The chemistry teacher also noticed that the atmosphere between Zou Weijun and her son Xie Qian was somewhat strange.
Teachers at the school had seen all sorts of parent-child relationships.
At least Zou Weijun had come to the school. Some students’ parents, when called, sent the family nanny instead!
If they were so busy, why bother having a child in the first place? A child doesn’t call the nanny “Mum.”
Since Zou Weijun was willing to come to the school and her attitude was proper, the chemistry teacher asked Xie Qian to step outside the office, deciding to speak with Zou Weijun alone.
The moment Xie Qian stepped out, Zou Weijun visibly relaxed. When the teacher spoke to her again, though still nervous, she managed to mask her feelings, keeping the teacher from noticing.
“Ms. Zou, the matter isn’t complicated…”
Xie Qian heard intermittent conversation drifting from the office.
Standing in the corridor, he looked out but could no longer see Wen Ying. In just a short while, the “hamster” had scampered off somewhere.
Zou Weijun stayed in the teacher’s office for about ten minutes before coming out.
“Thank you, teacher. I’ll have a good talk with Xie Qian when we get home tonight.”
Just then, the bell for evening self-study rang. The chemistry teacher, in a rare act of leniency, waved Xie Qian back to the classroom.
Zou Weijun called out, “Xie Qian,” but Xie Qian barely reacted, brushing past her on his way to the classroom.
The chemistry teacher sighed, “Ms. Zou, kids this age are like this. Pay more attention to Xie Qian’s emotional changes. In all my years of teaching, I’ve rarely seen students like him. If you parents nurture him well, he could become a pillar of society.”
Good grades alone weren’t enough; mental health was even more important.
A brilliant person on the right path contributes more to society than an average person, but if they stray to crooked ways, their harm to society is equally great!
Whether Zou Weijun grasped the teacher’s underlying meaning was unclear.
She nodded absently, leaving in silence.
Back in the classroom, everyone sneaked glances at Xie Qian. The top student had actually been called to a parent meeting.
Some girls, like Wen Ying, had secretly observed Zou Weijun, hearing she was Xie Qian’s mother.
Xie Qian’s mum was so elegant.
But she didn’t look much like Xie Qian.
He must take after his dad.
Whispers filled the classroom. Xie Qian noticed Wen Ying’s seat was still empty. He glanced at Li Mengjiao, who shook her head to say she didn’t know, then haughtily turned her head away.
Hmph, even if she knew, she wouldn’t tell.
Wen Ying hadn’t even eaten dinner!
She’d been waiting for news from the chemistry teacher, wanting to know what was up with Xie Qian.
Xie Qian, the person in question, was perfectly calm throughout, as if being called to a parent meeting didn’t faze him at all.
Since they were friends, why couldn’t he just explain what was going on? It had worried both Wen Ying and her.
Of course, Li Mengjiao had to admit, Wen Ying was more worried, since Wen Ying skipped dinner, while she had eaten.
Actually, Xie Qian hadn’t eaten dinner either.
Back at his seat, he found his desk drawer stuffed with bread and yogurt, probably bought by female classmates, not just one person, and not just one portion.
Xie Qian wasn’t in the mood to eat. He kept glancing at the classroom door.
While Xie Qian looked for Wen Ying, Zou Weijun left the academic building, her mind elsewhere.
The campus was beautiful at night. It was autumn, and the hibiscus flowers bloomed vibrantly. The evening glow hadn’t yet faded, tinting the hibiscus flowers on the trees with its splendour. Classrooms lit up one by one, filled with students in evening self-study.
Zou Weijun hadn’t been out in a long time.
Walking through the campus, she thought about what the teacher had said. Two escorts approached nervously, checking on her mood.
“I’m fine,” Zou Weijun insisted. “Just meeting Xie Qian’s teacher.”
She was truly negligent.
In the past, if Xie Qian transferred to a new school, within the first week, Zou Weijun would have visited all his subject teachers.
When had she stopped caring about Xie Qian?
She knew Xie Qian probably didn’t have psychological issues. His actions stemmed from a prior suggestion to her about going out to work, which she hadn’t responded to.
Accompanied by the escorts, Zou Weijun reached the school gate. A girl in a school uniform stood there, looking around. Seeing Zou Weijun, she jogged over.
“Hello, Auntie Zou. I’m Wen Ying, Xie Qian’s classmate and his good friend in Rongcheng.”
To give her words more weight, Wen Ying claimed the title of “good friend,” though in the dark, no one could see if she blushed.
Zou Weijun stopped in her tracks.
The two escorts were wary, but Wen Ying flashed a harmless smile. “Is this your first time at the school? If you’d like, I can show you around.”
Zou Weijun sensed Wen Ying had something to say.
Xie Qian’s good friend in Rongcheng?
Zou Weijun nodded.
Wen Ying’s chubby cheeks hadn’t lost their baby fat, her face and eyes round, giving a friendly, non-threatening first impression. But when she led Zou Weijun to the sports field, her first words were razor-sharp:
“Auntie Zou, I had a dream last night. I dreamt Xie Qian only lived past thirty before he died.”
Zou Weijun’s mind buzzed, as if a TV had switched to static with no signal.
Those words carried more weight than everything the chemistry teacher had said combined, and they were terribly impolite. Even if she’d had such a bad dream, how could she wait at the school gate just to tell Xie Qian’s mother?
No mother would want to hear from someone else that her son would die young, even if it was just a dream.
No matter how mild-tempered Zou Weijun was, she couldn’t help but want to scold Wen Ying. But before she could speak, Wen Ying burst into tears.
Tears streamed from her eyes, as if Zou Weijun had bullied her.
With tears on her cheeks, Wen Ying asked, “Would you consider taking Xie Qian to see a psychologist? In my dream, he chose to end it himself. How could he do something like that?”
Chose to end it himself.
That meant suicide.
Zou Weijun’s rebuke stuck in her throat.
Why would this girl, Wen Ying, dream of Xie Qian committing suicide for no reason?
Zou Weijun suspected Wen Ying knew about her own issues and was using Xie Qian as an example to insinuate something.
But Wen Ying was crying so hard, as if truly frightened by the dream.
Was a dream worth such a reaction?
They say what you think by day appears in your dreams. Had Xie Qian’s behaviour at school made this girl overthink, leading to such a terrifying dream?
Zou Weijun recalled Xie Qian saying he wanted a “good role model.”
Zou Weijun’s current state was far from a good role model. She had taken sleeping pills, felt world-weary, and wanted to escape.
If Xie Qian took her current self as a role model and mimicked her behaviour… A night breeze blew, and Zou Weijun shivered deeply.
