Chapter 8

As Hu Qiusheng spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Tang Xiu, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a mocking smile.

At the beginning, when Tang Xiu's academic performance declined, Hu Qiusheng felt a sense of regret. After all, Tang Xiu had entered high school as the top student in the city, and Hu Qiusheng had gone to great lengths to get Tang Xiu into his class.

During his first year of high school, Tang Xiu indeed brought glory to Hu Qiusheng. Whether it was in exams or competitions, Tang Xiu always achieved excellent results.

However, everything changed after a car accident in his second year. Although Tang Xiu continued to study diligently, he often forgot what he had learned, and his exam results worsened with each test.

As Tang Xiu's grades declined, incidents of copying homework, cheating in exams, and fighting began to occur one after another.

Although Hu Qiusheng did not investigate the truth of these incidents, once Tang Xiu's grades showed no hope of improvement, he was no longer within Hu Qiusheng's concern.

"Teacher Hu, if you insist on expelling Tang Xiu from the class, I will apply to transfer to Class 10 with him," Yuan Chuling said stubbornly, staring at Hu Qiusheng. When he realized that Hu Qiusheng was determined and would not retract the decision, he spoke loudly.

Hearing Yuan Chuling's words, Tang Xiu, who was quietly packing his things, paused, his eyes filled with surprise.

Tang Xiu knew that Yuan Chuling's situation was completely different from his own. Even if Yuan Chuling's grades declined, his parents had too much influence in Xingcheng City. As long as Yuan Chuling did not want to leave Class 1, no one could force him to leave. This was also why Hu Qiusheng did not want to offend Yuan Chuling.

"Yuan Chuling, I will consult your parents about your transfer. If they agree, I will not stop you," Hu Qiusheng said, frowning and displeased, as Yuan Chuling repeatedly challenged his authority for Tang Xiu. "Please sit down now; we are about to start class."

Yuan Chuling clearly did not expect Hu Qiusheng to agree so readily, and he was momentarily stunned.

It was only after Tang Xiu tugged at him that he slowly sat down.

In just a few minutes, Tang Xiu had packed all his things and stood up to leave the classroom.

"Boss, where are you going?" Yuan Chuling, who was still thinking of ways to keep Tang Xiu in Class 1, was taken aback by Tang Xiu's actions and couldn't help but exclaim.

"To where I should go," Tang Xiu said, waving his backpack and smiling brightly.

Yuan Chuling's exclamation startled Hu Qiusheng, who was writing on the blackboard. When Hu Qiusheng saw that Tang Xiu was almost at the classroom door, he slammed his fist on the podium, his face full of anger. "Tang Xiu, it's class time. Who gave you permission to leave?"

"Old Tiger, I'm no longer a student in this class. What can you do about it?" Tang Xiu glared at Hu Qiusheng coldly for a moment, then a playful smile appeared on his face.

During the morning study session, when Hu Qiusheng scolded and insulted Tang Xiu, Tang Xiu did not say a word. When Hu Qiusheng announced that Tang Xiu would be expelled from the class, Tang Xiu also remained silent. This did not mean that Tang Xiu had no temper; rather, he thought it was beneath him to argue with Hu Qiusheng.

If Hu Qiusheng had let Tang Xiu leave the classroom, Tang Xiu would not have bothered to provoke him. After all, Hu Qiusheng had taught Tang Xiu for more than two years and was his homeroom teacher. Tang Xiu did not want to be seen as disrespectful.

However, when Hu Qiusheng shouted at Tang Xiu, Tang Xiu could no longer tolerate it, thinking of all the insults he and his mother had endured over the past year.

Without giving Hu Qiusheng a chance to react, Tang Xiu strode out of the classroom.

What Tang Xiu did not know was that his calling Hu Qiusheng "Old Tiger" not only left Hu Qiusheng speechless but also stunned the entire class.

Although all the students secretly called Hu Qiusheng "Old Tiger," no one dared to say it in public, let alone in front of Hu Qiusheng, for fear of his wrath.

"You're really asking for it! I won't believe I can't deal with you!" After a long while, Hu Qiusheng finally caught his breath. By then, Tang Xiu was long gone, and he was so angry that he trembled.

"Old Tiger, I'll take it that you've already agreed to my transfer to Class 10. Goodbye. By the way, letting Tang Xiu leave this class is the stupidest thing you've ever done. You will definitely regret it!" Just as Hu Qiusheng was about to leave the classroom to chase after Tang Xiu, another voice rang out.

Hu Qiusheng looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yuan Chuling carrying his desk and chair out of the classroom, winking at him as he walked.

"Yuan Chuling, if you leave, don't think you can come back!" Recalling the instructions from Yuan Chuling's parents, Hu Qiusheng could not help but threaten him sternly.

"Old Tiger, since I'm leaving, I have no intention of coming back. Even if you beg me, I won't return." Seeing Hu Qiusheng's angry face, Yuan Chuling felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction and quickened his pace.

Soon, Yuan Chuling's figure disappeared from Hu Qiusheng's sight.

