Chapter 27 Part 1

The matter between Su Zheng and Xu Zhinan had caused a huge stir in school back then.

In her second year of high school, Xu Zhinan's father died in the line of duty while apprehending a kidnapper. As the child of a police officer, she was almost caught in the danger and ended up staying in the hospital for a few days.

Xu Zhinan was just as famous in high school as she was in university. It was just that No. 1 Middle School had a strong academic atmosphere, so there was no official 'school belle' title, but everyone knew that Xu Zhinan from Class 3 of the second year was exceptionally beautiful.

During the few days she didn't come to school, someone found out about it, and for a time, the whole school was abuzz with discussions about Xu Zhinan's father passing away.

There were those who felt sympathy and sighed, and those who watched with cold detachment.

This was all human nature. Others truly couldn't put themselves in her shoes to feel the grief of the 17-year-old Xu Zhinan who had lost her father.

But Su Zheng was different.

Xu Zhinan had grown up under her parents' protection and had never met someone as malicious as Su Zheng.

After being discharged from the hospital, she only rested at home for one night before returning to school. It was a bright, sunny day. Xu Zhinan had fallen behind on several days of schoolwork and stayed late to catch up. By the time she left school, it was already six in the evening, and she happened to run into Su Zheng and other boys coming out after playing basketball.

Xu Zhinan was walking behind them, and they didn't see her.

"That class belle from Class 3 is back at school today. I happened to see her homeroom teacher talking to her when I went to the office."

"What were they talking about?"

"Words of encouragement, you know. Her dad's case was on our local news, so the school definitely has to maintain its image. They told her that if her family has difficulties, she could bring it up to the school, and they'd help figure something out, like scholarships or grants."

"Is her family very poor?"

"I don't think so. Her dad is considered a martyr, right? The compensation payment should be quite a lot."

Xu Zhinan pretended not to hear, but she didn't have the courage to walk ahead of them either, so she followed them in silence.

It was then that Su Zheng chimed in, "Why are you so worried about her? You have a crush on Xu Zhinan?"

The boy who was called out turned red up to his neck. He looked very angry and said, "Of course not!"

Su Zheng laughed. "What are you so shy about? I've often seen you peeking at her when you pass by the entrance of Class 3. Besides, her family might be down on their luck right now, which gives you a good chance to hit on her."

"Don't talk nonsense. You're getting more and more out of line."

Su Zheng: "What's the big deal? You have to seize the opportunity. If you ask me, her dad's death is actually a good thing for you. What a great chance to be the hero who saves the damsel in distress. Maybe—"

He paused, raised his eyebrows, and made a lewd expression.

Xu Zhinan gritted her teeth. As the sun set in the west, the girl's thin and frail shoulders cast a long, narrow shadow.

Then she quickened her pace, walked up, and grabbed Su Zheng's clothes, forcing him to stop.

The other boys turned around, stunned. They hadn't expected Xu Zhinan to have heard what they said, and for a moment, they were all very awkward.

The boy who had been talking to Su Zheng earlier was the first to apologize to her. "Sorry, sorry, we didn't notice you were behind us. We shouldn't have said those things just now."

Xu Zhinan had no time to deal with him. Her eyes reddened as she stared fixedly at Su Zheng, saying word by word, "Apologize."

With so many of his buddies around, Su Zheng felt he couldn't lose face. "Apologize for what? What did I say that requires me to apologize to you? Who do you think you are?"

He tried to shake Xu Zhinan off, but she held onto his sleeve so tightly that he couldn't break free for a moment.

"Not to me. I want you to apologize to my dad." Xu Zhinan rarely showed such a cold, hard, and stubborn side. "My father died in the line of duty. He's a martyr. Didn't your parents teach you what manners are?"

Annoyed by her, Su Zheng pushed her hard on the shoulder.

Xu Zhinan had just been discharged from the hospital and was still weak. The push made her stagger and fall to the ground.

In the end, the old security guard at the gate saw what was happening and rushed out. He helped Xu Zhinan up and fiercely scolded the group of boys away.

