One day in May, the second-year students put on a performance to cheer for the third-year seniors who were about to take the Gaokao, doing a cheerleading routine. Everyone expressed that it made them look like idiots, but it couldn't be helped; this was a Mei Zhong tradition.

The summer school uniform was actually quite nice—a white shirt and a black skirt, giving off the vibe of an old-time Taiwanese campus. The school name, class, and student ID number, a string of digits, were embroidered on the chest. The third-year male seniors loved watching the cheerleading, seeing which class had girls with long, fair legs. Anyway, that's all adolescent boys cared about.

Of course, the first-years also liked to squeeze in on the side and join the fun.

The people in the experimental classes were always a bit more detached; not many ran over to watch. Most stayed in their classrooms doing whatever they were supposed to be doing. The whole school seemed chaotic that day, with endless restless hormones seemingly drifting in the air.

Jiang Du was flipping through a popular science book she had borrowed from the library. Since she was young, she had been interested in all sorts of miscellaneous things, like how to raise rabbits, and why the stars in the sky twinkled, as if they were really blinking.

She remembered watching a popular science show about small animals with Wang Jingjing before. When it mentioned that after a female rabbit and a male rabbit mated, the male rabbit would faint, Wang Jingjing loudly asked the teacher in class what mating was and why the male rabbit would faint. The teacher was furious and called them both to the office for a harsh scolding. She said they were watching indecent, pornographic things at such a young age, scaring the two of them into silence.

Thinking back, it was both funny and sad. Jiang Du hadn't seen Wang Jingjing for a while. Young girls always treated such an ordinary drifting apart as a monumental event, not knowing that looking back as an adult, it was nothing at all. People come and go; nothing could be more normal.

This day, too, was supposed to have been very ordinary.

Only afterward would the people involved realize that this was actually the turning point, the watershed moment of their entire youth.

A classmate came in and told her someone was looking for her downstairs. Jiang Du asked who it was, but the classmate didn't know.

Filled with suspicion, she went downstairs. Because of the school event, the academic building seemed much emptier. A man was standing at the entrance on the first floor. At first glance, Jiang Du didn't recognize him because he was dressed cleanly, looked like he had just gotten a haircut, and his hair was very short. When their eyes met, the man stared at her intently and asked:

"Jiang Du? Your surname is Jiang?"

Her heart was pounding. Being very cautious, she retorted, "I don't think I know..." Halfway through her sentence, her expression changed. Jiang Du had recognized him—that perverted man. He had cleaned himself up and was surprisingly deceptive.

As if driven by instinct, Jiang Du turned and ran. She thought she had managed to move her legs, but unfortunately, the man behind her was like a hungry hawk preying on its food, lifting her up like a little chick.

"I knew it was you the moment I saw you. You look exactly like your mom, both beauties." The man's smile was strange and insincere, feigning gentleness. "I'm your father. I'm here to pick you up. Come with Dad."

Jiang Du's face turned pale. She struggled with all her might, trying to escape his grasp, her eyes filled with terror. "I don't know you! What-what are you doing!"

With a loud "smack," a heavy slap landed on her face, accompanied by a sharp ringing in her ears. Dizzy and seeing stars, Jiang Du was thrown from his grasp and fell to the ground. Before she could react, the man had already hauled her up again, grabbing her by the hair. The tearing sensation on her scalp felt like it was about to split open.

The pain instantly brought tears to Jiang Du's eyes. Half of her face was burning. Before she could even speak, the man tightened his grip on her hair, yanking her head back, and began slapping her face with his other hand, one strike after another.

"You little bitch! No matter what, you're my fucking flesh and blood, and you dare to not recognize me? What, you think your own dad is a disgrace? You have the same stinking morals as that stinking whore of a mother, slutty as hell. What are you pretending for?" the man cursed emotionally, almost slapping Jiang Du to death.

The entire world rapidly became distorted, weightless.

The students passing by saw this scene and were terrified. Someone quickly ran off to find a teacher. Students from the first-floor classrooms all rushed out to see what was happening.

Wei Qingyue was on the third floor. Under normal circumstances, the students of the Science Experimental Class had strong self-control. No matter how big the commotion at school, a portion of them would never go to watch the fun.

The screams from the first floor were particularly shrill. Some of the female onlookers were scared to the point of tears.

The students on the third floor could clearly hear someone shouting the name "Jiang Du." Wei Qingyue heard it too. He was by the window, and he immediately stood up, stepped onto the windowsill, and jumped out.

After sticking his head out for a look, Wei Qingyue ran downstairs.

