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墨書 Inktalez
However, what one thinks they have forgotten is often impossible to truly forget.
This matter had been weighing heavily on Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher for a long time, but she never found the opportunity to address it. As time passed, this incident gradually settled in her heart. She initially believed it would remain buried forever, but then Liang Zhengyu died.
The death of Liang Zhengyu struck deeply at her heart, and she could no longer suppress the thoughts that had been swirling in her mind. She had been contemplating whether to reveal this secret she had kept for half a year. When we called her, she finally decided to share what had been hidden in her heart.
What did Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher witness that made her turn away?
It turned out that what others referred to as a fight was actually one-sided abuse. At that time, Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher saw a large circle of students gathered on the playground, and at the center of it was none other than Liang Zhengyu.
She witnessed several classmates pinning a boy down to the ground, rendering him completely unable to resist. Meanwhile, Liang Zhengyu held a cigarette in his hand, the burning cigarette butt raised high.
A few students tore open the boy's shirt, exposing the skin on his waist.
Although some bystanders did nothing, their eyes were filled with fervor and anticipation as they shouted, "Burn him! Burn him!"
It was as if a group of students was enacting their own form of justice against another student.
What shocked Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher the most was that even the good students in her class were among them—those who she thought would never associate with such troublemakers. Yet here they were, their faces twisted with excitement and anticipation, looking utterly terrifying.
Amidst the noise of the crowd, Liang Zhengyu grinned as he pressed the burning cigarette against the boy's waist. The boy immediately cried out in pain, but those around him quickly covered his mouth, fearing that his cries would attract the teachers' attention.
Then, Liang Zhengyu reignited the extinguished cigarette and pressed it against the boy's waist once more. The teacher watched helplessly as Liang Zhengyu repeated this act for a third time; she was rendered speechless.
The group of students before her stood no taller than five feet, yet their actions were more brutal than those of adults. They worked together seamlessly—some held down his body and limbs so he couldn't struggle or move; others covered his mouth to stifle any cries for help; while still others stripped off his clothing to allow Liang Zhengyu to burn him with the cigarette butt.
From a distance, Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher could see everything happening in the crowd. Not one student noticed her arrival; they continued their chaotic revelry. If one person had issues, it might be considered an individual problem. But if a portion of her class behaved this way—including those who performed well academically—what did that signify?
She couldn't accept it. However, if she confronted them directly and put an end to it, how could she face these students afterward? How could she maintain a normal mindset in class? The best course of action seemed to be to pretend she hadn't seen anything; let good students remain good students and bad students stay bad.
In that moment, Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher made one of the most agonizing choices of her life: she would rather sacrifice one child than let this situation escalate further.
It was as if nothing had happened; everything returned to calm. She hoped that boy would come to her and share his tragic experience, but deep down, she feared he might actually do so. What would she say then? She didn't know—wasn't it true that one hand alone cannot make a sound?
In truth, if not for this incident, the homeroom teacher wouldn't have paid much attention to the abused student at all. She knew he had hearing difficulties and stuttered; she only realized this after calling on him several times in class.
She intended to encourage him to answer questions more often to help him overcome his speech impediment. However, each time he stuttered, it elicited laughter from his classmates, leading her to feel frustrated and tell him to sit down. Before long, instead of improving, his stuttering worsened significantly.
At the beginning of fourth grade, he stopped speaking altogether. When asked questions, he would stand up and remain silent for several minutes, not uttering a single word. Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher was furious; this was clearly a great opportunity for him to improve himself, to practice speaking and overcome his stutter. Why couldn't he understand the teacher's good intentions?
"Sit down. You might as well be a stutterer for life," said Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher.
Laughter erupted in the classroom.
Half a year passed like this, and Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher had nearly forgotten about him. But now, this stutterer had come back into her line of sight. The stutterer had never approached her, and she chose to pretend that nothing had happened. She comforted herself with the thought that those who are pitiful must also have their faults.
Indeed, it takes two to tango. Why did Liang Zhengyu have to bully him? Why did even the good students pick on him? Surely the stutterer must have done something wrong at some point that caused his classmates' dissatisfaction, leading them to act this way.
Why did they choose to bully him instead of someone else?
There must be something wrong with that student.
Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher thought she could convince herself otherwise, but a small part of her conscience urged her to ask more questions.
She tried several times to indirectly inquire about the stutterer, even wanting to see his wounds, but he remained completely silent. He wouldn’t show her anything or explain what was happening. After feeling guilty and asking a few more times, she finally became angry. She lamented his misfortune and was frustrated by his lack of resolve, but ultimately, her anger suppressed all other emotions.
Later on, Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher learned that this stuttering classmate continued to face bullying from their peers, but she chose to ignore it. She thought to herself that everything would just remain as it was.
Life went on as usual; her heart had grown numb. People's destinies are meant to be controlled by themselves. The world has a clear division of roles: some are born to bully others, while some are destined to be bullied. Moreover, the one being bullied was someone who couldn’t speak up or report the abuse.
And today, after countless internal struggles, Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher found herself confronted with this situation. We could hear her crying on the other end of the phone; we could hear her sobs. We didn’t understand what she was crying about or why she was in tears.
Was it because she knew about a bullying incident but pretended not to? Was it due to her guilt for facing the stuttering classmate? Or was it because Liang Zhengyu had been brutally murdered, making her fear that she might be next?
She continued to cry, fully aware of the world's cruelty yet never thinking of changing it; instead, she felt swept along by this harsh reality, passively moving forward and crying over her own powerlessness.
The nature of humanity is inherently good; yet at its core lies an inclination towards evil.
Kindness rarely spreads or infects others, but evil can—it is like a beast unleashed; once set free, it cannot be contained.
If Liang Zhengyu hadn’t been killed by the murderer, perhaps we would never have known about this incident. Maybe after graduating from sixth grade, everyone would forget about it entirely. As those students grew into adults, they might go through life without ever recalling what they had done or remembering that stuttering classmate.
Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher cried as she told us that since this incident had occurred, it marked the end of her teaching career. However, there was some relief in her heart; at least she no longer had to suffer in silence.
The town was far from Dongxing City—both distant and close—but the education received seemed like a step backward. Everyone scrambled desperately to get into schools in Dongxing City where the environment was better; it seemed that in such an atmosphere, one could become more ambitious. Yet spending a lifetime in such a school made teachers feel as if their own lives were over.
They had become numb, long forgetting the vow they made years ago to educate and nurture the students.
Gu Chen slowly said, "You are over fifty this year, and soon you will have grandchildren. If your grandchildren are bullied at school, if they face discrimination from teachers, returning home covered in wounds but too afraid to tell their family, silently enduring it all, wouldn’t that break your heart?"
Everyone fell silent.
We did not witness the scene of that student being mistreated, but just from Liang Zhengyu's description as the homeroom teacher, one could understand how cruel it was. I couldn't imagine the heartbreak that would ensue if that student's parents learned of this; it must have been a feeling of utter despair.
What I cannot tolerate the most is bullying in schools. To the so-called adults, children may seem "innocent," but how could they commit such acts? They simply do not understand and might just be joking too far. Even if they were caught afterward, could they really be imprisoned for facing a child of ten?
At this moment, I understood Gu Chen's earlier words to me; perhaps the Minor Protection Law should be revised.
The purpose of law is to deter wrongdoers and protect the good.
Yet now, it has become a shield for those minors who engage in school bullying. Has it lost its original meaning?
How helpless and tragic this is!
"What about the student with a stuttering problem? Are they still in class?" I asked.
"Yes..." Liang Zhengyu's homeroom teacher replied.
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