All peace was broken by a phone call that afternoon.
On the other end of the line, the homeroom teacher's voice was urgent: "Miss Shen, please come over quickly, Fu Zhichen got into a fight!"
"Is the child injured?" Shen Qingqing's first reaction was to worry about her son.
"...He's not hurt, but he injured someone else. Oh dear, please come over quickly!"
After speaking, the homeroom teacher hung up.
Shen Qingqing immediately grabbed her coat and headed out. As she stepped out, she bumped into Ke Lin and Lu Shu. Seeing her hurried expression, they couldn't help but ask with concern.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you need our help?"
"No, I have something to attend to and need to go out for a bit. I'll leave the company matters to you." As she spoke, she was already entering the elevator.
"She looks so flustered, could it be that Brother Gao is in trouble?" Lu Shu hadn't noticed that his address for Gao Jian had changed from "old man" to "Brother Gao."
Ke Lin gave him an amused look. "Don't worry, if it were Gao Jian, President Shen would have told us."
Lu Shu thought about it. "You're right, I'm just worrying for nothing."
"You're not worrying for nothing, you're just letting concern cloud your judgment."
"I'm not! Don't talk nonsense!"
For the proud young man, admitting he cared about someone was impossible!
...
Shen Qingqing arrived at Huiban, heading straight to the teacher's office.
Upon seeing her, the teacher quickly said, "Please take a look. Your child is too fierce; he broke the other child's forehead."
Chenchen stood there with his head bowed, his expression unreadable.
Shen Qingqing went over to check and found no injuries on him. Only then did she look at the child opposite.
It was a boy, about seven or eight years old, but a head taller than Chenchen. He had a bandage on his forehead and was being fussed over by his mother.
Seeing Shen Qingqing's gaze, the child's mother glared at her with teary eyes: "You people are too cruel! It was just children roughhousing, how could you break his head!"
The man beside her, in his thirties, also couldn't hide his anger. "This is too much! You are the child's mother, tell us how you plan to handle this!"
"Does she even need to ask?" the woman continued. "Your child broke our son's head. Apologize and admit your mistake, then kowtow! Only when our son forgives you can you be forgiven. Furthermore, you must compensate for emotional distress, medical expenses, and the child's fright. If a single cent is missing, we'll see you in court!"
The man chimed in, "That's right, pay up, kowtow, and apologize. Not one thing less is acceptable!"
Shen Qingqing remained very calm. "Before we discuss compensation, shouldn't we clarify the sequence of events? If my child did something wrong, I can apologize."
"Does this even need to be asked? Your child resorted to violence!" the woman's voice grew sharp.
The man added, "I think you're just trying to shirk responsibility!"
Shen Qingqing shielded Chenchen behind her. "I just want to establish right from wrong. If Chenchen is not in the wrong, why should he apologize? I've always believed that my son wouldn't hit someone for no reason."
"What do you mean by that?" The woman exploded. "Are you saying my son deliberately provoked him?"
Shen Qingqing said, "I didn't say that."
"That's exactly what you mean!"
"Teacher, can we discuss this calmly?" Shen Qingqing really didn't want to argue with a shrew. "I think the priority now is to clarify the cause and effect. Also, does that child's wound need to be taken to the hospital?"
"Don't pretend to be a compassionate weeping crocodile here!"
The woman immediately shouted.
Shen Qingqing's eyes turned cold as she looked at her. "Can you calm down? If you refuse to communicate with me properly to resolve this, then we will leave."
"You want to escape? You wish! Your son bullied my son, and you want to leave without giving me an explanation?"
Enraged, she grabbed something and threw it!
Shen Qingqing dodged to the side, but it was a sculpture on the desk with sharp edges. It still left a bloody gash on her shoulder.
The teacher let out a gasp.
"Miss Shen, are you alright?"
Shen Qingqing clutched her shoulder. The wound wasn't deep, but she was wearing a white outfit, which was stained with blood, making it look alarming.
Suddenly, there was a thud behind her.
Shen Qingqing whipped her head around and saw Chenchen lying on the ground, motionless.
"Chenchen!"
Shen Qingqing, ignoring her own wound, picked up Chenchen and ran towards the door. The teacher followed closely. The couple exchanged a look, their eyes filled with suspicion and evasion.
"Did something really happen?"
"I didn't mean for it to happen, I just acted in anger. Who knew she was so clumsy and couldn't dodge..."
The man said irritably, "Enough of that, what's the use of saying it now? We should hurry to the hospital to check."
"I'm not going. My son is also injured and needs me to take care of him," the woman said righteously, hugging her son.
...
At the hospital, Shen Qingqing handed the child over to the doctor. The doctor was startled by her appearance. "You should go get yourself bandaged up first!"
Shen Qingqing then felt the wetness on her shoulder.
She was worried about Chenchen, but the blood on her shoulder was too alarming, so she went to get it bandaged. During this time, she also called Fu Jingshu.
"I'll be there immediately."
Fu Jingshu's voice on the phone was cold, but more so, it was grave.
While bandaging, the doctor frowned at her shoulder wound. It wasn't serious, but there were some torn edges.
"Did you strain it after it was injured?"
"Mm."
Shen Qingqing answered distractedly.
The doctor sighed and said no more, only making his bandaging movements lighter and quicker. After it was done, he sternly cautioned, "You must not tear it open again. A wound that wasn't serious has become severe because of you."
"Alright, I understand."
Shen Qingqing agreed without much sincerity.
If it happened again, she would still tear open the wound to hug Chenchen. Chenchen was the most important.
She returned to Chenchen's hospital room door and saw the doctor coming out. She quickly went to meet him and asked, "How is he?"
The doctor said, "He's fine for now. All his vital signs are normal. I just examined the child, and there are no abnormalities in his body. I think it might be a psychological issue. We'll have to wait and see after he wakes up."
"Thank you, Doctor."
Shen Qingqing pushed open the door to the ward and carefully went inside.
Chenchen was already asleep.
She sat by the bedside, looking at Chenchen with gentle eyes. Soon, footsteps sounded from behind her. Without turning, she knew who it was.
"Shhh, let's talk outside."
Shen Qingqing tucked Chenchen in, then turned and led Fu Jingshu by the hand outside the room.
Fu Jingshu's gaze swept over her, quickly landing on her shoulder. "Who injured you?"