A Solution

Seeing Li Hui leave, Teacher Cao could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. He turned to the people beside him and said,

"Could I trouble everyone to take Director Liu to the infirmary? Zhou En, Sun Peiyu, you two should also go to the infirmary for a checkup."

Everyone nodded in agreement, sighing inwardly. No one had expected Li Hui to wield such overwhelming influence, or to be so arrogant as to completely disregard the school.

However, when everyone looked at Teacher Cao, there was also a trace of envy in their eyes. With such an outstanding performance, he was definitely going to be promoted.

The infirmary.

After examining Zhou En's injuries, the doctor said to him, "It's nothing serious, just a minor injury. Fortunately, your nose bridge wasn't hit. Otherwise, you would definitely have needed surgery."

Zhou En nodded.

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Be careful to rest over the next few days. Remember to eat more protein-rich foods, such as eggs. Don't eat large amounts of meat and fish or anything like that," the doctor instructed.

"Okay." Zhou En answered and was about to turn around and leave.

"Right." Just as Zhou En was about to walk out, the doctor suddenly called him back.

"The principal told me to tell you to go to his office after your examination." Hearing this, Zhou En's mood grew heavy. What was bound to come had finally arrived.

Zhou En had heard enough stories about the principal. He had never expected that even the famously impartial principal would set his sights on him.

"Thank you, Doctor."

After saying goodbye to the doctor again, Zhou En ate the breakfast Chubby had bought for him and walked toward the teaching building.

Chubby had not been injured, so naturally, he had obediently gone to class. He had complained about it for a long time. Zhou En felt faintly envious of Chubby, who had escaped the matter completely.

No matter how the school punished him afterward, it would not land on Chubby's head.

All along the way, Zhou En wondered how the principal would deal with him.

If it had been the vice principal, then out of consideration for the school's reputation, he would surely have raised the matter high and then gently let it go. But facing the principal, Zhou En could not predict the outcome.

The principal's office.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in."

This was Zhou En's first time visiting the principal's office. He found that it was at least two or three times larger than an ordinary teacher's office.

The slightly antique desk and bookcases showed that the principal was fond of history.

The overall impression of the office was that it was simple and dignified, yet still luxurious.

That was understandable. After all, the principal represented the entire school.

"Principal, you wanted to see me?"

Seeing the principal before him, whose hair was slightly white but whose spirit was vigorous, Zhou En asked politely.

The principal calmly took a sip of dandelion tea and pointed at the chair before him.

"Sit."

Zhou En did not stand on ceremony and sat down as instructed.

"I've already learned everything that happened today. Do you want to know how the school has decided to deal with you?"

The principal did not waste any time on pleasantries and went straight to the point.

Zhou En shook his head. Still, he could probably guess. As long as he was innocent, the punishment would not be too severe.

At most, he would receive a minor demerit.

"Expulsion," the principal said flatly.

"What?" Zhou En's eyes widened as he asked in disbelief.

He had never imagined that the school would expel him.

Today's incident had already become so serious that any improper handling by the school would immediately be reported by the media.

The school was actually willing to withstand such pressure and expel him.

Zhou En suppressed the irritation rising in his heart. He knew that if the school was determined to expel him, there was nothing he could do.

"Why?" Zhou En really wanted to poke his finger into the principal's face.

The principal let out a bitter laugh and slowly said, "Because you offended someone you shouldn't have."

"Li Hui?" Zhou En asked in disbelief.

The principal slowly nodded.

Zhou En was disappointed—completely and utterly disappointed in the school.

"Could it be that Li Hui founded the school? How can you protect him this much?" Zhou En's voice was nearly out of control.

The principal shook his head.

"Yes, and no."

"The school wasn't founded by Li Hui, but Li Hui can determine whether the school lives or dies."

The principal took a sip of dandelion tea and continued slowly.

Hearing this, Zhou En vaguely understood something.

