A Paranoid Alpha Childhood Friend is Acting Spoiled Again - Chapter 13

“Tell me, why were you bullying your classmate?”

“I wasn’t bullying Fang Xiaoyu! She said something horrible, and I couldn’t help but push her. But I didn’t use much strength at all—she fell down on her own.”

Teacher Zhu was the head teacher of Class 2 and taught Chinese. She didn’t have classes this morning, but a head teacher has to stay in the office even when they aren’t teaching, just in case of emergencies involving their students.

When the PE teacher brought Nuo Fanxi upstairs, Teacher Zhu was chatting happily with other teachers in the office. Seeing one of her own students causing trouble in front of her colleagues made her visibly displeased.

“Even if Fang Xiaoyu said something rude, is that a reason to bully your own classmate?”

Teacher Zhu actually knew that Fang Xiaoyu was problematic. Several students had complained to her privately, saying Fang Xiaoyu often used her family’s influence to bully others, displaying a bad attitude for such a young age. Teacher Zhu had tried to criticize and educate her at first, but Fang Xiaoyu’s family was wealthy; upon enrollment, they had “sponsored” the school with over a million yuan in their private capacity. The principal, having “eaten from their hand,” put pressure on the staff from all sides—as long as Fang Xiaoyu didn’t cause a major catastrophe, they were to look the other way.

Teacher Zhu was just an ordinary teacher. If even the principal was unwilling to offend the Fangs, her words meant nothing. Consequently, she usually maintained an indifferent attitude toward Fang Xiaoyu. Her main concern today was being caught in the crossfire. It didn’t matter if Nuo Fanxi provoked Fang Xiaoyu; her fear was that Fang Xiaoyu might turn around and slander her to the principal, claiming she was biased or unfair. If that happened, she’d be packing her bags.

In a city like B, news travels between schools. If the Fangs decided to trip her up, losing her job at this public primary school would be the least of her worries.

“Teacher Zhu, I told you, I didn’t bully her!” No matter how young she was, Nuo Fanxi understood the difference between a spat and bullying. “If she hadn’t said such nasty things, I never would have pushed her! You’re right, I shouldn’t have pushed her, but she started it with those mean words. Fang Xiaoyu is in the wrong too!”

Teacher Zhu couldn’t refute that. Every effect has a cause, and it was highly probable that Fang Xiaoyu started the trouble. But there was no point in calling Fang Xiaoyu in; the girl wouldn’t listen to her anyway. If Fang Xiaoyu came in and threw a tantrum, it would look like Teacher Zhu was handling the situation poorly. If the principal had to step in to “settle the peace,” she might lose her year-end bonus.

Thus, Teacher Zhu didn’t scold Nuo Fanxi further. She simply said, “Fine. Since Fang Xiaoyu isn’t seriously hurt, go back and apologize to her. If she forgives you, the matter ends here.”

“But Teacher Zhu…”

“No ‘buts.’ Go.”

Nuo Fanxi had no choice but to mutter an “okay” and walk out of the office.

Tang Mo was waiting right outside. Seeing Nuo Fanxi emerge looking dejected, she immediately grabbed her hand. “Xixi, did Teacher Zhu yell at you?”

Nuo Fanxi shook her head. “No.”

“Then what did she say?” Tang Mo was most afraid of the teacher “calling the parents”; her heart was thumping with anxiety.

Nuo Fanxi felt a wave of injustice—she didn’t understand why she had to apologize when it wasn’t all her fault. But facing Tang Mo, she forced a smile. “Don’t worry, Momo. Teacher Zhu didn’t blame me. She just told me to apologize to Fang Xiaoyu, and then everything will be okay.”

“So… that means she won’t call our parents?!”

“Mhm!”

Tang Mo let out a massive sigh of relief and threw her arms around her. “That’s great!”

Nuo Fanxi hated the idea of apologizing to Fang Xiaoyu, but compared to involving her parents, she’d choose the apology. At least she wouldn’t get scolded by her mother at home.

“It’s fine now. Let’s go back down.”

Tang Mo let go, her face still looking unhappy. She didn’t want to see Nuo Fanxi apologize to Fang Xiaoyu. She hated that girl; Fang Xiaoyu crowded her every day, leaving her no chance to play with Nuo Fanxi.

“What’s wrong, Momo? Are you unhappy?” Nuo Fanxi stepped forward and gave her a hug, patting her back the way her mother did to comfort her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. We’ll just ignore her! As long as we ignore her, she won’t be able to bother you.”

Seeing that Nuo Fanxi wasn’t too bothered, Tang Mo felt a bit better and nodded. “Okay, we’ll ignore her!”

The two happily skipped hand-in-hand back downstairs.

