I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

This question made you pause for a moment, but you still answered truthfully that your parents are no longer alive, so there will be no "Mom and Dad" visiting you.

"Is that so? That's strange... Xiwang doesn't have a mom and dad... Everyone here does..." he said softly, his voice filled with childlike innocence.

Even though you know he didn't mean it, you still feel very uncomfortable... because the subtext of his words carries a strange sense of "showing off," which is quite annoying.

However, you didn't blame him. After all, you could tell that he was genuinely just curious and wanted to show you some concern. More importantly... he couldn't understand the impact of someone without parents saying "everyone else has parents," nor did he realize how much of a blow those words would be to others.

He simply...spoke out what was on his mind.

Therefore, you just smiled awkwardly and casually, and didn't take it to heart.

But the other children didn't see it that way... When that child found out, it was like discovering a "new continent," and he started telling everyone about it... He just wanted to share the "difference" he had discovered, and since children at this stage always play together and communicate very quickly, it was almost no time before the entire school knew about it.

Honestly, this is really annoying, especially when you find out the child meant no harm; it just gets even more... disgusting.

Although every teacher, upon hearing about this, strictly forbade the children from spreading it around and specifically explained that such gossip was very bad... no one listened, or rather, although all the children listened, no one wanted to stop.

[On one hand, it's pure curiosity. The children don't quite understand what's wrong with what the teacher is saying, because they don't feel anything is wrong or uncomfortable. Therefore, they want to know what this "badness" is, and that's why they haven't stopped what they're doing.]

On the other hand, it's simply a matter of children's "rebellion." The more teachers forbid it, the more the children feel there's something "special" about it, that there must be some "hidden story" to investigate, and therefore their actions become increasingly extreme.

[Another aspect... might be that you behaved "too well" at school, that you were too likable, to the point that some kids felt a little... envious, envious of your friendly and likable demeanor, and subsequently felt a little... jealous.]

They're jealous of how popular you are, how much attention you attract. They want to be like you, or even more popular than you.

They don't know whether their feelings are good or bad; they just want to follow their hearts and act accordingly... So when they discover your "difference," your imperfections, they become enthusiastic about spreading this, even unleashing their childlike imagination to speculate about what secrets lie behind your "flaws."

[Especially when they discover that by using your "difference" to express their unique "imagination," the other children will gather around them with curiosity, focusing their attention on them, and they will feel even more that there is nothing wrong with their actions.]

They don't think they've done anything wrong; they just want to be like you, surrounded by others, attracting attention, and becoming... as likable as you.

Besides, they don't think anything of it will cause any real consequences; they're just talking, so what difference will it make?

What they don't realize is that their seemingly harmless actions, which they call "just talking," can still cause harm... but because they aren't harming themselves, they don't feel anything and don't think they've done anything wrong.

[And yet, being children, they lack the capacity to discern or understand the impact this event will have on you, the person directly involved, and they are unaware that their words can genuinely hurt others... This is truly heartbreaking.]

Most importantly... the teachers didn't take strict measures to stop it, nor did they know how to do so, especially when they discovered that warning the students only made the rumors spread faster. Therefore, the teachers could only "cold-out" the situation and wait for the children to lose interest in discussing it.

This is indeed one approach, after all, children's interest comes and goes quickly, but it's actually unfair, unfair to you... because it means you have to endure this "unintentional harm" until the children's interest fades.

You are heartbroken and want to tell Father Henry about it, to pour out your troubles and sorrow, but... when you dial Father Henry's number and see his face on the terminal, you are stunned.

[Because Father Enrique was lying in a hospital bed, looking very weak.]

You inquire with considerable concern, momentarily forgetting the worries and sorrows you wanted to share; now you are more concerned about Father Henry's condition.

[Then you learn that Father Henry encountered a thief who came to steal from the church one night... When he discovered him, the children were already asleep. In order not to disturb the children, Father Henry planned to comfort him with words, even stating that if he encountered any difficulties, he could talk to him and he would help him. He also said that the church was willing to help if he encountered any problems in his life.]

