Chapter 44: The Troubled Student

Sun Yanzhen saw the video of Huang Guolun singing at half past nine, shared in the social circle of a classmate from their class.

That evening, the video of Huang Guolun singing was not only making the rounds in the social circles of Class 5, Grade 2, but had spread throughout the student circles of the entire Experimental High School.

Sun Yanzhen saw the video link not just once, but in several students’ feeds.

She forwarded it to Huang Guolun immediately.

And then sent him a teasing message on WeChat: “Well done, Comrade Old Huang, blending in so well with the students.”

However, after waiting for quite some time without a reply, Sun Yanzhen thought perhaps Huang Guolun was already exhausted from dealing with Huang Tao and had gone to bed, so she didn’t disturb him further.

It wasn’t until after ten o’clock, when his music editing work was finished for the night, that Huang Guolun noticed several messages from fellow teachers about him singing at the restaurant.

He watched the video Zhang Liang had filmed, smiled helplessly, and didn’t think much of it.

To the other teachers, he simply replied with a polite but speechless string of dots: “………”

But to Sun Yanzhen, he replied with actual words.

He briefly explained: “My student was heartbroken and crying to me. I had no choice but to sing a song to cheer him up.”

This distinction in his responses revealed that Huang Guolun felt differently about Sun Yanzhen compared to the other teachers.

In his eyes, Sun Yanzhen was like an older sister to Huang Tao, or perhaps like his own little sister; she got along well with Huang Tao, and their relationship was more akin to friendship than mere colleagues.

In truth, Huang Guolun could sense that over the past six months, Sun Yanzhen had been drawing closer to him.

When a young and beautiful woman seeks you out for video chats or heartfelt conversations on WeChat, about all sorts of trivial matters rather than anything work-related, and often invites you out for meals—well, it suggests she may be interested in you.

Moreover, Sun Yanzhen had made her intentions quite clear to Huang Guolun.

It was three months ago, during the summer, when she invited both Huang Guolun and Huang Tao out to play.

While Huang Tao was off playing alone in the Children’s World, Sun Yanzhen tentatively broached the subject of whether Huang Tao should have a new mother.

Huang Tao often said she wanted a new mom, which Sun Yanzhen found touching and took to heart.

Half-jokingly, she told Huang Guolun that if he couldn’t find a suitable match through blind dates, why not let her try being Huang Tao’s new mother? They could start with a trial period—if it didn’t work out, she’d just go back to being Huang Tao’s honorary big sister.

With her intentions made so obvious, even if Huang Guolun was slow on the uptake, he understood Sun Yanzhen wanted to see where things might go.

However, he played it off with a joke and turned her down.

He said their family was already full of teachers, and he didn’t dare find another teacher to be Huang Tao’s stepmother.

Afterward, he had a serious conversation with Sun Yanzhen about what kind of woman he hoped to find for Huang Tao—a well-read, sensible, gentle, considerate woman with a balanced heart.

The qualities Huang Guolun described didn’t quite match Sun Yanzhen.

She was vibrant, lively, playful, humorous, and a bit of a chatterbox. Though already twenty-six, she still seemed and felt very young—much like Chen Jia once did.

If Huang Guolun were alone, he’d be willing to give things a try with Sun Yanzhen.

But with Huang Tao to consider, he didn’t dare choose someone who hadn’t been tempered by life, someone who needed others to coax her, as a partner to marry.

People say the picky often act precious.

In this, Huang Guolun was a little precious himself.

But he couldn’t help it: when it came to finding a partner, his first priority had to be Huang Tao.

If he failed to find a reliable stepmother for her, and the newly blended family broke up soon after, making Huang Tao endure the pain of losing a mother all over again, the harm would be too great.

So, unless he found someone truly reliable, who matched his criteria, could get along with Huang Tao, and genuinely suited his own heart, he wouldn’t take that step lightly.

At the same time, he felt his status as a single parent didn’t match the outstanding conditions of someone like Sun Yanzhen—she deserved someone better.

