5:30 a.m.
Today, Mr. Lin woke up particularly early, because the aftermath of yesterday’s incident still hadn’t been settled.
He glanced at his sister’s tightly closed bedroom door, making sure she was still sound asleep, then put on yesterday’s damaged suit and prepared to head out.
After all, once things were handled, he still had to go to work…
Riding a shared bike to Changcheng No. 1 High School, he found the heavy school gates tightly locked and the security guard on duty still dozing in the guardroom.
Mr. Lin didn’t disturb anyone. Since he didn’t have a permit to enter the school, he had to resort to an old trick.
Circling around to a relatively hidden section of the school’s side-back wall, he gauged the height, then took a few steps back and vaulted the wall nimbly, silently landing on the lawn inside the campus.
Fortunately, the skills he’d once used to skip class by climbing walls still worked.
The early morning campus was deserted, only the birds who’d risen early were singing on the branches.
Mr. Lin had also attended Changcheng No. 1 High School before, so he knew exactly where the teachers’ offices were. He headed unerringly to the teachers’ office building and arrived at the door of the senior year Chinese office.
?
The corridor was silent, only his footsteps echoed in the emptiness.
He wasn’t impatient. He simply leaned quietly against the wall beside the office door, hands in his pockets, eyelids drooping as he rested with his eyes closed.
Morning light seeped through the windows at the end of the corridor, gradually dispelling the darkness, and slowly stretched his upright silhouette.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the person who could resolve this most effectively.
Homeroom teacher, Li Huiping.
He knew that, as the homeroom teacher, Ms. Li was usually among the earliest teachers to arrive at school.
He needed to have a thorough conversation with her before her workday began.
As the seconds and minutes ticked by, around 6 a.m., hurried footsteps finally echoed from the end of the corridor.
Ms. Li, with a bag slung over her shoulder and her half-eaten breakfast in hand, hurried toward the office.
When she saw Mr. Lin standing at her office door like a door god, she was clearly taken aback and stopped in her tracks.
“Mr. Lin?” She adjusted her glasses uncertainly. “Why are you here so early? Is… is there something urgent?”
Mr. Lin slowly lifted his head, his face expressionless in the morning light, but beneath the calm in his eyes was a chill that could make one’s heart tremble.
“Good morning, Ms. Li,” he said softly. “Regarding my sister Lin Wan being bullied at school for a long time, I think we need to have a talk as soon as possible.”
“What?! Something like this happened right under my nose?!”
***
In the office, Li Huiping’s hands shook with rage. She had meant to drink her tea, but her hands were trembling so much she couldn’t hold the cup steady, and had to put it back on her desk.
Mr. Lin explained the entire story to Ms. Li in detail.
“I’ll call them all to the office right now! And make them apologize to you!”
“Apologize?” Mr. Lin repeated the word quietly. “Ms. Li, if an apology solved everything, why would we need the police?” Each word was crystal clear, causing Li Huiping to stiffen inwardly.
“I came to see you this early today not for a perfunctory apology. However your school rules dictate you handle this, I won’t interfere. But I do hope to speak with Li Shasha face to face.”
“I understand, Mr. Lin.” Li Huiping took a deep breath, her expression turning serious.
“Don’t worry, if this is true, the school will strictly discipline the students involved according to the rules. There will be no leniency!”
“As for Li Shasha…”
Just then, a student carrying a stack of homework arrived at the office.
“Ms. Li, here’s yesterday’s Chinese homework…”
The student poked his head nervously into the office, sneaking a glance at Mr. Lin, not sure what was happening inside.
The office wasn’t large. Mr. Lin turned sideways to give the student enough space to pass.
“Alright, just leave it here.” Li Huiping pointed to her desk. “Also, please go call Li Shasha for me—just her, don’t alert any other students. Tell her to come to my office immediately.”
“Yes, teacher.”
After the student left, the office fell into a brief silence. Mr. Lin leaned against the wall again, gazing at the brightening sky outside the window, saying nothing more.
About ten minutes later, dragging footsteps sounded outside the office door.
