16 – I… didn’t… steal
During afternoon class, Fu Yao returned to her seat and saw ten yuan on her desk.
The bill was quite new, as if it had just been withdrawn from an ATM.
Fu Yao glanced at Jin Zhi beside her, who was buried in his writing.
The color emanating from him was a guilty green, and he happened to look up at Fu Yao at that moment.
Instantly, his entire face flushed red, his emotions a vivid mix of shy pink and guilty green—utterly fascinating.
He quickly averted his gaze, looking left and right in confusion, his mind blank and unsure of what to do. He could only lower his head and grip his pen tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging from sheer nervousness.
A faint smile appeared in Fu Yao’s eyes.
Shy already?
Being this easily flustered isn’t good—it’s almost too endearing.
Just then, an unpleasant male voice erupted:
“Hahahaha, oh my god! Everyone, look! Guess what the mad dog did?!”
As soon as the words were spoken, a figure leaped over, landing between Jin Zhi and Fu Yao. Wearing the brand-name shoes he had recently bought for over four thousand yuan, his landing made a solid, jarring sound.
Su Hangyi’s malicious words and sudden movement instantly made Jin Zhi tense up all over. The color of his emotions shifted to a deep, suppressed red.
He lowered his head, glaring at Su Hangyi, absolutely certain that nothing good could come out of his mouth.
Fu Yao, however, smiled slightly at the corner of her lips and quietly took out her phone, swiftly and naturally tapping and swiping on the screen.
She was preparing a little surprise for Su Hangyi, though it would take some time.
But not too long.
Su Hangyi snatched the ten yuan from Fu Yao’s hand with a semblance of gentleness, holding it high in the air and waving it around as he shouted:
“Jin Zhi secretly put ten yuan on Fu Yao’s desk. Is this his way of telling everyone that even the mad dog likes our new class flower? Hahahaha, this is too much! I thought only toads dreamed of swans, but it turns out even mad dogs crave swan meat. Ten yuan? What can Fu Yao even do with your ten yuan? It’s not even one percent of her pocket money! Isn’t this just embarrassing? How can you even have the nerve?!”
His words were utterly excessive, yet the others who often joined him in bullying showed no awareness, bursting into mocking laughter at the trembling, furious boy.
Fu Yao’s eyes darkened as she looked up, intending to snatch the money back. Her emotions remained perfectly composed, and her voice was gentle as she said, “Classmate Su Hangyi, I think you might have misunderstood. This is the medical compensation Jin Zhi gave me. I still have the receipt here. If you’d like to verify it, you can. There’s no need to spread rumors about liking or not liking. After all, one should be responsible for their words. Neither Jin Zhi nor I want to attract unnecessary trouble, so please show some respect. Otherwise, we’ll both be quite troubled.”
Every word and every intonation she uttered felt like a gentle breeze, neither off-putting nor confrontational, yet evoking an inexplicable sense of guilt in others.
Seeing Fu Yao respond to him like this, Su Hangyi was momentarily stunned, his gaze dazed, and the color of his emotions visibly shifted to pink.
If Fu Yao wasn’t mistaken, this was the color of affection.
Fu Yao couldn’t help but inwardly roll her eyes, though her expression remained well-controlled. She simply thought to herself that the person before her was truly brain-dead to the extreme.
If it weren’t for maintaining her persona, she would have loved to ask him with a smirk, “Are you okay?”
However, Su Hangyi couldn’t sense Fu Yao’s exasperation and stammered, “Hahaha, I… I was just reminding you not to get entangled with someone like him. His money isn’t clean—who knows where he stole it from this time?”
Fu Yao’s eyes darkened. “You…”
Before she could speak, Jin Zhi, who had remained silent beside her, gritted his teeth and forced out a voice as if trying to break through his throat:
“I… didn’t… steal!”
With reddened eyes, he slammed the table and stood up, glaring at Su Hangyi with a gaze so sinister and terrifying it seemed as if he wanted to tear someone apart. Su Hangyi instinctively flinched, nervous that this mad dog might bite again.
Everyone was stunned, never expecting Jin Zhi to fight back.
Even Fu Yao was taken aback—this was beyond her expectations.
She glanced at Jin Zhi, who was trembling all over, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth with a fierce expression as if protecting himself. It was clear how agonizing his state must be.
The redness on his body seemed to deepen, almost turning purple. He stole another glance at Fu Yao, his expression softening slightly, now tinged with a hint of guilt that made him look genuinely wronged in Fu Yao’s eyes.
He… was actually kind of cute.
At that moment, seeing Jin Zhi remain silent, Su Hangyi sneered again, “Heh heh, you’re dressed in rags, even your bag is a plastic sack. How poor can you be, yet you still paid for someone’s medical expenses? Where did you get that money? Wasn’t the class fund found in your backpack last time? If you say you didn’t steal it, where’s your proof?!”
Everyone stared at Jin Zhi, their gazes filled with doubt, mockery, and disdain, reminding him of the terrifying experiences he’d had since leaving the orphanage.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense and suffocating, as if a giant hand were tightening around their necks, ready to explode at any moment.
Jin Zhi’s breathing grew faster and faster. The feeling of injustice coiled around his heart like chains, making it hard for him to breathe freely. Tears welled up in his eyes, yet he couldn’t utter a single word.
That… money… really… wasn’t… stolen by him.
But no one believed him.
No one would ever believe someone like him.
Just then, someone sitting in the middle of the classroom exclaimed, “Holy shit!” pulling everyone back to reality.
Fu Yao’s lips curved slightly, a flash of triumph in her eyes.
The person who had shouted “Holy shit!” realized they had become the center of attention and felt a bit awkward, muttering quietly:
“Ahem… check the school forum. I was just scrolling through my phone, and it popped up on its own.”
Hearing this, everyone knew there must be some major gossip on the school forum.
When it came to juicy news, people of all ages and stages were always eager to dive in.
The students of Class A, Grade 12, were no exception.
They quickly opened the school forum to see what could possibly warrant such an exclamation.
To their surprise, as soon as they opened the forum, the top post marked with 【HOT】 made them blurt out, “Holy shit!” as well.
All eyes turned toward Su Hangyi, their expressions varied and intense.
Su Hangyi felt puzzled and was about to ask, “What’s going on?” when everyone lowered their heads again to read the details of the post on their phones.
Su Hangyi suddenly had an ominous premonition and hurriedly took out his phone to check.
His expression immediately changed.