Chapter 245: Single Parent

It was a hot summer afternoon.

The cicadas were noisy, their sound penetrating through the screen windows.

The four of them entered Teacher Qu's small apartment, which suddenly made the living room look crowded.

The retired female teacher in front of them was already over seventy, wearing a simple T-shirt with graying short hair.

Speaking of her colleague Yu Hongxia, who died early, Teacher Qu seemed to have many sighs: "Sigh, time flies. If Teacher Yu were still alive, she would be like me, with students all over the world. Unfortunately, there are no 'ifs' in this world."

"According to our understanding, you and she were both teachers in the class where Xi Zi Yun was back then. Do you remember the conflict between Yu Hongxia and Xi Zi Yun's father?" Qi Fei's polite tone could not hide his anxious emotions.

Hearing the name "Xi Zi Yun," Teacher Qu's brows furrowed: "Of course I remember. I've taught for so many years and encountered all kinds of parents, but I've never seen anyone as barbaric as Xi Zi Yun's father. I once advised Teacher Yu that we had done everything we could as teachers and couldn't solve all the suffering in this world. But Teacher Yu didn't listen, and as a result, she suffered quite a bit."

"It seems you know a lot. Can you tell us in detail?" Qi Fei leaned forward involuntarily, and the old rattan chair he was sitting on made a "creaking" sound.

Teacher Qu looked at the green trees outside the screen window, shining brightly under the scorching sun. The swaying leaves reflected in her eyes, as if she had returned to the distant past: "That was the first time Teacher Yu served as a head teacher. I was the deputy head teacher. She taught mathematics, and I taught Chinese. There were sixty-four children in the class, and I still remember every one of their names to this day. Teacher Yu, even more so. She brought out all her sense of responsibility, wanting to teach every child well.

Especially one girl named Xi Zi Yun. This child was very introverted and didn't like to talk, but those dark, bright eyes were exceptionally lively. At a glance, she was a smart child, learning everything at once, especially the mathematics Teacher Yu taught. Xi Zi Yun showed talent beyond other children. The content that other children needed a semester to master, she had self-studied within two weeks of the start of school.

At that time, Teacher Yu mentioned Xi Zi Yun to me from time to time, and she couldn't hide her favoritism in her words.

However, as we understood more, we both discovered that there might be a special situation in Xi Zi Yun's family. She often skipped school for no reason, and when Teacher Yu asked her the reason afterward, she was always tight-lipped and refused to answer.

After a few times, Teacher Yu went to Xi Zi Yun's home. I still remember she was very angry when she came back from the home visit, saying she almost quarreled with Xi Zi Yun's father. The reason Xi Zi Yun skipped school was that her father made her stay at home to do housework.

You know, Xi Zi Yun was only a first-grade child back then. Hongxia said she advised Xi Zi Yun's father a few words, but she didn't expect this man to be a drunkard, playing the drunkard's madness. Seeing that he was about to hit Xi Zi Yun, she took the child and left the house directly to return to the school.

When Xi Zi Yun enrolled, we knew she was from a single-parent family. As teachers, we all know that single-parent families have some problems more or less, but we didn't expect Xi Zi Yun's father to be so extreme."

"Extreme?" Zhong Kui seemed interested when she heard these two words.

"Yes, we thought it would be safe after Teacher Yu brought the child back, but we didn't expect that not long after, her father chased her to the school. I still remember the aggressive posture. The two sides quarreled more and more fiercely. This person was like a wild beast, coming up to strangle Teacher Yu's neck. Fortunately, the school's male teachers and security guards heard the noise and came over to help, only then driving this man out of the school."

"Then what about Xi Zi Yun?" Zhong Kui continued to ask.

"That child didn't cry or make a scene, just hid quietly in the corner, looking timidly at everything that happened. After such a scene, we were even more afraid to let the child go home. Seeing that the summer vacation was about to start, Teacher Yu proposed to take the child back to her own home and wait until she contacted the child's mother before saying anything.

However, after asking around, everyone said that Xi Zi Yun's mother, unable to bear the domestic violence, ran away from home when Xi Zi Yun was very young, and there was no news of her.

I remember when we were discussing finding Xi Zi Yun's mother, the child who had been silent suddenly spoke, saying her mother would never come back.

She said it very calmly, as if it were someone else's business. That appearance, looking at it, really made people feel heartache. She was a smart child," Teacher Qu said sincerely.

Her pity for Xi Zi Yun moved Qi Fei, and he was about to tell her his identity, only to hear Teacher Qu continue: "I also heard that Xi Zi Yun's father found Teacher Yu's home, making such a scene that all the neighbors knew about it."

"We found you here because we heard about this from Yu Hongxia's neighbors. Do you know what happened later?" Qi Fei asked.

"Of course I know. This matter was a huge uproar. Teacher Yu called the police, but because she only suffered some minor injuries, Xi Zi Yun's father apologized half-heartedly at the police's request, and the matter was considered over. Teacher Yu was still worried about Xi Zi Yun and wanted to keep her by her side, but Xi Zi Yun eventually returned home."

"Did Xi Changjiang take his daughter away?" Zhong Kui asked.

Teacher Qu shook her head: "No, it was Xi Zi Yun who requested it herself."

This answer surprised everyone, except Zhong Kui, who seemed to have known this answer long ago and continued to ask: "Why?" This didn't sound like a question, but rather like guidance during psychological counseling.

Teacher Qu sighed: "This child was really sensible. She said that if she stayed at Teacher Yu's place, her father would go and hit Teacher Yu next time, insisting that she had to go back. Although Teacher Yu didn't agree, she couldn't do anything because the child insisted. In order not to let the child be bullied, Teacher Yu ran to Xi Zi Yun's home every three days, and the number of times the child skipped school became less and less. However, her drunkard father still couldn't change his bad habits, and Xi Zi Yun often had blue and purple bruises on her body. Needless to say, she was beaten by her father. Sigh!

However, perhaps Teacher Yu's persistence touched Xi Zi Yun's father a little. When the vacation came, he occasionally agreed to let the child stay at Teacher Yu's house temporarily. Until..."

Speaking of this, she pushed her glasses and lowered her head slightly, "Although I shouldn't say it like this, by the second semester, the child finally made it through.

Her father, because he was drunk, accidentally fell into the river and drowned.

When her father had the accident, the child happened to be staying at Teacher Yu's house. Since the child's mother still couldn't be contacted, Xi Zi Yun had to rely on distant relatives and transferred to another place. Since then, I haven't heard any news of her for many years, until..." ===== CHAPTER 246 =====