Chapter 2

"Say that again?" Zhou Haiyun was shocked, never imagining that the seemingly honest student in front of her would utter such words.

Qin Feng immediately repeated himself, but more succinctly: "I want to drop out."

"Say that again!" Zhou Haiyun suddenly roared, startling the other teacher, Wang Da'an, who was in the office.

"Teacher Zhou, what's wrong with this child?" Wang Da'an asked weakly.

Zhou Haiyun panted heavily, her eyes wide open, but she did not respond.

She was extremely angry. In her view, Qin Feng was clearly provoking and threatening her.

Qin Feng calmly faced the enraged Zhou Haiyun and remained silent with her.

After a moment of eye contact, Zhou Haiyun slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "You want to drop out? Fine, call your parents here. As long as they agree, I'll let you go immediately!"

Regarding the issue of calling his parents, Qin Feng was actually quite indifferent. However, the problem was that he could not remember the current phone number at home, and his father, Qin Jianguo, did not have a mobile phone.

"My family doesn't have a phone, and my dad doesn't have a mobile. Teacher Zhou, how about I go home first and bring my dad here tomorrow?" Qin Feng asked Zhou Haiyun in a conciliatory tone.

"Come here? Do you think this is a place where you can come and go as you please?" Zhou Haiyun pushed Qin Feng forcefully.

Qin Feng stumbled and almost fell. He steadied himself and frowned, somewhat displeased, "Teacher Zhou, let's talk things out calmly. Why are you being so physical?"

"Calmly? What right do you have to ask me to talk calmly with you?" Zhou Haiyun's logic was that of a bandit. She angrily grabbed Qin Feng and pushed him into a small room, then closed the door and shouted from outside, "Stay there! I'll go get your homeroom teacher right now!"

Qin Feng was at a loss.

Isn't this just about dropping out? Is it necessary to resort to confinement?

The small room was pitch black. Qin Feng stood for a while, feeling a bit unsteady, so he sat down.

Qin Feng waited for a whole class period. It was not until the bell rang, and he had been locked in for nearly an hour, that he was finally released.

When the door to the small room opened, Xia Xiaolin was already outside.

Seeing Qin Feng, Xia Xiaolin immediately put on a stern face and said, "Qin Feng, what are you doing?"

"Nothing much," Qin Feng replied with a委屈的微笑 (grievance-filled smile), "I just want to apply for dropping out."

"You still say that!" Xia Xiaolin shouted.

Zhou Haiyun had been angry for an hour, and her anger had not subsided. Her face was even redder. She habitually pointed at Qin Feng, her voice hoarse but still shouting forcefully, "Teacher Xia, look at the student you're in charge of, he even dares to threaten me!"

Xia Xiaolin quickly explained, "Teacher Zhou, it's not like that, Qin Feng is a student who..."

"You don't need to explain! If he wants to drop out, I'll let him. Call his parents here now!" Zhou Haiyun roared, interrupting Xia Xiaolin.

"Qin Feng, quickly apologize to Teacher Zhou," Xia Xiaolin urged, stomping her feet in anxiety. "Why drop out? You worked so hard to get in. If you drop out, you won't go to college. Think about your father, how hard it was for him to raise you alone."

Zhou Haiyun's anger slightly subsided, and she asked Xia Xiaolin in a low voice, "Doesn't he have a mother?"

Xia Xiaolin shook her head and replied softly, "They divorced."

"No wonder the child turned out like this!" Zhou Haiyun exclaimed, as if Qin Feng had committed a heinous crime.

Qin Feng listened calmly to the two of them talk about his family, with no intention of interrupting.

"What do you really want, child?" Xia Xiaolin deliberately brought up Qin Feng's family situation, hoping to force him to comply. Seeing that Qin Feng showed no reaction, she became anxious again.

Qin Feng found it a bit amusing. Psychologically, he was several years older than his former homeroom teacher.

But, let's just treat him as a child...

