Chapter 75
It's unclear what he's hiding behind his words, something unobservable.
Was it a family tragedy, Li Jing's departure, or something else...?
After Xu Weining's visit, everything was as usual, until a peaceful evening self-study session during the senior year.
Jian Sheng had just finished a test paper when she glanced to the side and saw that Chen Zhoujing had already disappeared for two self-study periods.
A cool evening breeze swept through the hall, lingering around her ears. The night was dark, and the campus was as still as an ice river.
In an instant, the birds flapped their wings and made a sound. A lone bird flew in from one side of the window, tearing a hole in the silence and causing a commotion.
Some people stood up to catch birds, while others bent over and dodged, amidst cheers.
The dullness of evening self-study seemed to temporarily disappear during the brief moments when birds flew in.
Class 13 was engrossed in the fun of catching birds. Jian Sheng shrank back and turned around, only to find the seat behind him empty.
While I was distracted, the bird seemed to be asked to leave.
As the excitement in the classroom subsided, Jian Sheng turned around and heard rustling sounds from the seat next to him.
The sound grew louder and louder as the school bell rang.
"Holy crap, people in the group are saying there's a fight going on on the playground."
"A video has been released."
Jian Sheng froze in mid-air as she flipped through the paper, feeling a tightness in her chest. She put down the paper and looked at the crowd walking out.
Her left arm was pulled, and she turned around. Qi Jing frowned at her and said, "Qian Xiao and his gang hired people to ambush Chen Zhoujing last week, but Yu Chao and... well, they beat up Qian Xiao's group."
"They said they were going to fight today, and they originally planned to do it outside the school. They didn't intend to tell Chen Zhoujing, but they ran into each other downstairs, and Chen Zhoujing found out. Qian Xiao even brought people from another school."
Her voice grew softer and softer, and fewer and fewer people remained in the class.
Jian Sheng followed the figure in front of her towards the playground, quickening her pace amidst the crowd.
Lin You and the others chased after her, but she quickly disappeared into the darkness.
The crowd wasn't on the playground, but rather in a small, secluded grove of trees downstairs from the gymnasium. The area wasn't large to begin with, but everyone gathered in one place, eventually surrounding half of the gymnasium.
When Jian Sheng arrived, there were only students watching the commotion around; no one involved was present.
She wandered around for a while, but didn't see a single familiar face.
Just as I was about to turn back, a sarcastic remark reached my ears.
"Haven't you heard? I told you so. It's been around for a while now. Back in junior high, that incident involving him was all over Yanjiang Middle School. People were going crazy over it. They said he stole someone's girlfriend, got caught, said a few words, and then beat the person so badly they ended up in the intensive care unit. That person almost died."
Do you know what else I've heard?
"He was supposed to be expelled, but because his father was a 'phoenix man' (a man from a poor background who achieves success), he married a rich woman, and that rich woman stepped in and solved the problem. Moreover, his mother didn't want to get involved in him. His mother is even more powerful. I heard she married several times in Qinjin and now runs a company and is a leader. Who knows how she got there? Oh, of course, I heard it from my classmate. When that incident came to light, the higher-ups suppressed it. They were incredibly powerful. In less than a week, all the posts disappeared, and those who posted them even apologized. After that, it was just forgotten. The main reason is that nobody dared to say anything, you know?"
"Holy crap, our top student in the entire grade is actually this kind of person."
"That's true. Don't be fooled by his appearance. He beats people to death when he hits them. And I've also heard that he likes men..."
"Jian Sheng." Lin You's appearance interrupted her receiving the information. Jian Sheng turned her head and looked at Lin You, who was panting heavily. "Were they taken away by the teacher?"
Lin You paused for a moment, then nodded stiffly amidst her calm expression: "Qi Jing just told me that they were taken in for questioning."
"Should we...go back first, or..." Lin You didn't know whether to move or not. The murmurs around him were chaotic, and every word sounded nauseating.
