3

There was a slight pecking sound on the door.

"Come in!" Fang Siying shouted, looking up from her desk.

The door was pushed open, Bai Tingting walked into the house with her schoolbag on her back, reflexively closed the door, she sent a sweet smile to Fang Siying, and whispered: "I'm here, teacher." ”

"Okay, sit down, Tingting." Fang Siying pushed the rattan chair in front of her and asked her to sit down, then looked at her and said with a smile, "Do you know that you have made a lot of progress after making up for a week's lessons?" It can be seen that you usually don't do it well, but you just don't want to do it, and you don't want to work hard. ”

Bai Tingting lowered his eyelashes and sighed softly.

"And voila! Sigh again," Fang Siying said amusedly, "Who did you learn from?" So love to sigh! Your dad? ”

"Daddy—ah!" The boy suddenly remembered something, took out an envelope from his school bag, handed it to Fang Siying, and said, "I almost forgot, Dad asked me to give this to you." ”

"What is it?" Fang Si took the envelope suspiciously, opened it, and inside was a pile of 100 yuan bills, and counted them, exactly ten. Fang Siying's smile disappeared, and looking at Bai Tingting, she said, "What is this?" ”

"Dad said, I can't let you help me tutor for nothing, this is a little meaning, it's a tuition fee."

"Tuition fees?" Fang Siying smiled dumbly, put the banknote back in the envelope, she handed it back to Bai Tingting, and said, "Take it and return it to your father, you know?" Tell your dad that Teacher Fang is not giving you tutoring, not for tuition fees, and Teacher Fang is not short of money, with this, it is unnatural, understand? Take it back! ”

"But—" Bai Tingting said anxiously, "Dad wants me to give it to you, take it back, Dad will be angry." ”

Fang Siying was stunned.

"Your father—" she said hesitantly, "is he often angry with you?" ”

"No, it's not!" The boy shouted in a powerful voice, "Daddy never gets angry with me, never!" He loves me, you know? She took a breath and stared at Fang Siying, and then, suddenly, she changed her tone and said in a soft, gentle, childish tone, "Yesterday was my birthday. ”

"Really?" Fang Siying was stunned again, she didn't know what medicine was being sold in this child's gourd.

"Yes, I forgot it myself." The child looked at her with wide eyes, so frank and innocent, "It wasn't until I came home from school that I saw a big three-tiered cake in the dining room, and the room was full of candles and flowers, and I was stunned, and my father lifted me up and said, 'Happy birthday, my little thing!'" The boy sighed again, with infinite satisfaction and joy, "Daddy always called me little things, and I think it was because he couldn't see and didn't know how tall I had grown. Later, my mother put a beautiful box with a red knot in my arms, you guess! Teacher Fang," the child's eyes glowed with excitement, "what's inside?" ”

"What is it?" Fang Siying could hear it.

"A big doll!" The boy gasped and said, "There's long, long blond hair, eyes that open and close, and big white dresses with empty yarns, oh, teacher, you don't know how beautiful it is, I'll show it to you next time, okay?" My mother went to Taipei to buy it herself, and she knew that I liked dolls the most, and since I was a child, she bought me a lot of dolls, all kinds of them. I have a cabinet dedicated to dolls, and I have named each doll. There's a black doll and I'll call her Little Black Charcoal, and if there's an ugly doll I'll call her Joker, guess what I'm going to name this new doll? ”

"What's it called?"

"Golden Beard. Is that a good name? If you see her golden curl and her little cocked nose! ”

"It's a good name," Fang Siying said, looking at the childish face in front of her, at this moment, this face was completely childish, and she couldn't find the slightest trace of the adult melancholy she had seen on this child's face, "You have so many dolls, why did your mother give you dolls?" ”

"What!" The child's thick eyebrows were raised high, "There can't be only one doll, they will be boring!" Of course, the more the merrier, so that they can play, eat and sleep together, and they will not get bored. ”

Fang Siying looked at Bai Tingting with pity, this is the distress of an only child!

"Are you usually bored? Tingting? She asked softly.

