Rebirth: He Decides to Lie Flat
Chapter 238 - 238 235 Change Dorms (Three More)

Chapter 238: Chapter 235: Change Dorms (Three More) Chapter 238: Chapter 235: Change Dorms (Three More) “Old Tang, Hao Tong’s family is just getting by; she can’t afford to pay the 100,000 yuan.”

“If she can’t afford it, then why did she resort to violence?” Tang An was furious, “They’re adults, college students, yet they argue and smash each other’s belongings; what kind of behavior is this? Old Liu, I know what you mean, but a violin worth 100,000 yuan – is it something I can simply say doesn’t have to be compensated?”

Tang An was also enraged. Xia Shi was always a troublemaker, and her mother was not the type to smooth things over. Previously, Mu Jiawen hadn’t done anything to her yet she still wanted to find fault, let alone now when someone else initiated it.

Teacher Liu wanted to say that Xia Shi was the first to provoke verbally, but then he thought that this statement wasn’t very helpful. After all, the one who acted first was the most at fault.

But if you’re the first to act, then just be the first to act. Can’t you just push her a bit? Why smash her belongings?

This Hao Tong…

“Or how about this, you communicate with Xia Shi and her mother, see if… the amount of compensation can be reduced a bit?”

After saying this, he felt it was rather weak. We’re talking about 100,000 yuan here; even if it’s less, what difference would it make?

He remembered how at the beginning of the school year when Hao Tong’s parents came to the school to drop her off, they brought some local specialties from their hometown. Both appeared honest and simple with plain clothes and calloused hands, clearly accustomed to manual labor.

He heard that both parents were ordinary factory workers with not high wages. Together, they definitely earned less than 10,000 yuan a month, and 100,000 yuan was probably more than what they could earn in a year.

“Old Tang, if this gets out, both of them will receive a major demerit, and the school won’t care whether it was a piano or a violin that got smashed. To settle things quietly, you’ll have to get Xia Shi to step back.”

Tang An glanced at Teacher Liu, thinking to himself what a slick guy he truly was.

But on second thought, this seemed like the only way to go. After all, Xia Shi wasn’t exactly well-behaved, and why on earth would you bring such an expensive violin to school?

To show off?

Utterly pointless and asking for trouble.

The two briefly discussed, and just as they were about to head back to the dormitory, they discovered Hao Tong had opened the door at some point.

The girl didn’t even bother to tidy her hair; it hung messily down her chest. She glanced at Teacher Liu, then turned and walked back to where she was standing before.

“Teacher Liu, I won’t be paying the money. Please report it to the school.”

Her words hit like a thunderclap, leaving not only Tang An and Teacher Liu stunned, but even Xia Shi momentarily ceased crying and glared at her angrily.

Hao Tong looked calmly at Xia Shi and said indifferently, “Although I was the first to smash the violin, she insulted me several times while I was playing the flute. I’ve been tolerating her for a long time, and today I lost control because she enraged me. But even if I hadn’t smashed it, our fighting might have resulted in damage anyway. Yet, the fight was initiated by her, and I will make this clear to the school. Whatever the punishment is, a major demerit or something else, I accept it. But paying for her violin – no way!”

In a nutshell, she’d rather face the school than pay!

Tang An looked at Hao Tong with a complex expression, then turned to glance at Teacher Liu.

Teacher Liu gestured helplessly, indicating that he was out of options and it was up to Tang An now.

This old fox!

If a student gets punished by the school, the counselor can’t escape blame either. Although it wouldn’t be severe, being excluded from end-of-year commendations is certain, and it might even affect the next year’s bonus distribution.

So the counselor is actually the most unfortunate when a student makes a mistake.

Teacher Liu wasn’t uncaring; he was just helpless.

Tang An called Xia Shi out for a private conversation and also phoned her mother, whose attitude was as firm as he had expected, “Are you threatening us with reporting to the school? This student is really something… Our family really doesn’t care about the 100,000 yuan, but I must talk with her parents. Please, Teacher Tang, ask Hao Tong’s counselor to notify her parents to come to Beijing as soon as possible. Xia Shi’s father and I will buy plane tickets tomorrow and fly over.”

Tang An breathed a sigh of relief; one way or another, there would be no compensation.

As long as her family didn’t have to pay compensation or give up the violin, Hao Tong wouldn’t take the matter to the school, and the issue could be resolved privately.

Tang An informed Teacher Liu, who also breathed a sigh of relief.

After the matter was settled, Mu Jiawen, who had been staying to the side and hadn’t seemed very present, was about to turn away to leave when she was suddenly stopped by Teacher Liu.

“Mu Jiawen, wait a moment, please.”

Mu Jiawen turned back, looking at Teacher Liu in confusion.

Teacher Liu gave her a friendly smile and said to Tang An, “Teacher Tang, these two have caused such a fuss, it would be awkward for them to continue living in the same dormitory. What do you think about swapping dorms between Mu Jiawen and Xia Shi?”

There were four people in this dormitory, and apart from Xia Shi, the other three were from their Theoretical Physics class.

Mu Jiawen was quite famous among the freshmen at the Physics College, often praised by lecturers and professors, with all A’s in her subjects, and she was known to be easy to get along with due to her quiet nature.

So, Teacher Liu thought that if she were moved to this dormitory, not only would she get along with the other three girls, but she could also help them improve their academics. It seemed like a win-win situation.

He had a beautiful plan in mind, but it was brought crashing back to reality by a single sentence from Mu Jiawen.

“I disagree!”

Mu Jiawen looked at Teacher Liu expressionlessly, “What their fight has become is their business, what does it have to do with me? I’m perfectly comfortable in my own dormitory; why should I have to move because they fought? Teacher Liu, that’s quite unreasonable!”

After she spoke, Mu Jiawen greeted Tang An and turned to leave.

Teacher Liu’s mouth hung open, maintaining a look of shock as he turned to Tang An, clearly saying through his expression, “Is this the good temperament you spoke of? This is a good temperament? With such an attitude?”

Teacher Tang responded irritatedly, “So what? Did she say something wrong?”

Teacher Liu’s face showed embarrassment.

Tang An turned to Xia Shi and Hao Tong and asked, “Do either of you want to change dormitories?”

The two hesitated, glancing at each other, each waiting for the other to nod first, but in the end, neither made a sound.

Tang An snorted, “See? What about the fight? They don’t want to change either, making an unnecessary fuss!”

He turned to leave with Xue Weisong, and then heard Xia Shi quietly say, “Teacher Tang, I would like to change.”

“If you want to change, find a dormitory yourself and negotiate with the other party; then find the dormitory supervisor yourself,” he replied.

He left without looking back, while Xia Shi’s face turned beet red behind him.

…

The next afternoon, after the painting was taken care of, an assistant from Mu Chenyan Art Gallery delivered the Zodiac paintings to Mu Jiawen.

“Xiaosi, these twelve paintings are so well done; having them in your classroom feels like a waste. How about this: after you finish your holiday, paint another twelve for our gallery?”

The assistant was also a student of Mu Chenyan and couldn’t help but marvel the first time they saw Mu Jiawen’s paintings. It was no surprise she was the teacher’s daughter, possessing terrifying talent that others couldn’t hope to match even with ten years of hard study.

Yet there she was, not often painting, but as soon as she picked up the brush, she felt it immediately. Now only eighteen, although not on par with Master Mu, her skill was already comparable to certain lecturers and professors at the fine arts college.

Unfortunately, she had only painted and sent two pieces to the gallery so far. Although there were several people who wanted to purchase them, Master Mu had refused all offers, unable to part with them.