Looking at Meng Shuyan, who was marching toward them aggressively once again, Song Qingmu and Lu Mi exchanged a glance. "Little Lu, stay here and hold the fort," he said. "I’ll go find the young master!"
Lu Mi’s expression was grave. "Okay, I’ll hold him off. Go quickly and come right back."
Song Qingmu sprinted away.
Meanwhile, in the gymnasium’s boxing ring, a succession of muffled thuds echoed through the half-open door.
Shaoyuan was practicing his punches. He had stripped off his school uniform jacket, revealing the perfect, fluid, and powerful lines of his muscles beneath a loose white T-shirt. He wasn’t wearing boxing gloves, either. His hands were wrapped only in black bandages, which made his long fingers appear even more pale and slender. Despite such intense exercise, not a single drop of sweat could be seen on his body. Clearly, boxing wasn’t strenuous for him at all; it was merely the simplest of pastimes.
"Young Master!" Song Qingmu pushed the door open, panting heavily. "Meng... Meng Shuyan is picking a fight with Senior Sister again! They’re out on the sports field, and a ton of students are watching."
BANG!
The final punch sent the heavy sandbag flying. The dull thud reverberated through the empty room, booming like a clap of thunder in the clouds, exploding right next to their ears.
Song Qingmu stood rooted to the spot, covering his ears, not daring to breathe. Shaoyuan hadn’t attended a single physical education class since his freshman year of high school. While the other boys played basketball or soccer, he spent his time practicing boxing.
Draping his school jacket over his shoulders, Shaoyuan uttered a single, indifferent word. "Go."
Now that he had spoken, Song Qingmu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Indignantly, he complained, "He’s insisting that Senior Sister tore up his homework and an autographed poster. Isn’t that complete nonsense? How would she even have the chance to get her hands on his things?"
Shaoyuan paused in his steps, the corners of his lips curving upward. "I was wondering why she didn’t enter the classroom until after the bell rang. So she was off doing something wicked."
"Huh?" Song Qingmu scratched his head. "Young Master, could you be a little clearer? You know I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I don’t understand these riddles of yours."
Shaoyuan didn’t elaborate. He casually unwrapped the black bandages from his hands and tossed them into a nearby trash can.
"Meng Shuyan went out of his way to block Senior Sister at our classroom door yesterday, but you chased him off. He definitely couldn’t swallow that anger," Song Qingmu continued. "And now he’s slandering her today. What’s the point of having good grades when his character is so rotten?"
Shaoyuan raised an eyebrow, finally speaking up. "You think I was the one who chased him off?"
Song Qingmu froze. "O-of course. No matter how arrogant he is, he certainly wouldn’t dare act out in front of you, Young Master."
"He ought to thank me. I saved his life," Shaoyuan said coolly. "It’s just a pity that there will always be idiots in this world who don’t value their own lives."
"Huh?" Song Qingmu was completely lost. Before he could ask anything else, Shaoyuan had already walked far ahead. He hurriedly chased after him. "Young Master, wait for me!"
Back on the sports field.
In front of everyone, Meng Shuyan pulled the shredded pieces of the poster from his bag. "Shi Changying, do you know how much this poster cost me? Five thousand! With your father’s meager salary, can you even afford to pay me back?"
Shi Changying finally turned her head. She didn’t say a word, simply staring unblinkingly at Meng Shuyan. Her eyes were pitch-black, resembling a bottomless abyss.
Meng Shuyan’s heart violently skipped a beat. Intimidated by her gaze, he actually stumbled back a few steps. A few seconds later, he let out a shaky breath. He must be losing his mind to feel the kind of pressure that only Shaoyuan could impose on him from a mere villager out of Ming Village who had grown up lacking food and clothing. How was that even possible?
"Meng... Meng Shuyan, you’re accusing Yingying without any reason. This is slander!" Lu Mi was clearly somewhat fearful of the influence the Xu and Meng families held in Jianghuai, but she spoke up anyway. "You came looking for trouble with her yesterday, and now you’re at it again today. How exactly did Yingying offend you? She doesn’t even know who you are!"
"Without any reason? She clearly destroyed my property." Meng Shuyan laughed out of sheer anger. "Shi Changying, I’ll give you two choices. Either you find an identical poster to compensate me, or I’ll see you in the principal’s office!"
"The poster itself is easy to buy, but where is she supposed to get the autograph?" a boy muttered. "Even if she could find one, it’s impossible for it to be exactly the same. A Yan, aren’t you just making things difficult for her?"
The first choice Meng Shuyan had offered was simply impossible to fulfill!
"Compensate you?" Shi Changying showed no fear. Instead, she looked at him with keen interest. "Since you’re so certain it was me, why don’t you tell me why I would do such a thing?"
"Because this morning, I—" Meng Shuyan abruptly shut his mouth. He was obviously well aware that he had been in the wrong first when it came to tearing up books. But he was used to being arrogant and domineering. In his mind, he was the only one allowed to trample on others; there was absolutely no way he would let anyone retaliate and trample on him.
Meng Shuyan sneered. "Who else would do it but you?"
"So the Meng family’s upbringing only taught you how to convict others based on empty words." Shi Changying remained completely unruffled. "Do you have any evidence? Or do you only know how to bark?"
"Exactly! Where’s the evidence?" Lu Mi put on a fierce expression. "We’ve listened to you ramble for ages, and all you have are these scraps of paper? Maybe you tore it up yourself just to frame Yingying!"
"Shi Changying, you really won’t give up until you hit a dead end," Meng Shuyan scoffed. "The saying that ’barren lands breed unruly people’ really is true. You’ve spent so long in your little village that you probably have no idea there are security cameras everywhere in the school, do you?"
Shi Changying yawned. Of course she knew. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have waited around all morning.
"Did you think that just because you wiped away your footprints, no one would know it was you?" Meng Shuyan stared at her mockingly. "In this technological age, cameras will record all your crimes!"
Shi Changying let out a soft "Oh." "Where’s the footage, then?"
"You!" Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Meng Shuyan felt like he had punched empty air. "If you have the guts, come with me to the security office to check the cameras!"
Lu Mi was a little worried. "Yingying..."
"Don’t be afraid." Shi Changying chuckled softly, patting her hand. Then, she raised her chin. "What are you standing around for? Let’s go. Or do you need an escort?"
Meng Shuyan clenched his fists, his face livid. "Don’t regret this. We’ll see if you can still smile in a bit!"
He stormed off toward the security office. The bell rang again, but the students were no longer in the mood for class. Some even sneaked after them to watch the drama unfold.
"I need the surveillance footage from the east side of the fourth floor of the senior high building at 1:40 PM." Meng Shuyan shot a cold glare at Shi Changying. "Someone played a dirty trick on me and refuses to admit it. I need evidence to make her confess."
The head of security recognized Meng Shuyan. After listening to his request, he pulled up the footage from that time frame.
Meng Shuyan tilted his chin up. "Shi Changying, earlier I only wanted to settle this with you privately, but you didn’t want to take the opportunity. Now I have no choice but to get serious."
"Hold on, Mr. Meng, is there a mistake?" the head of security asked, utterly confused. "At this specific time and location, aside from you, there is absolutely no one else."