Chapter 2 The Second Day
The next day, when Zhao Chunyan went to school, many classmates secretly eyed her.
They whispered behind her back, but Chunyan no longer lowered her head to avoid them as usual.
Instead, she stood up straight and asked them directly what they were talking about.
Those classmates also felt ashamed to gossip about others and dared not meet her gaze, hastily avoiding her.
As soon as Chunyan returned to the classroom, she received kind concern from a few close friends. They felt relieved when they saw she wasn't affected.
Someone had posted the news of Zhao Bei's imprisonment on the school's confessional wall, and now almost everyone in the school knew about it.
Yang Yunliang was aware of this matter, and it didn't take much thought to know who had told him and who had posted it.
Jun Jiuli had noticed it from the beginning, only wanting to see how Chunyan would react to these facts on her own.
There are many setbacks in life; if you encounter them and run away, you will hardly grow. Chunyan was doing quite well now.
Jun Jiuli asked, "Child, aren't you afraid?"
Zhao Chunyan replied, "I haven't done anything wrong, so I'm not afraid of others gossiping. What others say is irrelevant to me. If I always care about others' opinions and wrong myself, it's better to stay in my shell forever and never come out."
"Well said."
Shen Jianjia had been experiencing a lot of anger lately, with many pimples appearing on her face. Her skin was not as fair as before, and she had gained some weight.
Seeing Zhao Chunyan with new clothes, looking clean and tidy, her popularity in class starting to improve, and her grades slowly increasing, she felt a surge of displeasure.
She always felt that her sudden decline was definitely related to Chunyan. After leaking the news last night, she was too excited to sleep.
Today, she specifically got up early, put on light makeup, cut her bangs to cover the pimples on her forehead, and arrogantly entered the classroom with a branded small schoolbag.
The expected scene of people surrounding her to flatter her did not appear, nor did anyone openly mock Zhao Chunyan. Angrily, she shoved her schoolbag back into her seat, making herself the first to speak.
"Classmate Chunyan, I heard your father is in jail. I heard it's very tough in prison. You study so hard, but you won't be able to apply for civil service in the future. What a shame."
"Oh."
After speaking, Chunyan simply lowered her head and continued reading. Shen Jianjia felt like she had punched cotton, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
"If you encounter any difficulties in the future, tell us, and we will definitely help you. What about your tuition fees in the future? Will I not see you next semester?"
As she spoke, she lowered her head, her eyes even squeezing out tears.
"I will continue to study."
"Please don't be shy, we are all classmates. I have some pocket money here, do you need me to..."
"No need."
"Oh dear, Classmate Chunyan. I meant well, please don't misunderstand."
"I don't misunderstand, and I don't need your pocket money. You're so noisy, you're disturbing my reading."
"Ah, why are you so fierce?"
As she spoke, she began to cry. Those who didn't know would think she had been greatly wronged.
At this moment, the class monitor called out, "Shen Jianjia, quickly return to your seat. What are you mumbling about? Morning reading is about to begin."
Only then did she reluctantly get up and move towards her seat, looking wronged.
During class, the homeroom teacher wrote a note asking Chunyan to see him in the office after class. When she arrived, only the homeroom teacher was there, all to protect her dignity.
"Sit down quickly, don't be shy."
"Thank you, Teacher Li."
"Teacher knows about your family situation. If you have any difficulties, tell Teacher. Teacher has applied for poverty assistance for you, so don't feel any pressure. Just focus on your studies and go back to class quickly."
Zhao Chunyan's tears couldn't stop flowing. Seeing her like this, Teacher Li wanted her to leave quickly.
He was really not good at comforting people, especially a young girl. He handed her several tissues.
Chunyan stood up and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Teacher. Jiang Bin's parents compensated me with some money. I don't need it for now, please keep it for someone who needs it more."
"Silly child, every class has a quota for this."
"Thank you, Teacher."
"Mm, no need to thank me, hurry back to class."
"Mm-hmm."
...
After returning home, Shen Jianjia fell into a nightmare cycle, dreaming that she was constantly being bullied by Yang Yunliang and others.
No matter how much she resisted, it was useless, and she endured pain she had never experienced before.
Those burning slaps, ice-cold water, and countless insults.
She repeatedly told herself it was a dream, but she couldn't wake up. She hated Zhao Chunyan, feeling that she shouldn't be the one to suffer all this.
In reality, she screamed in frustration, kicking her blanket violently. Her hands were bruised purple from pinching herself, and her hair was a mess.
Shen's father and mother were frightened by her state and rushed her to the hospital that night. They tried various methods, but could not wake her up.
There was no other way but for her to stay in the hospital. The experts had never seen such a symptom.
They restrained her hands and feet to prevent her from harming herself. She was kept alive with nutrient drips daily, thus beginning an endless period of treatment.
Shen Jianjia fell ill, which initially caused a stir. After some time, everyone forgot about it, as studies were more important.
Chunyan also returned to a peaceful and normal life, cherishing every day.
Yang's father and mother eventually divorced. Yang Yunliang was granted to Yang's father, and Yang's mother left to live elsewhere.
Yang Yunliang now had to rely on a wheelchair to get around. None of his former companions visited him. He stayed home all day, becoming much more gloomy.
"Dad, why did you divorce Mom? Why did you have to go this far?"
Yang's father: "..."
"Dad, why did you suddenly become mute? If you hadn't become mute, Mom wouldn't have abandoned us. I'm now from a single-parent family. I used to look down on children from single-parent families."
"You..."
"What's the use of you? You can't speak, and you can't earn money. I've become like this, and you don't even care? I need to go to school. If you don't let me go to school, I'll die for you to see."
Yang's father helplessly typed on his phone.
"You need to rest at home for a while in your current condition. Be obedient, and Dad will find you a good school again."
"What's the use of being obedient? I don't want to. I want to go to my old school. All my friends are there. Why are you so useless? You can't even handle a small matter."
Yang's father felt his head was about to explode. How did he raise such a troublesome child?
"Forget about the previous school. All your bad friends have transferred. You learn nothing good all day. Consider this a lesson learned."
"Lesson, lesson, my ass. Am I still your biological son? Do you talk like this? I hate you to death. I'm never coming back home again. I'm going to find Mom."
In a fit of rage, he snatched Yang's father's phone and smashed it on the ground. Yang's father, also angry, didn't want to bother with him.
Unexpectedly, this scoundrel fell down the stairs again, and now he was permanently bedridden, so there was no need to think about school.