Judge of Souls - Chapter 51

Half an hour later, Hu Xi’s father and stepmother, along with Wang Xian, were called to the office.

Students hid outside the classroom, secretly eavesdropping.

The homeroom teacher glanced at the door, and seeing that people couldn’t be dispersed, stopped trying to manage them.

He invited the two parents to sit down first, while Hu Xi and Wang Xian stood by the desk.

Wang Xian cried pitifully, almost unable to catch her breath, her cheeks flushed red with grievance.

The homeroom teacher sighed and said, “Hu Xi, this is your third incident. The first time, you had cheat sheets folded in your bag at the exam. You claimed Wang Xian framed you by putting things in your bag. Since the proctor didn’t see you cheating, and you’ve always performed well, the school made an exception and didn’t pursue the matter.”

Hu Xi said, “That’s exactly what happened.”

Mother Wang angrily interjected from the side, “My daughter would never do such a thing!”

Hu Xi glared at the woman.

Father Wang scolded, “Mind your manners!”

The homeroom teacher frowned, signaling them not to speak. He continued, “The second time, during a night inspection, a young couple was found in the garden behind the dormitory building. You appeared when teachers were halfway through pursuing them. You said Wang Xian called and asked you to meet her. Regarding the teenage romance issue, the school gave you a warning.”

“It really was her!” Hu Xi said. “That boy was both ugly and a jerk. I’m not blind—how could I possibly be interested in someone like that? Compared to that, isn’t it more frightening that certain people constantly try to frame others?”

Wang Xian continued crying, tears falling steadily. Mother Wang sat beside Father Wang, sighing dramatically.

Hu Xi watched irritably, “What are you crying about?”

Mother Wang urgently tugged at her husband’s arm, “Look at her!”

The homeroom teacher gave Mother Wang a sidelong glance. “Both of you, children’s issues can’t be resolved by hitting or scolding. Before clarifying the situation, don’t rush to blame either party.”

Kong Su followed behind Hu Xi and said, “Her skill level is higher than yours, little sister Hu.”

Hu Xi shuddered and looked behind herself.

Kong Su: “Huh?”

Homeroom teacher: “Hu Xi, what are you looking at?”

Hu Xi turned her head back.

Homeroom teacher: “This time, how do you want to explain?”

Hu Xi answered candidly, “I have nothing to explain. I wasn’t the first to get physical, nor was I the first to start the verbal attack. So many people in the classroom saw everything. She even hit me, and I didn’t defend myself. Speaking of which, shouldn’t someone who actively provokes and strikes a classmate be disciplined?”

When Mother Wang heard this, she immediately became anxious, saying, “But you didn’t have to pull down her pants and make her kneel before you! My goodness, I’m always afraid when I read news about school bullying, but I never imagined the first person to do such a thing would be her own sister!”

Mother Wang: “Who else could it be!”

Hu Xi made a dismissive sound.

The homeroom teacher felt uncomfortable listening to this.

He had met and spoken with these two parents several times. On the surface, they showed concern and attention toward Hu Xi, displaying the best attitude expected of a stepmother and biological father. They claimed family discord was solely due to Hu Xi being too rebellious. But in reality, they clearly showed favoritism.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed Wang Xian and Hu Xi were sisters.

In his many years of teaching, he had encountered all kinds of parents and was confident in his ability to judge people. This woman was obviously insincere in her words and actions, with a repulsive manipulative tone running through everything she said. And the father was unreliable. Hu Xi’s life at home was certainly difficult.

He was more inclined to believe his star student.

Hu Xi smirked, “Which eye of yours saw that? Is just flapping your lips and making false accusations how it works? Well, that’s your specialty, isn’t it—stirring up trouble? Unfortunately for you, you can’t slander me this time. The witnesses are still standing outside. Feel free to go ask any of them.”

The homeroom teacher interrupted her, “Hu Xi, I’m not saying who’s right or wrong now. I’m saying your condition is concerning. Your grades have dropped. Your last mock exam scores were even worse than this time last year.”

Hu Xi opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t find the right words.

The homeroom teacher turned to the parents, “Parents, please pay more attention to your child. She’s a college entrance exam student. Last year was truly unfortunate—her grades would have definitely qualified her for a prestigious university. Let me be frank: the food poisoning issue was a failure of your parental duty. In all my years of teaching, I’ve never heard of parents feeding their child leftover food that sent them to the hospital right before the college entrance exam.”

As he spoke, his anger rose, and he tapped the desk with his finger.

If Hu Xi got food poisoning again before this year’s exam, he would truly call the police.

But he couldn’t say these words.

Even with just these few sentences, the Wang couple couldn’t bear to listen and their faces immediately darkened.

