After Saving My Possessive Best Friend, I Couldn't Escape (GL) - Chapter 45

All the physical injuries and unexpected incidents were completely ignored by the students who were fully immersed in the tide of academics during the two hectic days of exams.

The girl who was pushed down the stairs only became conversation fodder for two days, “popular” among the students, before no one mentioned her again.

Everyone was busy discussing the exam questions.

Some were comparing answers, some were drawing lots for fun, and some even placed bets on who the bottom three students would be.

No one cared about the condition of the bullied girl.

After the final exam, Fang Zhile let out a long breath. Liberal Arts was Fang Zhile’s strong suit. The moment the closing bell rang, she spread her test paper on the desk, being the first to leave the exam room.

She didn’t return to her classroom but went straight out of the school gate, boarded a bus, and headed to a hospital whose name she had managed to wheedle out of the infirmary auntie through persistent probing.

Just before reaching the hospital entrance, Fang Zhile bought a small fruit basket.

“Are you family of the patient, or…?”

“Big Sister, has a high school student been admitted recently? She’s my classmate. Our teacher asked me to come and visit her.”

The inpatient department had strict management; everyone entering and exiting had to register.

But perhaps because Fang Zhile looked like a student, was well-behaved, and spoke sweetly, the staff member didn’t seem suspicious.

“A high school student? Do you know her name? I can check for you,” the nurse said.

Fang Zhile had already learned everything about the person she was looking for.

“Han Qi.”

The nurse typed the surname into the computer and waited for the search results. Perhaps because Han Qi had been transferred from the emergency room due to severe injuries, or for some other reason, the nurse’s expression changed slightly.

She glanced at Fang Zhile, seeming to hesitate about whether to speak.

Fang Zhile smiled and asked if the search was complete. The nurse finally provided a room number.

Han Qi was an art student, one of the “insiders” within the two major factions of Chunyang High School, where the Bullying 101 cliques often emerged. This clique was clearly less organized than others; their hostility was flying around and managed to hit one of their own.

The room was a small private room, the environment was nice, and clearly above average, but Han Qi’s family financial situation was very ordinary. It was likely that someone else had paid her medical expenses upfront.

Fang Zhile checked her expression in her phone screen at the door, adjusting it to show appropriate concern, and then knocked.

At first, there was no response. Fang Zhile knocked a few more times, then heard a dragging set of footsteps, and the door was opened from the inside.

The people who opened the door were a couple.

The movement was slow and delayed, as if they weren’t opening a light wooden door but pushing a heavy, solid iron gate. They opened it just a crack, and after confirming that the visitor wasn’t some monster or evil spirit, they didn’t swing it open in greeting, but slowly and hesitantly widened the gap.

“Who are you?”

The door was open, but the couple blocked the entrance, preventing her from entering. They scrutinized her, their eyes flashing with various complex emotions.

Fang Zhile introduced herself, “Hello, Uncle and Auntie. I’m a student of Teacher Yang. She heard that Han Qi accidentally got hurt and is very concerned about her injuries. My home is nearby, so she asked me to come and visit.”

The mention of “Teacher Yang’s” concern momentarily relaxed the wary couple. They exchanged glances and stepped aside, allowing her entry.

“Oh, it’s Teacher Yang,” the mother turned to the inside and whispered gently, “Qiqi, Teacher Yang sent someone to see you.”

As Fang Zhile walked into the ward, she smelled a faint, clean floral fragrance decorating the small space, seemingly intended to make the room less lifeless. However, the person on the hospital bed was like a withered, faded flower, jarringly out of place amidst the bright scent of life.

“Hello, Han Qi. I’m Fang Zhile. Teacher Yang is currently my homeroom teacher.” Fang Zhile smiled at her, placing the fruit basket down. Throughout, she quietly observed the girl’s expression.

Han Qi’s bed had been cranked up, and she was sitting up, leaning against the pillows, her head turned toward the small space outside the window.

Hearing the movement, she first lowered her gaze, wringing her hands together, and then lifted her red eyes. The redness wasn’t from crying, but a deep crimson around the eyes, indicative of long-term sleep deprivation and pointing to emotional instability.

