Chapter 106: A Good Dog Doesn’t Block the Way

This group was clearly here to make trouble.

Qin Xiaoling knew that Guan Zhenzhen was shy by nature, so she stepped in front of her. “They say a good dog doesn’t block the way. Are you done barking? We have things to do and no time to waste with you!”

The girls from Class F were immediately displeased. “Who are you calling a dog?”

“Well, aren’t you the one taking it personally?”

Guan Zhenzhen tugged at Qin Xiaoling. “Let it go, don’t stoop to their level. The others are waiting for us, let’s just go!”

The Class F girls continued, “Hurry up and get lost! Dressed like that and putting on airs—disgusting!”

Qin Xiaoling spat. “If your eyes are filthy, then everything you see is filthy!”

Guan Zhenzhen pulled her along. “Enough, let’s go.”

She led Qin Xiaoling away from the restroom, murmuring, “It’s the school anniversary today—parents will be here. We really shouldn’t cause a scene.”

But as soon as she finished speaking, someone shoved Guan Zhenzhen hard. There were steps right at her feet. She lost her balance and fell straight down.

“Aah!”

“Zhenzhen!”

By the time Shen Chutang arrived, the students from Class Z were already there, arguing heatedly with the Class F students.

“What proof do you have that I did it? She obviously fell by herself!”

Qin Xiaoling, eyes red with anger, shouted, “If not you, then who?”

The Class F homeroom teacher, Zhu Yongmei, arrived just then. “Classmates, you can eat whatever you like, but you can’t say whatever you like. Our students said she fell on her own. Don’t go around accusing good people.”

Qin Xiaoling cried out wronged, “Zhenzhen was pushed! Just now, they were making trouble in the restroom on purpose!”

Beside her, Guan Zhenzhen clutched her foot, her eyes visibly rimmed with red.

Shen Chutang immediately stepped forward. “What happened?”

Qin Xiaoling, as if finding her anchor, said, “Boss, just now in the restroom, they started trouble on purpose, and I talked back to them. Then as we were leaving, they pushed Zhenzhen down the stairs!”

The steps here weren’t very high, just seven or eight, but Guan Zhenzhen landed awkwardly, and her ankle was clearly injured.

The problem was, neither Qin Xiaoling nor Guan Zhenzhen had seen who did it, and the security camera nearby was broken—there was no way to tell right from wrong.

Zhu Yongmei, noticing all this, grew even more brazen.

“Students should focus on their studies and not lie. Am I right, Teacher Shen?”

Guan Zhenzhen looked at Shen Chutang with a face full of grievance. “Boss…”

Shen Chutang reached to touch her foot; as soon as she did, Zhenzhen flinched in pain. The ankle was obviously sprained and swollen.

“Luo Shenchen, go get a towel and some ice. Lü Wendong, go to the infirmary for an elastic bandage.”

“Got it!”

With that, Shen Chutang straightened up and faced Zhu Yongmei and the two girls behind her. “Teacher Zhu, students should indeed focus on their studies and not lie. But the same goes for teachers. Even more so, teachers shouldn’t cover up for their students. Don’t you agree?”

Zhu Yongmei met Shen Chutang’s piercing gaze and, for a moment, felt a pang of guilt.

But this was the school anniversary—she didn’t want to make trouble, especially since it could affect her upcoming performance review. She decided it was better to avoid further conflict.

“Well, Teacher Shen, our class will be performing soon. I’ll take them over now.”

She left with her students, not sparing Guan Zhenzhen a single glance.

Xue Yunlan was furious. “They’ve gone too far!”

Xu Gaoyuan muttered, “After the anniversary, I’ll teach them—”

“Xu Gaoyuan!” Shen Chutang stopped him in time. “We don’t have any evidence. Don’t go settling things with violence in private.”

“But are we just supposed to stand by and watch Zhenzhen get bullied?” someone protested.

Shen Chutang retrieved medicinal wine from the first-aid kit, poured some into her palm, and gently rubbed it onto Guan Zhenzhen’s swollen ankle.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold. Is your idea of payback just to hit back when someone hits you? What you should do is keep working hard—rise so high that they can never catch up. Make them regret resorting to petty tricks that can’t harm you in the end. Let them rue the day they wasted the most important years of their lives chasing after small gains instead of focusing on their future. Do you understand?”

Her words left the group deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Guan Zhenzhen realized that after Shen Chutang applied the medicinal wine, her ankle no longer ached.

Soon, Luo Shenchen and Lü Wendong returned with the requested items.

Shen Chutang began to cold-compress Zhenzhen’s ankle. “Given this, dancing is out of the question.”

Qin Xiaoling was regretful. “Zhenzhen practiced for over a month…”

Guan Zhenzhen immediately insisted, “Boss, I can do it!”

“Don’t force yourself. Your foot isn’t fit for dancing now.”

Tears welled up in Guan Zhenzhen’s eyes—she was feeling the weight of collective honor for the first time. They had all worked so hard, yet now she couldn’t go on stage, and their painstakingly arranged formation would have to change.

After a moment’s thought, Shen Chutang said, “Zhenzhen, I remember you’ve passed level eight in piano. Why not play for everyone instead?”