"Young lady, it's alright. That bunch are just troublemakers. Don't take what they say to heart. Your future is completely different from theirs."

With reddened eyes, Xu Zhinan nodded.

The old security guard already knew Xu Zhinan. Every time he saw her at the school gate after school, she would wave, smile, and say goodbye to him. She was a very well-mannered young student, and he liked her a lot.

Seeing her like this made him even more upset. In a fit of anger, he reported the matter directly to the principal's office the next day.

The case Xu Zhinan's father had been investigating was attracting public attention, so the principal didn't dare to be neglectful in the slightest, fearing he would be accused of disrespecting the child of a martyr.

The next day, he ordered Su Zheng to apologize to Xu Zhinan and Mother Xu.

The matter passed just like that. Two days later, Xu Zhinan heard from a friend that Su Zheng had been beaten up by people from another school. It was probably trouble he'd stirred up with his arrogant personality. He was now hospitalized.

After that, he transferred to another school directly after being discharged and never returned to No. 1 Middle School.

All the way until high school graduation, Xu Zhinan never saw Su Zheng again.

This past event had been sealed away in her memory for a long time. Now, it was suddenly brought up, and it was even linked to Lin Qingye.

Xu Zhinan and Ji Yan checked the timeline, and it matched.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Ji Yan asked.

Xu Zhinan: "I'm still not sure if he really beat up Su Zheng because of me."

"..."

Ji Yan, with her accustomed fiery and impulsive personality, felt like she had run into a block of soft tofu when faced with Xu Zhinan's cautious and mild-mannered nature.

But Xu Zhinan couldn't be blamed. She had carefully liked Lin Qingye for so long, so it was hard for her to accept this amount of information now.

She said patiently, "None of us had ever even met Su Zheng before. What other reason could there be besides you? It's not like the captain is some hothead who beats up everyone he sees."

Xu Zhinan was quiet for a moment, then changed the subject. "Is this news affecting him a lot right now?"

"It probably doesn't affect his mood much, but it's definitely having a huge impact on his career. Look at how badly he's being slammed online. Who knows how many of those are bot accounts? They're just trying to stir things up and ruin him as quickly as possible," Ji Yan said. "Besides, our band has already disbanded. It would be a real shame if he doesn't make music anymore. He was born for this."

Ji Yan looked at her, seized the moment, and continued to play the victim card. "And his relationship with his parents is terrible. If he really quits, who knows how he'll drift through life in the future."

Xu Zhinan had never known about this before. "What's wrong between him and his parents?"

"I don't know about that either. He would never tell us. Anyway, he probably doesn't go home even once a year. It's been like this for several years."

Xu Zhinan finally agreed. "As long as Su Zheng is indeed lying, I will definitely go and clarify things."

"Okay, okay, thank you so much!"

Ji Yan felt it was inappropriate halfway through her sentence.

With the undercurrents in their relationship, who was she to apologize on Lin Qingye's behalf?

But seeing Xu Zhinan's reaction, she didn't seem to mind at all. She even said, "No need to thank me. I'm not really doing this to help Lin Qingye. I never liked Su Zheng to begin with, and since it involves my father, I don't want him lying in front of so many people."

Ji Yan was taken aback.

That was just too detached.

"By the way, I'll tell you a secret." Ji Yan leaned closer to her and winked.

"What is it?"

"Last time the captain got drunk, he was calling out your name."

Xu Zhinan froze.

Ji Yan left quickly. Xu Zhinan's IV drip was empty, so she called the doctor to remove the needle. Just as she was pressing down to stop the bleeding, her phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number, also from Yan City.

"Hello?" she answered.

A male voice was on the other end. "Excuse me, is this Miss Xu?"

"Yes, this is Xu Zhinan. May I ask who this is?"

Wang Qi introduced himself.

Ji Yan probably notified him as soon as she left. After all, Xu Zhinan was the only one who could prove that Su Zheng was lying.