"To be precise, it's the Li family. The Li family's corporation is one of the school's shareholders. After all, the board of directors has spoken, and I have no choice but to follow their instructions."

Looking at Zhou En, the principal slowly said, "Li Hui mobilized the Li family's corporation over this matter, so the school has to give the Li family an explanation."

"You must understand that there are forces and people whom the school cannot afford to provoke, and whom neither you nor I can afford to provoke."

Zhou En fell silent. He knew that between Li Hui and himself, the school had chosen the former.

Seeing Zhou En remain silent, the principal could not help sighing.

"The school will announce the result tomorrow. If you want to go home, you can buy a train ticket today."

Hearing this, Zhou En was momentarily lost. Had he really been expelled by the school just like that?

How was he supposed to explain this to his parents when he went home?

What about his dream?

Ling Ling... would he never see her again?

Zhou En felt as if his world were about to collapse.

"Alas." The principal sighed.

"As for this semester's tuition, the school will refund it in full. Consider it a little compensation."

Zhou En felt that there was no point in staying in this office any longer. It would only add to his sorrow.

He stood up and nodded at the principal.

"In that case, I'll be going."

Turning around, Zhou En had never felt his footsteps so heavy.

He opened the office door and was about to leave when a faint, delicate fragrance drifted over. The next moment, a delicate body crashed into him.

"Ouch." A somewhat cold voice rang out.

Ordinarily, Zhou En would have felt his blood surge and sprayed a nosebleed. But today, he truly had no such mood.

"Sorry," Zhou En said indifferently.

Leng Xiyan could not help knitting her brows. Normally, even her father would not touch her. Yet today, she had been bumped into by some stinking man.

After hearing Zhou En's lukewarm apology, her proud and pampered personality could not tolerate such provocation.

"Are you blind?" Leng Yanxi said coldly.

Zhou En was already in a terrible mood. After being provoked like this, he became even more irritable.

"Move." Zhou En reached out and pushed forward.

"Ah!" A piercing scream seemed to split Zhou En's eardrums.

The principal saw this and instantly sprayed the mouthful of dandelion tea from his lips.

Seeing Leng Yanxi move aside, Zhou En strode away.

Normally, countless men fawned over her in her presence. Yet this man before her seemed not even to have looked at her properly, leaving Leng Yanxi suddenly feeling utterly defeated.

"Come back." Just as Zhou En was about to leave the principal's line of sight, the principal called out to him.

Zhou En turned around and walked back into the office. He looked at the principal, completely ignoring Leng Yanxi beside him.

This made Leng Yanxi even more furious.

"Alas." The principal sighed.

"Zhou En, this is a letter from me. Take it to the School of Civil Engineering. They can admit you as a special enrollee."

As he spoke, the principal took a letter from the cabinet.

"A letter?" Zhou En did not accept it right away. He remembered that the School of Civil Engineering seemed to be a vocational college that specialized in excavators.

"You mean I'd have to start over as a freshman, and at a vocational college?" Zhou En asked incredulously.

"There's another option. You could repeat your final year of high school. Even if your college entrance examination score doesn't reach the admission cutoff, I can still make an exception and admit you."

Zhou En laughed twice. At that moment, he only wanted to ask: Why?

"Principal, the reason you chose to compromise is so you can cover up this matter, right?"

"If you insist on expelling me, I'll expose everything and let everyone see what kind of place this so-called school really is."

There was not the slightest hint of politeness in his words.

After hearing this threat, the principal calmly took a sip of dandelion tea and slowly said,

"Did you record what happened today? Without evidence, who would believe only your side of the story?"

These words left Zhou En speechless.

The principal looked at the silent Zhou En and slowly said, "There is a way for you to continue without having to start over."

Zhou En raised his head and stared fixedly at the principal.

Under Zhou En's gaze, the principal slowly said, "You can continue as an auditing student."

An auditing student was someone who could complete the courses but would not receive a diploma.

