"Silence!" the Dean barked. "These students have neglected their studies to form gangs and bully others. Those in the ninth grade have even gone so far as to extort money from younger students! Their behavior and attitudes are utterly atrocious! They are hereby issued a major demerit and placed on disciplinary probation. Any further offense will result in immediate expulsion! Liu Yulang of Class 8-4 led the bullying of a peer, beating him so severely that he was hospitalized for over a week. Such violent behavior is appalling and warrants a major demerit as well! He is to run ten laps around the two-hundred-meter track every afternoon for a month. If he shows no signs of reform and does this again, he will be expelled directly! Now, in front of the entire school, you will all reflect on your mistakes and apologize to Fei Cheng of Class 8-1!"
In an instant, Fei Cheng became the target of countless gazes. He remained expressionless. This was his due; he had no reason to feel intimidated.
Most of the students lined up on the stage didn't dare lift their heads. Only two stared fixedly at Fei Cheng, their eyes filled with a murderous intent that suggested they wanted to kill him then and there.
The Dean urged them on, "What are you waiting for? Do I need to get you a microphone?"
The nine students began reading their self-reflections in voices as faint as the buzzing of mosquitoes. Some students in the crowd, eager for a spectacle, began to heckle. "Report, Teacher! They’re too quiet, we can’t hear them!"
"Yeah, Teacher, what are they saying? We can't hear a thing!"
The Dean roared for silence, then pointed sternly at the nine students. "Now you know how to feel embarrassed? Where was that ferocity you had when you were hitting people and extorting them? This is what happens when you act without considering the consequences! What do you use your brains for? After all these years of schooling, all you've learned is how to curse and throw punches? Then why are you even coming to school? All of you, read your reflections out loud and admit your mistakes! The students down there are tired of standing and waiting for this to end. If you don't read, they’ll just have to keep waiting!"
None of the students had eaten yet. After a whole morning of being herded around, their stomachs were sticking to their backs, and some were even feeling dizzy. Irritation began to mount, and they started pressuring the group on stage.
Enduring the humiliation, the nine students finished reading their reflections and bowed to Fei Cheng in apology.
Fei Cheng kept a wooden face from beginning to end, offering no other reaction.
Once they finished, the Dean warned them, "This matter is now settled. However, if any of you attempt to retaliate, the next time won't be as simple as standing under the Five-starred Red Flag to reflect. Think carefully about the consequences with those heads on your shoulders before you do anything. Dismissed! Everyone return to your classrooms in an orderly fashion."
Li Xiuxiu followed at the back of his class's line, waiting until all his students had safely returned to the classroom before leaving. He still needed to coordinate with the other homeroom teachers to ensure the matter was thoroughly resolved.
*
Ever since the flag-raising ceremony ended, Fei Cheng found people stealing glances at him wherever he went, whispering and pointing behind his back. He was annoyed, but he couldn't exactly say anything to classmates he didn't even know.
He was the victim, wasn't he? Why were they pointing at him instead of the perpetrators? Was there something wrong with them? Having never experienced school bullying in his previous life, Fei Cheng truly couldn't understand their logic.
However, he was busy. He was still struggling to keep up with the teaching pace, so he didn't have time to worry about it.
By the time he had used every spare moment to finally catch up and could breathe a sigh of relief, it was already Thursday.
The last two periods on Thursday morning were Physical Education. It was only during such collective activities that he realized he was being ostracized.
The girls wouldn't talk to him, and neither would the boys. After the PE teacher told them to go into free activity, the people around Fei Cheng scattered instantly, leaving him standing alone. The feeling was quite bewildering.
He scratched his cheek and started heading back toward the classroom, but the PE teacher shouted, "Hey, you! No going back to the classroom!"
The other students scattered across the field all looked toward Fei Cheng. He froze in place. The horizontal and parallel bars were taken, the basketball court was full, the girls had monopolized the badminton area, and the stone tables and benches under the trees were packed. The sun was blazing—where was he supposed to go?
