Chapter 19 I Am Myself
The passageway is only wide enough for four or five people to pass through, and at the other end is a square open space with a crossroads.
Two men and two women stood behind the girl, their backs to the ripples.
There were also two boys with red, swollen pimples on their faces, their suit jackets open, hands in their pockets, smiling but clearly angry, staring at the girl with ill intent.
His small, single-eyelid eyes gleamed with malice.
Upon hearing Lian Yi's voice, everyone turned to look.
After a brief moment of panic, she realized that Lian Yi was just an ordinary student wearing an unbranded T-shirt and brown cargo pants, looking like she was out for a stroll during her vacation.
They all relaxed again.
Her appearance was indeed outstanding, at least causing the male high school students among them to subconsciously restrain their expressions. They were both amazed at when such a beautiful girl appeared in the school and curious about who she was.
Clearly in the lead of the group, one of the two boys standing in front of the girl immediately flashed a confident and interested smile, put one hand in his pocket, and rubbed his nose with the other.
"Hey classmate, you've misunderstood. We're not bullying anyone, we're doing a good deed!"
People nearby burst into laughter, and immediately others joined in the jeering.
"Yeah! We caught this girl stealing flowers, but she still denies it to the death. She keeps bringing up teachers and the school to pressure us. Isn't that going too far?"
"Hey, which class are you in? I've never seen you before!"
"Don't get me wrong, classmate, we're all good people."
Upon hearing this, the group burst into laughter, exchanged glances, and revealed a smug and superior expression in their eyes.
Lian Yi walked slowly over, standing behind the girl like a wall. The others spread out to the left and right, smiling and staring intently at her.
The boy with red, swollen pimples on his cheeks and nose flicked his bangs, his gaze lingering on Lian Yi's face. Then, he narrowed his eyes, grinned, and asked, "Excuse me, are you a special admission student?"
As he spoke, he shoved aside the girl who was clenching her fists and trembling with anger, and walked towards Lian Yi.
“Oh, I’m also a special admissions student.” Lian Yi glanced at the girl whose profile was visible, feeling somewhat surprised.
The girl's glasses were very distinctive; she was the female student who had specifically reminded Meng Er to be careful on the bus.
The boy tossed his hair until he stood in front of Lian Yi, blocking her view. With his hands in his pockets, he bent slightly forward, his smile somewhat deliberate but confidently natural as he stared at her.
"You've misunderstood. Just like I said, we caught this woman stealing."
He grinned. "We're really not the kind of bad people who bully others. Especially me, my friends all say I have a pretty outgoing personality. If you don't believe me, we can get to know each other better. If you spend some time getting to know me, you'll know I'm not lying to you."
"Yes! I can vouch for it! Our Brother Li is generous and has a great temper! Hehe..."
"Brother Li's family is in real estate. You know Dongjing Garden, right? That's what they developed!"
"Hey! Brother Li is explaining things to his female classmate, why are you talking about this?"
Li Qingshui pretended to be displeased and turned around to scold, "Speak properly, don't scare people."
He turned his head and smiled at her in a rather refined manner, saying, "They're used to joking around, did they scare you? How about I treat you to a cup of coffee as an apology?"
"I just happened to drive here today, so it's convenient for you to go wherever you want."
"Wow, you even have a car?" Lian Yi blinked, her tone of surprise utterly sincere.
Li Qingshui coughed lightly, his slightly oily face beaming with pride, and said with feigned modesty, "It's nothing, just a car worth a few hundred thousand, it only cost me about half a year's allowance."
She said "Oh," with a curious look on her face, "You're saying this girl actually stole flowers? How could she do that—"
“Yes!” Li Qingshui saw her innocent face and her slightly round eyes blinking as clearly as a cat’s, and felt a sudden itch in his heart. “We were also very shocked when we found out about this.”
"It is extremely heartbreaking!"
"oh."
Lian Yi asked doubtfully, "But you say she stole flowers to sell, do you have any evidence?"
