Meng Ting didn’t know how to explain. After a long pause, she softly said, “I’m not afraid. Will you be alright?”
His eyes sparkled with mirth as he lazily replied, “Of course not. What’s he to me? Alright then, go back to class, good student.”
Jiang Ren spoke with such certainty and nonchalance that Meng Ting finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was then that she realized she had been out for too long without even asking for leave. Meng Ting froze for a moment, then nodded. Jiang Ren hailed a taxi and sent her back to school.
When they arrived, it was break time at the school.
The campus of No. 7 High School was bustling with noise. He watched her but didn’t get out of the car. If his reputation was only slightly tarnished before, now it could be described as extremely notorious.
It was said that Chen Shuo in the hospital still hadn’t woken up.
But Meng Ting was different. She was so beautiful that when she smiled, it was as if all the sunlight in the world adored her.
Many times when Jiang Ren had accidentally encountered Meng Ting, she was quiet amidst the crowd, yet countless people would steal glances at her.
He was looking at her too, but because he knew his reputation, he couldn’t even greet her like others did. She wasn’t like Shen Yuqing or Lu Yue.
She didn’t like him.
Jiang Ren was very clear about this. He had a scale in his heart. Meng Ting came to see him out of guilt and sympathy. If he hadn’t beaten up that scum, even if he was in jail, Meng Ting wouldn’t have come to see him. But damn it, guilt? He didn’t need that stuff.
She was the most special beauty of No. 7 High School.
Just looking at her, without speaking, felt wonderful.
When Meng Ting looked back, the black-haired youth was already walking toward the vocational high school.
He sauntered in carelessly.
The security guard looked at him several times, and people around turned to stare. Their eyes were curious, but they didn’t dare to discuss him. Only after he left did they dare to whisper, “Jiang Ren is so badass.”
To be so calm after such an incident, was simply incredible.
The students of that year were far less mischievous than those a few years later. They were discreet about puppy love, afraid of the police station, and also afraid of being expelled from school. Even though the vocational high school was a bit more chaotic, usually they would just smoke, drink, and talk tough. Who would dare to be like Jiang Ren, who without a word would viciously beat someone half to death?
Jiang Ren’s incident caused a great stir among the vocational high school students.
Chen Shuo had been beaten unconscious by him. If no one had pulled him away, Chen Shuo might have lost his life. Although Jiang Ren was released so quickly, it wouldn’t be over so simply.
A large sum was paid for medical expenses, and the incident caused a huge commotion around.
Even the surrounding residential areas knew that there was a thoroughly bad student at the vocational high school who had intentionally injured someone. This incident also had a big impact on the school. They recruited new students every quarter, and if Jiang Ren stayed, it would affect their enrollment.
Such a big incident was reported back to B City.
Chairman Jiang was so angry he nearly blacked out, saying the school should strictly discipline Jiang Ren. He wouldn’t intervene in this matter.
Thus, a rumor spread that the vocational high school planned to make Jiang Ren read a self-criticism next Monday.
It’s unclear how this news spread, but by Monday’s flag-raising ceremony, many people at No. 7 High School knew about it.
“My goodness, Jiang Ren is going to read a self-criticism in front of the whole school? Will he lose his temper and hit someone?”
“I guess he won’t read it.” After all, with so many people watching, given Jiang Ren’s temperament, it was already good that he hadn’t dragged Chen Shuo out to beat him to death. How could they expect him to apologize?
“I heard that when Jiang Ren first came to their vocational high school, he was given a demerit for skipping classes and fighting. The teachers didn’t dare to make him apologize.”
…
The class was buzzing with chatter when someone suddenly said, “Their vocational high school usually uses a microphone for Monday speeches.”
The microphone was very loud. The vocational high school always used a microphone for their summary meetings. This was because the students were too noisy, and the microphone’s sound was clear. No. 7 High School didn’t use one, relying instead on the disciplinary teacher’s shouting and intimidation to subdue the students. Fortunately, the students of No. 7 High School were well-behaved and easy to manage.
Now, remembering the microphone, everyone got excited!
That meant they could hear what was happening over there from where they stood.
Meng Ting raised her eyes. Between their two schools, there was only a distance of two walls and a small alley. She looked up and could only see the high wall, with birds flying over.
With his terrible temper, so domineering and unreasonable, would he obediently accept punishment and read a self-criticism?
Jiang Ren had no intention of reading the self-criticism.
He was in the office listening to the teacher. Their homeroom teacher was surnamed Liu, a small old man in his fifties.
Teacher Liu rambled on about a lot of things, saying that an apology would suffice and that Jiang Ren was a student of the vocational high school and should consider the school’s reputation. If he continued fighting and showed no remorse, it would be bad for the school’s reputation.
Jiang Ren stood with his hands in his pockets, his jaw muscles occasionally flexing as he chewed gum.
Although he didn’t speak and seemed indifferent, Teacher Liu felt uneasy.
“Just read a self-criticism, go through the motions, and apologize to Chen Shuo. Think about how badly you beat him up.”
Jiang Ren snorted derisively.
Teacher Liu couldn’t maintain his composure. “Can’t you stop eating while talking to a teacher? Spit it out!”
He calmly said, “I want to smoke, haven’t quit yet.”
Teacher Liu: “…” Well, at least it was better than smoking.
He talked for a long time, then said to Jiang Ren, “The self-criticism is here. This is… a template. Just read it as it is.”
Jiang Ren glanced at it.
Someone had ghostwritten it, and it was indeed a standard self-criticism. He didn’t reach out to take it.
He Junming poked his head in from outside. “Reporting, teacher! I’m looking for Jiang Ren!”
Teacher Liu: “He Junming! This is the office, I’m in the middle of a lecture!”
