"I didn't hit him with a rock, he bumped himself!" Ye Zizheng retorted.
However, Yu He's focus was on something else. "You threw the first punch? And lost?"
Ye Zizheng: "..."
"How embarrassing."
"..."
"When we get back, I'll sign you up for a Taekwondo class," Yu He added.
"!" Ye Zizheng shot up, staring at Yu He in disbelief, as if questioning if he'd misheard.
Not just him, but Teacher Wang and Teacher Qian were also stunned.
Who teaches a child like this!
Instead of regretting their mistake, they're told to learn Taekwondo to win next time?
"Oh dear, people from these poor villages are truly barbaric! What, you want to fight again next time?" Madam Yin exclaimed with exaggerated theatricality. "Teacher Wang, I think students like this, who constantly stir up trouble, should be expelled!"
"This..." Teacher Wang looked troubled.
Ye Zizheng was in the first grade, class one, while Yin Jun was in the third grade, class eleven. Their futures were clearly different.
Besides, she had heard plenty about Yin Jun's frequent troublemaking at school. A physical altercation between them certainly wasn't one-sided, especially considering Ye Zizheng was the one who got beaten up worse.
But the Ye family was now bankrupt, their influence inferior to the Yin family's. Yet, Ye Zizheng was stubborn. What could have been resolved by a simple apology had escalated to this point.
"Why should I be expelled? If anyone should be expelled, it's this fatso!" Hearing about expulsion, Ye Zizheng became anxious. "I got in on my own merit, you guys bribed your way in..."
"Shut up!" Yu He interrupted him coldly.
Ye Zizheng glared at her, his eyes red with anger, wanting to ask if she was on his side or theirs.
Seeing Yu He's cold gaze, his lips moved, but he eventually closed his mouth, clenching his fists.
"How do you wish to handle this? Officially, or privately?" Yu He's gaze calmly shifted to Madam Yin.
Madam Yin, assuming they were scared, sneered smugly. "A private settlement isn't impossible. Come on, have your useless brother kneel down and apologize to my son, and we'll consider it."
As she spoke, she deliberately stepped aside, as if making space for them.
Ye Zizheng exploded upon hearing this. "Dream on! I did nothing wrong! This fatso was the one spewing filth first! I will never apologize to him! He should be the one apologizing!"
Yu He raised her hand and pulled him behind her. "When you've done something wrong, you apologize."
"!" Ye Zizheng's eyes widened. Before he could explode again, Yu He placed a hand on his head, signaling him to behave.
"Then why aren't you kneeling to apologize!" Madam Yin declared triumphantly, hands on her hips, nostrils flaring.
"Before that, your son insulted someone first, which provoked my brother to retaliate. Shouldn't we make your son kneel and apologize for that?" Yu He countered coldly.
On the way, she had already learned the general details of the incident from the young boy who led them.
The incident happened quite suddenly. At noon, on their way to the cafeteria, Ye Zizheng happened to overhear Yin Jun talking with his classmates about the school's "Campus Belle" poll.
The list of the top ten campus belles and heartthrobs would be released that evening, a hot topic during breaks, not unusual.
However, Yin Jun, being precocious and lecherous, often laced his words with dirty jokes. He had said many sexually suggestive and vulgar things about Yu He, who was ranked first. Ye Zizheng found it unbearable.
It's disgusting to see a few boys make lewd comments about a girl's photo, let alone when the object of their vulgarity was his own sister.
So, Ye Zizheng publicly warned him, telling him not to insult Yu He.
Yin Jun was not one to back down. Being warned by a first grader in public embarrassed him. Not only did he not stop, but he became even more offensive, spewing every vulgar word imaginable, including references to genitalia.
In a fit of rage, Ye Zizheng pushed him, and thus the conflict began.
"Pah! You're spouting nonsense! My son didn't insult anyone! Son, tell them, right!" Madam Yin said, looking to her son for confirmation.
However, she saw her son staring blankly at Yu He, his gaze lecherous, a foolish grin on his face, and drool about to drip from his lips.
Hating his lack of progress, she pinched his arm. "Did he!?"
Yin Jun yelped in pain, snapping back to attention. He didn't know what she asked, but he nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes."
"See! My son didn't insult anyone! You have no proof, stop falsely accusing us, or I'll sue you for defamation!" Madam Yin declared, hands on her hips.
She knew her son's perverted nature, but as long as they denied it, and given that the place where the argument occurred had no surveillance cameras, Yu He couldn't do anything without evidence.
"Sister Zizheng, you should apologize to them. If this escalates, it won't do you any good."
Teacher Qian, as Yin Jun's homeroom teacher, had had her fill of Madam Yin's unreasonable behavior. Seeing her start again, she quickly advised Yu He.
The Yin family was wealthy, and the Ye family was now bankrupt. Even if Yin Jun was in the wrong first, Ye Zizheng couldn't fight against superior forces and could only suffer in silence.
"If that's the case, then let's proceed officially. Call the police," Yu He stated calmly.
"Sure, who's afraid of whom!" Madam Yin retorted defiantly.
Upon hearing "call the police," Teacher Qian quickly interjected, "Sister Zizheng, there's really no need to make a big deal out of this. Calling the police won't benefit you."
Yu He, however, calmly turned to Teacher Wang. "Teacher Wang, Yin Jun beat my brother like this. This can be certified as a violent tendency. For a student with such severe violent tendencies, wouldn't the school consider student safety and recommend withdrawal?"
Teacher Wang paused, then understood Yu He's intention and feigned a nod. "Yes."
"What? It was clearly your brother who started it, and he even hit my son with a rock, smashing his forehead like this!" Madam Yin shrieked.
Yu He chuckled softly. "Do you have any proof that my brother initiated the attack?"
The best way to deal with such a scoundrel was to be more unreasonable and defiant than her.
"You!" Madam Yin was momentarily choked into silence.
"Furthermore, the bump on your son's head is bruised but not broken. It clearly looks like a flat impact, not a rock strike," Yu He stated.
"Nonsense, your brother hit him with a rock! The school doctor didn't deny it, what are you talking about!" Madam Yin argued.
The school doctor nearby mumbled, "I never said it was from a rock. You're the ones saying that!"
Madam Yin immediately glared at the school doctor, who promptly fell silent. She was just an employee, not daring to offend such a barbaric nouveau riche.
"Do you want to see what an injury from a rock strike looks like?"
Yu He noticed two shot puts placed next to the office desk and walked over, picking one up.
"If there are no rocks, we'll use these shot puts as a substitute. The effect is similar."
She hefted the shot put in her hand and her gaze fell upon Yin Jun's head.