Hearing this, the girl became agitated and suddenly turned around, angrily saying, "I didn't do anything like that! They're framing me, classmate—"
She could only vaguely see the boy's figure in front of her, and she gritted her teeth.
"They are not good people, don't trust them!"
The boys next to her immediately changed their expressions, cursing and grabbing her, instinctively wanting to 'punish' her.
Li Qingshui quickly coughed and turned his head, gesturing with his eyes, "Of course a thief won't admit to stealing something, as for evidence..."
The boys immediately understood and smiled, then quickly withdrew their hands and gave the girl a threatening look.
He smiled, his face full of confidence and superiority.
"Hey classmate, I'm not trying to show off, but among the people here, including me, we're all pretty well-known in school. There's no need to just falsely accuse a... girl, right?"
Li Qingshui shrugged helplessly. "I know you may have heard that students admitted through special programs are easily bullied, and seeing this scene, it's easy to misunderstand that we are ganging up on you."
"But think about it, if it were really school bullying, why would we bully her instead of others?"
"You... mmm..."
Just as the girl was about to angrily refute his fallacious reasoning, one of the girls in the group immediately stepped forward and covered her mouth.
“Yes, yes, I think what you said makes a lot of sense.” Lian Yi nodded.
Li Qingshui smiled, casually raising his wrist to reveal a designer watch he had recently begged his mother to buy him, and waved it in front of Lian Yi. "We were originally planning to tell the school about this."
"But considering she's a girl, well, let's just let it go."
Lian Yi's gaze fell on his watch. She paused, but managed to suppress the mocking expression that was about to appear. She said with admiration, "You have such empathy."
"Haha." Li Qingshui noticed the pause in her gaze, and his smile became even more confident. "I wonder if someone as empathetic as me would have the honor of inviting you to dinner? To be honest, you are the most special girl I have ever met."
"Most girls would probably start blaming us without even knowing what happened, but you know what I mean, we didn't do anything."
"By the way, classmate, I still don't know your name."
Lian Yi looked up at him, her gaze slowly sweeping over the people behind him.
The smile on his face vanished without him realizing it, his amber eyes narrowed, his expression turned cold, and his tone was equally indifferent. The voice sounded familiar to the others, but they couldn't quite place where they had heard it before.
"Hello, classmate, my name is Meng Er."
"..."
"???"
Li Qingshui subconsciously took a step back, and the people behind him looked at each other in disbelief. They weren't exactly shocked, but they also had a rather surreal feeling.
The girl, whose mouth was covered, stared in astonishment, making muffled noises as she spoke with some agitation.
"What...did you say?" Li Qingshui asked hesitantly.
He had a very vague impression of Meng Er, the most popular figure at school these past few days, and most students felt the same way. At the school assembly, those of them sitting at the back could only vaguely remember a blurry figure on the stage under the lights.
She does have a good temperament; she's quite aloof.
Photos of Meng Er and Xu Yitong traveling together circulated on the forum at the time, and Li Qingshui and the others had also seen them, but they were all taken from sneaky angles, showing various back and side views.
Is this person Meng Er?
The person who was speaking ill of someone just finished speaking ill of them, and then the person in question suddenly appeared. Is it really that much of a coincidence?
It does seem...quite similar...
At that moment, a boy suddenly shouted, "I remember Meng Er had straight hair!"
Li Qingshui breathed a sigh of relief, suppressed his anger, and forced a smile, saying, "Classmate, you really know how to joke."
He thought about it for a moment and realized what was going on.
"Did you hear what Meng Er said earlier?" He glanced at Lian Yi's face, becoming more patient. "We were just joking around, no harm meant, it was just a joke. You don't have to get really angry about it!"
Lian Yi stared at him expressionlessly until he became somewhat annoyed and lost his patience.
She held the student card between two fingers and waved it in front of Li Qingshui, making sure he could clearly see the name, student ID, and the subtle magnolia flower pattern that only A-level top students had embossed on their student cards.
