Chapter 33

“What’s going on?”

“Why did Shen Zhi hit someone? He doesn’t seem like such an impulsive person.”

“Who knows, maybe he just didn’t like the person; that’s how these guys in society are.”

Whispers filled the classroom, and Xia Jiangming, annoyed by what he heard, immediately slammed the table and stood up. “What are you talking about? If you know the reason, stop blabbering here.”

“Xia Jiangming, what are you doing? I find the students in your class are too arrogant. Do you not respect teachers?” The grade director, seeing Xia Jiangming shouting at others in front of him, immediately scolded him.

Shen Zhi had already left directly, completely tarnishing the face of this grade director. He didn’t expect Xia Jiangming to dare to insult people in front of him.

Teacher Qiao immediately spoke up, “Xia Jiangming, sit down.”

But Xia Jiangming still stood there, looking at teacher Qiao and saying loudly, “Teacher, I believe Zhi-ge… Shen Zhi wouldn’t hit someone without reason.”

“If he has a reason, why doesn’t he explain it?” The grade director, seeing him still speaking up for Shen Zhi at this time, was furious. He couldn’t believe the audacity of these troublemakers.

The grade director continued, “Xia Jiangming, what are you up to? I find the students in your class too unruly; do you even respect teachers?”

For the grade director, the troublemakers were nothing but a group of nuisances. Moreover, the student who was beaten this time was a top student in the third year, and this incident happened right before the college entrance exam. The grade director felt both guilty and resentful.

He said, “If you don’t want to study, no one is willing to talk to you. But can’t you stop disturbing others’ learning? Do you know who Shen Zhi hit today? He hit a student from the first class of the third year. If any serious problem arises from this, I think you…”

The first and second classes of each grade were always considered the best classes.

The grade director’s implication was clear – they were a group of mediocre students who didn’t want to study and shouldn’t disturb others. As Xia Jiangming clenched his fists, preparing to speak, a quiet girl who had been sitting in her seat suddenly stood up.

Ji Ran didn’t know why Shen Zhi did what he did, but she could see that he was trying to clear her name.

He was protecting her.

But if she sat here today, indifferent to the teacher’s words, Ji Ran felt that she didn’t deserve his unconditional protection.

Ji Ran stood up and said, “Teacher, good grades don’t determine everything. Even if he is a student from the first class of the third year, so what? If he’s scum, even if he scores high, he’s just high-scoring scum.”

The whole classroom erupted in commotion.

Even Wen Qianxia stared at Ji Ran in amazement. Ji Ran stood quietly in her seat, her voice not loud but soft and gentle, as usual.

However, every word she spoke carried weight.

After Ji Ran finished speaking, she walked directly to the grade director and said, “Teacher, I can explain anything you want to know.”

Her gaze was clear, without any trace of fear.

Teacher Qiao saw this and immediately said, “Ji Ran, if there’s really a hidden reason, just tell the teacher. The teacher will definitely believe you.”

After the teacher left with Ji Ran, Xia Jiangming and the others skipped class and quickly slipped out of the classroom.

Xia Jiangming anxiously said, “What do we do now?”

Xu Yihang had already taken out his phone, ready to call Shen Zhi. As he dialed the number, he said, “Of course, we call Zhi-ge back. Didn’t you see what he said to Ji Ran before he left? He was trying to justify her.”

Xia Jiangming, frustrated, said, “Damn it, Tang Zhenpeng, that bastard still dares to cause trouble. Does he think we really won’t expose his little secret?”

“Do you remember why Zhi-ge didn’t speak up back then?” Chen Song said it helplessly.

Xia Jiangming sighed. “That’s why troublemakers like him end up surviving until the end.”

As Xu Yihang hadn’t reached Shen Zhi yet, he decided to send him a message, informing him that Ji Ran had left with the grade director and seemed to be explaining things for him.

Not long after sending the message, Shen Zhi’s call came in.

