Chapter 106: Chapter 97: Teacher Yu

On Monday morning, Mo Xiaoman headed to school, bookbag in tow. After the morning reading session, her first class was math, taught by Teacher Yu Meizhu.

Yu Meizhu was about twenty-five or twenty-six and was said to be from the county seat. She wore her hair in a stylish bob reminiscent of the May Fourth student movement—so smooth and glossy that not a single strand was out of place. Her gray Lenin suit fit her perfectly, with a snow-white shirt collar turned out over the neckline. She wore a pair of mid-heeled black leather shoes, and her steps produced a crisp CLICK-CLACK-CLICK that was both light-footed and commanding.

Teacher Yu was pretty. To maintain her authority among the students, she often wore a stern expression, giving off a cold and aloof vibe. However, when she chatted with the other female teachers during breaks, the way she threw her head back and laughed heartily revealed her true nature: deep down, she was just a young woman who loved to laugh and gossip.

Mo Xiaoman had skipped a grade into fifth grade and had good grades. Her homeroom teacher, Mr. Chen, was very fond of her. Teacher Yu, however, was always cold and indifferent toward Mo Xiaoman. She never called on her in class, and her gaze would simply sweep past her. When grading homework, her approach was purely perfunctory. She didn’t give Mo Xiaoman special pointers like she did with other students who excelled at math, nor did she demand she redo incorrect problems for a second look. Mr. Chen had originally wanted Mo Xiaoman to replace Mo Xiaosu as the class academic monitor, but because Teacher Yu objected, he couldn’t make a decision right away and ended up appointing another boy to the position.

Mo Shuixia was indignant on Mo Xiaoman’s behalf, saying Teacher Yu was only acting this way because of Mo Xiaosu. Mo Xiaoman, however, didn’t mind. ’A student leader needs to have some support from their peers, and I’m really not cut out for it,’ she thought. ’It doesn’t matter if Teacher Yu is biased against me. We only have to put up with each other for one year, and next year I’ll be in middle school. I’m not worried about passing the exams, so there’s no need to get hung up on a teacher’s attitude.’

Mo Xiaoman had planned to keep a respectful distance from Teacher Yu. But unexpectedly, after math class today, Mo Xiaosu’s friends, Chen Yujiao and Lin Meilian, led a few other girls to the front of the class. They swarmed the lectern, chattering away as they tattled on Mo Xiaoman. They claimed that she had gone to the Mo Family Courtyard for no reason the day before and had beaten Mo Xiaosu, causing her to get a fever and a toothache, and on and on. Teacher Yu’s gaze toward Mo Xiaoman grew even more hostile. Then, right in front of the entire class, she called Mo Xiaoman by name and ordered her to her room.

In those days, rural elementary schools had limited facilities, so a teacher’s room served as both their dormitory and their office. Being told to go to a teacher’s room usually meant one of two things: either you were helping them carry teaching materials, or you were about to be scolded. The former was an honor; the latter was a complete humiliation.

With the cold look on Teacher Yu’s face, it was clear to the entire class what sort of situation Mo Xiaoman was walking into.

Chen Yujiao and her friends wore smug grins, openly mocking her. This earned them furious glares from Mo Shuixia and Guan Ailan. Mo Linghui hesitated for a moment before saying to Mo Xiaoman, "Why don’t I go with you?"

Teacher Yu favored students with good grades. Mo Linghui was an average student, and Mo Shuixia was at the bottom of the class. Guan Ailan, on the other hand, was one of the top students, but she had lost the teacher’s favor long ago. She had been trying to curry favor by pouring Teacher Yu a cup of hot water, but she ended up dropping and breaking the teacher’s beloved blue-and-white porcelain teacup. After that, she never dared get close to Teacher Yu again!

Mo Xiaoman shook her head. "No need. It’s not like Teacher Yu is going to eat me. What’s there to be afraid of?"

