Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Brother’s Tears

”The kid said what her brother knows, she knows too. Why not have a test? If the child can’t do it, consider the brother cheated, revoke his scholarship, and if this child succeeds, this teacher and these students owe her brother an apology and must obtain his forgiveness,” the elder spoke up. More school leaders joined the crowd, all with serious expressions.

”Agreed.”

”That’s fair.”

”Let’s do it that way.”

The several students behind that teacher also nodded, obviously not believing that a five or six-year-old child could solve fourth-grade problems.

”I disagree,” Luo Qianqian said, her cold gaze sweeping over everyone, silencing those who were speaking. Her eyes were too sharp, ”If I can’t do it, my brother will have already lost his scholarship due to this economic dispute. Hence, if I do manage it, I want each of these students to give my brother a sum equivalent to the scholarship, and for this teacher, I hope he is fired! A teacher who is supposed to educate but questions and slanders his students for a small profit does not deserve his role. I fear he might corrupt my brother, who has always been good!”

”Qianqian...” Shufan looked at his sister, who was exuding such a powerful presence, and felt like he hardly recognized her.

”Bullshit, if you can actually do it, I’ll write my name backward!”

Heh, Luo Qianqian silently sneered in her heart. She finally understood why she returned to this time. In her previous life, her brother had been cowed by this teacher, never daring to speak out when bullied, nor did he rebut the cheating accusation, simply insisting that the innocent would be cleared by their innocence. This led to his distrust of teachers later on, and ultimately his dropping out, rendering all persuasion futile. Despite his excellence, he was just cannon fodder in this ’kill the chicken to scare the monkey’ spectacle.

”I believe in my own brother, and that’s enough. You want proof, I’ll give you proof. The Luo family’s genes are not to be questioned by mere cats and dogs,” decided Luo Qianqian, not about to be easily intimidated in defending her brother, ”It’s enough for my brother to listen to my mom. It’s not the place of anyone else to judge. We fully trust the integrity of our family members. And you, teaching and educating, have you ever taught how to press a child relentlessly? We may be poor, but that doesn’t mean you can insult us. If you don’t believe in my brother, draw the line. My brother respects you as his teacher, but I’m just a brat. If you have an issue, bring it to me, Luo Qianqian will take it on.”

”Director Wang, prepare the newly released test set. Parents, please go to the parent-teacher meeting first. Our school will account for this matter to everyone. Teacher Xiao, you go and substitute for Class One’s parent-teacher meeting. Young student, please come to the conference room with your sister and mom. Teacher Qian, you too,” said the middle-aged man in a neat Zhongshan suit with rimmed gold glasses as he made his way through the crowd.

”Principal Sun...” The surrounding teachers opened their mouths to say something but Principal Sun stopped them with a gesture.

”No need to say anything, just do as I say,” Principal Sun waved his hand, leading Shufan and his group towards the conference room. Shufan held onto Luo Qianqian’s hand tightly, the dampness in his palm catching her attention.

Brother, you protected me for a lifetime. This time, it’s Qianqian’s turn to protect you and Mom. Luo Qianqian thought to herself while tightly holding her brother’s hand and smiling sweetly at Luo’s Mom, who wore a worried expression.

In the conference room, two sets of exam papers were placed at each end of the large table, with all the previously named individuals, including the white-haired man who spoke up for Luo Qianqian, standing in front of the table.

”This set of papers is intended for sixth graders to prepare for the Experimental Middle School math exam, except for the last two big questions. Based on the grades of the top students, scoring seventy or eighty percent should not be a problem. If we get a high score in math, there should be no further doubt about other subjects, right? Young student, you go do the problems first,” Principal Sun said to Shufan. After Shufan left, only the proud Luo Qianqian standing with her head held high was left in front of Principal Sun.

”I’m sorry, Principal, my daughter is still young. I’m not usually at home, and today we have caused a big trouble for you...” Luo’s Mom pulled Luo Qianqian back, bowing to the principal.

Luo Qianqian clutched the corner of Luo’s Mom’s clothes, ”Mom, today I’m not causing trouble. My brother can be scolded, can be hit, can be insulted by those condoned by the teachers, but he absolutely cannot be framed. He didn’t speak up before because he was afraid you would worry, but as his only sister, I won’t compromise. You can say I’m a naughty child who doesn’t understand things, or say I’m mischievous and cause trouble. Mom, right is right, wrong is wrong. You’ve taught me that good kids can’t lie, the most important thing about being human is to be kind, followed by being honest, then to be modest, and also to have responsibility; knowledge comes last. Without the former, knowledge alone is nothing but a beast in clothing. My brother is kind, so he stays silent in the face of bullying; he’s honest, so he doesn’t admit to things that never happened; he’s modest, so now he’s quietly doing his work to prove himself. As for knowledge, the test results will speak for themselves shortly. I’m not like my brother; I won’t let others bully me when they come for me!”

