Chapter 80

*Campus IF Line — “Self-Criticism”*
“Do you have even the slightest semblance of students? This is simply lawless!”
Director Qiu was so furious he was practically bristling. “Tell me—Teng Wenbiao. You dare lead people to the girls’ dorm building and block someone at school. What are you planning to do? Extort her?!”
“You’re students! Students should act like students. The moment you disagree you start throwing hands, doing whatever you want—do you have any teachers in your eyes? Any school rules in your heart? Next time are you planning to commit murder and arson right on campus?”
Teng Wenbiao was scolded until he looked utterly disgraced. He’d lost the game—and lost in a way that wasn’t honorable. That alone had already shattered his confidence.
He couldn’t accept his failure, but Jiang Mingyi had no intention of letting him off.
The moment Jiang Mingyi saw how wilted and pathetic he looked, he was delighted. “Don’t forget who the turtle-grandson was that said it earlier—whoever loses will kneel and kowtow, calling the other ‘Grandpa’ and admitting their mistake. What now? Grandson, are you going to make your grandpa come invite you personally?”
Teng Wenbiao’s face was ugly. His knees bent slightly, but no matter what he couldn’t bring himself to kneel.
Jiang Mingyi watched him leisurely until Xie Yuncheng spoke coldly: “Enough. A loss is a loss. As for the price, weigh it yourself.”
Xie Yuncheng’s stance was already clear. Teng Wenbiao wasn’t stupid—of course he understood what Xie Yuncheng meant.
He lowered his head and wanted to apologize to Qin Sang, but before he could get the words out, they were all caught red-handed by Director Qiu, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion.
Director Qiu called them to the Discipline Office and chewed him out for a solid half hour.
Only when his mouth was so dry it felt parched did he lift his thermos and take a sip of tea to wet his throat. Biting on a tea stem, he forced himself to calm down as he said, “Alright. Talk. What’s the deal with that confession letter?”
After calling them in, Director Qiu had already clarified the whole cause and process. He’d also confiscated the confession letter from Teng Wenbiao.
He looked toward the only girl present—Qin Sang.
Director Qiu said, “I remember you. You’re the first-year student specially recruited from Ningjiang this year, and you’re the top scorer of Ningjiang County on the middle-school entrance exam, right? Classmate Qin, you’re a girl. Back at Ningjiang Middle School you were considered well-behaved and outstanding—how could you be muddleheaded about something like this? You’re still young. Your first priority is studying. Don’t think the college entrance exam is far away—count the days and it’s only a few hundred left. You should set your mind straight, not waste your mind on this kind of mismatched nonsense and stir up such a huge scene. What am I supposed to say about you?”
This was the first time Qin Sang had been brought to the Discipline Office for a “conduct” issue. She explained in a low voice, “Director Qiu, that letter wasn’t written by me.”
“If you didn’t write it, then how did it end up using your name to arrange a meeting with Teng Wenbiao?”
Director Qiu had seen plenty of students who stubbornly refused to admit fault. His attitude hardened even more. Holding his thermos, he warned in a flat tone: “Classmate Qin, making a mistake isn’t the worst thing. The worst is refusing to admit it and still thinking you’re innocent. I’m only not speaking too harshly because you’re a girl. If we get to the bottom of it, the root of the trouble is also on you. Either you admit your mistake obediently and accept punishment, or I’ll directly contact your parents and have them come handle it. But at that point, it won’t be as simple as writing a self-criticism and getting scolded a couple of times.”
Qin Sang’s face went pale. “I really didn’t.”
“Fine.” Director Qiu tapped the tabletop and put his phone down on it, leaving no room for argument. “If that’s the case, then enter your parents’ number. I’ll call them and let them judge where you’re wrong.”
“Director Qiu.”
The office door was suddenly knocked.
Director Qiu looked up. Seeing Xie Yuncheng, the sternness on his face instantly softened. “Classmate Xie, didn’t I tell you to go back and rest first? How is it? Is your hand any better?”
Xie Yuncheng had an old injury in his hand. Very few people knew. After the game, his right hand had already started trembling uncontrollably, and the area around his wrist bone was visibly red and swollen.
Director Qiu didn’t dare delay. He immediately had Jiang Mingyi take him to the infirmary to get it treated, while he only brought the others to the Discipline Office for handling.
Xie Yuncheng’s gaze swept over the girl’s thin back. Then he entered and handed Director Qiu something he had deliberately brought from the classroom. “Director, this is Classmate Qin’s notebook that she uses day-to-day. Compare the handwriting and you’ll know whether that letter really came from Classmate Qin.”
Hearing that, Director Qiu froze. He didn’t delay. He took the notebook and the opened confession letter and compared them carefully.
Qin Sang’s handwriting was neat and delicate. Because Qin Dahai liked practicing calligraphy, she’d been influenced by it and could write a good hand.