The story of Chen Zhoujing was told differently by everyone; she had heard several versions along the way.
She observed Jian Sheng's expression, thinking about how to say it.
Jian Sheng didn't react much, but took her hand and said in a flat tone, "Let's go back first, finish our self-study, and we'll talk about the situation when they get back."
Lin You looked at the hand that was being held out to her and quietly let her lead him back.
Qi Jing caught up with them halfway: "Shen Xuzheng said they might have to take a break from school."
"No way, they're already in the second semester of senior year, and the college entrance exam is just around the corner." Xu Xiaxia followed up, "I was wondering why those boys at the back of the classroom weren't there during the two evening self-study sessions. Turns out they went to arrange a fight."
"How childish! What time is it? If you're going to fight, you should do it off-campus. How dare you do it on campus? Who is it anyway?"
"Qian Xiao, the one who works downstairs, the one who followed Jian Sheng last time, always stirring up trouble," Qi Jing replied, panting. Using the noisy crowd as cover, she secretly tapped on her phone. "Damn, they didn't even want to fight. They just wanted to talk and not cause trouble before the college entrance exam. I don't know how it happened, but Qian Xiao started talking about Chen Zhoujing and stuff. He Shang couldn't stand it and punched him. Once he made a move, the two sides started fighting."
"Him? I was wondering why I didn't see him. What was he doing getting involved... He's quite righteous, isn't he?" Xu Xiaxia pouted. "What are we going to do now? A bunch of idiots are believing these stupid rumors."
The group glanced at Jian Sheng without making a sound. Sensing their gazes, she simply smiled and said, "It's all over now. There's nothing we can do. Let's see how the teacher handles it."
She was actually very concerned; her heart felt like it was being gripped by a fist, and she even wanted to go find him right now.
But she couldn't; she couldn't complicate things further.
They didn't expect Jian Sheng to say that. In the past, she would only suffer alone, not say anything, keep a straight face, and keep everything bottled up, so much so that others didn't dare to talk to her easily.
Seeing that she accepted the matter calmly, they didn't hold back either, especially Xu Xiaxia, who listed out Qian Xiao's ancestors for eight generations.
Jian Sheng listened silently from the side, occasionally responding with a slight smirk; all her actions were ordinary yet seemed almost procedural.
Even though the conversation of the group was what she should be listening to, her ears kept hearing different rumors.
There are rumors that his mother had a son who died before he was born.
There were also rumors that he lived with the infirmary doctor and had affairs.
There are also rumors that his father is dying of an illness.
There are also rumors that he has a mental illness.
Jian Sheng reached his trembling hand into his pocket, lowered his head, and went back to the classroom.
They didn't come back until the end of evening self-study. She stood at the door and waited for a long, long time, until the security guard came to patrol.
"Why is your class always like this? Aren't you going home?"
"Hurry up and go. It's so late at night, you're all alone at school, all the teachers and students have gone home."
"Don't ruin your health by studying too much."
Jian Sheng, holding his schoolbag, nodded: "Excuse me, uncle."
"I wasn't talking about you. During the second evening self-study session, several of your senior teachers were pulled back because there was a fight among the students. When they came back and saw what had happened, oh dear... the college entrance exam is almost here, and this is what they've done. It's a real headache." The security guard sighed. "Go back now, go back now."
"Did they leave too?" Jian asked in a low voice.
"She's gone." The security guard glanced at her. "The incident just happened. The teacher arrived within ten minutes, asked me to open the door, and we chatted for over an hour before leaving."
Why are you asking so many questions? Are you coming or not?
Jian Sheng pushed the stool under the table and hurriedly ran out. She stood aside and waited for the security guard to lock the door, then casually followed him.
"Why are you following me? I need to go upstairs later..." The security guard shone a flashlight on her face. "Are you afraid of ghosts?"
Jian Sheng raised his hand to block the view, blinking a few times: "No, I just wanted to ask how serious that matter is..."