Her exhausted eyes were so red that the boundary between the whites and the pupils was unclear, blurred into a light red by bloodshot vessels. It was as if she was looking through a layer of hazy blood mist. The moment her gaze met the stranger, a web of fear instantly wove across her eyes, lingering stubbornly.

Fang Zhile’s step forward abruptly halted.

“Don’t be afraid,” Fang Zhile took a step back, her tone becoming even gentler. “I won’t hurt you.”

Fang Zhile put down her backpack and sat on a chair far from the bed, leaning against the edge. The chair was a common low-legged plastic stool, not even as high as her calf. Sitting on it, with her legs curled up, she instantly looked much smaller.

Perhaps it was Fang Zhile’s small, unaggressive appearance while sitting on the stool, but the girl, who was as jumpy as a frightened bird, finally relaxed, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

“Teacher Yang…” the girl spoke, her voice barely audible. “Thank you, Teacher Yang. Please tell her I’m doing well.”

“Teacher Yang” was just an excuse Fang Zhile had fabricated. She knew Han Qi had been Teacher Yang’s student before, and given Teacher Yang’s personal charisma, she was likely quite popular among the art students. Now, seeing her reaction, it confirmed her suspicion: the girl was worried about her teacher and insisted she was fine.

Fang Zhile would not judge the rightness or wrongness of her thoughts, nor did she plan to help her conceal the truth.

“I will relay all of your circumstances truthfully,” Fang Zhile said quietly.

The girl looked up at Fang Zhile. Understanding her meaning, her gaze quickly shifted away. She hesitated before speaking. “The doctor at the hospital said the injury wasn’t severe and I will recover soon.”

She was stating her injuries as if making a case, but to Fang Zhile, this assertion was merely a clumsy performance. Fang Zhile, however, could not break the façade and had to continue cooperating. “That’s good. The teachers are all worried about you. The staircase at the tiered lecture hall is very narrow and has no surveillance. Do you remember what happened? Where did you miss your step? I’ll report it to the school for you when I go back. If necessary, we can get that staircase blocked off.”

Fang Zhile’s speech made Han Qi frown. She studied Fang Zhile closely, confused. “You want to report it to the school?”

On the first and second day after her accident, visitors came endlessly. There were various narratives: people asking about the situation, offering comfort, or advising her to rest well. But not a single person suggested that the location was dangerous and needed to be rectified.

Fang Zhile smiled, a faint dimple appearing at the corner of her mouth. “Yes. We’re in the same boat. I also fell down there during my first year. Luckily, it was narrow there, and I was able to stop myself by bracing against the wall… Oh, yes, it’s also fortunate that the stairs are narrow. Each step is about twenty centimeters high and less than half a meter long, totaling 3.6 meters. If it weren’t for the narrow sides, I think I would have rolled from the top to the bottom and cracked.”

Han Qi was bewildered by Fang Zhile’s detailed description of the stairs. Hearing the end of it, she couldn’t help but shiver. “You, you too, when did you, why…”

“But I was pushed,” Fang Zhile revealed the truth casually, yet sounded unconcerned. “They never found out who did it, and it was just swept under the rug. It’s mainly because there are no cameras. That’s why those people are so fearless. It’s the school’s fault.”

Han Qi’s thoughts suddenly drifted elsewhere. Her eyes unfocused, and she didn’t seem to be thinking about anything in particular.

“Were you pushed down too?”

“No!”

The two sentences came out one after the other, but the second one wasn’t spoken by Han Qi. Han Qi’s parents, who had been sitting quietly next to her, looking like repentant suspects in a detention center, suddenly looked energized and powerfully blocked Fang Zhile from continuing.

“How can you say such a thing, child?” Han Qi’s mother suddenly stood up. “Are you cursing my daughter and saying she was bullied?”

Fang Zhile wanted to reply, Can’t you see if your daughter was bullied or not? But she calmly reassured them, “Auntie, I don’t mean anything by it. I was bullied, so I’m just concerned about whether your daughter…”

“No! Don’t say another word. If you don’t have anything else, please leave now!” Han Qi’s mother pointed to the door, ordering Fang Zhile to leave.