“Ms. Li, why did you call me so early…”
The door was pushed open. Li Shasha walked in, her hair a mess and her school uniform unzipped, rubbing her eyes sleepily and slouching as she entered.
But when her gaze landed on the man leaning against the wall, she froze in place.
It… it was him! The man in the warehouse yesterday, the one like a devil! Why was he here?! In Ms. Li’s office, no less?!
“Li Shasha, seeing your reaction… was everything Mr. Lin said true?” Li Huiping watched Li Shasha’s face turn deathly pale and had her answer already, her tone becoming even more stern.
Li Shasha trembled all over in terror, her lips quivering so badly she could barely speak. “I… I… Ms. Li, I’m sorry, I know I was wrong! I won’t dare do it again! I’ll apologize to Lin Wan! I’m sorry! Really sorry!”
She kept bowing repeatedly in Mr. Lin’s direction.
“Apologize?” Mr. Lin finally spoke.
He looked at Li Shasha’s usual facade of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, now reduced to a trembling wreck, and felt nothing but disgust.
Just thinking that this was the person who had tormented his beloved sister for so long, a surge of violent anger rushed to his head.
He clenched his right fist and slammed it hard onto Li Huiping’s office desk!
“Bang—crash!!”
With a loud crash, the glass cup holding half a cup of hot tea shattered instantly, tea and shards spraying everywhere, a few fragments bouncing right to Li Shasha’s feet.
Li Shasha shrieked, jumping back in fear.
Li Huiping also jumped up from her chair in fright, nearly losing her glasses.
Mr. Lin stood there breathing heavily, his fist pressed into the wet, glass-littered desktop, the back of his hand cut in several places and beads of blood welling out.
He glared fixedly at Li Shasha.
“Apologize? My sister’s suffering—can your apology fix it?! What I want is real action! I want you to make up for every bit of hurt you’ve caused her, starting now. You know very well what you should do…”
“If I find out again that you, or anyone around you, so much as says one more spiteful word to Lin Wan, you know exactly what I’m capable of.”
Li Shasha’s legs gave out in terror and she collapsed to the floor, a warm current nearly losing control in her pants.
“I swear! I promise! I won’t dare ever again! From now on, I’ll serve Lin Wan, and I swear I’ll never bully anyone again! Wuwu…”
Li Shasha broke down completely, rambling incoherently through her tears.
The office was deathly silent except for Li Shasha’s sobbing.
After several seconds, Mr. Lin slowly straightened up, took a deep breath, and forcibly calmed his surging emotions.
He turned to the pale-faced Li Huiping, bowed slightly, and spoke calmly:
“I’m sorry, Ms. Li, I lost my temper and damaged your property. I sincerely apologize. I’ll pay for the cup, and for cleaning and any repairs needed to the desk.”
He took out his wallet from the inner pocket of his ruined suit and laid all the cash he had—some of it wet—gently onto the corner of the desk.
It was about a thousand yuan.
“This will serve as a deposit for now. If it’s not enough, I’ll make up the rest later.”
Mr. Lin’s sincerity stood in stark contrast to his rage just moments before.
Li Huiping looked at the money on the desk and nodded with mixed feelings.
“Alright, Mr. Lin, I accept your apology. And please rest assured, we will enforce all school rules and punishments strictly.”
“But—”
She changed her tone.
“I can’t take your money.” Li Huiping picked up the stack of cash and handed it back to Mr. Lin. “Once the desk and cup are fixed, I’ll send you the bill. Let’s keep things clear.”
Mr. Lin hesitated a moment, then accepted the money.
“Thank you,” he said.
“No, I should thank you.” Li Huiping’s face was full of regret. “It was a huge oversight in my work to have missed this. I’m truly derelict. Thank you for letting me know.”
Mr. Lin only nodded. He glanced one last time at the trembling Li Shasha, said nothing more, and turned to leave the office.
[Author’s note: Dear readers, I hope you’ll leave more comments or even rants! Honestly, as a newbie author writing a male lead novel, it’s a bit tough, and seeing everyone talk more makes the writing process feel less lonely. Thank you, QAQ, please! Oh, and without your comments, Watashi!(」°°)]