Faced with Yuan Chuling, Hu Qiusheng did not say anything harsh, as he knew very well that any harsh words would be useless and might even backfire.

After Tang Xiu and Yuan Chuling left the classroom, Hu Qiusheng, whose authority had been severely challenged, could no longer continue explaining the test questions. He absentmindedly said a few words and hurriedly left the classroom for the principal's office.

"Principal Wei, I strongly request that Tang Xiu be expelled. Not only is his academic performance poor, but he is also disrespectful and corrupts the school atmosphere. If we continue to tolerate him, it will tarnish the school's reputation!" In the principal's office, Hu Qiusheng recounted the events in the classroom, exaggerating them, and then pleaded loudly.

"Old Hu, I also want to expel Tang Xiu, but you know that Teacher Han has been protecting him. Teacher Han has already made a compromise by letting you expel Tang Xiu from the key class. If you continue to make things difficult for Tang Xiu, it will be extremely difficult to expel him from the school," Wei Zhentai said, pouring Hu Qiusheng a cup of tea and smiling.

"But... but..." Hearing Wei Zhentai's words, Hu Qiusheng felt a lump in his chest and did not know what to say.

Hu Qiusheng could not understand why Han Qingwu, the homeroom teacher of Class 10, would protect Tang Xiu.

If not for Han Qingwu's protection, Hu Qiusheng would have expelled Tang Xiu from his class a year ago when his grades started to decline. Agreeing to Tang Xiu's mother's desperate pleas was just a favor.

"Principal Wei, do you know why Teacher Han is protecting Tang Xiu? I have studied Tang Xiu's personal history, family members, and social relationships countless times and found no connection between Tang Xiu and Teacher Han. I have also never seen Teacher Han interact with Tang Xiu at school," Hu Qiusheng asked, puzzled.

In theory, as the homeroom teacher of the key class and a veteran teacher with nearly twenty years of experience at No. 1 High School, Hu Qiusheng could have ignored Han Qingwu, who was a homeroom teacher of a regular class and had only been at the school for a little over a year.

In fact, Hu Qiusheng did not dare to speak loudly in front of Han Qingwu and had to be respectful. This was not just true for Hu Qiusheng; almost all the teachers at the school, including Principal Wei Zhentai, were extremely cautious around Han Qingwu.

The reason was simple: Han Qingwu's father, Han Fu, was the director of the Xingcheng City Education Bureau. Han Fu doted on his daughter, so if the teachers at No. 1 High School wanted to advance or continue their careers, they did not dare to offend Han Qingwu and instead had to flatter her.

"Old Hu, does it matter whether Tang Xiu is related to Teacher Han? As long as Teacher Han protects Tang Xiu, you won't be able to expel him from the school. In fact, not only you, but I also received a call this morning from someone else who wanted to expel Tang Xiu from the school. You would never guess who it was," Wei Zhentai said, looking at Hu Qiusheng with a half-smile.

"Who?" Wei Zhentai's words caught Hu Qiusheng's attention, and he asked involuntarily.

"Shang Wen, the chairman of Shangwen Real Estate," Wei Zhentai said solemnly.

"Shang Wen? The nouveau riche who donated a dormitory building to the school so his son could attend? How did Tang Xiu offend him? No, Tang Xiu and he are from completely different worlds. Could it be that Tang Xiu had a conflict with his son, Su Xiangfei?" Hearing Shang Wen's name, Hu Qiusheng immediately recalled his deeds.

"Old Hu, didn't you say you studied Tang Xiu's family members many times? Don't you know Tang Xiu's mother's name?" Wei Zhentai asked, his face showing a look of suspicion.

"Tang Xiu's mother?" Hu Qiusheng did not understand why Wei Zhentai asked this, but he recalled the ordinary woman who had knelt before him multiple times. The next moment, his pupils dilated, and he exclaimed, "Principal, you can't mean that Su Lingyun is related to Shang Wen?"

"That doesn't make sense. If Su Lingyun were related to Shang Wen, why would she and Tang Xiu be so poor that they couldn't even afford tuition? Even a small amount of help from Shang Wen would be enough to ensure their basic needs," Hu Qiusheng was confused.

"These matters are not within our scope of research," Wei Zhentai neither confirmed nor denied Hu Qiusheng's guess. "Although Shang Wen has contributed greatly to the school, with Teacher Han supporting Tang Xiu, I will not meet his unreasonable demands. However, I agree to transfer Tang Xiu to Class 10. I think that will satisfy him."

Hearing the principal's words, Hu Qiusheng's mouth twitched.

Hu Qiusheng had long wanted to expel Tang Xiu from his class. He had raised this issue with the principal's office and the grade group more than once, but they had always dodged the issue.

When the principal's office and the grade group finally agreed to transfer Tang Xiu out of the class, Hu Qiusheng thought his persistence had finally paid off. He did not realize that Shang Wen had been pushing for it, and he had benefited from Shang Wen's influence.

Recalling the mocking looks and words of Tang Xiu and Yuan Chuling before they left the classroom, Hu Qiusheng suddenly realized that although he had won, he had also lost.

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