Chapter Seven: The Truth

“Yes, that’s right,” Yu Sheng replied.

“I’m the class monitor. The teacher already informed me,” the girl said as she stepped down from the podium and walked over to Yu Chen’s desk, pulling out his neatly packed schoolbag.

“I’ve already packed his things for him. The exam schedule and his candidate number are in his pencil case,” the class monitor explained.

“Thank you, truly,” Yu Sheng said, surprised by how considerate the class monitor was toward Yu Chen.

“It’s nothing, Senior. This is my responsibility,” the class monitor replied, pausing briefly. “By the way, Senior, my name is Li Bingxia. If you need anything in the future, feel free to ask me.”

Watching Li Bingxia’s hesitant expression and veiled hints, Gu Yan seemed to catch on to something.

“How about this? Let me add you on WeChat. If anything comes up, I’ll contact you,” Gu Yan said quickly.

Yu Sheng looked at him in confusion. This was her brother, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t she be the one adding her?

Seeing Yu Sheng’s puzzled expression, Gu Yan added, “I’ll send you her contact later.”

“What should I call you, Senior?” Li Bingxia asked.

“I’m Yu Chen’s older brother,” Gu Yan replied.

Li Bingxia seemed surprised. “Yu Chen has a brother? I’ve never heard about that.”

“Are you and Yu Chen close?” Gu Yan asked, curious.

It was an offhand question, but when he saw Li Bingxia’s reaction—her gaze shifting away as she rubbed her nose—he knew she was hiding something.

“Not really. We just sit together in class, and as class monitor, it’s my duty to know my classmates,” she answered.

Yu Sheng didn’t notice anything off, smiling at her, thinking she was just being shy.

Gu Yan, however, was deep in thought. Li Bingxia was clearly lying; there was definitely something between her and Yu Chen. Hilarious—didn’t he minor in psychology at university?

“Where do you live? We’ve kept you for so long, let us see you home,” Gu Yan offered.

Yu Sheng nodded in agreement.

“No need, really. My place is just across from the school,” Li Bingxia quickly declined.

“You live across the street? I’ve seen a lot of thugs hanging around over there. Isn’t it dangerous?” Yu Sheng asked with concern.

“Exactly. There aren’t many students around now. It’s not safe. Let’s walk together,” Gu Yan insisted.

It was a good chance to observe the situation and verify his suspicions.

“Well, all right,” Li Bingxia agreed.

It was already over an hour past dismissal, and the school grounds were nearly empty. Across the street, only a few students lingered.

Most of the people around were those thugs, eyes darting as if searching for prey.

As they stepped out of the school gate, they ran right into a few of them.

At the sight of one particular thug, Li Bingxia instinctively moved from Yu Sheng’s left to her right, trying to avoid him.

But the group showed no interest in them, not even sparing a glance as they crossed the road to join another cluster.

“What just happened?” Gu Yan asked. With his psychology background, he was certain something was off.

“It’s nothing, Senior. They just look scary, that’s all,” Li Bingxia replied with a forced laugh.

Now it was Gu Yan’s turn to be suspicious. Why wouldn’t she tell the truth? What was she hiding? Or was there something she didn’t want them to know? If that was the case, why had she hinted otherwise? Or had he misunderstood her signals?

Because phones were prohibited at school, Li Bingxia had written her WeChat ID on a slip of paper. As soon as he got home, Gu Yan added her—he was eager to get to the bottom of things.

She accepted his friend request immediately, as if she’d been waiting for it.

Gu Yan: Hello, I’m Yu Chen’s brother.

Li Bingxia: Hello, Senior.

Gu Yan: I’ll send your WeChat to Yu Chen’s sister in a bit, but I’d like you not to answer any questions she might ask.

Li Bingxia: Why?

Gu Yan: I’ll handle Yu Chen’s matters. Don’t involve her.

Li Bingxia: Okay.

After what had happened before, Gu Yan didn’t want Yu Sheng exposed to any potential danger.

Gu Yan: So now, can you tell me everything you know?

Li Bingxia: Yu Chen’s injury wasn’t actually caused by a car accident.

Gu Yan: ?

Li Bingxia: What happened to him is actually because of me.

Gu Yan wasn’t particularly surprised by her confession.

Gu Yan: Let’s talk in person. We’ll set a time after your exams.

Li Bingxia: All right.

Yu Sheng found it baffling. Ever since she’d added Li Bingxia on WeChat, no matter what she asked, Li Bingxia always dodged her questions. Then why had she said to come to her for help? She didn’t seem to know anything at all.

Well, I suppose I’ll have to find the clues myself, Yu Sheng thought.

The next day was the monthly exam. Yu Sheng didn’t dwell on it—she read for a bit and went to bed early.

The exam was, as expected, very tough. Since it was the first major test of the second year, the teachers wanted to give everyone a wake-up call.

Afterwards, Yu Sheng saw Lin Ning’s ashen face.

