DSYOM Chapter 45

The International Cultural Festival was bustling with activity, and Wen Di walked through a sea of tapa cloths and Aloha shirts, fully immersing himself in the vibrant, colorful youth of others.

He got so caught up in it that he stayed out too late, and as a result, stumbled upon an accident scene.

When the mountain bike collided, Wen Di’s shock outweighed his anger. He hadn’t expected that, in broad daylight, on the school’s main avenue, someone would dare to run into another person so blatantly.

So calm, so indifferent, so taken for granted.

He was just an ordinary person, not looking to cause trouble.

But this incident crossed his moral bottom line. When he suffered under Old Liu, he had sworn that once he became a mentor, he would never become one of those scumbags who treated students like tools.

If he just walked away now, a future teacher showing such indifference toward students, he wouldn’t even be as good as his advisor.

He pulled Jiang Yu up from the ground and told the tall boy across from him to call the parents.

The tall boy seemed to find it funny. “Who are you? You’re not from the school committee, are you? I know everyone from the school committee.”

“I’m an intern teacher in the high school division,” Wen Di said.

“Intern?” The tall boy raised an eyebrow. “So you want to quit, huh?”

Seeing the tall boy’s attitude, one might have thought he was the one from the school committee.

“You’re young, but you’ve got quite the attitude,” Wen Di said. “An intern teacher is still a teacher. Show some respect. Where are your parents? Have them come to school.”

The tall boy remained sitting on the bike, not moving: “Do you know who my dad is?”

Wen Di asked indifferently, “Oh, who is he?”

“The director of Huaxin,” the tall boy said. “The library behind you is donated by our family.”

As soon as Wen Di heard that name, his expression grew colder: “Have you ever taken the IELTS class at Youxue?”

The tall boy furrowed his brows. “Yeah, have we met?”

Wen Di sneered, a thought flashing in his mind: This brat is as good as dead.

He sized the boy up and, switching to English, said: “You dog with less brain capacity than earwax. If I slap you, I’m afraid it’ll make your ugly face look better.”

The boy was utterly confused. “What did you say?”

“Your mother paid for you to take the IELTS class, so you should study English properly. Looking like a pumpkin, and you dare to criticize a female teacher’s appearance? Why don’t you look in a mirror?”

“Fuck, you’re just a teacher, but you really think you’re something?” The tall boy’s face turned purple, “I’ll make a call and get you fired immediately!”

Wen Di grabbed the tall boy’s arm firmly. “Good. Since you have time to make calls, then get your parents over here!” He turned to Jiang Yu and asked, “Where is your homeroom teacher?”

Jiang Yu was a bit confused and didn’t understand the situation, but still led Wen Di to the office.

The homeroom teacher hadn’t finished work yet and was writing lesson materials on the computer. When he saw the unfamiliar man leading two students into the room, he showed a puzzled expression. But once he recognized the students’ faces, he immediately sighed in understanding.

Wen Di quietly asked Jiang Yu, “What’s your teacher’s last name?”

“Zhang.”

“Teacher Zhang,” Wen Di let go of the tall boy’s hand and said sternly to the homeroom teacher. “I just saw this student riding a bike and hitting someone. Look.” He rolled up Jiang Yu’s sleeve. “It’s already bleeding.”

The head teacher glanced at Jiang Yu’s arm, coughed a few times as if his throat was uncomfortable, then turned to the tall boy and asked gently, “Yang Tianhua, what happened?”

“Who hit him!” Yang Tianhua pointed at Jiang Yu. “I was riding my bike just fine, he was walking in front of me, I asked him to move aside but he didn’t. What does it have to do with me?”

Wen Di couldn’t believe it: “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You tell me,” he stared at Jiang Yu again and asked, “Did I tell you to move out of the way?”

Jiang Yu thought for a moment and nodded. Wen Di looked at him in even more disbelief: How could this kid stab him in the back like that?!

“See! What bad luck!” Yang Tianhua said angrily. “The idiot doesn’t understand human speech and is so slow to react. It’s clearly his fault, yet this person suddenly runs out and yells at me.”

Wen Di looked at Jiang Yu’s dazed expression and suddenly understood. This kid might actually have some cognitive issues, and everyone who knew this had been using it to avoid taking responsibility. The disgusting manipulation made Wen Di furious. “Who are you calling an idiot? Did no one teach you any manners as you grew up?”

“I’m just stating the facts,” Yang Tianhua said, “He can’t learn anything, so isn’t that an idiot?”

In front of so many people, Wen Di didn’t feel comfortable using swear words, and, after all, he was somewhat of a teacher and couldn’t resort to violence. Under the double constraints, it was impossible to communicate with this student named Yang. “What about the surveillance?” he asked. “Can we pull up the footage from the cameras by the first-year teaching building? You can clearly tell if it was intentional. Isn’t Xingcheng promoting full surveillance coverage?”

The homeroom teacher glanced at him and slowly took out his phone, making a call. Wen Di didn’t understand why he was doing this. Shouldn’t he go to the academic affairs office or the security guard for the surveillance footage?

