a benevolent person even though he could not really kick Tang Xiu out of his class.
“Principal Wei, do you know the reason why Teacher Han is so protective of Tang Xiu? I have already investigated numerous times on Tang Xiu’s personal information, family members and also key social networks but I could not find any connection between him and Teacher Han, furthermore I have never seen Teacher Han interacting with Tang Xiu in school before.” Hu QiuSheng asked, feeling perplexed.
Logically speaking, Hu QiuSheng was the teacher-in-charge of the gifted class and was also an old teacher who have been teaching in Star City (Grade 1) High School for almost 20 years, whereas Han QingWu was just a teacher-in-charge of the normal class and had just entered the school for a only little more than a year, so Hu QiuSheng could have totally not put him in his eyes.
However the truth was that Hu QiuSheng had to be cautious when speaking in front of Han QingWu and also with a respectful attitude. This does not apply only to Hu QiuSheng but every teacher in school as they seem to be threading on thin ice whenever they were in front of Han QingWu, including Principal Wei ZhenTai himself.
The reason was actually very simple. Han QingWu’s father, Han Fu, is actually the chairman of the Ministry of Education in Star City, so if any teachers wants to continue climbing up or wishes to continue their career in teaching, then they could not afford to offend Han QingWu and must even treat him well.
“Old Hu, is knowing the relationship between Tang Xiu and Teacher Han really that important? As long as Teacher Han wishes to protect Tang Xiu then you can forget about kicking Tang Xiu out of school. Actually its not only you who wishes Tang Xiu to be expelled, I received a called this morning and that person also wishes Tang Xiu to be expelled from the school, and I bet you would never be able to guess who that person is.” Wei ZhenTai gave a weird smile and looked at Hu QiuSheng as he said softly.
“Who?” Wei ZhenTai’s words had successfully caught the attention of Hu QiuSheng as he asked involuntarily.
“The Chairman of ShangWen Organisation, Su ShangWen.” Wei ZhenTai lowered his voice as he replied.
“Su ShangWen? You mean the owner of the rapidly expanding organisation who donated a large dormitory to the school just to let his son enter into Star City (Grade 1) High School? How did Tang Xiu manage to offend such a person? That’s not right, him and Tang Xiu belong to two different world, unless it was because Tang Xiu and his son had some conflict with each other?” Su ShangWen’s past achievements began to surface in Hu QiuSheng’s mind as he heard Su ShangWen’s name.
“Old Hu, didn’t you say that you have investigated numerous times on Tang Xiu’s list of family members? Don’t tell me you don’t know the surname of Tang Xiu’s mum?” Wei ZhenTai had a face filled with doubt after hearing Hu QiuSheng’s words.
“Tang Xiu’s mum?” Hu QiuSheng did not understand why Wei ZhenTai had asked him this question, but he still recalled the simple lady who kept on knelling down to him, and in the next moment, Hu QiuSheng’s pupil shrank abruptly and asked, “Principal, you are not going to tell me that Su LingYun and Su ShangWen are related right?”
“That’s not right, if Su LingYun and Su ShangWen are relatives, then why are both Tang Xiu and his mother so poor that they could not even afford to pay for the school fees? As long as Su ShangWen is willing to slightly leaked a bit of money from in between the gap of his fingernails to Su LingYun and Tang Xiu, then this mother and son would not even need to worry about food and clothes.” Hu QiuSheng was confused.
“This matter is already not within our scope of investigation.” Wei ZhenTai did not acknowledged or deny Hu QiuSheng’s doubts but only continued with what he wanted to say, “Although Su ShangWen had contributed a lot to the school, but with Teacher Han backing Tang Xiu, I naturally could not fulfil his unreasonable demand. Even so, he should have been contented with me agreeing to switch Tang Xiu to class 10.”
Listening to the principal’s words, the corner of Hu QiuSheng’s mouth twitched uncontrollably for a brief moment.
Hu QiuSheng already had the intention to chase Tang Xiu out of his class since a long time ago and had already mentioned it to the principal and the teacher-in-charge of year 3 numerous times, but both of them have always been pushing this matter in circles.
When the principal and year 3 teacher-in-charge had agreed to switch Tang Xiu out of his class, Hu QiuSheng had still thought that it was his persistence that won him this battle, but never would he have thought that Su ShangWen had played a critical role in this decision and that he had taken all of Su ShangWen’s glory.
Thinking back on the mocking look and words from Tang Xiu and Yuan ChuLing before they left the class, Hu QiuSheng suddenly realised that although he had won, but he had also lost as well.
TLN: Had a little more free time today so managed to rush a chapter out