Further Discussion

"Do you hate her?"
Xu Jie asked softly.
"Yes."
Lin Tiantian nodded gently, answering without the slightest hesitation.
Yet Xu Jie could not see that kind of bone-deep hatred on her face.
This made him very puzzled.
"But I don't want her to go to prison."
Saying this, Lin Tiantian's tears could no longer be held back, sliding down her delicate cheeks.
"When Dad was alive, he always protected me."
"He would always hold me in his arms, patting my head to comfort me."
"He always spoke to me in a gentle voice."
"When Mom gave birth to you, she suffered from severe hemorrhaging and almost died from a difficult labor."
"After barely surviving through medical treatment, she developed severe postpartum depression."
"Dad always told me that Mom wasn't like this before."
"I hate her, I hate her for beating me."
"But when my maternal aunts, uncles, and relatives came to our house wanting to take my mother away, I knelt on the ground and begged them not to take her."
"I already don't have a dad, I don't want to lose my mom too!"
Lin Tiantian's voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, striking Xu Jie's heart bit by bit.
On her tear-stained face, there was only inner conflict and pain.
Outsiders only knew that Lin Tiantian's mother frequently beat and scolded her.
But very few knew the story behind it.
Every family has its own difficulties.
Everything has its cause and effect.
Difficult labor, postpartum depression, a drastic change in personality.
When Lin Tiantian's mother gave birth to her, she was also just a young woman in her twenties.
It was also her first time being a parent.
What she experienced caused serious issues in both her physiology and psychology.
And because these problems were not resolved timely and effectively, they ultimately brewed into the bitter fruit of today.
No one could truly understand Lin Tiantian's complex state of mind.
Xu Jie couldn't.
Tan Shiyu couldn't either.
The hardships she endured were perhaps unique, with no second person in the world experiencing the exact same.
No matter how strong someone's empathy was, they could never fully feel her pain!
In the thousands of years of cultural heritage in the Long Nation, filial piety and fraternal duty have always been regarded as the foundation of being a person and conducting oneself.
Someone like Lin Tiantian might be called "blindly filial" by some.
Even though she was covered in wounds, she had never gone to extremes.
Such behavior, in the eyes of many, was foolish, self-inflicted, and unreasonable.
But, considering the causes and consequences carefully, what did Lin Tiantian do wrong?
What did she do wrong!
Xu Jie remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said:
"But continuing like this is not a solution either."
"You should also bravely face and resolve it."
Just thinking of her arms covered in scars, the compassion that had just risen in Xu Jie vanished once more.
He felt that no matter what, this burden should not be borne by Lin Tiantian.
But now, more than a decade had passed.
The drastic change in Lin Tiantian's mother's personality had long become an unalterable fact.
If she had sought psychological counseling in time right after giving birth, perhaps it wouldn't have led to such a tragic situation today.
But there are no 'ifs' in this world!
Since things had reached this point, actively facing and resolving it was what Xu Jie believed should be done.
She should no longer endure such physical and mental torment.
Xu Jie's original idea was to help Lin Tiantian find the best lawyer to transfer the guardianship of the minor from her mother to the local Civil Affairs Bureau or other civil affairs agencies.
If these places refused, Xu Jie even thought about transferring her guardianship to his own parents' names.
He would just treat it as having an extra good younger sister.
Unfortunately, Xu Jie did not know that this was legally not permitted.
He was just a physical education teacher; currently, his legal knowledge was only at the level of the general public.
Law and reason, in many cases, cannot be easily balanced and unified!
If Lin Tiantian's matter was indeed resolved through legal channels, her mother would naturally face severe punishment by the law.
All outsiders, including Xu Jie and Tan Shiyu, would applaud.
But what about Lin Tiantian?
Would those outsiders care about her feelings?
The human heart is complex.
Since Lin Tiantian, as the person involved, had no intention of completely severing ties with her mother and breaking the mother-daughter relationship, then no matter how much Xu Jie wanted to help her, his hands were tied.
She had already lost her dad; she didn't want to lose her mom too.
This conflict and hesitation of hers, even if she spoke of it, how many people could understand?
"Teacher Xu, thank you."
Lin Tiantian sobbed as she replied, "Many times, I also want to gather my courage and escape my current life."
"But apart from being beaten by my mother, Tan Shiyu, Shen Manying, Yuan Shanshan... and also Teacher Xu, everyone treats me so well."
"I... I don't want to leave this place."
Shen Manying and Yuan Shanshan, as Lin Tiantian's roommates, had undoubtedly seen the wounds on her body by accident.
Only from her words did Xu Jie learn how much her roommates and classmates around her had taken care of her.
This complex state of mind of "losing here but gaining there" had perhaps also become a factor hindering Lin Tiantian's final decision.
She was unfortunate, but at the same time, she was lucky.
Whether it was her deceased father, Tan Shiyu, Shen Manying, Yuan Shanshan, Xu Jie, or even others who had cared for and helped her, they had all allowed her to see the beauty of the world.
Xu Jie knew that perhaps this was one of the reasons why she did not go to extremes!
He let out a long sigh.
Xu Jie understood her meaning.
Her choice was not wrong.
Xu Jie respected her choice.
But this matter could only be discussed further!
...
Time passed quickly.
During the lunch break, Xu Jie also had deep conversations with Li Rui, Han Xiaochen, and Lin Tiantian.
As the class bell rang, Xu Jie began the afternoon classes.
Before the third afternoon class ended, he called out the names of ten students, allowing them to go out and play during the evening self-study session.
"Wuhu! Takeoff!"
Wu Feng, sitting below Xu Jie, cheered excitedly.
He was one of the ten allowed to go out during the evening self-study session.
Xu Jie was also quite surprised by his choice.
This kid did very well in Math this time, winning the top ten progress award in Mathematics.
With his talent, this result was within Xu Jie's expectations.
What surprised Xu Jie was that he didn't choose to make a request to Xu Jie, but chose to go out and play instead!
Originally, Xu Jie had planned to learn a bit more about him and his family situation.
Now it seemed this kid was truly carefree.
To put it simply, he had a very good mentality!
"Cough, cough."
Xu Jie coughed lightly.
School wasn't even dismissed yet, and this kid dared to shout so blatantly.
The ten people allowed to go out in the afternoon, like Liu Peng, Wang Siyuan, and Shi Yunfeng, were basically day students.
Meanwhile, the group going out during the evening self-study session, led by Wu Feng, consisted of boarding students.
The reason Xu Jie arranged it this way was naturally due to his own considerations.
If he let Liu Peng and other day students out during the evening self-study session, and their parents came to pick them up only to find they didn't come out of the school gate but from the Jinya Residence opposite, wouldn't that be a disaster!
Right now, whether it was Li Hao and Li Hu, or Chu Xiaoran and Liu Peng, none of them had the qualifications or capital to "bargain" with their parents.
The matter of them developing their own hobbies was still a small secret between them and Xu Jie.
Only after they gradually grew up and achieved outstanding results in their respective fields would they be able to stand tall with confidence.
Only then would it be the time for Xu Jie, along with them, to lay their cards on the table with their parents!