But she had a small habit: when she lifted and hooked strokes, she liked to pause briefly, letting the ink bleed at the tip, leaving a tiny ink mark on the paper.
Compared side by side, the writing in the notebook was clearly much neater and easy to read, while the writing in the letter was somewhat messy—completely different, like two lines that would never meet. It was obvious the confession letter really wasn’t written by Qin Sang.
Xie Yuncheng said unhurriedly, “The handwriting on this letter is completely different from Classmate Qin’s. I think someone must have impersonated Classmate Qin’s name and written this confession letter. As for the purpose… Director, you’re sharp-eyed—you’ll definitely be able to investigate it to the bottom.”
He stopped at that, not saying it outright.
Director Qiu had originally thought he was simply handling an early-romance conduct issue. He hadn’t expected that by now, the situation had become even more severe—and even the nature of the incident itself had changed.
“If that’s really the case, then the nature of this is extremely vile—using a classmate’s name to do something so low. This is trying to ruin Classmate Qin’s reputation!”
No. 1 High investigated students’ conduct very strictly. Any hint of early romance would be strangled in the cradle, and it was unavoidable that the school would call both sides’ parents in to deal with it.
If it was more serious, not only would you get demerits, you might even be advised to withdraw.
Not to mention that Qin Sang’s class was a key class. If something went wrong in a top class, the entire grade leadership would be implicated.
To put it more seriously: if today’s letter really had been written by Qin Sang, the school would have considered transferring Qin Sang out of Class One. They would absolutely not allow her to stay and affect other classmates’ normal learning.
“A-Yun!” Jiang Mingyi ran over in a hurry, almost running past. Panting, he tossed a USB drive to Xie Yuncheng. “The video you wanted—I copied it. Nearly went blind staring at it.”
Director Qiu was suspicious. “Video? What video?”
Xie Yuncheng didn’t explain. He only glanced at the only desktop computer in the Discipline Office. “Director, may I borrow your computer.”
He plugged the USB drive into the tower. After reading the data, he opened the video.
“I remember the school added a lot of surveillance equipment this year. They also added two cameras at the entrance to the gym locker rooms. This is the footage from the entrance this afternoon.”
Xie Yuncheng tilted the monitor slightly. The image from the camera wasn’t very clear, but it was enough to prove that the person going in and out of the boys’ locker room was not Qin Sang.
He added a point about timing: “This afternoon, we had a class meeting and dismissal was delayed. Qin and I were together too. After leaving the homeroom teacher’s office, we returned to the classroom. How far the indoor basketball court is from the teaching building—Director, you should know. Classmate Qin didn’t have the time to make a round trip and still arrive on time.”
Hearing that, Teng Wenbiao and the other Class Seven guys leaned in to watch as well. One of them suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Isn’t that Qiao Qiao from our class?”
“From your class?” Director Qiu’s expression became much more serious.
The boy nodded. “She is. Look—her class badge is blue. That’s our Class Seven badge. And what she’s holding… that’s this envelope, right?”
Director Qiu frowned and immediately called the homeroom teacher of Class Seven, and also had that girl called over.
Only after the girl named Qiao Qiao arrived did the truth finally come to light.
Qin Sang was a little surprised, because she had seen that girl before.
Qiao Qiao was the girl who had argued with her on the first day of school when Qin Sang was cleaning the public area.
Qiao Qiao confessed everything. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t mean to do anything. It… it was Tang Minmin from their class who told me to stuff this letter into Teng Wenbiao’s locker. She said doing that would count as teaching her a lesson.”
The more she spoke, the quieter she got, until she no longer dared to lift her head.
So it turned out Qiao Qiao and Tang Minmin had been classmates to begin with—same class in middle school, very close. Because Tang Minmin didn’t like Qin Sang, she often complained about her in front of Qiao Qiao. Only recently did Tang Minmin come up with this rotten idea: she used Qin Sang’s name to write Teng Wenbiao a love letter, and deliberately had Teng Wenbiao come to the girls’ dorm building, hoping that once things blew up the school would transfer Qin Sang out of Class One.
Director Qiu’s face was extremely dark. “You kids—one after another—putting your minds everywhere except on the right things. Using dirty tricks like this to frame your own classmates. Do you know how vile the nature of this is?”
Qiao Qiao looked miserable. “Director Qiu, I really didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t think that much. I only wanted to help a friend with something.”
“So,” Xie Yuncheng said with cold mockery, “you’re very loyal and righteous? Helping a friend—on the basis of ruining someone else’s reputation. Then your ‘help’ is really easy. Next time if she wants to kill someone, you can hand her the knife and still claim you’re innocent—saying you only wanted to do a small favor.”
Director Qiu frowned as well. “Exactly. At such a young age, you already know how to scheme and frame classmates. If this isn’t handled seriously, what if others imitate it in the future? You must have your parents come to discuss this.”
