SW - 54

No one had anticipated such an unexpected turn of events.

The disciplinary director, who had been shoved aside earlier and was fuming, felt his heart nearly leap out of his chest when he saw the dangerous scene unfold. He quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed over.

“Are you two alright? Are you hurt?”

He was starting to panic inside. If the students got injured, it would be a grave offense on his part.

Tang Yin shifted slightly, wincing as she spoke. “I think my arm got scratched.”

In summer, with fewer clothes on, the sharp nail of the whiteboard had pierced through her uniform and into her skin.

Lu Chi’s expression darkened as he carefully moved closer and pressed down on her wound. “Don’t... don’t move.”

The disciplinary director didn’t know what to do. “Go call the doctor from the infirmary!”

Tang Yin smiled at him. “It’s not a big deal. The doctor will bandage it up later.”

After whispering a soft warning to Tang Yin to be careful, Lu Chi sprinted off towards the back of the teaching building, disappearing from sight.

The disciplinary director scolded her again. “I told you not to stay here! Look what happened now—you’re injured, and you’ll be the one in pain. This is just trouble for nothing.”

Tang Yin lay still on the ground, unmoving. “I just couldn’t stand by and watch. Principal, you’ve been standing here for so long without doing anything useful. Is the school going to pay compensation or not?”

The disciplinary director’s face darkened.

“The student jumped from the school premises, so naturally, the school bears some responsibility. It’s just a matter of how much. There’s no way we won’t compensate. And look at those two—they’ll keep causing trouble if we don’t settle this. It’s also affecting the other students.”

It wouldn’t sound good if word got out—it would damage the school’s reputation.

Tang Yin reached out to nudge the whiteboard but accidentally touched the sharp edge, causing her more pain. She stopped moving, taking a deep breath.

Seeing her like this, the disciplinary director dared not touch anything. “Just lie still. The doctor will be here soon. I’ve already informed Principal Tang.”

Within minutes, the doctor arrived, dragged along by Lu Chi, almost stumbling as he tried to keep up with his hurried pace.

Once they stopped, the doctor complained, “Oh my, if I had bad legs, you’d have pulled me apart today.”

Lu Chi remained stoic, his face devoid of emotion.

Tang Yin chuckled, feeling the gloom lift. The nail had pierced her arm but wasn’t too deep. Once removed, rust stains were visible, mingled with blood.

Lu Chi’s expression grew even darker.

The doctor sighed in relief after bandaging her. “It’s not serious. The wound isn’t deep, so it’ll heal with a scar. But you should still go to the hospital to get a tetanus shot to prevent infection.”

Principal Tang Youwei also arrived, visibly angry. He wasn’t afraid of compensating or dealing with trouble, but that didn’t mean they could harm his precious daughter.

“I initially felt sympathy, but now they won’t get a single benefit from me. Their daughter is human, but is my daughter not?”

Tang Yin draped an arm around his neck, whispering softly, “Dad, mind your principal image.”

Principal Tang glared at her. “You’re like this, and you’re still talking about my image as principal?!”

The disciplinary director felt like he had uncovered some explosive secret.

The other school leaders snapped out of their daze and quickly ordered the security guards to restrain Cheng Xin’s parents. “Take them to the security office. This is outrageous! They actually resorted to violence!”

That large whiteboard could have hit someone’s head—what if it had struck theirs? Both students were promising talents. If something had happened, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Cheng Xin’s parents were restrained by the security guards, cursing loudly.

Principal Tang had driven to the scene, so he naturally took his daughter to the hospital. Fortunately, the hospital was just across from the school, only a few minutes away.

Once Tang Yin got into the car, Principal Tang noticed another person sitting inside.

Lo and behold, Lu Chi was seated beside his daughter, without any warning.

He cleared his throat. “Lu Chi, it’s class time right now.”

Lu Chi glanced at Tang Yin, showing no fear. “She got hurt because of me...”

Before he could finish, Principal Tang understood what had happened. He glared at his daughter, sighing inwardly. His daughter truly was growing up—she was siding with outsiders now.

If it weren’t for Lu Chi’s excellent grades and good character, he would have kicked him out long ago.

Tang Yin chimed in, reminding him, “Dad, aren’t you leaving yet? Your daughter might pass out.”