"Oh no!" The boy immediately replied, "I won't get bored." Mom always accompanies me, in the morning, she helps me comb my hair and tie small braids, although Yazhu can also help me comb, but my mother is afraid that she will hurt me, and then accompany me to breakfast, watch me go out of the door to school, at night she accompanies me to do my homework, take care of me to bed, I sleep, she still sings lullaby for me by the bedside...... Oh," her eyes looked out the window in revelation, and the brilliance of happiness burned that little face to light, "She's the best mom in the world!" ”

"Oh," said Fang Si, steady, "it is your happiness to have such a good mother. Alright, let's not talk about your mother, get out your arithmetic book! ”

"Alas!" Bai Tingting sighed, withdrew his eyes from the window with infinite attachment, looked at Fang Siying as if pleading, and said, "Do you have to take out the book?" You don't like to hear me? ”

"Oh, I like it, Tingting." Fang Siying hurriedly said, grabbing the child's two hands in her own, "But, Tingting, homework is also very important......" She suddenly stopped, glared at Bai Tingting's hands, she shouted in fright and excitement, "Tingting! ”

Bai Tingting was taken aback, and quickly, she wanted to withdraw her two hands, but Fang Siying had already grasped these hands tightly, not allowing her to escape again.

"Tingting!" Fang Siying gasped, "How did you get it?" Tell me, what's going on? "On those little hands, there were bruises and bruises all over the palms, backs of the hands, and wrists, and they were all swollen one by one, apparently caused by the blow of some kind of ring ruler. Now, because of Fang Siying's clenching, the child was so painful that she couldn't help but inhale into her stomach, but she endured it and looked directly at Fang Siying with the bravest eyes, and she said clearly:

"I—fell."

"Fell?" Fang Si exclaimed, uncontrollable with excitement, "Can wrestling cause such a scar?" Tingting, you'd better be honest with me, if you don't tell the truth again, I'll take you to your father, and I'll find out what's going on! ”

"Don't! Teacher! The child was frightened and panicked, and she grabbed Fang Siying, and cried out nervously and pleadingly, "Don't! Teacher! Don't tell my dad! Please! Teacher, you must not! ”

"But, how did you get it? You say, you tell me! Fang Siying grabbed the child's shoulders and shook her, "Did anyone hit you?" Has someone bullied you? Say! ”

"Teacher!" The child broke down, all disguise left her in an instant, and she cried out in misery, tears quickly welling up in her eyes. Her face was pale, her lips trembled, and her tiny body trembled like fallen leaves in the cold wind. Her voice cried out pleadingly, mournfully, "Please, don't ask! Teacher, please don't ask! Please! ”

"Let's go!" Fang Siying stood up and grabbed the child, "Let's go to your house, I'm going to talk to your parents!" ”

"Don't!" The child cried, hugged Fang Siying, leaned her tear-stained little face into Fang Siying's arms, cried, sobbed, and said, "Don't tell Daddy, please!" Good teacher, please! Daddy doesn't know, Daddy doesn't know anything, he's blind, he can't see! You don't tell him, he's going to be angry, he's going to be unbearable, the doctor said he can't be angry, you know? Teacher! Please don't let him know. Mom did this just to anger him...... Oh, teacher! She buried her head tightly in Fang Siying's arms, crying silently.

Fang Siying's heart spasmed.

"You mean...... You mean......" she was short of breath, "your mother did it?" She hit you? She asked with difficulty, distrust.

"Oh, teacher, you must not tell Daddy! You must not tell him! All right? Teacher! The child continued to weep and plead.

"Oh, Tingting." Fang Siying swallowed and closed her eyes, she had to calm herself first. Holding Bai Tingting's chin in her hand, she examined the thin, haggard face full of tears. Who knows how much of a burden such a small child will have on her body and mind! "You tell me the truth, I promise you, I won't tell your father." She said, "Who hit you?" Your mother? ”

The kid nodded slightly.

Fang Siying's heart ached, she closed her eyes tightly, turned her head away, and after a while, she turned around, her eyes were full of tears.

"However, you just said that your mother loves you very much, and is the best mother in the world!"

"Teacher!" The child looked at Fang Siying pitifully, with a heavy, begging meaning.

"You made it up, didn't you?"

Bai Tingting nodded again.

"What about birthdays?" Fang Siying asked, "It's all made up by you, isn't it?" Yesterday wasn't your birthday at all, was it? ”

The boy bowed his head in shame.

"Why did you make up all this?"

The boy was silent.

"Why?"

Bai Tingting's head hung lower.

"I don't want you to think that Mom doesn't love me." Her voice was as low as a whisper, "I'm afraid you'll tell Daddy." ”

"Did your mother beat you often? Why? ”

The child raised his eyelashes, and his teary eyes carried the melancholy of an adult, and in an instant, this little face was no longer innocent and childish. This is a sensible, wise, mature face.