“I saw everything that just happened here. You guys maliciously framed your classmate, falsely accusing him of theft and damaging his reputation.”
Lian Yi's voice was low and clear, her gaze calm.
"The student has a bad attitude, restricts the student's personal freedom, and has a tendency to commit violence. Do you have any objections to this?"
The cold words struck the boys like a ton of bricks, the feeling of being judged was so intense that it made them instinctively panic.
Li Qingshui was the first to be hit, and it took him a long time to come to his senses before he immediately let out two cold laughs.
"Meng Er, you're talking like it's the truth. Who do you think you are? Are you so great as a student representative? You're showing off to me here. When I was walking around this school like a madman, you, the student representative, were still sitting there memorizing your books!"
He said sternly, "You really think you can have an iron fist, huh? So what if you have the title of student representative? You'll still be working for me when you get out into the world, won't you?"
The boys, who had been somewhat stunned at first, suddenly felt emboldened and started talking all at once.
"Your presence is quite intimidating, not bad, little sister."
"I don't think you're much of a student representative. You even got your hair permed. Tsk, why don't you get big waves?"
"Hehe, why don't I just tie my hair into pigtails?"
Upon hearing this, Li Qingshui's initial sneer gradually turned into smugness. He looked at Lian Yi, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Don't take yourself too seriously, good student! I'm willing to go through the whole process of having a cup of coffee, a meal, watching a movie, and buying two bags with you, and you don't appreciate it."
"Now that things have gotten this bad, how are you going to clean this up, huh?"
He reached out to touch Lian Yi's face, but Lian Yi calmly dodged it slightly, showing no anger at missing. She seemed quite confident, as if she had the victory in her grasp.
Neither of them noticed that the girl, whose mouth was covered, was struggling more and more agitatedly.
The girl was naturally excited. She saw that the group of people already agreed that the girl was Meng Er, but she had actually met Meng Er before, so how could she not recognize her?
The thought of that girl, using Meng Er's name, attracting such a group of rich second-generation scumbags made her struggle even harder.
But the girl covering her mouth was very forceful; she was almost crying, and was still dragged back a few steps.
Another girl walked over at this moment, her expression somewhat strange.
"Why does she call herself Meng Er?"
"...How would I know!" The girl was stunned, and then she heard the girl covering her mouth mutter a curse in a low voice, sounding somewhat irritated.
"Today, your brother will teach you a lesson."
Li Qingshui found it quite annoying to be looked at like that. It wasn't even with disgust or contempt, but rather an invisible disdain. She just stared at them coldly, especially after he had spoken so passionately.
That look in his eyes was as if he were looking at a group of clowns.
His smile was somewhat distorted. "I'll help you reshape your values so you know what happens when you're incompetent but still try to show off."
"oh."
Lian Yi remained expressionless, took out her phone from her pocket, unlocked it, and said calmly while tapping the screen, "Student representatives have no right to show off. Does the student council even exist?"
Li Qingshui assumed she was still putting on a brave face and trying to find someone to help her, and scoffed, "Of course I do! Of course I do!"
"But."
He said sarcastically, "Who doesn't have a few friends in the student council? What, you managed to make connections so quickly just because of your face? Which brother in the student council is it? Tell me."
Lian Yi ignored his almost blatant mockery, opened the video sent by Meng Er, and turned the screen in front of them.
The images on the screen are the projections inside the glass greenhouse.
Jingyun never skimps on software and hardware facilities, and its monitoring footage is extremely high-definition.
Although part of the girl was hidden by the flowers, Li Qingshui and the others surrounded her with undisguised malicious expressions, occasionally shoving her, and there were scenes of the two of them fiddling with her shoulder straps, which the girl angrily brushed away, and then laughing without restraint.
All of them are included.
Li Qingshui's expression turned ugly for a moment, then relaxed slightly, squinting his eyes and saying disdainfully, "I know, you have some connection with Xu Yitong, right? You got the surveillance footage from him? So what?"