“Zhi-ge, did you leave school?” Xu Yihang asked anxiously.

Shen Zhi, extinguishing the cigarette in his hand and tossing it into the trash can, whispered, “What’s going on?”

“After you left, everyone in the class started discussing this matter. Xia Jiangming spoke up, and the grade director got angry, scolding us as troublemakers. Do you know what happened next? Ji Ran directly confronted the grade director. She said, Even if Tang Zhenpeng is a student from the first class of the third year, it doesn’t matter; scum is still scum even if they score high.”

Xu Yihang became more and more excited as he spoke. It was understandable.

At that time, everyone was discussing it fervently. After all, on one side, there was Shen Zhi with a bad reputation, and on the other side, there was the top student of the third year. Anyone would think it was Shen Zhi’s fault.

However, Ji Ran didn’t hesitate to stand up and defend Shen Zhi.

Suddenly, Xu Yihang began to understand why Shen Zhi had such an obsession with Ji Ran.

A girl like her was worth it.

worth protecting with one’s life.

Shen Zhi kicked the trash can hard and whispered, “I’ll be back soon.”

In fact, he hadn’t gone far; he just left the school. He should know that she wouldn’t stay silent and do nothing in that situation.

Principal’s office.

No. 4 Middle School was a well-known key high school in the city, and an incident of one student assaulting another in public was quite serious.

Moreover, after the incident, the other student’s parents quickly arrived at the school.

At this moment, the principal was trying to pacify the situation, while the other parents were pressing, “Principal Zhao, our No. 4 Middle School is a key school. My son, Tang Zhenpeng, is in a key class. How could he be beaten at school? How can there be such garbage students at No. 4 Middle School? I hope the school handles this seriously.”

When the grade director knocked on the door and entered, Ji Ran followed behind and happened to hear the last sentence.

Garbage students?

Hope the school handles it seriously.

Ji Ran looked towards the sofa, and the speaker was a middle-aged woman with black-framed glasses, wearing a gray coat, giving off a very stern and serious vibe. Her sharpness in speech matched her appearance.

Sitting next to her was Tang Zhenpeng, and at this point, the injuries on his face had been treated, but he looked even more terrifying. Because not only was his face bruised and swollen, it was also covered with ointment, making his originally handsome face appear especially ugly.

Shen Zhi didn’t hold back this time.

As soon as Tang Zhenpeng’s mother saw Ji Ran coming, she immediately glanced at her, showing a scrutinizing look. “Principal Zhao, it wouldn’t be this female student who beat my son, right? I heard it was another male student.”

“Your school won’t cover for that male student, right, Principal Zhao? Let me tell you, even if the other party’s family is powerful, we’re not afraid. We must pursue justice.”

Ji Ran couldn’t stand it anymore after hearing this. She sneered, “Pursue justice, huh? I do have something I want to tell the teachers.”

She didn’t want to listen to the other party’s nonsense, so she said directly, “Today, at noon, in the Sudoku training room on the activity floor, while I was halfway to the restroom, a male student suddenly barged into the restroom, so I chased after him.”

As soon as these words came out, not only were the teachers in the school shocked, but even Tang Zhenpeng’s mother wore an astonished expression.

But the next second, Tang’s mother actually jumped up, pointing directly at Ji Ran’s face and saying, “Good, a young girl has learned to spew blood from her mouth. Are you saying that my son barged into the girls’ restroom and was then beaten by you?”

“Yes.” Ji Ran looked at her without flinching and said,

Tang Zhenpeng’s mother didn’t expect that this girl, who looked soft and delicate, would have such a strong presence and wouldn’t be afraid even when facing her.

So Tang Zhenpeng’s mother immediately turned to ask her son, “Xiao Mian, come and tell me what exactly happened.”

Tang Zhenpeng slowly raised his head, glanced at Ji Ran, and although his face was covered in various colors, he managed to show a bit of malice and indescribable satisfaction in his eyes, as if his malicious plan was about to succeed.