[However, that thief... seemed to be a fugitive. He not only deceived Father Henry verbally, but also pretended to agree, thus luring Father Henry closer to him.]

Father Henry's innate kindness and his duty as a priest made him lower his guard somewhat. Unfortunately, the other man did not accept Father Henry's goodwill and stabbed him several times when Father Henry approached... Fortunately, Father Henry eventually drove him away and informed the police chief of the situation.

Most of Father Enrique's wounds were not deep or particularly fatal. The main issue was that a few stab wounds pierced his lungs. Even with timely treatment, Father Enrique still suffered from chronic illnesses and occasionally experiences pain when breathing.

At this point, you couldn't care less about anything else; you wanted to go back and visit Father Henry... but he stopped you.

"Do not worry, child on your journey..." Father Henry said. "Continue on your path, do not linger for me, do not fix your gaze on me. You have a brighter and more glorious future ahead of you."

"You have suffered enough. Though there may still be pain on the road ahead, you need not dwell on it. Do not fixate on suffering. Move towards a brighter, broader, and more radiant future. Witness the goodness and love in the world, accept love and kindness, and then... keep them in your heart. Move towards a brighter future and become... the person you most want to be, the person your name suggests."

"Please don't worry, I haven't left, I've never left. I've simply returned to His side, to be with Him who watches over you, observing your growth... I will always be with you," Father Enrique said softly.

You didn't quite understand his somewhat cryptic words, but you still grasped his meaning—he told you not to worry about him, and that he hoped you would study hard and achieve a better future.

Since Father Enrique doesn't want you to worry about him... then you shouldn't let him worry about you either—you thought to yourself.

So you put aside your worries and sorrows, and firmly responded to his words, promising him that you would definitely move towards a better future, just as he hoped.

Father Enrique smiled, a very happy smile. Before hanging up, you could even sense that he had fulfilled a long-held wish, a look of peace and contentment on his face.

You became more determined and worked harder in your studies. Despite the gossip and persistent rumors from the children around you, you controlled yourself and tried your best to maintain your initial kindness and positivity. As always, you were active in school and helped others.

But... the rumors about you didn't stop there; they became increasingly bizarre and intense, even starting to include clearly fabricated "rumors," and quite malicious ones at that.

It's still those kids who yearn to be like you who are doing this, because they have no choice. They have to maintain this rumor, even to the point of lying and fabricating rumors about you, so that they can continue to be "like you"—being watched and surrounded by people.

Especially as your grades improve and your presence becomes more dazzling, their actions become increasingly... "outrageous," increasingly excessive.

Because only in this way can they "be like you".

Their actions were not malicious, and they were unaware that their behavior actually carried immense malice... but it is precisely because of this that it is so frustrating and so repulsive.

This is what children are like—lacking a clear sense of right and wrong, and without having received clear guidance, they unknowingly harm others…

In this state, no matter how much you try to control yourself, no matter how much you force yourself to ignore these comments... you will still be affected.

The sadness you had barely suppressed surged up again, and confusion and disgust spread through your heart. As a result, you were somewhat absent-minded in your recent music classes. Whether it was the music you played or the songs you hummed, there was a faint sadness and complaint in them, which made your music teacher frown.

[It's not that this kind of mood is bad, because some pieces of music have a sad atmosphere, and if you practice this type of music during this time, your progress will definitely be very obvious, but... this teacher doesn't want it to be like this.]

Because he knows very well that this is the most crucial period for you, the time that will most influence your future path. Everything you experience now will directly affect your future path in music, and even in the arts.

While it's acceptable to choose a sad theme—after all, it's a style—and one could even say that you're still young and that even if you're scarred, you'll have time to heal... he didn't think so.

Time may heal all wounds, but it will eventually leave scars that are difficult to remove or even erase. He doesn't want you to have such an avoidable "knot" in your heart, nor does he want you to spend more time and energy healing this "wound" in the future.

Because he deeply understands that without the "present," there is no "future," and one cannot place the hope of healing the soul on the vague and uncertain "future."

