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墨書 Inktalez
A week later, Dong Xiwen's mother brought her to school, apologizing to the teachers while offering gifts. After much persuasion, Director Liu reluctantly agreed to let Dong Xiwen stay and continue her studies, allowing her to participate in next year's college entrance examination.
"Dong Xiwen, you finally came back to school!" Zhu Hui exclaimed with excitement upon seeing her.
"Class monitor, I..."
"Alright, don’t call me class monitor anymore; I’m not one now."
"It’s all my fault that you..."
"What fault do you have? That useless class monitor isn’t the president; I’ve long wanted to quit. Being an officer is exhausting," Zhu Hui said, stretching lazily with a relaxed smile. "No wonder people say that without a position, one feels light as a feather. Now it seems true. From now on, I want to live like a carefree spirit, making Hu Jintao envious."
Hearing Zhu Hui's humorous remarks didn’t make Dong Xiwen laugh; instead, she lowered her head and bit her lip, starting to sob.
"Dong Xiwen, what’s wrong?"
"Class monitor, what should we do to make up for my mistakes?"
"Who says you have mistakes? You did nothing wrong from start to finish. If you had done something wrong, I wouldn’t have fought for you, would I?"
"But I caused you... caused you..."
"That was only because justice couldn’t be served successfully," Zhu Hui said, trying to cheer her up. She pretended to ponder deeply and then declared dramatically, "Hmm! To borrow a famous saying from our great revolutionary pioneer Sun Yat-sen: 'The revolution has not yet succeeded; comrades must continue to work hard.'” With that, Zhu Hui raised her hand passionately and struck a superhero pose, speaking with righteous fervor as if reciting lines: "For our noble ideals, for our colorful world not to be engulfed by darkness, and for the maintenance of world peace and the promotion of justice, we should join hands and work together to create a seemingly beautiful future for ourselves, right? Dong Xiwen."
Seeing Zhu Hui’s nonsensical yet cheerful words aimed at lifting her spirits—despite the hint of impatience in them—Dong Xiwen had clearly matured after her ordeal. She accepted it with an open heart and covered her mouth as she burst into laughter.
Zhu Hui noticed that Dong Xiwen only smiled and didn't respond to her, pouting in dissatisfaction as she pretended to complain, "Dong Xiwen, I'm so tired of holding this pose. You should at least say something to acknowledge me!"
Seeing her sulky expression, Dong Xiwen didn't want to dampen her spirits, so she nodded in agreement and said, "Together we shall endure, together we shall endure."
When Zhu Hui saw the bright smile finally bloom on Dong Xiwen's face like a summer flower, she felt satisfied and joined her in laughter.
By the third period, Zhu Hui was still sitting in the corridor outside the classroom studying as usual when suddenly a fierce wind picked up outside, and rain began to fall sparsely. The school corridor was narrow, and sitting on the ground made it inevitable for Zhu Hui to get splashed by the rainwater that drifted in. Instinctively, she held a book over her head and stared blankly at the gloomy sky. Just then, an umbrella appeared above her head, as if it had opened up a patch of blue sky for her and brought a wave of warmth. She looked up to see Yang Qianfan.
"I knew your stubbornness would eventually lead you into trouble," Yang Qianfan said as he squatted down beside her.
"Why aren't you in class? What are you doing here?" Zhu Hui asked curiously.
"I'm here to comfort you!"
"Pfft—I'm not as fragile as you think! I don't need anyone's comfort."
"But I just can't help wanting to come over and comfort you," Yang Qianfan said seriously, his clear eyes revealing a hint of tenderness.
Zhu Hui trembled slightly, her face flushing suddenly. She couldn't help but turn to gaze deeply at him. Her heart surged with conflicting emotions, but when she thought of Li Lingfei's beautiful face, a wave of self-doubt washed over her, tightening every pore on her body as the flames of insecurity spread rapidly within her. Her heart ached again.
"You're strange; you've been clinging to me lately," Zhu Hui said, lowering her head with a stiff expression and forcing a bitter smile.
