Chapter 26: If I Were the Principal p2
After hearing the information from the students, Teacher Ma suggested, “Why don’t we wait for the parents to arrive and then decide on the responsibility after talking to them? Teacher Qian is particularly angry. Zhou Wanfeng went into the classroom with a stick and hit someone. In front of so many students, the impact was very bad. And even in front of a teacher, she still did as she pleased and didn’t listen to advice, and just hit someone. Although there was a reason for it, Zhou Wanfeng was also being arrogant and domineering, and didn’t have any respect for the teacher or the school. Especially since the whole school saw this, if we don’t punish her, it will be difficult to quell this matter. And if other students imitate her in the future, that will also be a problem.”
“Punish her? You didn’t see her attitude. She won’t accept any punishment. If this matter is reported to the police, Shuangshu Model’s reputation will drop again,” Du Yong’an said, scratching his head in frustration. “This Zhou Wanfeng should never have been admitted in the first place. She’s really the most difficult student I’ve ever seen.”
She was young but not naive. She was very shrewd. She knew everything you could think of. She clearly knew that the school wanted to handle this matter internally and didn’t want it to blow up and look bad.
Du Yong’an looked at Teacher Ma, his voice weak. “You think her saying she’ll call the police just means having the local police station send a couple of people over to mediate?”
“Isn’t it?” Teacher Ma was taken aback.
“Heh, she’ll report it to the Education Bureau, the Municipal Public Security Department, the inspection and discipline inspection team, and the supervision team, all of them,” Du Yong’an said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. His head was aching.
“How is that possible? She’s just a first-year junior high school student. How would she know all that?” Teacher Ma shook his head, not believing it at all.
Du Yong’an slammed his hand on the record book and said with a bitter smile, “Zhou Wanfeng is a relative of Lin Jiawen from the school’s general affairs office. She was the one who pulled strings to get her into the school. She said it herself. Her family had said some angry words in jest, and she ran away from home with her backpack and went straight to the Qiantang Road Public Security Bureau to report that she had been abandoned. Her family lives in South Lake Mansion. Why do you think she went to the Qiantang Road Public Security Bureau to report it?”
Teacher Ma asked directly, “Why?”
“Where are the Yunhai City Daily News, the Press and Media, and the Radio and Television Media all concentrated?” Du Yong’an reminded him.
“Near Qiantang Road!” After understanding, Teacher Ma’s mouth fell open.
Du Yong’an nodded. “Does this look like something a ten-year-old child would do? I can understand running away from home, but reporting abandonment and preparing to go to the media to ruin her family’s reputation? Have you ever seen such a ruthless student? And you have to admit that the things she did were indeed…” quite fatal.
Du Yong’an remembered that on the first day of school, she had threatened to report the school. After hearing what Lin Jiawen had said, he had broken out in a cold sweat. This student was definitely not just talking. Her classmates had just said that she would do what she said. Now, it seemed that she really had the ability to do it.
A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. A twelve-year-old, when ruthless, was really deadly. She had no scruples. She even dared to go against her own family. What wouldn’t she dare to do to the school?
Knock, knock, knock. The office door was pushed open and Sun Mulan came in. “Director Du, um… Zhou Wanfeng’s family is here.”
“Have them go to the conference room first. I’ll be right there,” Du Yong’an said, getting up to drink some water. He hoped that Zhou Wanfeng’s parents were open-minded and understood the ways of the world. He was really afraid of unreasonable and unreasonable people.
When Du Yong’an and Teacher Ma entered the conference room, they were both taken aback, especially when they saw the grim-faced Lin Jiawen sitting next to Zhou Wanfeng.
“Didn’t… didn’t you say Zhou Wanfeng’s parents were here?” Teacher Ma looked at Teacher Lin from the general affairs office, then turned to look at Du Yong’an.
Zhou Wanfeng pointed at Lin Jiawen and introduced, “My aunt. She’s also from Shuangshu Model School.”
Lin Jiawen stood up and nodded at Director Du and Teacher Ma. She glanced at the properly seated Zhou Wanfeng next to her and said in a calm voice, “Wanfeng’s father is too busy. He can’t come.”
When Lin Jiawen received Zhou Wanfeng’s call, she was dumbfounded. Only then did she find out what she had done.
“Cousin-Aunt, if the school punishes me, I’ll report the school for shielding bullies and covering up the truth…” The moment Lin Jiawen heard this, she nearly fainted. She had rushed over, and Zhou Wanfeng had briefly explained the cause and effect of the incident.
