Chapter 18
Two more weeks passed peacefully, and apart from the sports meet two weeks later, there was nothing else going on at the affiliated high school.
Although the privileged kids at school weren't very interested in studying, they were all incredibly enthusiastic about the sports meet.
On the opening day, the first event of the games was the basketball tournament.
Two weeks ago, the boys in the class started training, and free time during physical education class was turned into playing basketball.
*
"Wanwan, let's go down together."
Xiang Wan put down her tablet, glanced at the timetable, and sure enough, the next class was PE.
She looked at Che Nanbei, who resembled an enthusiastic puppy, and could vaguely see her tail wagging enthusiastically behind her.
"..." Xiang Wan got up and walked towards her, "Let's go."
"Okay!!!" Seeing that she agreed, the other's tail seemed to wag even more wildly.
As soon as the two arrived at the basketball court, they saw several boys from their class playing basketball in a team.
Xiang Wan didn't want to get hit by the ball, so she didn't go that way, but Jiang Zhuochun mistakenly thought that they hadn't found their class.
"Towards Dongguan—Che Nanbei—Here!"
He shouted loudly, drawing most of the attention in the basketball court to the two of them.
"..." Che Nanbei's face was as black as charcoal at the bottom of a pot. He complained irritably, "Jiang Zhuochun has such a loud voice."
Xiang Wan was also speechless. She had been wondering before that the Jiang family had two sons. The eldest son, Jiang Juncang, was known for being aloof and shrewd, so how could the second son, Jiang Zhuochun, be so... stubborn?
Could it be that all the patience was used up while raising the eldest son?
The two had only taken a couple of steps when they saw a basketball flying through the air, seemingly in slow motion, hit Jiang Zhuochun in the face.
It was a ball that was thrown by another class by mistake. The impact seemed quite strong, but in order not to embarrass himself in front of his goddess, he stubbornly did not fall down, but only swayed back two steps.
Xiang Wan frowned and glanced at the direction the ball had come from. The other person was also a little confused and kept apologizing.
"Brother, are you alright? I'm so sorry, I just missed my target."
Jiang Zhuochun didn't seem to care much, though his face looked somewhat contorted with pain: "It's nothing."
However, everyone fell silent as they watched his nosebleed; he had been hit squarely in the nose and was bleeding quite a bit.
Although Che Nanbei usually disliked him, she panicked when she saw her childhood friend getting a nosebleed. She grabbed Xiang Wan's sleeve and asked anxiously, "Wanwan, what should we do?"
Xiang Wan patted the back of her hand, walked up to Jiang Zhuochun, and pressed down on his head, which was trying to tilt back: "Tilting your head back can cause blood to flow back into your nasal cavity."
As she spoke, she took out a handkerchief from her pocket and gently pinched the sides of his nose through the handkerchief.
"Don't be nervous, relax, and don't breathe too hard."
Jiang Zhuochun was stunned by the goddess's sudden physical contact and it took him a long time to realize what had happened: "Okay."
He even forgot the pain and was secretly delighted. He even found himself finding the silly bamboo that had hit him with the ball quite agreeable.
This is no foolish bamboo, this is clearly a noble person!
He obediently followed the goddess's instructions, doing whatever she asked him to do.
Before long, his nosebleed had mostly stopped.
Xiang Wan looked at the crowd that had surrounded them like an iron barrel and calmly directed, "Che Nanbei and I will take him to the infirmary. We'll report to the sports committee and the PE teacher, and then we'll continue organizing everyone to play ball."
The sports committee member, holding the ball, replied, "Okay, then I'll leave Jiang Zhuochun to you." After saying that, he led the group to play ball.
Inside the infirmary, the medical staff had gone to a meeting. Che Nanbei found iodine and cotton balls on the glass cabinet and handed them to Jiang Zhuochun.
He took the cotton ball and stuffed it into his nose, staring at Xiang Wan intently: "Xiang Wan, you're so good to me."
Xiang Wan: "..."
Che Nanbei: "..."
"Do you want to see who handed you the cotton ball?!" Che Nanbei's temples were practically bulging with veins.
Xiang Wan's eyelids twitched, even more puzzled as to how the Jiang family could raise such a dim-witted second-generation heir as Jiang Zhuochun.
Moreover, in both this life and the previous one, the most handsome boy in the current year of the affiliated high school was this good-for-nothing.
She looked at his face for a long time and came to a conclusion: he became the school's most handsome boy in this year's affiliated high school because of his hard work and no exaggeration.
After all, shrewdness and social skills are not his strengths.
Seeing that Jiang Zhuochun was alright and the school nurse had returned, Xiang Wan and Che Nanbei went back to the classroom.
When the two returned to the classroom, the next class was already halfway through.
Xiang Wan returned to her seat, but found that Shen Feiyang did not seem to have returned yet. She assumed that he had gone to the restroom and did not pay any attention to it.
It wasn't until Shen Feiyang hadn't returned by the next class that she realized something was wrong.
