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Chapter 25: Chapter 25: A Young Calf is not Afraid of the Tiger
"Explain yourself, how exactly have I misled the younger generation?" Li Meiyu, feeling insulted as a teacher, stepped forward and grabbed Tong Yao’s wrist, demanding an explanation.
Before Tong Yao could react, Si Chen came out from the kitchen, pulled Tong Yao behind him, and warned with a furrowed brow, "She’s injured her arm, don’t pull on her wound."
He stood there, stone-faced, with curtained black eyes that held a chilling gaze even without an overt display of anger. Women quarreling in the faculty neighbourhood was nothing new, and the male doctors generally chose to stay indoors, pretending not to hear. They’d emerge from their houses only when the storm seemed to subside, to escort their wives back into their homes. After all, everyone’s a colleague here - nobody wanted to rub others the wrong way. Si Chen was the first to ever openly stand up for his wife.
Li Meiyu was enraged. "So, the two of you are ganging up on me now?"
Tong Yao rolled her eyes, peeked from behind Si Chen, and retorted, "Who bullied you? Don’t go slinging mud around."
"Who’re you cursing at?" Li Meiyu’s face turned beet red with fury. She’d never been insulted like this in her life. This young woman’s lack of respect was unprecedented, and if she were her student, she would have slapped her already.
Hearing the commotion, a few teachers came out of their houses. Seeing Li Meiyu and Tong Yao in the throes of an argument, they quickly rushed over to find out what was going on. "What happened?" They were just boiling water and suddenly, this row broke out.
Li Meiyu glared at Tong Yao. "She’s the one I ran into when I was buying the electric fan."
"..."
The teachers exchanged looks, their eyes ping-ponging between Tong Yao and Li Meiyu. They were utterly taken aback by this coincidence. They’d come to visit, not to mediate fights. Besides, this wasn’t a major issue. They held onto Li Meiyu, urging her to let go of her anger.
"Forget it, we’re all neighbours. Back off one step and this will go away."
It was Teacher Wang who voiced this sentiment. He thought that Li Meiyu, being a teacher and senior to that young woman, had no right to bully her. Plus, if things escalated, it would put them in an awkward position.
The other teachers felt the same, pulling Li Meiyu aside to calm her down.
Li Meiyu resumed a tough exterior while internally grappling with anxiety. For one, she was scared that if the argument escalated, Tong Yao would reveal she couldn’t afford to buy the fan. Additionally, she didn’t know how this confrontation would end. She was used to acting superior to her students and their parents, so this situation was unfamiliar territory. Turning out to be just a paper tiger, she found herself rattled by something she’d never experienced before.
Li Meiyu sucked in a couple of deep breaths and glared at Tong Yao. "Dr. Si, for your sake, I’ll let it slide. But I’ll say again, if you keep letting her reign free, you’ll come to regret it. If you don’t believe me, just wait."
Tong Yao scoffed. "Going around stirring the pot, trying to ruin a couple’s relationship. It’s like a blind person looking in the mirror, not knowing what they look like."
And she’s a teacher? The school’s standards must be pretty low.
"You..."
Li Meiyu’s face turned green in anger. She wanted to argue back but was instead half pushed, half pulled back into her room by the other teachers. It took her a while to recover from her agitated state. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, with nowhere to channel her rage, she eventually broke down in tears.
"What on earth did Dr. Si marry?"
The other teachers exchanged glances, not daring to say anything else. They could only comfort Li Meiyu. After all, they were just guests and it was best not to stir up any trouble with the residents. As for Li Meiyu, she didn’t really suffer any harm, so there was no need to rush to her aid.
After Li Meiyu retreated, Si Chen also pulled Tong Yao back into their room. With the breeze from the fan cooling them down, Tong Yao felt her anger subsiding a little. When she noticed Si Chen watching her, she thought he might have believed Li Meiyu’s words and was about to scold her. Raising her chin defiantly, she huffed, "If you dare scold me to protect her, I’ll...I’ll pack up my things and leave right now."
She wanted to say something harsher, but upon thinking it over, she realized there was nothing else that could threaten Si Chen.
"Why would I scold you?" Si Chen lightly laughed. "I used to worry that you might find it hard to adapt to this neighbourhood, that you’d be bullied. Now, I’m relieved."
Even though he hadn’t interacted much with these married women before, after working in the hospital for a year, he had some understanding of the gossip that could circulate in places like these. Women could be petty. There were numerous occasions where doctors’ wives had squabbled over trivial matters.
Among the doctors’ wives in the faculty neighbourhood, Tong Yao was the youngest and the newest. Some might take advantage of her unfamiliarity with the place, so he had worried that she would be treated unjustly. However, it seemed that despite her frail appearance, she was fiery. Barely moved in and she was already standing up to Li Meiyu. It seemed she was no pushover, which was good.
"..." Tong Yao blinked, wondering if she was hearing things right. "Don’t you think I was wrong to argue with Li Meiyu?"
Tong Yao’s black eyes seemed to be speaking, shining under her thick eyelashes. Si Chen averted his gaze and moved the fan to the side of the wall, "Arguing is fine. Just try not to get physical. Even if your arm wasn’t injured, you still wouldn’t be able to beat them with your small frame."
Tong Yao squinted her eyes and let out a chuckle, "I didn’t expect you, such a dull person, to actually crack a joke."
Her bright eyes curved into crescents, not once shifting their gaze away from Si Chen. The man was devilishly handsome and had a stable job to boot. No wonder women fawned over him. And looking at how he defended his wife, even a fairy would think twice about ascending to heaven.
Having experienced that little episode, Tong Yao wasn’t in the mood to go back to supervising the kitchen. She sat on the bed under the fan. A couple of flies flew in from the doorway, gossiping about the situation in Li Meiyu’s room.
[Li Meiyu’s crying is so annoying. And what’s with that smell on her? It’s suffocating]
[She’s always so self-righteous and scornful. So, she’s bumped into someone who doesn’t give a damn about her status. Of course, she’s going to cry]
Hearing this, Tong Yao almost burst out laughing. She didn’t expect Li Meiyu to break down and cry. She seemed so formidable, but turned out to be nothing more than a paper tiger.
Li Nuanchun and Chen Yanmei had also heard the commotion. They had been busy cooking and missed the drama. When their hands were free, they immediately rushed over. When they saw that Li Meiyu’s eyes were red from crying, they were curious. "Meiyu, what happened? One minute you were fine, the next you’re crying?"
"Sisters-in-law, you’re here just in time, you can help me settle this matter." After seeing Chen Yanmei and Li Nuanchun, Li Meiyu, crying even harder now, felt as though reinforcements had arrived. "I’ve been living here for a year or two. Have I offended anyone, or argued with anyone? Tong Yao, who’s only been here for two days, has slandered me, saying that my mouth is full of filth and that I’m a disgrace to the teaching profession and misleading the younger generation. What heinous crimes have I committed to deserve such accusations?"
Li Nuanchun was taken aback upon hearing this, unable to comprehend how the frail-looking, sweet-smiling Tong Yao had such a powerful presence during a quarrel. Tong Yao had dared to challenge Li Meiyu. Everyone here had children, who might be assigned to Li Meiyu’s class in the future, so they all hoped that she would take special care of them. Consequently, everyone tried their best not to offend Li Meiyu. In this context, Tong Yao was like the bold and fearless calf who charges at the tiger.
They weren’t sure of what exactly had happened and couldn’t jump to conclusions. They asked, rather curiously, "Dr. Si is home, isn’t he? Didn’t he try to stop it?"
