Hating Her, While Still Having to Address Her as Mother - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: A Mentally Healthy Child

Chapter Introduction: Do you need someone to coax you?

Su Zhixi could sense that after the Jizhou No. 1 Middle School incident, a very subtle change had occurred in her life. This change became even more apparent after that day when everyone gathered at the convenience store to watch the news report.

Walking down the street, Su Zhixi could feel people’s eyes instinctively focusing on her and Shen Manci.

Although people had often observed them and gossiped behind their backs when they walked together in the past, this was different from the inquisitive glances of before. It seemed as though something else had been added to the mix.

It started with idle gossip, followed by unfriendly glares. In this small town, however, such things were somewhat habitual.

It wasn’t until one day, when an egg was spitefully hurled at their front door, that Su Zhixi realized things were not as simple as she had imagined.

In the following days, upon returning home from school, Su Zhixi would find a mess on the ground in front of her door—all sorts of discarded fruits, vegetables, and even eggshells.

Shen Manci, however, remained very calm. Squatting by the door, she remarked, “Our luck has been quite good lately. We don’t even have to go to the market to buy groceries.”

“Is it possible,” Su Zhixi countered, “that they aren’t practicing charity, but rather that we are being bullied?”

Shen Manci stood up and smiled. “If bullying comes with free vegetables, the benefits are actually quite nice.”

Su Zhixi glanced at Shen Manci, discovering that this woman’s level of thick-skinnedness was even more severe than she had imagined.

But despite her words, Shen Manci quickly grabbed a broom and began clearing the scene.

Shen Manci’s reaction was flat. Watching her busy silhouette, Su Zhixi couldn’t help but call out to her, asking, “Is it… did something happen with your work? Is someone holding a grudge against you?”

Though Shen Manci’s back was to her, Su Zhixi could easily hear the hint of a smile in her voice, as if it were a laughably childish question.

“Hmm, why are you so certain it’s my problem? Is the impression I’ve left on you that bad?”

Su Zhixi folded her arms across her chest. “Well, it’s not like my social standing is that poor.”

“Oh? Then what happened with your classmate Wang Yi?”

Su Zhixi cleared her throat. “That… was an exception.”

“Don’t try to change the subject, Shen Manci. Answer my question.”

Shen Manci turned around and handed the broom to Su Zhixi. “Can you help me out first before we discuss this?”

Without a word, Su Zhixi took the broom and began sweeping haphazardly. During the process, Shen Manci praised her sweeping skills to the high heavens, successfully distracting her.

It wasn’t until dinner that Su Zhixi remembered the matter again.

“You still haven’t answered the question I asked at the door.”

“Hmm. Is the soup too salty?”

“It’s not salty—wait, don’t dodge the question.”

Shen Manci picked up her soup bowl, leisurely scooped a spoonful of the milky-white broth, blew on it three times, and finally asked, “What is it you want to know?”

“Lately, don’t you think the people in town are acting differently toward us?”

“It’s normal for people to gossip about our relationship, isn’t it?”

Su Zhixi put down her chopsticks, dissatisfied. “It’s not that. It’s clearly because of the Jizhou No. 1 Middle School incident.”

Shen Manci’s gaze flickered as she looked at Su Zhixi. “Mm-hmm, perhaps it is.”

Su Zhixi spoke clearly and deliberately: “This matter is affecting our daily lives. Shen Manci, I live with you, and I don’t want my life to suffer negative consequences because of you.”

“What consequences? Aside from adding to our meals every night, there doesn’t seem to be much of an impact,” Shen Manci played dumb, picking up a piece of green vegetable.

“It affects my physical and mental development; it affects my mental health. As my nominal guardian, you should ensure my psychological well-being.”

Shen Manci wiped her mouth with a tissue and said slowly, “But a mentally healthy high schooler wouldn’t play ‘house’ games.”

“A mentally healthy child wouldn’t want a mother who can be coaxed, rubbed, held, warmed, and kissed just right.”

“A-Xi, are you one?”

“You look like…” a mentally healthy child? Shen Manci left the second half of the sentence unsaid, but the implication was heavy enough.

Sitting opposite her, Su Zhixi’s face turned a deep, angry red. She couldn’t even distinguish if the heat in her cheeks was from being teased or from sheer frustration.

