Chapter 7 (4)

  Lin Yuxiang's whole body was drenched in cold sweat, scolding himself for forgetting. He couldn't think of anything to say to make up for it, blaming himself for being too impulsive, feeling that the world was dead silent, and who would dare to make a sound in this stillness. Suddenly, a bell rang, Yuxiang felt his ears shrink back, looking at Qian Rong's furious face, he forced a stiff smile, and fled back to the dormitory like a bird in flight.

  A person sat alone in a dark corner, clutching his thigh and wondering what to do. What if Qian Rong spoke out, the school investigated slightly, and punishment was unavoidable. Once punished... he would also bear the reputation of the small town, how could he face people, and how could others

  Look at me……?? In the midst of a chaotic heart, Yu Xiang inadvertently raised his head to look out the window and saw a blurry scene, thinking it was tears. After rubbing his eyes several times, he realized it was raining again. Recently, the winter rain has been relentless, and the ground at Municipal Third Middle School is as moist as the lips of Yáng Jiě in "Yang's Ball". The only difference is that you can't go kiss it. The wet world presses down on Yu Xiang like a weight, and the dull sky and earth make his heart ache with intermittent pain.

  Just as he was despairing, the phone suddenly rang, and the ringing echoed in the dormitory, causing Lin Yuxiang's attention to focus on the ringing, and his spirit also floated. The person on the other end of the phone said cheerfully: "Hello, is this Lin Yuxiang? This is the Political Education Department."

  Yu Xiangren's face turned soft, as if he wanted to kneel down, his throat was dry, and he replied: "I am... what... what's the matter?" In his heart, he knew that Qian Rong had betrayed him. Like a prisoner who had been sentenced to death, he could only wait for those few bullets.

  "We asked that senior three male classmate, but he said no, you recall, can't be mistaken, or is there any evidence? Yu Xiang was overjoyed and rushed to the phone shouting: "No! I didn't remember wrong, definitely didn't remember wrong!" The fear in his heart was dispelled with these few words, calmly saying: "I have a portable player, it's what he sold me!"

  "Can you bring it over?"

  "Alright, alright!" Yu Xiang forgot that he was ill and took out his portable CD player to give it a try. The sound was still like mush. He thought of going out, but suddenly came up with an idea, slammed the player on the ground, and a piece cracked off from the corner. He tried listening again, and the effect was so good that there was no effect at all.

  Yu Xiang braved the rain to hand-deliver the Walkman to Principal Qian. Principal Qian took one look at the maltreated machine and was convinced, handing the Walkman over to Hu Lin saying: "The school must investigate this matter to the end!" Hu Mei saw the pitiful machine and painfully said: "How could such a person exist in Shi Nan San Zhong?"

  Things went smoothly, Qian Rong didn't go to the school administration office, Yu Xiang's hanging heart relaxed a bit, too lazy to apologize, and when he saw Qian Rong, they didn't say a word. He thought things should have passed. The investigation at the school administration office was also smooth sailing, ordering the opening of that boy's locker, inside were all earphone wires, evidence was conclusive, should be convicted, but that boy still refused to admit it, Principal Qian was stumped, almost using torture on him, unexpectedly that boy later confessed voluntarily. Inside there was a 5! Raised Principal's suspicion, called Lin Yu Xiang over and said: "He has already confessed, we will punish him, those goods of his are not smuggled, but assembled from several small factories nearby, this also involves crime, we have notified the police department, there are a few questions to verify, what time did you run into him?"

  Lin Yuxiang said without thinking: "Nine thirty more."

  "Tonight?"

  "Good evening."

  "See you on Sunday?"

  Friday.

  "Are you attending the supplementary lecture at school tomorrow?"

  Yes.

  Principal Qian's tone rose an octave as he said, "The school gate closes at 9:30. How did you end up outside?"

  Lin Yuxiang was stung, his face suddenly turned white, and he didn't expect to dig his own grave. He stuttered: "Uh... I think it's... it's nine o'clock, or maybe a little earlier."

  "Did you go back to your dormitory to sleep that day?"

  "Really?..."

  "How come your name isn't on the registration list?" Principal Qian slapped down the boarding student registration form. "There's no signature from you."

  Lin Yuxiang flipped through a few pages, his body was all over with stinging pain, sweat lurking on his forehead, waiting to be released.

  "I was just going to fetch water at that time, yes, I went to fetch water."

  "That day, there was still a classmate in your dormitory named Qian Rong. I asked him and he was certain that you were not there that night and only returned early the next morning, with water all over your body..."

  Yu Xiang's hands and feet were icy cold, and apart from his instinct to lie, he was no different from a dead man. He knew that Principal Qian must have understood that he was lying, but he still numbly lied: "Ah, I was staying at a relative's house that day, her phone number is... I need to go check."