Jiang Du had already fainted and was lying unconscious on the ground. The man was pulling at her. Her black skirt was covered in footprints, and it was half-lifted, revealing the white lace of her safety shorts.

The students were scared stiff. A few boys hesitated, wanting to step forward and stop him, but were yelled back by the man, "Who dares? I'm teaching my daughter a lesson, who dares to interfere?"

"Sir, please stop hitting her. Even if you're her father, you can't hit her like this," a girl's sob came from the crowd.

"I'm hitting this bitch, a bitch just like her mother. Aren't you wearing a skirt just to seduce men? A whore asking for it, you all deserve to die!" The man looked at the onlooking female students with a sinister smile. "All of you, wearing skirts, who are you trying to seduce?"

The crowd was suddenly and violently pushed aside. Before anyone could see clearly what was happening, a figure pounced forward.

Wei Qingyue flew up and stomped on the man from behind. The man, not paying attention to his back, staggered and fell to his knees.

There was only one thought in his mind: I'm going to kill him. I have to kill him.

In almost a second, Wei Qingyue yanked the belt from the man's waist, coldly and swiftly wrapping it around the man's neck. He gritted his teeth, a muffled gurgling sound coming from his throat. His face, veins bulging from the extreme exertion, turned beet red.

He felt like he was about to shatter all his teeth from clenching them so hard.

But a man was a man, and he was just a still somewhat slender teenager. The man clawed desperately at the belt with both hands, his eyes bulging as if they would pop out.

Seeing that his strength was about to give out, Wei Qingyue suddenly let go. As the man clutched his throat, coughing violently, Wei Qingyue lifted his foot and kicked him viciously in the groin. The man finally screamed in agony.

Like a madman, he clenched his jaw, pulled the man up again, and aimed punch after punch at the bridge of his nose.

The entire world seemed to disappear. There was nothing, only his own heavy, successive gasps. Wei Qingyue didn't know who finally pulled him away. He was held back by several male teachers, but he was still struggling to break free, his eyes practically dripping blood. His demeanor, as if he wouldn't stop until the man was dead, was etched deep into everyone's pupils.

Wei Qingyue felt that in that one moment, he wanted to destroy the entire world. That kind of despair, that kind of hatred, instantly pierced a person through and through. Why? Why could adults always unscrupulously inflict bloody violence upon them? Why couldn't they fight back? Why did they have to endure it? Why did they have to endure all of this?

His head was covered in sweat, his clothes were wrinkled, and his whole body was trembling uncontrollably. His face was red, yet also deathly pale. A teacher was saying something to him from the side, but Wei Qingyue didn't hear a single word.

He only saw a teacher pick up Jiang Du and carry her on his back. The crowd parted. Her skirt had been straightened by some girl, covering what should have been covered.

All the chaos gradually subsided into calm.

The students at the scene began to disperse. Some people kept looking at him, whispering about him. Wei Qingyue didn't care about any of it. He was completely drained, staggering back a few steps, his face expressionless.

To the side, Zhang Xiaoqiang, who had arrived at some point, slowly walked up and called out to him, "Wei Qingyue."

He looked up at his old classmate in a daze, not saying a word.

Zhang Xiaoqiang took out a tissue and stuffed it into his hand. "Wipe your face." She had seen a lot, and her expression was also very grim.

Wei Qingyue didn't move. The homeroom teacher of Science Experimental Class One came over with a stern expression and told him to come to the office.

With such a vicious incident happening at the school, the first order of business was to question how security had let the man in. If the parents demanded an explanation, how should the school respond? If word got out and caused negative public opinion, what kind of statement should they release? This whole process was something the school leadership had to carefully consider and discuss. The homeroom teacher called Wei Qingyue over and asked him if he knew the man.

"I don't know him, but this isn't the first time I've seen him," he answered distractedly.

The homeroom teacher began speaking in a heartfelt tone, "You don't know him, so why did you attack so viciously? Your courage in protecting a classmate is worthy of praise, but your behavior today is something I cannot condone. Wei Qingyue, your grades have always been excellent. Everyone in school knows you, Wei Qingyue. But it's also common knowledge that you, Wei Qingyue, have a violent streak. At last year's opening ceremony, you made quite a shocking impression. Everyone still remembers that."

Wei Qingyue remained silent. He looked at his homeroom teacher indifferently, unmoved.

"You must learn to be a person before you can become a talent. The world won't change just for you." Seeing his expression, the homeroom teacher suppressed his anger. "What's with that look in your eyes?"