She stood up. With the entire class watching, she bravely held her head high and followed after Teacher Yu.

Teacher Yu’s room was only about ten square meters. A desk and chair sat under the glass window by the door. Beyond them was a bed, and parked against the wall opposite was a small Yongjiu bicycle. Past the bed, a partition made from a bamboo frame covered in newspaper separated the space. Behind the partition was a small kitchen, where a square window with wooden shutters let in a sliver of light.

Teacher Yu sat in her chair. When she saw that Mo Xiaoman wasn’t the least bit nervous and was instead calmly looking her room over, she couldn’t help but frown.

"Mo Xiaoman, why do you have it in for Mo Xiaosu? Last time, you had your mother injure her so badly she was almost disfigured. Do you have any idea what disfigurement means for a girl? And then yesterday you went and hit her again? Mo Xiaoman, you are just awful! If you show no remorse and continue this behavior, I’m going to the principal. You don’t deserve to sit in the same classroom as my students!"

"Teacher, I think what you’re saying is a bit extreme."

Teacher Yu was a graduate of a proper teacher’s college, and she insisted on speaking Mandarin with her students both in and out of class. Her Mandarin was the best in the entire school, without the slightest trace of a local accent. So Mo Xiaoman also responded in a crisp, standard dialect. The moment she spoke, Teacher Yu blinked several times in surprise. She didn’t press the matter, though. After all, Gongdao Village had good transportation, with a bus bringing in movies from the county seat almost every month. Children were excellent mimics and could pick up anything.

"How is it extreme? Are you saying it’s not true?"

"It’s absolutely not true! Teacher, I’ve heard the saying, ’Without investigation, there is no right to speak.’ You just heard from at least five people, so I suppose that counts as a small investigation. However, I’m asking you to give me a chance to explain myself!"

Teacher Yu looked at Mo Xiaoman and raised a delicate eyebrow. "Fine. I’ll listen to your explanation. Go on."

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"Well... it’s a long story, and isn’t class about to start?"

"The class monitor will let Mr. Chen know you’re with me. Language Arts isn’t that important. You can catch up just by reading the text a few more times."

Mo Xiaoman was speechless.

’I’d like to see you say that to Mr. Chen’s face, Teacher Yu,’ she thought.

"First, I’d like to ask you, Teacher Yu: what makes you so sure that I was the one who had Mo Xiaosu injured?"

"The entire class says your mother was the one who injured Mo Xiaosu. Are dozens of students all lying? After school started, Little Su didn’t come to class, so I paid her a home visit. Her parents both said it was because of you that your mother beat Little Su so badly!"

"I wasn’t the cause of this incident. Teacher, you also teach fourth-grade math. Do you know a fourth-grader named Mo Xiaoqiang? The truth is, that day, it was their two families—Mo Xiaosu’s family and Mo Xiaoqiang’s family—who got into a dispute while fighting to move into my courtyard house. Mo Xiaoqiang’s mother injured Mo Xiaosu during their scuffle. What does that have to do with me?"

Teacher Yu gave a scornful laugh. "Mo Xiaoqiang’s mother? Not *your* mother? I heard you were a foundling, that the Mo family took you in and raised you for eleven years. Mo Xiaoman, the kindness of raising a child is greater than that of giving birth to one. Do you understand?"

Mo Xiaoman nodded. "I understand. But it also depends on *how* you’re raised. I never complained about them giving me just enough food and water to survive, making me work all day, or denying me an education. But when you’re beaten and cursed every day, facing the constant danger of being injured or even crippled, would you still call that the ’kindness of raising’ a child? Besides, I wasn’t a foundling they adopted. I was switched at birth! That one mistake of theirs changed my entire destiny!"

Teacher Yu’s large eyes blinked. Suddenly, her mouth fell open in astonishment. "What did you say? Switched at birth? You mean two babies were mixed up? Oh my God! How could they have been switched?"

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