He did it?
What did that mean?
Even though Tang Zihe had harbored many suspicions, he was stunned into a daze by that blunt admission.
The voice drifting out from the classroom became both ethereal and piercingly clear.
"But I only put one sleeping pill in his cup—just one, my usual dose for when I can't sleep... I just wanted to give him a little scare in the dark teaching building. It was really just a prank... I never thought it would lead to such serious consequences..."
Gu Renwen’s voice hit Tang Zihe’s head like a heavy blow.
In the end, those words left only fragmented shards in his mind, but they were enough to incinerate the last shred of his rationality, turning him into a beast driven by pure rage.
Someone said something afterward, but it didn't matter anymore. He couldn't hear it. Only one thought spiraled in his mind.
The moment Gu Renwen opened the door, before he could even see what was happening, he felt a violent gust of wind rush toward his face—
*Thud!*
The speed was so fast that even Director Shi, who had just stood up, couldn't react. Gu Renwen collapsed like a kite with a broken string, hitting the floor with a dull groan.
That sound acted like a signal, causing frozen time to flow once more.
Tang Zihe panted heavily, his anger not dissipated in the slightest. Director Shi managed to intercept him before he could take another step forward.
"Tang Zihe!" Director Shi forcefully shoved Tang Zihe back, positioning himself between the two to keep them at a safe distance. "What are you doing?!"
"Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
Tang Zihe showed no intention of offering an explanation. His eyes remained fixed on Gu Renwen, and he didn't utter a single word.
"What's going on?"
The refined-looking Class 2 teacher happened to be passing by. He had already stepped one foot into the office when he heard the commotion and immediately turned back. He spent a fraction of a second analyzing the situation before decisively blocking Gu Renwen to prevent Tang Zihe’s imminent second punch.
Director Shi finally caught his breath during this opening. He dragged Tang Zihe out, not forgetting to instruct the Class 2 teacher to take Gu Renwen to the infirmary—his nose was already bleeding.
Director Shi pondered for a long while, finally piecing together a general idea—it definitely had to do with what happened to Jiang Wei last night. He said, "Tang Zihe, I understand how you feel right now, but no matter what happens at school, you must follow the school rules. Violence is never the solution."
"I believe you didn't have malicious intent, but violence is absolutely not the best way to solve problems."
"Although I'm still not clear on the specifics, your actions just now violated school regulations. I want you to stand here and reflect on yourself. Later, you will go and apologize to Gu Renwen."
Tang Zihe stood in the corner of the hallway with his head lowered. He found the current scene truly laughable; he had clearly displayed his malice so blatantly.
It wasn't until he heard the final sentence that he spoke up slowly.
"Why should I apologize to him?"
Director Shi had considered many possibilities before receiving a response, but he had never expected this. Tang Zihe usually maintained such a perfect facade in front of the teachers that even being forced to read a self-reflection on the flag-raising platform hadn't changed that ingrained impression. He hadn't expected the boy to talk back so directly—especially when he was clearly in the wrong.
"What?"
Tang Zihe pursed his lips. "He hasn't apologized to Jiang Wei yet. Why should I apologize to him?"
It wasn't fair.
He didn't know how Jiang Wei was doing, nor did he know if he would ever see Jiang Wei again. Under such torment and agony, he was expected to apologize to the culprit first?
Could the culprit really be forgiven because of a flimsy excuse like a "prank"?
Then what about Jiang Wei?
This attitude inevitably made Director Shi lose his temper as well. "I don't care what the reason is. You hit Gu Renwen, so you are in the wrong. Are you trying to deny that?"
"If you're unwilling to apologize to him now, then you'll write a self-reflection this afternoon and go to the broadcast station during the lunch break to read it to the entire school! You will admit your mistake in front of everyone and apologize to Gu Renwen!" Director Shi’s voice grew louder and louder. In his agitation, his pitch reached a height it had never reached before. Having said his piece, he took a deep breath. "The choice is yours."
Presented with these two options, any normal person would choose to apologize now. Even if they didn't plan on letting the matter go, apologizing in front of the entire school was a deeply humiliating prospect.
But Tang Zihe didn't even think before saying, "I will be at the broadcast station on time today to read my self-reflection."
"You..."
But no matter what Director Shi said after that, Tang Zihe gave no further reaction. He simply listened in stiff silence before returning to class.
As soon as Xia Shan saw Tang Zihe return, he wanted to ask something, but Shen Yannan was quick to cover his mouth. Xia Shan could only obediently swallow his flood of questions.
