"No way, she's a top student in her grade, how could she possibly be in a relationship? Don't talk nonsense."
"How could I be lying? Just look at the news yourself. Her boyfriend is a sports student, the one who just won the national swimming league championship, his name is... what was it again..."
"Cheng Zhen... was a senior at our school before!"
...
Zhou Mu walked forward, and a crowd of people were blocking the stairwell ahead, watching the commotion. The stares from behind made her feel uneasy.
The girl's eyes slowly reddened, she turned around, pushed aside the classmate blocking her way, and ran downstairs in a flash.
This is a physical education class.
After being separated into arts and sciences classes, her workload suddenly increased. Playing badminton during physical education class was her favorite and most precious way to relax.
But today she didn't go to play ball with her classmates; instead, she sat alone on the steps below the podium.
Other classes were also having physical education classes on the playground.
Several older male students were watching her with ill intent from a distance, and the boy in the lead threw the foxtail grass he was holding in his mouth onto the ground.
"That one? She looks quite innocent. Let's go take a look."
A shadow suddenly fell in front of me.
Someone blocked the sunlight.
Zhou Mu looked up.
"Is there something you need?"
The boy's smile was lewd.
"Isn't it great to sleep with a sports student?"
Zhou Mu's face flushed red, and she trembled with anger. She stood up and slapped him across the face. The boy's expression changed drastically. He grabbed her collar and lifted her up from the steps.
"You dare hit me?!"
Zhou Mu was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes, and she frantically patted his hand.
"Let me go!!!"
There were badminton team members training on the playground. Hearing the commotion, they came over. Li Jiajia rushed ahead, roared, and swung her racket at his head.
"What are you doing?! Let her go! You filthy scoundrel!!!"
The boy, in pain, released Zhou Mu. The other brothers, seeing their leader being beaten, were also unhappy and kicked Li Jiajia to the ground.
Zhou Mu rolled down the steps, crawled over, and helped the person up.
"Li Jiajia...are you alright...?"
The boy snorted coldly.
“You bitch, let’s go.”
The other team members stopped the attackers when they saw them being hit.
"You hit someone from our school team and think you can just walk away? No way."
"So what do you want?" the boy asked nonchalantly.
The senior who had previously helped Zhou Mu shouted angrily.
"Brothers, let's get him!"
What started as a grudge between two people quickly escalated into a brawl.
The PE teacher ran over, blowing a sharp whistle.
The whole group was taken to the grade director's office.
Zhou Mu was the last to go in. Her mother was already inside, bowing and scraping and apologizing. When she saw Zhou Mu come in, she grabbed her and pulled her close, then slapped her hard several times.
"Teacher Zhao, I'm so sorry, this child has been disobedient and caused you trouble. Hurry up and bow your head to apologize to your teacher!"
Zhou Mu was spun around like a top, being pulled by the ear and pushed around, while slaps rained down on her.
The emotions she had been holding back all day completely collapsed at this moment, and she could not utter a single word except to cry loudly.
Seeing her crying so hard, Zhou's mother's eyes also reddened, but she slapped her head even harder.
"You're still crying! I told you to apologize to the teacher, and you're still crying! You have no shame!"
Fearing that the person might get seriously injured, the teacher quickly got up and pulled the person away.
"Parents, please calm down and let your child go outside. I'd like to talk to you privately."
Zhou Mu walked out in a daze, and her mother cursed at her back a few more times.
"Wait outside, don't you dare leave! Wait till we get home and I'll beat you to death!"
Teacher Li brewed a cup of tea for someone, and after hesitating for a while, he finally spoke.
"That's right, we suggest you... transfer your child to another school."
"What?! Teacher Li, this won't do! If Mu Mu transfers schools right after the arts and sciences division, how will she keep up? Besides, it's almost summer vacation, where are we going to find a new school at this time?"
"Don't worry. As far as I know, some fully enclosed boarding schools are still enrolling students. Besides, such a big incident has a bad impact on Zhou Mu. You see, when she walks around the school now, people point and whisper everywhere she goes. We know in our hearts that it's not true, but Mu Mu is still a child. How can she bear the strange looks from others? Are we going to ask her to explain to every single person she meets? That won't work, will it?"
Zhou's mother's voice sounded somewhat urgent.
"But today, it was our Mumu who was bullied."
“I know, that’s why it was all dealt with just now, right? You saw it too, their parents were called in, and they were disciplined. Although Zhou Mu was the victim, she also participated, and even incited the students on the school team to beat up others. Logically speaking, she should also be disciplined.”
