Rebirth begins with an arranged marriage

Chapter 32 The Fall

Tang Huaiyi, Guan Xiaolin, and Song Siyuan returned to the cement board where they ate.

Li Xiujuan quickly served the noodle soup to Tang Huaiyi, telling him to drink it while it was hot.

Tang Huaiyi glanced at it, a little puzzled: "Why is there more noodle soup in my bowl than before?"

Then, glancing at Li Xiujuan's teacup, he asked, "Where's your noodle soup?"

"I've finished drinking," Li Xiujuan said somewhat guiltily.

Tang Huaiyi understood the situation and said no more.

He couldn't reveal Li Xiujuan's good intentions in front of Guan Xiaolin and Song Siyuan.

Song Siyuan was still immersed in what had just happened, his face beaming: "Ma Laixi and the others really helped us get revenge!"

"I also want to curse He Genbao..."

Guan Xiaolin asked in surprise, "Do you know what happened?"

"How could I not know?" Song Siyuan said, "You have no idea how much trouble He Genbao can cause. Just the other night, Tang Huaiyi was studying in the classroom and came back to the dormitory a little late. I told Tang Huaiyi that I had brought a lot of pickled vegetables from home and I would share some with him."

"He told us not to say those two sentences; since he told us not to say them, we didn't say another word and just rested."

"And so, the next morning during reading time, He Genbao reported us, and Teacher Tian scolded us and warned us to call our parents."

Speaking of this, Song Siyuan still couldn't help feeling wronged: "I only said a couple of sentences, and he wouldn't let me speak. Tang Huaiyi and I really didn't say a single word more than necessary."

"Even though we're both so easy to talk to, he still sued us."

At this point, he couldn't help but gloat: "This time he's met someone difficult to talk to. It's no wonder that Ma Laixi and Li Jialiang scolded him."

"So that's how it is."

Guan Xiaolin understood, and then said somewhat skeptically, "Wouldn't it be better to be polite and courteous to each other for such a small conflict? It's always better for classmates to be as united as possible."

"I think our teacher Tian is also a bit angry. Losing face for our class in front of so many people at school is also losing face for him; not to mention, it's troublesome to involve Teacher Xu as well."

"He's this scary even when he's not angry, what would he be like if he got angry?" Song Siyuan clicked his tongue and started eating as well.

After eating, we returned to the classroom.

Teacher Tian was sitting in the classroom with a stern face, and the entire classroom was completely silent.

Malai stood to one side of the podium, head down, with a clearly visible shoe print on his trousers.

Teacher Tian didn't say anything, just sat there, and the students didn't dare to make a sound or even breathe.

Teacher Tian began her lesson as soon as the school bell rang.

Malai stood beside the podium for an entire class period with his head down and shoe prints on his face.

The somber atmosphere in the classroom lasted for the entire class period.

Finally, when get out of class ended, Teacher Tian slammed her hand on the lectern, and a cloud of white chalk dust rose from the chalk.

"From now on, no one in our class will be allowed to make a scene over such trivial matters and embarrass themselves!"

"How old are you all? By your age, you should all be married and starting families in the countryside, becoming the breadwinners of your families. Why are you doing such childish things?"

"Coming to the county high school isn't easy for many of you. If you have any conscience, try to understand your families' difficulties, bury your heads in your studies, and don't think about anything else. The more you think, the more cluttered your mind becomes, the worse your studies will be, and the more trouble your parents will be in..."

After saying this, Teacher Tian kicked Ma Laixi again, still not satisfied, and glared at He Genbao.

"Go back home and study hard. Don't embarrass yourself anymore!"

He Genbao immediately raised his head and puffed out his chest, seemingly encouraged and proud.

Seeing his reaction, Teacher Tian's usually cold face couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

The next teacher had already arrived at the door. Ms. Tian didn't say anything more and turned to leave the classroom.

The students all breathed a sigh of relief.

With Teacher Tian here, I always feel like I can't breathe, and my heart is in my throat...

By noon, Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan were still the last ones left.

Their meals were indeed not much different from those of their classmates, with vegetables and steamed buns for lunch. However, eating together was actually quite different from what they had to do. In school, male and female students were usually kept separate. If a boy and a girl ate together, they would definitely be gossiped about all the time, which would be quite troublesome.

Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan neither wanted to become the subject of gossip, so they both stuck to their old ways and stayed until the end of the meal.

Song Siyuan didn't go with them today; instead, he greeted Tang Huaiyi as soon as school was over.

He wanted to ask Li Jialiang from Class Two about the situation and see if they had been severely punished by Teacher Xu.

Seeing that he was still eager to inquire about this matter, Tang Huaiyi didn't say much more.

If Song Siyuan continues to only care about such things and doesn't study properly, Tang Huaiyi will have to give him a good reminder—since you've received a favor, you should help him with his studies.

After the meals were changed, Tang Huaiyi and Li Xiujuan's lunch consisted of a steamed bun, a cornbread, and a stir-fried vegetable dish.

After receiving their meal, the two ate with plain water and were very satisfied. The steamed buns were soft and sweet, the vegetables were oily, and even the cornbread tasted delicious. It was even more satisfying than when Guan Xiaolin had treated them to a meal before.

After all, it was someone else's treat; this was their own meal.

Halfway through the meal, Song Siyuan, who had already finished eating and washed his teacup, came over to deliver the latest news.

"Tang Huaiyi, let me tell you, Teacher Xu didn't make things difficult for Li Jialiang and Wang Yonghong. She only said a couple of words to them before saying that her own life was also hard, and then she cried..."

"I had heard before that Teacher Xu liked to cry, but I never expected that she would cry over this."

Tang Huaiyi nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

"Why do you think Teacher Xu is crying?"

"Life is tough. We have no savings left. My husband gambled it all away. Now I'm raising my daughter alone," said Song Siyuan.

That doesn't warrant crying, does it?

Teacher Xu is a full-time employee and doesn't lack a salary, so it should be more than enough to support her and her daughter.

Is the family really that short of a man? Or is there some other problem?

Tang Huaiyi originally intended to get back the money his third uncle owed him first, and it would be difficult to bring it up with Teacher Xu, since she was a female teacher from the city; but seeing Teacher Xu's often depressed appearance, he felt it was a coincidence.

Perhaps we could ask about the reasons and see if we can bring them together?

After all, Uncle San really needed a wife. Being treated like a dog by Widow Ma and wasting all the family's money was not a solution.

Just then, a soft call came from above.

Tang Huaiyi looked up and saw a crow flying crookedly in the sky.

He immediately felt a pang of anxiety, put down his chopsticks, and opened his arms.

The crow then fell limply to the ground and landed in his arms.