”Madam, you’ve misunderstood. I didn’t keep the young lady for any other reason; I just felt she speaks clearly and logically, and wanted to talk with her. As for today’s events, I won’t cover up for anyone. Whoever is wrong is wrong and will receive punishment, whether it’s this student or our teachers. What’s more, Elder Yuan is here; how would I dare to cover anything up?” Principal Sun gestured for everyone to sit down with an empty support of Luo’s Mom’s arm, ”Young lady, you can go and do the questions too. Just do as much as you can without any pressure.”

”Mom, I believe my brother will be the best, and you must believe in us too. Even if we don’t have a dad, we’re not worse than anyone else.” Luo Qianqian helped Luo’s Mom sit in a chair to the side, kissed her heavily on the face, and then happily skipped off to the other side of the long table to start answering questions.

Luo Shufan watched his little sister on the opposite side of the long table, and his vision blurred in an instant, tears falling like rain. He had thought that if Mom didn’t believe in him, maybe he wouldn’t be able to get the reward, worrying if his sister would be disappointed. But before he had a chance to explain a word to Mom, his sister stood by him, battling against many. Watching his sister shake her big head vigorously with the awkwardly tied little braids while happily answering questions, Luo Shufan wiped the tears from his face. Sister, you believe in me, and I believe in you too. We’re family. I believe you’ll make that money-grubbing Teacher Qian write her name backwards.

Luo’s Mom looked at her daughter, who was sitting in the chair swinging her legs barely able to reach the table, smiling, and then at her son with teary traces but a stern face, both children answering questions seriously, and her eyes reddened.

Luo Shufan finished the math test quickly; when he looked up, Luo Qianqian had just put down her pen too. They looked at each other and smiled, saying in unison, ”Done.”

”Director Wang, go grade it, and just tell us the score when you’re done,” Principal Sun said indifferently, glancing at the siblings holding hands sitting next to Luo’s Mom.

The siblings didn’t care about their scores at all and were reprimanded in a low voice by Luo’s Mom, one hanging their head playing with their hands, the other smiling and hugging her large leg coquettishly. Principal Sun then glanced at Teacher Qian sitting across from them, who was lengthening her neck, anxiously watching the test papers on the long table, her hands unconsciously clasped tightly together. Then, looking at Elder Yuan, who sat comfortably on a separate chair at the door, Sun Yuan’s eyes clouded over: ”Qian Xinxin, you don’t know when to stop and have gone too far, even Elder Yuan knows about it now. If this affects my promotion, I’ll make sure you pay!”

Meanwhile, Director Wang had already finished grading: ”Principal, it’s done.”

”What scores are they? Let me guess. With this kid in the fourth grade, a score of eighty wouldn’t be surprising. With that look on your face, could it be the little girl also got eighty?” Elder Yuan looked interested, ”Don’t fight with me; I want to know the little girl’s score first. Tell me the little girl’s score.”

”Luo Qianqian 120 points, with all the bonus questions answered correctly, clearly thought out, and neatly written,” Director Wang looked up at Principal Sun and continued, ”Luo Shufan 120 points, with all the bonus questions answered correctly.”

”What did you say? That’s impossible!” Qian Xinxin abruptly stood up, rushed over to Director Wang, and snatched the test paper.

”These I haven’t even taught yet, how could you possibly know them? And how could you possibly teach them to a little brat?” Qian Xinxin holding the test paper, swiftly walked over to Luo Shufan.

”To put it simply, don’t compare geniuses with ordinary people. Since he was seven, my brother has borrowed a bunch of books to read at home to keep an eye on me and to allow Mom to go to work with peace of mind; once he finished with the story books, he borrowed textbooks, and the bedtime stories he told me were all poetry. If it were up to you alone, a genius would be reduced to nothing. With you teaching four grades and seven classes, please tell me how many from Class One are in the top ten of the grade? Do you know why the monthly exam scores for Class One are always so good? Because those who give gifts always get something in return!” Luo Qianqian rolled her eyes, held her brother on her left and her mother on her right, stood on the chair, and snatched the test paper from Qian Xinxin’s hand, ”Today’s score my brother got is thanks to the fairness of other teachers and his own perseverance, and has nothing to do with you, does it?”

”Young lady, pass the paper here. Let me have a look. I don’t believe you got a perfect score and made no mistakes on the bonus questions,” said Elder Yuan excitedly, pushing away Qian Xinxin standing in front of Luo Qianqian.

”Don’t worry, the school will give you a satisfactory explanation,” Principal Sun said harshly, looking at Qian Xinxin. To think that the last two major questions hadn’t been fully answered by any sixth graders, let alone with a perfect score, and that she dared to suppress such a student openly, truly not afraid to cause a big scene.

”Hey, hey, hey, are you two interested in coming to the Experimental Middle School’s experimental class?”