Seeing her son's agitated emotions, Mother Xiong quickly soothed him, "Ruiming, darling, the police uncles will take them away now. I promise you'll never see Tongtong again."
After speaking, she approached Principal Zhao Qing. "Principal Zhao, you've heard it too. Liu Tongtong has admitted his mistakes. This means he was lying when he initially denied it. A child who habitually lies, and indirectly caused my son's fracture, I, as his mother, demand that your kindergarten expel him.
Otherwise, I won't feel safe with my son attending kindergarten here. I believe that once this news spreads, other parents will feel the same. They'll all want Liu Tongtong to leave the kindergarten, giving our children a pure environment!"
She was clearly determined to force Tongtong out. It had to be said that this woman doted on her son excessively.
Zhao Qing knew what Xiong Ruiming's father did for a living, so she wasn't surprised that the police would side with them.
However, she also understood Tongtong's character. Tongtong would never initiate trouble. She genuinely liked Tongtong and couldn't bring herself to deal with him.
But the Xiong family was not someone she could afford to offend. Otherwise, her kindergarten wouldn't be able to continue operating, and it was a matter of her husband's word.
Therefore, she could only try her best to persuade Mother Xiong. "Mother Xiong, children fighting is quite normal, and Tongtong has already apologized. There's really no need to expel Tongtong over this, is there?"
"My son is fractured, and you call it a small matter? If you don't expel him, I'll inform all the parents, and they'll collectively demand Tongtong's expulsion. Otherwise, we'll withdraw from the kindergarten, demand a refund of all tuition fees, and put you out of business." Mother Xiong's tone was unyielding.
This put Zhao Qing in a difficult position. Although she ran an elite kindergarten and knew influential people, none of them had the same power as Xiong Ruiming's father. Those connections wouldn't dare offend Xiong Ruiming's father for her sake.
She had no leverage to confront Xiong Ruiming's mother. But expelling Tongtong, she truly couldn't do it.
Because she knew that Tongtong was not at fault from beginning to end. How could she bear to let Tongtong bear everything? Firstly, she couldn't go against her conscience.
Secondly, if her father found out, he might be so angry that he'd disown her. She knew how much her father valued Tongtong.
Another thing was, if other kindergartens knew that Tongtong was expelled for this reason, they would be even more hesitant to admit him.
This would mean that Tongtong might very well have no school to attend in the future, unless they moved away.
"You woman, your heart is too wicked! Children's squabbles, and you demand the kindergarten expel a child, ruining their future. Are you even human?" Lu Fei had never been so enraged.
He wasn't unaware that some people would exploit their authority to oppress the common folk, but he hadn't expected this phenomenon to be so severe.
Mother Xiong paid no attention to Lu Fei. She looked at the police and said, "Officers, what are you waiting for? These people are slandering your public officials. I suspect they're up to no good. Take them in for a thorough investigation. Perhaps you'll even find out they've committed crimes!"
The police understood their intentions. They immediately moved to take the three of them away.
Tongtong immediately spread his arms, blocking them. "You can't take my daddy! They're all good people!"
After speaking, he looked back at Zhao Qing. "Mama Zhao, you don't need to be troubled. Just expel me. Tongtong brought this upon himself and deserves punishment!"
Seeing the sensible Tongtong, Zhao Qing felt a pang of sadness. She wanted to speak up for Tongtong, but he interrupted her.
"Daddy, as long as you're not taken away, Tongtong will do anything!"
Liu Yifeng suddenly felt that a child being too sensible wasn't always a good thing; they were easily bullied.
How could he bear for Tongtong to take such a fall? He didn't want to compromise on this matter either.
Just as he was about to speak, Tongtong's vision suddenly darkened, and he fainted.
The school nurse quickly examined Tongtong and found a bruise on his back, which looked quite severe.
Liu Yifeng saw the location of the bruise and remembered that this was where Xiong Ruiming had hit him while Tongtong was asleep.
He was extremely distressed and said angrily, "The bruise on my son's back was inflicted by your son. How do you plan to resolve this?
And officers, I'd like to ask, how do you intend to handle my son's injuries impartially?"
Mother Xiong immediately retorted, "Even if your son has a bruise on his back, it doesn't prove my son did it.
He's such a small child, how severe could his attack be?
Perhaps this injury existed before he played with my son. He's just trying to frame my son. Your scheme is quite clever..." Mother Xiong immediately began to exonerate her son with ease.
Liu Yifeng sneered, "You truly know how to twist the truth. You could even blame my son for your son falling in front of the surveillance cameras. Now, my son's injury, which was also inflicted by your son on camera, you refuse to admit? Is there any justice or law in this world?"
"What law, what justice? You say my son caused the injury, then why didn't your son say so initially? It was only discovered after he fainted.
This proves the injury existed long before. On what grounds are you blaming us?" Mother Xiong argued cleverly.
Liu Yifeng was too lazy to argue further. He turned to the police and said, "As public officials, you should know well whether my son's injury is new or old. If you can't tell, then we'll go for an examination to see how my son's injury was sustained!" Liu Yifeng said calmly, confident that Xiong Ruiming had indeed caused the injury.
The police, with their years of experience, could of course tell that the injury was recent. However, they pretended to be confused. "We're not all-seeing. Who can tell how long ago it was caused? This requires a professional examination to reach a conclusion."
In any case, they wouldn't say it themselves. As for what the examination would reveal, that was not their concern. Their job was not to offend Mrs. Xiong.
"Alright, issue me a medical certificate for examination now. Once my son wakes up, I'll take him for an examination.
Or I'll take my son directly to the hospital. A professional doctor should be able to determine it," Liu Yifeng insisted forcefully. The police could only issue them a certificate for examination.
"Do you think I'm afraid of an examination? No matter how they examine it, it's impossible that my son caused the injury. But if it's found to have no relation to my son, I will sue you for defamation, not only demanding compensation but also that you go to jail!" Mother Xiong said with utmost arrogance, showing no fear that the outcome would be unfavorable to her.