Chapter 226: You Really Are Something

Chapter 226: You Really Are Something

Wu Chen had merely turned to look at He Xinxin.

He had not moved toward her at all. His usual easy smile was still on his face.

“I was wrong, Teacher! Don’t hit me… Ow… It hurts… Stop pinching me…” He Xinxin continued in a frightened voice.

Her words even trembled, as though she were genuinely terrified.

“Teacher, stop… Don’t hit my face… My hair… It hurts…”

“You… You pervert! You hit little girls… You hit me… I’m going to tell my mom…”

He Xinxin threw herself completely into the performance.

It was as though she were truly being beaten.

At first, there was pain and fear in her voice, along with a tremor. Then the terror intensified until she sounded as though she were on the verge of tears.

She even supplied her own sound effects.

Clap!

She slapped her hands together as though Wu Chen had struck her across the face.

By the time she reached the end, tears were already spilling from her wide, frightened eyes.

Her performance could be called extremely professional.

From another perspective, of course, He Xinxin’s acting was actually quite rough. She had never received any professional training, so that was only natural.

But…

the fact that she could cry on command was unquestionably a kind of talent.

Not a talent for acting.

A physiological talent.

Some people could simply do it. They could shed tears the moment they wanted to without any training whatsoever.

Others could practice endlessly and still never learn.

There had been no buildup and no wasted words.

The moment He Xinxin entered the art room and shut the door, she began her performance.

That alone would have frightened most people.

Had it been someone else—a famous artist in his forties or fifties, for example, or a middle-aged teacher invited from the Modu Academy of Fine Arts—they would have been alarmed immediately.

The girl’s performance was simply too convincing.

They would have panicked.

If a young girl made an accusation like this without exposing any obvious flaws, people would generally believe her. As testimony, her words could be extremely damaging.

For a private tutor—especially someone older, with status and social standing—the accusation of hitting a young girl posed a serious threat.

Even if she had suffered no real injury, the teacher’s reputation could still be damaged.

It was the kind of trouble no one wanted.

Especially once public opinion became involved.

If the matter grew large enough, the consequences could become very serious.

This was the internet age. Once outrage began to snowball, it could become terrifying.

The previous time, He Xinxin had used precisely this method to drive away her private tutor.

The man had genuinely been afraid.

No one wanted to become entangled in this kind of trouble.

Wu Chen, however, remained perfectly calm.

He Xinxin blocked the doorway and performed, while Wu Chen merely stood there smiling at her.

No matter what she said, he remained utterly unmoved.

It was worth noting that He Xinxin’s cries did not draw He Shiqin over.

Her mother could not hear what was happening in the art room.

That was not because the soundproofing was particularly good.

He Xinxin simply had not raised her voice enough.

Why would Wu Chen suddenly start beating her for no reason?

He Xinxin was not stupid. Naturally, she understood that.

If something made no sense, her mother would notice.

Yet He Xinxin still performed the entire scene.

The performance was meant for Wu Chen alone.

She was trying to frighten him.

She had used the same trick before and successfully scared away the last teacher who had taught her drawing.

More accurately, she had angered him into leaving as well.

Because this girl truly was infuriating.

She used the threat of a false accusation to drive people away.

“Teacher, I was wrong. Please stop hitting me. Don’t hit me… I was wrong… sob… I was wrong… I won’t tell my mom… I won’t say anything… Please stop…”

She sounded utterly miserable.

He Xinxin’s performance was extremely convincing, especially the tears. They kept falling one after another.

Anyone who saw her would have pitied her—and felt furious with the private tutor supposedly beating her.

What kind of person would strike a young girl like that?

Wu Chen continued watching her calmly, still smiling.

Gradually, He Xinxin found it impossible to continue her one-woman show.

Wu Chen was not reacting at all.

She was standing there performing like an idiot.

Was he really not afraid?

The art room abruptly fell silent.

He Xinxin had stopped making noise.

Her face was covered in tears, but there was no genuine fear in her eyes. Instead, she looked angry and rather fierce.

“You’re not scared?” she asked.

“Why should I be?” Wu Chen replied with a smile. “You’re very strange.”

“Do you believe I can call my mom over right now? Then we’ll see what you—” He Xinxin threatened.

