Don't underestimate the poor and elderly; I was thrilled to refuse the class beauty's adva

"Principal Meng!"

Fu Kai's voice was very low, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth with great effort.

"I disagree! This isn't a conflict between students; this is armed youths from the community surrounding students on campus! This isn't a joke that's gone too far; it's illegal!"

"My student is fine today because of his own abilities. What if he didn't have those abilities? What if it wasn't those thugs lying in the alley but him? Are you planning to just say 'it was just students joking around' to the parents then?"

The air in the office suddenly became quiet.

Principal Meng looked at Fu Kai, his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses turning cold.

Peng Kaifei stood beside him with his arms crossed, his smile growing even brighter.

He enjoyed watching the teacher stand up to the principal for him.

In his eyes, Fu Kai was just a poor teacher with a fixed salary. It was utterly presumptuous of him to fight against him, against Principal Meng, and against the hundreds of thousands of yuan that the Peng Group donated to the school every year.

"Teacher Fu," Principal Meng's voice was no longer gentle, "I've already said, this is the end."

Fu Kai didn't speak, but Zong Wen, standing behind him, could clearly see his fingers trembling slightly as he braced himself on the edge of the table.

That wasn't a tremor of fear, it was a tremor of suppressed fire.

Just then, a hand reached out from behind Fu Kai and gently pressed on his shoulder.

Zhang Yifan took a step forward and stood side by side with Fu Kai.

"Teacher Fu," Zhang Yifan said softly and calmly, "it's not necessary."

Fu Kai paused for a moment, then turned to look at his student.

Zhang Yifan's face remained calm as always, without anger, resentment, or the agitation of "How can I bear being bullied like this?"

It was a composure he had never seen on the face of an eighteen-year-old student in his more than twenty years of teaching.

It's not a composure born of admitting defeat, nor a composure born of helplessness, but rather a nonchalant attitude that comes from standing at a high vantage point and seeing through the strategies of the game.

It's not worth it; it's not worth making Teacher Fu fall out with the principal over this.

Fu Kai has been teaching for over twenty years and has dealt with countless principals, directors, and parents. This is the first time he has ever felt protected by a student.

Zhang Yifan turned to look at Principal Meng, then glanced at Peng Kaifei, who was smiling broadly beside him.

Principal Meng turned his head and looked at Zhang Yifan. His eyes, through the gold-rimmed glasses, held an undisguised admiration.

He looked the boy up and down, who was wearing a school uniform and standing ramrod straight, and then nodded.

"Hey student, I know you, Zhang Yifan, right? You're in the top three of the grade, a promising student for Tsinghua and Peking Universities. The academic affairs office always uses your grades as an example in every meeting."

His tone was much gentler than when he dealt with Kai Shi, and he even reached out and patted Zhang Yifan on the shoulder.

"You're very good. You have excellent grades, and you can also prioritize the big picture and take the initiative to resolve conflicts in critical moments. There aren't many young people like you who are so sensible these days."

Zhang Yifan didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly, his expression revealing no emotion.

Principal Meng didn't mind his silence. In his view, it was normal for a student to feel uneasy after being praised in public by the principal, especially a bookworm who only knew how to study.

He turned around and waved to Peng Kaifei.

"Kaife, let's go."

Peng Kaifei stood up from his chair and casually picked up his phone from Fu Kai's desk as he passed by, as if he were grabbing a remote control in his own living room.

He followed Principal Meng out of the office, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

In the corridor, Principal Meng's old Beijing cloth shoes made a dull sound as they stepped on the cement floor.

After walking about ten steps and making sure he was far enough away from Fu Kai's office, he slowed down and turned to look at the nonchalant Peng Kaifei beside him.

"Kayfly,"

Principal Meng's tone was no longer as businesslike as it had been in the office; it carried a hint of helplessness from an elder towards a younger person.

"I don't care how much trouble you cause outside, but you have to give me some face at school. How many times has this happened this month? You know how much your dad spent to cover up what happened at the school next door last time."

"There's only one month left until the college entrance exam. I'm begging you, please stop causing trouble for Zhang Yifan. His grades speak for themselves; he's a key student on the academic affairs office's list. If something really happens to him, and the higher-ups investigate, even I, the principal, can't protect you."

Peng Kaifei, hands in his pockets, sneakers clicking on the corridor floor tiles, said in an undisguisedly dismissive tone, "I know, I know, Uncle Meng, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Principal Meng glanced at him, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end just shook his head and turned to walk towards his office.

Peng Kaifei stood in the corridor, watching Principal Meng's figure disappear at the stairwell, and a cynical smirk returned to his lips.

He knows his limits? Of course he knows his limits.

His principle is that there's nothing that money can't solve.

The reason I couldn't handle Zhang Yifan today is because I didn't bring enough people. Tiger's gang always brags, but they got beaten to a pulp by a bookworm. They're such useless trash.

Next time, he'll bring in a different group of people, even more ruthless ones. He doesn't believe Zhang Yifan can withstand that.

However, Principal Meng is right. There can be no more trouble on campus. If we have to take action, we should wait until we're outside the school gates.

Anyway, there are only thirty-odd days left until the college entrance examination, so he has plenty of patience.

He took out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, lingered on a few nicknames for a moment, then locked the screen and put the phone back in his pocket.

No rush, take your time.

Next time, I must make Zhang Yifan kneel on the ground and admit his mistake.

Only three people remained in the office.

Fu Kai stood in front of the desk, still in the same position where he had been supporting himself on the edge of the desk, like a sculpture nailed to the spot.

He stared at the open office door. The footsteps of Principal Meng and Peng Kaifei in the corridor had completely disappeared, but he still didn't move.

His fingers slowly closed, clenching into a fist and pressing it against the table, his knuckles turning white, while the lid of the teacup on the table was still trembling slightly.

"I'm a really useless homeroom teacher."

His voice was hoarse and deep, as if he were talking to himself, or perhaps to the two people behind him.

He took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with his sleeve, and put them back on, but the weariness and guilt in his eyes couldn't be wiped away no matter how hard he tried.

"I have been teaching for more than 20 years and have taught more than a dozen graduating classes. Every year I tell my students that school is a place where reason prevails."

He gave a self-deprecating laugh, the curve of his lips full of bitterness.

"Then the principal said to me, 'Is this a joke between students? A joke!'"

Zong Wen stood at the door, seeing Fu Kai like this for the first time.

Fu Kai, who usually bangs his thermos on the podium and speaks with great energy about "high tension and relaxed discipline," now looks like a boxer who has been knocked off the ring, not because he is less skilled, but because the referee blew a biased whistle.