C16 All Kinds of Obstructions

A whole night's training didn't tire Lee out one bit; in fact, he felt jazzed and ready for action.

Glancing at the clock and seeing it was already past nine, he figured he'd head out and about, see if he could rustle up a job or something.

But as he finished in the bathroom, young Wang came stumbling in from outside.

Wang's face was all flushed, and he was panting like he'd just run a marathon. "My mom's in trouble! Someone's picking on her!"

"What the heck?" Lee's face changed quickly, and he tossed his towel aside. "What's going on, Wang? Who's messing with your mom?"

"They're all meanies!" Wang gasped. "The teacher said I couldn't return to school, and then he yelled at Mom."

"Why on earth wouldn't they let you back in school?" Lee was ticked now, his eyebrows coming together in a furious frown. "School's for learning. Who do they think they are, keeping a kid out of class?"

"I don't know! They yelled at Mom, and they're all just rotten eggs!" Wang couldn't make heads or tails of it, but he knew a bully when he saw one.

Lee's frown deepened, and he grabbed Wang's hand, heading for the door. "Let's go to your school. I want to give those teachers a piece of my mind. Why would they treat your mom like that?"

Meanwhile, at Luzhou Elementary School, in the Dean's office...

"Please, Dean Chen, let my son return to school!" Wang's mother begged tears in her eyes. She thought it would be a breeze to get Wang back in class.

But Dean Chen was having none of it.

Dean Chen, over fifty and weathered by years of hard work, adjusted his reading glasses and scowled. "Mrs. Wang, it's not that I won't let him come back. But your son hasn't been in school for years because of his illness. Should I put him back in second grade or fifth?"

"He'll catch up! I know he can!" Wang's mother was full of confidence.

"You don't get it," Dean Chen sighed, trying to be patient. "Wang's supposed to be in fifth grade now. He'll be too old for second grade and behind for fifth."

"Just let him study with the second graders. As long as he can be back in class, that's all I want," she pleaded.

Dean Chen pushed his glasses up and sighed again. "Even if Wang agrees, the other students might not. Plus, he's been out for three years. His enrollment's been terminated."

"What?" Wang's mother was stunned. "His enrollment's gone? That can't be!"

"If a student's out for more than two years, they're automatically expelled," Chen explained calmly.

"But if he's got no enrollment, he can't go to school ever again! Can't you do something?" she begged, her voice rising in panic.

Before she could even finish speaking, a teacher next to her frowned and snapped, "C'mon, Wang Cuifen, quit beating a dead horse. Your kid's out of school, and he's too old to return now. Why don't you head home?"

"But..."

"Xiaozhi looked lively, considering he was bedridden with some disease. Is this some last hurrah before he kicks the bucket?" another teacher muttered, his words dripping with sarcasm.

The Dean, Chen Hua, tried to reason with her, his voice heavy with concern, "Your son isn't cut out for school. What if he gets sick again while he's here? He's better off at home. And do you even have the money for the tuition?"

Wang Cuifen pleaded, "Please, let my son return to school! I can pay the tuition!"

She hurriedly pulled out the five grand Lee Yifann had given her and put it on the table. "See? I've got the cash. Please, just let him come to school!"

The teachers in the office looked at each other, their faces showing surprise.

They'd heard that Xiaozhi's illness had wiped out the family's savings and that Wang Cuifen was broke.

Where did she get this windfall?

"I really can't say yes. The Principal laid down the law," Chen Hua said, concerned.

Wang Cuifen was at her wit's end.

"Wang Cuifen, why are you so stubborn? We told you no, so why are you here, sticking like glue? Get lost!" a teacher said, growing impatient.

Another teacher huffed, "If you don't leave, we won't be so nice!"

Wang Cuifen felt utterly alone and helpless, suddenly realizing her son was gone. "Xiaozhi! Where did you run off to?"

"He bolted ages ago!" a teacher snorted.

Another teacher said with extreme annoyance, "He probably got lost. I didn't see him just now. Scram, quit loitering around here!"

As Wang Cuifen was hemming and hawing, not knowing what to do, a calm voice from outside the office suddenly rang out, "Who dares ask her to leave?"

Everyone's head whipped around at the sound.

"Mom!" Xiaozhi ran into the office, elated, and threw himself into Wang Cuifen's arms.

"You scared me to death, running off like that," Wang Cuifen said, hugging her son and feeling relieved.

"I went to find him," Xiaozhi pouted, pointing at Lee Yifann as he strolled into the room.

Lee Yifann entered the office, his eyes coolly sweeping over Chen Hua and the others. His gaze drifted over the money on the table and finally landed on the teachers. "I heard someone was trying to kick her out. Why would you guys do something like that?" he asked, his tone casual but assertive.

A teacher scowled at him, "And who are you? Who let you in here? Don't you know this is the Dean's office?"

"So what? I can't come in?" Lee Yifann shot back, a smirk pulling at his lips. "Is this a school or the White House? Do I need special permission or something?"