"The surveillance footage has clearly recorded what you did."
Lian Yi's voice was icy, and her tone was calm as she said, "As for the fact that you framed this student..."
"What I say is evidence."
Li Qingshui completely disregarded her words and sneered, "Oh, what should we do then? Why don't you call the police?"
“It seems this student has a very pragmatic and truth-seeking spirit.” Lian Yi looked up at him, her amber eyes seeming to flow with a honey-gold luster under the light shining through the glass.
She said calmly, "It's alright, I forgive your ignorance."
"With your intelligence, it's normal that you can't get good grades, and your extracurricular activities are not as good as others. You can only do nothing and waste your time at school. It's normal that you don't have access to this kind of information."
She faced several boys whose anger levels were clearly reaching their peak with each of her words.
Lian Yi said calmly, "Every year, student representatives receive an invitation to join the student council. Unfortunately for you, the invitation I received this time came from the student council's auditing department."
She glanced at Li Qingshui, whose expression had stiffened slightly, and almost laughed.
But I managed to hold it in.
Jingyun's decision to delegate authority to the student council was a seemingly cunning but actually very effective strategy.
The inspection department is responsible for supervising students, handling disputes, and recording demerits. It even has the authority to recommend to the school that a student be expelled based on their misconduct.
Usually, as long as the recommendation is approved by an internal meeting of the audit department, the school will agree to its implementation.
This is precisely where the student council's power to restrain Jingyun students lies.
Students from privileged backgrounds are given particular attention. Being within the established rules, they can flaunt their family wealth and connections, and are naturally subject to its constraints.
Of course, this is only a visible constraint, which the student council cannot see, so there is no need for investigation or handling.
Li Qingshui vaguely felt that he was in an awkward position. More importantly, he clearly sensed that the guys behind him who usually followed him and caused all sorts of trouble were obviously afraid and silent.
“Even if…” He paused, then changed the words that were about to slip out, “Meng Er, there’s no need to make things so tense. After all, we’re classmates.”
"Besides, you're capable; you've made it into the student council."
He glanced back and said, “But there are always people who can’t do it, right? The school is so big, there are always places that the surveillance cameras can’t see. I didn’t mean anything by it, I just said it casually.”
Lian Yi looked calmly at the people behind him.
"I will report the entire process of this incident to the minister, but it is mostly my personal subjective opinion. If you have different opinions or want to defend yourselves, you can tell me now."
She held her hands to her chest, her expression indifferent.
"The second semester will mark the 50th anniversary of Jingyun School. The school does not want to see any negative situations among the students. I think you should be very clear about this. Please report this matter to higher authorities."
She tapped her phone lightly with her fingers resting on the back, "It is indeed a very good deterrent case."
The three boys' expressions immediately changed.
They were used to being arrogant because of Li Qingshui, but that was only because the people who were bullied dared not speak up, and the people who weren't bullied didn't take them seriously.
Li Qingshui's family is indeed richer than theirs. Their family is in the building materials business, so they inevitably have to rely on his family.
But that doesn't mean they have to become loyal dogs and stick to their principles even if they face the possibility of being expelled from school, right?
If I were really expelled from school, I'd definitely be beaten to death by Seven Wolves when I got home!
“I really did something wrong, Meng, Officer Meng.” A slightly chubby boy looked like he had eaten shit, and stammered, “I really didn’t mean any harm. I just thought it was fun and didn’t mean to do anything.”
The first person spoke up and expressed their opinion.
After the other two boys gave him disdainful looks, they immediately rushed to defend themselves.
"Yes, the main reason is that Brother Li doesn't like her. I think as long as she gives me the flowers, that's enough. I can't make things difficult for her."
"……right!"
Lian Yi nodded slightly, her tone cold and serious, "So you mean he orchestrated this whole thing, and you were coerced?"
"..."
Is that what they mean?
The three boys exchanged bewildered glances, but vaguely felt that if they admitted this, they would suddenly become... somewhat innocent?
