Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Inside the principal’s office.

I had been wrapped in a yellowed quilt and was being held in the arms of a short, stocky woman.

To my left stood a middle-aged man with a face full of hard, fleshy lines.

Li Pan sat on a stool two meters away from me. Her face was still bloodless, and she was still wearing that wrinkled cotton-padded jacket. Her hair, dry as dead grass, hung in a messy curtain around her ears. Her eyes were empty, staring straight ahead.

The principal spoke first. “Li Pan’s parents, after what your daughter has caused at school, we simply can’t keep her here anymore…”

The middle-aged woman holding me suddenly let out a loud wail, almost like a rooster crowing.

The principal had been interrupted so abruptly that he did not have time to react before the middle-aged man sprang up and slapped Li Pan hard across the face twice.

“You shameless little slut! After doing something this filthy and disgusting, how are we supposed to show our faces anywhere again?”

I opened my eyes in fright. In the brief life I had lived in my previous life, I had never seen anyone use such filthy words to curse their own biological daughter.

Li Pan was knocked sideways on the stool. She struggled to get back up, then sat properly again, as if nothing had happened.

Li Pan’s Father was still not satisfied. In front of everyone, he yanked off his belt and brought it down over Li Pan’s head.

After only a few strikes, Li Pan was beaten to the floor. She instinctively wrapped both hands around the back of her head and did not make a sound.

“Hey, hey, Li Pan’s Father, don’t hit her.” As though he had seen this a hundred times before, the principal tapped the desk with his pen. “As for the child, educate her however you like. The school can’t manage this anymore. Take her home.”

“I don’t care!” Li Pan’s Mother suddenly shrieked, making me tremble inside the swaddling quilt. “My daughter came here to study perfectly fine, so how did she end up giving birth to a baby without even knowing who the father is? Your school has to give us an explanation!”

Li Pan’s Father showed no sign of stopping. “Talk! Who’s the father of this little bastard?”

“Li Pan’s parents, please don’t get worked up. Please don’t get worked up,” the principal said unhurriedly. “Our teachers asked Li Pan’s classmates. According to what they reported, there were several boys who had been involved with Li Pan in premature romantic relationships.”

He gave a light cough. “In other words, Li Pan’s relationships with boys… were rather messy.”

At those words, Li Pan’s Mother threw me onto the desk and stomped her feet as she burst into tears. “Why is my life so miserable? I gave birth to a money-losing wretch, fed her and clothed her and sent her to school, and all she does is embarrass us!”

Li Pan’s Father beat her even harder. “You little cheap slut! Whoring yourself out at such a young age! I should’ve drowned you right after you were born!”

My heart pounded as I turned my face and saw the principal’s large, fleshy hands folded together, squeezing his double chin into three layers. He leaned back in his genuine leather office chair, eyes narrowed, openly enjoying this family tragedy.

But Li Pan, on the floor, suddenly struggled to turn around. Amid the hailstorm of belt lashes, she knelt upright, facing the principal, and said through gritted teeth, “They made all of that up. I’ve never fooled around with anyone.”

The principal’s eyes narrowed even further.

Li Pan braced both hands on the floor and looked at the principal. I could clearly see hatred in her eyes. “As the principal, instead of clearing up the rumors, you helped the wicked, twisted the truth, and cared only about the school’s reputation while covering for the bullies…”

“Student Li Pan, you have always shown no regard for rules or discipline and no respect for your elders. Stealing, premature romance, fighting-the teachers have educated you many times, yet they still couldn’t steer you back onto the right path.” The principal remained unhurried, but his tone gained an irrefutable severity.

“And you have always had difficulty getting along with your classmates. The students in the Electronics Class have repeatedly reported your stubbornly bad character to the teachers. I have worked in education for many years, and I truly have never seen a hopeless ‘bad seed’ like you.”

Li Pan’s face went deathly pale. Ignoring Li Pan’s Father’s increasingly vicious insults and lashes, she stared fixedly at the principal’s round, plump face.

With the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, the principal said, “Take her home. Our school cannot accept a student like this.”

“I don’t care! This happened at school, so I’ll hold the school responsible!” Li Pan’s Mother shouted. “You have to give us an explanation!”

“That’s right! After something like this, our whole family won’t be able to hold our heads up in the village! We can’t go back now. Your school had better figure this out!” Li Pan’s Father stopped beating her and started shouting like a scoundrel throwing a tantrum.

The principal looked somewhat troubled. “This is because your daughter didn’t conduct herself properly. There is nothing the school can do. Besides, the child’s father can’t be found, so you can’t make the school take responsibility.”

“That’s your problem! The teachers didn’t keep my daughter in line. If it’s not the school’s fault, then whose fault is it?” As she spoke, Li Pan’s Mother flopped down onto the floor and began sobbing. “I can’t live like this anymore! My child has disgraced us, and now the school is bullying us! Bullying us!”

“If you don’t give us an explanation, we’ll live here and refuse to leave!” Li Pan’s Father also sat down on a stool. “Teacher, you decide what to do.”

“Now, now, Li Pan’s parents, please don’t get worked up, please don’t get worked up…” Faced with such shameless people, even the principal’s fat face began to drip with sweat. “We can discuss this. We can discuss this.”

The three of them started arguing all at once. In that opening, I saw Li Pan, covered in injuries, quietly climb up from the floor, pick up the phone from the desk, and slip outside.

My gaze followed her to the doorway. Holding the phone, she spoke in a hollow, suppressed voice. “Is this 110? I want to report a crime.

“I was raped. It happened nine months ago.

“Name? Li Pan… I’m nineteen this year. Yes, I’m an adult… I reported it twice before, too.

“The criminal is also an adult. He’s my classmate, a student at Maocheng Vocational High School. Fu Yuantao.”