Chapter 25: A Twist in the Road

Upon hearing that "Liu Lei hit Zhou Yang," Yang Tianxing knew the situation was bad.

"Where are the two of them now?"

Yang Tianxing asked while changing his clothes.

"In Zhou Yang's dormitory."

The sophomore and junior dormitories were right next to Yang Tianxing's dormitory building; by the time Yang Tianxing ran over there, Zhou Yang's room was already packed with people, along with school security guards in uniform.

What was even worse was that Xie Yu'an, the counselor for Public Administration Class 2, and the counselor for Zhou Yang's class were also there.

"Damn it, just adding to the trouble."

Yang Tianxing couldn't help but curse; only now did he understand what that question Liu Lei asked while drinking that night meant.

This idiot beat up Zhou Yang, firstly to vent anger for Yang Tianxing, and secondly to make Zhou Yang lose face, blowing things out of proportion so that Zhou Yang couldn't shamelessly cling to his position as Deputy Minister of the External Liaison Department; he hadn't expected that the counselors from both sides and the school security would be alerted.

Zhou Yang's dormitory was a mess, with washbasins, towels, and chairs scattered all over the floor; Zhou Yang was sitting on the bed clutching his face, with a large bump on his forehead, currently being held down by a school security guard.

"Good thing there's no bleeding, a blessing in disguise."

Yang Tianxing felt a slight sense of relief in his heart.

At this moment, Zhou Yang also saw Yang Tianxing, his face full of resentment.

Yang Tianxing didn't take it to heart and took the initiative to step forward to greet Xie Yu'an: "Teacher Xie."

Xie Yu'an was talking to Zhou Yang's counselor; seeing Yang Tianxing approach, he immediately said: "I was just about to look for you. I don't want to deal with the student union matters from this afternoon, but I'm asking you now: do you know about what happened tonight?"

It was rare for Xie Yu'an to be this serious.

Yang Tianxing reacted quickly, immediately guessing that Zhou Yang must have framed him, likely claiming that Liu Lei had acted under his instigation.

However, for Yang Tianxing, this matter wasn't as simple as just stating the facts, because if he said he didn't know, Yang Tianxing could certainly be cleared 100% without issue, but Liu Lei would have to shoulder all the responsibility.

"Speak, do you know or not?" Zhou Yang's counselor was also urging Yang Tianxing to answer.

Liu Lei wasn't a coward; he wouldn't let Yang Tianxing take the fall for what he had done. Just as he was about to open his mouth to argue, Yang Tianxing suddenly glared at him and spoke before him: "I know."

"Slap."

Xie Yu'an slammed the table hard: "Yang Tianxing, you're still a class monitor, yet you're involved in fighting; you must write a profound self-criticism."

Yang Tianxing nodded: "I'll write it tonight."

"No, write it now. You must give classmate Zhou Yang an explanation immediately," Xie Yu'an said loudly.

Yang Tianxing glanced at Xie Yu'an; writing a self-criticism on the spot and giving an explanation on the spot—this was meant to end the issue right then and there. It turned out Xie Yu'an intended to quell this disturbance as quickly as possible.

Yang Tianxing and Liu Lei each wrote a self-criticism on the spot; this was a judgment call Yang Tianxing made in an instant based on the scene.

Zhou Yang hadn't bled, so there should be a possibility of containing the situation; if he stood up to help shoulder the blame, the pressure on Liu Lei wouldn't be as great.

Seeing Xie Yu'an's attitude, Yang Tianxing understood that the problem wasn't major. Old Xie was also a perceptive person; he knew Yang Tianxing wouldn't do something so brainless, so taking the initiative to share the pressure could also boost his own image.

At this time, a nurse from the school infirmary also arrived; she checked the injuries on Zhou Yang's and Liu Lei's faces, shook her head, and said: "No major issues, no need to even prescribe medicine."

"Damn it, this idiot Zhou Yang almost called the principal."

Yang Tianxing cursed in his heart; he knew exactly what game Zhou Yang was playing, deliberately blowing things out of proportion.

"For this matter, you two write your self-criticisms first, then apologize to Zhou Yang, and finally, after the department studies it, the disciplinary results will be announced."

Xie Yu'an said with wide eyes.

Yang Tianxing's expression was as calm as a lake, while Liu Lei was anxious and uneasy; he hadn't expected things to blow up this big. In high school, he had fought much more violently than this, but it never had such a big impact.

