Student Council President

Shen Si was so furious he laughed. His skin was pale, his brows and eyes delicate, and his features had a feminine beauty. With his anger held in check, he looked as sinister as a villain in a novel.

He really was a villain in a novel.

"Just see if I can kill you," he said, each word measured, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

The tone sounded familiar. Cen Xia thought carefully before remembering: it was the voice of the ringleader that day in the activities building, when Shi Su had been beaten until he couldn't get up.

Shi Su held his back ramrod straight.

"Fine. I'll be waiting."

Cen Xia's heart went cold. Why did he keep provoking him?

The crowd of onlookers suddenly grew noisy, a low hum of voices as everyone spoke in hushed tones, as though afraid of someone.

"The president's here, the president's here..."

"Make way up front!"

Cen Xia, standing in the front row, took two steps to the right to make room.

The student council president, He Wangsheng.

Cen Xia had seen him once from a distance at a ceremony. The thousand-seat auditorium had been packed, and every eye had been fixed on the raised stage, where He Wangsheng stood at the front, delivering a speech.

His voice had been gentle and deep, his pace unhurried, every word crisp and clear. The speech had been official but interesting, unlike a leader's address that sent the audience nodding off.

The not particularly crowded gathering parted to make a path wide enough for him to walk through easily without touching anyone.

He Wangsheng was tall and upright, his broad shoulders and narrow waist clad in a uniform. His collar was properly fastened to the last button, unlike others who chose to undo a couple or leave it open altogether, exposing the white shirt underneath.

A gold double-ring thorn clasp badge was pinned to the left breast of his uniform, and a gold rose cufflink adorned his cuff. He walked slowly, without hurry.

He had a pair of affectionate eyes and delicate, gentle features that made it easy for people to let down their guard and take a liking to him.

"What happened here?"

His voice was gentle, like pieces of jade chiming against each other.

Shen Si panicked for a moment at his arrival, his arrogant expression vanishing. His feet carried him several steps toward He Wangsheng before he abruptly stopped.

"Brother He," he called.

He Wangsheng looked at the mess before him, his brows knitting almost imperceptibly. "What happened to this student?"

Shi Su reached out to pull him up. Only then did the limp body slumped on the floor seem to regain its bones, and with Shi Su's support, he shakily straightened his knees.

"Are you all right, Zanli?"

"...I'm fine." His voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

After those two words, he said nothing more. He kept his head bowed, as though that could block out the mocking gazes around him, as if they were watching a sideshow.

Stop looking, stop looking...

He prayed over and over in his heart, Please stop looking at me... Shame swept over him like towering ocean waves, its crushing weight leaving him unable to breathe.

He couldn't help resenting even Shi Su, who cared about him but had called out his name just then.

Why did you have to say my name? Do you want them to laugh at me too?

He Wangsheng had something of a headache. None of the people involved would speak, making it difficult for him to handle the situation.

Still, it was obvious from the scene that Shen Si had been bullying someone.

He looked at Shen Si and said mildly, "Apologize."

Shen Si jerked his head up, eyes wide. He wanted to defend himself, but when he saw He Wangsheng's gaze, which brooked no argument...

He swallowed that trace of resentment too and finally spoke without much feeling. "I'm sorry. Is that good enough?"

He was still the same as ever; even when apologizing, he wouldn't bow his head.

Zhou Zanli broke free of the seawater for the moment. He looked up in fright and met Shen Si's cold, threatening gaze, his body trembling beyond his control.

Shi Su felt it. He put an arm around Zhou Zanli and patted him gently.

He looked up at Shen Si, sparks flying in his eyes.

Shen Si noticed, but Shi Su's insistence on sticking his neck out for a friend and charging headlong into a brick wall only struck him as ridiculous.

Even if a tiny ant raised its mandibles high, a human would not see it.

"It's all right..." Zhou Zanli murmured.

They knew, of course, that Shen Si's apology held not a shred of sincerity. These young masters on their lofty perches would never recognize their own mistakes, much less admit to them.

But what could they do except accept it?

The farce finally came to a hasty end with a perfunctory "I'm sorry."

The crowd dispersed, everyone going back to whatever they had been doing.

Shen Si left with He Wangsheng.