Seeing Du Yong’an, Lin Jiawen couldn’t be bothered to say anything. “Director Du, how are you going to handle this? She said that if the school punishes her, she’ll report the school for shielding bullies, condoning bullies to harm innocent students, and ignoring and indulging bad students.”
Zhou Wanfeng looked at Du Yong’an and nodded, admitting that she had said it. She glanced at the three of them and said with a smile, “You are all from Shuangshu Model Middle School. You probably don’t want to see the school’s reputation damaged. My cousin-aunt is my guardian and also a school employee. I think if you talk it over, you might be able to come up with a perfect solution. In this matter, I am the victim. Peng Zhen and his group cannot be held responsible just because their injuries are more serious. Secondly, school bullying and harm should not be divided into off-campus and on-campus. It’s fine for him to hit me outside of school, but it’s a violation of discipline for me to hit him in class? Do you only look at physical injuries when it comes to harm? What about psychological intimidation and threats?”
With that, Zhou Wanfeng stood up and looked at Lin Jiawen. “Cousin-Aunt, as my guardian, you can continue to discuss this with them. I’ll go to the office next door. Call me when you’ve come to a decision.”
With that, Zhou Wanfeng pushed the door open and left.
Lin Jiawen supported her forehead with her hand and gasped for breath. “Director Du, this child, I’m telling you, I have no way of dealing with her. I only just found out what happened during the lunch break. I really didn’t expect her… her…” Just talking about it gave Lin Jiawen a headache. She really regretted it. She shouldn’t have listened to her aunt and admitted her to Shuangshu Model. It was just asking for trouble.
She explained with a bitter smile, “If I had known she had this kind of personality, I would never have admitted her.”
Du Yong’an raised his teacup and took a sip. “Let’s discuss it. The higher-ups are still waiting for a response on this matter.”
The three of them looked at each other, each with their own worries. Lin Jiawen was in the most difficult position. If the punishment was too heavy, Zhou Wanfeng, with her personality, would definitely cause trouble and not let it go.
If it was too light, how would the school maintain its authority? What if other students imitated her in the future?
After discussing for more than ten minutes, Teacher Ma went out to get a glass of water. As soon as he went out, he immediately came back in and shouted, “Zhou Wanfeng is not in the office! She’s run away!”
Du Yong’an and Lin Jiawen immediately stood up. The office next door was indeed empty.
“Where is she?”
The three of them panicked and quickly split up to look for her, afraid that she would cause an even bigger scene.
…
As for Zhou Wanfeng, she hadn’t gone into the office at all, nor had she returned to the classroom. She had gone straight to the principal.
The bell for the afternoon class had already rung. The whole school was in their first class. Apart from the playground where there was a physical education class, the campus was very empty.
The principal’s office was on the third floor of the administrative building. The first room on the left after going up the stairs was the principal’s office.
Zhou Wanfeng remembered that the principal’s name on the admission brochure was Wang Zongping.
She stood quietly in front of the door for a minute. Vaguely hearing a noise from inside, she raised her hand and knocked, knock, knock, knock, knock.
“Come in,” a deep voice said from inside.
Zhou Wanfeng pushed the door open, gently closed it behind her, took two steps forward, and said, “Good afternoon, Principal.”
Wang Zongping put down his fountain pen and looked at the student who had walked into his office with surprise. He even looked behind her, thinking a teacher was about to come in.
“I am the class president of First Grade, Class Nine, Zhou Wanfeng. Director Du from the political and educational affairs office may have reported to you what happened during the lunch break, but I feel it is necessary to talk to you in person.”
Wang Zongping capped his pen, crossed his hands on the desk, his face naturally authoritative.
Zhou Wanfeng took two steps forward, her eyes calm, her expression composed. “I would like to discuss with you the future development of Shuangshu Model Middle School.”
Wang Zongping was taken aback and almost laughed. He sized up the first-year student before him. To be able to find his office on her own, her courage was commendable. “Shouldn’t you be talking about the fight during the afternoon break? That was a very serious matter.”
“Student fights happen in every school. What’s special is that I won. And the future of Shuangshu Model Middle School that I want to discuss with you is precisely because of this fight that I won,” Zhou Wanfeng said, her back straight, her pupils glinting sharply.
It was the first time Wang Zongping had seen such a strong presence in a student. Her expression was resolute, as if she would not be denied this discussion even if he didn’t want to listen.
He stood up, picked up a white teacup, and poured some water. “Go on, then,” he said. It was rare to see such a calm and capable student, who had won a fight against multiple people, showed no remorse, and had even dared to come to the principal’s office on her own initiative.
