3-3: Bullying (Revised)
Is Bai Wenzhou the man?!
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Huaiyan stopped breathing.
He took a deep breath, thinking that maybe it was just because they shared the same surname.
Although the surname Bai is not very common, it is not impossible.
Moreover...
A student pursued a teacher so much that he even stalked him.
That's too much like a psychopath.
"How fantastical!" 073's eyes widened. "Could he be the person the original owner liked?"
Huai Yan remained silent, her mind a jumble of emotions.
Although I don't want to believe it, it's pretty much true.
A man like Bai Wenzhou, with his superior looks, broad shoulders and narrow waist, and almost no flaws in his entire body.
If it appears during anyone's adolescence, that person is doomed.
Bai Wenzhou was truly too fatal.
Furthermore, the original owner was extremely withdrawn and insecure, so he would inevitably be attracted to people who seemed incredibly dazzling.
Or perhaps Bai Wenzhou helped the original owner in some way.
That's why a seed called love is planted in a young boy's heart.
Huaiyan had no time to listen to what the man on the podium behind her answered.
He kept replaying the girl's shy and timid voice in his mind.
She clearly likes Bai Wenzhou too.
Huai Yan frowned slightly, subtly shifting her gaze away from Bai Wenzhou.
The sound of morning reading gradually grew louder over time.
Huaiyan had several moments of distraction during the study session, but finally couldn't take it anymore. He spread the book out on the table and leaned back slightly.
Upon seeing his action, Gao Jia in the back row immediately understood what the boy wanted to do.
"What's wrong?" Gao Jia asked in a low voice.
The question went through Huaiyan's mind several times.
Finally, taking advantage of the moment when Bai Wenzhou turned around, he whispered, "What's the geography teacher's name?"
When Gao Jia heard this question, he was visibly taken aback at first.
Then, he answered with a slight hesitation, "It seems... his name is Bai Wenzhou? I heard he's Principal Bai's son."
After a few seconds, seeing that Huaiyan didn't react, Gao Jia lowered his voice and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Huaiyan quickly came to her senses, her voice trembling slightly: "N-nothing, let's have dinner together after morning reading."
Young people's thoughts come and go quickly.
Gao Jia didn't press the matter further and happily answered Huai Yan's question.
"It's a ghost!" 073 exclaimed. "It really is a ghost!"
So this is the current situation.
Bai Wenzhou probably already knows that the original owner likes him, and also knows that he has been followed.
Under such circumstances, Bai Wenzhou was still able to deal with Huai Yan without changing his expression yesterday afternoon.
"A divine being!"
073 exclaimed, "He's not embarrassed at all? I'm about to dig my toes into the ground."
Huai Yan remained silent for a moment.
He's the one who should be embarrassed, right?
Not only that, yesterday Huaiyan deliberately approached men and spoke in a soft tone.
Bai Wenzhou doesn't think he did it on purpose, does he?
Huai Yan couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
He knows best whether it was intentional or not.
“You can’t just distance yourself from Bai Wenzhou now.” 073 thought for a while and said, “After all, the original owner used to like him.”
If Huaiyan suddenly started to distance herself from Bai Wenzhou, it would seem like the character was out of character.
Even if Gao Jia doesn't find out, Bai Wenzhou definitely will.
"I know," the boy nodded obediently.
-
After breakfast, Huaiyan and Gao Jia returned to the teaching building.
"Oh, right," Gao Jia suddenly asked, as if remembering something, "You were called to Teacher Bai's office yesterday afternoon, were you alright?"
Upon hearing this, Huaiyan gently shook her head, her voice soft and gentle: "It's...it's alright."
Gao Jia smiled, scratched the back of his head, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good," he said. "I was worried that you would also be scolded and made to cry by Teacher Bai. I heard he's very fierce."
The boy returned a faint smile, his beautiful eyebrows curving upwards.
"No," the boy tried his best to explain to the man, "Teacher Bai even explained the problems to me."
Gao Jia paused in her steps: "Huh?"
The boy was stunned for a moment, then asked somewhat blankly, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Gao Jia's steps returned to normal, and she continued walking forward. "But doesn't Professor Bai usually answer our questions on his phone?"
Because there are no evening self-study sessions and less time for asking questions, the school specially developed a software program.
Subject teachers usually answer questions through the software, which also records their answers.
It is said that at the end of the year, teachers will be ranked according to the number of times they answer questions, and the top ten will receive a bonus.
So no matter what the question is, almost all subject teachers will answer it on the software.
Gao Jia scratched his head and continued, "But since you've already been called to the office, it's definitely more convenient to answer questions face-to-face."
"...That's how it is."
Huai Yan smiled enigmatically.
He understood somewhat.
After parting ways with Gao Jia at the classroom door, Huai Yan went straight to the public restroom at the end of the floor.
"What does Bai Wenzhou mean by this?" 073 asked, puzzled. "Knowing that the original owner liked him, why is he still creating opportunities to be alone with him like this?"
