Chapter 54: There Must Be Something Wrong Here

Shen Chutang looked at Zhu Yongmei before her. “Ms. Zhu, this is not a trivial matter. Let’s do this—let’s check the surveillance footage so everyone can see what happened.”

A flicker of panic crossed Yang Xiuwen’s face.

Yang Xiuwen’s mother interjected, “What’s the point of watching the cameras? You’re just trying to delay things!”

Shen Chutang spoke calmly. “If my students have done something wrong, I’ll have them accept punishment. But if your child has made a mistake, he’ll also need to take responsibility for what he’s done.”

The woman raised her voice. “My child couldn’t possibly do anything wrong!”

Ignoring her, Shen Chutang turned to Zhu Yongmei. “Ms. Zhu, as teachers, it’s our duty to get to the bottom of things, isn’t it?”

Zhu Yongmei nodded. She already knew this was just a case of a few unruly students from Class Z bullying others, but Shen Chutang insisted on checking the surveillance, so following procedure, Zhu Yongmei fetched the footage with the security guard.

The video was shot from a distance. It showed Yang Xiuwen proudly showing off his phone to his classmates, while Luo Shencheng and two others were standing aside during the break. Suddenly, Luo Shencheng walked up and kicked Yang Xiuwen. The three of them then proceeded to beat him up.

Yang Xiuwen’s mother pointed at the footage, growing even more aggressive. “You insisted on checking the cameras, and now it’s clear my son was bullied! What do you have to say for yourself as a teacher? Don’t tell me you took bribes from their parents, so you refuse to expel them!”

Luo Shencheng glared at her fiercely. “Don’t make false accusations!”

The woman continued to curse, “The surveillance shows everything! If you don’t expel them today, I’ll call the police!”

Shen Chutang looked at Luo Shencheng. The boys clearly refused to explain what had happened, but Shen Chutang instinctively wanted to trust them.

She said, “Yang Xiuwen, may I see your phone?”

Yang Xiuwen stiffened. “It’s mine—why should I show it to you?”

Shen Chutang replied, “In the footage, it looked like your phone was dropped. If it’s broken, they should compensate you.”

The woman immediately chimed in, “Why didn’t you say your phone was broken? It cost over ten thousand—of course they must pay!”

Yang Xiuwen seemed to remember his phone was damaged, and promptly took it out, still looking confident and defiant.

Shen Chutang took the phone. The screen was shattered and couldn’t be accessed.

Yang Xiuwen’s mother kept cursing, each word harsher than the last. Luo Shencheng’s face darkened as he listened, and in the next moment, he raised his hand to strike her, but Shen Chutang caught his wrist.

“What are you doing?”

Luo Shencheng was blinded by anger. “If I’m getting expelled anyway, hitting one or two doesn’t make a difference!”

Shen Chutang’s gaze was deep. “I said, leave this to me.”

She could tell Yang Xiuwen was nervous about his phone. Seeing it broken, he even seemed relieved. There was certainly something wrong here.

Yang Xiuwen’s mother’s curses grew more vicious, when suddenly a loud voice rang out from the doorway. “Permission to enter!”

Shen Chutang turned and saw a group of Class Z students standing at the office door.

Zhu Yongmei was startled. “Why aren’t you in class? What are you doing here? I’m warning you—if you cause trouble, I’ll call security!”

Xu Jinhao stood at the front. “Teacher, we’re here to report Yang Xiuwen!”

Zhu Yongmei frowned. “Nonsense! You Class Z students reporting a Class F student? Get back to your classroom!”

Shen Chutang looked at Zhu Yongmei, her gaze sharp. “Ms. Zhu, mind your words.”

“But the Class F students…”

At last, the commotion drew the principal’s attention. “What’s going on here?”

Yang Xiuwen’s mother again dragged her son to the principal, her voice shrill as she accused Luo Shencheng and his friends of their misdeeds.

Zhu Yongmei complained as well, saying Class Z was threatening the teachers by blocking the office.

The principal’s face was dark. “Everyone quiet down. Let me hear what they have to say.”

Xu Jinhao stepped forward. “Ms. Zhu, we’re not here to threaten you. No need to be so nervous. We just want to explain why Yang Xiuwen deserves a beating!”

Yang Xiuwen’s mother was about to erupt again, but the principal stopped her. “Let’s hear them out.”

Just then, a girl from Class A approached, nervously swallowing as she looked at the scene in the office.

Xu Jinhao said, “Jiang Beibei, just tell the truth!”

Jiang Beibei glanced at Luo Shencheng standing nearby, then finally gathered her courage. “Yang Xiuwen hid in the girls’ locker room and secretly filmed videos of us changing. I caught him and asked him to delete the videos, but he refused. He said if I told the teachers, he’d release everyone’s videos so we’d all be ridiculed…”