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墨書 Inktalez
That night, the surroundings were still noisy. Under the streetlights, the old men gathered together to chat and play cards. Inside the house, Zhang Xue and I exchanged silent glances. For a girl who had just turned fifteen, this experience was undeniably harsh. No wonder she was reading books like "Alive" at such a young age.
It's not easy for a person to understand life clearly. As Guo Degang said, some people grasp the essence of life by the age of three after experiencing something, while others live to sixty-nine and drop dead from a mere glare. Zhang Xue never seemed to show this side of herself in front of outsiders. Naturally, she had no friends because she had endured far too much compared to her peers.
So, did the other four share similar experiences?
Li Taida harbored deep resentment towards his father, wishing he could kill him. Meanwhile, Zhang Xue had long been subjected to sexual abuse by her father. The five of them being together seemed to stem from more than just coming from single-parent families. Yucai Middle School in Dongxing City was a key school, and it wasn't just these five who came from single-parent households.
“Do they know about your situation?” I asked Zhang Xue slowly.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xue nodded. Since she had already shared her father's story with me, I figured there was no need for her to hide anything else. Sure enough, Zhang Xue told me how the five of them came to know each other. It was quite a coincidence; their meeting revolved around one person—Zhou Guo.
Zhou Guo was a good student, the type that could be described as a bookworm. He didn't like to talk much and wore thick glasses, making him unpopular in class. Despite always ranking first in academics and being seen as a gem by teachers—never causing trouble—he was considered the perfect student by every teacher.
However, where there are admirers, there are also detractors; good students often find themselves disliked.
His timid nature meant he never dared to report bullying to teachers.
Good people are often taken advantage of. The broken windows theory in criminology tells us that if one window in a building is broken and not repaired quickly, soon all the other windows will be broken as well. Zhou Guo had been bullied without resistance for so long that it attracted even more bullies who escalated their actions.
Bullying good students satisfied the bullies' vanity and self-esteem, allowing them to find some sense of worth in an education system focused on exams. While they couldn't compete with Zhou Guo academically, they sought another way to feel superior.
Finally, during one instance of bullying, someone shouted, “Everyone stop it right now!”
They were passing Zhou Guo's shoes around while he chased after them with a flushed face.
The entire class fell silent.
The one who spoke was Zhang Xue.
Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Xue walked over to the person holding Zhou Guo's shoes. Without saying a word, she simply extended her hand. The person seemed to be intimidated by Zhang Xue's presence and dumbly handed over the shoes. Zhang Xue took the shoes and quickly approached Zhou Guo.
All eyes were on Zhang Xue as Zhou Guo, blushing, reached out for the shoes while quietly thanking Zhang Xue.
However, Zhang Xue lifted one of the shoes and began to slap Zhou Guo's face with the sole. She swung it back and forth, delivering a total of ten slaps. Zhou Guo's face instantly turned bright red, marked with the imprint of his own shoes on both cheeks. Laughter erupted around them, filling the air with a lively atmosphere.
Zhou Guo felt extremely awkward, his outstretched hand hovering in the air, unsure if he should take the shoes.
"Shut the hell up," Zhang Xue threw the shoes at Zhou Guo's feet. "From now on, no one is allowed to bully Zhou Guo. Those ten slaps are just the beginning. Especially you, Liu Yang!"
Zhang Xue pointed directly at Liu Yang.
With that, Zhang Xue returned to her seat. The surroundings fell silent once again as Zhou Guo put on his shoes.
Liu Yang, the "leader" of the troublemakers, finally reacted. He realized that this Zhang Xue was often bullied by girls herself; however, as a boy, he still had some pride and refrained from hitting women. He never expected that today, this Zhang Xue would act like a completely different person and confront him so boldly.
If he couldn't handle someone like Zhang Xue, how would he manage to survive in class from now on?
Just as Liu Yang was about to pull Zhang Xue over, the school bell rang.
Liu Yang delivered his classic line: "Zhou Guo, Zhang Xue, you two stay after school."
When school ended, as usual, students would rush out of the classroom like tractors revving up, shouting as they went. But today was different; most students stayed behind in the classroom, pretending to pack their things. After a long while, one student finally slipped out—Liu Yang's lookout.
Once the current teacher returned or passed by, he would immediately notify Liu Yang.
"Alright, I don't know what's gotten into you today. It seems like you two aren't going to fix your issues, yet you thought you could stand up to me," Liu Yang said as he moved a stool and sat down in front of the two.
A group of people had cornered Zhang Xue and Zhou Guo in the classroom. These were all followers of Liu Yang, and perhaps filled with youthful enthusiasm, they felt as if they were engaged in a gang negotiation. They diligently made Liu Yang appear even more formidable.
