Xiàng Hǎibīn gestured for Xiè Cí to sit down with him at the conference table and introduced a male police officer in his thirties, “This kid is Xiè Cí.”

The officer nodded and looked at Xiè Cí, “Little Xiè, we just want to understand some situations, no need to be nervous.”

Xiè Cí glanced at the stern faces of Chén Xìnhóng and his wife, and took over the conversation, “What do you want to understand?”

“It’s like this, there was a violent fight involving high school students last night,” the officer briefly explained, then asked Xiè Cí, “Were you present when they were fighting?”

Xiè Cí replied, “No, I was at home all night until a classmate told me my cousin was injured, then I went to the hospital.”

The officer nodded, “You’ve had contact with Zhang Xīngxīng and others from the sports school, right? Did you borrow money from them?”

Xiè Cí said, “No, I’ve never borrowed money.”

“You can’t lie to the police.”

Before the officer could speak, Chén Xìnhóng, sitting beside him, suddenly interjected, “Comrade, my nephew has been raised around us since he was little, he’s rebellious and doesn’t listen to anyone, always hanging out with those delinquents outside of school. No matter how we persuade him, he doesn’t listen. Last night, my son got into a fight with someone to help him pay back money.”

Xiè Cí thought to himself, as expected, this couple wants to drag him into taking the blame.

The officer raised his hand, signaling Chén Xìnhóng to calm down, “Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this. We’ll also record and verify the information you have later.”

Chén Xìnhóng wanted to say more, but Yè Yǔróu tugged at his sleeve, forcing him to hold back.

The officer looked back at Xiè Cí, “Do you know that Zhang Xīngxīng and others are lending money to high school students at high interest?”

“I know.”

Xiè Cí looked at Chén Xìnhóng and slowly added, “Borrowing eighty, the interest for three days is also eighty. My cousin often borrows money, and when he can’t pay it back, he comes to me, so I’m very clear about it.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

This time it was Yè Yǔróu who couldn’t hold back, speaking softly but full of reproach, “Péngpéng doesn’t have to worry about food or clothing. I give him pocket money every week, he’s more obedient than you, and he studies better than you. How could he borrow money?”

“Online.” Xiè Cí said expressionlessly, “The internet café called Wéi Mín on Old Street doesn’t check IDs. He often runs there to go online after dinner, and the front desk should be very familiar with him.”

“How can you lie with a straight face?!”

Yè Yǔróu started to cry, “He got his leg broken for you, and you still say such things!”

Xiè Cí didn’t even give her a glance.

Even now, they were still using “adult authority” to pressure him.

But he wasn’t anxious.

In his previous life, he was caught by the police, but this time he wasn’t even at the scene. No matter how much this couple tried to pin the blame on him, it wouldn’t work.

In Class One.

Some students returned from the restroom, surprised as they said to their classmates, “I saw two police cars parked downstairs. What happened?”

A group of students gathered to discuss, and suddenly someone noticed that Xiè Cí wasn’t in his seat.

Xǔ Chāo said, “I just saw him being taken away by Old Xiàng!”

His deskmate Yáng Hè couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t just say our class, even in this whole building, he’s the only one who could get involved with the police. Walking by the river, how could he not get wet? He really messed up this time.”

“Getting the police to come knocking means it’s serious!”

“Will he get expelled?”

“I don’t think he’ll come back.”

Yáng Hè scoffed, “He’s been messing around for so long, it’s time for him to roll out. A high school like this isn’t a place for trash like him to stay—”

Before he could finish, there was a loud bang as Yáng Hè’s desk was kicked, sending him and the desk tilting to the side, almost toppling over.

The noise was so loud that the previously noisy classroom suddenly fell silent.

Yáng Hè awkwardly looked up, only to meet Gù Yǔfēng’s impatient face, and angrily said, “What are you doing?!”

“Shut up, trash.”

Gù Yǔfēng tossed out that one-liner and walked out of the classroom toward Xiàng Hǎibīn’s office.

The word “trash” instantly made Yáng Hè and his friends’ faces turn red.

Fāng Sīzé and the others exchanged glances and also got up to leave the classroom.

The office door was closed, and Gù Yǔfēng knocked a few times. After a moment, a teacher came to open the door, blocking the entrance without any intention of letting him in.

“Come back later, it’s not convenient right now.”

Gù Yǔfēng pushed the teacher’s shoulder aside and walked straight in, just in time to hear Yè Yǔróu questioning Xiè Cí.

The officer asked Xiè Cí, “We understand that you had a conflict with Zhang Xīngxīng and others a couple of days ago? And you missed an exam because of it?”