"This is only because Zhou Mu usually has good grades. If you insist on keeping her in school, then this punishment will definitely be unavoidable. Zhou's mother, please think carefully. This file will follow your child for life. For a girl, getting a punishment will be embarrassing for any school or organization in the future."
...
Zhou's mother walked out of the office with a cold face. Zhou Mu had just opened his mouth with red eyes and called out "Mom" when he was dragged and pulled out.
"How dare you call me Mom! You've completely disgraced me! Go home!"
***
At the police station, after confessing to all her crimes, Cheng Zhen tremblingly pulled out her father's blood-stained suicide note from her pocket.
"Officer...I...I want to report..."
The police officer stepped forward, took the document, glanced at it briefly, then gestured to his colleague, who nodded and ran out.
A short while later, the iron gate opened again, and a policewoman carrying a microphone and two stars on her shoulder walked in and sat down opposite him.
"Let me introduce myself. My surname is Song, and I am currently the deputy director of the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau. You can call me Officer Song."
Chapter 86 The Curtain Falls
On the second day of the competition, Yin Jiayi thought she would be depressed after yesterday's defeat, but she didn't expect that Jian Changnian would take the initiative to come over and greet her before she got on the bus.
Good morning, Captain Yin.
The boy had a smile on his face and looked very energetic. Half of a racket handle was sticking out of the bag he was carrying on his back; it wasn't the standard match racket model.
Yin Jiayi smiled knowingly and jumped into the car as well.
"Good morning, who sent it?"
Jian Changnian sat down, held the golf bag in front of her, and turned around to say.
"Who else could it be but Shi An? Don't worry, Captain Yin, I'll definitely play my best in today's match!"
A teammate walked by and made a sarcastic remark.
"I'll be thankful if I don't hold everyone back."
Jian Changnian's smile faded slightly.
Yin Jiayi didn't seem to care much. She sat in the row behind her by the aisle and slightly extended her fist towards her.
"Okay, let's work hard together."
Upon arriving at the competition venue, the atmosphere was as lively and enthusiastic as ever.
Jian Changnian took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the athletes' tunnel. Today's first match was against the Thai team, which included Natiya, a rising star in badminton in recent years and a Thai prodigy who had previously played against Xie Shi'an.
The footage was transmitted back to the studio.
Commentator A said: "Today's match will determine whether the Chinese team can advance to the semifinals. We can see that Coach Wan made some adjustments to the order of appearance. He put Yin Jiayi in the first singles match against Natiya, and put Jian Changnian in the second singles match. This can be considered as giving the new players more time to adapt to the competition."
Commentator B: "Natiya, the reigning World Junior Championships women's singles champion, is also very strong."
"The two sides went back and forth, but Yin Jiayi was still the better one."
"Let's congratulate Yin Jiayi and the Chinese team on winning this match and securing a point."
After Yin Jiayi scored the first point, her teammates lost both the doubles and singles matches.
In this situation, there was no other way. In the fourth doubles match, Yin Jiayi once again stepped up and turned the tide, bringing the score to 2-2. The pressure suddenly fell on Jian Changnian.
The boy glanced at the racket on the bench beside him, which still bore the marks of its previous owner's use.
Xie Shi'an had wrapped her hands with glue, but during the competition, she unconsciously used force, leaving varying depths of scratches on the racket shaft from her fingernails.
She picked it up, as if she could still feel its warmth. At that moment, only one sentence echoed in her mind.
"Shi An said, this is for you, and also for the future World Championships champion."
While Jian Changnian was playing, Yan Xinyuan and Xie Shian, as usual, stayed in front of the television.
What do you think she's lacking?
Xie Shi'an pondered for a moment, then gave a wry smile.
"She lacks a bit of confidence, probably because no one has ever truly affirmed her since she was a child."
Jian Changnian's upbringing was similar to hers, yet different. Her grandmother could take meticulous care of her in daily life, but when it came to playing ball, she was probably completely clueless. Xie Shi'an, bearing the title of genius, had his confidence forged through countless battles and sweat.
She was less tender and more hard-hearted than Jian Changnian, so even though it was her first time on the world stage, she adapted quickly. After all, she had heard all sorts of hurtful things and seen all sorts of embarrassing scenes since she was a child, so she really didn't care about the little tricks the fans were saying.
This is what's called a clutch player.
Yan Xinyuan also remarked with emotion.