Principal Tang glared at her. “What kind of talk is that? So unlucky.”

The parking lot was outside the school gates, leading directly to the main road. He started the car, heading straight for the hospital.

Tang Yin and Lu Chi didn’t return to class until evening self-study.

With so many people in the school, secrets rarely stayed hidden for long. News of Tang Yin’s injury spread quickly, reaching both Class Zero and Class Fourteen.

Lu Ye, who was usually carefree, was furious this time. “They’re going too far. At first, I thought they were just trying to extort money, but they actually resorted to violence. People who don’t know might think the school drove their daughter to suicide.”

“That’s right,” Tang Ming agreed. “And they’re parents too! They’re willing to harm students. Tang Yin, you’re a bit unlucky today. Rest for a few days.”

“If you ask me, they should just kick them out. Otherwise, they’ll think the school is afraid of them. They don’t care about their own daughter at all—it’s heartbreaking to have parents like that.”

They hadn’t expected Tang Yin to end up like this after just stepping out. Though the injury wasn’t severe, it was still an injury.

During the breaks between evening self-study sessions, a group from Class Fourteen came over, bringing snacks and treats Tang Yin loved to comfort her.

Su Kexi also said sympathetically, “You really shouldn’t meddle in things like this. Does it feel nice to have your skin broken? Next time, I’m not helping you.”

Tang Yin rolled her eyes. “You can comfort me, but you’re not allowed to say anything bad about me.”

Su Kexi spat. “Fine, I’ll take care of everything these next few days.”

“I just got stabbed in the arm, not lost a hand. You’re making too big a deal out of this.” Tang Yin couldn’t help but retort, “Go back to your evening self-study.”

Reluctantly, Su Kexi left.

As for the aftermath of Cheng Xin’s suicide, Tang Yin didn’t interfere further. Later, she heard from Principal Tang that they nearly went to court.

Given the gravity of the situation, the reason behind Cheng Xin’s suicide was quickly investigated.

Her deskmate found a suicide note in her bag, detailing her despair with the world, including her frustration over poor grades despite two years of effort.

The biggest reason for her suicide, however, was family issues.

Her parents were divorced, and her mother was solely focused on finding a stepfather, completely neglecting Cheng Xin. With little money at home, Cheng Xin rarely received pocket money. Last month, her mother even forgot to give her living expenses. In the end, she relied on her roommates’ help to get by.

According to Cheng Xin’s roommate, they had heard her crying softly in the bathroom stall more than once during the night.

How could a senior high school student endure such a life? Already fragile mentally, under the weight of these blows, she ultimately chose to jump.

Cheng Xin’s parents had hoped to extort money by causing a scene at the school gate, but they didn’t expect the school to choose legal action.

Strictly speaking, if the case went to court, they wouldn’t gain any benefits.

The school naturally bore some responsibility, but the compensation required was minimal. Within a day, the two parents took the money and never appeared at the school gate again.

Of course, Principal Tang wouldn’t let the matter rest. His precious daughter, whom he rarely scolded, had been injured by them.

This incident simply couldn’t be forgiven.

Tang Yin’s right arm was injured, so naturally, she couldn’t write forcefully.

In reality, she could have, but Lu Chi strongly opposed it. Without saying a word, he persistently confiscated her pen every time she tried to write.

The two resumed being desk partners that same evening during self-study. Sitting together, their homeroom teacher Zhou Cheng didn’t intervene. The disciplinary director visited her later, and though no one knew what he said to Lu Chi, the two ended up as desk partners again.

At the time, Tang Yin was quite satisfied. Being desk partners was perfect for cultivating feelings.

However, during physics class the next day, after spacing out for a few minutes, she reached for her pen to take notes, only to find it missing.

Tang Yin pulled out another pen, but before she could write a single stroke, her hand was empty again.

She turned her head, and there was Lu Chi, holding her pen.

Tang Yin complained, “Lu Chi, you may be handsome, but you can’t do this.”

Lu Chi remained expressionless, seeing nothing wrong with his actions.

He turned his head, meeting her wide-eyed glare. Casually brushing aside her bangs that had fallen over her eyes, he said softly, “You’re... injured.”

His usually cold voice had softened, intoxicating and tender.

