Winter Time Rendering

Zhang Shutong saw the veins on Song’s temples throbbing, but he still patiently handed over the photos on the A4 paper. The woman merely glanced at them before looking away:

"I know my own son. He’s just a bit impulsive and runs his mouth. Besides, it’s not like he actually did anything in the end, right?"

With that, she went back to consoling Li Yipeng. "Don’t cry, don’t cry. If you don’t want to go to class today, we can just leave at noon. You can come back next Monday."

"What do you mean, he didn’t do anything!?" Song slammed his hand on the table, his voice rising in anger. "If this is your attitude as a parent, then I have nothing more to say. We’ll just call Gu Qiuyan’s father!"

Having witnessed the entire exchange, Zhang Shutong knew Song Nanshan was still holding back. He hadn’t contacted Gu Qiuyan’s father first. Instead, he had called in Li Yipeng’s parent, hoping to discuss a solution and minimize the incident’s fallout.

It wasn’t that he sympathized with Li Yipeng. Rather, it was a matter of professional ethics; he didn’t want the boy to face an overly harsh outcome.

Last time, the boy had been transferred to another class just for telling a dirty joke. The consequences this time would surely be more severe.

If Song had wanted to wash his hands of the matter, the easiest solution would have been to call both sets of parents and let them confront each other. That would have been much easier for him. After all, Li Yipeng wasn’t in his class, so theoretically, the issue really had nothing to do with him.

But Mrs. Li’s dismissive attitude had forced Song Nanshan to bring up Father Gu, which served as a veiled warning.

One would have thought that would do the trick, but the woman just stared blankly for a moment:

"Who?"

Then, she sneered:

"Gu Qiuyan? The one whose dad owns the shopping mall? Well well, Teacher Song, no wonder you’re in such a rush. So you’re helping the big boss threaten us now.

"Oh, Yipeng was transferred to a different class because of her last time, wasn’t he? What does her family want this time, to get him expelled? It’s bad enough we have to put up with them making business difficult for us, but now they’re acting this high and mighty in school too? Do they really think they own the place?"

Zhang Shutong frowned upon hearing this, realizing something was off.

The class transfer incident had happened a long time ago, and he hadn’t paid it much mind back then. The impression it left on him was simply that a regular student had provoked Gu Qiuyan, and because her family was powerful, the matter had blown up into a big deal.

That was why, at first, when the woman was so dismissive, he’d assumed she was just an overly doting mother who hadn’t realized her son had provoked Gu Qiuyan again. He thought that once she understood the whole story, even if she wasn’t scared or worried, she would at least recognize the severity of the situation.

But now, it was clear that wasn’t the case. Far from backing down, the woman was simmering with anger and had come ready to pick a fight.

Song Nanshan suppressed his fury and said:

"Mrs. Li, let me ask you: what do you take this school’s rules and regulations for? It’s your son who has been persistently harassing that girl. What does any of this have to do with being a ’boss’? I would be saying the exact same thing if this involved any other student.

"As a teacher, I have no business meddling in your affairs outside of school. What I am discussing with you right now is your son’s character!"

The woman said sarcastically:

"A problem with his character? What’s wrong with Yipeng’s character? All he did was knock over a little toy house. Oh, and you just said someone else put my Yipeng up to this, didn’t you? In that case, I’d say that Gu-whatever girl is the one with the character problem. Did you ever stop to think why everyone has a problem with her?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Song Nanshan slammed the table, his eyes glaring. "I’ll say it again: if you refuse to be reasonable, you can talk directly to Gu Qiuyan’s father."

But the woman said dismissively:

"Who are you trying to scare, Teacher Song? Do you really think it’s some big secret her dad is away on business? Plenty of people know. Go on, call him over to talk to me. The question is, can you even get him here?"

"Are you going to tell me he’s just on a trip, not gone for good? Fine by me. We can talk when he gets back."

Having said her piece, the woman was suddenly in no rush. She even had the composure to smooth down her hair.

"The real question is whether he’ll even be in the mood to talk to me when he gets back. It makes no difference to my family. At worst, we’ll just transfer Yipeng to a different school. We don’t depend on that little supermarket to put food on the table, you know."

Song Nanshan frowned and said:

"I already told you, I’m not concerned with whether your families can make a living or not. Don’t bring that up..."

"You might not care, but plenty of others do," the woman cut in with a sneer. "Teacher Song, it’s one thing for you to stand up for them, but her father has made a lot of enemies. You don’t want to fail at sucking up to the big boss only to land yourself in a pile of trouble. Let me give you one last word of advice."

The woman raised her eyebrows gloatingly.

"Boss Gu is driving people like us out of business, isn’t he? My family doesn’t rely on our little shop on that street to eat, but some people’s entire livelihoods depend on their stores there. If he makes such a huge fuss over someone touching his daughter’s little house today, well... I’d say something much bigger is probably on its way..."

Before she could finish, Song Nanshan shot to his feet. With a CLATTER, he knocked over the teacup on his desk. The anger on his face was gone, replaced by an utter coldness as he spoke, enunciating every word:

"What do you mean by that?"

The woman was taken aback, but she forced herself to stand her ground and tossed out a parting shot, "You just wait and see."

Then, she slung her bag over one shoulder, yanked Li Yipeng up by the hand, and walked out.

Only after the woman was far down the hall did Zhang Shutong close the door. Song Nanshan then slammed his fist on the desk and threw himself back into his office chair.

The master and his apprentice were in no mood to speak. One was simmering with suppressed rage, while the other contemplated the true meaning behind the woman’s words.