Many years later, after Shao Wu had graduated from university and become a teacher at Yongchuan No. 2 High School, making him Sister Shan’s colleague as well, she once let out a long sigh while they were chatting. “That time really was…” She never finished the sentence, but Shao Wu knew exactly what she meant.
Neither of them would ever forget it. It was first period on a Monday afternoon, English. Students were always drowsy at that hour. After Sister Shan finished going over the previous week’s English quiz, she did not want to force them too hard, so she played them a clip from The Pursuit of Happyness. The film had opened in mainland China in January 2008.
They were right in the middle of a tense scene. The protagonist did not have enough money to pay his taxi fare, so he took off running with his scanner while the cab driver chased after him. Then, with a bang, the classroom door, which had been left slightly ajar, was shoved open hard. Everyone jumped.
“Yang Shuyi, come out!”
No one knew what was happening, and Yang Shuyi looked equally confused. He stood and followed Yang Long out of the classroom. At the time, Shao Wu did not actually know that Yang Shuyi’s father was named Yang Long, but in less than a month, it would become a name he could never forget. After Yang Shuyi left, Sister Shan stared blankly. “Huh? Is that… Yang Shuyi’s father?”
The students were just as stunned, and no one answered. Only Shao Wu said softly, “Yes.”
“Oh. Then everyone keep watching…” Sister Shan said. Many years later, she would say that at the time she had assumed the homeroom teacher had called in Yang Shuyi’s parent, and she regretted that assumption ever afterward. If only she had gone out to take a look. But Sister Shan did not go, and although Shao Wu was full of questions and worried by the ugly look on Yang Long’s face, they were still in the middle of class, so he did not follow either.
A few minutes later, every student in Humanities Class One, Sister Shan included, heard Yang Long roar:
“You’re bullying us because we didn’t slip you any money, is that it?!”
Then came the homeroom teacher’s voice, a little quieter, but still loud enough for everyone to hear. “Slip me money? Have you even paid their medical expenses? And you have the nerve to talk about slipping me money?!”
“Fuck, you think I can’t afford a few medical bills?! Is that why you get to bully a kid like this?! If someone else hadn’t told me, I still wouldn’t know! Let me ask you, what gives you the right to move Yang Shuyi to the back, huh? What gives you the right?! Isn’t this you getting back at him?!”
“You can afford it?” the homeroom teacher sneered. “They asked for ten thousand. Can you afford that? They still want to go to Chongqing for more examinations. Can you afford that?”
“Whether I can afford it is one thing! Moving Yang Shuyi to the back to settle a personal score, is that what you did or not? You dare say it wasn’t?! Fuck, they want ten thousand? I bet five thousand of that is supposed to go to you!”
Humiliated and furious, the homeroom teacher shouted, “Get out—”
The bell rang for the end of class.
Sister Shan, who had been staring in shock, finally snapped out of it and hurried out of the classroom. The students eager for a spectacle poured out after her. Everyone saw Yang Shuyi’s father pointing at the homeroom teacher’s face and cursing him out. “Do you have any professional ethics as a teacher at all, huh?! You quietly moved Yang Shuyi to the very back and left him there for an entire semester! He didn’t even dare tell me! Fine, now it’s a new semester and you still make him sit there! If you had even a shred of professional ethics, could you do something like that?!”
Sister Shan hurried over to explain. “Please calm down first. The situation is complicated. Why don’t we go to the office and talk this through?”
“I have no professional ethics?! If I had no professional ethics, would your son still be sitting in a classroom?!”
The students watching from around them whispered among themselves. Shao Wu heard a scoff from behind him. It was Shen Qi. “What’s his problem? What’s there to make such a fuss about? Yang Shuyi sleeps every day. What difference does it make where he sits?” Shao Wu turned and glanced at her. Shen Qi did not notice, but the friend linked arm-in-arm with her did and quickly tugged at her awkwardly. “Hey, stop talking.”
“I’m telling the truth,” Shen Qi said. “I sat next to him before. I know.”
On the other side, Sister Shan could not stop Yang Shuyi’s father at all. The homeroom teacher was so angry he called security, while Yang Long continued pointing at him and shouting abuse. Yang Long wore a uniform from Yong’an Transport Company, and his hair was disheveled. Rage had flushed his cheeks bright red. His furious voice carried through the building so loudly that even students from the floor above came down to watch.
Yang Shuyi stood a few steps away from them with his head lowered. His expression was nothing but dark, nearly cold.
Shao Wu broke out in anxious sweat across his back and wanted to rush over, but what could he do if he did? Take Yang Shuyi away? Let them argue, let them curse at each other. No one there cared about Yang Shuyi except him. Shao Wu only wanted to take Yang Shuyi away.
Fortunately, security arrived quickly, along with Teacher Shi, the second-year grade director. Teacher Shi was a big man with a booming, authoritative voice. The moment he saw the scene, he waved at the students and barked, “You all have nothing better to do? What’s there to see? Back to class!”
He was the grade director, after all, and the students were somewhat afraid of him. They slowly shuffled back toward the classroom, though their eyes remained fixed on the spectacle. Shao Wu did not move. He watched two security guards hold Yang Shuyi’s father back while Teacher Shi and Sister Shan tried to calm the homeroom teacher with gentle words. Yang Shuyi simply stood motionless nearby, like a wooden post.
“What happened here? There must be some misunderstanding. A misunderstanding. Come on, let’s go to my office and go through it one thing at a time. I promise I’ll get to the bottom of it today, all right?” After persuading the homeroom teacher into the office, Teacher Shi turned back to coax Yang Shuyi’s father.
“You’re the person in charge? Fine. Then let’s not go to the office. We’ll talk right here and get this straight! Call him out and let him confront us face-to-face!”
“I understand the basic situation. There are people coming and going here, and this doesn’t look good… Let’s still go to my office…”
“No! I’m getting justice today, I—ngh!”
In an instant, Yang Shuyi swung his fist and smashed it hard into Yang Long!
There was a dull thud. Shao Wu could not imagine how much force Yang Shuyi had used to knock Yang Long to the floor. Yang Long was over 1.8 meters tall, yet his own son had dropped him with a single punch. No one had expected Yang Shuyi to hit his father. Even Yang Long himself was too stunned to speak.
Several students who had not yet gone back into the classroom witnessed it and all sucked in a breath, exclaiming, “Yang Shuyi, he…”
Shao Wu had never heard Yang Shuyi’s voice sound so cold. It was like a blade tempered in hatred, utterly devoid of emotion, as though the person in front of him were not his father but an enemy.
“Get out. Right now. Get out.”