“The First Grade, Class Nine that I’m in is a special class, isn’t it? The fact that these students weren’t evenly distributed among the other classes can only mean one thing: Shuangshu Model Middle School wants to improve its grades. As far as I know, Shuangshu Model Middle School has some difficulty with admissions every year. First, its grades are not outstanding. Second, its school spirit is not good, which has led to a consistently poor quality of students.”
“It’s a good thing to want to reform and innovate, and it’s not wrong to focus on student performance at the beginning. But the outstanding students are all in public schools. No matter how hard you try, you won’t see any outstanding results in one or two years. Without any impressive results, it’s useless to gather all the outstanding students in the grade in one class and all the naughty and troublesome ones in another. The outstanding ones still can’t compare to others, and the poor students and hooligans are always causing trouble and ruining the school’s reputation. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Wang Zongping had just been curious at first, but now his brow was furrowed. He had to admit that what this student was saying was indeed the current dilemma of Shuangshu Model Middle School.
“As you said, Shuangshu Model Middle School has already gathered the outstanding students, and has also hired outstanding teachers to form an outstanding teaching team, and is focusing on teaching quality. It’s true that these things won’t produce immediate results. Shuangshu Model Middle School does want to change its past image, but these things can’t be achieved overnight. It takes time.”
“Grades take time to improve, but reputation is a different matter,” Zhou Wanfeng said with a smile. “Take the fight I won during the lunch break today, for example. It’s a very good opportunity.”
“How so?”
“If I were the school leadership, I would never prohibit the students of all grades and all classes from discussing and spreading it. To not discuss such a big commotion? Is that burying your head in the sand? It’s been known since ancient times that it’s better to guide than to block. Do you know who the people I hit were?
“They’re said to be very famous at school. A small gang, smoking, extorting, hitting people, forcing lower-grade students, and robbing in groups on their way home from school. You can ask Director Du later. The victims are definitely not just me and my classmates. To say they’re just bullying others is an understatement. They’re the pests of society in the future.
“Eight of them cornered me on the road at night. They couldn’t win and ran away. I let it go. But they’re so arrogant. During the lunch break today, they hacked my desk, soaked my books, and smashed my bicycle, and even moved it from the bike shed to the classroom door. This is a blatant provocation. Am I afraid of them? Can’t I beat them? Just because we’re at school, they think I won’t dare to do anything to them? How arrogant. To bully people like this at school.”
Wang Zongping was about to interject, to say that she could have gone to a teacher to solve it.
But Zhou Wanfeng sneered and said directly, “You want me to go to a teacher? Can a teacher hit them? Can a teacher change them? All my losses will just be exchanged for a light and airy ‘sorry’ from them? I don’t want that. I can also say sorry after I’ve hit them. The problem now is that Director Du wants to punish me because I hit someone. But if the school leadership is wise, they shouldn’t punish me. They should reward me.”
Wang Zongping’s gaze darkened. He was beginning to understand.
Zhou Wanfeng smiled. “Let this matter spread. The school’s concern for its students is not just a slogan, but action. Strictly punish the small gangs. Deal with matters such as hitting, extorting, forcing, and colluding with people from outside the school with severity. Show the spirit of Shuangshu Model. Don’t hide it. Your Shuangshu’s reputation is not that good right now. You might as well just lay it all out for the parents outside to see. Look, my Shuangshu will not tolerate, will not shield. Once discovered, they will be expelled directly.”
“If you want a better effect, then market it. Find a reporter to polish it up. For this kind of school bullying theme, Peng Zhen and his group from the third grade are a perfect example…” Zhou Wanfeng was about to continue, but she stopped.
“Forget it. It involves personal privacy and a wide range of aspects. The school probably doesn’t have the guts to do it. You should have understood my meaning. If you want to change, you have to focus on grades, but now is the opportunity to change the school’s image and improve its reputation.”
Wang Zongping took a sip of water and couldn’t help but size up the girl before him. He said with a blank expression, “You’ve said so much. You just don’t want to be punished, right?”
Zhou Wanfeng’s lips held a smile, but her eyes were very cold. She said in an unhurried tone, “If I’m punished, Shuangshu Model Middle School’s reputation will have no chance of being restored. The school will be branded as a shield for bullies, and the victims will not receive fair treatment. At worst, I’ll just drop out. But my story is so exciting. If it ends so bleakly, my family might want to market it. My dad is in business. He’s always been very interested in marketing.”