This is a story told by my college roommate, who is from Jiangxi province.
There was a family of three: a father, a mother, and their son, Xiao Dong (a pseudonym). The mother was Xiao Dong's stepmother. When she first married into the family, she treated Xiao Dong fairly well—not with meticulous care, but at least with basic concern for his well-being. Life went on quietly and peacefully until Xiao Dong started elementary school, when the stepmother became pregnant and gave birth to another son. Just like a tired, old-fashioned plot, the stepmother began to resent Xiao Dong, finding fault with him no matter how she looked at him. This hatred grew stronger day by day, eventually reaching the point where she could no longer tolerate his presence.
So one noon, the stepmother discussed with the father the idea of killing Xiao Dong. (When I heard this, I couldn't help but ask in shock: "Could the father really agree to kill his own biological son?" My roommate explained: "Apparently, this son might have been brought in from the father's previous marriage. What a chaotic family, what a chaotic world!") They decided to carry out the plan that very evening at seven o'clock.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Dong, who had been standing behind the door about to leave for school, overheard the entire conversation. The child was terrified. After school that afternoon, he refused to go home no matter what. His homeroom teacher, Mr. Li (a pseudonym), found this strange and asked him why. The boy then told him everything. Mr. Li initially thought the child was just imagining things—partly annoyed, partly amused—but since he had planned a home visit anyway, he reassured the boy: "Don't worry. Go home first. I'll come to your house tonight. They won't dare harm you then." Hearing this, the child obediently went home.
Mr. Li returned to his own home to grade assignments. So focused was he on his work that he completely forgot about the boy's story. At seven o'clock, he was still grading papers when suddenly, a thermos bottle in his home exploded. He lived alone, there was no wind, no visitors, and the thermos was completely empty.
At that moment, Mr. Li suddenly remembered his promise to visit Xiao Dong's house. A wave of dread washed over him. Without even bothering to clean up the broken thermos, he rushed to the boy's home. But when he arrived, Xiao Dong was already dead.
Perhaps that exploding thermos was the child's way of silently blaming his teacher.