Chapter 107: After modification: Chapter 34 Wang Qikai Gets Beaten Up Again
After Mr. Wen inserted a section, he continued to check again.
At Gu Chengyuâs spot, he picked up the paper Gu Chengyu had written last night. Mr. Wenâs fingers slightly curled, rubbing the yellowed paper. Just for a moment, he put down the paper without saying anything and moved on.
Gu Chengyu felt that Mr. Wenâs attitude toward his evident talent seemed somewhat subtle.
No one was happier than Ma Junhui; indeed, yesterday must have been a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse, otherwise, why didnât the teacher praise him? Ma Junhui seemed to see the dawn of hope; at this moment, he was full of enthusiasm for learning, looking at the Three Character Classic in his hand, filled with ambition.
Gu Chengyu was immersed in his own thoughts, but suddenly heard the teacherâs roar from behind: "Is this the homework you want to submit? Such a perfunctory job, truly infuriating to this old man!"
Turning around to look, Mr. Wen was so angry at Wang Qikai that his eyebrows stood up, his hand holding the paper slightly trembling, and blazing anger in his eyes. Wang Qikai had the look of a timid bride, shrinking his shoulders, looking dejected.
Wang Qikai secretly glanced at the teacher and, seeing him still in a rage, dared not speak.
"You tell me, why, after more than three years in private tutoring, is your writing not even comparable to a novice who just joined? Who told you it was okay to correct mistakes by overwriting? Why not write a fresh one?" Mr. Wen sighed before recovering.
One has great innate talent, yet he fears he might become arrogant, lose his way, so he dares not even praise him. Another he wants to praise but cannot find any merits. It must be said, some people are indeed heavenâs favored, destined never to be ordinary.
The more he looked, the angrier he became, so he simply threw the paper on the desk, "Hm! No matter how the characters are written, look at what youâve written; you cannot even achieve cleanliness and tidiness. I see, if not punished, you wonât realize your mistakes; put your hand out."
Mr. Wen also sighed for Mr. Wang, who only brought a legitimate wife to Shanhe Town. Who would have thought that during childbirth of the legitimate eldest daughter, she was injured due to dystocia, and from then on could not bear children. Mr. Wang originally planned to adopt a child from the family, as an heir, to support them in old age. Liu Family fancied a nephew from their maternal relatives; Mr. Wang naturally wouldnât agree. Adopting from the Wang Family at least remained a Wangâs blood, but Liu Familyâs nephew had no connection with Wang Family at all, should the foundation Mr. Wang built go to outsiders?
Stuck in disagreement like this, eventually, Mr. Wang brought back a woman to be a concubine one day. This certainly broke open a hornetâs nest, crying and shouting, harsh words came inevitably, but it could not stop Mr. Wang from taking a concubine; that year, the incident caused a great stir in Shanhe Town.
However, what grieved Mr. Wen wasnât the threatened status of the legitimate wife, but the concubine Mr. Wang took was the daughter of a couple selling liquor in the town. The couple operated a small tavern in town, and the daughter frequently helped greet guests in the shop. Needless to say, most patrons were men, among them all sorts of people, and that concubine was somewhat attractive enough. A grown daughter always exposed in the shop, encountered many, gradually gaining fame in town.
No matter how she connected with Mr. Wang, he thought that womanâs conduct was improper, and furthermore, it was said she was also very worldly. Since Wang Qikai came to study, the concubine initially interfered several times, even saying scholars are useless, better to go back and learn business for practicality.
Mr. Wen believed if Mr. Wang took either a scholarâs daughter or a farmerâs girl, it would be better compared to a girl used to showing off every day and flirting with men, right? Due to her poor character and disdain for scholars, he wasnât pleased with Wang Qikaiâs arrival, which later resulted in his indifference toward Wang Qikai, seeing such perfunctory homework submissions. Yet, he couldnât tolerate anyone so carelessly wasting ink and paper, and disregarding his words repeatedly. Without punishment, he could not quell his anger.
"Teacher?" Wang Qikai was truly afraid hearing the teacher was going to punish him, considering yesterdayâs beating hurt a long time.
Gu Chengyu watched, though somewhat reluctant, he refrained, turned his head away and no longer looked. Wang Qikai indeed needed urging, as his situation wasnât favorable. His legitimate mother likely didnât want him to achieve much, as whether he could inherit the family estate remained uncertain. Already an illegitimate son, if he didnât strive and rely on himself, he might end up with nothing later.
Mr. Wen glanced at Gu Chengyu, seeing him sitting there reading Thousand Character Classic without pleading for Wang Qikai, nodded approvingly. Good, capable of discerning right from wrong, not blindly meddling.
Tearfully, Wang Qikai glanced at Gu Chengyu, noticing he was focused on writing and ignored this commotion, felt disappointed. It seemed today would inevitably end badly, the teacher must have tolerated him for too long, he knew his writing wasnât good, but nobody in Class C surpassed Gu Chengyuâs handwriting, right? Itâs quite normal he couldnât match Gu Chengyu, the newcomer, isnât it? Copying twice took considerable time, fearing heâd fall asleep while writing, he didnât rewrite, just hoped to submit it. Unexpectedly, the teacher was so angry.
Hesitatingly, Wang Qikai stretched out his palm, but Mr. Wen ignored his apprehension inside, the ruler swung, hitting a full fifteen times before stopping.
Gu Chengyu listened ahead, petrified; the ruler slapping the palm was extremely painful.
"Copy it again, submit it to me." Mr. Wen tossed out a sentence and went to the back.
Leaving Wang Qikai lamentingly gazing at Gu Chengyu, feeling Chengyu wouldnât care for him.
After Mr. Wen went around, teaching todayâs new content to everyone, finally it was Gu Chengyuâs turn.
"You come with me to the study." Mr. Wen came to Gu Chengyuâs desk, but didnât teach anything new, instead called him to the study.
Gu Chengyu calmly stood up, respectfully responded, then followed the teacher out.
Wang Qikai watched worriedly from behind, wondering what the teacher called Chengyu for, could it be more punishment?
After they left, Class C immediately bubbled with voices; some suspected Gu Chengyu was to be punished, others said the teacher appreciated Gu Chengyu, wanting to teach him privately.
You Siyuan watched Gu Chengyuâs departing back, recalling his father said, being not exceptional in studies didnât matter, but he must build good relationships with fellow students, these people might become officials in the future, having connections and personal effort, fearing lack of mentors afterwards? Of course, his fatherâs advice was to make friends selectively, thus Wang Qikai was never on his fatherâs list.