An Eye for News Chapter 36
“Hey, man up. Don’t tell me you have cold feet?
Or you afraid your girlfriend will mind the intimacy?”
Lee Wei scoffed witnessing the
squirming Se Cai.
Egged on by Lee Wei’s
condescension, Se Cai blurted out confidently, “I don’t have a girlfriend and
who said I’m afraid. Honey, let’s go!”
Se Cai regretted the moment the
words left his mouth.
Lee Wei was the Vice
Superintendent for the province station, even though he was just echoing her
but had he crossed the line calling her honey?
“Now, that’s more like it!”
Lee Wei smiled satisfactorily.
She adjusted the car seat and
leaned back down. She continued, “Let’s go. Leave everything to me later, try
not to draw unnecessary attention and help me block the view of the camera.”
Se Cai was relieved that she
didn’t seem to take offense to him calling her honey.
Lee Wei should be a power worker
type or she wouldn’t have become a vice superintendent at your young age. She
wouldn’t be petty enough to care about small things like that.
Se Cai convinced himself. He
slammed on the oil pedal and the car sped towards the northern side of the
county.
There sat Blue Sky Online
Addiction Rehabilitation School!
Blue Sky Rehab sat at the northern
outskirts of the county. It was far from other modern amenities, practically
hidden in the middle of the jungle.
According to the school’s promo
flyer, its secluded location decreased distraction and helped its students to
focus on their rehabilitation.
Se Cai parked the car and walked
to the school with Lee Wei.
From a distance away, he could
see the school’s signboard, a giant banner hung between the pillars that decorated
the school’s entrance.
“Is your child reluctant to
study because of online game addiction? Blue Sky Rehab is here to solve your
problem!” it read.
Furthermore, on the school
compound walls were the school’s promo posters. They featured before-and-after
shots of their students. The before shots all showed teens in sallow
complexions and wiry frames. In the after shots though, they lined up in army
fatigues, flashing smiles that were usually reserved for toothpaste
commercials.
If Se Cai was an actual parent,
he would be appropriately impressed by now.
After all, which parent doesn’t
want the best for their child? And this school presented an image that it would
help accomplish that.
This was Lee Wei’s first time
visiting the school, she looked about curiously, adding, “This place looks
pretty standard for an internet addiction school.”
Se Cai nodded, adding, “The
number of teen afflicted with internet addiction is on the rise in our country
and schools like these are earning higher and higher paychecks, the school
needs to look good to beat out the increasing compet.i.tors.”
Blue Sky Rehab was a famous
school of its kind. According to the tipper, its monthly fee could reach up to
4000 RMB, higher than even international schools.
In other words, most of the
students here were from good family background. The addiction started because
there was a lack of parental supervision.
However, a small section of the
students came from families whose parents needed to scrounge up an exorbitant
amount of money each month for the fees, which was a pity.
At the end of the day, all the
school did was to suppress the addiction that would eventually exacerbate after
graduation. The school had no intention of nipping the problem at its bud, it
only relied on so-called a military school style education to force out the
result to reap monthly fees. What happened after graduation was none of their
business.
The rich could afford to waste
such money but for the poor, it was heartbreaking.
All these information was given by the
mysterious tipper. They tried to trace the tipper but he or she used a public
phone and refused to leave his or her name and address. The person probably
feared retribution from the school.
Viewed from outside the steel
fence wall, they could see quite a fair amount of students playing badminton on
the field.
A female student swung her bat
too strongly and her shuttlec.o.c.k flew over the wall and landed beside Se Cai.
The freckled girl ran to the fence
and waved at Se Cai.
“Uncle, please help me pick up
the ball!”
Se Cai realized with a start
that she was talking to him. He forgot he had an appearance of a middle-aged
man.
He looked at the girl and
smiled. He bent down to take the shuttlec.o.c.k.
“There you go. Be more careful
next time.”
Se Cai tossed the ball back over
the fence with a smile but after the girl departed, his face dimmed.
“What’s wrong?”
Lee Wei saw the change in his
expression and she asked softly.
Instead of answering, Se Cai
opened his hand to reveal a piece of neatly folded paper.
“Save me, but don’t tell the
teachers, my parent’s phone number is 1862365548.”
“I want to go home because the
instructor likes to hit me, my mum’s number is 138531788.”
“My name is Lin Lin, aged 15. My
father is Lee XX, phone number 1501553155, tell him to come save me!”
“15722153245, please call my
mum. I’m scared.”