Huaiyan pushed open the door to a cubicle and then replied, "Maybe it's because it's really just too bad?"
Yesterday, the original owner's workbook was covered in red crosses; he only got half of the ten questions right.
073 chimed in, “That’s right, I’ve never seen such a bad student.”
He guessed that the original owner must have suffered some kind of trauma to become like this.
How could a student with average grades, who is still acceptable, have such a low accuracy rate on the questions?
Thinking this, Huaiyan grasped the doorknob of the cubicle, a vague guess forming in her mind.
However, before Huai Yan could think further, he suddenly realized something.
—The cubicle door can't be opened.
It seemed to have been locked from the outside, and there was even a clear sound of the lock clicking shut.
"Who?!" Huaiyan exclaimed in surprise and panic, pushing hard on the cubicle door. "Open the door!"
The person seemed to pause for a moment after hearing the voice.
Then came the sound of footsteps fading into the distance.
Until the bathroom was completely quiet again.
"Open, open the door!" The boy gripped the doorknob anxiously, shaking it back and forth.
But the door to the cubicle remained firmly in place, as if someone had deliberately used something to hold it shut.
There was no sound outside to respond to the boy's anxious shouts.
"What's going on?!" 073 exclaimed in surprise. "Is this considered school bullying?"
Locking someone in a bathroom stall is indeed one of the most common tactics used in school bullying.
"What...what should we do?" Huaiyan's eyes were slightly red as she asked helplessly, "The first class is Bai Wenzhou's, and there will be a test."
Huaiyan would unconsciously become nervous when facing men.
If I don't make it back in time this time, will it be considered an absence?
“Shout a few more times,” 073 frowned. “If that doesn’t work, I’ll come out and help you.”
Huaiyan nodded blankly, tears welling in her eyes.
But it's almost time for class, so there aren't many people coming to the restroom.
The person who locked the door earlier probably knew this, which is why they dared to lock the door from the inside.
"Did you offend anyone yesterday?" 073 asked. "See if you can think of who it was."
Huaiyan leaned against the wall of the cubicle, letting go of the doorknob she was holding.
"No, no." The boy's voice was soft and pitiful. "I've only spoken to Gao Jia, and... and Bai Wenzhou."
Upon arriving at the new location, and given that the original owner of this body was a rather withdrawn person, Huaiyan did not rush to integrate into the class.
Moreover, very few of his classmates showed him any kindness yesterday.
Except for Gao Jia.
Then there's Bai Wenzhou.
Every time Huaiyan sees Bai Wenzhou, she always feels a strange sense of security.
Perhaps influenced by the original owner's strong emotions, his gaze often involuntarily drifted toward the man.
“Then this bullying incident,” 073 paused for a moment and said, “started with the original owner of this body.”
The bullying, which started sometime in the past, has continued to this day.
Just as Huaiyan was about to say something, she heard a series of hurried footsteps outside the door.
"Someone's coming!" 073 said. "Try shouting a few more times and get them to let you out!"
However, no sooner had 073 finished speaking than the newcomer spoke.
The boy stood outside the door shouting, asking the person behind him, "Are you sure this is the third room?"
Huai Yan was startled and narrowly swallowed back the shout that was about to escape her lips.
Then another male voice replied, "That's right, I watched Jia Hui lock the door, it's this one."
Then there was another rustling sound, as if the two people were lifting something up and placing it on the ground.
"Damn it," the boy said with a wicked grin, "I haven't seen him all winter break, and I really miss the feeling of bullying him."
Standing in the cubicle, Huaiyan opened her eyes wide in surprise.
Sure enough, the newcomer was in cahoots with the person who had locked the door earlier.
Not knowing what they would do next, Huaiyan stood quietly in place, her heart pounding.
I doubt they'll come in and start a fight.
After all, it's almost class time now, and if they fight, the noise will be too loud and people will hear them.
Then there must be other methods.
"Have Jia Hui keep watch at the door!"
The boy's voice grew closer, and he turned to another person, saying, "I'll deal with him first; I've been itching to do something lately."
Huai inkstones have a delicate texture and are pleasant to pound.
Recalling the scene of the boy lying on the ground, covered in wounds, sobbing helplessly, the boy couldn't help but feel a little excited.
"Go," he instructed, "call a few more people over, and it would be best to film a video as well."
Another male voice hurriedly echoed, then turned and left the public restroom.
When I returned, there were three or four more people outside the door.
Listening to the noise, Huaiyan squeezed into the narrow cubicle, her long, narrow eyes reddening.
The boy was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe.
After entering the restroom, the group clearly had a specific goal in mind and headed towards the stall at the end where the boy was staying.
The footsteps were so loud that Huaiyan couldn't tell how many people were on the other side.
Suddenly, the door seemed to be pressed down hard by something, and it sank a little.
Every now and then, muffled laughter could be heard from outside the door.
Huai Yan was about to look up.
In an instant.
A bucket of ice-cold water was poured over the boy's head.
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