Chapter 77: The escaped agents launched a search
After leaving Sun Mingyuan's house, Zhu Yingning wandered around the streets alone for a long time before returning to Xu Sirui's house.
She looked up at the wedding photo of Xu Zhengkang and Zhou Tianlan hanging on the living room wall, feeling a strange feeling within her. Xu Zhengkang was her financial sponsor; without his support, she wouldn't have been able to attend school and would have been forced to start working early. That was undeniable, but now she truly didn't know how to face him. She no longer had any respect for him, but she also had no right to criticize or correct him. Logically, she should still be humble and grateful to him; hatred was ungrateful, but she couldn't control her feelings.
Fortunately, Xu Zhengkang was not at home, which provided a respite from the inevitable awkward interaction.
Lying in bed, Zhu Yingning suffered from a rare bout of insomnia. She had always been a good sleeper; while she couldn't quite fall asleep the moment she touched the pillow, she rarely tossed and turned. Tonight, however, she found herself unable to sleep, filled with anxiety about Monday.
Sun Mingyuan said that after Xu Sirui's family incident, he switched schools, transferring from his previous junior high school to Sun Mingyuan's. The reason was that too many people in his previous class had heard about his family's affairs, and the rumors, like snowflakes, gradually accumulated into an avalanche. Unable to withstand the devastation of the avalanche, he fled his previous school.
What about this time?
After being exposed by Feng Da, the truth must have spread long ago.
**
Premonitions of misfortune always come true. When Zhu Yingning went to school on Monday, she keenly noticed that the atmosphere at school had changed.
The first person to come up was, of course, Zou Hao, who claimed, "Nothing that happens at school escapes my network of connections." Even before morning reading began, he excitedly ran over to her and Wu Bo and said, "I heard some interesting gossip this weekend."
Zhu Yingning quickly refused, "I don't want to hear it."
However, Wu Bo couldn't help but be curious, and he urged him eagerly, "What gossip? What? I want to hear it! Tell me now!"
"Do you know Xu Sirui?" Zou Hao quoted a meaningful opening remark.
"Of course, I remember that time when Yingning and Zheng Zekai were running, he hit Zheng Zekai with the ball. He was very handsome." Wu Bo showed an expression of endless aftertaste as he recalled.
Zou Hao immediately commented on the last sentence: "You women are superficial."
"You're not superficial anymore, class monitor?" Shao Yanjun, who arrived late, chewing gum, threw his schoolbag, half on his seat and half on Dai Yize's desk, and teased, "How dare you say Guo Yingying is not pretty?"
Zou Hao and Shao Yanjun didn't get along, so he simply ignored her and started gossiping. He was so excited that not only did Wu Bo listen attentively, but Shao Yanjun also leaned forward after sitting down, showing strong interest.
When he finished, Wu Bo's jaw dropped. He said bluntly, "No way, then he won't be able to pass the civil service exam."
"Why are you focusing on this?" Zou Hao pushed his glasses and commented sharply, "Although his mother is in jail, I think two people can be separated by the same bed. His father must be involved as well. I've said long ago that this kind of person is the scum of society. How can they raise a child who has strayed from the right path if their parents are so despicable?"
Zou Hao's words were like a bowstring, piercing Zhu Yingning's left ear and then her right. As his words fell, they continuously rubbed against her fragile eardrum, making a harsh "crunching" sound. She pinched her earlobe and interrupted him before he could utter more sharp comments: "Don't be like that..."
"Um?"
"Don't say that about him."
"What's wrong?" Zou Hao expressed surprise. "Do you also think that handsome people should be forgiven? No way, Zhu Yingning, don't join the ranks of superficial people."
"You don't really understand him, do you?" Her chest felt tight, more powerless and sad than angry. She whispered, "You haven't really gotten to know him, so why do you just assume he's a terrible person?"
"I don't need to get along with him," Zou Hao asserted arrogantly. "I can tell at a glance whether someone is a good student. This isn't arbitrary; it's based on experience."
**
If Xu Sirui were a less conspicuous student, and more of a low-key student, the news of his mother's imprisonment would likely only spark curiosity among his classmates, rather than becoming a widespread public knowledge. Unfortunately, due to the popularity of the variety show "Swap Life," coupled with his own high-profile style and appearance, he became a celebrity in his class and even the entire school. Gossip spread like wildfire throughout the school, like the flu virus.
You can hear bits and pieces of talk about him during breaks, free time in physical education class, study sessions, and even in the cafeteria.
During lunch break, Zhu Yingning went to his class and found, as expected, that he was not in class.
He skipped school.