To be honest, who went to college without aiming for a diploma? If he could not obtain one, what was the point of studying?

However, Zhou En had no better choice.

"All right. I choose to be an auditing student."

A faint smile appeared on the principal's aged face.

"The school will still expel you, Zhou En. Are you sure this is your choice?"

Zhou En was unwilling to accept it, but he still nodded.

"All right, go to class!"

After Zhou En left, Leng Yanxi looked at the principal before her and spoke in a cold voice.

"How could you let him leave like that?"

If Zhou En had been present, he would certainly have been shocked by Leng Yanxi's tone. She actually dared to speak to the principal like that. Was she tired of living?

The principal sighed. Rather than becoming angry as expected, he slowly said, "They're all pitiful children."

"Pitiful? What about the fact that he took advantage of me just now?"

The principal gave a bitter laugh and said, "He didn't do it on purpose. Don't be so petty."

The results of the incident were announced that very day. The speed of the decision left the students secretly astonished.

Wang Rui, who was Chubby, received no punishment after the teacher gave him a perfunctory warning.

Sun Peiyu, who was the Glasses girl, received a minor demerit for giving false testimony.

None of that was particularly important. What truly left everyone stunned was that Li Hui had publicly assaulted a teacher—no, a director—and had somehow gotten away without any punishment.

Meanwhile, Zhou En, who had been wronged even more, had actually been expelled by the school.

"Have you heard the result from this morning? Zhou En was actually expelled by the school."

"Yeah. The reason was supposedly that he didn't obey the teacher's instructions. What kind of ridiculous reason is that?"

"Exactly. The school is far too unfair."

"Come on, let's go demand an explanation from the principal."

The school's unfair treatment immediately threw the entire campus into a state of unrest.

After all, something similar might fall on their heads one day.

However, after hearing the words Li Hui put out, they all became like eggplants beaten down by frost, losing all their spirit.

"If anyone is dissatisfied, feel free to come find me."

Everyone realized that Li Hui had the Li family backing him. He did not need to pay them any attention at all.

Zhou En stood at the entrance of the Fighting Club. After hesitating for a moment, he still walked inside.

Strictly speaking, an expelled student no longer had the right to participate in the school's clubs. Yet he was still unwilling to give up.

He pushed open the teachers' door and walked in. Inside, everyone was training enthusiastically, and Zhou En's nose suddenly tingled.

"What's wrong?" At that moment, a mature yet seductive voice rang out.

Zhou En turned around and saw that Liu Yu was still dressed in hot pants and a tight tank top. She was practically an invitation for men to commit crimes.

"I was expelled by the school." Zhou En answered honestly. His eyes fixed on the ceiling, he did not dare look directly at Liu Yu.

"What?" Liu Yu was clearly taken aback. As a coach, she naturally did not need to attend the flag-raising ceremony, so she clearly knew nothing about what had happened that morning.

Zhou En had no choice but to briefly recount the incident.

After hearing him, Liu Yu's brows drew together slightly. She was clearly thinking about something.

"I didn't expect Li Hui to go this far. But now you have no way to obtain your diploma."

At these words, Zhou En's eyes lit up, and he stared intently at Liu Yu.

"What do you mean?"

Liu Yu smiled and said, "Li Hui must have used the Li family's power to suppress this matter."

"So you only need to expose the matter again. Under pressure from the media and the public, the school will have no choice but to yield and bring you back."

Zhou En gave a bitter laugh.

"It's not as if I haven't considered that plan. But I have no evidence. Why would those newspapers and media believe me?"

Liu Yu smiled faintly and said, "As long as you become a public figure, someone will naturally investigate the truth."

Hearing this, Zhou En's eyes lit up. He hesitated and asked,

"How can I become a public figure? That isn't something just anyone can do."

"Join the club and become one of the five official team members. When the time comes, you'll naturally become a public figure as the school's representative."

Hearing this, Zhou En's heart trembled.