From then on, everyone avoided Ling Lin, pointing and whispering as if she carried a virus.
Classmates, both male and female, began to deliberately isolate her.
They would order her around and scold her on the spot if she didn’t complete tasks well.
Ling Lin tried to report this to her parents, but her mother would only gently tell her not to be competitive, not to argue or fight, and to be good.
As long as she did well enough, her classmates would like her. Their current dislike was surely because she hadn’t done things properly, so she should reflect and correct herself.
Ling Lin felt aggrieved and often came home crying, but every time she cried, her mother would become irritable, harshly pushing her outside, telling her to cry outside and not come in until she stopped, or she would have to spend the night outside.
Over time, Ling Lin stopped daring to cry.
These days were difficult, but she endured them, until the first semester of her third year of junior high—
Ling Lin ranked first in the grade. The female classmate who had spread rumors, out of jealousy, hid the class funds and falsely accused the female protagonist of stealing them.
This stirred up a hornet’s nest. Everyone felt that Ling Lin had violated their rights and, avoiding the teacher, dragged her to a small grove and beat her up.
The incident was quite serious. If a high school boy hadn’t happened to come by and stop them, Ling Lin would have almost been beaten to death.
After Ling Lin was sent to the hospital, the class teacher came to the class in a rage, saying that if the class funds were lost, they could carefully investigate, and without evidence, why would everyone spread rumors and why would they beat someone.
Ling Lin’s mother came to the school and actually apologized to the teachers and classmates, saying that Ling Lin was spoiled at home, and if there was anything she did wrong, everyone could tell her, and she would educate Ling Lin at home, asking everyone not to resort to violence in the future.
Even the class teacher with a mild temperament couldn’t stand her attitude and advised her to be more assertive. The mother just smiled and remained stubborn.
The class teacher was helpless and said nothing.
