Xia Bing smiled until her brows and eyes curved, half her body nestled in her boyfriend’s arms.
The two of them were wrapped up in each other, seemingly with eyes only for one another. The remaining single dogs felt the atmosphere become somewhat awkward.
Bi Tiantian had always been attracted to good looks. The three men across from her were not enough to arouse any interest, so she lowered her head and played with her mobile phone.
Shi Nianhuan had never been much of a talker. She had always quietly sat in a corner, listening to others speak. Now, with no one saying anything, even her normally slow-witted self felt awkward.
She really wanted to find a topic to chat about, but she could not think of one for the moment.
“Do you girls drink? Monkey, let’s go buy some beer.” Xia Bing’s boyfriend suddenly stood up. Everyone immediately responded, and before the girls could say anything, he had already left.
Shi Nianhuan did not mind. In any case, she would not drink.
“Bingbing, why didn’t you have Qin Beifeng bring a few better-looking roommates?” As soon as the boys left, Bi Tiantian pouted and began complaining.
Xia Bing and Shi Nianhuan exchanged a smile and chuckled softly in unison.
Bi Tiantian glared fiercely at them. “What? Was I wrong?”
“Right, right, right.” Xia Bing smiled. “When I go back, I’ll definitely tell him to bring a few handsome guy roommates next time.”
This time, even Bi Tiantian could not help laughing.
“Oh, this little beauty looks pretty good.” As Shi Nianhuan and the other two girls were talking, a provocative voice suddenly came from behind them.
When they turned around, they saw several unkempt men dressed in a disreputable manner, their faces covered in stubble.
Shi Nianhuan slightly frowned, barely noticeably. Their hair was greasy and sticky; they looked as though they had not washed it in a long time.
“Get lost.” Xia Bing’s expression hardened as she shouted sternly.
They had encountered this sort of hoodlums before. Usually, if they showed anger and impatience after being verbally provoked, the men would stop pestering them.
However, today seemed to be an exception.
Instead of frightening them away, Xia Bing’s cold severity aroused their interest.
“All right, little beauty, you’re quite feisty. I like that.” As the man in the lead spoke, he reached out to put an arm around Xia Bing’s shoulder.
Xia Bing was wearing an off-the-shoulder short dress that revealed her exquisite collarbones and fair shoulders.
Shi Nianhuan looked at those somewhat diseased hands, and her heart jolted.
The three girls, who had not yet even left the school gates, were frightened.
Fortunately, nothing happened. At the critical moment, Qin Beifeng and the others returned.
Seeing his girlfriend about to be touched by a filthy man, Qin Beifeng was consumed by rage. He put the beer on the ground and shouted as he ran over.
“Let go of her.” Qin Beifeng reacted extremely quickly. As he spoke, he had already reached out and pulled Xia Bing into his arms.
The Woman who had almost fallen into his hands suddenly slipped away, and the man looked at Qin Beifeng with slight irritation.
Qin Beifeng also glared angrily at the men.
“Who are you? Don’t meddle in other people’s business.”
“I’m her boyfriend.”
“Heh… So she has a boyfriend. What a pity. Such a juicy little mouth—so someone’s already had you, huh…” Filthy words began spilling from the man’s mouth.
Qin Beifeng was truly enraged. Completely sudden and unexpected, he threw a punch.
Shi Nianhuan’s eyes widened, and everyone froze.
A moment later, Qin Beifeng and the others began fighting the men across from them.
Dust covered their faces, and the crackling sounds of blows frightened all the customers at the food stall. Panic-stricken, everyone moved aside to watch, afraid of being accidentally hurt.
Xia Bing was also frightened into having a pale face. Qin Beifeng and the others had only four people, while the men numbered a full seven or eight.
“Call the police, call the police,” Bi Tiantian said while trembling. Shi Nianhuan then shakily took her mobile phone from her pocket and dialed 110.
By the time the police arrived, Qin Beifeng and the others had long since been beaten until they lay on the ground, unable even to stand, their faces swollen and bruised.
Several hoodlums swaggered around arrogantly.
Xia Bing cried until her eyes were red and swollen, yet she did not dare step forward.
Afterward, all of them were taken to the police station.
This was the first time in her life that Shi Nianhuan had entered a police station. The four of them were in one interrogation room.
The other hoodlums were locked in another interrogation room.
After clarifying what had happened, the police called the instructor.
Shi Nianhuan’s heart pounded, and she faintly felt that the matter seemed to have become rather serious.
A fight outside school was indeed neither a major nor a minor matter. Although Qin Beifeng and the others were the ones who had been beaten most severely, still…
The instructor from their department was a Missy only a few years older than them. She was still pursuing a graduate degree, yet she was usually very strict with them.
The instructor from Qin Beifeng’s department was a middle-aged man around forty. He had a receding hairline, a cold expression, and a frighteningly severe demeanor.
The police said that the hoodlums involved in the fight were migrant workers from a construction site near the school and would be detained for several days.
The instructor took the group away.
For a long time afterward, Shi Nianhuan still remembered the serious look of Qin Beifeng’s instructor. It had truly been terrifying.
Shi Nianhuan thought that once they were released, the matter would be resolved.
It was not until early the next morning, when Xia Bing’s sobs woke her from sleep, that she hazily realized the matter was not as simple as she had imagined.
“Qin Beifeng is going to be expelled.” Xia Bing spoke through sobs, her words broken and intermittent.
Shi Nianhuan and Bi Tiantian were also frightened. Bi Tiantian instinctively asked, “What about us? We won’t be expelled too, will we?”
Shi Nianhuan’s heart tightened as well. She had always been a good student, and the words “expulsion” were simply too far removed from her life.
Xia Bing kept shedding tears but shook her head forcefully. “No. But Qin Beifeng is going to be expelled.”
From Xia Bing’s broken account, Shi Nianhuan grasped the key point.
Too many people had witnessed the matter yesterday, and someone had recorded a video. The matter had become too serious, so the school needed to control its influence and had to provide an explanation.
Qin Beifeng became the scapegoat. In fact, he had indeed been the one to throw the first punch.
Shi Nianhuan’s feelings were tangled. She gently patted Xia Bing’s shoulder, yet did not know how to comfort her.
“What should I do? He can’t be expelled. Can you help me think of a solution?” Xia Bing’s eyes were red and swollen. Without makeup, her expression looked poor.
Shi Nianhuan pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Bi Tiantian shook her head. “There’s no way.”
“Nianhuan, aren’t you close to Lin Xiangyang from the student union? Can you ask him for help? See if he has any way to help?” Xia Bing looked at Shi Nianhuan with intense hope.
Lin Xiangyang? That outstanding man who seemed to shine everywhere at school. Shi Nianhuan bit her lip, then foolishly nodded.
“I can ask him.”
Xia Bing held her hand, laughing and crying at once. “Thank you, Nianhuan. Thank you, truly.”