Because Sun Yanzhen reminded him a little of Chen Jia, he felt something special for her, different from other women; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten so close to her.

But closeness aside, whenever he felt the line was about to be crossed, Huang Guolun kept their relationship crystal clear.

He hoped to maintain this friendly relationship between himself and Sun Yanzhen, and between Sun Yanzhen and Huang Tao.

He trusted that Sun Yanzhen would understand his intentions.

After he turned her down, there was a subtle distance between them, and they hadn’t gone out together since.

Of course, this was also because Sun Yanzhen became a homeroom teacher this term, which brought a host of new responsibilities and left her busier than ever.

Though they hadn’t hung out again, Sun Yanzhen still often video chatted with Huang Guolun and Huang Tao; their relationship remained good.

That night, after replying to Sun Yanzhen’s message, Huang Guolun saw how late it was and prepared for bed.

He didn’t expect Sun Yanzhen was still awake. She instantly replied: “You’re not asleep yet?”

“Not yet, just about to go to bed.”

“Is Taozi asleep?” Sun Yanzhen asked about Huang Tao with concern. Among teachers, they all used text messages—quick to read and saving the trouble of listening to voice messages.

Huang Guolun replied, “Taozi went to bed early. She’s probably dreaming about eating ice cream right now. Haha.”

“I really miss Taozi. Let’s take her to a movie sometime. I hear the new ‘Despicable Me 3’ is pretty good. Taozi loves that series, doesn’t she? Let’s take her.”

“You should have said something a week ago. She made me take her on opening day.”

“Oh, I see…” Sun Yanzhen sent a teary, pitiful emoji and sighed, “Ever since I became a homeroom teacher, my workload has multiplied tenfold. My own life is being squeezed out. I’m starting to wonder if I have the ability and stamina to see this class through for three years.”

Huang Guolun comforted her: “It’s always tough at first. But once you get through this period and adapt to your new role, it gets better. I believe when your first class graduates in three years, you’ll hate to part with them and look back fondly on these wonderful days. Cherish everything now—these hard times will become your most precious memories.”

“Heh, are you writing lyrics now?” Sun Yanzhen felt warm inside and sent a smiley face. “Can we video chat? I’m under a mountain of stress and have no one to talk to. Will you keep me company for a bit?”

“Sure, let me just check on Taozi, then I’ll call you.”

Huang Guolun set his phone down and quietly slipped into Huang Tao’s room.

He found Huang Tao sound asleep, drooling and snoring, blissfully lost in her dreams. Huang Guolun smiled with contentment.

He tucked her in, slipped out quietly, returned to his studio, and sent Sun Yanzhen a video chat request.

She answered almost immediately.

The screen lit up.

Huang Guolun got a shock.

Sun Yanzhen was wearing a facial mask printed with a Beijing opera face—red-faced Guan Gong, with angry brows and fierce eyes, looking for all the world like a red-faced demon risen from the underworld.

Completely unprepared, and wearing his tortoiseshell glasses, the image was especially clear—he almost leapt from his seat.

“Haha!”

Seeing Huang Guolun’s startled expression on the screen, Sun Yanzhen burst out laughing.

He took off his glasses, feigning irritation. “That mask of yours is really something. Gave me a fright.”

“These masks are all the rage now.”

Her crisp voice rang out as she gathered her hair atop her head with a pink band; her smooth, round cheeks looked even rounder on camera, making the Guan Gong mask even more intimidating.

Huang Guolun forced a wry smile. “Looking at Guan Gong, I don’t know what to say. Should I be lighting incense and praying for something?”

“Oh, stop teasing me,” she shot him a playful look with her bright eyes, then got to the point: “You really stole the show today, Comrade Old Huang. The program you directed for the school anniversary was a hit, and then you sang tonight, blending in with the students. Life seems pretty sweet for you lately.”