“My phone is gone. Ugh…” Lin Ning wailed, throwing herself at Yu Sheng.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. The results aren’t out yet. Don’t jump to conclusions,” Yu Sheng comforted her.

“Don’t try to cheer me up. I know myself—if I don’t fail, I’ll be grateful,” Lin Ning sighed.

“It was tough for everyone. If we found it hard, so did everyone else.”

As they chatted, Gu Yan came down from the exam room upstairs.

Lin Ning’s eyes sparkled when she saw him. “Gu Yan, how was it? Our school’s exams are brutal, right? Were you caught off guard?” She spoke with some schadenfreude. She just wanted everyone to do poorly, so she’d have company.

“It was all right,” Gu Yan replied coolly.

Though he’d taken this exam years ago, enough time had passed that he’d forgotten most of it. Luckily, he’d always been a good student and, after some recent review, the knowledge came back to him.

He turned to Yu Sheng. “How did it go for you?”

“It was tough, but I managed,” Yu Sheng answered.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you did well,” Gu Yan said with certainty.

“Why are you so confident in me?”

“Yeah, what about me?” Lin Ning added.

Gu Yan glanced at her. “I say that because I see how hard Yu Sheng works every day. I don’t know your habits, so I can’t say.”

“I work hard too!” Lin Ning grumbled.

Wait a minute, this guy watches Yu Sheng every day. Doesn’t that mean… Heh.

Lin Ning, realizing something, winked playfully at Gu Yan, as if she understood everything.

“All right, I’ll leave you two alone,” Lin Ning said tactfully.

Before Yu Sheng could react, Lin Ning was gone, leaving her and Gu Yan facing each other.

Lin Ning really is a great wingman, Gu Yan thought. Why hadn’t he noticed before?

“She likes to talk nonsense. Don’t mind her,” Yu Sheng said awkwardly.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind at all.”

Not at all, actually. You’ll be my girlfriend sooner or later.

“By the way, I won’t walk home with you today. I have something to take care of,” Gu Yan said.

He’d arranged to meet Li Bingxia that afternoon.

“All right. I’ll head home first,” Yu Sheng replied.

So he does mind, Yu Sheng thought, blaming Lin Ning.

Gu Yan didn’t realize Yu Sheng was overthinking. His mind was entirely occupied with Yu Chen.

He arrived at the milk tea shop where he was supposed to meet Li Bingxia, who hadn’t arrived yet. He ordered a lemon water for himself.

Yu Sheng liked green tea, so he got her one too. It was a habit—he always used to buy her tea.

Neither of them liked milk tea, which made them kindred spirits.

But now, he had no reason to buy her tea. Since they weren’t anything to each other, how was he supposed to give it to her? Should he say he bought one too many, like before? As he pondered how to win over his future girlfriend, Li Bingxia walked in.

“Sorry I’m late, Senior.”

“It’s fine, I just got here. Yu Chen doesn’t know, right?”

“We’re not in the same exam room, so I haven’t seen him.”

“All right, then tell me everything. His sister’s waiting for me at home.”

“The real reason for what happened to Yu Chen is me. Judging by your reaction the other day, I figured you didn’t know, so I wanted to come clean. Even though Yu Chen didn’t tell you, I felt if I kept quiet it would only hurt him.”

Gu Yan nodded for her to continue.

“That day, I was heading home with a friend. Both our homes are across from the school. You saw that neighborhood last time—it’s old and chaotic, with lots of dark alleys, since the buildings are so old. Normally, we go home together after school.”

“But that day, I was on duty, so my friend waited for me. By the time I finished cleaning, hardly anyone was left at school or in the area—just like when you came.”

“As soon as we entered the neighborhood, a few thugs blocked our way. We see them almost every day, but we’re still scared.”

“We don’t know them at all, but they kept insisting we were their friends and wanted us to hang out with them. Normally, there are just students and old folks around, but everyone had gone home, so we had no one to ask for help.”

“Then Yu Chen and a few classmates appeared. They’re boarders and had come out for dinner. I thought that would be the end of it, and the thugs seemed ready to leave when they saw them.”

“But suddenly, one of the thugs turned and stared at Yu Chen for a long time—the same guy who passed us when you came the other day.”

“He started laughing out of nowhere, whispered something to the others while pointing at Yu Chen, then left.”

“He just left?” Gu Yan asked.

“Yes. I thought that was it, but it was only the beginning.” Li Bingxia’s eyes reddened. Gu Yan handed her a tissue.

“He didn’t recognize you the last time?”

“I had a cold that day and was wearing a mask.”

Gu Yan nodded.

“The next morning, I wanted to thank Yu Chen, so I got to school early and brought him breakfast, only to see him coming out of the infirmary with a swollen lip.”

“I asked him about it, but he ignored me. Over the next few days, he kept getting new injuries. I never knew where they came from, and he wouldn’t tell me.”

“But I’m certain it’s connected to what happened that day,” Li Bingxia said with conviction.