Hating Her, While Still Having to Address Her as Mother - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Thank You, Stepmom

Chapter Summary: “Well-trained”

Shen Manci didn’t let go until the perpetrator’s voice had completely faded into the distance.

In the endless darkness, the two of them breathed heavily. They had just done something that transcended their boundaries, overstepped the nature of their relationship, and shattered social conventions. Both hearts were filled with unease, yet the darkness swallowed that vast discomfort whole.

In the silence, the beeping of a pager broke the stillness. Shen Manci pulled it out; it was Chen Nian’s number. Perhaps rescue had arrived. Relieved, Shen Manci opened the cupboard door and stepped out. She took a deep breath and turned to offer her hand to Su Zhixi.

Su Zhixi reached out reluctantly. Before her hand touched Shen Manci’s, the older woman spoke: “Just now… it was a necessity. It was my fault. Forget what happened.”

Su Zhixi’s hand faltered. She said nothing but ultimately allowed Shen Manci to pull her up.

“Let’s hurry out of here. Rescue should be on-site. Once we confirm it, we can evacuate the students and teachers from the third floor and above.”

“I…” After the ordeal, Su Zhixi’s attitude had softened slightly. She began to explain, “I can’t leave yet. I have to find someone before I’m sure it’s safe.”

“Who?”

“I actually have a younger sister. Her name is Su An’an. Earlier in the monitor room, I saw a girl who looked just like her. That’s why I risked coming into the building. I’m worried about her safety.”

Shen Manci’s expression softened. She comforted her, “But you aren’t equipped to guarantee her safety. You can’t fight an unstable adult male with a weapon. What we need to do now is get back to the gate, confirm the police are here, and help with the evacuation.”

Su Zhixi considered Shen Manci’s words. Having just been through the cupboard incident, she was as calm as if she’d been injected with a sedative. “Fine.”

…

There was much Shen Manci didn’t know about Su Zhixi—for instance, the existence of a sister who didn’t live with her. As she led the girl out, Shen Manci confirmed one thing: Su Zhixi had an avoidant attachment style. She craved closeness but avoided it due to inner fear and insecurity, leading to a vicious cycle. Just now, Su Zhixi had projected that longing for her mother onto Shen Manci to find brief solace. This explained why she was so stable upon leaving the cupboard.

They began to run, wanting to escape the building quickly. But after only a few steps, they heard a girl’s hysterical screams and crying coming from behind them. Simultaneously, Shen Manci’s pager went off again. The sound mirrored their racing heartbeats. It was a stranger’s number.

Shen Manci remembered: she had left her number with a terrified teacher. The screams were coming from the exact direction of that classroom.

Shen Manci pressed her hand over Su Zhixi’s, putting a finger to her lips in a “shhh” gesture. “You go first. I have to go back.”

Su Zhixi grabbed her quickly. “I’m going too. What if it’s An’an in danger?”

“You can’t. I’m your guardian; I have an obligation to keep you safe.”

“What kind of ‘guardian’ does what you just did to the person they’re guarding?” Su Zhixi shot back, her hand grazing her own neck as she looked meaningfully at Shen Manci. “After doing that, don’t try to speak to me in that ‘adult’ tone ever again.”

Shen Manci’s eyes dimmed. For once, she was speechless.

“Shen Manci, you can choose to rescue anyone out of your sense of responsibility and morality. But you can’t allow yourself to be the only protector while forcing others to just be the protected.”

Shen Manci stared at Su Zhixi for a long time. “You seem to have changed.” After the “special event” in the cupboard, Su Zhixi’s core seemed much more stable, her personality less erratically rebellious.

“Then I have to thank you, Stepmom, for being so ‘well-trained’ with me,” Su Zhixi said, biting off the last words.

“Fine. You can come, but I handle the negotiation. You stay behind me. Do not act on your own, and do not say anything to provoke him.”

“Understood.”

…

When they reached the scene, the sight was horrifying. A middle-aged man was holding a girl hostage with a dagger. He was leaning against the hallway railing, screaming at the top of his lungs: “Come on! Wang Shang’an, get out here! All of you… all of you deserve to be stabbed for what you did to my son! I’m standing right here! You’re brave enough to do filthy things but too cowardly to face the consequences!”

“Get out here! I’m not leaving until I see Wang Shang’an’s guts on the floor!”

Shen Manci shielded Su Zhixi. She saw the female teacher nearby, trembling and too terrified to move. This was a personal vendetta against the school; if the teacher intervened, it would likely only escalate the situation.

Shen Manci took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Sir, please calm down. This child has nothing to do with—”

The man’s bloodshot eyes snapped to her. A thick, sinister murderous intent filled the air. “Are you a teacher?” he spat. He seemed still capable of logic.

