Gou Mao also said, "Xia Shi already has a boyfriend. No matter how much you play the hero, it's useless." I replied, "We're classmates. If Zhao Lin brings people to our class and none of us step up, it's just shameful." Deep down, I knew that during that incident, many guys in our class had wanted to help, but they were afraid of Zhao Lin's retaliation. Zhao Lin was like a demon—everyone was scared of helping Xia Shi and then facing her wrath.
The first two or three days of the week were relatively peaceful. No one came looking for trouble. I usually hung out with Gou Mao, and during English class, I'd take the initiative to ask Jiang Qingqing questions. At night, I'd chat with her on WeChat. On Wednesday evening, she asked me if I'd confirmed my return date yet. I had no choice but to say yes, that I'd be back on Saturday. She said, "Then let's meet on Saturday night." I agreed, "Sure, see you then."
Jiang Qingqing had always been careful, so I hadn't managed to get any leverage on her. And when Saturday came, I definitely wouldn't dare to meet her. Standing her up once might be forgivable, but after two or three times, she'd definitely block me. Thinking about this made me feel pretty frustrated, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't exactly ask someone else to go in my place, could I?
On Thursday afternoon after class, when Gou Mao and I went back to the dorm to grab our meal boxes before heading to the cafeteria, we discovered that my quilt and bedsheet had been trampled on, leaving several dirty footprints. Even worse, all my personal belongings—like my towel, toothbrush, and toothpaste—were missing from my cabinet. I was furious and immediately started cursing, demanding to know who had messed with my stuff.
After class, we usually returned to the dorm first to grab our meal boxes before going to the cafeteria together. Since there wasn't anything valuable in the dorm, we rarely locked the door during that short time. I figured someone must have tampered with my things while we were at the cafeteria. Gou Mao and I asked around in the neighboring dorms, but everyone claimed they hadn't seen anyone enter our room. I wasn't sure if they were telling the truth—how could no one have noticed anything with so many people in the hallway?
Being sabotaged like this put me in a terrible mood. I only ate half my meal before dumping the rest. Later, I asked Gou Mao to accompany me to the school supermarket to buy new daily necessities before heading to class. On the way, we speculated about who might have done it. Gou Mao suggested that if it happened again, we should lie in wait and catch the culprit red-handed. I agreed, saying that if I found out who it was, I'd definitely teach them a lesson.
Just as Gou Mao and I reached the foot of the teaching building, we noticed a crowd gathered outside our classroom. There were still over ten minutes before evening self-study, so I wondered if something had happened in our class. We hurried upstairs, and before we even reached the door, we heard a girl's voice—arrogant and domineering—saying, "No one's allowed in. If anyone dares to enter, just wait for me after school tomorrow."
I looked over and saw several girls blocking the entrance to our classroom. They looked familiar—Zhao Lin's gang. They were arrogantly stopping our classmates from entering, forcing most of them to stand in the hallway, peering through the windows. I figured something bad must be happening inside, so I pushed forward to see.
Sure enough, Zhao Lin and two others were inside, tangled up in a fight with Xia Shi. Meanwhile, the rest of our class had been driven out by Zhao Lin.
Honestly, seeing this scene made me furious. It felt like our class's unity was just pathetic.
We'd been in this class for almost a year now, and everyone had developed some camaraderie. I could tell that most of our classmates were angry seeing Xia Shi being bullied, but because Zhao Lin was so intimidating, no one dared to stand up, afraid of becoming her next target. When Gou Mao and I arrived, everyone's eyes turned to me—probably because I'd stepped in last time to stop Zhao Lin. They were all looking at me, hoping I'd take the lead again.
I figured since Zhao Lin already hated me anyway, there was no harm in provoking her further. So I walked straight to the classroom door and told Zhao Lin's friends to move aside. They were just as arrogant as ever, standing right in the middle of the doorway, blocking it completely. I said, "You come to our class to beat someone up, and you still think you're in the right?" Then I forced my way through. One of the girls tried to stop me, but I shoved her aside—she wasn't as strong as me and fell to the ground. I grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the classroom.
Maybe because I took the lead, the rest of our class suddenly found their courage. They surged forward, pushing Zhao Lin's gang out of the classroom.
This time, Xia Shi had been hit pretty hard. I immediately grabbed Zhao Lin's arm and said, "What's wrong with you? You keep coming to our class to bully people. How can you be so cruel?"
The moment those words left my mouth, Zhao Lin's eyes locked onto mine. She spoke slowly, enunciating every word: "You're calling me cruel?"
I said, "If you weren't cruel, would you have hurt her like this?"
Hearing this only made Zhao Lin angrier. She sneered, "I beat her today. So what? Since you said I'm cruel, I'll show you just how cruel I can be!" With that, she raised her other hand and tried to slap Xia Shi again. Fortunately, I reacted quickly and caught her wrist, then pinned her down on a desk.
I was already in a bad mood after what happened in the dorm, and Zhao Lin's antics only made it worse. I couldn't help but snap at her, "If you dare come to our class and cause trouble again, don't blame me for hitting you!"
Zhao Lin's eyes burned into mine. She stopped struggling and said coldly, "You'd hit me? You'd really hit me? Fine, go ahead. If you don't hit me today, you're not a man!"
For some reason, looking into her eyes, I suddenly regretted what I'd just said.
When I didn't respond, Zhao Lin taunted, "What's wrong, Zhang Cheng? Scared? If you don't dare, then don't get in my way."
I said, "I won't hit you, but I won't let you hit my classmate either." Then I forcefully dragged her out of the classroom. Despite her struggles, she was still just a girl—no match for my strength. I pulled her out easily.
To prevent her from coming back in, I stood guard at the door. Zhao Lin let out a cold laugh and said, "Since you want to protect her so badly, just wait for tomorrow."
After Zhao Lin left, Xia Shi thanked me and went back to the dorm to change. When she returned, the handprint on her face still hadn't faded. Everyone in class had heard Zhao Lin's threats, including Xia Shi. She quietly suggested, "Maybe we should tell the teacher. They'll help resolve this."
I shook my head. "I can handle it myself."
Xia Shi hesitated, then said, "Zhao Lin's family is really rich. I heard they own nightclubs and have strong connections."
I smiled and reassured her, "Don't worry. The school's big enough—if things get bad, I'll just climb the wall and escape. How's she gonna catch me then?"
I said that, but internally, I was already calculating my options. I'd originally thought about calling Xiao Gou and the others for backup, but they'd probably just get beaten up too. Suddenly, I felt like trouble was coming my way.
Maybe because I'd helped Xia Shi twice now, she seemed to enjoy talking to me more. After the first evening self-study session, she went to the school store to buy water and even brought me a bottle.