After saying ‘OK’ a few times, the head teacher hung up and said to Wen Di, “I spoke to the logistics department on the phone, and they said the surveillance camera next to the teaching building is broken.”

Wen Di was completely speechless. Even checking the footage was handled so carelessly?

“Then call the parents,” Wen Di said to the homeroom teacher.

The teacher hissed and asked, “Is that really necessary?”

“The kid’s hurt, and you’re not calling the parents?” Wen Di was stunned. “Would Jiang Yu’s parents agree with that?”

“He doesn’t have parents,” Yang Tianhua lazily remarked from the side.

Wen Di shot him a sharp look. “What about other relatives?”

“Gege is really busy.” Jiang Yu said.

“My dad’s the busy one,” Yang Tianhua frowned as he looked at Wen Di, thinking he was being unreasonable. “You want him to come for such a small matter? Do you know how much their time costs per hour? If this gets him delayed, can you afford to pay for it?”

Both the homeroom teacher and the two students stared at Wen Di, making him feel like he was the only abnormal one in the room.

No, the student surnamed Yang didn’t seem to want to ask his parents to come, which meant that he was still reluctant to let his parents know about this. Since he was resisting, that meant Wen Di had to push for it.

“Well, if they’re all so busy, then I’ll call the police,” he took out his cell phone and started to dial 110. “Isn’t this intentional harm? If the school doesn’t deal with it today, I’ll take it to the police station. I don’t believe there’s nowhere to get justice.”

The homeroom teacher sighed, reluctantly opened the home-school contact book, and started dialing. Wen Di glanced at Jiang Yu, who was nervously twisting his hands, looking a bit anxious. Wen Di guessed that Jiang Yu didn’t want his family to know about this, which probably meant it had happened many times before.

Time dragged on, and the waiting feeling endless. Wen Di’s legs were sore, but finally, there was movement outside the door.

A familiar figure pushed the door and walked in.

Wen Di’s eyes widened.

“You are his brother?” Wen Di asked Bian Cheng.

“He takes his mother’s surname,” Bian Cheng simply replied.

Wen Di didn’t ask any further. For some reason, he suddenly had the feeling that his airways were about to clear. He pointed to Jiang Yu’s arm and said, “Look, he was hit by that student. There are still some purple bruises. It probably has something to do with him.”

Bian Cheng stepped forward, taking Jiang Yu’s hand and carefully inspecting it. He then asked what exactly had happened. Jiang Yu explained haltingly, and just then, a well-dressed woman walked into the office. Wen Di immediately recognized her commanding presence and realized that this was Yang Tianhua’s mother.

“What’s going on?” the woman asked. “Wasn’t school already over? The tutoring teacher told me he didn’t show up, and now I find him here. Why are you holding my child here?”

“Your son hit my younger brother with his bike,” Bian Cheng said.

“I already told you it wasn’t me who hit him!” Yang Tianhua said impatiently. “Mom, this is the idiot I was telling you about. I was riding my bike just fine and told him to get out of the way, but he didn’t understand. Now he’s blaming me! I can’t believe it. Just because he’s mentally challenged, he’s blaming everything on others!”

The woman turned to the homeroom teacher. “Teacher Zhang, what’s going on?” she asked. “I’ve already reported this to the school. When recruiting students, we need to have uniform standards. You can’t just take anyone. Having a student who drags the class down really affects the learning environment and teaching quality.”

“That’s right,” Yang Tianhua said, “Our class’s progress was slowed down by this idiot.”

“Give me a break,” Wen Di recalled the day he reported. “You wouldn’t even let him listen to the lessons in the classroom. You’re too stupid and yet you blame others for it. Your brains are filled with yellow waste; are you lacking oxygen?”

Yang Tianhua sneered, “What are you so arrogant about, you intern? My dad could crush your entire family with just one finger, believe it or not?”

Hearing Yang Tianhua mention his family, Wen Di momentarily felt a bit guilty. Just as he was hesitating whether to retaliate, Bian Cheng let go of Jiang Yu’s hand and stepped forward, standing in front of Wen Di. “What’s your problem talking to him like that?”

The woman glared at him. “What are you trying to do? Are you going to hit someone?”

“I don’t hit people,” Bian Cheng said, “I only hit those who are uncultured, have filthy mouths, are spoiled, and whose IQ is at the level of prenatal education.”

“What did you say?” The woman was in disbelief. “A grown man actually dares to insult a child?”

“I wasn’t talking about him,” Bian Cheng said, “I’m talking about you, your husband, and the rest of your family. You raised a son like that, the whole family must be the same kind of trash.”

Wen Di could see that the lady was shaking with anger, and the diamond ring on her hand was shining with tiny silver lights. Looking at her furious expression as if she wanted to rush over and bite, Wen Di felt a bit relieved and suddenly found Bian Cheng more agreeable.

“What kind of people are you?” the woman took a deep breath, “The child’s mentally handicapped, and the parents are foul-mouthed!”

Bian Cheng turned to Wen Di. “Where did this happen?”

“Between the playground and the first-year teaching building,” Wen Di replied.

“That path is at least 6 meters wide. Two bikes can pass through,” Bian Cheng said. “There’s no curve, no reason to crash into someone. I think it’s your son who’s the idiot.”