The tone was familiar. Whenever he wasn't as obedient as a lamb, Wei Zhendong would ask him the same question.

"What does the world have to do with me? Whether it changes or not has nothing to do with me. Teacher, there's no need for you to misunderstand me to this extent. I've never been arrogant enough to think I could change the world." Wei Qingyue's tone was sharp. He rarely spoke rudely to teachers.

"What do you think I'm angry about? Wei Qingyue, do you think I misunderstand you deeply? That the whole world doesn't understand you, is that it? I'm angry because you're so outstanding, yet you don't know how to cherish yourself. This violent streak of yours, if you don't rein it in, will ruin you sooner or later! If you had killed him, you would have been in the wrong even if you were in the right. Do you know what you looked like just now? The teachers were all there watching you. Several grown men couldn't hold you back. You made us feel like we were looking at a stranger. Is this our best student? Not a single one of us teachers wants to see you cause a disaster out of impulse!"

The homeroom teacher's words were powerful and resonant, each one filled with emotion.

But Wei Qingyue couldn't empathize at all. He was very tired and very lonely, so fucking lonely. His rationality detached from his body, floating in mid-air like a ghost, looking at him standing there, saying: The teacher is right. He's doing this for your own good.

While doing things for your own good, they always hope to be able to change you.

He was very calm as he looked at the homeroom teacher. "I can't just be a bystander. All I know is that Jiang Du was about to be beaten to death. I cannot tolerate an animal beating my classmate to death. May I leave now?"

The homeroom teacher's brow furrowed into a deep frown. "I've been talking for so long, and you still don't understand what I mean. Violence isn't the only way to solve problems. In short, I do not approve of my students acting so recklessly. I hope you can think about it carefully. You're a child with a great future ahead of you. To be so impulsive for a female classmate..."

"I'm simpler than you adults." For the first time, Wei Qingyue very rudely interrupted the teacher. The homeroom teacher looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

He knew what the teacher was misunderstanding about him—that he must like Jiang Du, or that he was secretly in a puppy love relationship with her. He also knew what his classmates would think.

Wei Qingyue didn't want to get entangled with the homeroom teacher anymore. He surrendered. He said, "Teacher, I understand your good intentions. I'll remember this. I won't do it again." He answered the teacher like a model honor student, and then, finally, had the chance to leave the office.

By the small flower bed at the entrance of the office building, Zhang Xiaoqiang was still waiting for him. Seeing him come out, she quickly ran over and asked tentatively, "Did the homeroom teacher scold you?"

Wei Qingyue shook his head. His hair was a mess, his clothes were dirty and wrinkled, and the laces of his navy blue sneakers were undone.

"Let's go see Jiang Du together, okay?" Zhang Xiaoqiang covertly observed his expression. "I just asked. The teachers sent Jiang Du to the nearby Military Hospital. Do you want to go see her?"

Both of them were prepared to skip class and take a taxi to the hospital.

Jiang Du had been beaten so badly she had a concussion. Her face was swollen, her eyelids were swollen, and her body was covered in scrapes. Although she was awake, she was in a state of extreme shock, lying there with her eyes staring blankly.

When the two of them arrived, the hospital room was crowded with teachers, the class president of the Liberal Arts Experimental Class, and her grandparents. Her Grandma was already a weeping mess.

A teacher saw Wei Qingyue and tactfully told the elderly couple that this was the male student who had helped. He had gotten into a fight with the man and almost strangled him to death with a belt.

Jiang Du's gaze shifted towards the door. Her head was splitting with pain.

Her eyes met Wei Qingyue's, who was standing at the door looking in. He could barely recognize her.

Tears slowly streamed from the corners of Jiang Du's eyes. She blinked at him, then looked at her Grandma beside her and parted her lips. Her Grandma quickly leaned down to hear what she was saying.

Time seemed to stretch on. The old woman finally straightened up, her eyes blurry with tears. "Good child, come here. Jiang Du wants to thank you."

Wei Qingyue was slightly taken aback. He slowly walked over and sat on the stool beside the hospital bed. It was a great effort for Jiang Du to open her mouth. He hesitated for a few seconds before leaning his ear close to her lips.

"You got into a fight..." the girl's voice was as faint as a thread, "if your dad finds out, it'll be bad. He'll hit you." The scene from the summer vacation flashed back again and again. Jiang Du closed her eyes in pain, tears streaming down, her consciousness muddled. "Your dad will hit you, Wei Qingyue. You should run, run away. It hurts so much, it really hurts so much."