I'm Pitiful Too

Chapter 47

The first Evening Self-Study after the Mid-Autumn Festival break.

There were still five minutes before class.

Jiang Ning had just entered the classroom when he sensed that something was off.

He had pushed the door open. He remembered that Class 8 generally never closed the door except during breaks or after school.

The classroom was full of students, yet it lacked its usual bustle and instead felt somewhat strange.

Zhang Chi, the Sports Committee Member, stood at the podium in his school uniform, staring straight at him.

The rest of the class also turned to look his way. Jiang Ning grinned.

"What's going on? Giving me a salute of attention?"

Laughter broke out in the classroom, dispersing some of the previously stifling atmosphere.

Huang Yuzhu, who sat in the front row and looked older than his age, said, "Zhang Chi's basketball is missing. He was just asking everyone if they knew where he put it."

"Oh, I don't know anything about that," Jiang Ning said.

Xue Yuantong set her backpack on the desk. Jiang Ning did not linger at the front and returned to his seat, where his deskmate Ma Shicheng immediately said:

"Who the hell stole the basketball? That's seriously low!"

"Who knows?" Jiang Ning said casually.

Guo Kunnan did not look too pleased either. "Zhang Chi specifically borrowed that basketball so we could play during P.E. After P.E. last week, he put it in the classroom and went straight home."

"When school started again, it was gone."

"I heard it costs over a hundred yuan."

Guo Kunnan and Zhang Chi were dormmates, so he knew more than most.

As Jiang Ning listened, he looked at Zhang Chi on the podium. Zhang Chi was wearing his school uniform.

No.4 Middle School's uniforms were cheap. A full set cost only a few dozen yuan, the quality was mediocre, and the style was ugly. Fortunately, the school did not normally require students to wear them.

They were only required for occasions such as school anniversaries, speeches, and Sports Day.

As a result, few students wore the ugly uniforms in everyday life. Yet ever since school started, Zhang Chi had often worn his.

It was said that he only got vegetarian dishes in the cafeteria and never bought snacks. It was clear that his family was not well-off.

For someone like him, more than a hundred yuan was equivalent to over a week's living expenses.

Ma Shicheng asked the others, "Now that the basketball can't be found, it was definitely stolen. Do you know who locked the classroom door that day?"

He figured that whoever was in charge of the classroom key had to bear major responsibility.

At the mention of the key, Guo Kunnan continued, "We discussed it in the dorm. Zhang Chi locked the door himself, and before he left, he even made a point of closing the windows."

Ma Shicheng was out of ideas. This was hard to deal with. There was simply no way to find out who had stolen the basketball.

After hearing that, Geng Lu turned around and asked, "What if they really can't find it? Does Zhang Chi have to pay for the basketball himself?"

"What else can he do? Compensate for it. It's over a hundred yuan," Ma Shicheng chimed in.

An idea suddenly came to Geng Lu. "Why don't you all chip in and pay for it together? That would lessen Zhang Chi's burden by a lot."

Geng Lu felt that Zhang Chi had borrowed the basketball so everyone in the class could play. They had all played with it, so it was only natural for everyone to share the responsibility now! The moment she said that, the expressions of the boys present changed. They could sympathize with him, sure, but they had no obligation to share his loss.

Ma Shicheng shirked responsibility. "Paying for it together is too much. I was dragged into playing basketball that day anyway!"

Shan Kaiquan tapped on his phone and added, "Zhang Chi borrowed the basketball himself. We didn't ask him to."

Guo Kunnan took a middle-ground stance. "Compensating him really isn't realistic. Zhang Chi lost the basketball, so he's definitely the most responsible one. How much should he pay himself, then?"

School had only started a few days ago. It was impossible for them to have formed any deep friendships yet. They were all students, and except for a very few, their family circumstances were about the same. Split evenly, each person would have to pay more than ten yuan.

An overnight stay at Yucai Internet Cafe only cost ten yuan.

More than ten yuan was a serious hit. No one wanted to pay for nothing.

The guys in the back row had originally been discussing it enthusiastically, but Geng Lu's one remark left everyone silent.

Seeing the displeased looks on their faces, Geng Lu wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

She was naive, but not completely stupid. She could sense the change in their attitudes and knew she had said the wrong thing.

She was embarrassed now. She wanted to turn back around, but felt too awkward to do so, and could only remain frozen where she was.

Jiang Ning saw her discomfort and spoke at the right moment.

"Alright, class is about to start. Get ready. Chen Haiyang teaches first period, so watch out or he'll chew you out."

Similar conversations were happening in every corner of the classroom.

After hearing the chatter about Zhang Chi, Shan Xiao felt no sympathy whatsoever.

Only he and Zhang Chi regularly wore school uniforms in the class. They were both poor, but Zhang Chi could only resign himself to fate, while he worked hard to get ahead.

Some time ago, after getting hold of the classroom key, he immediately had a copy made and secretly kept it. It had cost him two yuan.

Zhang Chi was pitiful? Wasn't he pitiful too?

When he heard that the basketball was worth more than a hundred yuan, Shan Xiao's heart broke. To get rid of it quickly, he had gone back to his Hometown during the break and sold it to an elementary school student from the neighboring village for only twenty-five yuan.

He had taken a huge loss, alright? Shan Xiao thought that next time, before selling anything he swiped, he had to find out its price first. Only then could he maximize his profits.

Until class began, Zhang Chi still failed to find the person who had stolen the basketball. He was furious and felt that every student in the class was a suspect, but there was nothing he could do.

He could only return to his seat, full of resentment.

Jiang Ning had guessed that Shan Xiao had stolen the basketball, but he did not step forward to accuse him.

Shan Xiao had long since gotten rid of it. Jiang Ning had no proof, and besides, he could not be bothered to accuse him.

Jiang Ning was not some savior who would pull anyone out of trouble just because they were pitiful.

If he did that, would he even have time to cultivate?

This was fine too. If Shan Xiao kept going crazy like this, sooner or later he would end up at the Police Station, enjoying a life with food and lodging provided.

Although Class 8 had experienced the "basketball incident," after only two periods, everyone had already forgotten about it.

They had just had three days off, and on the first day back for Evening Self-Study, the students were especially lively.

"Jiang Ning, I'm going to the little supermarket. What do you want to eat? I'll bring it back for you."

Geng Lu stood in front of Jiang Ning, looking down at him. A warm smile was on her baby-fat face.

Jiang Ning looked up. From this angle, his line of sight was actually somewhat blocked.

Geng Lu looked at him expectantly. Jiang Ning had helped her out earlier, and she wanted to show her gratitude.

Of course, she also had a little ulterior motive of her own.

"No need." Jiang Ning waved his hand.

"Then I'll bring you a cup of red bean Double Skin Milk. It's my treat." Geng Lu lightly clapped her hands and made the decision herself.

Seeing this, Ma Shicheng pinched his voice and said, "I want Double Skin Milk too. Could you bring me one as well?"

Geng Lu shot him a glance and ignored him completely.

Then she turned and strode out of the classroom.

Shan Kaiquan sat on top of a desk with one foot on the floor, telling everyone about his day. "Brothers, let me tell you, when I came to school today, didn't I take the coach bus? I had a window seat, and there happened to be a girl sitting beside me."

"She was especially pretty, one of those cool girls, you know?"

"She had a colorful butterfly tattoo on her arm, and on her ears..."