Qiao Qiao’s face went white as paper. In a panic she looked around, and finally her eyes landed on Qin Sang. She lunged over, grabbing Qin Sang’s hand. “Classmate Qin, I truly did it without thinking. I didn’t mean to harm you. Please—please forgive me. I can’t take a demerit. If my parents find out, they’ll beat me to death.”
Qin Sang looked slightly dazed. After a long while, she came back to herself and asked, “Why should I forgive you?”
Qin Sang pressed her lips together. “If the one getting punished today were me, would you and Tang have come out and explained the truth?”
“You wouldn’t.”
Qin Sang’s gaze was clear. “You say you didn’t mean it, but your ‘not meaning it’ is proved by me being punished. You’re not apologizing because you think you were wrong. You’re apologizing because you’re afraid you’ll be implicated, so you’re forcing me—the victim—to forgive you.”
“But why? Why should I sympathize with your difficulties and forgive your mistake?”
Qin Sang looked into her eyes. “Do I look easy to bully? Or do you think I’m an idiot—unable to tell good from bad, right from wrong?”
“I won’t forgive you. Whatever punishment you get is your business. If you did wrong, then you have to pay the price.”
“Director Qiu.” Qin Sang pulled her hand back and looked past her to Director Qiu. “Please give me justice.”
“Not just me—Classmate Teng and… Classmate Xie. Because of this, many innocent people have been dragged in for no reason.”
Director Qiu nodded. “Don’t worry. The school will give you an explanation. Framing classmates, falsely accusing a classmate’s reputation, and sabotaging collective unity and honor—this is absolutely not allowed at our school.”
“Alright. Since this has nothing to do with you, we’ll end it here today. You all go back and rest. As for Qiao Qiao and that Tang Minmin, the teacher guarantees they’ll receive the punishment they deserve.”
“Thank you, Director.”
Qin Sang finally let out a breath.
As they were leaving, Director Qiu separately called out to Teng Wenbiao again: “Even though this was a misunderstanding, you brought people to block someone under the girls’ dorm building. What kind of behavior is that? That’s hooligan behavior, understand? Go back and write a self-criticism. Next Monday during break exercises, you’ll reflect on your mistakes properly in front of the whole school.”
Teng Wenbiao was unconvinced. “Then why doesn’t Xie Yuncheng have to write one? Didn’t he also clash with me because of this? Why are you only punishing me and not him?”
Director Qiu was just about to curse him out when Xie Yuncheng smoothly answered in an even tone: “Director, I’ll submit my self-criticism tomorrow.”
Director Qiu froze, then coughed awkwardly. “See? Classmate Xie has much higher political awareness than you. Look at his attitude—so correct. Unlike you, bargaining with me over a self-criticism. If it weren’t for the fact you were really innocent this time, you’d be carrying a demerit too!”
Teng Wenbiao gave an unhappy “tch.” “Got it. Then I’m leaving first, Director Qiu.”
Director Qiu got a headache just looking at him. “Get out, get out—hurry up and get out.”
As soon as they left the Discipline Building, Teng Wenbiao took his group and left. Before he went, he stopped and awkwardly gave Qin Sang a serious apology. “I didn’t get things clear. I was impulsive earlier and scared you. Sorry.”
As he spoke, he shot Xie Yuncheng a look. “I’ve apologized. That should be enough, right? I don’t owe you anything. Don’t go saying I can’t accept losing again later.”
Hearing that, Jiang Mingyi laughed first. “Don’t. You’d better not forget you still owe us a month of breakfast. Grandson—Grandpa will be waiting for your breakfast on time next week.”
Teng Wenbiao dared to be angry but not speak. He only flipped Jiang Mingyi off and turned to leave.
Jiang Mingyi didn’t care. Once only the three of them were left, he put an arm behind his head and said lazily, “Nothing else. I’m leaving too. Won’t disturb you two being alone.”
Once Jiang Mingyi left, the atmosphere instantly became quiet.
Qin Sang felt a little uncomfortable. She said softly, “Thank you.”
“Hm?”
“Thank you for finding evidence for me and proving my innocence, and…”
Qin Sang paused, feeling rather guilty. “I’m sorry I got you dragged into this and punished. That self-criticism—I’ll write it for you.”
“No need.”
“Why?” Qin Sang lifted her head to look at him. “Are you worried it’ll be obvious? Director Qiu probably won’t check carefully.”
Having someone ghostwrite a self-criticism should be fine. Director Qiu only wanted a proper attitude.
The pink-purple horizon was smeared with huge clusters of clouds. As the sun set in the west, the half-dim light outlined the boy’s clean, sharp profile.
He curled his lips. The color in his eyes clearly imprinted her figure. In the evening breeze, it seemed some hidden feeling was surging in an undercurrent. In their gaze meeting, it slowly fermented, restlessly wanting to break free of its cage.
Suddenly, he laughed softly, his tone ambiguous and lingering. “Because I really did break the school rules—and I feel guilty.”