Rong Jin vaguely felt that something was off.
That night, she had stood up the band and bolted, leaving the band members quite resentful toward her. So, she took a day off to go back and sort things out with the band.
The moment she stepped through the school gates today, she sensed people behind her pointing and whispering. But when she turned to look, they averted their gazes and hurried past her.
When she entered the classroom, the once boisterous room fell silent in an instant. Sensing the awkward atmosphere, murmurs soon started up again in small groups.
Rong Jin wanted to ask Su Qingqiu how things had gone that night and whether her family had given her trouble, but Su Qingqiu’s seat was empty. She hadn’t come to class today.
Xia Yu patted her shoulder from behind and leaned in close. “Rong-ge, I heard you beat Wen Shao into the hospital? Good job! That trash Wen Shao, I’ve never liked him.”
Then, as if struck by a thought, she added worriedly, “But the Wen Family might come after you. They’re not easy to deal with. Wen Shao’s mom is one fierce lady.”
Rong Jin latched onto the key point in her words.
She turned her head, her expression unreadable, yet it inexplicably made Xia Yu feel a chill.
Rong Jin: “…I beat Wen Shao?”
Xia Yu: “Yeah, it’s all over the school. They say you beat him into the hospital… Wait, you didn’t know you beat someone?”
Xia Yu felt a bit puzzled after saying that. She suddenly realized something and exclaimed, “Wen Shao wasn’t beaten by you?”
Rong Jin didn’t answer her.
She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled a deep breath, then turned to gaze out the window.
It was late May now, with only two weeks left until the college entrance exam. The weather had fully warmed up, and the sprig of spring plum that had once reached through the window had long since withered. The sun blazed fiercely, piercing through the glass.
Yet she suddenly felt cold.
Seeing no reaction from her for a long time, Xia Yu asked, “Rong-ge? You okay?”
Rong Jin turned back and smiled. “I’m fine.”
Xia Yu asked curiously, “Then why did you beat Wen Shao? You two don’t have any beef, right?”
Rong Jin tugged at her lips, forcing a casual smile.
There were no cameras in the alley, the streetlights were dim, and there were few pedestrians. With no evidence, whoever they said did it, did it.
And there had only been four people present.
Rong Jin glanced back at Wen Yao’s seat. Her head was buried low, her eyes never lifting, avoiding Rong Jin’s gaze.
Clearly, she had been bought off.
That left Su Qingqiu and Wen Shao. As the victim, Wen Shao had no reason to frame her on purpose.
So…
It had to be Su Qingqiu.
She figured it was probably because of her family.
She had heard that both the Su Family and the Wen Family were prestigious clans. They likely didn’t want such a scandal breaking out at home. To preserve the reputation of their elite families, someone had to take the fall and cover it up.
If that’s what Su Qingqiu wanted, then she would admit it. No big deal.
No big deal.
She would own it.
It was fine.
But deep down, she knew.
There was a nagging bad suspicion in her heart that she didn’t want to acknowledge.
If it was just to avoid a scandal, that would be one thing.
Rong Jin: “He pissed me off, so I hit him.”
Her words sent ripples through the class. The room fell quiet as everyone stared at Rong Jin.
Rong Jin scanned the room, lazily leaning back in her chair. She tilted it at an angle before letting it slam back down, making a dull thud on the floor.
In that moment, her usual easygoing demeanor vanished, replaced by an inexplicable aura of intimidation that made the classmates avert their eyes.
Rong Jin said, “Alright, everyone get back to what you were doing. It’s just beating up one guy. No need to make a fuss.”
Xia Yu gave her a thumbs-up.
The others turned back to their studies. With only half a month until the exam, everyone was cramming hard. Even with this gossip, they’d had their fill.
The first period was Chinese class. The whole class was silently copying ancient poems and texts while the class teacher chatted with the Chinese teacher at the door.
The Chinese teacher walked over to Rong Jin and whispered, “Teacher Yu wants you outside.”
Rong Jin set down her pen and left the classroom.
The class teacher took her to the office.
The office was packed. There was the grade’s Discipline Director, that balding guy with the Mediterranean hairstyle who had always been at odds with her and had even made her give a public self-criticism; two vice principals she had seen at the grade honors assembly; and even the principal, whom she remembered had personally greeted her at the gate on enrollment day and taken her to register.
The class teacher hesitated, looking at her as she pondered how to broach the subject.
Rong Jin said understandingly, “Teacher, whatever you want to say, just say it.”
She could pretty much guess what the class teacher would say anyway.
The class teacher looked at her and sighed regretfully.
She had taught for years and seen plenty of smart students, but none as brilliant as Rong Jin.
What a pity.
“You’ve had a prior record of assault, even putting someone in the hospital before. Back then, it wasn’t a schoolmate but some outsider, so the school turned a blind eye after you made a self-criticism,” the class teacher said. “But Wen Shao is one of our students, your classmate.”
“Rong Jin, the school leaders are all here now. Tell us the truth: Did you really beat Wen Shao?”
Rong Jin looked at the crowd, all staring at her sternly. She found it amusing.
They didn’t want the truth.
They just wanted to nail her.
Rong Jin watched it all quietly.
She chuckled softly. “If I said it wasn’t me, would you believe it?”