It was a bit awkward; he had nowhere to turn.
Seeing that he wasn't going back to the classroom, the PE teacher ignored him. Fei Cheng walked slowly to the shade of a tree and stood there, boredly watching the boys play basketball. Cheng Yifei was among them; his skin was so pale it seemed to glow under the sun.
"Hey, Fei Cheng? Fei Cheng?" Two or three girls sitting under the banyan tree called out to him, resting their chins on their hands and giggling.
Fei Cheng looked over and asked, "What is it?"
He wasn't afraid of girls.
"Come over here, we have something to tell you."
Fei Cheng walked toward them without any suspicion. Halfway there, the three girls shouted in unison, "Stay right there! Don't move!"
He instinctively stopped, and then he felt something drop onto the back of his neck. The sensation of it crawling was enough to make his skin crawl!
He didn't dare move as he watched the three girls cover their mouths and dissolve into laughter. "Look at him, he's terrified! Hahaha, what a coward."
"He's even afraid of bugs. Is there anything he *isn't* afraid of? Li Zhi said he doesn't even dare take his clothes off in the dorm."
"Heh, after getting beaten so much, of course he's afraid of everything."
"Hey, Fei Cheng, the teachers' attitude toward you has changed so much lately. Everyone's guessing if your grandfather sent them gifts. Otherwise, how could you possibly sit with Cheng Yifei? One is first place, the other is dead last."
Fei Cheng endured the revulsion and reached back to his neck. His skin felt a burning, stinging pain. He pinched the insect and threw it at the girls' feet, making them shriek and jump.
"Fei Cheng! How could you!"
"So petty! It's not like we put the bug on you!"
"Teacher! Teacher! Fei Cheng is using bugs to scare us!"
Fei Cheng gave them a cold look and walked quickly to the water taps next to the cafeteria. He washed his hands; his thumb and index finger were already red and swollen, stinging at the slightest touch. The back of his neck was the same, an unbearable sensation. He tried to soothe it with cold water, but even the water hurt.
In the sweltering summer heat, with the sun like fire, he was truly angry this time! He had no grudge against those three girls. Why go so far to play a prank on him? What was the point?
Cheng Yifei made a basket, wiped his sweat, and looked at Fei Cheng in the distance. The girls had been so loud that everyone had heard them.
Fei Cheng using bugs to scare girls? Unlikely.
Yesterday, while he and Fei Cheng were sweeping leaves, a bug had fallen from a tree. Fei Cheng had blurted out a "Holy crap" and scrambled away instantly. He was clearly afraid, even if he tried to hide it.
Yu Qing walked over to Cheng Yifei and whispered, "Don't you think they're taking it too far? It's one thing to isolate Fei Cheng in the dorm, but Liu Yucong and his group are talking nonsense to the girls in class too. Look, no one's talking to him now. It's just like it was before."
Cheng Yifei glanced at him. "Is there a point in telling me? I don't see you going over to talk to him."
Yu Qing scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "I'm not that close to him. Everyone else is ignoring him; if I suddenly go up to chat with him, wouldn't that be... awkward?"
Cheng Yifei wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I'm going to wash my face. I'm done playing; it's too hot."
Yu Qing hurried to follow. "I'm coming too, I need to wash my face." He walked beside Cheng Yifei, pulling at his collar to let some air in. "If you're willing to hang out with him, I'll dare to talk to him. If you lead the way, I definitely won't wimp out! Actually, I think he's been pretty decent this week. Sometimes he's even quite humorous."
Fei Cheng was rinsing his fingers with cold water, his face wooden, though a hint of displeasure was visible. Noticing Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing approaching, he turned off the tap and prepared to leave.
He knew what those childish brats were doing; they simply wanted to isolate him. He actually welcomed the peace and quiet.
Although Cheng Yifei hadn't stopped talking to him, they didn't go to meals or return to the dorm together; Cheng Yifei usually stuck with Yu Qing.