The piece of paper appeared to
be torn from an exercise book, and it was filled with students’ SOS messages.
Se Cai did a cursory count and
there was at least 30 of them.
“Is this place even a school?”
Se Cai cursed. His determination
to expose the school became firmer.
The school is a place for
students to learn and grow but this Blue Sky Rehab obviously didn’t share that
philosophy. The place was h.e.l.l on earth for these students!
Lee Wei said after a long
silence, “The fact that the parents are willing to send their children to this
school is also a chilling thought.”
The pair of them had been standing
at the gate for quite some time, and had attracted the attention of the admin.
“Hey! What are you two doing
here?”
A man in army uniform yelled rudely
as he sauntered over.
The man had a slicked back hair
and a pot belly. It was someone Se Cai recognized, Security Manager Wong that
led the gang of ruffians to visit him at the hospital.
“Are you a teacher from this school?”
Lee Wei said hurriedly, like
repeating from a memorized script, her words kept tumbling out, “Our friends
recommended us here. You see, we have a son that’s obsessed with online games
and we’re at our wit’s end. Hopefully your school can help us.”
“Of course, please follow me. I’ll
give you a tour of the school compound.”
The moment w.a.n.g heard the two
was potential customer, his tone became referentially immediately.
As mentioned above, the fees at this
place was not cheap and the admin was given solicitor’s fee if they brought in
business.
“I am w.a.n.g, the school’s
security manager. Our school has been graded by the Ministry of Education as a
professional reformation center. Currently, the school has more than 1000
students, it is the best school in the whole Town Z and even Province X. I
a.s.sure you your child will receive the best education here!”
Manager w.a.n.g opened the school
gate and waved Se Cai and Lee Wei in.
Se Cai was worried his cover
would be blown but Lee Wei’s technique was so good that he was unable to see
through his disguise.
Lee Wei leaned on his hands,
like an old married couple.
“Don’t panic, and cover for me.“
She whispered into Se Cai’s
ears.
Se Cai felt tickled by her
breath and he almost forgot why they were there.
With Se Cai blocking the view,
she unzipped the side of her bag for a bit to allow the camera to poke through.
The recording had officially started.
Manager w.a.n.g was too occupied
with selling the school to notice what was happening behind him.
“Good afternoon, sir!”
Along the way, they met many
school in blue and white striped school uniform that actively greeted Manager
w.a.n.g.
The students’ discipline greatly
impressed Se Cai. The atmosphere of the school was not one he expected, it was
peaceful and orderly.
If Se Cai hadn’t known better,
he would definitely be tricked by the show that was put on.
“This is our school’s faculty
building. All our teachers are retired military men. Using military training,
the faculty is able to bond with the students while ensuring their utmost
discipline…”
Manager w.a.n.g kept on praising
the school and since it would make for good footage, the pair didn’t interject.
“Err, Manager w.a.n.g, since all
the teachers are retired military personnel… What about the non-physical
cla.s.ses like math and science? Do the teachers have teaching certificate?”
Lee Wei found a flaw in Manager
w.a.n.g’s pompous speech. This was after all a school, not a military camp. The
teachers could tackle physical education but who would be responsible to teach
the more technical subjects?
“This…”
Manager w.a.n.g stammered, this was
the first time someone had asked him such a professional question.
After some time, he floundered, “Since
they’re teachers, I’m sure they can teach those subjects as well as physical
ed.”
“I suppose you have a point. After
all, our son is only 8 years old. He wouldn’t be able to focus with his
internet addiction anyway. The only thing he talks about is LOL!”
Lee Wei smiled and said, “speaking
of which, do you mind if we inspect some of the cla.s.ses?”
“Of course, please follow me!”
Manager Wong led them to a
cla.s.sroom on the first floor. It was math cla.s.s.
The teacher was wearing the same
uniform as Manager Wong but instead of using books and blackboard, the cla.s.s
was watching an educational film.
“Overcome yourself, held strong
and believe in yourself!”
The moment the teacher raised
his hands, the students launched into a rehea.r.s.ed act.
“Choosing Blue Sky is choosing
quality! Choosing Blue Sky is choosing change! Choosing Blue Sky is choosing
growth!”
The students yelled out in a
clear voice complete with synchronized hand gestures.
The teacher nodded
satisfactorily. He said, “Alright, our next cla.s.s will be physical training.
Anyone here didn’t finish their daily morning 800 meters run? Raise your hand!”
The originally slightly rowdy
cla.s.sroom went quiet instantly. Every student appeared to be frozen to their
spot.