The School Belle Actually Came to See Me!

The police station near Zhixin Middle School was called the Nonglinxia Road Police Station. It was one of the larger local police stations in Yuecheng.

It occupied a five-story building, with the service hall and reception center on the first floor.

Strangely enough, Huang Bohan passed this place every day on his way to school and had never felt anything about it.

But today, standing at the entrance about to go inside, he suddenly felt a deep, instinctive awe toward this solemn institution.

"Phew..."

Huang Bohan took a deep breath and bravely walked in. Right away, he saw two disputes being handled.

One seemed to involve two people who had gotten drunk and started fighting.

The other involved a married couple whose argument had turned physical.

Several police officers were mediating each dispute in the courtyard.

Huang Bohan only glanced at them before hurrying into the service hall. He soon spotted the head of their year, Cao Jingjun, and his homeroom teacher, Yin Yanqiu, along with a furious middle-aged couple.

Where was Chen Zhu?

Huang Bohan's first thought was that his injuries had been so serious he had gone to the hospital. The thought instantly made him anxious again.

Yin Yanqiu spotted Huang Bohan then and beckoned him over. "What are you doing here instead of attending evening study?"

No matter the circumstances, homeroom teachers really did have an instinctive urge to keep their students in line.

"I... I heard Chen Zhu got hurt in a fight."

"So I came to check on him," Huang Bohan said awkwardly.

"Chen Zhu?"

A peculiar expression suddenly appeared on Yin Yanqiu's face. Just as Huang Bohan was wondering why, she gestured behind her with her chin. "There. He's back from the restroom."

Huang Bohan turned around and, sure enough, saw his friend emerging from the restroom.

He...

There were no injuries on his face, and nothing seemed wrong with his body either. He could even give his hands a couple of vigorous shakes to flick the water off.

"Big Huang, what brings you here?"

Chen Zhu had no idea about the chaos and rumors spreading through their year. He even joked with Huang Bohan, "Got some relationship drama or mother-in-law trouble you need mediated?"

Ignoring the teasing, Huang Bohan stammered, "D-didn't Li Jianming get some people to beat you up?"

"Ummm... how should I put this..."

Chen Zhu scratched his head and said, a little sheepishly, "My name did get beaten up, but my body came through unscathed."

"Your name got beaten up? What does that mean?"

Huang Bohan was completely baffled.

"They did ask me to come out for a talk... but while I was getting a teacher, my middle school classmate Wang Changhua snuck over there himself... They thought he was me, and when he denied it, they started hitting him..."

As Chen Zhu was explaining, Wang Changhua emerged from the interview room after giving his statement, his face bruised and swollen.

No matter how much Chen Zhu explained, Huang Bohan still found the whole thing confusing. It was a bizarre situation to begin with.

But one look at Wang Changhua's battered face instantly made everything fall into place for Big Huang.

The middle-aged couple pulled Wang Changhua over, asking anxiously whether his injuries hurt while also scolding him for sticking his nose into other people's business.

They appeared to be Wang Changhua's parents.

"Oh no!"

Seeing this, Huang Bohan suddenly said, "Chen Zhu, I told your mom you'd been beaten up and taken to the police station too!"

"What?"

Chen Zhu thought this was an unnecessary complication. He was about to borrow a phone to let his family know he was fine when Chen Peisong and Mao Xiaoqin arrived.

His father looked a little more composed. Although his face was worried and stern, at least his clothes were in order.

Empress Dowager Mao not only had tear tracks on her face, but she was wearing mismatched shoes. She had hastily thrown a trench coat over her pajamas, and even its buttons were done up wrong.

She spotted her son at once and rushed over. After looking him up and down, she froze too.

"Bohan said some thugs had hurt you..."

Mao Xiaoqin looked at her son, then at Huang Bohan beside him.

"Ummm... my name did get beaten up, but my body came through unscathed... They really did ask for me..."

Chen Zhu had no choice but to explain it all again.

A short distance away, Cao Jingjun asked Yin Yanqiu, "Are those Chen Zhu's parents?"

"Yes."

Yin Yanqiu nodded. "I've met them at parent-teacher meetings. His father works at the subdistrict office, and his mother is a doctor."

"Oh."

Cao Jingjun looked thoughtful. No wonder Chen Zhu always seemed more mature and composed than others his age. Perhaps his upbringing had something to do with it.

Thinking of families, Cao Jingjun couldn't help sighing inwardly.

Wang Changhua was a difficult student to handle. His parents ran a business, and they didn't seem particularly easy to reason with either.