When she went back after school in the afternoon, his seat was still empty. She heard their head teacher asking Feng Da and Guo Yingying what was going on and whether they knew why Xu Sirui didn't come to class.
Feng Da shook his head and even kindly defended him: "Si Rui may be feeling unwell." Zhu Yingning, who was listening outside, felt that this man was particularly scary. Obviously, Guo Yingying thought so too, and her expression seemed very vague.
"If you can contact him, ask him to come to my office to see me."
The head teacher held the ranking list, finished her instructions, and turned to leave. Zhu Yingning quickly stopped her before she could completely walk away: "Teacher, I'm Xu Sirui's friend. Can I see his ranking? If you have any questions, you can tell me and I'll let him know."
The head teacher was a little surprised, but still handed her the ranking list. Zhu Yingning searched through more than a dozen names before finding Xu Sirui's name. He ranked over 200th in the class. After seeing the ranking, her heart began to beat fast, and the only thought that came to her mind was -
This can't go on.
**
Calling Sun Mingyuan to explain her decision was the result of careful consideration. She did not expect Sun Mingyuan to be so opposed.
"No!" he said anxiously on the other end of the phone, "Everything else doesn't matter, but this one thing is wrong! Have you forgotten that he made my nose bleed last time? In fact, I got punched in the stomach twice, but you didn't see it. You're a girl, he definitely won't hit you, but if he knew you contacted his mother privately, he would definitely break up with you. Zhu Yingning, Xu Sirui is more concerned about his reputation than you think, and..." He organized his words and said tactfully, "Compared to others, he doesn't want you to see him embarrassed."
After hanging up the phone, Zhu Yingning became stubborn. After thinking about it, he looked up Xu Sirui's phone book and called Zhou Tianqing.
Zhou Tianqing seemed to be outside, and there was a whirring sound on the other end of the phone. When she heard that she wanted to visit Zhou Tianlan in prison, Zhou Tianqing was also surprised: "Is this your own decision?"
"right."
"Yingning, Ruirui will be angry, okay?"
"I'm not afraid of him getting angry."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a feather-light sigh. Zhou Tianqing said, "Honestly, I don't know what I can do to be kind to him. Perhaps letting you try wouldn't be a bad idea." After a pause, she said, "However, it's difficult for non-relatives to visit prisoners. Let me think... How about writing a letter? I'll visit my sister in prison next month and I'll bring your letter with me. If you have anything to say, please write it in the letter."
Her eyes lit up: "I see! Thank you, Miss Zhou."
Zhou Tianqing was amused by her awkward name: "Don't call me that, it's too weird. Just follow Ruirui and call me Auntie."
"But... after all, you're Xu Sirui's aunt, not mine." She was a little shy, even though she really wanted to call Zhou Tianqing "Auntie." Perhaps influenced by Zhu Zhiwei, Zhu Yingning naturally felt a sense of closeness towards older sisters who were several years older than her.
"Those grandparents on the street are someone else's grandparents, not ours, but don't we still call them grandparents?"
Such a tough yet reasonable logic.
Zhu Yingning was confused by her and dazedly changed her words: "I understand. Thank you, auntie."
"Hey, baby." Zhou Tianqing laughed heartily on the other end.
**
The matter of writing a letter to Zhou Tianlan was put on the agenda. At the same time, Zhu Yingning did not give up searching for Xu Sirui.
He neither came to school nor went home, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth. He was nowhere to be found. Perhaps knowing that Sun Mingyuan had "betrayed" her, Xu Sirui stopped visiting him. Zhu Yingning could only ask Sun Mingyuan to report to her as soon as he had any news.
“Are we playing Mission Impossible?” he enthused.
"...No, and I think you should be more serious."
"Okay, okay, Agent Zhu."
As for Zhang Lin, unlike Sun Mingyuan, he didn't have the principle of being gentle with girls. He was clearly biased towards Xu Sirui, so much so that Zhu Yingning called him several times, but not only did she not get any news about Xu Sirui, she was also blocked by him.
Thanks to him blocking her, she became more certain that Xu Sirui was with him.
Zhu Yingning still had the address she had obtained from asking Xu Zhengkang. On Wednesday, she asked Zhu Zhiwei for leave and went straight to Zhang Lin's house after school.
Zhang Lin lived in a residential complex with strict security measures, and entry and exit required showing a residence permit. Zhu Yingning didn't have such a thing, and there was no way she could call Zhang Lin to open the door for her. Just kidding, given Zhang Lin's personality, if he heard her voice, he would definitely have the security guards take her away.
After much thought, Zhu Yingning came up with a bad idea.
She decided to climb over the wall.
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