It wasn't until she saw Gu An'an look over 'unintentionally' for the third time that Xiang Wan was almost certain that it was Gu An'an who had done it.
The child's trick was too clumsy.
Xiang Wan is actually a person who dislikes trouble, but despite the trouble, she still intends to get involved.
She disliked any injustice happening in her territory, which was why she threw water at Gu An'an last time.
Like a king's territorial instinct, Xiang Wan wouldn't allow such dirty and clumsy bullying to appear in her sight.
If she couldn't see it, she could simply ignore it, but since she could see it, she had to stop this childish behavior.
Ignoring that she was still in class, Xiang Wan walked straight up to Gu An'an, her eyes indifferent yet carrying a superior's condescension.
Where is Shen Feiyang?
The atmosphere suddenly became tense, with everyone watching the two of them.
Seeing this, the teacher didn't dare to interrupt the two and could only say lightly, "Let's talk this out."
Gu An'an was under everyone's gaze, her face instantly turning red, her eyes filled with embarrassment and helplessness.
"Where did Shen Feiyang go? How does An'an know?" Li Xinran asked, feeling a little guilty, but still bracing herself.
Li Xinran is Gu An'an's deskmate, one of the three people who were chatting together in the restroom last time.
Children's tricks, even their lies, are full of holes.
Xiang Wan was too lazy to deal with her, and only glanced at her lightly, and Li Xinran fell silent.
The classroom was completely silent until a male voice broke the silence.
"I think I just saw Shen Feiyang go into the equipment room by himself."
Xiang Wan looked up at the back of the classroom where the voice came from, but when she saw who it was, she scoffed.
The speaker was Xu Chengran, the class heartthrob voted by the girls in the class, second only to Jiang Zhuochun, and also the source of this farce.
Gu An'an has a crush on Xu Chengran, but Xu Chengran confesses his feelings to Shen Feiyang, who was originally in Class F. This makes Gu An'an jealous and she makes sarcastic remarks about Shen Feiyang.
However, it wouldn't be fair to say he was entirely innocent. If he truly had no feelings for Gu An'an, why would he step in to help her out at this crucial moment?
But if Xu Chengran really liked Shen Feiyang, why did she stand by and watch coldly when Shen Feiyang was locked in the equipment room by Gu An'an?
His eyes kept unconsciously glancing to the right, proving he was lying. Shen Feiyang didn't enter the equipment room on his own; he was most likely locked in by Gu An'an using some means.
But even though he saw it, he did nothing. Instead, he helped Gu An'an out of a tight spot at this critical moment.
In just a few seconds, Xiang Wan saw through this person, and therefore she despised him.
She glanced at Gu An'an, noticing the infatuation and gratitude in her eyes for Xu Chengran, which had even deepened compared to before. Xiang Wan then looked back at Xu Chengran with a strong sense of irony.
The phrase "beauty is a source of trouble" is the most ironic.
Xu Chengran felt uneasy under her gaze and resisted the urge to touch her nose.
Xiang Wan didn't linger any longer and walked straight out of the classroom toward the equipment room. It was still afternoon, so Shen Feiyang being locked up shouldn't be a big deal.
Behind her, Che Nanbei followed closely, giving Gu An'an and the others a glare as they walked.
The two thought nothing was wrong, but upon entering the basketball court, they realized something was seriously wrong.
Even before they got close to the equipment room, they could hear piercing screams and cries coming from inside.
There were no physical education classes for any of the classes in the afternoon, so the basketball court was completely empty and so dark that you couldn't tell it was still broad daylight outside.
The equipment room, in particular, felt oppressive with the lights off.
The screams inside were as piercing as ghosts, as if they could shatter their eardrums at any moment. The two women paused for a moment, then ran towards the equipment room.
Xiang Wan quickly pulled the mop out of the equipment room, threw it aside, then opened the door and turned on the light.
Che Nanbei followed closely behind, but when he saw Shen Feiyang lying prostrate on the ground, he was so shocked that he was speechless.
The girl, who was bright and cheerful in the morning, was now kneeling on the ground, her hair disheveled, her eyes red and swollen, her small face covered in tears, and her screams were more terrifying than those of a vengeful ghost.
Xiang Wan was the first to recover. She turned off the light, then knelt on the ground and tried to help the person sit up.
"Shen Feiyang, it's alright, it's alright."
"Don't come any closer, get away—get away from me—Aa ...
"Get out—get out—get out!"
Xiang Wan gently hugged her and softly patted her back: "Shen Feiyang, it's alright, it's alright, we're all here."
Che Nanbei was also startled by her scream, but he still stayed quietly with the two of them in the dark out of loyalty.
Shen Feiyang was still screaming, but when he felt warmth, he instinctively hugged the other person tightly.
Her fingernails dug uncontrollably into Xiang Wan's back, but Xiang Wan only frowned slightly and continued to gently pat her back: "The door is already open."
