Chapter Sixty-Six: A Chance Encounter

The next morning, after breakfast, Shen Guodong rode his bicycle to take Liu Yueru to work.

This was the very first time.

In the past, Liu Yueru always walked to the school, a journey of over an hour, rain or shine. She would often see her colleagues riding bicycles, or being dropped off by their husbands, and she could not help but feel envious. But, after all, her circumstances were what they were; even if she had thoughts or wishes, she could only keep them in her heart.

Sitting on the back seat, Liu Yueru wrapped her arms around Shen Guodong’s waist, happiness practically written all over her face.

At an intersection not far from the school, a crowd was waiting to cross the street. Just then, a surprised voice came from beside them.

“Isn’t that Teacher Liu? Why aren’t you walking to work today?”

It was a woman’s voice. Even though Shen Guodong hadn’t seen who it was yet, the tone was dripping with superiority—the kind of haughty attitude that could not be hidden no matter what.

It left him a little displeased.

Turning his head, he saw a woman sitting on the back of a classic “28-bar” bicycle, eyeing the two of them.

“So this is your husband, Teacher Liu? He bought a bicycle? I heard your husband was a good-for-nothing, never did any proper work, gambled day and night, and owed a lot of debt. How can he afford a bicycle now?”

The woman did not notice their displeasure, and kept talking.

Her name was Zheng Yangling, also a teacher at Liu Yueru’s school.

However, her teaching skills were notoriously poor. Not a single student from her class ever made it into a top high school. She was frequently criticized, and complaints flooded in. Many parents, hearing their children had been assigned to Zheng Yangling’s class, would immediately request a transfer, and some even called for her dismissal.

The issue had caused quite a stir at the time. In the end, Zheng Yangling went to see the principal, and somehow, the matter was gradually smoothed over.

Later on, the principal directly swapped the classes of Liu Yueru and Zheng Yangling. Unexpectedly, the class that had originally performed well under Liu Yueru began to decline, dropping to third out of the school’s five classes. Meanwhile, the bottom-ranked Class Five, which Zheng Yangling had previously led, rose to second place.

Even the principal criticized Zheng Yangling. Although Liu Yueru hadn’t done anything in particular, Zheng Yangling developed a grudge—after all, without comparison, there’s no harm. If Liu Yueru hadn’t existed, she wouldn’t have been put in such a position.

By chance, Zheng Yangling learned of Liu Yueru’s difficult family situation: a husband addicted to gambling, refusing to work, abusing his wife, and deep in debt. This delighted Zheng Yangling, who spread the story all over town.

This made things very awkward for Liu Yueru at school for a time.

Fortunately, Liu Yueru had always been kind and well-liked. Some teachers, upon hearing of her hardship, offered to help, but she always politely declined. Though her situation was difficult, Liu Yueru kept her boundaries clear.

This only made Zheng Yangling more annoyed. She had hoped her colleagues would look down on Liu Yueru and force her out, but instead, people sympathized with her. As the students’ grades in her own class worsened, Zheng Yangling’s resentment deepened—she taught the same way, so why was there such a difference in outcomes?

Especially now, when the school was selecting candidates for the title of Senior Teacher, she was scheming on how to secure the honor, making frequent visits to the principal’s office. Of course, she wouldn’t go when her "monthly guest" arrived.

Now, upon seeing Liu Yueru being picked up by her husband for the first time, Zheng Yangling became more aggressive, unable to resist mocking them.

“Teacher Zheng, I don’t believe we have any real enmity, do we? At school, you always seem to be at odds with me. Whatever my husband does, that’s my own business and has nothing to do with you. As long as I’m happy, it’s enough,” Liu Yueru said.

Though Liu Yueru was normally gentle and soft-spoken, whenever someone brought up Shen Guodong, she couldn’t help but defend him—even in his worst days, she would insist it was only a temporary setback.

Now, with Shen Guodong truly changed for the better, she was even less willing to let anyone slander him.

Zheng Yangling sneered, “Oh, Teacher Liu, I’m only thinking of you. Why stick with someone who only gambles and refuses to work? You’re young and beautiful, you could do better. I heard you’re quite close to Teacher Gao, Teacher Li, and the head of discipline at school. Any one of them is better than this guy. If I recall, you and Teacher Gao were classmates, and he liked you, hasn’t married yet—wouldn’t that be perfect?”

Her words were sharp, deliberately spoken in front of Shen Guodong, clearly intended to sow discord between husband and wife.

Even if there was no truth to it, Liu Yueru worried Shen Guodong might misunderstand.

She hurriedly explained, “Guodong, my relationship with them is purely professional. We’re all teachers at the same school, and naturally, we interact at work.”

But before she could finish, Shen Guodong interrupted, “There’s no need to explain. I trust you. Dirty-minded people only see filth. My friend, with a wife so full of wicked thoughts, you’d better be careful—she might put a hat on you for some benefit one day.”

Though he spoke offhandedly, his words struck a nerve. Zheng Yangling reacted as if she’d been scalded, snapping at Shen Guodong, “You’re nothing but a gambling addict, penniless, living off your wife—how dare you run your mouth? I’m kindly warning your wife about what goes on at school, and you slander me? You’ve got some nerve!”

She sneered, glaring at Shen Guodong with such ferocity she looked ready to throttle him—a veritable tigress in her wrath.

Seeing her reaction, Shen Guodong immediately understood.

If there was nothing to hide, why would she respond with such fury?

If it had been Liu Yueru, her first instinct would not have been anger, but to explain to him.

But Zheng Yangling’s first reaction was rage.