Chapter 625 – Rumors about Teacher Jiang
In the following days, as Jiang Junmo had predicted, he became increasingly busy.
He would leave early and return late, sometimes even sleeping at his workplace if the workload demanded it.
Lu Xia tried to handle things at home as much as possible and avoided bothering him.
At school, Teacher Jiang continued to maintain his popularity among the female students.
Even the students were aware of it.
One day, as Lu Xia was finishing her class, Zhao Mingzhao quietly approached her and asked about Teacher Jiang.
Lu Xia chuckled at his inquiry, “Why? Are you students gossiping about the teachers now?”
Zhao Mingzhao hurriedly shook his head, “No, we’ve heard about Teacher Jiang. It’s just that recently someone saw Teacher Jiang driving and dropping off Yu Shuping at the school. We don’t know what’s going on, and there are quite a few rumors in the class. I wanted to ask if you knew anything about it, Teacher Lu.”
Lu Xia, upon hearing this, became serious. What was going on? Why was Teacher Jiang getting close to Yu Shuping?
So she quickly called Zhao Mingzhao into her office to get more details.
It was already lunchtime, and the other teachers were probably out for their meal, leaving only her in the office. Thus, she didn’t have to worry about being overheard.
Zhao Mingzhao explained in detail, “During the weekend, there were rumors that Teacher Jiang had driven Yu Shuping back to the school. Some classmates saw it happen. People asked Yu Shuping about it, and she blushed and stammered, unable to explain clearly. As a result, there have been many speculations among the classmates.”
These speculations were probably not favorable, Lu Xia thought.
Upon hearing this, she felt that something was not quite right. However, she didn’t delve further into the matter with Zhao Mingzhao. She just told him not to spread the rumors and decided to ask Teacher Jiang himself later.
During the lunch break, Teacher Jiang returned to the office.
Lu Xia took advantage of the moment when he had no urgent matters and quietly asked him about the situation.
“Teacher Jiang, I heard you’ve been getting close to a female student in our class recently.”
“Hmm? Which female student?” Teacher Jiang looked a bit puzzled.
Lu Xia was surprised by his response. Wasn’t this about last weekend? How could he forget so quickly?
So she clarified, telling him it was about him driving Yu Shuping back to the school.
Teacher Jiang suddenly realized, “Oh! You mean her! She’s your student? That’s quite a coincidence!”
Seeing him remember, Lu Xia asked hurriedly, “What exactly happened? Teacher Jiang, how did you end up having an interaction with Yu Shuping?”
Teacher Jiang didn’t hide anything, “On that day, I was at the hospital to pick up medicine for my father. After collecting the medicine and preparing to leave, someone called me. It was the student you mentioned, Yu Shuping.
She said she was a student from Peking University and had just undergone surgery, not feeling well. She asked if I could help her get back to the school.
Seeing her pale face and feeling sorry for her, and considering she was from Peking University, I agreed to take her back. What’s wrong? How did you find out about this?”
Listening to this account, Lu Xia was left somewhat speechless. So, the situation was this simple?
Then why did it seem like Zhao Mingzhao and others were spreading unfavorable rumors?
Lu Xia didn’t know how to explain to him. In Teacher Jiang’s eyes, interactions between men and women were normal, especially given his upbringing abroad, where the culture was more open-minded. He probably thought that as a teacher, giving a female student a ride back to school was not a big deal.
In fact, according to the customs abroad, he might have done other gentlemanly gestures, such as getting out of the car first, then carefully blocking the top of the car on the passenger side with his hand and opening the door to help her out. However, in the context of China, these gestures might imply a special relationship.
*
Chapter 626 – Naiveté
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However, Lu Xia didn’t say much to him, just explained gently, “Perhaps some people who saw you together misunderstood your relationship. In China, the relationship between men and women tends to be more distant than in foreign countries.”
Teacher Jiang, understanding a bit more, said incredulously, “But I was just a teacher giving a student a ride!”
Lu Xia nodded, “That’s how you see it, but others might think differently.”
Upon hearing this, Teacher Jiang furrowed his brow, “This is… unbelievable. By the way, I remember that female student mentioning she was married?”
“Huh? She told you all that?” Lu Xia was surprised.
“Yes, she did. I almost forgot. She mentioned a lot in the car, like how her marriage was arranged, and her husband is very controlling. She even said that he worries about her attending classes at the university. I was quite astonished when I heard it. I didn’t expect arranged marriages to still exist in China. I felt sorry for her!”
Lu Xia didn’t know how to respond and simply explained, “Yu Shuping’s situation is not as simple as you think. She and her husband didn’t have a typical arranged marriage.”
“What happened then?” Teacher Jiang asked, curious.
Lu Xia was worried he might act out of sympathy for Yu Shuping, so she explained the whole situation to him.
In the end, she stated, “She was able to attend college because of her husband’s support, so she’s not pitiful; she’s fortunate. Although her husband may not be highly educated, he treats her well.”
Teacher Jiang, furrowing his brow, said, “I can’t imagine parents selling their children.”
Lu Xia responded, “In some remote areas, this sort of thing happens frequently. Favoring boys over girls is also very common. You’ll understand more as you encounter such situations.”
Teacher Jiang fell silent for a moment and then sighed, “Going by what you say, what Yu Shuping told me was all a lie? I thought she was so pitiful and even told her to come to me if she needed help. I didn’t expect she was deceiving me.”
Lu Xia chuckled at his innocence. She hadn’t expected Teacher Jiang to be so trusting, believing just a few words from others. She thought it was a good thing he didn’t go into business; he could easily be taken advantage of.
In the end, she advised, “Don’t get involved in these matters in the future. You’re not her teacher, and she has a counselor. It’s not your responsibility.”
Of course, Lu Xia didn’t say the last sentence.
Teacher Jiang nodded, “I understand. I’ll think twice if something like this happens again.”
Seeing that he understood, Lu Xia felt relieved.
However, thinking about the rumors Zhao Mingzhao mentioned, Lu Xia decided to talk to the class monitor/conselor. After all, spreading such rumors wouldn’t be good and could potentially affect Teacher Jiang.
So, during the first class in the afternoon, when they finished, she went to talk to him.
The class monitor/conselor furrowed his brow after hearing the story, “Alright, I’ve got it. Teacher Lu, don’t worry. I’ll talk to the students about this. We won’t let them spread the story.”
Lu Xia nodded, “Thank you for your concern, class monitor. The main concern is that Teacher Jiang just arrived this semester and isn’t very familiar with the situation in China. It makes him susceptible to manipulation.”
The class monitor/conselor nodded solemnly, “I understand.”
Seeing he was taking it seriously, Lu Xia didn’t say much more.
Later on, she observed carefully and indeed didn’t hear the students discussing the matter anymore, which put her at ease.
The head of the department entrusted Teacher Jiang to her, and she didn’t want anything to happen to him.
Later, she discreetly asked Zhao Mingzhao. He explained that the counselor had briefed them on the incident, so now everyone knew, and the baseless rumors had stopped.
Lu Xia breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
**TN
Lu Xia keeps calling the counselor ‘class monitor’ (their class’ class monitor), the author didn’t give him a name (did I miss it?). It got me confused with the student’s class monitor.
I don’t get why her husband is still loyal. I guess she hasn’t divorced since she hasn’t found a richer guy yet. I wish someone would actively confront her for her white lotus behaviour.
He seems to be a honest and hard working person. He might have paid no attention to how she was going around slandering him behind his back. And we also don’t know how she’s behaving in front of him.