So, under Li Qingshui's almost murderous glare, they quickly nodded.
"We would never do anything that violates school rules!"
"Hold!"
Li Qingshui was truly enraged this time. He wasn't tall, but he was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. Although he hadn't exercised much, the punch he threw at one of the boys in anger was surprisingly powerful.
Not only did it knock the man to the ground, but blood also gushed from the boy's nostrils.
His eyes were squinting from the pain, tears streaming down his face, and he cursed, "Li Qingshui, are you fucking crazy?"
The other two boys, who had initially seemed indifferent, immediately panicked when they saw Li Qingshui snorting and staring at them with bloodshot eyes.
"Brother Li, calm down, okay? This really has nothing to do with us!"
"Meng, you saw that, right? When he goes crazy, he even hits us!"
Li Qingshui wasn't unwilling to take action against Meng Er, but even in this moment of rage and dizziness, he was still very clear that his willingness to take action against the student council's inspection department was not as simple as just being expelled from school.
The student council members are almost all top figures in the second-generation elite circles.
They might not really care about a specially admitted student who was given a special admission to the student council because of their excellence.
However, in order to uphold the collective honor, they will ensure that he is completely forgotten in this circle, which is precisely why the school is willing to delegate power.
Regardless of what happens in private, in public, everyone should always maintain good manners, style, and a good image.
Therefore, Li Qingshui took action against these three people to scare them and let them know that if they dared to push him out to be the unlucky guy who would take all the blame.
Will they be able to withstand his retaliation afterward?
Just as Li Qingshui was panting heavily and walking towards the two boys...
The girl's cold, indifferent voice came from behind him.
It was a light, slightly doubtful suggestion, as if it were a sincere one.
"Li seems to have really lost his mind. Are there really no three of you who can control him?"
"..."
When people are afraid, they often forget that they actually have the ability to resist. Just like these two boys, when they saw their companion sitting on the ground with a bloody nose, all they could think about was the fear of Li Qingshui walking towards them.
It wasn't until Lian Yi spoke that they suddenly realized what was going on and exchanged a glance.
They were all people who spent all night playing games and going to bars, so neither of them looked down on the other. With a slight numerical advantage, the two boys pinned the struggling Li Qingshui to the ground with bruises on their faces.
The two men knelt down on him, one in front and one behind. One of them looked up and instinctively put on a fawning smile as he looked at Lian Yi. "Officer Meng, we've got him under control. What do you think we should do next?"
Li Qingshui tried to struggle, but the two men tightened their grip even more, shouting, "Behave yourself!"
The perpetrators believed they were doing something righteous, and their expressions and tone became even harsher towards the 'big brother' they had previously subtly revered.
“Ahem…and that report…” Another boy coughed lightly, then frowned and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva to the side.
"Report?"
Lian Yi smiled, the coldness on her face instantly melting away, and looked down at them with her slightly rounded eyes.
The two boys were somewhat lost in thought, subconsciously avoiding her gaze, their hearts pounding a little faster.
Although Meng Er is quite good-looking even when she's not smiling, when they smile, they lick their lips in unison, which is really alluring.
"Of course I won't write the report."
Hearing her voice, which had been tinged with laughter, the two boys didn't notice the change. They were only happy to have escaped a disaster and quickly looked up. However, before they could even catch their breath, they felt a sharp pain in their chests.
"A bunch of idiots, you've wasted my time putting on this show for so long."
Lian Yi smiled maliciously, kicking them down one by one, then stomping hard on Li Qingshui's back, leaning slightly forward to meet several pairs of shocked and puzzled eyes.
It's really troublesome when it's not her home turf.
With no followers by her side, Lian Yi kicked hard in annoyance at the thought.
Hearing Li Qingshui's groans of pain, she was finally somewhat satisfied.
Seeing Meng Er's sudden change, the boys were completely bewildered, opening their mouths but unable to utter a single word.
