NH chapter 022

Chapter 22: Unjust Misfortune

The more intense the pain, the stronger the hatred.

Liao Zheng was caught and unable to move with his arms twisted, feeling an extreme sense of humiliation in a situation where he had no escape. Gritting his teeth, he forced out two words, trembling as he said: “…I. Am.”

Huo Ye did not immediately let him go, nor did he lift his eyes, but instead asked the people behind him: “Did you hear that?”

Gao Xiaoyuan took a long time to find her voice, leaning on the desk with her tongue slightly tied, “I heard… I heard!”

Only then did Huo Ye let him go.

Later, regarding this video, Huo Ye left it to Gao Xiaoyuan to deal with herself, holding a damning piece of evidence against Liao Zheng, who surely wouldn’t dare to disturb them again in the short term.

Gao Xiaoyuan thought so, and Huo Ye himself just regarded it as before, having merely taught a biting dog a lesson.

Meals were still eaten, and life went on as usual.

Shen Tingyu was unwilling to discuss this matter with him, often knitting his brows in a frown; it wasn’t out of worry, but Huo Ye noticed that the frequency of him making phone calls seemed to increase. Huo Ye then asked who he was calling.

After more than two months of interaction, Huo Ye prided himself on having some understanding of him; Shen Tingyu didn’t keep in touch with friends frequently, or in other words, he had very few friends he actually contacted privately.

Shen Tingyu’s social circle, while not small, was also not that large; many people wanted to attach themselves to the Shen family, but the relationships were mostly one-sided, with the other party considering him a friend, while he might not even remember their names.

So, it was almost a fantasy for Shen Tingyu to proactively call friends. If we exclude friends, then it must be family.

However, as far as Huo Ye knew, Shen Tingyu’s relationship with his family wasn’t much better; otherwise, how would the young master have ended up cut off and thrown into this backwater known as Lanjing—compared to the first-tier city of Lingshan, Lanjing was indeed just a backwater.

Then why was he making so many calls home?

Surely it wasn’t to check in every day.

But whenever Huo Ye asked, Shen Tingyu always replied, “Mind your own business.”

The school sports meeting ended, and another week passed.

In the seemingly peaceful life, as long as the sun rose, there would definitely be dark corners.

The world is not purely black or white; the fruit of evil cannot be uprooted in gray areas, and the seeds of sin are tenaciously resilient—winds may blow them this way and that, but people cut through thorns without ever looking back, unaware that the crafty and sinister thorns have also learned what it means to “break and then stand.”

Seventeen or eighteen-year-old boys, filled with passion, dare to charge against mountains and seas with solitary courage, but in the end, they are still too young.

Until one class break, the homeroom teacher, Bald Zhang, standing in front of Huo Ye with his lesson plan, the usually humorous and funny little old man wore no smile, with a very serious expression, asking him to go to the office.

Beneath the seriousness, Huo Ye detected a hint of worry and stood up impassively to follow him.

On the way to the office, Huo Ye noticed many people pointing and whispering; he had seen this scene two months ago when rumors of him cheating on exams had spread, with various malicious comments flooding the air—almost drowning him in spit.

What was this time? Huo Ye thought calmly.

Bald Zhang returned to his office, set down the lesson plan, and hurriedly took him to the office of the head teacher.

The head teacher was named Yang, famously stern and incorruptible; generally, matters that reached Principal Yang were not easily resolved.

Upon entering, there were quite a few people gathered in the office; they probably were the last to arrive.

Huo Ye scanned the room, and aside from Principal Yang, an unfamiliar figure who looked like a school leader, and all the homeroom teachers from the second-year elite class, there was also a boy with a bruised face and a broken arm in plaster.

Liao Zheng looked disheveled, barely managing to stand upright, and could be described as somewhat miserable. Huo Ye contemplated, even beginning to doubt whether he had indeed broken Liao Zheng’s arm that day.

However, in comparison to Liao Zheng, Huo Ye’s gaze shifted to another, more troublesome person.

A middle-aged man in his fifties, not particularly tall but with a solid and well-proportioned build, had a cool and composed appearance. His eyebrows and eyes were very dark, somewhat resembling Huo Ye; despite having grown gray hair, his presence remained formidable, perhaps due to his years of hard labor, leaving deep lines on his face—a sort of fierceness that didn’t resemble that of an upright person. His clothing wasn’t very presentable, seeming like he had been summoned from work, and his face obviously showed contained anger.

Upon hearing the door open, the man turned, and seeing Huo Ye, it was as if a rivalry arose between father and son, his anger barely restrained. … They had actually brought Huo Lijun.

Oh, truly remarkable.

“I heard you beat up a classmate?” Huo Lijun’s first words were direct, clearly not a question but a statement of certainty.

Huo Ye raised an eyebrow, mocking, “Again with ‘I heard.’ Who said it?”

This smile was truly provocative; he always knew how to infuriate Huo Lijun, from childhood to now.

Huo Lijun was notoriously good at saving face; no matter what, he had to maintain his dignity in front of outsiders. Therefore, he didn’t show signs of anger when Huo Ye retorted but merely twitched once, suppressing the promise to deal with him when he got home, shooting him a glance.

At that moment, with a “bang,” Liao Zheng slammed a piece of paper down on the desk with his intact arm; it was a medical report.

Liao Zheng, feeling justified, shouted, “Black and white, do you dare say this injury isn’t from you?”

Huo Ye casually glanced over; the report was accompanied by an X-ray film.