  "Which relative?"

  "My aunt."

  "I'll give your family a call to confirm."

  "It's okay, never mind."

  "What?"

  "No, my parents aren't home, they'll be back tonight."

  "I'll call you again tonight."

  "I really didn't run away at night."

  "Speak the truth!"

  At this time, the silent Hu Shu changed his name to "Fact" and said: "Lin Yuxiang, school attaches importance to evidence. You yourself have some relaxation, not strict requirements for yourself, your self-examination is still with me. If you really escaped at night, no matter what reason, the school will punish you. The male classmate you exposed, after discussion, has been decided to be administratively criticized, and what about you? You need to reflect on yourself."

  Principal Qian said: "We will be fair and just. You think back yourself, now it's still time to speak out, later it'll be too late!"

  Yu Xiang thought of confessing several times, but he still had a last shred of hope, and his family members proved that he returned home that night. Like a greedy person seeing an isolated fruit hanging on the fruit tree, kneeling devoutly to pick it up, although not knowing whether the fruit would fall or could be picked up.

  Principal Qian let him go back to his dormitory. Yu Xiang lowered his head and walked slowly, when he reached the entrance of his classroom, he saw from afar the three neatly arranged teaching buildings with three stairways, front and back connected, were triple doors, didn't know if the first year had been punished, still could or not be promoted to second year. What would happen to Liang Yangjun...Liang Yangjun's family was rich, my family...was too afraid to think about it.

  He lowered his head and walked slowly, as if the scenery was fleeting, and the sound of Susan's voice echoed in his ears again - "How's your review going?" ... As soon as he thought of her, his body, which had just entered the empty door, fell back into the mundane dust. Lin Yuxiang's heart was filled with hatred for that love thief - it was all because of that kid, who took away my... and made me sleep outside for a night, it was all your fault, it was all... Lin Yuxiang's thoughts were too tired to think more, and he dragged his body into the dormitory. How could the school be like this? The classroom was so crowded and noisy that they couldn't go there, but instead had to reflect in the dormitory. But it was also good, the dormitory was quiet. Lin Yuxiang felt like a wild animal, afraid of humans. As soon as he thought of someone, his body would tremble with fear. When he arrived at the dormitory, he lay down without taking off his shoes and stared blankly at the ceiling. Yu Xiong's voice floated down - "Endure everything" - "Endure my ass!" Lin Yuxiang jumped up from bed in anger, threw the pillow to the ground, and then regretted it and picked it up to pat it a few times. His actions made him think of Song Shihua, who loved to flatter people, and he wondered why this kid had been missing recently, even skipping physical education training. How could it be? Did you have to flatter people to get ahead? Lin Yuxiang's thoughts reached this level, and his anger rose again. His hand, out of control, grasped the corner of the pillow tightly, as if he wanted to throw it again.

  Unconsciously, noon had arrived. Lin Yuxiang's appetite was filled with gloom, and he no longer had the desire to eat. Looking out at the crowd outside the window, he envied their carefree state. Qian Rong finished his meal and sent Ji away. After the rift, for the first time, he spoke to Lin Yuxiang: "You're not allowed to read books as punishment? Pitiful, has your penalty notice been issued?"

  "What did you say?" Lin Yuxiang looked up, glaring at Qian Rong, who was washing dishes and didn't have time to engage in a staring contest with him. "I had no choice either," he said. "The school administration made me speak out. I wanted to cover for you but couldn't."

  "Do you know if all the classmates in the class know?"

  "Don't worry about this, I'll help you spread the word."

  Yu Xiang couldn't say a word.

  Susan had a bad feeling at this time. A month ago, she asked Shen Qier to lie for her, pretending to be a science whiz, and with the help of Luo Tiancheng, they made up a convincing story, thinking that Lin Yushang would give up his infatuation and focus on studying, and he would surely get into Tsinghua University again. Susan was too naive, waiting for Lin Yushang's letter, thinking that after reading Shen Qier's letter, he would definitely be moved to write back to her. She couldn't have imagined that Lin Yushang was so careless - or impatient - that he didn't even put a stamp on the envelope, and she had been waiting for a month, only receiving junk mail and love letters, not knowing whether Lin Yushang was working hard or going crazy at the municipal key school. She couldn't wait any longer, asked for his phone number, and ran to make a public call to Lin Yushang that noon.

  Lin Yuxiang was in the midst of a heated argument, and when he answered the phone, he wasn't even thinking about it. He pressed the speakerphone button and yelled, "Hello?!" Susan's voice trembled with fear, and she spoke softly, "H-hello... I'm looking for... is Lin Yuxiang there?"