"If you're going to make a move, then come at me!" Zhang Xue said, glaring at Liu Yang without a hint of hesitation.
"Hmph." The girl standing next to Liu Yang, with her arm draped over his shoulder, scoffed. In their words, she was Liu Yang's girlfriend. She said, "Bitch, do you even know what you're getting into? How dare you talk to my boyfriend like that? Sisters, watch me tear her mouth apart."
With that, the girlfriend strode forward with fierce determination.
Then she found herself on the ground. Zhang Xue had kicked her in the stomach before she even realized what was happening.
Everyone was stunned because they had never seen anyone surrounded by so many people who dared to fight back. Usually, when they bullied others, no one ever retaliated. People would obediently stand in the corner waiting to be beaten or would cry and apologize profusely.
It turned out there really were people who weren't afraid of being outnumbered.
Zhang Xue continued to stomp on the girlfriend, who began to cry. It was only then that Liu Yang reacted, shouting, "Fight back!"
In an attempt to save his girlfriend, Liu Yang threw a punch aimed at Zhang Xue.
Zhang Xue was too focused on stomping on the girlfriend and seemed unwilling to dodge the punch. However, it didn't land on Zhang Xue's head. Someone stepped in to block it; the punch hit Zhou Guo instead. Liu Yang looked up and saw Zhou Guo standing in front of Zhang Xue with a goofy smile.
Zhou Guo stood there before Zhang Xue, not fighting back but resolutely preventing anyone from hitting her.
Zhang Xue looked at Zhou Guo, remaining silent as she continued to step on Girlfriend, preventing her from escaping.
Then, someone walked in.
"Hey, who are you? Which class are you from?" shouted the sentinel standing at the door.
Two people entered, a man and a woman. The man was Li Taida, and the woman was Lin Rou.
"Boss, there are people here," the sentinel called out urgently when he saw that the newcomers were ignoring him completely.
Hearing that someone had arrived, everyone initially thought it was a teacher and stopped to turn around to see what was happening. At that moment, Li Taida and Lin Rou had already reached the back of the classroom. Pushing through the crowd, they spotted Zhou Guo covered in Footprints and Zhang Xue, who appeared completely unscathed.
"Who are you? Which class are you from?" Liu Yang frowned and said, "Don't meddle in our business."
Li Taida responded to Liu Yang with a punch, declaring, "I hate men who hit women more than anything else."
And then chaos erupted. Lin Rou, as a girl, surprisingly held her own against the boys. But now that everyone was caught up in the fight, no one could pay attention to anyone else. The advantage of numbers began to show as many desks and chairs at the back of the classroom were knocked over, and several people were rolling on the floor.
All four of them were injured.
Then someone noticed blood and shouted first, "My head! I've hurt my head!"
Soon more voices joined in the commotion as people turned to look. Unbeknownst to them, a tall figure had appeared behind them. This tall individual was holding a wooden stick. In a middle school where few reached six feet tall, these students seemed like watermelons in his eyes.
He swung the wooden stick down at what he perceived as watermelons, and before long, several of them were smashed open.
The sounds of shouting and weeping echoed in the air. They only wanted to borrow some courage from the crowd, but this tall guy seemed intent on causing harm. Everyone scattered, afraid to confront him directly. Some, sensing the situation was dire, had already rushed out to call for a teacher. Suddenly, only Liu Yang and a few others lying on the ground remained in the classroom.
"Who... who are you?" Liu Yang had never encountered someone who would dare to act so violently over a disagreement; his voice trembled.
"My name is Zhao Erming." The tall guy dropped the stick he had been wielding, which turned out to be a leg from a bench.
Li Taida said, "If you bully them again, you know what will happen."
Liu Yang nodded.
The teacher arrived late and, upon seeing the scene on the floor, quickly called for someone to take them to the School Clinic.
Later, five students stood before the academic director.
It was the same old routine: no fighting, fighting doesn't solve problems, write a self-reflection, call in the parents, then go home and reflect for a week while paying compensation.
Although Zhang Xue desperately explained that it wasn't their fault and that Zhou Guo had been bullied first, who would listen? They were rebellious, dressed oddly, and their grades were poor; who would care about their explanations? Besides, with so many classmates present in the classroom, did it mean they all participated in bullying Zhou Guo?
Zhang Xue was slapped across the face by the homeroom teacher.
Suddenly, Zhang Xue recalled a term from history: tyranny of the majority. Most of the time, we think what the majority believes is correct— but is it really correct?
As they left the academic office, Zhang Xue and Zhou Guo wore frowns while the other three laughed heartily. Zhang Xue and Zhou Guo couldn't understand why they found it so amusing.
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