A Stand-in Alpha Awakens - Chapter 26

After receiving the three-second video from Brother Huang, Song Wushuang’s heart was pounding with terror. However, by the time she was dragged out of her room by a fuming Meng Wei, she had actually calmed down quite a bit.

When the plan was forming, she had already envisioned the consequences of failure. She just hadn’t expected to truly lose, and to lose so thoroughly.

On the way to the school, her heart and mind were a mess, as if she couldn’t remember anything at all.

Meng Wei sat beside her, glaring in irritation. “What exactly are you trying to do? Do you think your father and I are too idle, so you have to be an eyesore? Huh? Look at the kind of friends you’ve made.”

“In my thirty-plus years of life, I’ve never seen anyone so petty and aggressive. If you have a conflict, you just stop hanging out, right? But this girl asks for things back, reports to teachers… what kind of person is she!”

“And you, too. Out of all the people you could hang out with, you choose one like her…”

Song Wushuang listened with a sullen face. Meng Wei’s words were like little knives stabbing into her heart one by one; even her ears hurt from the barrage. Finally, when Meng Wei said for the nth time that Jiang Lu was a piece of trash, she couldn’t help but roar: “Can you just stop talking?!”

Meng Wei was startled. “What are you doing! What do you think you’re doing! I see your wings are really plucked now—you even dare to yell at me?!”

“Things are already like this, and you’re still defending her? What, if I say a couple more words, are you going to hit me…”

Listening to the unreasonable logic, Song Wushuang covered her face tightly with her hands. Her face turned flushed before she took a deep breath to retort: “You didn’t say that when she was giving me gifts.”

Meng Wei choked, her eyes wide for a long time. “Yeah, she gave them then and wants them back now—otherwise, would I be cursing her like this? I really don’t know what kind of adults raised her.”

In the office, the two homeroom teachers and the Grade Director had finished questioning the three students. The testimonies were consistent, and both physical and witness evidence were complete.

Teacher Yang, the homeroom teacher of Sophomore Class 17, looked extremely grim. She rubbed her phone screen, recalling some rumors she had heard during breaks recently. She observed Teacher Yan and Director Gao for a moment, seeing that neither seemed to have the intention of speaking further.

…Have they not heard?

Right. The ones gossiping were mostly students from the first floor of the Xiuyuan Building. Realizing there was an information gap, Yang Xinyu cleared her throat and asked, “Jiang Lu, actually, I’ve heard some things about you and Song Wushuang during breaks lately. Can you tell me what happened between you two before?”

Jiang Lu had been sitting there waiting for someone to ask. Seeing Song Wushuang’s teacher broach the subject, she hesitated briefly before telling them everything she could. Liang Shuang and Shao Shuyi were the ones who knew the situation best—not to mention that besides them, there was an entire class of witnesses.

After hearing the story, the three teachers’ expressions darkened even further. Their authority was limited; they couldn’t investigate exactly what Song Wushuang intended to do to whom that night. But given their life experience, it was hard to believe that it was a “simple gathering.”

If she collaborated with off-campus individuals to retaliate against a classmate… even if it didn’t warrant expulsion from the school registry, she certainly couldn’t be allowed to stay any longer.

Liancheng No. 1 High was the best key high school in the city, even the province. Getting in was naturally difficult. However, because middle school knowledge is relatively foundational, with the combined efforts of teachers, parents, and students, achieving high scores isn’t impossible. At least one-fifth of the top students No. 1 High recruited every year were “grinded” in this way.

Because of this, every year after enrollment, there were students who suddenly let themselves go or couldn’t keep up. To better manage study attitudes, the school set up key and regular classes. To remind students that grades aren’t everything, the school also established many rules. As long as those weren’t violated, the school wouldn’t give up on a student, regardless of their grades.

Conversely, once a rule was broken, no matter how good the grades were, the school had no room for them.

