Chapter 30: Nutritious Delicacies in the Cafeteria? (Part Two)

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Shi Tiexin found it absurd. Elsewhere, in the office of the Discipline Department at Fengming No. 1 High School, the notorious Square-Headed Killer Zheng Kaiming was feeling equally incredulous and bewildered.

A handful of students had come to him with a complaint in the middle of the day.

That, in itself, was nothing unusual; disputes among students were inevitable, even in a prestigious school like Fengming No. 1 High. In fact, some top students could be even more finicky, stirring up trouble over the most trivial matters, which made them rather tiresome. Though Zheng Kaiming found it all quite tedious, his role as Director of Discipline obliged him to handle these matters dutifully.

But today, these particular students left Zheng Kaiming nearly goggling in disbelief.

“What did you say?” Zheng Kaiming’s tone was as incredulous as if he’d just seen a sow climb a tree. “Say that again?”

“Mr. Zheng… Mr. Zheng…” The four students stood in a row before him—supposedly the victims, yet they all looked as timid as quail. They were none other than the little gang that hung around with Teng Chaoguo.

They had come with grand intentions, but upon arriving at the office door, each one had second thoughts. To them, confronting Zheng Kaiming was like mice meeting a cat. They usually avoided him at all costs, so to voluntarily step into his lair now felt like courting disaster.

The four hesitated at the door for ages, too intimidated to knock. But destiny has its own designs. Just as they stalled outside, the door swung open from within, and out came that unmistakably square head.

The moment Zheng Kaiming spotted them, his eyes bulged, and he was about to launch into a ten-minute tirade. But one quick-witted boy, thinking on his feet, wailed out loud and choked off Zheng Kaiming’s reprimand before it could start.

“Sir, we were beaten up! We were beaten so badly!”

Zheng Kaiming was stunned. Had the sun started rising in the west? For this gang to come to him for help—now, that was a rare spectacle! He decided to get to the bottom of it, leading to the scene at hand.

“What are you saying? Repeat it, and tell me exactly what happened!”

Now that things had come to this, the four had no choice but to press on. One sly-faced boy pinched the chubby one’s side, prompting the one with the most guileless appearance to speak up.

The chubby student shifted his facial flab to look less menacing and complained with a wailing face, “Mr. Zheng, we were beaten up—right here at school this morning!”

The other three chimed in without missing a beat.

“Yes, yes, sir, we were beaten so badly!”

“Look at my teeth, they’ve been knocked loose!”

“See the bruise on my face? My cheek’s all swollen, I really caught a beating!”

Zheng Kaiming had a fair idea of what sort these boys were. Judging by their bruised faces, it seemed they really had been given a thrashing. Fights on campus were a serious matter, troublesome if not handled properly. But since it seemed there were no serious injuries, Zheng Kaiming felt a little relief—mixed, nonetheless, with curiosity.

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“Who beat you up like this?” Zheng Kaiming scrutinized them, then his face darkened as he barked, “Speak up. Did you get into a group fight?”

“No, no—no group fight, sir! It was just one person who did this.”

“Yes, just one person! And it wasn’t just us—Teng Chaoguo took an even worse beating!”

One person?

Zheng Kaiming considered. “Was it Chen Yuanlong?”

Chen Yuanlong, a sophomore in the sports program, was a professional in sanda, already a city champion and a provincial finalist—certainly one of the best fighters at Fengming No. 1.

To say “one of the best” was accurate, because a senior in the third year had actually won a provincial title and was even more formidable. But that senior, along with all the elite third-year students, had already transferred to another campus for intensive, closed-off study, aiming to top the provincial or even regional college entrance exams.

So, on this campus, Chen Yuanlong was the undisputed champion.

“No, no,” the four replied, exchanging glances. If they wanted to get rid of that guy, this was their only chance. After all the build-up, now was the moment to drop the axe. In unison, they accused, “It was Shi Tiexin!”

“Who?” Zheng Kaiming’s eyes widened.

“Mr. Zheng, you must help us!”

“Look at what he’s done to us!”

“We can’t go to class, we have to go to the hospital! Medical bills, missed lessons—Shi Tiexin must pay!”

“I swear I’ll get a doctor’s certificate, this qualifies as minor injuries at least! That’s enough for a criminal charge!”

The four squawked and clamored, making Zheng Kaiming’s patience wear thin. Abruptly, he shouted, “Quiet!” and the room fell silent. He regarded these four troublemakers coldly and said, “I’ll ask, you answer. No nonsense. Understood?”

They all nodded, obedient as could be.

“Shi Tiexin beat you up?” Zheng Kaiming repeated, his voice heavy. “Shi Tiexin from Class 28, Grade 10?”

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“Yes, exactly him!”

“When did this happen?”

“This morning, during the break after second period.”

“Where?”

“The black bathro—no, I mean, the old restroom behind Building Four.”

“How did it happen?”

The four began speaking over each other. One said Shi Tiexin fought five at once with fearless strength; another, not wanting to lose face, insisted it wasn’t like that, that Shi Tiexin had tricked them with some cunning scheme. A third thought that didn’t make it sound serious enough—if they didn’t exaggerate, they’d never get rid of that guy—so he painted the crime in darker hues.

Zheng Kaiming simply listened, a cold smile playing at his lips as their stories contradicted one another.

“One last question—why did he beat you? Or rather, what caused the conflict?”

The chubby one blurted, “Because he led people to search our—” Smack! Another gave him a sharp smack on the head, cold sweat pouring. He quickly corrected himself, “We don’t know, we really don’t know why. We were just using the restroom, and he suddenly rushed in and beat us up.”

Zheng Kaiming took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and shook his head, murmuring, “This is the first time I’ve ever met a student like this…”

“Yes, sir, it’s outrageous! He must be expelled—”

Zheng Kaiming didn’t even look up. “Get out.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right, sir—he must be kicked out—”

“I mean you. All of you, get out. Now!” Zheng Kaiming slapped his hand on the desk, startling all four. The hair on his square head seemed to bristle with rage. “You’re being completely unreasonable, making false accusations, causing trouble—get out, all of you!”