Shen Yannan was better at reading the room. Seeing the look on Tang Zihe’s face upon his return, he could guess most of what had happened. Combined with the fact that Gu Renwen still hadn't returned to the classroom, his suspicions became even clearer.
"What's the situation?" Xia Shan whispered.
"Shh," Shen Yannan replied softly. "Likely a case of graphic violence. Don't ask, kid."
Though Xia Shan was still confused, he subconsciously chose to trust Shen Yannan.
Tang Zihe returned to his seat, but he didn't feel the slightest bit of urgency to write a three-thousand-word self-reflection in one morning. As usual, he took out the practice problems he needed to work on—the only difference was that he couldn't focus his thoughts no matter what.
Instead, his mind began to play a loop of the self-reflections Jiang Wei had written and read since they were young.
From the standard ones to the half-hearted, sloppy ones, Jiang Wei had always walked onto the flag-raising platform with a touch of obvious composure born from practice.
It was as if he was afraid people wouldn't know he was a repeat offender.
The corners of Tang Zihe’s mouth slowly curved into a faint smile.
If...
If they could meet again...
He wasn't going to keep waiting for "someday" anymore.
————
"I heard you were punished with a public self-reflection?" The Student Council President looked at Tang Zihe’s sour face with amusement, barely suppressing a laugh. "Ah... thank you for lightening the Student Council's workload. We can write one less day of reading scripts now."
In truth, Tang Zihe and the Student Council President didn't have much of a relationship, but because the President was an irrepressible social butterfly, onlookers often got the false impression that the two were on good terms.
Fortunately, the President was very professional when it came to work. He quickly taught Tang Zihe the functions of the basic buttons and nodded in satisfaction after letting him test them out.
"Then I'll head out. My girlfriend is waiting for me outside," the President said with a salute. "Good luck!"
Good luck, my ass.
Tang Zihe looked down. The number of people wandering the playground after lunch was more than double the usual amount—they were all waiting for his self-reflection.
He had no idea how the news had spread so far.
"Holy crap! Tang-ge isn't really going to apologize to that bastard Gu Renwen, is he?" Xia Shan was also dragging Shen Yannan along the track. "On what grounds?!"
"Don't worry," Shen Yannan glanced upward. "Trust your Tang-ge. He's sharp."
"Hey, what's the deal?" Ye Feiyang didn't stop dribbling the ball as he asked curiously. "This is the second time Tang Zihe has read a self-reflection this semester, right?"
"Yeah, surprising, isn't it?" Ding Banfan blocked Ye Feiyang. "And both times were related to Jiang Wei."
Ye Feiyang’s movements faltered for a second, and Ding Banfan ruthlessly stole the ball.
*Thump, thump, thump—*
The campus broadcast finally crackled to life.
"Good afternoon, students."
Tang Zihe’s voice came through the speakers via the microphone.
"This is Tang Zihe from Senior Class 1."
Almost everyone on the playground stopped in their tracks, making no effort to hide the fact that they had been waiting for this.
"Today, I made a mistake."
"I'm sure everyone has heard more or less about what happened in the hallway today and what happened in the teaching building last night."
"Regarding my actions of hitting Gu Renwen at the end of our talk today, I will not be making any self-reflection or apology here—not until he himself returns to Senior Class 1 and apologizes to Jiang Wei in person."
The playground erupted into an uproar.
"Damn... has Tang-ge... gone crazy?" Xia Shan had never expected to hear such words; he was stunned senseless.
Shen Yannan, on the other hand, felt a complete sense of relief. He patted Xia Shan’s shoulder. "I told you, Tang Zihe knows what he's doing. Don't worry."
"Furthermore," Tang Zihe paused before continuing, "I also hope that Gu Renwen stays out of my sight for the time being. Otherwise, every time I see him, I will hit him again."
"Gu Renwen of Senior Class 1, did you hear me clearly?" Tang Zihe let out a cold snort. "If you didn't, I can say it again to your face. I can also let you test whether my words are true or false."
"Additionally, if I find out that anyone else is saying that what happened last night was 'just a prank' and there's no need to make a fuss, I personally wouldn't mind letting you experience a 'prank' as well."
"I've wasted five minutes of your time. My apologies. I also hope everyone can spread what I've said to any students who couldn't hear clearly. Thank you."
Tang Zihe looked down at the playground, turned off the microphone, and left the broadcast station, completely ignoring the commotion of the crowd.