Mother Wang said, “Teacher, your words seem very biased. Don’t I care about my child? I also regretted what happened during her exam. But how could I use such a poisonous method to harm a child? If she fails the exam and faces problems in the future, would that make me happy? It’s understandable for a child to think this way, but how can you, a teacher, say such things?”

Father Wang was more diplomatic, not wanting to offend the teacher. He pulled at Mother Wang, saying, “Don’t talk nonsense. The teacher is right. I was indeed careless last year.”

The homeroom teacher finally looked at the two main parties and said, “I don’t want to make a big deal out of this incident. You two are sisters after all. Apologize to each other, write self-criticism reports, and read them at the next assembly on the platform. Then we can put this matter behind us.”

Mother Wang heard that her daughter, who had suffered such a great injustice, would also be punished and forced to apologize publicly. She immediately felt the unfairness of it all. Looking flustered, helpless, and aggrieved, she said, “Teacher, you must be fair!”

Homeroom teacher: “What do you suggest then?”

Hu Xi gritted her teeth, “I’m so angry. I got slapped an extra time and I haven’t even mentioned that yet.”

Kong Su placed her hand on Hu Xi’s shoulder, “Your technique is lacking. Do you know what a white lotus is? Let big sister teach you.”

Hu Xi suddenly gasped, feeling something press against her back. Her body was enveloped by an unfamiliar energy, like lying in a river in early June—not too cold, but cool. In the blink of an eye, her body was no longer under her control.

This feeling… was truly amazing!

Everyone looked at Hu Xi with puzzlement, not understanding why she had made that sound.

“Hu Xi” stepped back two paces, her footing unsteady as she leaned against the office door. She lifted her head, revealing a tear-stained face.

Her crying truly conveyed genuine grievance. Tears welled in her eyes, her expression showing three parts stubbornness and unwillingness, and she cried beautifully.

This girl Hu Xi had extremely strong self-esteem and was very stubborn. Even when wronged, she would absolutely never show weakness—on the contrary, she would insist on winning any argument. She kept everything buried in her heart and resolved issues herself, completely unlike Wang Xian. The homeroom teacher knew this.

This personality wasn’t necessarily good or bad, but it definitely made life difficult.

Now that she was crying, he immediately softened. Startled and helplessly sighing, he said, “Let’s talk properly, ah, there’s nothing to cry about.”

“Who can I talk to? The only person who truly cared for me is dead. I don’t even have a home now and am too scared to sleep at night.” Hu Xi wiped her face and called out loudly toward the door, “How pitiful that my mother died early. Although she left me several hundred million, I can’t use a single cent. My father, whom I trusted and admired most, brought home a stepmother, a sister, and a brother on the very day my mother was buried!”

Father Wang turned pale and interrupted her, “Don’t talk nonsense. Those are your Aunt Zhao’s children from her previous marriage. How can you slander her like this?”

Hu Xi bit her lip and sobbed once, “You know the truth yourself. Touch your conscience. No, touch your face and tell me—are these two really not your biological children? They look exactly alike and are equally ugly!”

Someone outside the door laughed with a “pfft” but quickly suppressed it.

“I believed you too, because you’re my father, my only relative! I listened to what you said—to treat them well and accept them. But what was the result?” Hu Xi pointed at them all grievously, “My clothes and room were taken by Wang Xian. This woman, my so-called stepmother, uses tens of thousands of yuan worth of cosmetics herself, changes into brand new designer clothes every day, and gives her daughter and son thousands of yuan as pocket money. Just look at what I’m wearing. Do I need to say more?”

“This is a misunderstanding.” Father Wang took a deep breath and said, “Listen to me. Alright, I’ve been too busy. I’ve neglected you.”

At this point, Hu Xi raised her voice and bitterly rebuked, “That was money my mother left for me! Yet you used it to support your mistress and illegitimate children!”

Father Wang, red-faced with anger, said, “Shut up!”

Hu Xi said, “I ate her food before the college entrance exam and got food poisoning, yet you said it was my fault.”

Father Wang couldn’t bear her exposing his dirty laundry in public. He stood up abruptly and rushed toward her.

Hu Xi quickly shouted, “You kicked me out of the house to fend for myself. I’ve never seen such unreasonable people who occupy someone else’s nest!”

Father Wang reached out to cover her mouth.

Hu Xi screamed sharply, hit the door hard, and then slid down.

People both inside and outside the door were startled. That collision was clearly not light.

“Mr. Wang!” the homeroom teacher shouted sternly, “She is your daughter!”

Father Wang quickly withdrew his hand, wiped it on his pants, and started to regain his rationality.

He clearly hadn’t used much force…

He looked down at Hu Xi, who was curled up in a ball, trembling. After all, she was his biological daughter, and he couldn’t help feeling regretful and pained.

No… this wasn’t his intention.