The school leaders exchanged glances.
The class teacher persuaded, “Rong Jin, you admitted in class this morning that you beat Wen Shao. Why won’t you tell the truth here? The school has already talked to the Wen Family for you. As long as you admit your mistake, they won’t press criminal charges.”
“But this incident has had a terrible impact on the school. Your recommendation spot must be revoked.”
Rong Jin laughed silently.
Round and round, even if she refused a hundred times.
That bad premonition had come true.
Her mind went blank as she stared at the sports field outside. A few classes were having PE, wearing matching short-sleeved shirts and shorts, youthful and vibrant—the best years of life.
She thought Su Qingqiu didn’t need to go to such lengths.
There was an application in her drawer to voluntarily withdraw from the recommendation quota, not yet submitted. She had always feared Su Qingqiu would misunderstand, so she wanted a chance to explain: She didn’t want the spot out of pity or sympathy. She genuinely didn’t want to see Su Qingqiu stressed over the exam, didn’t want her unhappy.
If Su Qingqiu wanted it, she would give it to her.
It had always been that way.
She also wanted to tell her she had her own selfish reasons—she wanted them to attend the same university, spend the next four years together.
If she was lucky enough, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her.
But…
It seemed they weren’t even friends.
She had thought they were at least friends.
She smiled and asked knowingly, “Teacher, so who gets the recommendation spot then? The school only has one. Can’t just waste it, right?”
The class teacher: “It will naturally go to the runner-up from the recommendation selection exam.”
Everyone present knew who that was.
Rong Jin said softly, “I see.”
I see.
The class teacher: “Rong Jin, I’m sorry for you too, but you’re sixteen now. You have to pay for your actions. Normally, school rules would require us to expel you for this, but since you’re a specially recruited student and the school covered your tuition and living expenses, we won’t give up on you. As long as you do well on the exam and bring glory to the school, you’ll still be our pride.”
Rong Jin had been specially recruited to Yucai High School—tuition-free, plus a yearly living stipend of 100,000.
The school had high hopes for her to claim the top score in the provincial exam.
Rong Jin indifferently kept staring at the sports field.
Su Qingqiu got her desired recommendation spot, the school got her exam performance, and the Wen Family covered up that night’s filth to protect their prestige.
Everyone got what they wanted.
Without truth, this was the truth. She just needed to nod and take the blame.
Rong Jin smiled indifferently. “Teacher, I admit it. I did beat the guy.”
She could hear everyone else in the room breathe a collective sigh of relief.
A smile tugged at the class teacher’s lips, her expression easing. “As long as you’re willing to admit it and apologize to Wen Shao, the school is willing to give you a chance…”
Rong Jin cut her off abruptly. “Teacher, I’m not apologizing.”
The class teacher halted mid-sentence, staring at her in stunned silence.
Rong Jin said flatly, “I won’t apologize to Wen Shao. And the school doesn’t need to be so ‘tolerant.’ If the rules say I should be expelled, then expel me. I’ll pay back every cent of the tuition and scholarships from these three years.”
The office erupted instantly. The usually silent school leaders lost their composure and started persuading her. They really didn’t want to lose such a stellar student.
“Rong Jin, think this through…”
“We can talk about the apology. Don’t be so impulsive!”
“You can’t be so irresponsible with your future!”
The class teacher opened her mouth, speechless for a moment, then asked out of nowhere, “Where… where are you getting all that money?”
She added urgently, “But if you drop out, your student status will be revoked, and you can’t take the exam as a current-year senior! What will you do without the gaokao?”
Rong Jin smiled indifferently. “Teacher, that’s not for you to worry about.”
For her, taking the exam or not didn’t matter, this year or next didn’t matter.
But she truly didn’t want to stay here anymore.
Everything here made it hard to breathe.
She just wanted to get far away, as far as possible.
The class teacher wanted to say more, but Rong Jin had already turned and decisively left the office.
Rong Jin returned to the classroom and packed her books.
She rarely attended classes, so she didn’t even have many textbooks. Her drawer held just some practice papers and a worn-out Five-Year College Entrance Exam Three Mock Tests, already completed long ago.
She found the application to withdraw from the recommendation quota in her drawer, tore it to shreds, and threw it in the trash.
Su Qingqiu never appeared.
When the classmates heard she was dropping out, the class exploded.
The Chinese teacher had to halt the lesson.
After some sighs, they all saw her off together.
Xia Yu: “Rong-ge, you’re really leaving? Did the school force you? Can’t you stay? The exam’s so soon…”
Her words tumbled out incoherently, and she ended up sobbing. “I’m really gonna miss you…”
Rong Jin was at a loss between laughter and tears.
Qi Jiaoyue worriedly asked, “What about your gaokao then? You’re just not taking it?”
Rong Jin gave a bitter laugh. “Not taking it.”
The composure she had maintained in front of the teachers shattered. She looked utterly wretched now, wanting to smile but unable.
Rong Jin thought, this was her own doing.
She had brought this on herself.
She had been presumptuous.
Rong Jin: “Alright, no need to see me off. Get back to class. The exam’s coming up—study hard, good luck on the gaokao.”
She smiled and gave them a distant thumbs-up.
She left Yucai High School, and soon even her silhouette vanished.