"Honestly, I don't know why I've been acting this way lately either," Yang Qianfan admitted, his face reddening.
“Is... is that so?”
“Zhu Hui, I—” Yang Qianfan looked at her, hesitating for a long time before finally saying, “I really dislike that person.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“The one who likes you.”
“Well... there are so many people who like me. How would I know which one you mean? You... didn’t you also say you liked me in the past? Although those were just jokes.” Zhu Hui said, tilting her head to the side, not wanting to look at him.
“Are you still angry with me about that?”
“Hmph—how could I be so petty as to take your past jokes to heart?”
“But I’d rather you took those words seriously; at least that means you still think of me.”
Hearing this, Zhu Hui felt even more upset. To avoid falling into the same trap again and being deceived by him, she suddenly burst into laughter, pretending to be indifferent. She casually asked, “So are you trying to tell me you like me again?”
“And if I am?”
“If you want me to pretend to like you right now, I would be more than happy to play along.”
“Zhu Hui, what do you mean?” Yang Qianfan furrowed his brows at her response.
“Just don’t tell me you didn’t make a bet with Hu Yuanji.”
"I..." Yang Qianfan was so furious that he could hardly speak.
"Yang Qianfan, the taste of sadness is truly bitter. I've tasted it, so I don't want Li Lingfei to experience it as well." Zhu Hui forced a smile, despite the pain in her heart. "Li Lingfei is a good girl; you should cherish her. Don't let her be sad or upset over some trivial bet. She's not like me... a dead pig that isn't afraid of boiling water. She's fragile, so you should shelter her with your umbrella and protect her well."
Yang Qianfan turned to look at her, feeling as if his heart were bleeding.
At that moment, a wild commotion erupted from the classroom, followed by the sharp, piercing voice of Director Liu scolding someone. Zhu Hui instinctively rushed to the classroom door and saw Director Liu angrily pointing at Liao Chengwei on the podium, berating him and threatening to expel him.
"I've been teaching for over thirty years, and this is the first time I've encountered a student as unruly as you, daring to throw a book at the teacher!" Director Liu gritted her teeth, pointing at a book on the floor, trembling with rage.
"What if I threw a book at you? Stop using your age as an excuse to bully me with your 'I've been teaching for over thirty years' nonsense," Liao Chengwei retorted defiantly.
"You... you... your class has gone rogue! Completely rogue!" Director Liu waved her hand in frustration and shouted loudly in the classroom.
"If you don't let the class leader return to class, just imagine how rebellious we can be," Liao Chengwei threatened, glaring at her.
Zhu Hui stood outside the door and realized that the conflict between Liao Chengwei and Director Liu was because of her. She suddenly felt weak and leaned against the doorframe, knowing that the worst thing she had dreaded had finally happened.
"Alright, alright! You think you're so tough? We'll see about that!" After delivering her harsh words, Director Liu picked up the book and stormed out of the classroom in anger.
Zhu Hui watched in despair; she knew Director Liu was someone who never backed down. Since she had threatened to expel Liao Chengwei, it seemed he was truly in grave danger. Just as Director Liu's figure was about to disappear from her sight, she suddenly rushed forward and called out to her. Kneeling before Director Liu, she sobbed uncontrollably and pleaded desperately, "Director Liu, this is all my fault! My fault! Please don't expel Liao Chengwei! I beg you, please don't expel him!"
"What does kneeling do? Get up! Do you hear me?" Director Liu shouted coldly at her.
"Liao Chengwei offended you because of me. If you're going to expel him, then expel me too!"
The classmates suddenly heard a commotion outside the classroom and rushed out to see Zhu Hui kneeling on the ground, tears in her eyes as she pleaded with Director Liu. One by one, they stood outside the classroom, moved to tears.
“No, it’s all my fault,” Dong Xiwen suddenly burst out from the crowd, kneeling beside Zhu Hui, tears streaming down her face as she addressed Director Liu. “Director Liu, this is entirely my fault from start to finish. Please don’t blame the class monitor or Liao Chengwei. I should be the one expelled. Please expel me instead!”