Jiang Lu’s goal was clear: she wanted to see if Song Wushuang could truly… regard the College Entrance Exam as the most important thing no matter what happened, and then get into her ideal university. No. 1 High hadn’t expelled a student in years. She wondered if, given Song Wushuang’s pride, this would count as a hurdle she couldn’t pass.

Meng Wei arrived quickly. The click-clack of her high heels was clearly audible in the office. Yang Xinyu, who had met her just a few days ago because of Song Wushuang’s confiscated phone, felt her heart skip a beat. She stood up to open the door.

Meng Wei entered with a fawning smile, then turned to glare at the sluggish Song Wushuang. “Walk faster! You know you’ve done something shameful and have no face to see people! Hurry up and get in here to apologize!”

Yang Xinyu’s expression was cold. She didn’t respond, standing by the door until Song Wushuang entered before shutting it. The Grade Director’s office wasn’t small, but with so many people gathered, it felt somewhat crowded.

Meng Wei was a true master of “face-changing.” After scolding the child, she offered a barrage of apologies to the three teachers present, acting as if she were split into two different people.

Jiang Lu and Liang Shuang were sitting on the stools against the wall behind the door. When Meng Wei turned around to find a seat, she finally saw them. Her face changed instantly again. “Oh, Jiang Lu? I was wondering who it was. You girls are friends; is it really necessary to make such a scene over a little drama…”

Yan Ge, stung by the woman’s barbed words, frowned in displeasure. “Parent, Jiang Lu is the victim. Whatever the ‘scene’ is, it was caused by Song Wushuang. Your words have nothing to do with her.”

“Hey, Teacher, you can’t say it like that. It takes two to tango (one hand alone doesn’t make a clap).”

Slap! Yan Ge slammed his hand on the desk. “Not loud enough? How loud do you want it to be?”

Liang Shuang and Shao Shuyi suppressed their laughter while looking at Jiang Lu. Jiang Lu was looking down at her phone; the silent, flashing screen showed the name “Jiang Wen.”

Jiang Lu immediately stepped out to answer the call. Jiang Wen hadn’t seen her daughter in nearly two weeks. Calculating that she was free this afternoon, she had bought some things to bring over and called once she reached the gate.

“Lulu, I’m at the North Gate. It should be break time for you now, right? Come pick me up; I’ll sit in your dorm for a bit.”

Jiang Lu stood in the corridor, thought for a moment, and said, “Okay. Don’t get out of the car yet; I’m coming over now.”

Hanging up, Jiang Lu opened the office door to give a brief report, then turned and ran toward the school gate.

Jiang Wen had bought a lot of things. Both mother and daughter had their hands full with bags.

“I bought some small gifts for your new roommates. Where’s Liang Shuang? Not with you? I ran into your Auntie Qingqing at a banquet yesterday. She said she was on a business trip and couldn’t come, so she asked me to bring some snacks for her.” Under the sun, Jiang Wen smiled very gently.

By the time Jiang Lu returned, Liang Shuang and Shao Shuyi had already left the office. The remaining time was entirely the stage for Song Wushuang and her mother.

“I’m heading out for a bit, be back soon! Call me if you need anything!” Shao Shuyi was preoccupied with going out to buy fried mushrooms. After professing her loyalty to Liang Shuang outside the Admin Building, she bolted.

Liang Shuang watched her dash off. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Jiang Lu and Auntie Jiang on the opposite path carrying many bags, so she hurried over to help.

“Speak of the devil.” Seeing Liang Shuang running over, Jiang Wen smiled and dodged her reaching hand, handing over the bag from her left hand that Liang Qingqing had entrusted to her. “From your mother.”

“Thanks, Auntie.” Liang Shuang opened the bag to peek inside and saw it was full of specialties from G-City. Her smile went on a rollercoaster ride.

Jiang Lu wanted to laugh. “What’s with that face?”

“They went back to the old hometown behind my back again,” Liang Shuang pouted in dissatisfaction.

