One of the student parents spoke up, and the rest of the parent representatives immediately turned to look at Mr. Paul Zhang.
"Oh, this is our new tutoring teacher, he'll be teaching math!" Flora Huang, standing off to the side, quickly chimed in when she heard the parent asking. "This is Mr. Paul Zhang—he's the best math teacher at our school. He has tons of teaching experience, and his students' grades have all improved a lot thanks to him."
Hearing Flora Huang praise him like that, Mr. Paul Zhang puffed up his chest and stepped forward with a smile, addressing the parents: "That's right! From now on, I'll need all of you parents to help supervise as well. After all, learning isn't just about teachers and kids—parents have to pitch in too if we want the best results."
Mr. Paul Zhang's words sounded very impressive.
The parents nodded one by one at his words, smiling at Mr. Paul Zhang. "So you're a math teacher too. Hello, Mr. Zhang."
"Yes, what Mr. Zhang said is right. It really does take both parents and teachers working together to help kids grow up well." one of the women agreed, nodding.
Seeing that these parents weren't showing any obvious resistance, both Flora Huang and Mr. Paul Zhang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
In their eyes, this was all about the money.
These parent representatives were speaking for eighty students!
Forty thousand yuan a month—just thinking about it made Flora Huang and Mr. Paul Zhang so excited that they almost forgot how Evan Lin and his friends had just made them furious enough to cough up blood.
Just as Flora Huang was about to speak, a few of the parents suddenly changed the subject, smiling at Joy Zheng and asking, "Ms. Zheng, are you planning to run two classes here? Like, each teacher takes a separate group?"
"If that's the case, you absolutely have to take my kid! My son won't go to anyone else's class except yours." The man who'd just handed over the bread hurriedly chimed in.
"Same here, same here! Ms. Zheng, honestly, I only trust you. Even if my kid's grades don't improve, it's fine as long as you're teaching!" another parent declared outright.
"Me too, me too! My child has to be in Ms. Zheng's class!" another woman added, looking desperate not to miss out.
The parents all finished speaking.
Flora Huang and Mr. Zhang felt their hearts sink. Panic flashed across their faces.
"Uh...maybe..." Joy Zheng was deeply moved by their words, but looked a little troubled.
"What's wrong, Ms. Zheng?" The man noticed her hesitation and quickly asked.
"Is the tuition too low? We can raise it, no problem—as long as you’re teaching! We’ve already discussed it in the WeChat group, and we know you probably don’t want to deal with all the extra hassle. That’s fine, we parents can help with those chores. Just tell us what you need!"
All the parent representatives turned to look at Joy Zheng.
Yolanda Fang spoke up at this point: "Hey, everyone, Auntie Joy might not be able to teach anymore. That Flora lady just fired her, saying Auntie Joy doesn't put her heart into teaching."
"Yeah, and she only gave Auntie Joy six hundred yuan, told her not to show up tomorrow." Lynn Chen nodded along.
"Only six hundred yuan?"
"And she told her not to come tomorrow? No way! Ms. Zheng, our kids only come because of you!"
The parents grew anxious when they heard this.
Flora Huang hurried to smooth things over: "Don't worry, everyone! I guarantee that the teacher I brought in, Mr. Zhang, is top-notch. He’s won all kinds of awards and honors as an outstanding educator."
Flora was panicking inside and shot a glare at Yolanda and Lynn, but the two girls glared right back, refusing to back down.
"Doesn’t matter—I’m sticking with Ms. Zheng!"
"Same! Only Ms. Zheng for me."
"No Ms. Zheng, no tutoring. My kid would never agree to come."
The parents kept chattering away.
All their eyes were on Joy Zheng.
Mr. Zhang jumped in: "I once trained a Provincial Math Olympiad third-prize winner!"
"Provincial Math Olympiad third prize?"
The parents all turned to Mr. Zhang, looking impressed.
"That's right! That Martin Ma from Whitewood County No. 1 High School who just won third prize at the Provincial Math Olympiad—I taught him math back in elementary school!"
Mr. Zhang puffed out his chest, his voice loud and proud.
"The Provincial Math Olympiad third-prize winner was your student?"
Just a few days ago, Whitewood No. 1 High had made a huge deal about Martin Ma winning third prize at the Provincial Math Olympiad. The whole county was buzzing, and they even ran ads about it on the local TV station.
What parent doesn’t want their kid to be a star?
Hearing Mr. Zhang’s claim, the parents hesitated for a moment, at least recognizing his teaching ability.
But the moment Mr. Zhang finished, Flora Huang’s heart dropped. She cursed inwardly and wished she could kick Mr. Zhang herself!
Sure enough, before Flora could say anything—
Yolanda suddenly snorted, "Third prize? Big deal. Evan Lin took first in the Provincial Math Olympiad—and he’s from Brightsea No. 2 High! Whitewood No. 1 can’t even compare."
The moment Yolanda spoke, Mr. Zhang’s face went pale.
That’s when he realized—the actual first-prize winner was standing right there!
And Joy Zheng was not only a teacher—she was his actual mom!
"Provincial Math Olympiad first prize!" The parents all turned to Evan Lin, faces full of shock and curiosity.
"You transferred from Whitewood to Brightsea No. 2? Are you Ms. Zheng’s student?"
All the parents looked at Evan Lin.
"She’s my mom. She’s taught me math since I was a kid." Evan Lin’s simple words flipped the whole situation completely.
The parents were visibly moved, all looking at Joy Zheng with admiration. "Ms. Zheng! No matter what, my kid has to study with you!"
"Exactly! I support you too! Without Ms. Zheng, my kid would never come to class!" The man nodded enthusiastically, then added, "If you need a venue, I can help find one—and supply desks, chairs, blackboard, the whole set!"
"Ms. Zheng, please teach my child—even if it costs extra, that’s fine!"
All the parents looked at Joy Zheng with eager faces.
Nowadays, lots of parents have to give teachers red envelopes just to get their kids special attention. Joy Zheng had always refused those gifts, treating every student equally and earning a stellar reputation.
Right now, Joy Zheng stood there, deeply moved.
Beside her, Flora Huang’s face kept changing. Mr. Zhang tried to argue one last time, but the parents ignored him completely, leaving him utterly humiliated.
"Um, Joy, I’ve been thinking... Maybe we can still work together?"