Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“What did you say?”

“See? When I put it that way, you get angry too. That means you don’t like being disrespected either. Whether Yuan Lina was involved in the fight or not, you shouldn’t have insulted her character like that. And I saw with my own eyes that she didn’t take part. I can vouch for her.”

“Vouch for her?” the PE teacher said with a sneer. “Fine. You can run forty laps with her!”

I had no intention of talking to such a domineering teacher anymore. He was clearly not interested in reasoning with us.

I was going to report him to the Office of Student Affairs.

Just then, Zhao Linfeng suddenly stepped forward. “Teacher, I can vouch for her too. Yuan Lina really didn’t take part in the fight.”

Before the PE teacher could say anything, Yuan Lina snapped, “Who asked for your help?”

I walked over and tugged at her sleeve. “Yuan Lina, if you did it, you did it. If you didn’t, you didn’t. The PE teacher is in the wrong for falsely accusing you. Instead of standing up to him, you’re insisting on competing with Zhao Linfeng over some pointless pride. In the end, aren’t you the one who suffers?”

“Are you telling me what to do?”

I nodded calmly. “Yep.”

Yuan Lina clearly hadn’t expected me to admit it so bluntly. For a moment, she just froze there.

But the PE teacher didn’t give us any more time to talk. He pointed at me. “You. Yuan Lina. Come with me to the Office of Student Affairs!”

Perfect. I wanted to go to the Office of Student Affairs anyway.

Zhao Linfeng blocked the way in front of me. “Teacher, I also vouched for Yuan Lina. If you’re taking them to the Office of Student Affairs, then I should go too.”

“Fine, fine. Good grades really do make you arrogant, huh? The three of you, come with me to the Office of Student Affairs. Everyone else, whether you fought or not, run twenty laps!”

A wave of questions and complaints rose from the crowd, merging into one grand, drawn-out, twisting chorus of, “Whaaat-”

“What are you whining about? If you want to blame someone, blame those three. They’re the reason you’re being punished with laps!”

On the way to the Office of Student Affairs, Yuan Lina’s eyes were no longer red. She walked with her arms crossed, looking like she wouldn’t bow to anyone, not even the king of heaven himself.

I told her to slow down and wait for me, saying I would get short of breath and feel uncomfortable if we walked too fast.

She turned back to look at me, then took a tube of candy out of her pocket, popped open the lid, and gave me one.

It was a tiny candy about the size of a fingernail, shaped like a cloud. One side was pink, the other white, and both sides had a smiley face printed on them. The smiley face was crudely pressed, with little raised bumps on the surface, probably from uneven pressure when the candy was made.

It was the kind of mint candy sold at the school convenience store. Two yuan a tube, or maybe one-fifty. Either way, it was cheap.

This tube of mints alone was enough to prove Yuan Lina hadn’t lied.

“Aren’t you giving Zhao Linfeng one?”

Yuan Lina glared at me.

I glared back, then decided glaring made my eyes hurt, so I gave up and smiled at her instead. “Zhao Linfeng spoke up for you just now too. You haven’t even thanked her.”

Yuan Lina reluctantly shook out a piece of candy and handed it to Zhao Linfeng.

From the look of it, Zhao Linfeng didn’t particularly want it either.

I said, “She finally worked up the courage to give you a mint. Do you really have the heart to trample on her feelings?”

Zhao Linfeng accepted the candy helplessly. “Thanks.”

Yuan Lina pressed her lips together, then with great difficulty said, “And… thank you too.”

For a moment, the three of us fell silent.

As if suddenly remembering something, Yuan Lina said out of nowhere, “I wasn’t the one who pushed you.”

Before I could understand what she meant, Zhao Linfeng said, “I know.”

I said, “Huh? What?”

Zhao Linfeng explained, “When I was pushed down the stairs before, everyone spread rumors that Yuan Lina was the one who did it. But she wasn’t even on the third floor at the time. I knew it definitely wasn’t her.”

“That’s ridiculous. You were already miserable enough after being pushed, and then someone used your misery to spread rumors and hurt someone else!”

“Yeah. There really are a lot of ridiculous people in this world.”

Zhao Linfeng looked at Yuan Lina again. “I didn’t take the compensation money from the Feng Family.”

Yuan Lina looked confused. “You didn’t?”

“Did his lackeys tell you we took the money and then turned around and sued him anyway? Judging by your expression, I can tell that’s what happened. But I didn’t take it. I thought it was necessary to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t you also tell me that you weren’t the one who pushed me? Let’s just call it an exchange of truths.”

The PE teacher turned back and barked at us, “All of you, shut up!”

But Yuan Lina refused to shut up and continued speaking to Zhao Linfeng. “Refusing compensation when it’s offered? I really hate that fake lofty act of yours.”