Before long, Zhixin Middle School's principal, He Yong, Wang Changhua's homeroom teacher, Bian Ying, and Zhizhong High School's student affairs director, Xu Chaocai, all arrived after hearing the news.

First, they wanted to check on the student's injuries.

Second, they needed to handle the incident properly and keep it from damaging the school's reputation.

But just as Cao Jingjun had expected, Wang Changhua's parents were not easy to placate. He Yong had barely said a few words before Wang Changhua's mother slapped a chair and declared:

"Why should we calm down? Can't you see how badly my son is hurt?"

"My son goes to school to study, not to get beaten up! Your school has completely failed in its duty to protect him!"

"Wang Changhua did nothing to deserve this! He took a beating meant for someone else! If you don't give us a satisfactory plan today, I'm calling the newspaper!"

"Peisong."

Having learned the whole story, Mao Xiaoqin couldn't help frowning at those words. "Isn't that a bit of a dig at us?"

Chen Peisong calmly waved it off. "If Chen Zhu had been beaten up because of some mix-up, wouldn't you be angry too? We're all parents. Put yourself in their shoes, and you can understand how they feel. Let's just pretend we didn't hear it."

His worry and anxiety had been no less intense than his wife's; he simply hadn't shown them. Now that he knew Chen Zhu wasn't hurt, he didn't care in the slightest about a few mildly offensive remarks.

Changhua was actually a loyal friend. When his parents criticized the school, he stayed silent.

But when he heard his mother dragging Chen Zhu into it, Wang Changhua was decidedly unhappy. His face swollen, he interrupted, "Mom, stop saying things like that. What does this have to do with Chen Zhu...?"

The arguing was loud, but the police officers didn't spare them a second glance, as though they had long since grown accustomed to such scenes.

Just then, three people walked into the police station.

One was a middle-aged man in his forties, tall and straight-backed, with tasteful clothes. Though wrinkles had appeared around his eyes and across his forehead, it was still easy to tell that he had been a handsome, dashing young man.

His gaze was sharp and alert. He looked like someone whose word carried considerable weight on his own turf.

Behind him followed a subordinate in a formal suit who looked very much like a driver or secretary.

Bringing up the rear was a girl wearing a Zhizhong High School uniform.

The moment Mao Xiaoqin saw the girl, she couldn't help exclaiming, "Peisong, that girl is so pretty! Not just her face-she's tall too. Oh, and her skin looks so soft..."

Now that she knew it wasn't her son who had been injured, Empress Dowager Mao was already in the mood for gossip.

Chen Zhu stared at the girl for a while, then suddenly asked Huang Bohan, "Did you call her here too?"

Huang Bohan rolled his eyes. "Do you think I could get her to come?"

"Fair point."

Chen Zhu was still wondering why she had come.

The distinguished-looking middle-aged man swept his gaze around, quickly spotted the injured Wang Changhua, and strode over. Bending down, he asked kindly, "Hello. I'm Song Shiwei's father. How badly are you hurt?"

In fact, the moment the three of them entered the police station, their striking presence and good looks had drawn the attention of almost everyone in the hall.

Naturally, Wang Changhua recognized the girl too.

Song Shiwei, the school belle.

What was she doing here?

When Song Shiwei's father approached and asked after him, Wang Changhua felt as though he were dreaming.

What did this mean?

Could it be...

Was it possible...

Had Song Shiwei been secretly watching me all this time, and I just never noticed?

After hearing that I'd been beaten up and taken to the police station, she finally couldn't hold back her feelings anymore and brought her father to visit me?

Good heavens!

You bastard thugs! I don't want you executed anymore. I'm even a little grateful to you now.

Happiness had arrived so suddenly that Wang Changhua felt as though something had lodged in his throat. He had no idea what to say.

Wang Changhua's parents exchanged a glance. Each saw surprise in the other's eyes, along with... a little delight.

Was our son really this impressive?

Since someone had come specifically to check on him, Wang Changhua's father felt awkward remaining where he was. Mindful of the proper courtesies, he extended his right hand.

Song Shiwei's father shook it graciously and said, politely but apologetically:

"I'm usually so busy with work that Weiwei rarely tells me about what happens at school."

"It wasn't until today that I learned someone at school had been pestering her all this time."

"Chen Zhu, thank you for standing up for Weiwei that day. I promise you, this matter will not be settled lightly..."

Halfway through, Song Shiwei's father suddenly noticed something. Why had the smile vanished from "Chen Zhu's" face?

(There's another chapter at eight tonight. Please vote, please vote!)

(End of chapter)