“I’m a reporter. If you have demands, I can convey them to the school and the public.”

“Jizhou has no TV station. You’re lying,” the man said, his eyes scanning her sharply.

“I’m with the News Center. We publish every week.”

The man suddenly pivoted. “I don’t want a newspaper reporter. I want a TV reporter!”

“As you said, Jizhou has no station. Only the provincial capital, Hengkou, does.”

“Then get Hengkou TV here!” He pressed the knife closer to the girl’s neck. She sobbed quietly, shaking too much to scream.

“Release the child, and we will satisfy all your demands.”

The man glared at her, his eyes bulging. “Remember, I have the hostage. I make the demands; you fulfill them. Now, you have 20 minutes. I want Principal Wang Shang’an here, and I want Hengkou TV here. If you can’t do it, tell this kid’s family to come collect her body.”

Shen Manci immediately paged Director Zheng, hoping he could call the school. But the public phone was on the first floor, not the third. Even if the Director called, no one could answer it and explain the situation.

“I’ll go. I’ll notify them,” Su Zhixi said from behind her.

The perpetrator didn’t react, which meant silent permission. Su Zhixi backed away slowly. Once she saw he wouldn’t stop her, she exchanged a quick look with Shen Manci and sprinted away.

While she was gone, the man continued his vitriolic abuse of the principal. Shen Manci surveyed the environment. There was a fire hydrant nearby and a long, empty corridor. The man also had a hammer within reach. If the teacher and I lunged together, could we make it? Or would he use the hammer—or the knife—first? She simulated the scenarios but found no guarantee for the girl’s safety. She had to cooperate to avoid a tragedy.

Looking toward the gate, she saw more police arriving. She felt a slight relief. Su Zhixi returned, running to her side. “I contacted Hengkou TV. They agreed to come, but it’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive.”

Shen Manci repeated this to the man.

“Twenty minutes! My patience is 20 minutes! I want Wang Shang’an to kowtow and apologize to my son in front of the whole country! If not, it won’t just be one life today!” he roared. Then he screamed toward the building: “Wang Shang’an! You coward! You’re used to letting students take the blade for you, aren’t you? Today, another child died because of you! How can you call yourself a teacher? How can you call yourself a man? I’ll make everyone hate you, just like they hate me! You’ll be remembered for this even after you’re dead!”

The hostage burst into loud wails of “Daddy, Mommy, help!” The situation was spiraling. “Don’t cry! Cry again and I’ll slit your throat!” the man hissed.

The weak teacher finally spoke up, “Ziyu, don’t cry. Listen to the Teacher. Don’t cry…”

Shen Manci took a step forward, but the knife pointed at her instantly. “You want to die too?”

“Sir,” Shen Manci said calmly. “I mean no offense. But if you’re willing, I can do an exclusive interview about your son. Everything you want to expose about the school’s dark side, we will report it. All of it.”

The man wavered for a second. “Before my son died, plenty of ‘kind’ media like you came by. They said they’d help us get justice for commoners with no background. But after they got my son’s photos and videos, they portrayed him as… Heh. The media isn’t a window for the people; it’s a microphone for the powerful. You take your salary and eat our flesh and blood.”

Shen Manci placed a hand over her heart. “Sir, I swear on my professional ethics: I am not the unscrupulous media you describe. I will write the truth. If I utter a single lie, I will jump from this building right now to appease your anger.”

While she distracted him, she signaled the teacher. The teacher was in the man’s blind spot—the only one who could tackle him. But the teacher shook her head in terror. She couldn’t bear the responsibility if the student got hurt.

Suddenly, Su Zhixi moved near the teacher and spoke: “But how is what you’re doing now any different from the person who killed your son?”

The man whirled around. “What do you know!”

Su Zhixi gave Shen Manci a tiny, secret signal. She began pacing, controlling her distance. “Isn’t it true? You speak from the perspective of a victim, but right now, you are a victimizer, using your pain to hurt others!”

In her mind, Su Zhixi counted down. Three.

“Not only have you not received an apology, you’re dragging others into the river with you.”

Two…

“You’re dragging an innocent girl and her family into the same abyss you’re in.”

One…

“What makes you think that because you’re ‘pitiful,’ others should be the targets for your so-called justice!”

Enraged, the man lunged toward Su Zhixi, swinging his dagger wildly. “Shut up! One more word and I’ll kill you! You, you, all of you—”

He never finished. A fatal blow from behind—the teacher or someone else had finally struck—hit him squarely in the neck. His vision spun, and before he blacked out, he felt the weight of everyone lunging to pin him down.