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Chapter 25
With just that two word statement, the tone of the comments that came after took an abrupt turn.
All those backbiting commenters that mocked Chen Su lowered their banners and muffled their drums. There were some who even came out and said, "Chen Su was completely innocent in this matter but he's been treated so badly for half a year because of it. That's just so sad."
"Yeah, he was mistaken as a thief for no apparent reason, and it happened in front of so many people. Just thinking about it is dreadful."
"Fortunately, the whole truth has been revealed."
"That guy who threw away the schoolbag is too much, he knew the truth but didn't tell anyone."
Below that was a punitive crusade against Zhao Haoyuan.
He Shen gave back the phone to Qiao Shao."It's okay now."
Right then Qiao Shao was burning in anger. Whenever he thought of how Chen Su must feel reading those comments, it was like he himself was being stabbed.
Why bully Chen Su like that? Why dump such nauseating maliciousness on a completely innocent classmate?
What did he do wrong? He clearly did nothing wrong!
Qiao Shao was angry and incensed, and his heart seemed to turn to ice, cold enough to make people shiver.
Qiao Shao hadn't heard what He Shen said until he saw the messages under that video again, and saw He Shen's concise comment...
Suddenly, a spring breeze carrying the warmth of happiness burst into his chest.
The ice and snow thawed, and the melted water spread all over.
Qiao Shao blinked and was speechless for a long time.
"I'll ask the wall administrator to delete the comments later." He Shen told Qiao Shao.
Qiao Shao returned to his senses and he said, "We can't let them go just like that!"
He logged in to his QQ account, changed his nickname to "Year One Class One Qiao Shao" and responded to those malicious comments one by one.
Lollipops are not delicious: Picking up trash from the garbage bin. That's just disgusting.
Year One Class One Qiao Shao replied to Lollipops are not delicious: You're even more disgusting for saying this.
Ambiguous and Unemotional: I think that Chen Su's abnormal. He's so weird and gloomy and even picks up garbage.
Year One Class One Qiao Shao replied to Ambiguous and Unemotional: He's a lot more normal compared to you — you big piece of trash!
Yueyue Oppa: What this videos shows is that he really didn't steal that bag, but who knows if he stole something else, after all, he's really poor...
Year One Class One Qiao Shao responded to Yueyue Oppa: If you've got any evidence then show it! If not, then shut up! You think slandering someone's fun? It's a crime!
............
...
Below the one He Shen replied to, Qiao Shao also replied. The content was the same as He Shen's, but with three more exclamation marks— F*ck off!!!
He Shen watched him do all this. The smile in his eyes became even more pronounced and he finally couldn't bear it. He patted the little shorty's head and said "Okay, doesn't your finger hurt from all that jabbing you just did?
Qiao Shao turned to look at him: "I said a lot of things but they weren't as effective as your two-word comment."
This was the truth. If it were not for He Shen, Qiao Shao might now be besieged by those people. He might even become a second Chen Su.
Though they could wantonly bully ordinary students, those people couldn't afford to offend He Shen.
The weak are bullied and the strong are feared. It's the same everywhere.
"But if not for you, " He Shen murmured, "I never would have noticed Chen Su."
Qiao Shao was startled.
He Shen pulled out his phone from his hand and said, "Let's go and see if you have any hope of becoming a lame knight."
Qiao Shao stood up and called him quietly, "He Shen."
He Shen: "Hm?"
Qiao Shao: "Thank you."
His thin lips ticked up slightly, and there was a noticeable warmth in his normally cold and tired eyes. He said, "Didn't I say that if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have done anything. So you don't have to thank me."
If it wasn't for Qiao Shao paying attention to Chen Su, if it wasn't for Qiao Shao's insistence on finding out the truth, if it wasn't for Qiao Shao's ardent defense of his friend, he wouldn't have noticed any of these at all.
— Neglect was also a kind of abuse.
