After Saving My Possessive Best Friend, I Couldn't Escape (GL) - Chapter 44

The quality of teaching at Chunyang High School was perfectly reflected in the exam papers. Fang Zhile had thought she would have ample time to check for typos, but she realized she had been overconfident.

The moment her pen finished writing, the closing bell rang, ten decibels louder than usual, echoing throughout the entire classroom.

The tiered lecture hall was enormous, divided into six smaller sections. Fang Zhile sat in the upper left corner. Looking down, she could spot Ye Yu among the over one hundred dark heads.

The exam papers for art students and academic students were the same. The first test was Chinese, which was Ye Yu’s strong suit, so there should be no problem. Ye Yu finished writing at the same moment as Fang Zhile. As if sensing something, she turned her head. Fang Zhile immediately flashed her a wide grin.

After the exam ended, everyone shuffled out slowly. It was not yet noon, and the English exam was at three in the afternoon. Their steps were leisurely and listless, filled with the self-abandonment and reckless defiance of students whose minds had been emptied by the test and who had no desire to study further.

“Did you guys hear? A student from Class Seven missed the exam.”

“They said she fell down the stairs before the test.”

“Ah, that’s terrible. So clumsy.”

“Do you really believe that? ‘Fell down.’ Could she have hurt herself that badly just by falling? She probably provoked someone and was pushed.”

“How is that possible? There are surveillance cameras in the school hallways… wait, not here!”

“You’re right, these stairs are narrow and steep, and there are no cameras…”

The group whispered as they walked away. Fang Zhile and Zhou Yunyi exchanged a look, both recalling the female voice they had heard before the exam.

“That scared me to death,” Zhou Yunyi patted her chest. “Thank goodness you didn’t go over there. It would have been awful if we got involved.”

Fang Zhile frowned, not speaking. She had told the invigilating teacher before the exam, but the teacher most likely hadn’t done anything.

Just then, the invigilating teacher walked past, holding a stack of test papers. Fang Zhile called out to her.

“Teacher, someone was pushed down the stairs,” Fang Zhile said.

The teacher looked confused. “Right, you were the one who told me people were roughhousing on the stairs. I checked, and no one was there.”

Fang Zhile scrutinized her reaction. “Absolutely no one?”

“I was standing right by the door. No one showed up,” the teacher said.

Fang Zhile hadn’t heard any unusual sounds during the exam either. Logically, someone falling would have caused a disturbance. Fang Zhile pulled back her investigative gaze. “I hope she’s alright.”

The teacher told them to return to their classrooms and walked away with the papers. Fang Zhile looked at the staircase behind her, lost in thought.

“Don’t you have to go home?” Fang Zhile turned to Zhou Yunyi. “I left something in the dorm and need to go back for it. You go ahead.”

Zhou Yunyi didn’t doubt her, quietly muttering how scary the situation was as she walked away.

Fang Zhile stood at the corner of the building. After the crowds dispersed a bit, she walked toward the infirmary.

The auntie was tidying a table full of medical waste. Seeing Fang Zhile enter, she waved her away. “I’m about to disinfect the room.”

“Auntie, I’m here for a follow-up visit,” Fang Zhile said.

The auntie remembered her and, speaking through the window, didn’t let her in. “It’s still your knee, right? You seem to be walking fine. Lift your pants so I can see.”

Fang Zhile was speechless. She looked around, leaned in close to the window, and whispered, “Auntie, I’m a girl. Lifting my pants and raising my leg is quite inappropriate.”

“Then don’t raise it. I won’t look,” the auntie glanced at her sideways.

“No, I’m just kidding,” Fang Zhile pulled up her school uniform pants. The needle marks had healed, and the surrounding redness was almost gone.

The auntie looked at it for a moment and nodded. “No infection. It’s healed.”

“By the way,” Fang Zhile lowered her pant leg and asked casually, “Auntie, what are you busy with? Doesn’t the infirmary disinfect every morning and evening? Do you have to disinfect at noon too?”

“It’s because the ambulance just took someone away,” the auntie sighed at the thought of it. “It’s similar to your situation a year ago. She fell down the stairs and couldn’t move.”

“I didn’t fall down by myself,” Fang Zhile lowered her voice, seemingly talking to herself, but loud enough for the auntie to hear. “Who knows who the unlucky person is this time.”

The auntie’s gaze became serious and profound, like a spotlight shining on her. “You wouldn’t tell me anything when I asked you before.”

Fang Zhile froze, staring at her toes as if afraid to look up.

“It’s too late now. There’s no evidence,” the auntie returned to her normal volume and sighed. “You kids, you should just focus on school. Where do you pick up all these bad habits? You’ll end up in jail someday.” The auntie then reconsidered and reassured Fang Zhile, “Don’t take it personally. I’m not talking about you. I just feel sorry for that little girl. Her thigh was completely twisted! The ambulance crew didn’t dare move her when they picked her up. This must be a serious incident.”

