Chapter 25 — The Day the Whole School Went Wild

Principal Tran abruptly grasped the edge of the desk for support. Gao Lan collapsed heavily into her chair. Mother Xu wept bitterly, begging Father Xu to save her. Father Xu remained completely motionless. Xu Jiayan finally understood what it meant to be terrified. He dropped heavily to his knees right in front of my mother.

Madam, please, I am begging you to save me.

My mother took a single step backward. She looked down at him, her voice barely a whisper.

Yesterday, when my daughter stood outside the school gates.

Did any of you lift a finger to save her?

That night, the lights in Affiliated High School remained blazing until the late hours. Police cars were parked in dense rows beneath the administrative building. Journalists were blocked firmly outside the police cordons. Students and their parents were led away one by one to provide official testimony. My mother and I sat together in the very same conference room, flanked by Uncle Gu. The water in the teacups grew ice-cold and was replaced time and time again. My mother never once loosened her grip on my hand, holding on as if she desperately wanted to compensate for all the protection I had been deprived of over the past few harsh months, pouring it all into this single gesture. At one o'clock in the morning, the preliminary findings were formally released. Gao Lan was taken away by the police for formal investigation on severe suspicions of illicit bribery, the falsification of student records, embezzlement of school funds, and a gross violation of professional ethics. Principal Tran and Head Teacher Ma were immediately suspended from their duties and ordered to cooperate fully with the Disciplinary Inspection Commission and auditing authorities. Mother Xu and her younger brother were taken in for interrogation regarding suspected transfers of illicit benefits and participation in fraudulent project accounting. Xu Jiayan, Cheng Hao, and other implicated students were placed under the intervention and evaluation of the juvenile protection authorities. The incidents involving the sports equipment room, online defamation, and the severe leakage of personal privacy were each filed and handled as separate criminal and disciplinary offenses. Affiliated High School issued its second official public statement. This time, there was no mention of a bilateral conflict. There was no polite talk of communication barriers. The very opening sentence of the statement read clearly and unequivocally:

Our school extends its most sincere and unreserved apologies to student Shen Nanqiao and her family.

What followed was a meticulous itemization of every single truth verified through the rigorous investigation. The deliberate omission of the autumn field trip ticket. The public ridicule and ostracization within the class chat groups. The head teacher's severe dereliction of duty and ethical corruption. The malicious tampering with academic and merit records. The forgery of documents for charitable foundation projects. The irregular and unlawful use of specialized funds. Finally, Affiliated High School announced the complete revocation of all collective honors for Class 11-3, the suspension of all associated qualifications for the students involved, and a thorough restructuring of the class management team. The moment this statement was released, online public opinion shifted dramatically. Some people remarked that they were finally hearing human words spoken by an institution. Others noted that not every silence should be misconstrued as tacit consent. Still others reposted my father's letter, making it the most prominent and widely shared comment thread. If anyone ever tells you that you do not deserve to stand beneath the light, do not believe them. I did not look at my phone anymore. As the dawn began to break, we finally returned home. My mother placed my father's letter gently on the table. Together, we read through the remainder of the words he had left behind. In the letter, my father urged me, Nanqiao, never let my departure make you feel that you must force yourself to be more understanding and accommodating than everyone else. He wrote that grievance is not a trial to be endured, nor is blind forbearance a virtue. He told me that if anyone ever attempts to abandon you under the grand banner of a collective, you must remember this: a true collective would never deliberately leave you behind by failing to buy your ticket. When we reached the very last line, my mother broke down in a muffled, uncontrollable sob. I wept too. This was the first time I had cried aloud since my father passed away. For the longest time, I had been terrified that once I started crying, I would never be able to stop. But on that quiet morning, after every last tear had fallen, I suddenly felt the crushing boulder that had weighed so heavily upon my chest lift away, leaving me strangely weightless. Three days later, Affiliated High School held a full-school assembly. Initially, I had no desire to attend. But my mother told me: Nanqiao, this time you are not returning to endure in silence.

This time is for them to see clearly how you have learned to stand tall once again.

I put back on the school uniform with the indelible ink stain on the sleeve. Before we stepped out the door, my mother reached for a brand-new jacket to hand to me. I simply shook my head.

Let me wear this one.

I want them to know that this mark is not a symbol of my humiliation.

At the grand assembly, the newly appointed acting principal publicly read out the disciplinary decisions. The formal process to strip Gao Lan of her teaching credentials and ban her from the profession had already been initiated. Principal Tran was stripped of his administrative position. Head Teacher Ma was transferred to a remote department pending further disciplinary action. Xu Jiayan was forced to transfer to another school, and all academic honors and recommendation qualifications he had obtained through illicit means were completely nullified. Cheng Hao received a permanent disciplinary mark on his academic record and was mandated to undergo psychological intervention and community-based correctional education. Other students who had participated in the bullying, joined the bandwagon of harassment, or fabricated rumors were dealt with according to the severity of their actions. Lin Yue and a handful of other students who had voluntarily stepped forward to provide concrete evidence were placed under the school's direct protection against any form of retaliation. I sat quietly in the very last row by the window at the back of the auditorium. That had once been the spot most familiar to me—the very place where they had assumed I would remain forever silenced. After finishing the disciplinary rulings, the acting principal walked slowly up to the microphone.

Student Shen Nanqiao, the school owes you an apology.

He bowed deeply from the waist. Every single teacher seated behind him rose to their feet in unison. In that profound moment, I felt no sense of petty triumph. I only felt that this desperately late apology carried an immense, enduring weight.