Liu Lei was frightened by Xie Yu'an's superficial thunderous rage; he couldn't understand his counselor's "loud thunder, small raindrops" approach to handling things.

Seeing that the situation was under control and both counselors were present, the school security guards left along with the nurse.

Essentially, this was just a minor incident of students having a conflict and fighting; the security guards didn't understand why the student named Zhou Yang, after notifying the counselor, had contacted both the security office and the infirmary.

"I'm sorry, Senior Zhou Yang. Today we were muddle-headed for a moment, and now we have realized our mistake. Please forgive us..."

Yang Tianxing and Liu Lei were apologizing, but Zhou Yang sat there without saying a word.

"I'm sorry, Senior Zhou Yang..."

Yang Tianxing apologized loudly again, but Zhou Yang still wouldn't speak. Xie Yu'an and Zhou Yang's counselor exchanged a look and said: "Since Zhou Yang won't forgive you, stop getting in the way here. Go back to your dormitory and wait for the results."

After the two counselors finished speaking, they left while yawning. Zhou Yang had made it sound on the phone as if he had been stabbed; Old Xie had been so scared he didn't even have time to put on his underwear, only to arrive at the scene and find not even a patch of skin scraped off.

The two counselors walked to the bottom of the dormitory building, shielding each other from the wind to light their cigarettes. As they smoked, Zhou Yang's counselor said: "I really didn't expect this."

"You saw it too?"

Xie Yu'an asked.

"Isn't that obvious? Your class monitor clearly stood up to take the fall."

Xie Yu'an sighed: "I just heard about the student union matter this afternoon too. Your student is too petty, and my class monitor has too wild a personality."

Zhou Yang's counselor nodded: "Zhou Yang is quite smart, just not upright enough in his thinking. This setback might not be a bad thing for him; I hope he can learn something from this lesson, otherwise he'll suffer when he enters society."

Xie Yu'an gave an "um," as the problems of entering society were outside his scope of consideration. As they parted ways, Old Xie suddenly said: "What about the self-criticisms from my students just now?"

"What, worried I'll quietly hand them in?"

Xie Yu'an laughed and snatched them away: "The director is already very busy; we won't bother him with such trifles."

……………

Yang Tianxing and Zhou Yang didn't know yet that their counselors had already reached a "peace treaty." Zhou Yang only felt it was a pity; if he had known, he wouldn't have resisted. If he had really been injured, he could have at least ensured Yang Tianxing received a disciplinary mark.

Now, having taken a few painless hits like this, these two bastards might not even get a public reprimand in the end; he had lost face and gained nothing.

"You go back first."

Yang Tianxing said to Liu Lei.

Liu Lei wanted to say something but held back. After he left, Yang Tianxing started helping to tidy up Zhou Yang's dormitory.

Zhou Yang sneered: "I don't need your hypocrisy."

Yang Tianxing couldn't be bothered to respond. Until things were mostly tidied up, just before leaving, Yang Tianxing said to Zhou Yang: "You're a junior now; just graduate steadily and find a job. If you weren't a college student, I wouldn't even glance at you if you died right here."

Zhou Yang was shocked; Yang Tianxing's meaning was clear: if he had already entered society, Yang Tianxing wouldn't feel even a shred of guilt.

After returning to the dormitory, the boys from the class were all gathered inside dormitory 312, as they had also learned the ins and outs of the whole affair.

Liu Lei had already realized his mistake and said coweringly, "Tianxing, I didn't think it would turn out like this."

"Bang!"

Yang Tianxing stretched out his leg and gave Liu Lei a kick to the backside, then walked back into the dormitory without saying a word.

The boys helped Liu Lei up; he was thick-skinned enough, and after the kick to the backside from Yang Tianxing, he bared his teeth while rubbing the spot where he had been kicked, still hesitating over whether to continue apologizing.

The surrounding boys didn't know how to handle it either, until finally Fu Yiming stepped out and said, "Yang Tianxing kicked you; that's a good thing. With his personality, that means he has forgiven you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Lei felt it made a lot of sense; he pushed open the door and limped into the dormitory, discovering that Yang Tianxing was smoking.

"Class Monitor, I'm really sorry; I was reckless after drinking and even made you take the fall for me."

Yang Tianxing turned around, looked at the shame-faced Liu Lei, waved his hand, and tossed him a cigarette.

"It's nothing; after what happened tonight, Zhou Yang really won't be able to continue as Vice Minister."