“I’m full. Take your time,” Shen Manci said, standing up to clear the dishes and leave.

But Su Zhixi wasn’t about to let her go. Still flushed, she reached out and grabbed Shen Manci’s wrist, still reeling from those few sentences.

After a long pause, she finally forced out: “…Regardless, I have the right to know what’s going on.”

“We live together. We are… nominal family. I have the right to know what happened.”

Shen Manci replayed the word “family” in her mind several times. It was the first time Su Zhixi had used that word to describe them.

Shen Manci couldn’t say if she was moved by the term, but she naturally sat back down.

“If you knew, what would change? If you didn’t, what would it matter?” Shen Manci asked.

“If I knew, would you protect me?”

“No. But I have the right to know.”

Shen Manci let out a soft chuckle, seemingly unsurprised by Su Zhixi’s words.

“Regarding that Jizhou No. 1 Middle School matter—after it happened, it was originally supposed to be handled by the Jizhou News, which is our unit.”

“However, the provincial capital’s television station wanted to take full control of the case.”

“The school didn’t know the specifics and thought the coverage currently on the market was coming from us, even though it was actually being handled by Hengkou TV.”

“So, not long ago…”

The school authorities of Jizhou No. 1 Middle School hosted a banquet for the Jizhou News Center at a well-decorated local restaurant.

The other party’s intent was direct: they hoped the Jizhou News Center would not blow the incident out of proportion. They wanted the reporting to “turn big problems into small ones and small ones into nothing” to avoid negative news affecting the school’s reputation.

“Reporter Shen, I remember you were on the scene, weren’t you?”

“Principal Wang, just call me Xiao Shen. I was indeed there.”

“You see, as you know, many things are not as simple as they appear on the surface. The cause and effect behind many events are actually quite complex.”

“Yes, that is true.”

“Then our friends in the media, as recorders of events, should know even better that the role of the media is to record facts, not to exaggerate or fabricate. That would go against our original intention, wouldn’t it?”

As Wang Shang’an spoke, he signaled a teacher sitting near Shen Manci to pour her some wine.

Shen Manci raised her hand and declined calmly. “I am allergic to alcohol, so it isn’t convenient for me to drink with everyone.”

Seeing that Shen Manci was being unyielding, Wang Shang’an changed his tone and looked at Director Zheng.

“Ah, Old Zheng, look. Young people nowadays are so stubborn and rigid; they don’t understand how to be flexible at all.”

Director Zheng laughed awkwardly. When the other party toasted him, he smiled and said, “Yes, yes, young people today are single-minded. Principal Wang, please bear with us. This Xiao Shen from our unit only joined us this year.”

“She was in Qinhai before, so it’s inevitable she’s a bit proud and might not fully understand our local customs.”

Hearing this, a spark appeared in Wang Shang’an’s eyes beneath his heavy dark circles. “Oh, Xiao Shen worked in Qinhai before? No wonder. Coming to our place is truly a waste of talent.”

As he spoke, Wang Shang’an’s restless hand reached out toward Shen Manci’s leg, as if it were a natural, smooth progression of the conversation.

Shen Manci smiled without a word and stood up, nimbly avoiding the “salty pig hand.”

It looked like a coincidence, but anyone with eyes knew it wasn’t.

Shen Manci poured herself a cup of tea and toasted the table. “It isn’t a waste of talent. It is my honor to eat with the teachers who cultivate the pillars of our nation. I used to be half a Jizhou local myself; perhaps among the teachers present, there is one who once taught me. I have always felt that the phrase ‘lofty as a mountain, enduring as a great road’ is the most fitting description for a teacher. I hope that no matter how much time passes, I will still feel that way.”

Shen Manci’s words carried a double meaning. On the surface, it sounded like a compliment, but it was actually an insinuation that the teachers present were unworthy of their titles—a direct pressure tactic aimed at Director Zheng.

If Wang Shang’an had known from the start that the Jizhou incident was being handled by Hengkou TV, this dinner wouldn’t have happened. Since Wang Shang’an and Director Zheng were old friends, Zheng should have clarified this from the beginning.