Therefore, he intends to help you.

Next, this teacher began to show an extremely obvious "favoritism" towards you, and displayed an attitude completely different from other teachers. He started to focus on dealing with the "rumors" about you that were circulating everywhere. Once he found that a student was spreading "rumors" about you, he would specifically name that student and "take care" of that student in every way—of course, within the rules.

This action undoubtedly provoked a rebellious attitude among the students, and their attention was unconsciously diverted to "confronting" the teacher, becoming less concerned about your situation.

[Because they discovered that actively leading other children to "confront" the teacher could also garner attention and even attract more followers... Although their chosen path was different from yours, they still got what they wanted most.]

However, this action undoubtedly led to "ostracism" or even isolation from other teachers, who felt that this teacher's actions would inevitably attract complaints and trouble in the future... They didn't want to get themselves into trouble.

Regarding your situation... although the teachers are helpless and sympathetic to your plight, they don't want to offend other students... parents will complain, and if there are too many, they'll lose their jobs. So they can only take extra care of you privately or comfort you occasionally... but that's all.

You witnessed your teacher's actions and felt genuinely grateful, but at the same time... you also began to worry about him.

You find him and express your concern, saying, "Teacher, you...you don't have to do this. I can handle it, and I'm not that upset. After all...what they said is true. I heard from other teachers that if you continue like this, you might face complaints or even lose your job. I don't want to put you in a difficult position..."

However, he shook his head, directly rejecting your suggestion.

"Even if what they say is true, that's not a reason for them to hurt you wantonly... and as a teacher, I cannot accept seeing a highly talented student, someone who could absolutely surpass me, suffer inexplicable harm... even if that harm is not malicious in any way." - He said.

"I also understand that those kids are just envious of your situation, envious of your excellence, and maybe even... a little jealous of you. So they desperately try to grasp any way to become 'like you,' even if that way is wrong, or even incorrect... but they just don't realize that the way is wrong."

"Those children simply don't understand right from wrong; they simply haven't received enough proper and clear guidance, that's all... So I must point this out to them and their parents; it's my responsibility as a teacher."

"So..." he patted your head, "Don't worry, put down those sorrows, strengthen your resolve, keep moving forward, become even better, become someone no one can 'be like', someone they can only admire, someone they can only envy, not be jealous of... I believe you can do it, after all, you are my student."

"When you become famous in the future, I'll have something to brag about, haha... Ah, cough cough, sorry, please forget what I just said, haha..."

"As for the rest, you don't need to worry about it," he smiled, like a gentle breeze.

Then, he whispered to you—

"Your teacher will protect you."

You stood there, stunned, a hidden wound in your heart, one you weren't even aware of, seemingly from a long time ago, quietly healing.

At this moment, you truly felt a sense of... "love".

Chapter Six: Sad Stories (4214)

Your music teacher did indeed protect you to the best of his ability, just as he said, so you wouldn't have to worry about those inexplicable things and could focus on your studies and music... In return, his "conflicts" with other students became increasingly apparent, eventually leading to "conflicts," and unsurprisingly, it ended up with the students' parents.

Some parents complained to the school that some teachers were targeting their children, making things difficult for them, and some even exaggerated, saying that their students were physically punished... But these things clearly did not happen. You have never seen your music teacher physically punish students. He is not that kind of person, and the school will never allow teachers to physically punish students.

Although the school has repeatedly assured parents that no teacher would physically punish students, and that all surveillance footage proves that no students were punished, the parents do not accept this explanation or the evidence provided by the school.

"Your school teachers definitely know there are security cameras. If they wanted to physically punish my child, they would have done it somewhere without cameras!"—that's what the parents said.

The school immediately realized that these parents were about to resort to their old tricks—making unreasonable demands.

The main problem is that this is something that cannot be disproven, because the parents' reasons are very valid, since surveillance cameras cannot possibly be present in "everywhere" of the school. Therefore, the parents can keep harping on this point.

