Volume 9: Friend, Have you Bought Insurance?

In the fifth class in the second grade of Zhi Xin High School, the mathematics teacher was explaining the multiplication of fractions with a common denominator at the front of the class. Some of the students were sleeping, some secretly ate some potato chips from their drawers, some used their textbooks to block the teacher from seeing that they were playing Kings of Glory on their phones, and some were just chatting and laughing in a whisper.

The teacher was already accustomed to this. After explaining an example, he knocked on the blackboard and asked the students to write it down. Among the large number of students who did whatever they wanted, only one person was taking down notes. The teacher was very grateful to have even one student like this.

He planned to ask her to answer the next question. He glanced at the list on the table. The child seemed to be the newly transferred Tao Yueyue.

At this time, a fat boy raised his hand and stood up. His face was extremely red. "Teacher, I have diarrhea."

The teacher nodded. Liang Zuoming held his stomach and ran out of the classroom amidst the laughter of his classmates. Then, there was a scream from outside. The teacher hurried out and saw that Liang Zuoming had fallen down the stairs. He was holding his legs and bawling his eyes out non-stop.

There was chaos in the classroom. Everyone poked their heads out of the window to try and see what had happened. There were a few of Liang Zuoming’s good buddies who ran straight out. The teacher instructed, "You guys stay here with him. Don’t move him. I need to make a trip to the infirmary.”

Only Tao Yueyue was unmoved by the commotion. She stopped her note-taking and a smirk formed on her face.

Tao Yueyue was in a good mood the whole day after taking revenge on this little bully. When she went home that night, she felt that the food Chen Shi normally made for dinner even tasted better than usual. After dinner, she put down her tableware and said, “I need to go back to my room and study.”

"Was there a boy in your class that broke his leg?" Chen Shi was looking at the parents forum on his mobile phone. The parents were discussing this matter. The teacher had found out later that someone left some glass marbles on top of the staircase causing this accident.

"He deserved it. That fat guy is really annoying.”

"Did you do it?"

"No, I was in the classroom at the time. How could it have been me?"

Chen Shi asked the teacher why the boy suddenly had to go out in the middle of class and the teacher responded that he had diarrhea. He also added that it may be that the climate was too cold recently. There were a few students who had tummy troubles recently.

Chen Shi let go of Tao Yueyue and she said disdainfully, "Doubting me randomly. Occupational habit?!"

They didn’t speak to each other the whole night. The next morning, Chen Shi oddly didn’t make breakfast. Tao Yueyue didn’t say much either. She went to the refrigerator and took out the toast and ham for herself. Chen Shi said with a dark expression, “Sit down!”

"What?"

"Sit down first."

Tao Yueyue obediently sat on the opposite side of the table. The atmosphere in the room was a bit odd. She nervously tugged at her clothes. Chen Shi said coldly, "I learned about it last night. Your classmates reflected that you and Liang Zuoming are not on good terms and that he bullied you a week ago.”

"Yes."

"Why did you choose to swallow the truth and not tell me or the teacher?"

"Is it useful telling you guys? Also, I don't want to fight with those naive boys."

"So you took it in your own hands and retaliated against them?"

"I didn’t!" Tao Yueyue said loudly.

"Child, your technique is brilliant but your acting is really bad..." Chen Shi threw a book covered in cartoon stickers on the table.

Tao Yueyue widened her eyes. "You looked through my schoolbag?"

"I didn't want to invade your privacy, but I couldn’t sleep without figuring it out... This book is full of numbers and symbols that I don't understand. Coincidentally, the records stopped the day before the incident. You drew a little knife at the end, seemingly to signify some motive. I asked the math teacher and he said you were two minutes late to class saying that you went to the bathroom. I’m guessing that you actually waited for the class bell to ring before putting a glass marble on the steps. You arranged your trap and just waited for your target to pass by.”

Tao Yueyue bit her lip, revealing a defensive look.

"Confess honestly. I won’t put you in jail."

"Yes...I did it, just as you’ve said."

"What do these numbers and symbols mean?”

"The times recorded from the time they intake cement power to the time in which they get diarrhea.”

"Cement powder?"

"The cement powder scraped from the walls. I researched that it was a component of toothpaste. It won’t kill the… I used his little followers as experimental subjects. I took an average from the data and put it in Liang Zuoming’s milk tea during break. I also observed the usual strides and walking stances that Liang Zuoming used when he went downstairs. He always likes to climb two steps at a time.”

Chen Shi was shocked. To think this 12-year-old girl could actually plan such a detailed crime.

"If Liang Zuoming didn't step on that marble?"

"Then I’d wait a week before doing it again."

"Do you feel good now that your plan worked?"

"Yes, I do. His legs have broken, so maybe he can't participate in the final exam this year. Haha, he deserves it!" Tao Yueyue said proudly.

"Tao Yueyue!" Chen Shi angrily slammed on the table.

Tao Yueyue was so scared that she contracted her neck and got rid of the smile on her face.

"Don’t you realize that you’re in the wrong at all!?"

"Who told him to bully me?"

"You can defend yourself with proper means. Don’t you know that this is a crime?"

In the face of Chen Shi’s intimidation, Tao Yueyue was about to succumb to crying. Even her voice began trembling. “He always bullies me. He deserves it! If I told you guys, what would you guys have done? You would just lecture him. Then we’d just let go of how he bullied me?”

Chen Shi shook his head and sighed. He realized that if this bud was not cut off from the roots, with Tao Yueyue's IQ and her childhood experience, she would definitely become a high IQ criminal when she grew up.

"You must come with me and apologize to him! We need to ask him and his parents for forgiveness."

"No."

"Then get out."

Tao Yueyue wanted to bargain with an expression as if she was wronged. "If I’m the top of the class in this year’s final exams, can I not apologize..."

"It’s not negotiable!"

Under Chen Shi’s insistently tough treatment, she was taken to the hospital to see Liang Zuoming and his parents while he had his cast on. Chen Shi explained the situation to his parents and they looked at the girl who was keeping her head down in silence with shocked expressions on their faces. Chen Shi then reimbursed them far more than the expenses that Liang Zuoming’s hospitalization and medical expenses had incurred. In the face of money, the parents said they wouldn’t pursue this matter further, but said that if it were to happen again, they would report it to the school.

Chen Shi said to Tao Yueyue, "Now apologize to Liang Zuoming."

Tao Yueyue went into the ward with a grievance. Liang Zuoming had already overhead them when they were speaking outside. When he saw Tao Yueyue coming in, his expression was very complicated. He was afraid, nervous and looked like he was looking at an enemy.

Tao Yueyue bowed her head down. "Liang Zuoming, I am sorry. I shouldn't have made you break a leg. My uncle has already reimbursed your medical bill and has lectured me about it. I promise that there won’t be a next time.”

Liang Zuoming looked at her with trauma in his eyes, not knowing what to say. Chen Shi, who was outside the door, nodded with content.

However, when Tao Yueyue looked up, her expression changed and she sneered, "If you provoke me again, it is not going to be as simple as just breaking your legs next time."

When they left the ward, Liang Zuoming's hysterical crying could be heard. Chen Shi angrily glared at Tao Yueyue. "Did you threaten him?"

"No, I think he’s crying because he was so moved."