Fang Zhile stood up and glanced at Han Qi. The girl, who had just shown a glimmer of life, instantly lost all expression. Her pale face was blank, coldly staring into the void, deaf to everything happening around her.

Fang Zhile was truly unwilling to leave like this. Just as she was contemplating what to do, there was a knock on the door.

“Excuse me, is this Han Qi’s room?”

Another visitor. Han Qi’s parents immediately shooed them away. “No!”

The person only showed a moment of politeness. When the knock received no reply and they were instead met with expulsion, they didn’t leave. Instead, they forcefully pushed the entire door open.

With a bang, the dimly lit room was suddenly flooded with light from the corridor.

Ye Yu stood at the doorway, framed by the light. She was tall, her expression cold, and she exuded an unapproachable, superior aura. She looked down, her gaze sweeping past everyone, falling directly on Han Qi’s parents. “Come out for a moment. I need to talk to you.”

The couple, who had just been ordering Fang Zhile around, were silenced by Ye Yu’s presence. They were like gourds with their mouths sewn shut, unable to utter a single word. Fang Zhile even felt they physically shrunk by an inch, subconsciously obeying Ye Yu’s commanding tone.

They took one step out, then stopped and looked at Fang Zhile, hesitating as if they wanted to say something. Ye Yu raised her hand and checked the time. A clear impatience flashed across her cool brows. She ordered imperiously, “Hurry up. I don’t want to waste my time.”

Finally, they supported each other and walked out. As the flimsy wooden door closed, Ye Yu winked at Fang Zhile through the narrowing gap.

Fang Zhile smiled, watching her close the door, and then turned back to the girl on the bed with that same knowing, easy smile.

The stark contrast in the parents’ attitude didn’t cause the pale girl on the hospital bed to show any change in expression. Han Qi was fixed in her small space, oblivious to everything happening outside.

Fang Zhile needed to break this silence and at least get Han Qi to speak for the conversation to continue. After a moment of thought, Fang Zhile’s eyes brightened.

“Your parents are very afraid of you going astray,” Fang Zhile said, choosing a neutral topic to test the waters. “They’re worried about you being bullied at school.”

Han Qi stared out the window, completely unresponsive, her mind elsewhere. But the hands resting at her sides involuntarily clenched.

Judging by their reaction, the parents clearly weren’t displaying the typical behavior of “fearing their child is bullied.” They seemed to be concealing and avoiding something. Han Qi, however, was just a naïve student, and her reactions couldn’t lie. That tense expression and the subtle, elusive sarcasm around her mouth were completely exposed to Fang Zhile.

Fang Zhile thought for a moment and continued along this line of reasoning.

“Chunyang High School is a very magical place. Students wear the same uniform and sit in the same classrooms, yet they are sharply divided into two groups. Art students who pursue art can audit culture classes until the third year of high school, so the school simply assigns the less outstanding art students to different classrooms. But even those small groups of two or three people in each class can dominate and commit mischief.”

Han Qi’s breathing suddenly became rapid. Her gaze toward the window trembled slightly, her inner resolve greatly shaken.

Fang Zhile stood up and walked to the window. The ward faced the shady side. Now that it was evening, she could see patients strolling in the garden below. On the other side of the garden wall was a bustling street. Students and people out for a walk chose this time to be outside. The air was rich with the scent of life. Everyone who brushed past you had a face that was either calm, numb, or serene. No one could see what truly lay beneath that face—was it equally unremarkable, unperturbed by gain or loss, or was there three feet of cold snow and raging inner turmoil beneath the calm surface?

“You know, the school is sometimes quite ridiculous. It tries so hard to create a harmonious atmosphere, hoping we’ll focus all our energy on studying. Yet, they introduce adult rules among the students. Children from powerful and influential families can enjoy privileges others can’t. Even if something is exposed, it can be covered up beneath a seemingly peaceful mask, and no one says anything. No one will stand up for you.”

Fang Zhile’s tone was gentle and cautious from start to finish. Although her words were deeply sarcastic, her voice conveyed intense helplessness as she spoke them.

This sincere outpouring of emotion brought Han Qi’s frozen, scattered thoughts back. The unmoving exterior finally cracked.

