The conference room.
When the atmosphere was at its most solemn, Yu Wenli knocked and entered.
The principal's anger burned in his eyes, wishing he could stare the person to ash.
Yet, the person at the center of it all acted as if nothing had happened, his expression remarkably indifferent.
"Regarding the trending topic, I have nothing to say. Proceed with the disciplinary action."
The youth stood before the conference table with an air of noble detachment, readily accepting responsibility.
Everyone: "..."
Their prepared lectures were rendered useless.
What a waste, all that time spent drafting their speeches.
The principal's mouth twitched. "Is this how you admit fault?"
Yu Wenli raised his eyes. "I am not wrong."
"You're not wrong?!" The principal slammed his cup onto the table, spilling his goji berry water.
"You beat him up like that! And you tell me you're not wrong?!"
Yu Wenli was the school's pride and joy. Such an incident occurring now was a fatal scandal for the institution!
It would have extremely negative repercussions!
The principal's face flushed crimson with anger. "Just look at how fiercely you attacked him! It was as if you wanted to kill him! Yu Wenli, you're usually not like this..."
Seeing that raising his voice was ineffective, the principal switched to a softer approach.
"Perhaps you could tell me what happened? There must be a reason, right?"
The principal had interacted with Yu Wenli many times and understood his character.
He was by no means reckless. If he had used such force, there must have been a reason.
And it was certainly the other party's fault.
With a protective instinct, the principal unconditionally sided with Yu Wenli.
Yu Wenli pondered for a moment, then recounted the events at the snack street a while ago and what happened last night.
Many in the room had heard of the feuds between the troublemakers in Jiangcheng.
But Wen Tingxue...
The principal cast a suspicious glance at Yu Wenli. "What's your relationship with that girl...?"
He recalled that Wen Zhong'en and Yu Wen had been quite friendly.
Furthermore, he had heard quite a bit of gossip recently concerning the two of them.
He hadn't believed it at first, but now...
Yu Wenli: "A girl from next door."
The principal pressed: "Just a sister, really?"
Yu Wenli: "..."
"Oh~"
The principal understood immediately. "Just don't let it affect your studies."
He patted Yu Wenli on the shoulder, then said to the head of the second-year academic affairs: "Shang Ziqian's matter still needs to be thoroughly investigated."
The head of academic affairs nodded solemnly.
"Rest assured, no one will be wrongly accused."
"Mm."
The principal nodded, then changed tack. "Nevertheless—"
Yu Wenli looked up; the principal was indeed staring at him, his expression stern as he delivered the punishment.
"You still can't beat someone to that extent. You are the pride of First High, the face of Jiangcheng. Such violent behavior will inevitably bring about extremely negative consequences."
"The mayor himself just called to inquire about the situation, so no matter what, this matter must be handled with the utmost severity!"
The principal slammed the table, his tone unusually stern. "A five-thousand-word profound self-criticism, which you will read aloud at the Monday flag-raising ceremony in front of the entire school faculty and student body!"
Yu Wenli: "..."
That's it?
The principal glanced at him. "Specific details will be determined after the investigation is complete."
"Alright," the principal waved his hand, looking troubled. "You can go back for now. We'll discuss the trending topic further."
The topic's popularity was too high. If the school didn't provide a reasonable explanation, who knew what could happen.
...
Upon receiving the news, Wen Tingxue rushed to the conference building without delay.
Before she could even catch her breath, she saw Yu Wenli emerging from the conference room, his expression calm, seemingly unfazed by any criticism.
He looked up and saw the young girl leaning against a pillar in the hallway, her delicate face flushed from her hurried run.
Pink and soft, like a little dumpling.
Yu Wenli's expression softened slightly. He walked over quickly, put his arms under her armpits, and without a word, pulled her into his embrace.
"Didn't I message you? I'm fine. Why did you run so fast? Aren't you afraid of falling?"
His tone was helpless, yet carried a hint of pleased indulgence.
Wen Tingxue's ears tingled. "I was worried about you."
Seeing the video, she had been scared. What if he got expelled from school?
After all, Shang Ziqian was quite seriously injured.
And the topic was trending so high...
"What did the principal say?" the young girl anxiously tilted her head up, her eyes filled with concern.
Yu Wenli smiled and brushed aside the stray strands of hair from her face, his voice calm. "A five-thousand-word self-criticism, to be read on Monday."
Hearing this, the heavy weight on Wen Tingxue's chest finally lifted.
Thank goodness.
It was just a self-criticism.
Seeing her so anxious, Yu Wenli felt a pang of guilt.
He gently stroked her soft, tender cheek with his rough fingertips.
"I'm sorry, Gege, for making you worry."
His voice was incredibly gentle, making it almost unimaginable that he had been so fierce during the fight.
Even through a screen, it was enough to strike fear into hearts.
The stunned expression on the young girl's face caused Yu Wenli's expression to change slightly.
"You... you saw it?"
Wen Tingxue snapped back to reality and nodded slightly.
Yu Wenli's lips pressed together tightly; he seemed unsure of where to begin.
After a brief silence, he took her hand and said in a low voice, "Let's go back first."
They remained silent all the way home.
Yu Wenli told the driver to leave.
He had promised to give her an explanation.
The streetlight at the entrance of the Wen family home couldn't illuminate his position; the young man's entire face was hidden in the darkness. Only the faint sound of his breathing could be heard in the silent air.
No one knew what he was thinking.
The atmosphere turned somber.
Wen Tingxue, catching glimpses of light, saw the veins on his hand resting on his knee, taut.
The next moment, a husky voice broke the silence.
"When A Rui was eleven, Shang Ziqian threw him into the river. It was Tong Jiayi who jumped in to save him."
"When I rushed over, she was already dragging A Rui ashore..."
His clenched fist was suddenly grasped. The young man looked down blankly, and the gray memories swirling in his mind gradually faded.
Wen Tingxue gently pried his fingers open, softly caressing his palm where he had dug in his fingernails. She asked in a gentle voice:
"Your entanglement with Tong Jiayi must be related to Shang Ziqian, right?"
During evening self-study, she had pieced everything together.
Although she didn't know much, and had only arrived in Jiangcheng recently.
She wasn't foolish. The situation between Shang Ziqian and Yu Wenli was far more complicated than it appeared.
When Shang Ziqian made that phone call today, she had felt something was wrong.
He knew so much about what happened that night, it was likely he was present.
Therefore, if she guessed correctly, Shang Ziqian must have been causing trouble for Tong Jiayi to test Tong Jiayi's position in Yu Wenli's heart.
And at the same time, use this to sow discord between her and Yu Wenli.
Killing two birds with one stone.
As for the entanglement between Yu Wenli and Tong Jiayi, Chi Zerui's hesitant words were enough to prove that the matter was not simple.
"Mm."
Yu Wenli replied with a hum and then fell silent again.
Wen Tingxue could roughly guess what was troubling him.
Explaining his entanglement with Tong Jiayi wasn't difficult.
What truly made it hard for him to speak of was his feud with Shang Ziqian.
Since he didn't want to say, then she wouldn't press him.
Wen Tingxue reached out and hugged him, pressing her face against his chest. Listening to his slightly erratic heartbeat, she said slowly:
"Yu Gege, tell me when you're ready. I can wait."
Wait until he truly opened his heart, not just for the sake of a promise.
Apologies, this chapter took me a long time. I didn't want to hastily release four thousand characters, so I've delayed it until now. I'm very sorry.