Chapter 68: Purging the Rotten Apples

Ye Qiong and Wang Ying stood to the side, staring blankly at Zhang Shen, clearly unable to grasp what he intended to do or why he insisted on involving the principal. Even the policeman found himself utterly perplexed—he had a standard procedure for handling such cases, yet now everything was thrown into disarray. On second thought, perhaps there was some sense in going straight to the person in charge; it might provide a clearer understanding of the situation from both parties.

“In that case, give me the number,” the policeman said.

Zhang Shen promptly took out his phone and handed over Chen Rong's contact information.

“Hello?” Chen Rong, roused from his slumber, had not anticipated receiving a call at this hour, let alone from an unfamiliar number.

“Is this Principal Chen Rong?”

“Yes, and you are?”

“This is the local precinct. Some of your students have been found associating with local thugs. We would appreciate it if you could come by.”

Chen Rong was astonished that someone would disturb his rest for such a matter. His students, mingling with those sorts of people—what could become of them?

“May I ask, what are their names?” Chen Rong was especially eager to know which students would be out and about at this late hour. By tomorrow, he would make sure to identify their homeroom teachers and give them a thorough reprimand. If the situation was serious enough, expulsion was not out of the question.

“Zhang Shen, Ye Qiong, and Wang Ying.”

Chen Rong was already considering tomorrow’s punishments, but upon hearing the list, he was taken aback. Why those three?

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that? I didn’t hear clearly just now.”

“It’s Zhang Shen, Ye Qiong, and Wang Ying.”

The policeman repeated the names, and this time Chen Rong was certain he’d heard right. With a hurried “Alright,” he quickly dressed and headed out, catching a taxi to the station.

Upon arriving, Chen Rong immediately inquired after the students from Yuehu Vocational and Health College and hurried to the lobby. There he saw Zhang Shen, Ye Qiong, and Wang Ying seated together, Zhang Shen in particular glancing around as if nothing were amiss. Chen Rong walked over to the officer who had brought them in.

“Hello, I’m their principal, Chen Rong. May I ask what they’ve done?”

“They haven’t actually committed any crime. He specifically requested your presence, so we had no choice but to contact you. I’m sorry for disturbing your rest so late.”

As soon as the policeman finished, Zhang Shen cut in, “Hey! Do you always go to bed this early? Have you even checked the time? How dull.”

For someone accustomed to night shifts like Zhang Shen, it was far from his peak hours. He couldn’t help but criticize Chen Rong’s early bedtime.

Chen Rong hadn’t expected that, after coming all this way in the middle of the night, he would first receive a scolding from this troublemaker. “Well, what is it you wanted?” he asked, steering the conversation back to the main issue.

Zhang Shen straightened and replied earnestly, “First, I must apologize to the officer. I wasn’t actually hurt earlier—I just wanted your help to get Principal Chen here. I was worried he wouldn’t come if I called on my own.”

The officer nodded, indicating he understood. What Zhang Shen didn’t know was that the officer had already seen through his little ploy, yet chose not to call him out.

Chen Rong was fuming, but now was not the time to vent his anger. He silently vowed that Zhang Shen had better have a good reason for all this, or once they left the station, he’d make him pay dearly.

“Hey, old man, don’t even think about punishing me yet. There’s something I want to show you,” Zhang Shen said, as if reading Chen Rong’s mind, startling him. The police officer assumed Zhang Shen was merely guessing, for anyone would be annoyed at being dragged out of bed so late.

“What I want to show you is my phone.”

“Your phone?” Chen Rong was completely unprepared for this. He knew Zhang Shen had some skills when it came to healing, but this seemed absurd.

Seeing Chen Rong’s expression of disdain, Zhang Shen opened up an audio recording on his phone. To everyone’s surprise, Zhang Shen had anticipated the encounter with Ma Chao and his gang, and had recorded everything.

Once the recording finished, as Chen Rong and the others were still processing what they’d heard, the policeman asked, “It seems those men are involved in quite a bit of wrongdoing. Do you have any other evidence?”

“For those thugs, I only have this recording. But for Tong Wei, I also have a video clip.”

“A video?” The police officer could hardly believe this young man actually had such valuable evidence.

“Let me see it right away.”

“Of course,” Zhang Shen replied, and played the video showing his gambling and dealings with Tong Wei. As the footage played, Wang Ying grew visibly nauseated, especially upon realizing Tong Wei’s two-faced nature and his sinister intentions toward her.

Afterward, the officer made sure to back up both the audio and video evidence. Meanwhile, Chen Rong, as the principal, was burning with both shame and fury.

He was ashamed that such a scoundrel could have come from his school—what a disgrace. If this got out, how could the school maintain any reputation in society? He was furious, too—if it hadn’t been for this phone call, he might never have known such things were taking place right under his nose. Had Tong Wei really become so brazen, treating even the principal with such disregard?

The more Chen Rong thought, the angrier he became. He slammed the table and declared, “Expel him. He must be expelled. How can such a person be allowed to teach? He’s a blight on the profession and must be removed from the faculty.”

“Well said, old man! I wholeheartedly support you,” Zhang Shen chimed in.

“I don’t need your approval,” Chen Rong retorted, paying him no heed.

“Now that the truth is clear, you’re all free to go,” announced the officer.

“Great! Let’s go home and catch up on some sleep,” Zhang Shen said cheerfully. It had to be said, Zhang Shen’s composure was remarkable—no matter the situation, he seemed unfazed.

By this hour, it was already deep into the night. Chen Rong had only been at the school for less than three days, and between treating the mayor and foraging for medicinal herbs, Zhang Shen himself had barely gotten to know his own dorm mates. If he returned to the dormitory at this hour, it was likely the whole room would want to kill him.

As for Ye Qiong and Wang Ying, Zhang Shen certainly couldn’t follow them to the girls’ dormitory. Though Chen Rong lived together with his wife, they didn’t dare bring a rascal like Zhang Shen home.