"What are you doing, a student, asking so many questions? A group of students fighting is a serious violation of school rules and regulations. Can this be tolerated? Isn't this serious?"
"They might all be fired." The security guard put his hands behind his back. "You can go back now. The college entrance exam is important, but your health is important too."
"I heard there are two more heavyweights... Anyway, the first and second place in the grade will be guaranteed, but it's hard to say about the others."
Jian Sheng walked down the stairs with heavy steps. On the narrow, dark road, she was the only one walking towards the bright light ahead.
The incident of several people getting into a brawl at school caused a serious uproar. For a whole week, none of the people involved showed up, and rumors circulated that they would all be expelled.
During the week Chen Zhoujing disappeared, Jian Sheng would send him a message every night. He wouldn't reply immediately, but he would respond to each message the next morning.
The response time is unpredictable, sometimes 1 a.m., sometimes 3 a.m., and sometimes 5 a.m.
She replied to the message in the morning, but the times were different.
From scattered bits and pieces of information, she knew that he had returned to Qinjin, that things were still under discussion, and that she knew nothing else.
Jian Sheng didn't ask, but casually inquired whether he had eaten well. To her surprise, a week later, he resumed his previous semester routine with her, calling her every night at 8:01 pm. She would then take a picture of the day's test paper and send it to him. The two would remain silent until they finished writing and started comparing answers.
This strange persistence actually continued between the two of them. Jian Sheng didn't dare to ask him when he would return, and just waited quietly.
Three days before the 100-day countdown rally for senior high school students, those who had arranged the fight that night returned to school one after another, including Qian Xiao, who worked downstairs. However, Chen Zhoujing did not show up.
Their return stirred up another wave of discussion, but the group unanimously avoided mentioning what had happened that night, and the fact that Chen Zhoujing had not returned added a layer of credibility to the rumors.
On the day of the conference, Jian Sheng carried a chair and walked with Xu Xiaxia to the steps at the corner of the stairs. Three girls came down the stairs opposite them.
Just as Jian Sheng was about to give way, a sharp, high-pitched voice rang out, making her and Xu Xiaxia look up at the same time.
"I told you long ago, what kind of idiot is that? Does he deserve it? Does his dad deserve it? Does his mom deserve it?"
"What good can someone who hangs out with Yu Chao be? I wouldn't even give him a second glance. That mistress's son deserves to die. He's number one in the grade? To put it nicely, he's so capable, who knows how he got that number one position. If I could cheat, I could do it too."
Some people agreed.
"Damn, I was even speaking up for him before, but these past few days I've seen all of them come back, including Qian Xiao, but he's the only one who hasn't returned. I heard he really got fired, oh my god, that's terrifying."
"Yeah, and besides, I was talking to Yu Chao before, and I also know about Chen Zhoujing and that former school doctor. Actually, he's the son of his dad's mistress. Isn't that amazing? And yet, they still live together."
"Holy crap, this is shocking! Isn't this a disguised form of... you know? It's terrifying, how could he be this kind of person?"
"I think the most wronged one is Shen Shuting. She's a great beauty. She confessed to him and he didn't agree, so he just didn't agree. Why did Chen Zhoujing go after her ex-boyfriend? It doesn't make sense."
The figures of several people slowly approached. Jian Sheng stood quietly, waiting for them to come down. His ear canals seemed to be congested with blood, buzzing and burning, spreading throughout his body.
She placed the stool on the ground, but didn't control her strength well. The iron bar hit the ground and made a creaking sound. The others noticed and stopped talking abruptly.
The girl at the front crossed her arms, her school uniform jacket revealing a clean JK skirt underneath, with a bow tie at the neckline that extended upwards to show off her beautiful, slender neck.
Her red lips were slightly parted, and the lip stud had been replaced with a transparent rod. The three earrings by her ears were also replaced with transparent rods, which were not noticeable unless you looked closely. Her complexion was not very good, and she looked somewhat stiff.
The two girls beside him coughed and tugged at his school uniform.
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