“I never hit you. You’re putting on this whole act by yourself. If your mother comes over, do you really think she’ll believe I hit you? Why would I suddenly beat you for no reason?” Wu Chen asked, sounding as though he found her ridiculous.

“Because… because I disrespected you, and you flew into a rage out of embarrassment…” He Xinxin replied.

She had already prepared an excuse.

“Not bad. You even know how to use an idiom properly,” Wu Chen said with another laugh. “But you don’t have a single injury. Isn’t this far too fake? Where exactly did I hit you? Do you think crying is enough?”

That truly was a flaw.

Naturally, the previous tutor He Xinxin had frightened away had known that too.

But he still had not wanted anything to do with the trouble, and he had been furious.

After all, if a child was already willing to frame and threaten people like this, what was the point of teaching her?

Who knew what outrageous stunt she might pull next?

In the past, all He Xinxin had needed to do was finish her performance.

The teacher would become furious and leave.

Things had never reached this stage before.

“You—”

He Xinxin grew even angrier.

She abruptly raised a hand and smacked herself lightly on the side of the chin.

Clap!

The sound was fairly crisp.

She did not dare strike herself hard. Childish stubbornness had simply taken over.

Although the blow was light, it still left a faint red mark.

It would probably take half an hour to fade naturally.

“Wow! That’s ruthless. You’re even hitting yourself now,” Wu Chen said in an exaggerated tone, laughing at her.

“I want to! Just wait—you’re finished!” He Xinxin snapped.

“You’re trying this hard to frame me, and you still think your mother will believe you?” Wu Chen asked deliberately, provoking her.

“Of course she’ll believe me! Why would she believe an outsider like you?”

Apparently deciding the mark was not enough, He Xinxin rolled up her sleeve and pinched her own arm.

“Pinching yourself too? You really are something,” Wu Chen said with another laugh.

He Xinxin pinched until a patch of skin turned red.

Ignoring everything Wu Chen said, she shook out the oversized sleeve of her jacket, gripped the fabric with one hand, and pulled with the other.

Rip!

She tore part of the sleeve open along the seam.

“You’re tearing your own clothes now? Pretty strong, aren’t you?” Wu Chen continued to laugh at her.

“You’re really not scared? Fine, then I’m shouting!” He Xinxin said, turning as though to yell.

“Wait!” Wu Chen abruptly called.

He Xinxin had already opened her mouth, but she immediately turned back. Her expression became smug at once.

Young girls wore every emotion on their faces.

“So now you’re scared?” she asked.

“Can you tell me something?” Wu Chen asked as though he genuinely did not understand. “You’re hitting yourself, tearing your sleeve, and trying to frame me… What exactly are you doing all this for?”

“Leave!” He Xinxin said directly. “As long as you leave and stop trying to be my teacher, I won’t frame you. I don’t want to learn drawing. It’s summer vacation, and they still want me taking lessons. Just go… If you leave, we can pretend none of this ever happened. How about it?”

When she finished, He Xinxin looked at Wu Chen triumphantly.

She felt she had already won.

She had even decided that if Teacher Wu cooperated obediently, she would not teach him a lesson after all.

She would let him off.

It was not worth the trouble.

“No,” Wu Chen said instead, still smiling. “I don’t accept threats.”

“You—”

He Xinxin immediately became anxious.

“Just you wait!”

Then she raised her voice and shouted, “Mom—!”

“What is it, Xinxin?” He Shiqin called back from the kitchen.

He Xinxin said nothing.

As long as she remained silent, He Shiqin would come over to see what was wrong.

Sure enough, footsteps soon sounded in the living room, moving toward the art room.

“Xinxin? Why are you shouting?” He Shiqin called as she approached.

He Xinxin still said nothing.

She stared at Wu Chen with an expression that said, You’re dead.

Wu Chen calmly took out his phone.

Then He Xinxin’s expression changed abruptly.

Her eyes widened.

Panic swept across her face.

Wu Chen had turned the phone so that its screen faced her. Still smiling, he gave it a little shake.

The display read:

Recording…

6 minutes, 39 seconds…

40 seconds…

41 seconds…

The numbers continued to change.

It was still recording.

At that length, their entire conversation had undoubtedly been captured.