“Acting contrary to your heart isn’t what a good student does,” Xu Si said as he took out his phone and played an audio recording.
A young man’s cold voice came through: “Do you know what you’re doing today?”
Following that was Yang Shikun’s angry voice: “Who do you think you are? What you did counts as attempted assault, do you understand? Taking photos of a young girl – are you even a man? It’s disgusting.”
“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have secretly taken inappropriate photos of her or had such twisted thoughts about her. Since nothing happened yet, please let me go.” Liu Xingfa in the recording sounded nothing like his composed self in front of the police now.
Mixed in were Qin Lu’s voice and the young man’s somewhat stiff question asking if she wanted to report it to the police…
The female police officer taking the statement had neat short hair and delicate features. She looked up at Liu Xingfa: “Didn’t you say you never had any interaction with this girl?”
Liu Xingfa’s expression froze. He clenched his fingers, trying to stay calm: “Originally we had no interaction and barely any communication. That day they forced me to say those things. They’re always fighting and bullying classmates at school. They threatened me to say those words. I’m innocent, Officer.”
Yang Shikun was infuriated by his shamelessness. His fists were clenched tight as he glared at Liu Xingfa: “I’ve never seen someone so shameless.”
Xu Si remained calm and said quietly: “If I remember correctly, there are security cameras in the equipment room.”
Gao Shuangshuang looked at the young man before her: “There are cameras in the equipment room?”
Xu Si made a sound of agreement, then said: “After some equipment went missing before, the school installed cameras in some hidden spots. Not many people know about them.”
Hearing this, Gao Shuangshuang immediately turned to the male officer beside her: “Let’s check the security footage.”
Knowing he was about to be exposed, Liu Xingfa became flustered.
“No need. I admit it. I admit everything.”
Gao Shuangshuang looked at the young man before her. He appeared gentle and scholarly, with grades among the top in school. He could have gotten into a good university after graduation, but his evil thoughts had ruined everything.
“Why did you do these things?” Gao Shuangshuang asked, puzzled.
Liu Xingfa suddenly lifted his head and spoke viciously: “Wasn’t I good enough to her? What right did she have to dump me just like that? And then act all high and mighty telling me not to contact her anymore – what right did she have? Tell me, what right? That slut was just playing with my feelings.”
Xu Si spoke calmly: “Relationships are mutual. If it works, you stay together. If you don’t like it, you part ways. Why ask so many whys? If everyone demanded reasons, no one would ever break up.”
Gao Shuangshuang nodded in agreement: “Besides, you’re only in your second year of high school. You should be focusing on your studies, not these things.”
…
Liu Xingfa was taken away by the police. He would be sentenced to at least three years. He could have had a bright future, but he destroyed it with his own hands.
On the way back, Yang Shikun asked Xu Si: “Brother Si, when did they install cameras in the equipment room? How come I never knew about this?”
“There aren’t any cameras,” Xu Si glanced at him.
“Holy shit, Brother Si, you tricked him! You’re so smart!”
“Get lost.”
…
After Xu Si left, Class 17 erupted in discussion.
“Damn, did that girl commit suicide because of Brother Si? Why was he suddenly called away?”
“What does it have to do with Brother Si?”
“Maybe she killed herself because she couldn’t win Brother Si’s heart? It’s possible. Though she shouldn’t be too sad – after all, Brother Si is like a block of ice, impossible to warm up.”
“You know what, that’s actually possible.”
“Listen, what if that girl was Brother Si’s secret girlfriend? They had a hidden relationship but were forced apart by their parents, so she wanted to die for love?”
“Oh please, that’s as likely as the sun rising from the west tomorrow. What kind of girl would Brother Si even like? I can’t imagine.”
“I heard Liu Xingfa from Class 7 was called away too.”
After a moment of silence, everyone started making new guesses.
…
When Xu Si entered the classroom, all eyes from Class 17 fell on him. His expression was cold and fierce as he walked straight to his seat.
Yang Shikun, hearing the whispers from the front, couldn’t stand it anymore: “With such vivid imaginations, why don’t you all go write novels?”
Not even one class period had passed, and these people had already come up with countless versions of events.
They didn’t dare bother Xu Si directly, so they all came to ask Yang Shikun.
“Alright, alright, stop asking. The girl’s situation has nothing to do with Brother Si. He didn’t do anything wrong,” Yang Shikun said to their eager faces. “If you’re brave enough, go ask Brother Si yourself instead of bothering me.”
“If we dared to ask Brother Si directly, why would we ask you?”
Jiang Qiong remembered the girl they were talking about. She had seen her just a few classes before the incident and had even helped steady her. She thought the girl was just feeling unwell, but later… She lowered her eyes, stared at her practice problems for a while, then continued working.
Yang Shikun turned and whispered to Xu Si: “Brother Si, can we tell others about this?”
Xu Si looked up at him: “Let’s wait for the school and police to handle it.”
“But Brother Si, they’re spreading rumors that you bullied classmates. Those idiots from Class 7 will probably say you beat up their good student and caused someone to attempt suicide.”
Xu Si responded carelessly: “So what? I don’t live by their words.”
Besides, the truth wouldn’t change because of their gossip.
Though they spoke quietly, Jiang Qiong could hear their conversation clearly. She became slightly distracted and stopped writing.
“Want to know?” Jiang Qiong heard a sudden voice beside her and turned to meet Xu Si’s somewhat playful gaze.
She shook her head: “I don’t want to know.”
“Acting contrary to your heart isn’t what a good student does.”
“I never said I was a good student.”
Xu Si laughed softly, his dark eyes filling with amusement, looking less fierce: “So you admit you’re being dishonest.”
Jiang Qiong finally realized she had fallen for his word trap. She pressed her lips together, stared at him for a moment, then shook her head: “No, I’m not.”
Xu Si looked at her clear eyes: “I’ll stop teasing you. Go back to your studies.”
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