He Junming grinned, “Ren-ge, Tanzi, and the others brought the car over. They’re asking if you want to go play at Xiaogangcheng.”
Jiang Ren made a sound of acknowledgment, seemingly no longer interested in listening to Teacher Liu’s nonsense.
Teacher Liu was fuming.
These… these unruly students.
Teacher Liu, not holding much hope, said again, “Jiang Ren, look at how big an impact this incident has had, how bad your reputation has become. Not just in our school, even the neighboring No. 7 High School knows you now. You’re a student, not a gang leader. Students are afraid of you when you walk by, is that right?”
Having been a teacher for decades, he couldn’t help but blurt this out.
Jiang Ren suddenly turned his head.
The youth’s eyes were pitch black.
Teacher Liu suddenly fell silent.
Then Jiang Ren walked over. Teacher Liu, remembering the incident of a teacher being beaten up in class before, almost instinctively stepped back. He saw Jiang Ren pick up the paper from the desk.
He Junming nearly burst out laughing, “Ren-ge, are you going to read the self-criticism?”
Jiang Ren made a sound of agreement.
He Han was also confused. They had originally planned to go out and play, but Ren-ge suddenly changed his mind and decided to go on stage to read the self-criticism. What for?
Fang Tan had He Junming explain the situation.
Fang Tan finally said thoughtfully, “Meng Ting hasn’t come to see him since that day. He’s unhappy, isn’t he?”
When he mentioned Jiang Ren being unhappy, everyone fell silent.
Jiang Ren had indeed been unhappy since returning from the police station that day. For four days, sometimes he didn’t even go play basketball, just lying on his desk sleeping.
He was still troubled by the beating incident.
His ferocity and madness at that time had all been seen by Meng Ting. When he was put into the police car, he didn’t even look back at her. Even when he returned to school that day, the smile at the corner of his mouth had disappeared.
For the first time, Jiang Ren realized that he and Meng Ting were growing further apart.
However, Meng Ting was almost an impossible person for him.
He no longer dared to freely seek her out or block her way home. Because his reputation was too bad, and Meng Ting didn’t like him, she naturally wouldn’t take the initiative to approach him.
But no one expected that Jiang Ren would read the self-criticism.
After the principal finished his speech, he walked onto the stage.
The youth’s black hair had grown a bit longer, his eyes still carrying a hint of unruly roguishness.
As soon as he went up, everyone below fell silent for a moment, then he lazily smiled and said, “I’m Jiang Ren, here to read my self-criticism.”
Suddenly, there was thunderous applause from below, along with cheers and whistles.
The sound from the microphone carried over to No. 7 High School, drowning out the voice of the teacher who was summarizing last week’s work.
The students of No. 7 High School were excited to the point of flushed faces!
Damn! Jiang Ren was going to read a self-criticism.
Zhao Nuancheng widened her eyes, “My goodness, how did he suddenly become so… cooperative?”
Meng Ting also looked a bit dazed. She shook her head, indicating that she didn’t know either.
Because Jiang Ren had beaten Chen Shuo, Shu Zhitong and Shu Yang were completely liberated. After all, the one who had beaten someone into serious injury was already dealing with the aftermath, so naturally, they didn’t have to compensate for their accidental minor injury anymore.
Shu Zhitong sighed, “What kind of people did this Chen Shuo offend? They were so vicious. These students, ah, tsk tsk.”
Over there, the microphone was clear. Jiang Ren spoke nonchalantly, “Beating people is wrong. I apologize to that… whoever. Hope he gets out of the hospital soon.”
He Junming almost burst out laughing. Ren-ge couldn’t even remember the guy’s name.
Jiang Ren looked at the paper in his hand and slowly read, “In the future, I will love my classmates, mend my ways, and hope that my classmates can forgive me and believe that I can change. Also, don’t learn from me. The reason I beat him up…”
Jiang Ren continued lazily, “I didn’t like the look of him.”
Everyone below was dumbfounded.
After he finished reading the inspirational nonsense, He Junming led a crazy round of applause, “Great!”
Everyone stupidly followed and started applauding.
The applause was endless.
The students of No. 7 High School next door, who were listening intently, were also stunned. Could the reason for beating someone up be so casual?
Awesome!
The principal’s face changed several times before finally saying, “Alright, you can go down now.”
Jiang Ren ignored him. He picked up the microphone and suddenly curved his lips, “I was wrong. If the students from No. 7 High School next door heard this, give me a round of applause too.”
This was truly insane!
However, in No. 7 High School, some troublemakers took the lead, and intermittent applause began to rise.
Zhao Nuancheng, despite not liking him, couldn’t help but think this guy was too wild. He was completely different from everyone else who followed the rules, born with a rebellious spirit. Zhao Nuancheng also joined in the fun, clapping hard, “Oh my god, hahaha, this is hilarious. He’s so awesome.”
The disciplinary teacher of No. 7 High School turned green, “What are you all making a fuss about? Be quiet, all of you! Do you still want to be evaluated as an advanced class? If I see any class causing a disturbance again, I’ll deduct points from your conduct scores!”
However, this tactic of not punishing the masses failed when everyone was in an uproar.
Almost all classes were out of control.
He Han, hearing the applause from next door, almost laughed himself silly, “Ren-ge is so badass.”
Fang Tan clicked his tongue.
Jiang Ren did all this just to make sure she could hear it.
No. 7 High School was in an uproar for the first time, with people watching the commotion, sighing, and joining in the noise-making.
He said he was wrong.
If you heard it, give a round of applause.
Admitting fault in front of everyone would make anyone feel uncomfortable.
Meng Ting stood in the middle of the crowd, remembering his frenzied fighting that day. She gently curved her lips and, along with everyone else, applauded for his self-criticism.