Tang Yin pouted. “It’s just a minor injury. My hand isn’t broken. Why are you all treating me like some rare animal?”

Her words were drowned out by Lu Ye’s internal muttering: The only one treating you like a rare animal is Lu Chi.

He had seen it firsthand.

In just one day, Lu Chi had taken such meticulous care of Tang Yin that it was embarrassing to witness. He was overly attentive, managing every little thing.

The only thing he didn’t do was follow her to the restroom.

Faced with Tang Yin’s complaints, Lu Chi acted as if he hadn’t heard her. No matter what she said or how she teased him, he refused to give her the pen.

Over time, within a few days, Tang Yin’s pencil case was completely empty, save for a lonely eraser.

But her life was sweet nonetheless.

However, good times always seem fleeting. Midway through the month, the chemistry teacher suddenly announced that they needed to submit their error notebooks and lecture notes for inspection.

Tang Yin had very few errors, so skipping the error notebook wasn’t an issue, but the lecture notes were mandatory.

The next day during chemistry class, she noticed she wasn’t called upon when the teacher collected the notebooks. Instead, she received a notebook back.

Perplexed, she flipped through it from beginning to end, then turned to Lu Chi. “When did you write this? Did you copy two notebooks?”

The chemistry teacher’s board notes were always extensive, and he was inspecting four units’ worth of material.

Lu Chi lightly pursed his lips. “You’re... injured.”

Tang Yin couldn’t help but rub her forehead.

By now, half a month had passed, and the wound on her arm had already healed into a scar, with no lingering sensation. Yet Lu Chi still wouldn’t let her use her hand.

Though touched by his concern, she couldn’t resist teasing him. “I’m already fine. Why are you being so careful? Writing doesn’t tire me out—I’ll feel sorry for you. Worst case, I won’t submit it.”

It had been a while since she last teased him, and Lu Chi unexpectedly blushed, looking deliciously flustered.

Tang Yin sighed. “Let’s graduate sooner—I can do whatever I want then.”

The scar on her arm wasn’t pretty, and since it would show when wearing short sleeves in summer, it looked even worse.

With nothing else to do during class, Tang Yin wanted to pick at it—not because she was worried about its appearance, but simply because she felt like it.

Every time she tried, Lu Chi intervened, stopping her from touching it and always managing to distract her.

He was like a nagging housewife—nothing Tang Yin said made a difference.

Time flew by, and the third mock exam arrived as scheduled.

Unbeknownst to them, it was already early May. Most students were still buried in their studies. After the exam, some relaxed, others cried—various emotions filled the classroom.

There wouldn’t be any major activities the night after the exam; everyone studied independently.

Homeroom teacher Zhou Cheng had anticipated their emotional states. What was usually his last evening self-study session as a counselor had been moved up to the first session to hold a class meeting.

It was meant to help the students relax and not feel too tense.

With only a month left until the college entrance exam, there was no room for error. As their homeroom teacher, Zhou Cheng naturally had to do more.

The scar on Tang Yin’s arm had faded, and she returned to her usual lively self.

While homeroom teacher Zhou Cheng droned on like a psychologist above, Tang Yin below was chatting with Lu Chi, distracted.

Tang Yin scribbled two words on a piece of paper, placed it flat in front of him, and asked, “How do you read these two words?”

Lu Chi’s gaze lingered on the paper, speechless for a long moment.

Tang Yin, however, was excited. “Come on, say it!”

She mischievously grinned at him. Lu Chi couldn’t help but glare, but without his glasses to shield his eyes, the glare lacked intensity and instead looked flirtatious.

“Don’t seduce me—it’s against the rules.”

“...” Lu Chi thought it was a case of “the lewd see lewdness.”

Tang Yin continued placing the paper in front of him, adding conditions. “Say it quickly, no stuttering—like I taught you before.”

Though she found his stuttering adorable, it wasn’t beneficial in the long run.

The dazzling light overhead illuminated Lu Chi’s face, making his features shimmer. His cheeks flushed slightly.

Tang Yin stealthily poked his chest with her finger, feeling the firmness beneath his thin shirt—it felt nice.

His heart raced nervously, his breathing grew labored, and he slightly turned his head away, his voice small. “Sweetheart.”

No hesitation whatsoever.