The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 125: Lifting a Stone, Only to Drop It on Your Own Feet

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Lifting a Stone, Only to Drop It on Your Own Feet

Pei Wenping was the first to step into the conference room, followed by Yan Yi.

"What are you doing?"

The vice principal stood up displeased, questioning Pei Wenping and Yan Yi who disrupted the meeting.

Pei Wenping’s eyes scanned the conference room and spotted Sun Feifei desperately bowing her head, trying to hide.

"Sun Feifei."

Sun Feifei wished she could play dead, but had to face up and walk towards Pei Wenping and Yan Yi since all her colleagues were watching her.

The short walk of ten-odd steps allowed her to quickly recover from panic and come up with a strategy.

"Sister Pei, let’s talk outside about whatever it is. Let’s not disturb everyone’s meeting."

Pei Wenping snorted with a sneer, turned her head to self-introduce to the vice principal, and stated her purpose.

"...Principal, sorry for interrupting your meeting today. I’ll just say a few words, and then we’ll leave."

"I’m here today to complain about your school’s Sun Feifei. Instead of teaching properly, she’s been doing sneaky, unethical things behind the scenes!"

At these words, dozens of eyes in the conference room suddenly turned towards Sun Feifei.

Sun Feifei’s palms sweated in shock, "Big sister, let’s settle our private matters in private. Why make it so that everyone loses face?"

Pei Wenping retorted dominantly, "The one who can’t save face is you, right? I haven’t done anything wrong; I’m not afraid to talk about it openly."

Then, in front of all the school leaders and teachers in the conference room, Pei Wenping repeated verbatim the rumors Sun Feifei had been spreading about Shen Mingzhu.

After finishing, Pei Wenping introduced the man behind her, "Sun Feifei, this is Yan Yi, the man you’ve been claiming to be involved with. I specifically invited him here today."

Looking at Yan Yi’s still kind but distant face, Sun Feifei felt a chill all over, and her whole body seemed to falter.

Everyone in the conference room looked at Sun Feifei with various expressions.

It was a major public humiliation.

What to do?

What should she do?

Just as Sun Feifei was considering whether to feign fainting to muddle through the situation, she met Pei Wenping’s sharp and mocking gaze, "Sun Feifei, if you don’t clarify things today, I’ll come find you again tomorrow!"

Despair surged in Sun Feifei’s heart.

At this moment, she was filled with regret. However, it was not because she regretted provoking Pei Wenping, but because she regretted not asking Zhao Fang to handle this matter.

Yan Yi, who had remained silent until now, also spoke up. His voice was gentle and his tone even, but clear enough for everyone in the conference room to hear.

"Sun Feifei, you did express your feelings to me before, but I clearly rejected you at the time. Your actions have not only damaged my reputation but also hurt a kind and upright mother. What you did is truly disgraceful for a teacher."

Having said his piece, Pei Wenping continued with an authoritative tone.

"Sun Feifei, I won’t hold this against you this time. If there is a next time, I will go to your parents and let them discipline you properly. Also, I hope your school will pay more attention to the moral integrity of your staff in the future. Don’t let a few misguided individuals lead astray and corrupt the children of others."

As they left the school gates, Pei Wenping turned to thank Yan Yi.

"Mr. Yan, I’m sorry for the trouble today."

Yan Yi smiled, "Don’t mention it. I failed to manage my personal relationships properly, causing distress and harm to your family. I should apologize to you and your family."

"Fine, I’ll accept the apology on behalf of Mingzhu. However, to prevent such things from happening again, you should reduce your interactions with Mingzhu," she said.

"Pei Sister, my relationship with Shen Mingzhu is merely that of classmates, and if I may speak frankly," I didn’t find any of our interactions to be crossing the line," I replied.

Pei Wenping’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. "I’m aware of that. My Mingzhu is innocent and kind; she would absolutely never do anything that could bring shame upon herself. But I hope you can understand—Mingzhu is a married woman whose husband is away from home all year round, and she needs to be particularly cautious in her dealings with men. If you truly consider her a friend, you wouldn’t want her to be troubled by gossip, would you?" she asked.

Yan Yi smiled faintly. "In the end, it’s a man’s issue. Only when a man fails to fulfil his duties and responsibilities as a husband would a woman be subjected to such indignity," he said.

Pei Wenping wanted to defend her brother, but Yan Yi had already excused himself and left.

Pei Wenping humphed in dissatisfaction and left in the opposite direction, purse in hand.

—

In the school’s meeting room.

Pei Wenping had left, but the impact of her visit didn’t dissipate.

The vice principal’s sharp glances and the subtle scrutinizing looks from my colleagues made Sun Feifei feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.

As soon as the meeting ended, she quickly closed her notebook, intending to leave through the back door, but before she reached it, the vice principal called her over.

Standing beside the vice principal, Sun Feifei felt as embarrassed as a schoolchild who had done something wrong. Each colleague passing by threw a glance her way, making her feel like she had thorns in her back—agonizing and unbearable.

Finally, the room emptied.

Sun Feifei had no chance to breathe a sigh of relief before she heard the vice principal’s stern reprimand: "Teacher Sun, as an educator, instead of setting a good example for your students, you’ve engaged in immoral behavior that has tarnished the school’s reputation and brought shame upon us..."

Sun Feifei cried helplessly, trying to elicit leniency through her vulnerability, but just as she began her act, someone called the vice principal out to answer the phone.

"...Reflect on your actions, and come to my office in half an hour," he said.

Watching the vice principal’s hurried departure, Sun Feifei wiped away her tears, her eyes reddened with frustration.

After weighing her options, Sun Feifei decided to come clean about her mistake to the school administration.

After all, it was merely an ethical issue. If she quickly admitted to the wrongdoing and wrote a self-criticism, she could put this behind her.

With her decision made, she went to the vice principal’s office.

However, before she could confess, the vice principal erupted in anger at her.

"...You’ve disgraced us all the way to the Education Bureau. Because of you, Director Zhang chastised all our leaders and the entire school, ordering us to reform the school’s ethos and discipline."

Sun Feifei was stunned—how could such a petty issue escalate to the Bureau’s attention?

She soon found out, "...A representative from the Ocean Shipping Company’s union called the Education Bureau directly, complaining that our school’s teacher had slandered the family of a seafarer. They demanded the school provide an explanation to the dedicated wives of seamen who stay home. Sun Feifei, you’ve stirred up a huge mess! Pack up and go home to reflect on your actions!"

Sun Feifei’s tears started flowing. This time, it was not an act, but genuine crying.

"Principal Wu, I was wrong..." she said.

However, the situation wouldn’t calm down just because of Sun Feifei’s crocodile tears.

The school decided to suspend her, and her final punishment would be determined after a meeting of the school leaders.

But one thing was clear—it would not be as simple to move past as she had hoped.

Sun Feifei wandered down the street, distraught, unable to comprehend how the rock she had labored to lift had come crashing down on her own head.