The fact that Director Zheng hadn’t clarified things meant he was either waiting to see what benefits the school would offer the News Center, or… he simply wanted to watch a comedy play out.

Shen Manci couldn’t tell what Director Zheng was up to. She wouldn’t be the one to speak plainly; she would only push—push the other party until they had no choice but to speak up themselves.

“Thus, I toast you all with tea instead of wine.” Shen Manci scanned the room, finally letting her gaze rest on Director Zheng.

Director Zheng began to look uneasy. After Shen Manci finished her toast, he finally confessed: “Principal Wang, actually, the situation is like this…”

The farce should have ended with Director Zheng’s confession. But the matter went far beyond that.

Rumors that the Jizhou News Center had been bribed by the school began to spread like wildfire after that banquet. Someone had apparently witnessed the dinner and heard snippets, leading to the rumor that the News Center had been bought off.

Shortly after, the wife of the perpetrator appeared in an interview with Hengkou TV, saying: “You report so much about my husband, but no one has investigated how my son died back then! Is the media this unethical? Can the media just kill people so easily?”

Hengkou TV’s reporting was ambiguous. They did not specify which “media” the perpetrator’s wife was referring to.

The people of Jizhou, having grown accustomed to seeing the Jizhou News Center’s reports first, took them as the primary source. This placed the News Center on a moral chopping block.

People accused the Jizhou News Center of taking dirty money from the school and failing to explain the full story: Why did Zhao Chaokang cause trouble? Why did he hate Principal Wang Shang’an so much? What did his son endure at that school?

Why did the school want to cover everything up? What were they trying to hide? How much money did the media pocket? As the hub of social information, why didn’t they make the facts public?

These questions fermented among the masses. Once the tension reached a breaking point, people began to organize spontaneously, acting as “vigilantes.” They wanted the truth; they wanted justice for Zhao Chaokang’s son.

Consequently, the public began to lash out at every reporter working for the Jizhou News Center.

When Shen Manci finished explaining all this, Su Zhixi felt confused. She raised her hand to ask, “I don’t understand. The Jizhou News Center is a newspaper office, but the overwhelming coverage right now is television interviews. Since Jizhou doesn’t even have its own TV station, haven’t people realized this isn’t under your jurisdiction? It’s been Hengkou TV all along, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, but people can be blinded by fragments of information. They can’t think logically about these things when they are angry. To them, ‘the media’ is a vague, singular concept; the general public doesn’t usually distinguish between a newspaper and a TV station.”

Su Zhixi was still puzzled. “But why would Hengkou TV do this? This kind of reporting should be bad for them too, since they are the ones producing it. Wouldn’t the wife’s statement make their own position more difficult?”

Shen Manci stood up, put the dishes in the sink, and turned on the faucet. She said calmly, “Because they know the public can’t tell the difference between media types or who is in charge of which event. They know that when this report airs, the locals will default to blaming the Jizhou News Center for negligence. Coupled with the earlier rumors about the school bribing you, it effectively ‘confirms’ the lie.”

As the two were talking, a loud crash erupted from outside. Something had been slammed violently against the iron gate. Shen Manci and Su Zhixi exchanged an uneasy look.

They went to the entrance and opened the door. On the ground lay an old, broken chair—the source of the loud noise. Looking at the door itself, they saw that someone had used red oil paint to scrawl:

“TRUTH DENIED! WHERE IS JUSTICE!” “THOSE WHO BURY THE TRUTH ARE MURDERERS!”

The vivid red looked like blood, sending a shiver down one’s spine.

Su Zhixi nervously gripped Shen Manci’s hand. Shen Manci squeezed back, her lips silently mouthing the words: “Don’t be afraid.”

“Let’s go inside. We’ll deal with this tomorrow.” Shen Manci glanced around the neighborhood and quickly led Su Zhixi back into the house.

Just moments after they stepped inside, another massive crash echoed against the door. Su Zhixi flinched instinctively.

Shen Manci reached out, gently cupping Su Zhixi’s ears with her hands to block out the outside noise.

In that moment of muffled silence, Su Zhixi saw Shen Manci look at her tenderly for the second time that day. She mouthed “Don’t be afraid” again—but this time, she added a second half:

“I’m here.”