Chaрter 23: Bу thе Тimе Yоu Rеad Тhis Lеttеr, I’ll Hаve Gоne South tо Wоrk in a Fаctоrу
“Тhe рrinсipаl is hеrе!”
Suddеnlу, shоuts еruptеd onе аfter another оutside thе doоr.
Аlmоst in thе blink of an еye, thе сlаssrоom dоor оf Class Siх wаs рushеd оpеn again.
Thе grау-hаirеd principаl rаn in, wiрing sweаt from his brоw. The mоmеnt hе sаw Lin Ling’s dishevelеd stаte, he gаsped shаrрlу, nеarlу fаinting on the spot.
Those аcсоmраnуing him quicklу steadied him.
“Gоod hеavеns…”
Hе glared at Fu Tinghan. “Look at what you’ve done! From now on, you’re expelled!”
Fu Tinghan curled his lips slightly, as if he had expected this outcome. Without defending himself, he picked up his backpack and turned to leave.
“Wait,” Jiang Er grabbed him and retorted indignantly to the principal, “Why don’t you ask what happened first? It was Lin Ling who started the trouble!”
“You’re not getting off either!” the principal snapped. “You actually joined Fu Tinghan in assaulting a student from another class. This is extremely serious. You’re to clean the teaching building for two weeks, and tomorrow, bring your parents to see me!”
Jiang Er laughed in disbelief. “And what about Lin Ling? How are you going to punish him?”
The principal said with a pained expression, “Lin Ling did nothing wrong. He just accidentally entered the wrong classroom, yet you treated him like this. And you still want him punished?”
Jiang Er: “…”
Well, that was a new one.
She sneered, quickly gathered her belongings, and scanned the room.
“Fine, I’ll leave. I didn’t want to stay here anyway. I refuse to believe Fengcheng has only one high school!”
“Wait, I told him to leave, not you!” the principal said urgently.
Jiang Er brushed aside his blocking hand. “Move.”
“Wait.”
Another voice came from behind.
This time, it was Lin Ling who spoke.
The principal thought he was still dissatisfied with the punishment and rubbed his hands nervously.
“Well, Lin Ling, if you want to seek legal assistance…”
“She’s right. I hit him too,” Lin Ling said.
Jiang Er paused, unsure what trick he was trying to pull. She turned and eyed him warily, her gaze sharpening.
Lin Ling raised an eyebrow at her, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips.
The principal wiped his sweat. “Yes, yes, you were forced to defend yourself. We understand. Don’t worry, that counts as self-defense…”
“I threw the first punch,” Lin Ling added.
The principal was at a loss for words.
Cold sweat trickled down his temples. Unable to decipher Lin Ling’s intentions, he asked as kindly as possible:
“So, what do you suggest, Lin Ling?”
“If there’s going to be punishment, let’s all share it,” Lin Ling said, his tone slightly rising, a flicker of anticipation flashing in his eyes. “Call my dad to school tomorrow and give him a detailed account of what I’ve been up to here.”
The principal inwardly groaned.
Lin Ling’s father was not someone they could easily summon.
This was pure trouble.
He glanced at Jiang Er’s cold expression, remembered the building the Jiang family had just donated, and felt another pang of regret. He stammered:
“Maybe we should just let this go and settle it quietly?”
Lin Ling scoffed lightly. “Fine.”
“But the punishment can’t be skipped, right?” he added, shifting the topic.
The principal immediately understood. He straightened his face and said to Jiang Er, “Fu Tinghan won’t be expelled. You come back now. Both of you clean the teaching building for two weeks, and that’ll be the end of it.”
Jiang Er still wanted to leave.But she was worried Fu Tinghan wouldn’t be able to explain things to his family.
After all, his situation was far more complicated than hers.
It was better not to stir up unnecessary trouble.
She pursed her lips and reluctantly said:
“Since we all made mistakes, if we’re being punished, we should be punished together! We’re all students of No. 3 High School, why should Lin Ling be special? If we’re sweeping the teaching building, he has to be included, otherwise you can’t punish us either.”
“You child…” The principal was fuming.
Unexpectedly, Lin Ling actually agreed.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he wiped away a trace of crimson from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and said sinisterly:
“Fine, let’s be punished together.”
Jiang Er’s intuition told her this guy definitely had ulterior motives.
Originally, she had planned to use this opportunity to get herself and Fu Tinghan out of punishment, but now… wouldn’t she be lifting a rock only to drop it on her own foot?
But the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released—she had no room to back out.
Jiang Er glared at Lin Ling, her eyes filled with warning.
He wasn’t the least bit intimidated and provocatively raised an eyebrow.
So, she skillfully flipped him off with an expression.
The smile on Lin Ling’s lips stiffened slightly.
He felt like he had been silently insulted.
But he had no proof.
Damn.
It wasn’t until the class bell rang that the mess in Class Six was finally cleaned up.
Among the toppled desks and chairs, Jiang Er’s desk remained completely unaffected, standing tall like a crane among chickens in its original spot.
She touched and examined it from left to right, and after confirming that no parts were missing, she couldn’t help but marvel.
“My luck is just too good.”
Fu Tinghan bent down to pick up her fallen eraser, the corners of his mouth curling up uncontrollably, but he said nothing.
With Lin Ling’s commotion, the atmosphere between the two of them seemed to have returned to how it was a few days ago. Jiang Er said cheerfully:
“Fu Tinghan, if I buy a scratch-off ticket today, I might just win the jackpot.”
He reminded her softly, “You’re not of age yet.”
Jiang Er rubbed her nose and said sheepishly, “Then let some of this good luck carry over to Chinese class too.”
Fu Tinghan was puzzled.
He soon understood.
Clearly, Chinese class didn’t believe in metaphysics.
The good luck Jiang Er had hoped for did not come.
When the dictation began, she faced her blank workbook, trembling as she put pen to paper, her expression heavy and sorrowful.
Fu Tinghan couldn’t help but glance at it out of the corner of his eye.
She wrote:
[“A gentleman says: Learning should never cease.”]
Well, not a single word was wrong.
Fu Tinghan continued reading.
The next line was:
[“Dear Teacher Wang, by the time you read this letter, I will have already gone south to work as a screw-tightener.
Please forgive my sudden departure, because I know that if I see you, I won’t be able to leave…”]
And indeed, not a single word was wrong there either.
Fu Tinghan: “…”
He took a deep breath, his hand inadvertently reaching to the edge of the desk and inadvertently letting go.
With a soft “tap,” his pen fell to the floor.
He bent down to pick it up, revealing his own workbook on the desk, filled with sharp, forceful handwriting.
Jiang Er remained completely unaware, continuing to write her farewell letter with fervor.
Fu Tinghan: “…”
He accidentally knocked his pen off again and bent down once more.
Jiang Er still didn’t react.
Just as he was about to bend down for the third time to pick up his pen, Teacher Wang on the podium said faintly:
“If you keep dropping that pen like this, the ceiling of the first-year classrooms downstairs is going to have a hole in it.”
The whole class burst into laughter.
Fu Tinghan silently retrieved his pen.
Jiang Er finally snapped out of it and whispered to him, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Fu Tinghan’s earlobes were so red they looked about to drip blood. He shook his head.Teacher Wang sighed, “What a pity, someone didn’t seize the opportunity, so now they’ll have to copy as punishment.”
Jiang Er: “”
She couldn’t help feeling that remark was aimed at her.
Not sure, better wait and see.