"I miss people like you who are both stupid and wicked."
Feeling the struggle beneath her feet, Lian Yi exerted a little force. She suddenly tilted her head and looked to the side at the two girls who had been completely invisible since she came in, as well as the girl whose mouth was covered.
"Hey, you two..."
Lian Yi paused, thinking about how to say it.
But the two girls immediately looked slightly frightened and walked over. One of them didn't even let go of the girl's hand, and brought her over as well.
Seeing this expression, Lian Yi understood somewhat. "You know me?"
“We met in June at Wu Yanan’s hotel opening ceremony…” a girl said softly.
“There were a lot of people there, so you don’t remember us,” another girl explained.
In fact, even though there weren't many people, they were well aware that Lian Yi couldn't possibly remember them.
Wu Yanan is considered the eldest sister figure in her circle of girlfriends. She founded her own hotel brand before she was even 25 years old, which is really cool and impressive for these young girls who still have to ask their families for money.
Even so, Lian Yi just casually strolled over, and Wu Yanan changed her usual attitude of chatting and laughing with people while always maintaining social distance.
They greeted her with boundless enthusiasm, calling her "baby" repeatedly.
Even so, she didn't seem very enthusiastic. She glanced at the hotel's decor and even bluntly said that the style was incredibly tacky. Wu Yanan just smiled and made a self-deprecating joke about her own taste without changing her expression.
They were deeply impressed by this, watching Lian Yi wander around and then leave without showing any anger.
Afterwards, Wu Yanan did not introduce Lian Yi to them. She only said that Lian Yi was an only child from a prominent family. Not to mention her family, the assets of her parents alone were enough for everyone present to look up to.
Therefore, when the two girls saw Lian Yi appear, they knew very well that she couldn't be Meng Er.
But they didn't dare to expose her, and to exaggerate, they even wished they could go up and cooperate with this young lady's performance.
"oh."
Lian Yi glanced at them with her slightly rounded eyes, said nothing, but simply raised her chin and nodded toward the flower bushes to the side.
"Since that's the case, do me a favor and pick some branches to make a rope to tie them up."
"ah?"
The two girls paused, their gazes instinctively drawn to the lush flowerbed, where sharp thorns hidden among the leaves and branches were faintly visible.
Lian Yi smiled slightly, "What's wrong? Don't you know me? Can't you even help with this little thing?"
The girls' expressions changed repeatedly. They glanced at their manicured, fair, and delicate hands, still somewhat hesitant.
But when they met Lian Yi's quiet, smiling gaze, they vaguely understood. They could only turn pale, release the girl, and walk step by step into the flower bushes.
No matter how careful you are, you still have to use force to break a branch.
Moreover, they had to be tied together as Lian Yi requested to become a rope for binding people. The two girls lowered their heads and pulled on the branches, occasionally letting out a cry of pain. By the end, their eyes were red, and occasionally tears could be seen falling.
The three boys sat dumbfounded on the ground. The boy who had been punched by Li Qingshui directly in front of the door had slightly unfocused eyes and was gagging from time to time. The other two were clutching their chests, panting heavily.
Li Qingshui was completely immobilized. When the two boys restrained him, they didn't know if it was out of personal revenge, but they used a lot of force.
When the girl was released, she looked at the scene before her and her mind was almost completely blank.
"you……"
She paused, then shut her mouth.
She didn't know who this girl who suddenly appeared was, nor did she approve of the girl impersonating Meng Er to do these things.
but--
If these boys knew she wasn't Meng Er, and without the intimidation of the student council, she didn't know what they would do in their anger.
The girl wiped the sweat from her face, lowered her head, and said, "Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?" Lian Yi looked at her amusedly. "You don't think I'm helping you, do you? Classmate, I understand how you feel, but I really disapprove of this kind of casual attempt to build relationships."
The girl's eyes widened in surprise. She adjusted her glasses, which had slipped down to the bridge of her nose, and her face flushed slightly. "No... that's not what I meant. It's because I really received your help that I..."