He said, “I saw them secretly dating, so Shen Zhi got angry and rushed out to beat me in embarrassment.” Just as he was speaking, the door of the principal’s office suddenly pushed open.

Shen Zhi stood at the door, expressionless, staring at him. “Do you fucking think that I’m not here, so you can spout nonsense?”

actually spreading rumors that he was on a date with Ji Ran. If he had really been caught on a date, despite his disdain for Tang Zhenpeng, he would have spared him and let him off easily.

“What’s wrong with you, opening your mouth and cursing people?” Tang’s mother, hearing Shen Zhi swear, became displeased.

Shen Zhi ignored Tang’s mother and looked at Tang Zhenpeng.

At this point, Tang Zhenpeng hid behind his mother, seemingly intimidated.

Tang’s mother became even more distressed for her son, angrily saying, “Right in front of me, you’re still threatening my Xiaomian. Let me tell you, the school is not a place where you can rule with an iron fist.”

“A person like me?” Shen Zhi chuckled, amused. He asked casually, “What kind of person am I?”

Tang’s mother took a step forward as if she were about to point at Shen Zhi, but the next moment, Ji Ran stepped in front of Shen Zhi, looking at her and saying, “Your son intruded into the girls’ restroom, so he deserved to be beaten.”

She stood straight with a calm and open expression.

Tang Zhenpeng finally began to shout, “I didn’t do it. I just happened to see you two having a date in the activity building. Yes, Shen Zhi even kissed you, so you framed me out of embarrassment.”

Shen Zhi burst into laughter, genuinely amused by Tang Zhenpeng’s talent for telling lies. He was considering it; after all, if Ji Ran was willing to let him kiss her, he wouldn’t have the time to beat this idiot.

Teacher Qiao couldn’t help but ask, “Ji Ran, is what you said true?”

“Teacher Qiao, you promised you would believe me, right? Every word I say is true.”

Teacher Qiao nodded. Both Ji Ran and Shen Zhi were students in his class, and at a time like this, he was willing to trust them.

Teacher Qiao looked at the principal and requested, “Principal, I hope you don’t just believe one side of the story.”

At this point, both sides were stating their cases, but Teacher Qiao knew that the school leadership would be more inclined to believe a student like Tang Zhenpeng. After all, he was a top student in Class 1 of the third year, and good grades served as his protective talisman.

“What’s wrong with you, teacher? Are you biased?” Tang’s mother said it indignantly.

Ji Ran suddenly felt a little helpless. Cameras in 2009 were not as widespread as they would be in ten years. At this moment, there are no cameras installed in the school’s activity building.

That’s why Tang Zhenpeng dared to spout nonsense with his eyes wide open.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She spoke, “If the teacher can’t make a judgment, then let’s call the police. The person who broke into the restroom may have left footprints on the restroom floor.”

Most importantly…

She smirked lightly, looking at Tang Zhenpeng as she said softly, “That person also knocked on the stall door several times. His palm prints might still be on it.”

The entire principal’s office fell silent.

Shen Zhi turned his head to look at Ji Ran and suddenly burst into laughter.

How could he not become more and more fond of this girl?

Look at how clever and quick-witted she is.

When they left the principal’s office, Tang Zhenpeng and his mother were still inside. At this moment, Tang’s mother was arguing with the principal, insisting that her son could never be the pervert who broke into the restroom.

Teacher Qiao didn’t want them to miss class, so he asked them to go back first.

As they walked downstairs, Shen Zhi suddenly looked at Ji Ran, whispering, “Although I really dislike that idiot, Tang Zhenpeng, I suddenly hope that what he said is true.”

Ji Ran was puzzled.

“He said we were on a date.” Shen Zhi’s lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of a smile.

Until he leaned close to Ji Ran and whispered in her ear, “I even kissed you.”