It took a long time for Shen Feiyang to calm down. She stopped screaming, but was still crying. She hugged Xiang Wan tightly, as if she were clutching a lifeline.
Her voice was tinged with grievance: "Why did you take so long to arrive, Xiang Wan?"
"Why did you come just now?"
Her voice was hysterical, as if she were venting the endless grievances and resentment in her heart.
Xiang Wan didn't explain, but she couldn't help thinking about her past life when she died for no reason. Back then, she felt just as wronged as she does now, but had nowhere to vent her frustration.
"Shen Feiyang, don't be afraid."
Her response was her crying.
The three of them stayed in the dimly lit equipment room, not knowing how much time had passed, but after a while, Shen Feiyang's crying finally subsided.
Che Nanbei breathed a sigh of relief and was about to turn on the lights when Shen Feiyang stopped him with a pleading look: "Don't turn on the lights, please."
“…Okay.” Che Nanbei didn’t understand at all, but he did as instructed.
Although she didn't understand why Shen Feiyang was crying so sadly, she put herself in his shoes and thought that if she were locked in the equipment room, she would probably also shed a few tears of fear.
Perhaps Shen Feiyang is a bit more sensitive, she thought.
Since Shen Feiyang transferred to Class A, Che Nanbei has been sitting diagonally in front of her. After getting to know her, Che Nanbei felt that the rumors about her being domineering in Class F were not necessarily accurate.
Some people outside say that Xiang Wan is a cold and aloof beauty, but Che Nanbei feels that only those who have met Xiang Wan know how gentle she is.
The equipment room was very dark, and you couldn't see anything at all without the lights on. But Shen Feiyang was afraid of turning on the lights, so Che Nanbei resisted the urge to turn them on and didn't.
She was still wondering why Shen Feiyang was reacting so strongly, but she didn't expect that what Shen Feiyang said next would also bring tears to her eyes.
That same afternoon, the three girls became true friends...
Shen Feiyang's voice was hoarse from crying for so long and screaming: "I...you should know about the time I got lost when I was a child."
At this point, their expressions changed considerably, especially Xiang Wan's. Neither of them spoke, listening quietly as she continued, but their expressions became noticeably more serious.
"Actually, it wasn't that I got lost... it was that I was kidnapped. I sneaked out to buy ice cream, but I was drugged. I didn't know what happened until I woke up in the pickup truck."
But I was old enough to remember things back then, so I remember everything. It wasn't until I grew up that I learned the person who drugged me was a human trafficker.
"They locked me in a small, dark room. Many children were tied up, unable to get out. We ate, drank, relieved ourselves, and slept all in that room."
That room was always dark. At first, we would cry and scream, but she and her accomplices would whip us. Every time we cried out, they would lash us.
At this point, Shen Feiyang's voice was extremely calm, as if he were talking about something that happened to someone else.
Hearing this, Che Nanbei burst into tears. Born into wealth, she rarely knew of such tragic experiences in the world. Just hearing her account was enough to enrage her. She bent down and hugged Shen Feiyang, silently weeping.
Xiang Wan, who was standing to the side, did not cry, but silently tightened her arms around the two of them.
“She sold me to the mountains, where there were only mountains, one after another. I knew I had been kidnapped, but I couldn’t escape... I could only try not to think about it.”
“That feeling was awful. I cried myself to sleep every night. The traffickers sold me to a family, but they wanted a son. Since I was a girl, they kept beating me…”
In the darkness, Shen Feiyang's eyes were terrifyingly empty.
“They didn’t want me, they wouldn’t pay to buy me, and the traffickers would dump me in a mountain cave as soon as they saw me. That cave was bottomless, and falling in would have meant certain death. It was my adoptive mother’s family who emptied their savings to buy me…that’s how I survived.”
“My mother was very good to me, but the family was also very poor. I had to do a lot of farm work every day. Feeding the chickens and ducks was easy, but the most tiring thing was turning the soil.”
That's why she has so many calluses on her hands. Gu An'an was born into wealth and doesn't know the hardships of life, which is why she can casually tease and joke about Shen Feiyang's rough hands.
Xiang Wan frowned, feeling that the adults in the Gu family should take charge of their child.
"Just when I thought I was going to stay in the mountains for the rest of my life, my parents came."
“It took them five whole years to come.” Shen Feiyang hugged Xiang Wan, hot tears falling drop by drop onto her shoulder.
"...But thankfully they came. I know they love me." The last sentence was spoken softly, as if it were just Shen Feiyang's murmur.
In the equipment room, three girls knelt on the ground, hugging each other tightly.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the basketball court, Xu Chengran, worried that they hadn't returned yet, heard everything and ultimately left in silence...
*
After seeing Shen Feiyang, who had calmed down, into the Shen family's private car, Xiang Wan took a taxi home alone.
Today's events have affected her greatly, and she needs a quiet place to calmly reflect.
However, when she returned to her villa, the maid Wang Yidong told her that a distinguished guest had come to visit...
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