Through that crack, Han Qi spoke in a very low voice.

“What do you want to know?”

Fang Zhile gently closed the curtain and turned to face Han Qi, speaking calmly. “I want to know how powerful those families’ influence is, how complex the intertwined relationships are, and how utterly powerful their parents’ connections are.”

Han Qi’s eyes showed a hint of mockery. “How would I know? Should I be bullied by everyone? Who are you, and what is the meaning of you saying all this? If you want to seek justice for yourself, go ahead. I can’t offer you any help.”

Fang Zhile said, “Teacher Yang cares about you deeply.”

Han Qi froze, completely caught off guard by Fang Zhile’s sudden change of topic.

“Teacher Yang has always been very concerned about you. She told me that she was also an art student, but her family didn’t have much money. If she hadn’t received funding from a foundation, she didn’t know if she would have been able to finish high school.”

Fang Zhile’s tone was nostalgic as she recalled the past. At a certain point in her soft narrative, Han Qi seemed to see Teacher Yang standing right in front of her.

“When you were first assigned classes in the first year of high school, she noticed you—a young girl from an ordinary family, passionate about art. Even after scoring above the admission cut-off for culture classes, you still resolutely chose the art track. She wanted to teach you more, which is why she often called you to the classroom after school to tutor your art classes, ensuring you received as much professional education as possible, even without the money for private lessons.”

Han Qi’s hands, resting on the white sheet, were trembling. Her eyes gradually reddened.

“I’m not lying to you,” Fang Zhile took a manila envelope from her backpack and placed it on the bedside table. “I have my own self-interest. I want to know who pushed me down that year. But when I pushed open the office door and heard Teacher Yang desperately making phone calls, constantly mentioning your current situation and injuries, a new purpose was added to my plan.”

Han Qi choked up. “What did Teacher Yang say?”

“She said your grades kept falling after the class split, and she felt guilty, thinking she hadn’t guided you well. She was also very upset when she heard you fell down the stairs before the exam,” Fang Zhile said truthfully. “Some of these words Teacher Yang told me herself, and some I witnessed personally. The envelope contains words Teacher Yang wanted to tell you. If you’re willing, you can open it and read it.”

Han Qi reached out to take it, but just as her fingers touched the envelope, she stopped midway, as if afraid.

“Do you feel like you can’t seek justice, that the people who bullied you will never be punished, and that you will never be able to escape this predicament?” Fang Zhile was sharp, like a sword to the throat, piercing the peaceful mask Han Qi desperately maintained.

Han Qi flinched violently, her expression showing a moment of panicked helplessness as her façade was shattered.

Fang Zhile nodded and walked over to Han Qi’s side. “I can understand that. After all, you’re just students. Everything you perceive right now is your entire reality. Coupled with Chunyang High School’s laissez-faire attitude and your parents’ ambiguous stance, it’s normal for you to choose to seal yourself off in fragility and hatred.”

“But since you hate the world so much, why don’t you give me the letter? I’ll throw it away. I’ll also help you lie to Teacher Yang so she won’t worry about you, giving you a completely isolated, undisturbed environment to be alone.”

Fang Zhile reached out to take the envelope. Han Qi snapped back to reality, quickly snatching the envelope and clutching it tightly to her chest, glaring at Fang Zhile as if she were trying to steal her most precious treasure.

“We all care about you,” Fang Zhile sighed. “But if you don’t say anything and let your parents silence you, and if you give up on seeking justice for yourself, that truly is the most tragic thing.”

As she said this, the sound of Wang Shan’s voice flashed through Fang Zhile’s mind.

She had only spoken to Wang Shan on the phone, but if it weren’t for Wang Shan’s precedent, Fang Zhile would never have understood the profound and complex psychology of people who had been bullied.

Because they were hurt, because they received no help or response, because they were ignored, they gave up the fight.

In the endless cycle of bullying, they either gave up on themselves or sought to destroy themselves along with their abusers. Every path led to darkness and a bottomless abyss.

Tears gradually welled up in Han Qi’s eyes. She opened her mouth, her voice choked with sobs. “Those people have a lot of money…”