"Then you should just thank me quietly, why are you talking to me?"
Lian Yi slightly raised her chin, and even though she wasn't as tall as her, she still looked at her arrogantly, "You're making it easy for me to misunderstand. You want to get to know me so you can have a big tree to lean on and not be bullied in the future."
"I didn't!" The girl was so angry at being misunderstood that she couldn't speak, but she still wanted to explain.
"If you don't have it, just leave. What are you still doing here?" Lian Yi smiled wickedly.
"I'm going to stay here and tell the teachers what happened when they arrive." The girl pursed her lips, looking aggrieved. "I just saw that the surveillance cameras stopped working. If they lie later, I can testify."
"Quite thoughtful," Lian Yi thought with a hint of surprise, then chuckled, "If your words had any effect, I think they wouldn't be so reckless anymore, right?"
"In short, I'm not leaving."
The girl was stubborn, so she simply stopped talking, glanced at the two girls crying and tearing at branches beside her, pursed her lips, turned her head away and stood there without looking at either of them.
This was the first time Lian Yi had ever encountered such a 'victim'.
No, it's not the first time.
She kicked the person beneath her a couple of times, somewhat bored, and said to the girl over there, drawing out the last syllable, "Are you done yet—?"
"..."
"alright."
The two girls had no knitting experience, but under inexplicable pressure, they somehow managed to figure it out. They intertwined the branches, creating something that was not aesthetically pleasing but surprisingly sturdy.
They even carefully tied a knot at the joint with a branch to secure it.
"Handling the knife," Lian Yi said, holding the crudely made 'long rope,' "you guys seem quite adept at it."
Upon hearing this, they lowered their heads somewhat awkwardly.
"Hmm, do me one more favor, use this to tie them up."
They raised their heads instantly, meeting Lian Yi's smiling face. They trembled and could only submit to this tyranny.
Did you bring perfume?
After they could no longer bear to look directly at the people being tied together, Lian Yi smiled with satisfaction, a sweet smile that sent chills down their spines.
The person is under control, and the props have been borrowed.
Lian Yi held the thickest branch she had specially chosen in her left hand and the perfume bottle in her right. After thinking for a moment, she switched hands.
Then he stood high up in front of the four boys and raised his hand.
…
…
When Lian Yi and her group walked out of the glass greenhouse, everyone had different expressions.
Lian Yi's face was beaming with smiles. She raised her hand and announced, "It's really great to meet a few of you in Jingyun. Let's walk to the equestrian center!"
Behind her, the girl's expression was stiff, and she didn't even have the thought of expressing her opinion, numbly following behind Lian Yi.
He would look back every now and then, his expression growing increasingly numb.
She felt that this scene was truly inexplicable, impossible to explain clearly, so she decided to drop out of school and drop out herself as well.
Behind Lianyi and the girl was a rather peculiar sight.
The two girls had stiff, almost frozen expressions, each holding a vine in one hand.
The vines were connected to the dark green ropes binding Li Qingshui, and the rope loops around him led to a boy with a dazed expression, and behind that were two boys with hunched backs.
The expressions on their faces were all identically numb.
They never imagined they would have the privilege of experiencing what... punishment is.
Now, just thinking about the smile of that slightly curly-haired girl makes them ache all over reflexively. The time they spent in the glass greenhouse felt like an eternity.
In a daze, they even thought they heard the girl say something to them: "A wise man submits to circumstances," "Will you confess or not?"
The skin beneath the sleeves and trouser legs, raw and torn from being pulled out and then sprayed with perfume, now looked as if countless ants were crawling on it.
They had to admit that they truly regretted it.
If time could really be turned back, they would not only not have stopped the girl with glasses, but would have even been willing to line the street to see her off.
Right now, the group didn't even have time to think about their situation, just standing there blankly as the two girls led them away.
-
"absurd!"
"This is absolutely outrageous!"
"Jingyun School has been established for nearly fifty years. When has such a thing ever happened before!"
