NABC Chapter 160 - 160 - 161: Scandal Exposed
Chapter 160 - 160 - 161: Scandal Exposed
Chapter 160 – 161: Scandal Exposed
“Oh, I... I’ll be right there!” Li Yunpeng hastily nodded.
After speaking, Li Yunpeng quickly began to shave and then tidy up his personal appearance.
Normally, Li Yunpeng was quite a clean person. After all, he was a teacher and paid much attention to his image. As a role model, how could he not care about his personal appearance? After a simple tidy-up and without time for breakfast, Li Yunpeng hurried to the Residents’ Committee.
The Residents’ Committee was located more or less in the center of Fuxing Community. It was a few stories high with two levels; the first floor housed the committee office, while the second floor served as an activity center for the elderly in Fuxing Community.
The first floor was for office work, and the second floor was a place for the community’s elders to engage in activities, somewhat like a card room.
Li Yunpeng moved briskly and arrived at the Residents’ Committee in ten minutes.
At the Residents’ Committee, the city’s local television station awaited him in the office. Auntie Zhou gave them a brief introduction to Li Yunpeng’s situation. She also mentioned Li Yunpeng’s past experiences, especially the unfair treatment he received at the school.
The reporters, initially planning just a simple interview, hadn’t expected to unearth such information, and naturally, they wouldn’t let this opportunity pass.
“Here he is, here he is!” Auntie Zhou hurriedly announced.
Not far off, Li Yunpeng arrived at the Residents’ Committee, dressed in a dark blue Zhongshan suit.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Li Yunpeng said awkwardly.
“No problem.” The few young reporters quickly stood up, smiling, and said, “Teacher Li, we’ve always wanted to interview you, but we had a hard time finding your residence. Once we finally learned where you live, we hurried over.”
“What do you want to know?” Li Yunpeng asked directly.
“We...” One of the TV station reporters smiled and said, “We plan to start from when you were teaching at school. Is it okay if we conduct the interview in a conversational, discussion-like format?”
“Sure,” Li Yunpeng nodded.
Both parties sat down, as Auntie Zhou served tea and water with a welcoming smile.
With reporter friends coming to interview, Auntie Zhou was visibly delighted, bustling about excitedly. She would occasionally chime in, causing the group of reporter friends to laugh heartily. The interview process was harmonious and natural.
Li Yunpeng spoke about his experiences at school, skillfully skipping over that particular part of history.
“Teacher Li, I just heard from Auntie Zhou that you experienced some unfair treatment at school, is that so?” a curious reporter asked.
“That...” Li Yunpeng hesitated.
“Feel free to speak,” the reporter said with a smile, then added, “We will absolutely not exaggerate.”@@@@
“Sigh... Speaking of that, it’s quite a heart-wrenching chapter in my life,” Li Yunpeng said with a smile, taking a deep breath before candidly sharing the painful story buried in his heart. Nearby, a reporter recorded the story and the past events on camera.
To the reporters, such stories were commonplace. If it had been anyone else, there would be no value in revealing it. But today was different. As a teacher from Hanmen and now the most controversial, as well as the most popular teacher, such events would immediately capture the audience’s attention and resonate with them.
Once the Provincial Station aired it, the whole education bureau of LJ City was instantly thrust into a new spotlight.
At LJ City’s Fourth Middle School, the school leadership held an urgent meeting to discuss how to resolve this issue.
“This situation is troublesome now,” the director of the teaching affairs office began. “Who was it that reassigned him to be a security guard in the first place?”
“It was me!” the vice-principal spoke up. “Originally, I just felt that Li Yunpeng was too forthright. Some things are better left unsaid, tacitly understood, but he had to burst the bubble, making everyone look bad. So...”
“Sigh, now’s not the time to assign blame,” the principal held a Zhonghua cigarette in his mouth, took a deep drag, then said, “The priority is to quickly resolve the issue. After the Provincial Station exposed the matter, we’re in an awkward position. How do you suggest we minimize the impact?”
“If you ask me, we might as well ignore it,” the director of the political education office suggested.
“Right, I agree with giving it the cold shoulder,” the director of the teaching affairs office nodded in agreement.
“I’m afraid that the cold shoulder could lead to greater public resentment,” the vice-principal looked helplessly at the others, then remarked, “This is not an easy situation to handle.”
“Let’s leave it at that for now,” the principal stubbed out his cigarette, saying, “Send someone to get in touch with Li Yunpeng, ask him not to make us look too bad. After all, we were colleagues, and one must respect that old association. Old Liu, you’re good at political work; handle this matter.”
“Okay!” the director of political education office nodded. Liu Huai Shan had previously worked at the village committee and then, through connections, transferred to the education bureau as a clerk, later joining Fourth Middle School as the director of the political education office. He was very adept at political work, especially in the area of ideological education.
Li Yunpeng had never thought his situation would become the news, spreading so rapidly and widely. Soon enough, everyone in LJ City knew about it, and many in Fuxing Community were discussing it. Most people had not known about Li Yunpeng’s past before, but now it was suddenly public knowledge. It was as if his life had been put under a microscope.
Every time he went out, many people would come up to comfort him. Initially, Li Yunpeng felt moved, but gradually, he became annoyed.
It was like being hungry and having a couple of pieces of fatty meat to satisfy the craving. But too much fatty meat soon becomes greasy and unappetizing.
In the end, he simply didn’t want to go out anymore and chose to shut himself in at home.
Wednesday afternoon at three o’clock.
Li Yunpeng was getting ready to go out for a stroll, as the spring weather was very pleasant.
As he descended from upstairs, he immediately saw a black Volkswagen Passat parked at the curb. Subsequently, a familiar figure got out of the car. He looked at Li Yunpeng in surprise and then called out, “Old Li!”
“Liu Huai Shan?” Li Yunpeng was taken aback and asked, “What brings you here?”
“Heh heh, with such a big incident, how could I not come?” Liu Huai Shan said with a chuckle.
“What incident?” Li Yunpeng frowned unhappily. Were the school leaders who had pushed him out of school coming to his door now? Who knew what motives they had?
“How about we find a place to sit down?” Liu Huai Shan hurriedly offered Li Yunpeng a Zhonghua cigarette.
Li Yunpeng declined, “I’ve been at the school for so many years, don’t you know I don’t smoke?”
“Ah... haha, I forgot,” Liu Huai Shan was taken aback, hastily laughed it off, and then said, “My mistake, my mistake. Old Li, I’ve been sent by the school leaders to talk to you, hoping we can have a discussion. What do you say...”