“No, the one who should be expelled is me, it’s me,” Zhu Hui exclaimed passionately, blocking Dong Xiwen.
As they argued, a female classmate suddenly spoke up from the crowd. “Director Liu, we all plead with you. Please forgive them!” She knelt down as well, and soon others who were equally moved followed suit, filling the corridor with kneeling students.
“What are you all doing… kneeling like this?” Director Liu shouted in anger, his face turning red with fury.
“Director Liu, I want to tell you that this is what you taught us: unity, friendship, and mutual assistance,” Zhu Hui said from her position on the floor, wiping her tears. “No one is perfect; everyone has their shortcomings. Some may be shorter or not as smart, but that doesn’t define them. In this world, there is love, understanding, and tolerance. We can encourage each other and make up for each other’s deficiencies; that’s how happiness arises.”
“So what?” Director Liu roared in frustration.
“Doesn’t happiness move you? Isn’t it something that shakes you? Isn’t being a happy person what you strive for? If helping others find happiness is the first step to achieving our own happiness, then the second step must be others helping us find happiness too; that’s where respect comes in,” Zhu Hui said earnestly as she looked up at Director Liu. “We kneel before you out of respect because we hope you can be happy too. But we also hope you can respect us because we need happiness as well. Sometimes grades can measure a person’s worth, but can a person’s value really be judged so narrowly by their grades? I believe a truly successful person must first be a truly happy person.”
“You…” Hearing her words struck a chord in Director Liu’s heart; he couldn’t help but feel a deep respect for her.
“Director Liu, I am happy because I have achieved all of this.”
“Bravo!” Yang Qianfan couldn’t help but applaud for Zhu Hui at this moment. Soon after, other classmates who had come to watch joined in applause as well. Hearing their clapping made Zhu Hui look up at him and smile slightly; a thousand words were conveyed in that silent exchange.
“Director Liu, it was wrong of me to hit you with a book earlier. Please forgive me,” Liao Chengwei finally mustered the courage to step forward and sincerely apologize to Director Liu.
"You finally realized your mistake." Director Liu glanced coldly at her as she ran out to apologize, showing her disdain.
"Yes, because I once promised the class monitor that I would become a new Liao Chengwei, a Liao Chengwei who knows right from wrong." Liao Chengwei spoke earnestly, looking at Zhu Hui, who was kneeling on the ground, filled with immense gratitude. His happiness had come at such a cost.
Hearing Liao Chengwei's words, Zhu Hui's eyes brimmed with tears once again. She turned to him and gazed deeply, encouraging him with all her heart.
"Alright, everyone get up! You all understand what respect means, as if I don't know. After all, I've been teaching for over thirty years; I certainly understand the basics of 'respect.' There's no need for you to go to such lengths to remind me to respect you." Director Liu frowned as she bent down to help Dong Xiwen, who was sobbing in front of her. "I apologize for not considering your feelings and for saying hurtful things. But I never intended to take away your happiness. Life is not the Olympics; it's not just about winning or losing based on results. Getting into college doesn't equate to success. Those who enter may not necessarily succeed, and those who don't may not fail either. Ideals are what people should always pursue as their ultimate goal. No matter which path you choose in the future, I hope you can hold onto your ideals tightly, never give up easily, and bravely work towards achieving them. Be a truly successful person, alright?" As she said "alright," Director Liu coldly shrugged towards Zhu Hui.
Zhu Hui was taken aback by Director Liu's question. Feeling embarrassed, she awkwardly smiled at her before quickly lowering her head and daring not to speak again.
"I really hope you kneel here a little longer," Director Liu said with reluctance as she coldly huffed at Zhu Hui. "Go back to class! Otherwise, if you actually succeed in self-studying outside the classroom, then my thirty-plus years of teaching would be for nothing."
Zhu Hui felt embarrassed and broke into a silly smile at her words.
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