Once they were down, Nuo Fanxi followed Teacher Zhu’s instructions, found Fang Xiaoyu, and offered a very sincere “I’m sorry.”

As Tao Wanqing and Nuo Lin always said, one must be able to “bend and stretch.” It was just an apology—just a sentence. If she thought about it, she had pushed Fang Xiaoyu and only had to say a few words back; she had actually come out on top.

But Fang Xiaoyu clearly wasn’t going to let it go so easily. Hearing the apology, she began to mock her. “I thought you’d insist you were right forever. I guess you don’t have as much backbone as I thought. But I don’t accept your apology. I’m going back to Teacher Zhu later. I was pushed—how can a simple apology fix that?”

Nuo Fanxi asked, “Then what do you actually want?”

This time, Tang Mo truly couldn’t take it anymore. She shouted directly at Fang Xiaoyu, “Don’t go too far, Fang Xiaoyu, or don’t blame me for being mean to you!”

Following her family’s strict instructions, Fang Xiaoyu knew she must never make Tang Mo angry. If the Tang heiress got upset, her parents would definitely blame her for ruining their business prospects when she got home.

Thinking of this, Fang Xiaoyu’s attitude immediately softened. “Don’t be mad, Momo. If you don’t want me to go to Teacher Zhu, I won’t.”

Then, she turned back to Nuo Fanxi and said snidely, “You better remember this, Nuo Fanxi. I’m only letting you off this time for Momo’s sake. If you dare provoke me again, I won’t be so nice.”

However, though she said that, she didn’t mean it.

After Nuo Fanxi and Tang Mo left, Fang Xiaoyu’s followers immediately swarmed around her.

“Xiaoyu, you’re so kind for not holding it against her.”

“But who exactly is Nuo Fanxi? I see her following Momo around every day, and Momo never sends her away. She even shares her snacks with her. Xiaoyu, do you know where she comes from?”

Tang Mo was picked up and dropped off by a butler every day; anyone with eyes could see she was someone important. But not Nuo Fanxi. Nuo Fanxi obviously hitched a ride. No teacher or student had ever seen Nuo Fanxi’s parents, leading the class to believe she might not have any—maybe she was an adopted daughter of the Tang family.

Fang Xiaoyu didn’t actually know Nuo Fanxi’s background either. Her family hadn’t mentioned this “annoying sidekick” to her. If Nuo Fanxi weren’t around, she might have become Tang Mo’s friend long ago.

“Who knows who she is? Maybe she doesn’t even have parents,” Fang Xiaoyu said, not hiding her malicious speculation. “My parents said only unwanted children don’t have adults picking them up after school. Have you guys ever seen her parents come for her?”

The followers shook their heads in unison. “Never.”

At dismissal, the teacher would organize the class into a line by the gate. When a parent arrived, the teacher would call out, “XXX’s parent is here.” But never for Nuo Fanxi.

It had been nearly two weeks since school started, and no one had seen Nuo Fanxi’s parents. Instead, she was always picked up by Tang Mo’s butler.

“Exactly!” Fang Xiaoyu said triumphantly. “If her parents haven’t picked her up once in all this time, it just means she doesn’t have any. And even if she does, the fact they never show up means they don’t love her at all. A kid not loved by their parents is basically an orphan.”

The followers chimed in: “That’s right! Nuo Fanxi is an orphan! An orphan nobody loves!”

The rumors spread like wildfire, eventually reaching the ears of the entire class.

Children are incredibly sensitive about their parents. Hearing that someone has no parents, their first instinct often isn’t sympathy; on the contrary, many believe only “bad kids” are parentless. They gathered in groups, pointing and whispering behind her back.

Some were even bold enough to say these cruel things to her face.

Nuo Fanxi could stand many things, but not this. The only reason Tao Wanqing and Nuo Lin didn’t pick her up was that they were too busy with work; they were often exhausted to the point of collapse when they got home. Nuo Fanxi knew they didn’t do it on purpose, so despite her secret sadness, she was sensible and never demanded they come for her.

But being called an “unloved orphan” made her feel both angry and deeply hurt. For the first time, she couldn’t hold it in and burst into tears, burying her face on her desk.

Seeing her cry, Tang Mo began to cry out of sadness too. When Tang Mo started crying, the teachers were terrified and rushed over to see what was wrong.

“T-Teacher Zhang, they’re being too mean,” Tang Mo sobbed. “Xixi isn’t an unloved orphan! Godmother Wanqing and Uncle Nuo love Xixi very much! She’s not unloved! Waaaaah—!”

Tang Mo cried louder and louder, her eyes turning red as if she had suffered a monumental injustice. Tears fell like rain, and tissues couldn’t keep up.

Teacher Zhang said hurriedly, “Don’t cry, don’t cry! I’ll get justice for Xixi right now.”