The next morning, a teacher in the Academic Affairs Office of No. 1 High School received an anonymous video message on their mobile phone.
The video showed Wan Shanshan gathering several classmates to bully a young girl on the back hill.
In the video, Wan Shanshan, with bright yellow hair, was holding a thick stick, pushing and shoving the delicate, sweet, pure, and lovely school uniform girl with malicious intent, even using the stick to hit her.
Just as the stick was about to make contact, the video cut off.
The Director of Academic Affairs slammed the desk upon seeing the video, immediately summoning the head teachers of all classes to identify the people involved:
“Who is this yellow haired girl! And the people around her, they all need to be identified. This is a serious violation of discipline, we’ll criticize them in a general assembly immediately!”
The head teacher of Class 6, Grade 1, recognized Wan Shanshan and felt utterly humiliated. He immediately led Wan Shanshan and her followers to the Academic Affairs Office.
“You few! Did you bully a classmate last night! What is this video about!”
“Teacher, that’s not true, we are the victims!”
The little thugs started babbling about the grievances they suffered the night before, but only Wan Shanshan kept her head down, silent.
Wan Shanshan had a large bruise on the side of her face, and her yellow hair was messy, clearly not styled, her eyes dull, looking a bit silly/dazed.
Zhang Fan, the head teacher of Class 3, Grade 1, also came with Ruan Mei.
Ruan Mei first proactively greeted the Dean of Discipline and then stood obediently beside her own head teacher, looking shy and timid.
On one side were the messy, bruised yellow haired group, and on the other was the fresh, clean, shy, and lovely little girl. Even if the Dean of Discipline tried to be completely impartial, he already had a bias in his heart.
“Classmate, what exactly happened yesterday?”
“Yesterday afternoon, I went to find Li Namei from Class 6 and saw Wan Shanshan and her group bullying Li Namei. Seeing me arrive, they took me to the back hill and insisted on fighting me. In the end, I beat them, and then I left.”
“Besides Li Namei, is there anyone else who can testify?”
“… I also ran into Fang Zhishui.”
Li Namei and Fang Zhishui were also invited over and each recounted what they had witnessed.
Li Namei’s account naturally leaned towards Ruan Mei, praising Ruan Mei’s “extraordinary skill, being able to fight extremely well, not losing ground even against five people, and being merciless like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves against the enemy,” which made the Dean of Discipline rub his forehead and interrupt.
When it was Fang Zhishui’s turn, Ruan Mei felt a bit nervous. She had actually made a clever move by asking Fang Zhishui to testify. If she faced the Dean of Discipline, Fang Zhishui should tell the truth, which would let Ruan Mei know exactly how much Fang Zhishui had seen last night.
Fang Zhishui stood with her hands behind her back. Wearing the winter uniform, she didn’t look bulky. She tilted her head up, her neck as long and elegant as a swan’s.
“Yesterday afternoon, I went to the back hill and saw Ruan Mei standing there, while the other few people were all on the ground.”
Ruan Mei frowned. Really? Did Fang Zhishui really only see that little bit?
Her eyes were clear, and her expression calm. The Dean of Discipline immediately believed her. He reached out to pat Fang Zhishui’s head to reassure her but remembered her status and quickly retracted his hand, replacing it with a fawning smile:
“Since Fang classmate also saw it, that means a fight did happen between both parties. Perhaps both sides should receive a disciplinary warning…”
Fang Zhishui, however, frowned slightly and cast a sharp look at the Dean of Discipline:
“I think you are mistaken, sir? Wan Shanshan and these few classmates ganged up on Ruan Mei. Five against one is not a fight; it’s a group assault. You cannot punish Ruan Mei for legitimate self-defense, as that would be unfair and undermine school discipline.”
Ruan Mei’s eyes widened. Fang Zhishui was actually speaking up for her, and so clearly! Did Fang Zhishui forget how the original Ruan Mei used to bully her? Was she planning to be friends with her because of the rabbit incident?
The Dean of Discipline froze, sweat dripping down his forehead. He quickly wiped it with a tissue and continued to smile:
“Fang classmate is right, how could I forget that point. Then… according to Fang classmate’s suggestion, what do you think should be done?”
