An and Ping left Sherry's room after watching her calm down and go to sleep. They silently and solemnly walked back into their room and closed the door quietly behind them. The whole time, Ping was frowning, he felt as if his heart was being torn apart and beat with anger. His daughter had been enduring such torture and indignity for weeks yet he had no idea. As a father, he felt like he was a failure and the guilt overwhelmed him.
An wrapped her arms around Ping's neck and gently kissed him. With a strained smile, she comforted him. "(Don't be so angry about yourself. What's important right now is that our daughter is troubled and she wants us to help us resolve her problem. Let's focus on that, shall we? Everything else can wait for until everything is over.)"
Ping paused before nodding. "(Mm, you're right. Contact Jeffery tomorrow, we're going to pay a visit to the school.)"
Jeffery was the couple's lawyer. He worked for their company and was in charge of the big legal things that occurred in the company. Ping usually wouldn't involve Jeffery in anything that wasn't work related because he already had a lot to work but this was more important than insignificant business deals.
An's warm gaze turned icy cold. She scoffed and spoke with a sneer. "(A mere ant thinks he is worthy of my daughter. How laughable.)"
Ping pat An on the back. "(Go to sleep. We'll be busy tomorrow.)"
An peck Ping on the cheek. "(Good night)"
He kissed her back. "(Good night.)"
The next day, the couple woke up early ready to f**k someone over. They got dressed and skipped over the usual intimate routine, getting straight to business.
The sound of the phone dial rang in the quiet room, the couple waited for Jeffery to pick up. "Hello? What's up, Ping? Why are you calling so early in the morning?" Jeffery asked, not sounding groggy at all. He sounded like he had been awake for quite a while despite how early it was.
"I need you to come over right now. We need to talk, it's about Sherry." Ping answered calmly, a slight chill in his voice.
Jeffery seemed to detect the severity of the issue and replied solemnly. "Got it, I'll be there in 10, 15 minutes."
True to his words, Jeffery very quickly arrive at the Chen's house. He entered quietly, aware that Sherry may have still been sleeping. The three gathered in the living room and discussed everything over tea.
After An had given Jeffery a brief explanation on what was going on, the man grit his teeth and clench his fists in rage. He watched Sherry grow up and spoiled her like an uncle. Now that someone was hurting Sherry in such a degrading manner, he was enraged.
"That damn bastard! How dare he do that, does he have no brain?" He whisper shouted.
"We're going to go to her school to discuss things with her teachers and the principal later." An said.
"Don't worry, sis. I'll be sure to do everything in my power to get justice served. The situation wouldn't have blown over to this extent in the first place if the teachers actually did their jobs." Jeffery determinedly declared.
"Good. Notify the school about our visit, we'll leave after breakfast." Ping suggested.
"You can't fight on an empty stomach after all."
After breakfast, Ping and Jeffery went to Sherry's school while An stayed home to take care of Sherry. She wanted to make sure that Sherry was aware that she was always going to be on her side and that she could rely on her. She believed that this basic trust was crucial, especially after Sherry had just been betrayed by three of her close friends.
At the school, Ping and Jeffery were calmly waiting for the principal in a waiting room. It was composed of a small round table placed between grey couches and various art and plants that decorated the place.
Ping sipped on the coffee that was served to him and frowned, never touching it again. "(Not only does this place have sh*t staff, they even have sh*t coffee.)" He cursed under his breath.
Jeffery beside him overheard his muttering and could barely suppressed the feeling of surprise that whelmed up inside him. He's never seen Ping be so aggressive and ill-mannered before.
It wasn't long before the principal walked into the room. He was a tall man, his hair greying and face wrinkled. The principal eluded an air of humility and friendliness like a grandfather or the friendly neighbours next door.
"Good morning, Mr Chen. May I ask why you have decided to come meet me today?" Principal Crocker asked very politely.
"Mr Crocker, have you heard any strange rumours circulating around the school as of late?" Ping asked, crossing one leg over another and placing his hands on his knees.
Crocker paused to think before shaking his head. "No, I have not. I've been rather busy lately and, well, students usually avoid principals."
Ping narrowed his eyes and relaxed them after seeing that he was not lying. Inside, he cursed the man for being so useless and unaware of his surroundings. 'Incompetent.' He growled.
"Well, my daughter has been feeling distressed and avoiding school lately. I've come to find out why."
"Your daughter? I recall that her name is Sherry. She is a rather bright child, what kind of problems will she have?" Crocker asked, puzzled.
"Exactly what I was thinking. You see, my daughter has been crying herself to sleep at night. She's been enduring shame and humiliation at this very school, bullied and outcasted for something that she did not do. And you are saying, that you are unaware of this. Something that is impacting and affecting my daughter in such a negative way, something that the whole school seemingly is in on, you are unaware of." Ping let out a cold sneer. "You sure are good at doing your job, sir."
Crocker paled, the blood draining from his face. "This, is this true? How have I not heard of this? Please, sir, you must tell me more. Something as despicable as bulling shall not thrive in our school any longer." Instead of getting angry at Ping's rude statement, he instead implored Ping to further elaborate.
Crocker actually grew up in a poor family. As a child, he faced discrimination and bullying for being poor and many of his classmates did not like him. His teachers also displayed blatant favouritism so he decided that when he grew older, he would not be like them. He desired a school where everyone was equal and felt safe, protected.
"My daughter has been falsely labelled as a slut by her male peer. This peer even went above and beyond to spread this disgusting lie to everyone in the cohort, resulting in the bullying and alienisation. And from what I heard, even the teachers have displayed such behaviour, treating Sherry differently, and ignoring the bullying occurring before their very eyes. I wish to hear an explanation for this."