"You must know that it's not my real mother." She said quietly, her voice calming down, no complaint, no hatred, "I can't ask her to love me like a real mother, can I?" Moreover, Dad treats her badly, she gets angry, she takes me out of anger, and she wants to use me to anger Dad. She shook her head and looked at Fang Siying with a cute, tolerant look, "I don't give her a chance, I don't let Dad know!" Can you keep it a secret for me? Teacher Fang! ”

Fang Siying's heart was cramped by this child, and her nose was so sour. What a child! What kind of sins did the adults do to make such a skinny little child bear both physical and mental torture! She looked at the child for a long, long time. Then she held the child tightly to her chest, stroked her soft hair with her hand, and said with a slight trembling:

"Okay, Tingting, I made a promise with you, I won't tell your father about this. But you promise me one thing, never lie to me in the future, tell me everything, okay? ”

"Okay."

"Again," Fang Siying shuddered, "don't provoke your mother, if she wants to beat you again, run away!" Tingting, run away, flee to me! You know? Silly boy! Don't let her touch you again! Don't let her touch a finger of you! You know? Tingting! ”

The child looked up at her, his eyes full of admiration. Children are sensitive little creatures, and they know who really loves them.

"Okay, teacher." She said, hesitantly, slowly, "Don't go to my mother, okay?" My mom isn't bad, you know, she's just in a bad mood and can't blame her all, you know. Sometimes Dad quarreled with her so fiercely, and he scolded her," her eyes glittered with pride, "saying that she couldn't catch up with a single hair of my own mother!" Ah, if my own mother hadn't died! She sighed deeply and said no more.

Fang Si looked at the child in front of her dizzily, what kind of family is it? She didn't want to think about it. But what a child!

"Teacher!"

Bai Tingting pushed open Fang Siying's door and walked in, it was the time for the noon break. Fang Siying was reclining on the bed and meditating.

"What's the matter? Tingting? ”

"My dad asked you to come to our house for dinner tonight, and he wants me to take you back after school, okay, teacher?"

"Dinner." Fang Si was stunned for a moment, "Is there something wrong?" Is it a special day? ”

"No, Dad said, just to invite you to dinner."

"Why?" Fang Siying smiled thoughtfully, "What did you say to your father about me?" ”

"I told my dad that you like me very much. Dad asked me a lot, and I told him everything. ”

"What did you ask?"

"He asked you if you were in harmony, if you had a good temper, if you were good at teaching, and if you were beautiful."

"What do you say?" Fang Siying asked with a smile.

"I said," said the child, who came to the bedside, and snuggled up to Fang Siying affectionately, and smiled sweetly, "I say, you are the best, gentlest, and most beautiful teacher in the world!" ”

"Oh," Fang Siying couldn't help but laugh, "you kid! ”

"There you go! All right? Bai Tingting shook Fang Siying's arm and begged, "You go, okay?" Mom isn't home tonight either. ”

"Your mom isn't home?" Fang Siying asked attentively.

"She went to Taichung and won't be back until three days."

"Is she often away from home?"

"Yes."

Fang Siying pondered for a moment, and then, she nodded, and said:

"Okay, I'll go."

"Okay!" Bai Tingting cheered, and the other party made a happy and joyful expression, and then, his face suddenly sank, and he said cautiously, "You can't divulge our secret." ”

"Of course!" Fang Siying said, "Don't worry! ”

"Okay, then I'll come to you in the faculty lounge after school! We'll just walk back, just a few steps away. ”

"I know."

The child smiled, looking excited. Turning around, she ran out in a puff of smoke. Long after she ran out, Fang Siying could still feel the sound of laughter she left behind, echoing in the room like a silver bell:

"You are the best, gentlest, and most beautiful teacher in the world!"

She shook her head, got up from the bed, and walked to the dresser, where a thoughtful, slightly melancholy face appeared in the mirror, and the eyes were bewildered and troubled. She examined herself, and then, slowly, she pulled her long hair over her head, combed it into an old-fashioned bun, put on her glasses, and lightly applied lipstick...... Her hand stopped in the air, facing the mirror, and she murmured, uneasily, mockingly:

"What are you doing here? Fang Siying? That's a blind man! He can't even see you! Throwing off her lipstick, she sat down in her chair, lost in deep thought.