Fang Zhishui glanced at Wan Shanshan:
“They should receive disciplinary warnings according to the severity of the incident and be publicly criticized at the whole-school flag-raising ceremony. As for Ruan Mei, being the victim, she should be protected, and her name should not be mentioned during the criticism.”
Ruan Mei was numb by now. Fang Zhishui’s intention to protect her was too obvious even her head teacher, Zhang Fan, could tell, casting a surprised yet approving look at Fang Zhishui.
The Dean of Discipline nodded repeatedly:
“Very well said, that’s what we’ll do!”
Wan Shanshan and the others stayed behind to continue receiving criticism and had to write self-criticisms. Everyone else filed out.
Zhang Fan deliberately patted Fang Zhishui’s shoulder, then grabbed one of Fang Zhishui’s hands and placed it on the back of Ruan Mei’s hand. Holding both their hands, he said with great satisfaction:
“Fang classmate, Ruan classmate, your teacher knows you had some past grudges, but now, because of this bonding activity, I see you have resolved your past misunderstandings and become good friends, right? That’s the way it should be. From now on, you must help each other and make progress together!”
Ruan Mei got goosebumps. The skin on her hand that touched Fang Zhishui’s palm felt almost as if it had been scalded by water, instantly burning up.
She patiently waited for her head teacher to finish, then immediately pulled her hand back, noticing at the same time that Fang Zhishui also quickly withdrew her hand.
The two looked at each other across Zhang Fan, then simultaneously looked away.
After Zhang Fan briefly turned into the faculty building, Li Namei caught up from behind and slapped Fang Zhishui’s shoulder:
“Whoever is good to the Boss, that person is my sister. Little sister, if you ever need anything, tell me, and I will go through fire and water for you! But we have an agreement, I am the Boss’s number one subordinate, and you are a latecomer. Recognizing the Boss requires respecting seniority, so you have to call me ‘Sister’!”
Ruan Mei hadn’t finished listening before she hurriedly pulled Li Namei’s hand off of Fang Zhishui. Sweating profusely, she gave Fang Zhishui an awkward smile:
“Don’t take it to heart, this Namei, she’s a bit… she’s just talking nonsense, you shouldn’t pay attention to her!”
Li Namei was thrown behind and was still shouting:
“Who is ‘a bit…’! Hey Boss, I have to make this clear, not getting the lowest grade in the grade isn’t because my brain is bad, it’s because I never studied at all! Look, now that you’re tutoring me, I’m already 20th from the bottom in the last exam, right? My progress is so fast, my brain is fine!”
Ruan Mei tugged on Fang Zhishui’s sleeve and quickly walked into the classroom, feeling like she was about to lose all face. She decided she must properly advise Li Namei later not to speak carelessly in inappropriate situations, especially in front of the Female Lead!
Fang Zhishui stared at the sleeve Ruan Mei was pulling, and after the two sat down in the classroom, she placed her arm in the desk compartment and reached out to touch the wrinkled fabric where it had been pinched.
It was Physics class at the moment, and the whole class was drowsy. Seeing that everyone’s spirits were low, the teacher told them to work on a few problems themselves.
Fang Zhishui was looking at the problems when a small paper ball was suddenly thrown from behind her.
She raised an eyebrow, opened it, and saw Ruan Mei’s graceful and cute handwriting on it:
“Thank you for speaking up for me just now. If you need anything in the future, just ask me. I will definitely help if I can.”
Followed by a winking ‘ ‘ emoticon drawn with a very simple sketch.
Fang Zhishui stared at the note for a long time, then picked up a pen, quickly wrote a sentence, and threw it back.
“For the rabbit’s name, I want to call it Spicy.”
Ruan Mei opened the note and was completely stunned. So, after feeding the rabbit so much rabbit food, did you want to eat Spicy Rabbit Head?
She wrote on the note:
“Call it Marshmallow!!!”
The paper ball was thrown over. Ruan Mei was paying close attention to Fang Zhishui’s movements, but saw that the person in front didn’t move for a long time. Just as she was wondering, she saw a hand reach from the front of the person behind her and give an “OK” gesture.