Qin Feng did not fuss over the form of address, maintaining his attitude and said calmly, "Teacher Xia, please call my dad. I'm not acting on a whim. I've thought about dropping out for a long time."

"What have you thought about? The only thing you need to think about now is studying hard," Xia Xiaolin tried to persuade Qin Feng. "Dropping out is easy to say, but what will you do after you drop out? Have you thought about how you will live?"

"I can work," Qin Feng smiled slightly. "In two months, I'll be 16, the legal working age."

"What nonsense! What kind of work can you do? What can you do?" Xia Xiaolin lectured earnestly.

Qin Feng replied with a very sincere tone, "Washing dishes, cleaning, sweeping, cleaning toilets, doing manual labor, being a waiter, or an apprentice in various industries. If someone gives me a chance, I could even work as a clerk in a company."

"Hah, a clerk? You can't even read properly!" Zhou Haiyun mocked.

Qin Feng was not angry, and he smiled in response, "Then let's remove the clerk option. I plan to work as a sewage cleaner. Teacher Zhou, do you have any objections to that?"

This disgusting topic made Zhou Haiyun furious. She screamed hysterically, "Teacher Xia, don't waste time with him. Call his parents here immediately. Such a student, the sooner he leaves, the better!"

Xia Xiaolin did not dare to speak up for Qin Feng anymore and quickly made a phone call.

Qin Feng did not know how Xia Xiaolin contacted Qin Jianguo, but in less than 20 minutes, Qin Jianguo rushed in.

Qin Jianguo apologized to Zhou Haiyun and Xia Xiaolin without a word.

Zhou Haiyun snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "I can't bear it. You might as well take your child away."

"Teacher Zhou, please calm down. The child is only in the first year of high school. How can he not study? His entrance score was over 600, and his current grades are also good," Xia Xiaolin quickly spoke up in support when Qin Feng's father arrived.

Zhou Haiyun was not convinced and remained silent.

Qin Jianguo patted Qin Feng's arm and asked with a frown, "What's going on?"

"Nothing much, just don't want to study anymore," Qin Feng said calmly, then quickly added, "Dad, I'm not joking, I'm serious."

Qin Jianguo's reaction was the same as Xia Xiaolin's. He shouted, "Serious? What do you mean by serious? You won't go to college if you don't finish high school?"

"Right," Qin Feng nodded firmly, "I won't go to college, it's meaningless."

"How can going to college be meaningless? Qin Feng, don't be so impulsive. Dropping out is easy, but coming back is hard!" Xia Xiaolin shouted.

Qin Jianguo immediately agreed, "Exactly!"

Qin Feng was silent for a few seconds and then said slowly, "Dad, Teacher Xia, I know you're doing this for my own good, but I really don't want to continue living like this. I really don't want to study anymore. In the future, I will work hard to support myself, I won't steal or rob. I will work like everyone else, even starting from the lowest jobs. I just want to work early and live the life I want."

Everyone in the room was silent, even Zhou Haiyun forgot to be angry for a moment.

Qin Jianguo was quiet for a long time but still could not accept Qin Feng's decision. He patiently persuaded, "Qin Feng, I've already suffered from not having enough education. I don't want you to suffer the same. Look at the society now. To be honest, college graduates are not worth much. If you only have a junior high school diploma, you won't even find a decent job. Even if you're young now and people will hire you, what about when you're older? Without a job, no company, no medical insurance, no pension, how will you live when you're old?"

"Dad, there are many people in this world without a diploma, and not everyone needs a diploma to live well," Qin Feng said very casually.

Qin Jianguo raised his hand in anger but, seeing Qin Feng's calm demeanor, he could not bring himself to strike.

Qin Jianguo stared at Qin Feng for a long time. Seeing that Qin Feng had no regrets, he finally sighed deeply. He seemed to have given up, shaking his head and saying, "Do as you wish, just don't regret it in the future..."