"Students fighting? Huh? And then publicly parading them through the streets in such an insulting manner! Is this some kind of rebellion?"
In conference room number three of the teachers' building, a bald, slicked-back middle-aged man was furious. He slammed his hand on the table in front of him with every word he spoke, and in the end, he paced back and forth in anger.
"This matter must be severely punished! It must be dealt with seriously!"
The conference table in front of him was occupied by teachers on one side and students on the other.
Interestingly, the students sitting at the conference table with their teachers all appeared calm and composed, some even with smiles on their faces. Jingyun's student uniforms looked very appropriate on them, and they were in no way inferior to their teachers in terms of presence.
Inside the vice principal's office.
Despite her advanced age, the vice principal, still possessing the charm of her youth, silently observed the unsettling scene in her office.
As soon as the patrolling security guards discovered and learned about the situation, the school had already contacted the parents of the student involved.
The school doctor was immediately arranged to examine and provide initial treatment to the injured student.
It is said that when the school doctor saw several injured male students, he blurted out, "Wow, who's resorting to vigilante justice in our school?"
The vice principal rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache. The school's 50th anniversary celebration was approaching, and it was a ceremony that many alumni who had graduated from Jingyun and were now successful would attend.
This is a grand event that will inevitably attract great attention from society.
It also greatly boosted Jingyun's fame.
The school takes this matter very seriously, yet this has happened, which is extremely serious in itself, especially given the timing.
According to those male students, the perpetrator was actually Meng Er.
The vice principal was increasingly troubled. She had initially chosen this girl at first sight and decided to specially recruit her into the school. Unexpectedly, before Meng Er could even shine in the final exams, she swept various competition awards.
Instead, I received such a big surprise first.
A knock sounded amidst her rapidly racing thoughts. The vice principal's expression hardened slightly, his face conveying an air of authority without anger. "Come in."
The main door was pushed open to the left and right.
The secretary led the two girls in.
The vice principal looked down at the documents on the table, ignoring the secretary's whispered message and not even glancing at the visitor. His gaze remained fixed on the documents, occasionally picking up a pen to make a note or two.
Under this invisible, silent pressure.
The girl with glasses, whose expression had been resolute, changed, and her heart began to pound. She still didn't believe that she was in the wrong.
But... she also knew very well that the girl's subsequent actions had complicated the matter.
But no matter what, the matter arose because of her, and I cannot and should not back down.
The girl suppressed the fear welling up inside her, her gaze gradually hardening. She turned to look for Lian Yi, and then couldn't help but gasp.
Lian Yi was sitting on the cold sofa, looking somewhat disgusted, when she saw the girl staring at her as if she had seen a ghost.
She tilted her head in confusion, then tore a bunch of grapes from the fruit plate on the table and popped them into her mouth one by one.
The girl's glasses couldn't hide her wide, astonished eyes. Lian Yi paused, hesitated, then reached out her hand and raised it slightly, the gesture quite obvious.
"On the hour?"
The girl shook her head rapidly with a look of terror on her face.
The vice principal didn't look up, but she clearly heard a sharp, abrupt gasp in the quiet office. She subtly curved her lips into a smile for a moment, before reverting to her stern, authoritative expression.
"Meng Er, is there anything you want to say?" She scribbled on the document, all of which were English translations of the text above.
"...the principal."
The girl spoke hesitantly, her voice slightly timid. It wasn't Meng Er's voice. The vice principal frowned, his pen pausing.
"She is not Meng Er's classmate."
The vice principal suddenly looked up and saw only a female student wearing glasses standing in front of his desk. He then looked behind her.
On the sofa, a girl with long, slightly wavy hair and delicate features smiled without fear when her eyes met hers, even raising her hand to wave at her, looking incredibly sweet and adorable...
The vice principal snapped out of her daze; the realization that it wasn't Meng Er brought her a slight sense of relief.
He immediately took another breath.
And who is this?!
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