Chapter 122 :  Qiao Sisi’s Traumatic Past

Beside the girl’s house was a bamboo grove. When the wind blew, the bamboo leaves rustled.

What should have been a noisy sound surprisingly felt more peaceful than the wailing and crying inside the house.

“Teacher Qiao, please have some water.”

The little girl thoughtfully offered water to each visitor, including Qiao Sisi, who had just smashed her father’s head with a bottle.

“Hmm? Aren’t you afraid of me?”

Qiao Sisi sat on a small wooden stool, smiling as she observed the girl’s face, trying to find any signs of fear or terror.

Surprisingly, she failed.

The girl’s eyes were clear, like a pristine spring, showing no negative emotions.

She shook her head and sincerely said, “I was a bit scared when I saw you smashing the bottle.”

“I was afraid my dad would die, and Teacher Qiao would have to pay with her life.”

This answer raised Qiao Sisi’s eyebrows in surprise.

It felt like encountering a rabbit while expecting to meet wolves and tigers on a journey.

And the rabbit looked at you, showing no malice but instead being friendly.

She took the disposable water cup from Fangfang’s hand and sipped it gently.

The boiled water from the old-fashioned teapot had a unique taste that Qiao Sisi wasn’t used to. After swallowing that sip, she didn’t drink more.

She patted another small wooden stool beside her, signaling Fangfang to sit.

“Aren’t you afraid that without your father, you’d become a child without a family?”

Normally, wouldn’t a child worry more about the person close to them?

No matter how good Qiao Sisi was to them, she couldn’t compare to their family, could she?

Besides, Qiao Sisi had known Fangfang for less than a week.

For a child to say such things, either the child is unusual, or the father is.

Fangfang shook her head again and shared her experiences.

“My mom left my dad when I was three, going to a big city and never coming back.”

“Since I was little, my dad only drank and hit people. He either hit me or my grandma, sometimes both.”

As she spoke, she rolled up her long sleeves, revealing scars on her arms.

“These are from my dad. Last week, he whipped me with a bamboo stick when I got home.”

“If I could, I’d stay at school forever, but grandma works too hard alone, so I have to go home to help her.”

“Teacher, am I a heartless child?”

This pretty teacher must think she’s a bad child.

Not caring about her father’s life, so cold and unfeeling.

But if every return home meant facing abuse and beating like a storm, she’d rather not have a father.

Maybe she and grandma would live better without him.

As Fangfang spoke, she smiled, showing a dimple on her cheek.

Originally a very shy child, she spoke so much for the first time in front of Qiao Sisi.

Qiao Sisi felt a pang in her heart, deeply moved, with an indescribable pain stuck in her throat.

“You are a good child.”

Qiao Sisi hugged Fangfang, holding her close and gently patting her shoulder.

“You are already very brave.”

“Braver than I was when I was little.”

Fangfang looked up at her incredulously, asking, “Did even someone as amazing as Teacher Qiao get hit?”

She had heard from other students that Teacher Qiao was a big TV star, a very impressive person.

Could someone so radiant also get hit as a child?

She thought… a pearl and a dull stone like herself had completely different childhoods.

Fang Zhou had handled the situation, made the necessary compensations and apologies, and came out to find Qiao Sisi, ready to visit the next home.

But he paused at the corner, hearing her conversation with the student, deciding to come back later.

Yet, Qiao Sisi’s words piqued his curiosity, rooting him in place.

Qiao Sisi released her hold, placing the cup aside, and began recounting her past.

“When I was little, my dad was like yours. He hit people when he drank.”

“If I did poorly on a test and he was angry, he’d beat me to death. Mom would protect me, but all I could do was cry.”

“But now that I’m grown, he can’t hit me anymore.”

As she spoke, Qiao Sisi gently stroked Fangfang’s head to comfort her.

“When you grow up, you can protect yourself too.”

Fangfang nodded earnestly, “I want to grow up quickly and be as amazing as Teacher Qiao!”

Qiao Sisi smiled, gazing at the bamboo grove, lost in thought.

Though she didn’t want to recall the past, the scenes played in her mind.

In a chaotic house, her parents constantly fought over trivial matters due to their clashing personalities.

The family was wealthy, but they still fought over money.

During fierce arguments, her father would hit people, and her mother’s cries echoed through the house.

Locked in her room, she could only hear her father’s violence and her mother’s cries.

Sometimes, when she came home earlier than her mother, she’d be beaten first, and then both would be beaten when her mother returned.

Later, her father even had an affair, with the mistress sending photos to her mother’s email to provoke her.

At ten years old, Qiao Sisi advised her mother to divorce. What did her mother say?

“No, I love him so much. He’ll come back one day.”

Yes, Qiao Sisi’s mother loved her father deeply.

Despite the domestic violence and infidelity, she couldn’t control her feelings.

Like a moth to a flame, she believed she’d eventually see better days.

But her father never came back.

He lived freely outside, never returning home. All Qiao Sisi saw and heard was her weeping mother and her constant words.

“Men are like untamed horses, loving to roam outside but will eventually return home.”

Young Qiao Sisi outwardly agreed, comforting her mother, “Dad will realize your worth someday.”

But internally, she sneered: I won’t allow my horse to run wild. If it tries, I’ll kill it before it can.

Like now with Fang Zhou, if she couldn’t have him, she wouldn’t let anyone else either.

She’d rather have the horse dead than let someone else ride it.