Xiè Cí replied, “Yes, they cornered me in an alley and forced me to pay back money for my cousin.”

“You’re lying!”

Chén Xìnhóng slammed the table and stood up, his voice suddenly rising, “Do you think saying this will clear you of all blame? You’re too cunning! Clearly, it was you who borrowed the money, but you want to pin it on Péngpéng!”

The few school leaders who had been silent all this time looked increasingly strange, and the principal looked at Xiàng Hǎibīn in confusion, not expecting him to have the same expression.

Xiàng Hǎibīn couldn’t stand seeing Xiè Cí being scolded unilaterally, and turned to the officer, “Comrade, this student of mine is indeed a bit mischievous, but I believe he wouldn’t go out to borrow money. Moreover, I’ve already educated him yesterday, and he admitted his mistake. I believe last night’s incident has nothing to do with him.”

“You didn’t see it with your own eyes, how do you know it has nothing to do with him?” Chén Xìnhóng was getting agitated and confronted Xiàng Hǎibīn.

To protect Chén Zhànpéng, he had completely disregarded the surface politeness.

Xiàng Hǎibīn replied, “But you didn’t see it either.”

Chén Xìnhóng shot back, “We’ve raised him for so many years, how could we not know him?”

Yè Yǔróu choked up and retorted, “Mr. Xiàng, would any parent wrongfully accuse their own child?”

“How could Xiè Cí be your child?”

Gù Yǔfēng walked up behind Xiè Cí, glancing at Chén Xìnhóng and his wife, and said with a hint of amusement, “Your child is only that Chen Zhànpéng with the broken leg.”

Xiàng Hǎibīn frowned, “What are you doing here? Go back!”

“I’m here to testify.”

Gù Yǔfēng looked at the officer, “I can prove that what Xiè Cí said is the truth.”

Chén Xìnhóng exclaimed, “How can you prove it?! Did you see it with your own eyes?!”

The officer tapped his fingers lightly on the table, already quite impatient after being interrupted by this couple multiple times.

“Should I leave, and you can ask your questions?”

Chén Xìnhóng could only shut up.

“I did see it with my own eyes.”

Gù Yǔfēng took out his phone, switched to the call log, and casually tossed it on the table, “A couple of days ago, I was the one who reported it. It should be easy to verify.”

Chén Xìnhóng and Yè Yǔróu’s faces changed drastically.

Xiè Cí glanced at the phone screen, slightly raising his eyebrows, but instead of thinking about finally proving his innocence, he was thinking about how Gù Yǔfēng had been acting since the beginning.

What a pure and innocent rich kid, it was all fake.

This kid was cunning from a young age, and he couldn’t be fooled at all; it was a miracle if he didn’t deceive others.

If he hadn’t made a move that day, those little delinquents would probably have gotten a beating.

Fāng Sīzé and the others soon entered the office.

Jiāng Chényǔ, hearing that Xiè Cí was accused of borrowing money, laughed in anger, “I’m this big young master’s sidekick. Does he need to borrow money from those poor guys at the sports school? Even if Xiè Dui doesn’t hang out in internet cafés, I can afford it if he lives there every day.”

Fāng Sīzé said to the officer, “Xiè Dui has never borrowed money from us. I’ve heard that his cousin has borrowed from classmates a few times. Just call them over to verify, and it’ll be clear.”

The officer asked, “Do you know who he borrowed from?”

Fāng Sīzé nodded, “I know two, but it might not be complete.”

The officer signaled the school leaders to notify Chén Zhànpéng’s homeroom teacher to bring over the two people Fāng Sīzé mentioned.

Unexpectedly, once they called, they couldn’t stop it. Two students revealed three of Chén Zhànpéng’s creditors, and the creditors summoned more creditors, involving three classes and forty-nine students.

Now, not only Chén Xìnhóng and his wife, but even the school leaders looked extremely grim.

The officer recorded all the information, checked the time, and said to Xiè Cí and the others, “Sorry for taking up a lot of your study time. You can go back now.”

“It’s no trouble; cooperating with the investigation is the right thing to do.”

Xiè Cí stood up and, under the watchful eyes of Chén Xìnhóng and his wife, left the office with Gù Yǔfēng and the others.

The more Xiàng Hǎibīn thought about it, the more something felt off. He called over Fāng Sīzé, who had just walked out of the office, and took him to a corner of the hallway to talk privately.

“I see you usually hang out with Xiè Cí a lot.”

