NOVPUBThis moment.
Chen Nan felt an almost suffocating illusion and a thick layer of goosebumps rose on his body.
Niu Kai Xuan reminisced, "The day the college entrance exam results were released, I drove for two hours to Xiaoyu’s home."
"Because I knew her parents had died in a car accident before the exams."
"During that time, she was in terrible pain and felt helpless."
"However, she was a strong girl, the kind of strong that breaks your heart."
"Before the exams, she found me."
"She told me that she would adjust her attitude and go all out."
"That day, she was brimming with vitality, exuding powerful confidence."
"I knew that the old Nie Xiaoyu had returned, and she was bound to achieve excellent results in this college entrance exam."
"The reason I went to her house was to wait for the exam results and share the joy with her afterward."
"Yes."
"We cannot truly understand someone else’s pain."
"But joy is something we can share, isn’t it?"
"Xiaoyu knew I was coming, so she specially picked some peaches from the orchard and even bought a watermelon from a farmer’s house in the village."
"Her grandfather even killed the crowing rooster at home to welcome me."
"You know teachers never dine at students’ homes."
"But that day, I got a bit carried away."
"I thought to myself, all my students have achieved excellent results, what harm would there be in eating at her house?"
"Even if the Jade Emperor himself showed up, I would still eat without hesitation!"
As he spoke, he laughed, but while laughing he began to cry.
They say a man doesn’t easily shed tears, only at the place of deepest sorrow.
Not to mention.
Niu Kai Xuan had already reached the age of knowing destiny.
He wailed loudly, aggrieved like a child.
"We waited and waited and waited!"
"Awaiting the publication of the college entrance exam results."
"Xiaoyu, her grandfather, and I all sat nervously in front of the computer."
"Then, we all looked forward to entering Xiaoyu’s student ID number, waiting for a brand new page to emerge."
"I thought that the pop-up screen would show that Xiaoyu’s score was hidden."
"After all, if you score high on the exam, your score will be concealed."
"But..."
"Xiaoyu’s score was displayed."
"I knew then that Xiaoyu had underperformed during the college entrance exam."
"Even so, she was sure to exceed the first-tier university admission line."
"Because after the exams, I found Xiaoyu and had a brief talk with her, I was confident in her ability!"
"But I never dreamed that her exam result would only be three hundred and twelve points!"
As he spoke, he grew more agitated, tears blurring his vision, wetting his face: "Three hundred and twelve points!"
"She didn’t even meet the second-tier university admission line."
"She was my pride!"
"My pride, even if she underperformed!"
"But she would never score so poorly!"
He must have cried until exhausted, his voice became weak: "I don’t believe she could have scored so poorly!"
"Not even in death!"
His hands clenched tightly on the arms of the wheelchair, his whole body trembling non-stop: "I will never forget the look on Xiaoyu’s face when she saw her college entrance exam results."
"At that moment... there was no light in her eyes!"
"She stood there like a soulless zombie."
"Because Xiaoyu’s eyes instilled fear in me, I had never seen such a hollow and dim gaze."
"I..."
"I didn’t know how to comfort her."
"I told her that even if she made a mistake on the college entrance exam, it wasn’t a big deal, she just hadn’t adjusted well. At worst, she could retake a year, and she would definitely achieve excellent results next year."
"I knew her family had encountered a misfortune and was particularly strapped for cash, so I offered to cover all her expenses during her repeat year."
"She refused me and kowtowed three times, saying she was sorry to me!"
"Then she ran out of the house crying."
"I wanted to chase after her, I was afraid she would do something foolish in despair."
"But just then."
"I received a call from the school leaders, congratulating me that all fifty-five students in the class who took the college entrance exam had passed the first-tier university admission line."
"With such results, I was in line to become the vice-principal of Jizhou First Middle School."
"At that moment, I suddenly realized."
"Xiaoyu hadn’t failed to achieve excellent results."
"It was just that someone had taken her place."
"In a rage, I drove back to school, found the school leaders, and demanded to know why, when every student had passed the first-tier admission line, Nie Xiaoyu’s score was only three hundred and twelve points."
"The school leaders advised me that it was best to pretend I knew nothing and not to stick my nose into others’ business."
"Chen Nan, you know my stubborn temperament we’re alike in that regard."
"Do you think I could tolerate someone taking Xiaoyu’s place?"
"Let alone Xiaoyu being my proudest student, even if it was a poor student whose place was taken, I couldn’t stand by and watch any of my students be bullied like that!"
"In a fury, I went to the Education Bureau, demanding justice for Xiaoyu."
"But the Education Bureau only told me they would investigate the matter seriously, without giving a specific time."
"As the start of university was fast approaching, I hadn’t received any response."
"That’s when I knew this matter wasn’t as simple as I had thought. It must be entangled with many big shots in the education department."
"I knew there were many powerful people behind this, but I still underestimated their clout."
"I went to the Commission for Discipline Inspection and made an official complaint about the corruption in the Education Bureau."
"Even if I no longer teach, I wouldn’t allow my student’s decade of hard work to benefit someone else."
"But three days after the complaint, when I was on my way home after eating out, I was hit by a dump truck."
Saying this, he laughed: "At first, I thought it was just a simple traffic accident, but when the dump truck hit my car and then reversed to continue crushing it."
"I suddenly realized, this wasn’t just a simple traffic accident at all!"
"It was clear someone wanted me dead."
"Luckily, not far from the scene, there was a traffic officer conducting drunk driving checks."
"The timely arrival of the traffic officer stopped the dump truck from crushing me further, and saved my life."
"But..."
"Though my life was spared, my legs were not."
"After I was discharged from the hospital, your teacher’s wife mysteriously lost her job, and now she can only make a living by cooking for others."
"I was angry, indignant, and frustrated."
"I wanted to continue investigating the matter, and if it came to it, to go to the capital to file a petition."
"But in the end, I gave up on the idea."
"I couldn’t pursue this matter any further, it wouldn’t just bring ruin to my family; it could cost Xiaoyu her life!"
"Because once Xiaoyu died."
"The matter would be doomed to remain unresolved."
Chen Nan, having learned the sequence of events, stared blankly at the vast lake and murmured, "Why do honest people have to be bullied?"
"Why?"
