Throughout the entire school, whether teachers or students, no matter what they were doing at that moment, everyone subconsciously stopped what they were doing.
Ruan Chen sat in the broadcasting room, holding a microphone in one hand and a pen in the other, unconsciously scribbling on the white paper in front of him.
Yu Xiaoya and a group of girls were in the dormitory area, showing Bo Nian's photo to everyone and asking if they had seen him. Suddenly, they heard Ruan Chen's voice, paused for two seconds, and then jumped up in surprise, "It's Ruan Chen! I knew Ruan Chen had a way! Why didn't we think of using the broadcast sooner!"
The school is under semi-closed management. It does not open the gates until noon and evening. There are no other exits. So even though Bo Nian went missing, the school was not very worried because he was sure he couldn't get out of the school.
The school leaders were aware that Bo's grades had been cancelled, but they thought it was just that the child was in a bad mood and was hiding away to vent, so they didn't call the police. They just arranged for students to search the school grounds.
Yu Xiaoya pulled a few girls toward the broadcasting room when her phone dinged.
It's Ruan Chen's information.
Yu Xiaoya glanced at it, her expression changed drastically, and she pulled her classmate aside, whispering, "Let's go to the main teaching building, Bo Nian is on the roof!"
Some girls covered their mouths in surprise, while others were so frightened by the words "top of the main teaching building" that they almost screamed. Yu Xiaoya signaled everyone to be quiet.
"Don't make a fuss."
It was also Ruan Chen's idea to keep quiet. Ruan Chen didn't say much, but Yu Xiaoya understood.
Regardless of why Bo Nian went to the rooftop at that time, if this matter were publicized, it would not only affect the image of No. 1 Middle School, but also label Bo Nian as someone who "threatens to commit suicide over trivial matters" and "students these days have really poor mental qualities." For many years to come, he may live under the strange gaze and pointing fingers of others.
That would be a deeper and more lasting harm.
Therefore, both Ruan Chen and Yu Xiaoya hoped to resolve this matter quietly.
As Ruan Chen's story began, Yu Xiaoya and her friends also called on their reliable classmates and ran towards the main teaching building.
"Do you know, Bo Nian, about three or four years ago, someone like you was someone I couldn't even imagine." Ruan Chen looked at the circle she had drawn on the white paper in front of her, and the memories she had deliberately forgotten gradually became clear in her mind.
Those memories that reek of mildew and decay.
Bo Nian was puzzled by Ruan Chen's first words.
In his heart, someone like Ruan Chen was someone he couldn't even imagine—bright, proud, unrestrained...
Like a rose blooming on its own.
“I came to Jingzhou when I was twelve years old. Before that, I lived in a remote town where it rained all year round, and I was always out of place with my peers.” Ruan Chen’s words flowed like a clear spring.
Bo Nian was subconsciously drawn into Ruan Chen's story.
"It's funny, I didn't even go to school until I was twelve—but where I lived, it was quite normal; girls there didn't go to school. While most girls in Jingzhou were worrying about grades, getting into higher schools, exams, or not being able to buy their favorite pretty dresses or not having enough pocket money from their parents, the girls in my area were thinking about..."
Ruan Chen paused here, and after a five or six-second silence, she spoke again, her tone filled with helpless self-mockery and bitter smile, "I've already said that I can't talk to them. How could I know what they're thinking? I only remember that I would often sit on the threshold back then, watching the water droplets that seeped down from the eaves all year round and wondering when I would die."
Looking at the main teaching building in the distance, Bo Nian frowned, subconsciously sat up straight, and looked towards the broadcasting room.
"Actually, I had no reason to die, so I just lived an ordinary life day after day—but the reason I thought about death was because I couldn't find any meaning in living at that time."
Ruan Chen changed to a blank sheet of paper and continued to doodle randomly, saying, "What is the meaning of life? It's the pursuit of ideals and goals, family, friends and partners, concerns and things you can't let go of... I don't think I had any of those back then."
At this moment, the school was silent. More than 3,000 students listened quietly to the girl's voice. Her tone was calm and composed, and even her bitter laugh revealed a sense of relief towards the past.
But somehow, it still manages to convey an endless bitterness.
“Even now, I don’t have many friends,” Ruan Chen sighed, glancing at the time. Yu Xiaoya and the others should be arriving soon. “But you are one—a very important one.”
I cherish you very much.
She didn't say her name, and it wasn't convenient for her to reveal Bo Nian's name in this setting.
She believed Bo Nian could understand.
"The best years of a person's life are only a few short years, and we are all experiencing our blossoming."
"So I ask you, when we are old and gray years later, when we look back on the past, there will be no regrets or farewells in this memory."
Ruan Chen gently put down the microphone, stood up, crumpled up the few sheets of drawing paper, and threw them into the trash can.
On the rooftop of the bishop's building, Bo Nian was surrounded and supported by a group of people who were nervously dragging him downstairs.
Feng Yuankai's principal's office.
Bo Nian, a psychologist, and Ruan Chen.
At Bo Nian's request, his parents were not called over for the time being.
Two minutes after Ruan Chen finished her speech, Yu Xiaoya ran breathlessly into the broadcasting room, picked up the microphone, and shouted, "Thank you Ruan Chen from the Rocket Class for sharing today's beautiful article! I believe everyone has gained some insights after listening to Ruan Chen's speech! We welcome everyone to actively participate in the discussion on the school forum. The forum assistant will select the top three with the most likes this Friday and send them a beautiful gift!"
Ruan Chen was going downstairs when she heard these words and stumbled.
She managed to smooth things over; that's typical of Yu Xiaoya.
There was a long silence in the office as the psychologist looked at Bo Nian nervously—this boy was too calm, unlike the suicidal people he had previously counseled.
There was neither the weeping and wailing of someone who survived a disaster, nor the frustration and complaints of someone who didn't die.
He remained silent.
The psychologist cautiously poked the window behind him with his finger to make sure it was locked.
“It seems our classmate Bo Nian may not need a psychologist for the time being,” Feng Yuankai said first. “Dr. Deng, please go out first, I’ll talk to this child.”
After the psychologist left, Feng Yuankai asked a question.
However, the person he was asking was not Bo Nian, the class monitor of the Rocket Class who had attempted to jump off the main teaching building a dozen minutes earlier, leaving a significant mark on the history of No. 1 Middle School and incidentally becoming a disgrace to Feng Yuankai's teaching.
He was asking about Ruan Chen.
He sounded quite curious, "Where are you from? Nine-year compulsory education isn't available there?"
Ruan Chen calmly replied, "Didn't Yu Xiaoya say that today's sharing is a beautiful article? I copied it from Reader's Digest, so what? Besides, if I didn't do this sharing, would your career have had a good start and a good end?"
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