Ruan Mei couldn’t help but laugh. Fang Zhishui, someone so noble and aloof, would also communicate with her in such a contorted posture.
A bit cute.
At the flag raising ceremony the following Monday, the Dean of Discipline indeed made Wan Shanshan and the others collectively accept punishment and read self-criticisms, and the victim’s name was completely omitted from the self-criticisms.
However, the school forum was well-informed. As soon as the flag-raising ceremony ended, a new post appeared:
“Breaking News! What’s the truth about the back hill fight? The one who fought five people was actually… the whole school was shocked after reading this!”
“It was Ruan Mei, the former school bully and current good girl crybaby from Class 3, who fought five people! Someone saw Ruan Mei and Wan Shanshan’s group go to the back hill that day!”
The replies below rapidly increased:
“Kill the title spammers first! Ruan Mei has been a weak woman for the past few months. If she could fight five people, I could knock out Boxing King Tyson with one punch!”
“Exactly, exactly. We didn’t understand Ruan Mei before and thought she was a school bully, but has anyone actually seen her fight? Now that I’m in the same class as Ruan Mei, honestly, I admire her so much. She’s the most diligent student in the entire class! I think she was misunderstood before; she probably can’t fight at all, she clearly only loves studying!”
“Have you forgotten the look on Ruan Mei’s face when she twisted her ankle during P.E. and sat on the ground crying? And that time in the science lab when she tripped and cried buckets of tears? You’re telling me a crybaby like that could fight five people? Heh, hehehe!”
“The original poster talks a good game, but do you have photos? Do you have the full video? Stop throwing mud on Ruan Mei for no reason, we’re taking our lovely Mei Mei away!”
“Speaking of which, don’t you think Ruan Mei could be nominated for the next School Beauty contest! I think her looks are the pure, sweet, and soft type; who doesn’t love a sweet girl? I’m voting for her!”
“I’m voting too! Ruan Mei has been getting more and more beautiful recently, especially when she’s listening intently in class, slurp. Even I, an Omega, can’t help but be moved. This is the first time I’ve been interested in a Beta!”
“Catch the Omega above! You already have excellent Alphas, can’t you leave ordinary Betas like Ruan Mei to us Beta boys? whimpers”
Fang Zhishui closed the forum and, after a moment, a helpless smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
She had seen the posts about Ruan Mei on the forum and was worried that Ruan Mei’s feat of defeating five people would spread throughout the school, causing public suspicion, so she was preparing to take down the post.
However, she did not expect the direction of the thread to be completely unexpected.
It seemed that Ruan Mei had already gained recognition from her entire class on her own.
Fang Zhishui turned to look at Ruan Mei, who was still diligently working on problems, and suddenly frowned.
Around Ruan Mei, several girls were gathered. One was handing her a drafting pencil, another an eraser, and one even took out a wet wipe to help wipe Ruan Mei’s hands.
Ruan Mei was working on the problem while explaining the steps to everyone, very seriously, completely unaware that the people around her weren’t all there to listen to her solution.
Fang Zhishui glared fiercely at each of them one by one. The atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point, and the few girls were glared away.
Just as Ruan Mei was about to write the final step, she turned around and saw that everyone next to her was gone!
“Hey, aren’t you listening to the answer?”
Ruan Mei asked in confusion.
“They aren’t listening; the rest they can solve themselves. Don’t just casually teach people from now on. With your level, aren’t you afraid of misleading them?”
Fang Zhishui’s cold voice came through.
Ruan Mei looked up and saw Fang Zhishui glare fiercely at her before turning back angrily, even kicking her desk leg in frustration.
This person? Why was she suddenly so angry?
Ruan Mei felt a chill run down her spine, breaking out in a cold sweat. She decided to be even more lowkey from now on, and unless absolutely necessary, she would avoid contact with the Female Lead to avoid being affected by the Female Lead’s inexplicable fury.
It would be better to chat and be friends with those female classmates who had asked questions earlier. As for the Female Lead, Ruan Mei was too timid to dare to associate with her. She wouldn’t dare, right?