“What an idiot.” The parents walking near the class leader shouted.
“You’re a pig, a dumb and fat pig.”
When Xiao Qin and I walked back through the school gates, we saw the class leader and an adult woman walk out of the school building. She had dyed brown hair, she dressed kind of like a punk, she took large strides, and she seemed angry.
It just so happened that Liu HuaiShui lost control of the ball when he tried his new technique and the basketball flew straight towards the female parent. She didn’t even dodge, but raised one of her legs and kicked the basketball over the wall.
What terrifying leg strength. Liu HuaiShui felt some discontent, but was dominated by her imposing manner and could only run outside the school to look for the basketball.
I looked towards the punk parent with fright.
No, no way. Don’t tell me that’s the class leader’s mother. What exactly happened in Shanghai for her to become that?
I was still a bit too far and couldn’t see her face clearly, but it felt like she was worlds apart than her picture.
Where’s her elegance? Where’s her out of this world beauty? It’s like one minute you’re watching the ballet Swan Lake, then it suddenly turns into one of Guo DeGang’s comedy acts.
Although I like Guo DeGang’s comedy acts more than ballet, I can’t accept the sudden change! I said I wanted to take a look at the class leader’s mother, but what I really wanted was to see what the class leader will look like in the future. Class leader, will you turn out like this in the future too? Your mother looks like she was broken by pressure from work, so will you also get broken when you become a police officer?
After I got closer, I realized the female parent didn’t really look similar to the class leader, but she still looked familiar.
“I can’t believe you got the time for the parent-meeting wrong. You can’t even tell the difference between 12pm and 2pm. Our daughter is kind of dumb because she inherited it from you.”
The female parent cursed while walking down the steps of the school building. The class leader seemed to be trying to say something to her, then the door of the school building was opened again and a clean-cut man with hair shaved close to his scalp came out.
It looks like the two of them came together, they might even be a married couple.
The female parent glared back at the man and snorted:
“I was really blind back then, why did I marry you? I would have gotten a divorce a long time ago if it wasn’t for Yue Yue.”
The man said: “Let’s see you get a divorce!”
“Do you think I’m afraid of getting divorced? I’ll get a divorce from you once Yue Yue goes to university.”
“Save it, do you think our child can even get into a university with her grades?”
“I’m going to get a divorce even if she doesn’t get into a university. I’ll go straight to a civil affairs bureau once Yue Yue graduates from high school, so you better not chicken out when the time comes.”
“Who’s scared? The one who’s scared of getting a divorce when the time comes is a son of a bitch.”
“I’ll take the house and our daughter, you get nothing.”
“Damn, you’re heartless. How did I even fall for you…”
The couple kept arguing as they walked towards the school entrance. The class leader tried to mediate and didn’t really get any results, but I had a guess to whose parents they were.
They must be Xiong YaoYue’s parents and I can call them ‘papa bear’ and ‘mama bear’. Xiong YaoYue doesn’t like to stay at home because her parents always fights, so she would rather go play basketball or stay overnight at an internet cafe.
Based on the situation, it looks like papa bear and mama bear were blaming each other for getting the times wrong. Now both of them are trying to leave, so the class leader was trying to persuade them to stay.
Can the parents please stop fighting.”
I was now at a distance where I could hear what the class leader was saying.
“Winnie… no, Yue Yue’s grades are a bit low, but it’s not like it’s the end for her. If she gets more points in PE classes, she can still have a selection of high schools to choose from…”
The class leader carefully chose her words. I knew Winnie’s grades were awful, so it was more practical for her to become Ai Mi’s bodyguard than to keep studying.
Papa bear and mama bear stopped in their tracks when they saw the class leader’s sincerity, but they didn’t stop arguing.
I, on the other hand, noticed both papa bear and mama bear had light skin. It looks like Winnie’s brown skin was caused by the sun.
“Right now it’s already 12pm, so I won’t stop the two of you if you’re only going to leave for lunch and come back at 2pm.” The class leader said cautiously, “If you guys are mad at each other and neither of you come, then it might give Yue Yue a negative influence and it’s not a good start for her third year.”
Mama bear said: “She’s always so inconsiderate, so why would it be a negative influence? She once broke her arm but still stayed overnight at an internet cafe, and made her parents look all over the place for her.”
Papa bear looked up at the sky and said: “It looks like our daughter takes after you more, thoughtless and heartless…”
“What did you say, you bitch.”
“Anyway, I have plans for the afternoon, you stay for the parent-teacher meeting. I’ll leave first, since it wasn’t necessary for both of us to come.”
“Why should I listen to you? I also have plans for the the afternoon, so you stay for the parent-teacher meeting.”