Bald Zhang stood beside Huo Ye, observing the situation, and quickly stepped in to speak on his behalf, arguing: “Principal Yang, even though Huo Ye’s grades aren’t top-notch, he’s a good person. He respects his teachers and is friendly in class. I can’t believe he would do such a thing; how could he hit someone without reason?”

Then, Bald Zhang turned to Liao Zheng, speaking politely, “Xiao Liao, if there’s a misunderstanding between you, it can be resolved now. It might just be a miscommunication.”

“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?” Liao Zheng retorted indignantly, “The evidence is right here! How could I possibly frame him?”

The homeroom teacher from Class B also stood up, having to defend their own students, saying with disapproval: “Teacher Zhang, although Huo Ye is your student, the evidence is conclusive. Isn’t it a bit biased to favor him so much?”

Bald Zhang, who had taught science for decades, was not as articulate as his opponent and could only smile awkwardly, feeling anxious.

“—Conclusive evidence?” Huo Ye turned his head, his gaze cold as he fixed on Liao Zheng, hinting: “You say I hit you; can you still remember why I would hit you?”

Liao Zheng clearly knew that the “evidence” this time was not referring to the medical report, yet he took it lightly, laughing and saying: “Because you like Gao Xiaoyuan, but Gao Xiaoyuan likes me instead, you couldn’t stand it and decided to hit me.”

“……” Huo Ye frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Liao Zheng continued, speaking to everyone: “Besides, we had a basketball game before and already had friction; you’ve never liked me, and I stole the girl you like, wouldn’t that infuriate you? Moreover, you were once in Class 18 and only managed to get into Class A through cheating; who doesn’t know that? Your record is terrible; isn’t it normal for you to hit classmates? Do you dare to claim you didn’t do it?”

In an instant, this reasoning seemed plausible, the tide of opinion quickly turned in Liao Zheng’s favor, and even Bald Zhang hesitated to speak.

Liao Zheng was secretly pleased, as if he had everything under control.

But for Huo Ye, as the party involved, listening to this gossip about himself only made him want to laugh more. He really wanted to tell Liao Zheng, who are you to me? A girl I like, would I tell you about her?

However, the holes in Liao Zheng’s words sounded convincing enough that someone believed him; Principal Yang spoke sternly: “Huo Ye, I’ve turned a blind eye to your fighting and skipping classes in the past, but I didn’t expect my leniency to lead you to be so brazen today.”

Huo Ye looked at him seriously, saying: “Principal Yang, thank you for your past generosity, but if you really have been lenient with me, why is it that my reflections are always two thousand words longer than the others’?”

Principal Yang’s face darkened: “…”

Huo Lijun suddenly spoke up, scolding: “You ungrateful brat, who let you talk back to the teacher? You’re being rude!”

Huo Ye’s expression remained indifferent as he politely fell silent.

In fact, he had long suspected that Huo Lijun had a particularly special type of people-pleasing personality, but limited only to pleasing outsiders, while being violent toward his wife and children, never treating his own family as human beings.

In Huo Lijun’s eyes, any act of defiance was unacceptable.

Liao Zheng, filled with glee, said, “I knew you wouldn’t admit it. But I have more witnesses; do you know who they are?”

Huo Ye’s heart sank at those words.

With a cold snort, Liao Zheng prompted the homeroom teacher of Class D, who quickly caught on and went out. Not long after, he brought in a girl.

It was Gao Xiaoyuan.

Gao Xiaoyuan looked pale and haggard, timidly wearing a thick long coat, despite the relatively warm weather in Guangdong for November; she had covered her exposed arms and neck tightly.

Upon entering, she didn’t dare to look at Huo Ye, trembling and wanting to stand behind her homeroom teacher.

Liao Zheng was infuriated by her cowardly demeanor and pulled her to his side, clicking his tongue and saying: “What are you afraid of?”

Gao Xiaoyuan was like a frightened bird, not daring to say a word.

Liao Zheng pushed her, impatiently urging: “Speak! That day, were you the one who invited me to the empty study room? Your phone, your account, I have the chat records right here.”

Gao Xiaoyuan nodded, softly saying: “…I was.”

Liao Zheng asked again: “Isn’t it true that this guy had to fight me because of you? He attacked me?”

Gao Xiaoyuan bit her lip, honestly answering: “…That is correct.”

Huo Ye listened silently, his eyes calmly fixed on her, with no rebuttal or defense.

That gaze was so calm, even slightly gentle, making one feel as if no matter how great the mistake committed, it could be forgiven, tolerated, and unconditionally accepted before Huo Ye.

However, for Gao Xiaoyuan, it felt like a thorn in her back.

Liao Zheng pressed on, saying: “Then let me ask you one last question; you were present then and have a voice. Just say it, this whole body of injuries—did Huo Ye cause them?”

Knowing she was being cornered, she felt the guillotine closing in; if she acted as a witness for Liao Zheng, Huo Ye would have no argument and would bear all the consequences because of her.

—Unjust misfortune, unjust misfortune.

Gao Xiaoyuan bit down hard on her lip, before speaking the lie, she first tasted the bitter flavor of regret.

There was perhaps a few seconds of silence in the air.

Liao Zheng became anxious, shouting: “Speak! Is it or isn’t it?”

Gao Xiaoyuan loosened her teeth, blood beading on her lip; at that moment, she even lost the courage to raise her head, a tear silently rolled down with the gesture of lowering her head, trembling as she uttered a single word.

“……Yes.”

Under the glaring eyes of many, she identified Huo Ye.