Seeing him about to leave, Cheng Yifei blocked his path. "What are you hiding for?"
Fei Cheng didn't know what he was up to. He glanced at Yu Qing and asked, "Am I hiding?"
"Then why are you leaving?"
"Hey, Brother Cheng, if I don't leave after washing up, am I supposed to stand here and wait for lunch to be served?"
Yu Qing chimed in, "Of course! As soon as the bell rings, you can go straight to the cafeteria and eat without waiting in line."
Fei Cheng: "..." *Buddy, I don't even know you.*
Cheng Yifei finished washing his hands and splashed water on his face. "Let's have lunch together."
"I don't have a problem with it, as long as you guys aren't afraid. I won't be responsible if you get dragged into this."
Yu Qing pressed a hand onto Fei Cheng's shoulder and said solemnly, "What's there to be afraid of? Liu Yucong and his lot never dare to do anything to Cheng Yifei."
"Oh." Fei Cheng brushed the hand off his shoulder.
Yu Qing looked back at Cheng Yifei: "..." *Damn, this little shorty isn't cute at all.*
Cheng Yifei chuckled. "Alright, we're all friends."
Since they were calling themselves friends, they might as well help. Fei Cheng turned his back to them and lowered his head slightly. "Brother Cheng, help me see if there are blisters on the back of my neck."
Yu Qing stepped forward to look. "Were you bitten by a bug? There's a whole patch of tiny blisters, red and swollen. Whoa, that's a bit gross. But it should be fine in three to five days."
Fei Cheng frowned. How annoying.
Cheng Yifei led the way toward the cafeteria's snack shop, sounding like he was watching a play. "You got pranked again? By the girls this time?"
"I don't have any history with them. Who knows why they're so bored." Fei Cheng clicked his tongue, looking rather irritated.
Cheng Yifei didn't press further. He bought three bottles of frozen Coke, gave one to each of them, and found a table directly under a fan. "Have you ever wondered why you're being targeted?"
Fei Cheng pressed his swollen thumb and index finger against the cold Coke bottle, distracted. "I didn't think about it before. Now, I can't figure it out."
Yu Qing slapped the table. "What's there to not understand! You offended someone! Liu Yucong and Liu Yulang are cousins. How could he not help his brother get revenge? He can't hit you, so he's finding ways to make your life miserable!"
"I think I'm doing just fine. They haven't verbally abused me or touched my things."
"Oh, for heaven's sake! Cheng Yifei, listen to him. He actually says he's doing fine. Do you see anyone hanging out with you? Is anyone talking to you? You've been going to the cafeteria, the dorm, and the classroom all by yourself every day this week. You think that's comfortable?"
Fei Cheng looked at Yu Qing strangely. "Isn't it better to have some peace? It's not like I don't know the way to the cafeteria or the dorm. Besides, it's not like I wasn't walking alone before."
Yu Qing: "..."
He stood up and said to Cheng Yifei, "I get it now. He doesn't need friends at all. I was just wasting my feelings!"
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
刘宇浪 | Liu Yulang | The bully from Grade 8, Class 4.
刘宇聪 | Liu Yucong | Liu Yulang's cousin; a classmate of Fei Cheng.
记大过 | Major Demerit | A serious disciplinary penalty in Chinese schools.
留校察看 | Disciplinary Probation | A status where a student is allowed to stay in school but is under strict observation; one more mistake leads to expulsion.
教导主任 | Dean of Students | Also known as the Director of Instruction; in charge of discipline.
五星红旗 | Five-starred Red Flag | The national flag of the People's Republic of China.
想入非非 | Xiǎng rù fēi fēi | An idiom meaning to indulge in flights of fancy; used here to explain the character 'Fei' in Fei Cheng's name.
丞相 | Chéng xiàng | Prime Minister/Chancellor; used here to explain the character 'Cheng' in Fei Cheng's name.
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