Papa bear and mama bear fought over who could leave first while the class leader wasn’t able to remedy the situation at all. At this point, the three of them were about to meet me and Xiao Qin.
I hesitated a bit and thought about what I could say to make at least one of them stay behind.
Everyone was busy with work since the parent-teacher meeting was held on Monday. Not all of the parents could make it, so they let us know in advance and will read what our teacher wrote in the qq group chat afterward.
Winnie’s situation was different. Since her parents already came, it would look bad if they had a huge fight and left.
Middle school students actually cared a lot about what others think of us. Since we aren’t very mature, we actually care more about what others think than adults.
The reason Winnie became a tomboy was one, genetics, but it could also because she grew up in a family where her parents fought and said they wanted a divorce every day. If she didn’t become extremely pessimistic, then she would be the opposite and become extremely optimistic. It’s as if Winnie tanned her skin and let herself become the type who is more active and doesn’t think much in order to escape the stress caused by her family.
“I kind of felt a bit sorry for Winnie. Even though she talks about her parents always being at odds, but it’s nothing serious. I vaguely felt that if papa bear and mama bear got along, then Winnie’s growth might have been slightly different. It’s not unimaginable that she wouldn’t have gotten a tan and maybe even turned into a (at least in appearance) girly girl.
But even the class leader was unable to convince them, so I don’t know what I could do. While I was hesitating, the girl next to me, Xiao Qin, took the initiative to step forward.
“Uncle Xiong, Auntie Xiong, can I say something?”
Xiao Qin had a quiet and docile appearance, and stood timidly before the two of them. Her fear of men only manifests in front of males her own age; Uncle Xiong was clearly in her uncle’s age range, so having a conversation shouldn’t be a problem.
Auntie Xiong probably didn’t have the surname Xiong, but she went silent seeing a well-behaved girl wearing a 28 Middle uniform stand pitifully adorable in front of her. She temporarily ceased arguing with her husband and waited to hear what Xiao Qin had to say.
Since his wife stopped arguing, papa bear also quieted down and looked at Xiao Qin.
“My, my parents are divorced…”
Xiao Qin said her opening remarks.
Papa bear and mama bear’s expression changed. They recalled what they were arguing about earlier and looked ashamed.
“I’m good friends with your daughter, Yue Yue, so seeing her parents arguing, I feel responsibility to say a few words. If I say something wrong, please don’t be angry…”
Xiao Qin’s completely submissive attitude made papa bear and mama bear unable to be angry.
“I used to be a very cheerful child, but since my parents divorced when I was in elementary school, I’ve become very introverted. I don’t want Yue Yue to have the same experience…”
Hey, didn’t Auntie Ren and Huo ZhenBang get divorced when you weren’t even in kindergarten? Are you lying to make your words more convincing? But I guess it’s a white lie…
Xiao Qin even started to wipe her tears as she talked.
“Uncle Xiong and Auntie Xiong, could you stay for Yue Yue? Even if you do get divorced in the future, at least let Yue Yue have some good memories. The chance of both my parents attending a parent-teacher meeting for me is impossible even in my dreams…”
Her crying had an effect. The class leader had been presenting facts and trying to reason with them in the background, but papa bear and mama bear weren’t be rational in the first place. However, papa bear and mama bear couldn’t resist against Xiao Qin’s tear attack.
“Hey, don’t cry. It seems you really are Yue Yue’s good friend. It should be enough for me to stay? If her dad wants to leave, let him go.”
“Who’s leaving? You’re the one who should leave. I care about our daughter more than you do.”
“Care my ass, you don’t even know your daughter’s birthday.”
“Isn’t it May 5th? How could I forget such an easy date? We just celebrated it a few months ago…”
Under Xiao Qin’s tearful narration, papa bear and mama bear returned to the classroom. It seemed they had eaten lunch in advance.
The class leader gratefully nodded at Xiao Qin and accompanied the two parents back to the classroom.
I couldn’t hear what papa bear and mama bear said as they walked back.
If it were me, I would have at least ask for Xiao Qin’s name. The forgetfulness and carelessness of Winnie’s family must be inherent. It’s not only inherited through blood, but also contagious between husband and wife.
To be honest, I admire Xiao Qin for being able to cry in public. I’m a man who doesn’t easily shed tears, especially in front of others, so persuading Winnie’s parents to turn back was something only Xiao Qin can do well, no one else could replace her.
“(^__^) Hehe…” After wiping the tears from her face with a tissue, Xiao Qin put on a happy expression again and reached out her hand to me.
“Ye Lin classmate, I’ve done my first good deed. I should get a star, right? Not only can I get a star, but I also helped Winnie. I feel so happy now.”
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