Furthermore, the school cannot raise any questions, as this would escalate the issue. In addition, the parents' starting point is always for their own children, which is a reason that cannot be blamed or addressed. Once this point is questioned, the issue will immediately become more acute.

[“I’m only trying to protect my child from being wronged”—parents have a perfect excuse and justification, while if the school objects even slightly, it will be met with counterattacks like “You don’t care about my child, you’re protecting the teacher”... and then be labeled as “not caring about students and not understanding the students’ parents”, and then the school’s educational ability will be further questioned.]

Don't be surprised, because the school has actually experienced this kind of thing before. As a result, the school particularly dislikes these kinds of parents, but there's nothing they can do about it. Especially after the school confirms that their own teacher has done nothing wrong and that the student's parent is deliberately exaggerating and making a fuss, the school finds itself in an even more troublesome situation.

What's even more troublesome is that... perhaps because they received support and encouragement from their parents, those students also felt they had done nothing wrong, and thus began to escalate their behavior, causing their conflict with your music teacher to grow increasingly intense.

[As the saying goes... "It's hard to learn good things, but it's easy to learn bad things." In order to more clearly "rebel" against the teachers, those students learned to swear and began to openly insult the teachers in class, which infuriated them.]

Later, they unintentionally uttered profanities at home. Hearing their "well-behaved and adorable" children use such vulgar language, the parents were immediately enraged and questioned them about where they had learned these words.

They stammered and hesitated, afraid to tell their parents they learned it online, fearing they would be scolded or beaten... So, they naturally thought of a "perfect" excuse—the school.

So they said they heard it from school, without specifying where in school they heard it, just that it came from school, whether from a teacher or a classmate didn't matter, because parents didn't care.

Parents only know that their children have learned things they shouldn't have at this school, and that this school is not suitable for their children.

As a result, parental complaints became increasingly frequent... and worse still, some children put their "clever" little minds to use to get their parents to target the teachers.

[Because they discovered that while the teachers could control them, they seemed quite afraid of their parents... Since that's the case, they decided to have their own parents deal with the teachers for them!]

In this way, they can also achieve a rare "victory" in their "confrontation with the teacher."

[As a result, some short-tempered parents dragged their children to the school and, at their children's "identification," found your music teacher. From the moment they met, they offered a "friendly greeting" to your teacher while questioning his teaching qualifications and abilities, and even criticized the school as well.]

When the parents brought their child to you, you were receiving extra instruction from the teacher. To avoid disturbing you, the teacher specifically asked the parents to talk outside the classroom... Throughout the entire process, you sat in the piano room, listening to the muffled sounds of blame and insults outside the door, without saying a word.

You must not speak out, and you must not take any action... because if you turn the conflict to yourself, everything your teacher has done for you will be in vain, and even... both of you will be affected, which is something your teacher absolutely does not want to see.

All you can do is cherish this friendship, keep this love in your heart, and... steadfastly and continuously move forward.

However, your teacher didn't accept the student's parents' blame the whole time. He knew the parents were angry, so he silently endured all the scolding until the parents had vented their anger before slowly speaking up.

He clearly pointed out that their child was lying, and before the parents objected, he explained one by one what their child had done at school—especially how their child verbally abused other students, spread rumors at school, reaching the level of bullying, and even deliberately lied to their parents, exaggerating or fabricating their "experiences" at school.

[It also points out that their child actually just wanted "attention," nothing more... and asks the parents if they have been paying little attention to their children recently? Or even ignoring their children's situation?]

[“…………”—The parent did not respond or argue; clearly, he was right.]

"I hope you can have a good talk with your children... and pay a little more attention to them. If they can't get attention and care from you, their closest relatives... then naturally they can only get attention and care from elsewhere. As for how to get this attention and care... and in what way... they don't know, they don't understand. They just follow their hearts and, after getting the feedback they want, they take it for granted as 'right'."

"That's why they can't know the impact of their actions or the harm they might cause to others," he said.

"You are the children's first, best, closest, and longest-lasting teachers, and the ones who have the greatest influence on them, so... some principles can only be taught to them by you," he concluded.