Shi Su helped Zhou Zanli to the infirmary.

Cen Xia's food had long since gone cold, and he no longer had an appetite, so he went straight back to the dorm.

Before long, the forum exploded, and a thread about the incident was pushed to the top. Bored for so long, these people had finally found some entertainment.

Photos from the scene spread like wildfire, but Shen Si wasn't in any of them. There were only Zhou Zanli and Shi Su.

Photos of Zhou Zanli from every angle piled up layer after layer in the thread, and someone dug up his name and class and attached them to the photos.

Someone went even further and posted his family background in the comments, though the comment was deleted soon afterward.

The comment section was full of all kinds of remarks.

[How did this guy offend Shen Si? He looks pretty honest to me?]

[The president came, and Shen Si apologized!]

[That's our president for you, treating every student fairly! Showering flowers.jpg]

[Why are there bootlickers everywhere? He's not worth a single hair on my group leader's head! Contempt.jpg]

[I heard it was because of S that he got targeted]

[Zhou is S's friend, so it's no surprise Young Master Shen targeted him]

[Everyone else gets called by name, so why does he get an initial?]

[Ahem, isn't it better to be safe than sorry? What if S really does win those few people's favor and comes back for revenge?]

[Have you guys been reading too many novels? Do you really believe he can reach the heavens in a single step with a trick like that?]

[This S threw himself into the president's arms as soon as school started. He had bad intentions, and Young Master Shen was right]

[What does that have to do with his friend? He got caught in the crossfire]

In the dorm, the curtains were drawn tight, letting in not a sliver of daylight. In the darkness, a single screen gave off a faint glow.

Zhou Zanli sat at the head of his bed, the hand holding his phone trembling slightly.

Everyone knew it was him now...

His face was perfectly clear, and those humiliating photos were still spreading like wildfire.

He was completely finished.

Why? Why? he thought, his face full of resentment. It's all Shi Su's fault!

It's all his fault! If it weren't for him, why would Shen Si have targeted me?

It's all his fault!

Say something often enough, and even you would believe it.

Ding. A message popped up.

Shi Su: Are you asleep? I brought you some food.

In the darkness, a pair of eyes stared fixedly at the message.

Shi Su: I'm sorry. You suffered because of me.

The screen stayed on the message page until it switched off automatically.

Zhou Zanli closed his eyes. That's right, it's all your fault.

Cen Xia lay on his bed and turned over. Ding Yiheng had sent him a message a few minutes ago.

Ding Yiheng: Damn, you were there today?

Cen Xia: ?

Ding Yiheng: The cafeteria, Shen Si. I saw you in a photo.

The next second, a photo came through. Cen Xia opened it and saw that whoever had taken it was terrible at photography. It was a wide shot that included the onlookers too.

Ding Yiheng: Isn't that you in the bottom left corner? You're so tall I spotted you at once.

Cen Xia: You've got sharp eyes.

Ding Yiheng: Tell me, what exactly happened?

Cen Xia: I don't know. The president arrived not long after I did.

Ding Yiheng: Boring. There are only these photos on the forum, with no account of what led up to it. They've been guessing back and forth, but they haven't figured out much.

Before Cen Xia could reply, Ding Yiheng sent two or three voice messages in succession.

Ding Yiheng: "I know a guy who's friends with Shen Si. He told me Shen Si was really angry this time. With Young Master Shen's habit of repaying the slightest grudge, things are going to get even harder for that Shi Su guy."

"Seriously, of all the people he could have liked, he just had to set his sights on President He. Who doesn't know Shen Si is the president's mad dog, guarding him like he's something precious?"

"But that friend of mine let slip that today really wasn't about Shi Su. That Zhou something guy has a problem, a big problem! Otherwise Shen Si wouldn't have been so angry."

After listening to all three messages, Cen Xia fell into thought. In the original book, the author had used this part of the plot to highlight the protagonist's courage and sense of justice, leading into the next part, where the protagonist sought out He Wangsheng for his friend's sake, hoping he would step in and stop Shen Si.

The book had not given a complete account of what happened with Zhou Zanli.

From what Ding Yiheng had said, the cause of today's incident still needed looking into.

The world consciousness would automatically fill in the many incomplete settings in the book. There was no telling now whether the developments to come would change.