Wen Di felt like he heard a string snap, and the next second, the woman raised her hand and charged toward them. If the teacher hadn’t stopped her, she might’ve tried to sever Bian Cheng’s trachea with her diamond ring.

“Mr. Bian,” the homeroom teacher said angrily, “You are also an educated intellectual, how can you casually insult people?”

Bian Cheng turned to the teacher, his tone turning serious. “This is a very serious case of school bullying, and I hope the school will handle it properly.”

“What bullying?” the woman stepped forward, glaring at him. “How can a conflict between two children be considered bullying? And it’s not even my son’s fault!”

Bian Cheng ignored her. “Calling someone derogatory names, slandering, mocking, and belittling are all forms of bullying. How many times did your son call him an idiot? Is there something wrong with your ears that you can’t hear it?”

The woman’s composure was on the brink of collapse, and she almost spat out a curse. “You fucking…”

“Your son’s too young to be held responsible, so it’s up to the guardian to take responsibility,” Bian Cheng said firmly. “Until the school provides a satisfactory solution, I won’t back down. It’s getting late, I’m taking the child to check his injuries. I expect you and your husband to come tomorrow and give me an answer.”

Just as the teacher opened his mouth to say something, Bian Cheng put his arm around his brother’s shoulders and walked out. Before leaving, he turned to Wen Di. “I drove here. Let me take you home.”

Wen Di glanced around at the aftermath, realizing there was no reason for him to stick around, and followed them.

The three of them walked slowly down the tree-lined path, two adults flanking the child. Jiang Yu glanced to his left and right, seeing the serious expressions on the adults’ faces, then lowered his head to look at his own toes.

The adults were arguing again because of him.

The people he loved would always fight because of him.

Bian Cheng drove them first to the community health center, where the doctor cleaned and treated Jiang Yu’s wounds. While waiting, Bian Cheng sincerely thank Wen Di.

Wen Di touched his nose. When he was brave enough to do something righteous, he was full of passion and felt that he was the bravest man in the world. Now that he had calmed down, he suddenly felt a bit cowardly. However, in front of the child, he straightened his back: “It’s no big deal.” After a while, he added, “For the first time in so many days, I feel there’s something commendable about what you said.”

Bian Cheng had looked at him in surprise, feeling unexpectedly flattered by the sudden recognition. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Would you like to have dinner with us?”

Wen Di had pursed his lips. “Wasn’t Jiang Yu injured?”

“How about eating at our house?” Bian Cheng asked tentatively.

Wen Di had immediately become wary. “You’re not cooking, are you?”

“We’ll order takeout.”

“Alright then.”

They drove back home in silence, with Jiang Yu quietly watching the scenery in the back seat. Wen Di had secretly observed him, noticing that after the accident, Jiang Yu had quickly cheered up, bobbing his head to the music, as though he had had a pleasant day at school.

“Jiang Yu,” Wen Di had asked, “why didn’t you tell your brother if you were being bullied at school?”

Jiang Yu opened his beautiful eyes as though the question was very strange. “Who’s being bullied?”

Wen Di was stunned. “Then where did those injuries on your hand come from?”

Jiang Yu looked at his hand, which was coated with red medicine, and said, “There was a bicycle behind me, and I didn’t have time to dodge.”

Wen Di opened his mouth and glanced at Bian Cheng. The latter shook his head, and Wen Di fell silent, sitting back down.

As soon as they entered the house, Jiang Yu quickly rushed to the LCD TV and sat down, waiting for Bian Cheng to turn on the screen and play the cartoon. On the screen, the train was emitting steam with a ‘whoosh’ sound, and off-screen, Jiang Yu raised his fist, mimicking the sound of the engine starting.

Bian Cheng closed the bedroom door, opened the food delivery app, and handed it to Wen Di. Wen Di scrolled through the options while asking, “He…” Wen Di didn’t know which word was appropriate, “Is his… intellectual development delayed?”

“It’s more accurate to say it has stalled.” Bian Cheng sat down at the dining table, took the phone from Wen Di after he had finished ordering, and selected dishes for himself and his brother.

“Your father…”

“He doesn’t like Jiang Yu.” Bian Cheng simply said.

“What about his mother?”

“Passed away.”

“Oh…” Wen Di felt like he was stepping into dangerous territory and subtly shifted the topic. “So you decided to raise him? This doesn’t align with my impression of you.”

“Do I eat people?”

“No, I just thought you didn’t like kids.”

“Yes, very much.”

“Then why are you raising him?” Wen Di asked. “And shouldn’t he be in a special school? How did he end up at Xingcheng, a place full of rich kids?”

Bian Cheng put down his phone. The delivery would take another forty minutes, so they still had time to answer these questions.

 

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T/N: The next five chapters are about Jiang Yu and Bian Cheng, on how did Bian Cheng ended up raising Jiang Yu. Actually, those five chapters are like, my favourite part of this book!

Title is from King Lear, Act 4, Scene 1. The literal translation for the title ‘还是像这样为世人所不容的好’ would be ‘It’s better to be like this and not be tolerated by the world.’

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