Fāng Sīzé thought he was going to advise him to stay away from Xiè Cí, so he patiently said, “We’re on the same basketball team, so we definitely have more contact than other classmates. Old Xiè isn’t a bad person—”

Xiàng Hǎibīn raised his hand to stop him, “That’s not what I mean. Do you know about his family situation?”

“He rarely talks about his family. I only know he’s fostered at his aunt’s house.”

At this point, Fāng Sīzé hesitated and said, “Because of his cousin, he’s often harassed by those people from the sports school.”

Xiàng Hǎibīn sighed heavily, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

Fāng Sīzé replied, “He has his reasons; I, as an outsider, shouldn’t say too much.”

After the police and a group of leaders left, Xiàng Hǎibīn returned to the office and made a call to the political education office, “Director Zhào, it’s Hǎibīn. Don’t we have contact information for Xiè Cí’s parents in the student files? … No, I mean his parents. I have something to discuss with them… Can’t contact them? Don’t you have any contact information? … Oh, okay, okay, then I’ll ask his relatives… Hey, hey, okay, hey, alright, you get back to work, hey, goodbye.”

After hanging up the phone, Xiàng Hǎibīn’s expression grew increasingly serious.

Chén Xìnhóng and his wife went downstairs, and after the school leaders and police left, they followed Director Wú from the Education Bureau to the parking lot.

“Director Wú, we only have one son. We really need your help to protect him.”

Chén Xìnhóng lowered his voice, his tone filled with pleading, “He’s still a child and doesn’t understand. We will educate him properly in the future.”

Director Wú walked to the car, turned around to face them, his expression serious, “In recent years, the bureau has placed great importance on campus violence and bullying. The higher-ups have long wanted to address the bad atmosphere at the sports school. They dare to carry knives with them, and if we don’t punish them severely, who knows what will happen in the future? This also involves the provincial key schools, and the bureau is preparing to use this case as a typical example.”

Yè Yǔróu grew more and more frightened as she listened, “But my son is also a victim! His leg was broken!”

Director Wú replied, “I’ll try to mediate, but I can’t guarantee the outcome.”

“But—”

Chén Xìnhóng pulled her back and bowed to Director Wú, “Then I’ll trouble you with everything. I’ll treat you to a meal when you have time.”

Director Wú didn’t say anything, opened the car door, and got in.

The car hadn’t driven far when he received a call from the bureau.

On the other end of the line: “The higher-ups have spoken; they want to handle this matter personally. Don’t get involved.”

Director Wú asked, “Who spoke?”

The voice on the other end replied, “The one at the top.”

Director Wú’s expression darkened.

If the big boss took over, it meant there would be no room for maneuvering.

In Class One, Gù Yǔfēng returned to his seat, and his phone vibrated with a new message.

Lín Yǐng: [Young Master, we’ve already contacted Director Lǐ here.]

Gù Yǔfēng glanced at it, turned off the screen, and lay down on the desk to continue sleeping.

His head was still dizzy, and his stomach felt uncomfortable. He closed his eyes, his mind filled with math formulas.

Seeing him looking listless, Xiè Cí quietly closed the nearby doors and windows to block the wind coming in from the hallway.

By the end of the last class in the morning, Gù Yǔfēng was still sound asleep.

Zhāng Ruòchuān gestured to Xiè Cí, asking if he wanted to go to the cafeteria. Xiè Cí signaled for them to go ahead.

When Gù Yǔfēng woke up, the entire classroom was left with just him and Xiè Cí. Looking at the wall clock, it was already past twelve.

Xiè Cí was writing something, and Gù Yǔfēng didn’t make a sound, just lay on the desk watching him.

Having known each other for so many years, it seemed they had never just quietly stayed together like this, doing nothing and saying nothing, outside of a bedroom.

Xiè Cí finished writing the last line of his reflection: “Wake up and get up; aren’t you hungry?”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” Gù Yǔfēng’s voice was hoarse and dry, and he couldn’t help but cough a few times.

Xiè Cí replied, “I couldn’t wake you; you were sleeping deeper than a pig.”

Gù Yǔfēng said, “…”

Gù Yǔfēng got up, “Do you know how deep pigs sleep? Have you slept with a pig?”

Xiè Cí closed his notebook, “I have.”

Gù Yǔfēng: “…”

The two walked out of the classroom, chatting about random things as they headed toward the cafeteria.

The police questioning had summoned dozens of students, and the commotion was so great that, unsurprisingly, the news spread throughout the campus.

Over the next three days, the incident continued to escalate.

By Friday afternoon, some students discovered that the political education office had issued a disciplinary notice: Chén Zhànpéng from Class Thirty of the senior year was expelled for seriously violating school rules.