“You’ve been pretty impressive yourself. That Zhang Jing from your class won second place in the school anniversary performance—such an honor for you! And I heard your Grade 1, Class 2 basketball team took first place in the freshmen division. As their homeroom teacher, you deserve a lot of credit. Not many could foster such a lively class.”

“It only looks good on the surface,” Sun Yanzhen sighed, burdened by stress. “My class is active, all right—maybe too active. I’ve got several real troublemakers, and I have no idea how to handle them. I’ve given them too much freedom. If I don’t assert some authority soon, they’ll be tearing the roof down.”

Once she started talking, she couldn’t stop. With Guan Gong’s red face stuck to hers, Sun Yanzhen poured out a stream of stories—no, misadventures—from her class that left her alternately exasperated and amused.

One student in particular, Dongfang Liang, stood out in Huang Guolun’s mind.

Maybe there was something about kids named “Liang”—they all seemed mischievous.

This double-barreled Dongfang Liang was just like Zhang Liang—a headache-inducing student for any teacher.

Last Thursday, Dongfang Liang skipped two periods and didn’t arrive at school until nearly ten. At noon, he turned himself in.

Sun Yanzhen knew he was a repeat offender, bound to spin another yarn. She greeted him with, “Not bad today—you’re making progress. Turning yourself in, got your story straight already, huh?”

With a thick skin, Dongfang Liang replied, “Teacher Sun, I admit I lie a lot, but to you I never lie. I always tell it like it is—one is one, two is two, three is three, four is four, five is five…”

Sun Yanzhen waved him off, exasperated. “Enough! Just give me the one—that’s all I need. Why did you skip class this morning?”

“Well… We live in a communal building, you know. This morning, Mrs. Lin from across the hall slipped in the corridor and took a nasty fall.”

“How convenient. Why do you always stumble onto some good deed, helping people who fall down?”

“It’s true, I’m not lying. Mrs. Lin really fell, and it was pretty bad.”

“So you took her to the hospital, and that’s why you missed two periods, right?”

“No, let me finish. Here’s what happened—Mrs. Lin fell, but then she crawled back into her apartment, didn’t go to the hospital. Her husband ended up in the hospital. He got hurt.”

“Her husband got hurt?” Sun Yanzhen was getting confused.

“Yes.”

“So Mrs. Lin fell, and her husband got hurt?”

“He was having an affair—Mrs. Lin found out and beat him up. She’d gone out to find a brick to hit him with, but after falling in the corridor, she gave up on the brick, grabbed the washboard instead, and went back to beat him senseless. It was like a scene from hell—neighbors all came out to watch.”

“And then?”

“Then her husband came limping out, his head bleeding, begging the neighbors to call the police on Mrs. Lin and take him to the hospital.”

“So, you kindly took her husband to the hospital, and that’s why you missed two periods, right?”

“No, it was our neighbor Erhu who took him to the hospital—the one near our school, Erlong Road Hospital. You can check the records. But it wasn’t me, it was Erhu. Then, on the way back from the hospital, Erhu sprained his ankle and broke a bone.”

“So you took Erhu to the hospital?”

“No, Erhu’s tough. He hopped back to the hospital on one leg, just like this…”

Dongfang Liang demonstrated in the office how Erhu hopped back to the hospital, leaving the teachers around them in stitches.

Sun Yanzhen felt her authority as homeroom teacher was being seriously challenged by Dongfang Liang. She shouted at him, which was rare for her: “You didn’t take Erhu! You didn’t take Mrs. Lin! You didn’t take her husband! So why did you miss class?”

Dongfang Liang fiddled with his hands, looking aggrieved. “I didn’t take anyone. You were the one who kept saying I took them, so I had to explain. But actually, I didn’t take anyone.”

“Then why didn’t you come to class?!” Sun Yanzhen felt he was beyond reasoning with.

“Oh, that… I overslept.”

At the time, Sun Yanzhen was shaking with anger, completely at a loss as to how to deal with Dongfang Liang.

Even now, recounting the story to Huang Guolun, she was still exasperated: “Tell me, what would you do with a student like that?”