Jiang Wen comforted her: “No, your mother said your Auntie Jiang and the others brought them over when they passed through Liancheng. Your mothers went on a business trip to C-City today, otherwise they would have come with me.”

Only then did Liang Shuang’s expression improve.

Back at Room 601, Lin Tingting and Chen Xueyao were watching an inspirational movie. Seeing Jiang Lu’s mother and the gifts for them, they were nervous all over again. Jiang Wen was charmed by the kids’ reaction, her eyes curving. “Your dorm atmosphere is better than I imagined.”

“Don’t worry about that, Auntie. There’s no dorm relationship we can’t handle,” Liang Shuang said. She liked Jiang Lu’s mother very much; every time they met, she became unusually talkative and high-spirited.

Jiang Lu, used to Liang Shuang’s contrast, kept her head down to organize the things. Seeing her focused, Jiang Wen pulled Liang Shuang outside the dorm to ask in a low voice: “How are things with Lulu and that Song Wushuang? Something felt off the day before school started, but I didn’t dare ask too much.”

Liang Shuang’s expression flickered unnaturally for a moment. “Her? We don’t play with her anymore.”

“Don’t play… you broke off the friendship?”

“Mhm.” Liang Shuang nodded. “Don’t worry, Auntie. With me around, Jiang Lu won’t suffer.”

Jiang Wen smiled and pulled her back inside. Jiang Lu had just finished tidying up.

“It might get colder next week. Are there any clothes you need me to bring?” Jiang Wen opened Jiang Lu’s wardrobe and looked; it was mostly empty.

Jiang Lu checked the fifteen-day forecast; the lowest temperature was still above 20°C. “No need. We go home in two weeks anyway; we’ll talk then.”

Jiang Wen caught a glimpse of the pink baseball bat in the storage bin below, nodded, and didn’t ask further. After a few brief words of concern about Jiang Lu’s campus life, Jiang Wen stood up to leave before the third-period bell.

This time, Jiang Lu and Liang Shuang walked her to the gate together.

As an alumna of No. 1 High, Jiang Wen knew the food was good, but before leaving, she still asked: “Do you get tired of the cafeteria every day? Want me to take you out tonight for a change of pace?”

“Not tonight. I have to preview new lessons this evening; it’s a waste of time to go back and forth.” Jiang Lu opened the car door and shielded her mother’s head as she got in. “Go on back. It’s rare you aren’t at the office; sleep early tonight.”

“Alright. I’ll watch you go in before I leave.” Jiang Wen lowered the window and waved goodbye to Liang Shuang.

“Bye, Auntie.” After speaking, Liang Shuang followed Jiang Lu back into the school.

As the two girls walked away, the maternal warmth faded from Jiang Wen’s face. She swiped her fingers to find a previously received text, extracted the number, and hit call.

The call was answered quickly. A woman’s voice carried a light smile: “Hello, Teacher Yan? This is Jiang Lu’s mother. I’d like to speak with you about Jiang Lu’s recent status at school.”

As Jiang Lu’s homeroom teacher, Yan Ge had originally intended to respect Jiang Lu’s wishes and not contact the parents. Now that the parent had taken the initiative to reach out, he had no reason not to cooperate. He informed her of everything that needed to be told.

Hanging up, Jiang Wen’s face was deathly dark. It scared Sister Liu, who was driving, making her back go stiff. “President Jiang… where are we going now?”

“Home.” Jiang Wen tossed her phone aside, then changed her mind. “No, go to Tangle Palace.”

The Tang family, whom she had just cooperated with recently, had given many orders to the Song family lately. She needed to go and get a detailed understanding of that.

Meanwhile, back at the dorm building, Liang Shuang nudged Jiang Lu. “Almost forgot to tell you—Auntie Jiang asked me about you and Song Wushuang just now.”

“What did you say?” Jiang Lu stopped.

Liang Shuang: “I said we don’t play with her anymore.”