“Twisted? Did it get twisted after she arrived at the infirmary?”

The auntie felt like slapping Fang Zhile. “Would I let her injuries worsen? It was those people… moving her around. They nearly scared me to death.”

Having gotten the information she wanted, Fang Zhile nodded. “I’m going now.”

An ambulance driving onto campus wouldn’t be completely silent unless someone had been notified beforehand, calling for a “mute ambulance” and asking for discretion.

A girl falls down the stairs, is quickly moved by the people present, and then someone calls the quiet ambulance to take her to the hospital.

The entire process only involved the infirmary auntie.

The girl who was pushed was transferred to the infirmary immediately. Falling causes injuries, and moving her would cause secondary damage.

How vicious and foolish were the people who were there?

Fang Zhile also realized something: when she fell down the stairs that year, she refused to say anything. It was understandable. Fang Zhile was poor and had nothing.

Confronting those people would only lead to trouble. Her fall was likely caused by Sun Li, but who was the pusher this time?

Was this a routine for a few people in every class? Fang Zhile wanted to curse. The sheer idiocy.

Checking the list: Sun Li was being quiet these days for unknown reasons, Li Zi was grounded at home, and Liu Mei had taken an extended leave. Yet, as soon as one group was out, another quickly took their place.

Those who knew called this Chunyang High School, a place for education. Those who didn’t would think it was a celebrity factory—Bullying 101.

They think hurting people is cool, great, and something to be proud of? How many groups of “delinquent girls” were there in Chunyang High School? If this continued, the school might as well just rot away.

Fang Zhile yawned as she walked back to the school. Along the way, she overheard many people discussing the ambulance on campus.

The truth couldn’t be concealed with paper. The people’s attempts to cover up the incident were clumsy, but every student knew exactly what happened.

As she listened, she suddenly heard someone call her name: “Fang Zhile.”

Fang Zhile turned and saw Ye Yu running towards her. Ye Yu’s cardiopulmonary function was average.

She generally walked if she could, and jogged only if she absolutely had to, never sprinting.

The few steps she had just taken were definitely a “forced run” that she hadn’t even bothered with during the high school entrance exam.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Fang Zhile asked anxiously.

Ye Yu ran up to her, not even stopping to catch her breath, and grabbed her elbow. “Are you alright?”

Fang Zhile moved her arms and legs. “I’m fine.”

Ye Yu’s face was flushed from lack of oxygen. She struggled to control her breathing and calm down. She tugged on Fang Zhile’s uniform sleeve, scrutinizing her from head to toe, and finally said, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Fang Zhile ran a hand through her hair and led Ye Yu under a tree to escape the sun. “Did you hear about the girl from Class Seven being pushed down the stairs?”

“I didn’t hear everything,” Ye Yu’s lips were pale.

Fang Zhile decided to leave school with her. “Let’s go have lunch, and grab some snacks from the store on the way.”

“Okay.” Ye Yu’s hand was still slightly trembling. She agreed to whatever Fang Zhile suggested.

“The ambulance came, apparently,” Fang Zhile recalled the gossip from the morning. “Actually, before I entered the tiered lecture hall, I heard people arguing on the back stairs. Calculating the time, it must have been that group.”

Ye Yu held onto Fang Zhile’s sleeve, not speaking.

“You thought it was me, didn’t you?” Fang Zhile laughed dramatically, teasing her. “Don’t be scared anymore. It has nothing to do with me.”

Ye Yu frowned, unable to shake off the emotion from her earlier words. “I was genuinely scared.”

“I’m glad it wasn’t you,” Ye Yu said gravely. “I’ve never hated this high school as much as I do now.”

“Everywhere is the same,” Fang Zhile tried to comfort her by suggesting everyone was evil. “I’m not easy to mess with either. I’ll retaliate if someone bullies me.”

“It’s not the same,” Ye Yu shook her head. “I hate them.”

Fang Zhile didn’t press her on who “them” referred to, but she knew immediately it was the people Ye Yu had been around since childhood.

“Birds of a feather, but you’re not one of them,” Fang Zhile swung her sleeve, making Ye Yu’s arm swing back and forth, her voice softening considerably with the motion. “You are a kind, good child, of course you dislike them.”

“One year and eight months,” Ye Yu suddenly said.

Fang Zhile took two seconds to understand. “The college entrance exam.”

“After the exam, I will never see them again,” Ye Yu pursed her lips. “Then we’ll go to a national university and never associate with people like this again.”

“Let me be the first to say,” Fang Zhile raised her hand. “I have no objections whatsoever.”

Fang Zhile was naturally delighted that Ye Yu wanted to stay and attend university domestically instead of going abroad for a degree.

“But Zhou Meize probably has to go abroad,” Fang Zhile calculated Zhou Meize’s grades and family background. “She can’t paint forever. The family business needs her to manage it.”

Ye Yu pouted. “Hiring someone else to manage it is enough… You’re right. Zhou Meize will have to go abroad.”

