"Big Huang, keep going."
Zhou Qiang urged him on. Huang Xueli took a sip of tea and continued:
"After Zhou Tao jumped off the building, it wasn't over."
"Another kid in his dorm was so shaken that he started acting wrong. We caught it early and rushed him to the hospital for an examination. It turned out to be schizophrenia. The doctor said that, judging by his condition, he'd probably been ill for a long time, but hadn't shown any symptoms before. This time, the intense shock triggered it all at once."
Zhou Qiang glanced at Wang Xiaoliang. "Then how did the school... handle that?"
"How else could we handle it?" Huang Xueli's lips twitched in a self-mocking smile. "The kid's parent made a huge scene, shouting and yelling at the school, saying the school had ruined his child. But the new principal stood firm. He felt the kid's mental problems were congenital and had no direct connection to the school's management. Besides, we had the hospital's diagnosis in black and white. That was the strongest evidence."
"That parent wasn't willing to let it go. Once he realized making a scene wouldn't get him anywhere, he came up with another idea. He went and stirred up Zhou Tao's parents."
"Zhou Tao's parents had already negotiated a compensation agreement with the school and were ready to sign. But after he got involved, they started reconsidering." Huang Xueli set his cup down heavily on the table. "They bypassed us and went straight to court with a lawsuit against the school."
Zhou Qiang's brow furrowed. "They sued? Wouldn't that mean everything would become public?"
"Yes, that was exactly what it meant." Huang Xueli said, "Once the trial started, the media would catch the scent and come swarming. A student's suicide, coercion by the