The homeroom teacher went to check on Hu Xi’s condition, felt the back of her head, and asked with concern, “Are you alright?”

Outside the door was a bustling crowd—there must have been dozens of people, maybe more. It had become so noisy that those inside couldn’t hear each other clearly.

At this moment, a male student shouted, “Everyone be quiet!”

This was quite effective, and the outside finally quieted down again.

Hu Xi sniffled and continued, “I know you all want to kill me, afraid I’ll take back the money when I come of age.”

The homeroom teacher said sternly, “Hu Xi, don’t make family conflicts sound so serious!”

“On New Year’s Eve, I suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. I was still conscious but couldn’t move, so I called them…” Hu Xi said, sobbing uncontrollably, and then launched into what sounded like a plot from a novel, “But none of them cared about me. They were happily celebrating the New Year, watching TV. I lay alone in my room, filled with despair. If someone hadn’t found me in time and carried me out, I might already be dead.”

The homeroom teacher was puzzled, “New Year’s Eve? Weren’t you at home?”

“I was at home. I was in the haunted house he found for me.” Hu Xi said through gritted teeth, “He kicked me out, ignored me completely—wasn’t he simply hoping to starve me to death?”

“I gave you money! I transferred you ten thousand every month! It was you who said you wanted to move out because you thought your mother wanted to harm you!” Father Wang shouted in rage, “Hu Xi, is there any truth in what you’re saying now? Why are you falsely accusing your father like this?”

Hu Xi extended her hand, “You gave me money? Where’s the proof? Is the ten thousand you gave me spirit money? If I had ten thousand every month, would I be living like this? I dare you to search my place—if you find anything valuable, I’ll believe you!”

The homeroom teacher remembered, “You haven’t paid your tuition yet.”

“I can’t afford the tuition…” Hu Xi wiped her nose with her finger and continued sobbing, “My hospital bills were covered by someone else, and he even bought me meals and lent me a thousand yuan. He still has the hospital receipts.”

Father Wang realized something and suddenly turned to look at his wife.

Mother Wang clutched her bag tightly and shook her head vigorously, “No, I gave her—”

Hu Xi persisted relentlessly, “Where’s the proof? Where are the bank transaction records? Show them! Don’t tell me the ten thousand yuan was always given in cash! You must have receipts for withdrawing money, right?”

Mother Wang’s eyes darted around, “Every month I—”

Father Wang had said ten thousand, but she actually only gave two thousand each month, sending it through Wang Xian. How much Wang Xian had taken from that amount was anyone’s guess.

And Wang Xian was too stunned to speak up and take the blame.

Just that moment of hesitation made everything clear.

The homeroom teacher’s eyes were filled with disapproval toward them and sympathy for Hu Xi.

Father Wang’s eyes turned red, and he stomped his foot hard.

How could this woman be so short-sighted? Was she happy to make him bear the reputation of abusing his family?

If this had been discovered at home, Father Wang would have at most scolded them a bit and issued a warning. But now it had been exposed in public, and he had lost significant face. Who knew what consequences the mother and daughter would face.

She simply hadn’t reacted quickly enough—otherwise, she could have denied everything firmly and dealt with it at home later.

She had experienced ups and downs in life, but since being with Father Wang, her social circle had been simple, and she hadn’t encountered such situations before.

By the time she understood, it was too late.

Mother Wang, facing the condemning gazes of everyone, still had to persist, “No, I really did give it! Ten thousand yuan every month. When we go back, I’ll show you the bank records!”

But who would believe her now? She could say whatever she wanted.

The homeroom teacher silently helped Hu Xi to her feet, then opened the door.

Outside, the dense crowd saw them emerge and instinctively cleared a path.

The homeroom teacher felt annoyed and redirected his anger, “Everyone go back to class! What are you blocking the door for? Do you think you have too little homework? Today everyone gets double!”

The students, still indignant over the scenes they had imagined, didn’t react strongly to his punishment.

Who cared about homework? Today’s drama was totally worth it!

Father Wang rushed out after them. Too embarrassed to lift his head, he quickly left the teaching building.

Mother Wang wanted to follow but didn’t dare at the moment. She turned to look at Wang Xian, who had frozen like a wooden statue, and felt exasperated.

“Aiya, why are you so stupid? Couldn’t you have helped by saying something earlier?” Mother Wang asked. “And did you actually give her the money?”

“I did give her…” Wang Xian said softly, “I gave her five or six hundred yuan…”

Mother Wang: “You—”

She thought for a moment and realized something wasn’t right.

Given Hu Xi’s personality, she shouldn’t have done what she did today. How had she suddenly changed?

That girl whose self-esteem was stronger than her life—would she cry in front of them? No, she wouldn’t.

And she had always respected her father—after all, he was her biological father. How had she suddenly drawn such a clear boundary?