Fang Zhile thought, Then you’ll probably be advised to go abroad too. But she didn’t say anything. Ye Yu wasn’t being groomed as the successor. Going abroad or not seemed to be more up to her personal wishes? Fang Zhile dismissed the uncontrollable thoughts and smiled, pulling Ye Yu toward the food street.

For lunch, the two shared a large bowl of pumpkin congee and a large portion of stinky tofu. Before re-entering the school gate, they smelled the strong, pungent odor on each other and unanimously decided to buy a milk tea to drink until the smell dissipated.

After finishing the milk tea and wandering for half an hour, they finally parted reluctantly at the entrance of the teaching building. Sun Yangyang happened to catch a glimpse of Fang Zhile’s retreating back. She lifted her chin toward Ye Yu and said arrogantly, “Hmph. Lucky for her she ran away fast.”

Ye Yu, who usually wouldn’t directly confront her, suddenly stopped. “Who are you talking about?”

“Fang Zhile,” Sun Yangyang folded her arms and leaned against the wall. She hadn’t seen Fang Zhile and Ye Yu return together, so she spoke without any reservation in front of Ye Yu. “My sister has messed with her so many times, yet she still acts like she’s not afraid of anything. I’m going to find a chance to teach her a lesson.”

“Messed with? Teach a lesson?” Ye Yu’s foot, poised on the step, froze in mid-air. She chewed on the words as if she didn’t recognize them.

Sun Yangyang, unaware of the danger, continued, “I don’t know what’s wrong with my sister these past few days. Fang Zhile has been jumping around for so long, and my sister still ignores her.”

“You’re right,” Ye Yu’s voice drifted in like a breeze. “If she posted those photos, wouldn’t Fang Zhile be too ashamed to ever come to school again?”

“Exactly!” Sun Yangyang turned her head as she spoke, running straight into Ye Yu’s expressionless face. The nerve she called “caution” in her brain finally trembled. Sun Yangyang remembered that she was the one who had planted the camera in Ye Yu’s room. She immediately clamped her mouth shut, turned, and fled in panic.

Running to the classroom door, she bumped into Sun Li, who was returning to the classroom. Sun Yangyang acted as if she didn’t remember what Sun Li had done to her the other day. With a flattering smile, she pulled her aside and looked around. “Sister, I need to talk to you about something.”

Sun Li said impatiently, “What is it?”

Sun Yangyang lowered her gaze, a fleeting shadow crossing her eyes. When she looked up, she was all fawning smiles again. “Who is Ye Yu, anyway? Do you know who she is?”

Sun Li’s heart was racing, but her face remained impassive. She snapped, “What does her identity have to do with you?”

Sun Yangyang’s expression stiffened for a moment, then she gave a flattering smile. “Nothing, but I ran into her just now. I saw her walking quite close to Fang Zhile, and it looked like… she seemed to know that you once took photos of Fang Zhile.”

Sun Li’s expression instantly shattered. Alarm bells rang in her mind. She grabbed Sun Yangyang’s arm. “How does she know that? What did you two talk about?”

Sun Yangyang said, “I saw Fang Zhile and cursed at her a few times. Ye Yu was right there, and she suddenly took Fang Zhile’s side, saying that if you posted the photos, Fang Zhile wouldn’t have the face to come to school anymore.” Sun Yangyang acted like she didn’t notice Sun Li’s darkening face, pretending to be utterly clueless as she asked, “Sister, how do you think Ye Yu knew you took photos of Fang Zhile?”

“Shut up!”

A crisp slap echoed. Sun Yangyang’s face burned with pain. Sun Li was shocked, terrified, and enraged. One slap wasn’t enough, and she wanted to hit her again, but the preparatory bell rang, and everyone was gathering their things for the exam room.

“It’s all because of your rambling!” Sun Li pointed at Sun Yangyang’s nose. “I’m telling you, don’t think Ye Yu likes you just because she lets you play with her. You’d better remember what your last name is. If you ruin my plans again, you’ll see how I deal with you!”

Sun Li stormed off. Sun Yangyang covered her stinging face and looked in the direction she left. Sure enough, Ye Yu is someone Sun Li can’t afford to provoke. Sun Yangyang sneered internally. Sun Li must have known Ye Yu’s identity all along and lured her into placing the camera in her room. And after the deed was done, she tried to shift all the blame onto her.

Sun Yangyang spoke softly, her voice barely audible. “Sister, this was the last chance I gave you. You didn’t cherish it. From now on, we go our separate ways. There is no sisterly affection left.”

Students carrying their exam supplies poured out of the classroom. Sun Yangyang lowered her head and walked away with the crowd.

After the commotion subsided, the area returned to quiet. Ten minutes later, with five minutes left until the exam started, a person walked out of the classroom behind where the two had been standing.

Ye Yu twirled her phone on her fingertips, her expression peaceful, a subtle smile playing on her lips. She whistled softly as she walked toward the exam room.