Chapter 13: Girl’s thoughts

“Hello, Teacher Chen, I received notice in advance that you would be coming. Thank you for your hard work. But please allow our Student Council to take a brief statement first, and let you be our witness. It won’t take too long.” 

Hao Tianhui replied politely.

“Alright.” 

Teacher Chen nodded, then stood to the side.

“Vice President of the Kendo Club, Sword Club Ace, Captain, Swordsmanship Champion—Sakiharu Wen, I’ve heard so much about you.” 

Hao Tianhui again flattered Sakiharu Wen, standing up to shake her hand.

“Hello.” 

Sakiharu Wen had little reaction to the flattery, shaking hands perfunctorily.

As soon as she entered, she stared at Li Zuhao for quite a while, her expression growing more and more confused.

“?” 

Li Zuhao, on the other hand, hadn’t paid any attention to her.

But Li Zuhao knew exactly why she was here; her thought process was probably the same as Kaixin Min’s—she came to visit out of guilt and fear.

His original plan was to fake a suicide attempt to make these two girls who had been messing with him anxious enough to slip up and reveal their flaws.

Now that they had shown up, it proved his plan was a success.

It was just that the number of girls he had lured was far more than he’d expected.

Li Zuhao felt like he was a fish on display, sitting on the hospital bed with nowhere to run.

He decided to only answer when spoken to by the girls.

He had no intention of saying anything on his own; as long as he didn’t speak, he couldn’t say anything wrong.

“Since you say everything was an accident, and you never thought of ending your own life, please sign this Disclaiming Statement.”

Vice President Hao Tianhui suddenly took out a document and handed it to Li Zuhao for him to sign.

Li Zuhao didn’t ask any questions and picked up the pen, ready to sign.

“Wait, what happens if he signs it?” 

It was Kaixin Min at the side who was cautious enough to ask.

“If you do anything extreme again, you’ll bear the consequences yourself, and it will have nothing to do with us at Ji Huang Academy.” 

Vice President Hao Tianhui answered.

“That’s way too heartless, isn’t it?” 

Kaixin Min retorted.

“We’re a large experimental Academy City. We can’t afford any loss of reputation. We can’t have people watching him every day, can we? If you really want to die, no one can stop you every minute of the day, right? If you want, you can voluntarily withdraw. The Academy will cover your current Hospital bill.” 

Vice President Hao Tianhui’s attitude took a sharp downturn.

“You Student Council people…” 

Kaixin Min wanted to curse at the Student Council for being so cold-blooded and heartless.

But in the next second, Li Zuhao used his left hand to sign his name in a crooked scrawl on the Disclaiming Statement, making it impossible for her to finish her harsh words.

“Alright, our Student Council will take our leave now.” 

Vice President Hao Tianhui, having obtained the signed Disclaiming Statement, considered her task complete and stood up to leave with everyone.

Whether this student lives or dies from here on out? 

That has nothing to do with us anymore.

They came like the wind, and left like the wind.

The Student Council members quickly withdrew from the hospital room.

Only Vice President Hao Tianhui left behind a final piece of advice: “If you’re fine, get discharged early and go back to class. Don’t fall behind in your studies.”

Though in Li Zuhao’s ears, these words sounded entirely like mockery.

This woman’s attitude changed from the moment he said that polite hello, going from courteous to sarcastic.

And it was only directed at him; she spoke to the other girls without malice.

But even after replaying it in his mind for the third time, Li Zuhao couldn’t recall ever having done anything excessive to her.

Their relationship was always pretty distant.

Why did she suddenly treat him with such hostility? 

Li Zuhao couldn’t figure it out at all.

“I’m leaving.” 

Now that the Student Council’s questioning was over, Kaixin Min swung her long legs and stood up coldly, ready to leave as well.

“See you tomorrow.” 

Li Zuhao said offhandedly.

“Don’t disgust me.” 

Kaixin Min immediately snapped, her voice cold with anger, and quickly left the hospital room.

She was in a very conflicted state of mind.

She had just spoken up for Li Zuhao, but that didn’t mean her attitude toward him had improved.

Still, it had improved a lot compared to the previous hatred—now she actually pitied him a bit. 

But she couldn’t let him see that she sympathized with him, so she had to keep acting cold.

Don’t understand?

Good, you’re not supposed to.

In short, a girl’s thoughts are full of contradictions.

These contradictions wouldn’t disappear just because she left the center of the conflict; they would take root deep in her heart.

Kaixin Min was only running away from the problem, not solving it.

“Alright, now it’s my turn…”

Once the Student Council had left, it was finally Teacher Chen’s turn to work. 

“Li Zuhao.”

But Sakiharu Wen beat her to it, stepping up to the bedside and calling out.

Her voice was softer than usual, her emotions complicated and obvious.

She felt even guiltier than Kaixin Min, and was much worse at hiding her feelings. 

Still, her inner turmoil and pride weren’t any weaker than Kaixin Min’s. 

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have come over yesterday to “serve justice and punish evil.”

And Sakiharu Wen had even falsely accused Li Zuhao—she’d always labeled him as a pervert, but yesterday was the one day he wasn’t.

That was why Sakiharu Wen actually felt even more guilty than Kaixin Min.

“You…” 

Li Zuhao finally noticed her, his expression shifting from calm to slightly panicked, and he said apologetically, “Sakiharu-senpai, why are you here? I’m already in the Hospital, please, I’m begging you, don’t hit me again.”

Sakiharu Wen was struck like thunder out of a clear sky. 

She already didn’t know what to say, and now she was frozen on the spot.

Of course, Li Zuhao was just acting.

When facing Kaixin Min, he hadn’t acted pitiful at all, only pretending not to care.

Because he knew that acting pitiful wouldn’t work on a delinquent girl.

But now that Kaixin Min was gone and only Sakiharu Wen was left, he immediately put on an act, pretending to be terrified, hoping Sakiharu Wen would feel even more guilty.

Because he knew that acting pitiful worked wonders on the Sword Club Ace!

Tea!

Tea-boy!

How shameless!

“Student, I’m here on behalf of Ji Huang Academy to provide you with psychological counseling. We’re all old acquaintances, so I’ll keep it brief. What’s going on with you? If you have any difficulties, tell your teacher.” 

Teacher Chen finally found a chance to speak.

“Teacher, it’s nothing. I already told the Student Council. I just passed out because my neck got caught by a tie, and my neighbor found me and saved me. I never thought about suicide. I’m really fine.” 

Li Zuhao said with a bitter smile.

“What kind of accident would make you get choked by a tie?” 

Teacher Chen asked a soul-searching question.

“I fell at the door, and my tie got caught on the doorknob and tightened. My hand was injured and I couldn’t lift it, so I passed out. It really was an accident.” 

Li Zuhao even managed to come up with an excuse.

Hand was injured, so he got strangled?

Sakiharu Wen heard this and felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“Hmm…” 

Teacher Chen couldn’t find any rebuttal for the moment, even though it sounded far-fetched.

Besides, Li Zuhao’s state of mind didn’t seem like someone suicidal—he actually seemed pretty optimistic.

“This whole thing has nothing to do with you, Sakiharu-senpai. Sorry for scaring you. There must be rumors at school by now, and your reputation must have suffered. I’m really, really sorry.”

Li Zuhao bowed and apologized sincerely to Sakiharu Wen.

But the more sincere and humble he was, the worse Sakiharu Wen felt.