After getting the x-ray and showing it to the doctor, the doctor said, "The young man's all right. Make sure to get lots of rest and it'll be fine as long as you don't injure it again."
He Shen asked, "Will you need to prescribe any medicine?"
The doctor said, "If you haven't before, I'll prescribe a spray and ointment."
Qiao Shao hurriedly said, "We still have some."
The doctor said, "That's good then. Apply the medicine when you get home."
He Shen told him the names of the medicines, and even detailed the brand and manufacturer.
Qiao Shao was stunned. He had also seen those medicines, and had even used them many times, but he couldn't recall their names very well. This guy though...
He Shen asked the doctor again: "Are these medicines ok? If the hospital has a more suitable one, we can change it."
The doctor laughed."It's ok. Find some time to apply it. It'll be fine so long as it doesn't get aggravated. Young people heal quickly."
He Shen nodded.
When they left, Qiao Shao was surprised."You remembered it so clearly."
He Shen looked at him.
Qiao Shao helped him voice his thought."Fine, fine, fine. You have a highly retentive memory!"
Who knew He Shen would say instead, "Huh? Don't you think it's because I care about you, that I remember matters about you so clearly?"
Qiao Shao was silent for a bit and then asked him, "So in the end, it's because you can't forget anything you've seen before?"
He Shen said, "I care about you very much."
"You couldn't forget it?"
"Care about you."
Qiao Shao broke first. He smiled until even his eyes turned to crescents."Fine, you care about me. I know. Never mind, even if you did forget I wouldn't dislike you because of that."
Blow, just keep blowing hot air. The cows are going to burst from so much hot air!
Qiao Shao, from the start, never believed that He Shen had a highly retentive memory, so he was very moved that he remembered the details of the ointment and spray.
He Shen really cared about him, how could he remember it so clearly otherwise?
The corner of He Shen's mouth also ticked up."Of course I have to care about you, after all, you're my child that I'm looking after."
Qiao Shao: "???"
He Shen patted his head again and said, "Now, that's a good kid. Let's go back and give you some medicine."
Qiao Shao bristled."I treat you as a good brother, but you think..."
He Shen interrupted him: "Think what?"
Qiao Shao said: "You think of yourself as my dad?!"
"Oh, " He Shen calmly said, "I thought you were going to say that I want you."
Qiao Shao got a thunderous look on his face.
"Sigh..." He Shen cleared his throat, "Who told you to sound so ambiguous."
Qiao Shao said in shock, "Just what the hell do you have in that head of yours?"
"What? Probably..." He Shen muttered to himself."The sea of stars."
Qiao Shao: "..."
He lost, he lost completely. He felt like when it came to bantering he would never ever win against this "man of great talent"!
Back at school, Qiao Shao borrowed his cellphone and he couldn't help looking at the video post again.
Most of the comments below have been sorted out, leaving only the more objective and regular comments.
Qiao Shao breathed a sigh of relief, and returned the cell phone to He Shen, saying, "Why are there so many who are so cruel to Chen Su?"
The whole thing was enough to harden someone's heart. Although there was some misunderstanding due to a strange set of circumstances, the students' prejudice against Chen Su was just too heavy.
It wasn't as though there weren't any poor student, but why were they targeting Chen Su so much?
Even after exposing the video, they ignored the truth and used his trash-picking to humiliate him.
He Shen said, "He's unsociable and eccentric. Willful and gets good grades. Just these are enough for some people to mind."
Even a kindergarten was a small society, what more a high school?
Chen Su found socializing difficult and he was always evasive. People couldn't approach him or understand him.
Coupled with the fact that he got good grades, was excellent in every subject and often got the teachers' praises, it didn't sit well with a lot of students.
It would have been fine if he had no faults, they'd have no choice but to bear their grudges.
But as it happened, he was exposed as a thief in such a large public setting...
Feelings of jealousy, shaudenfruede, ridicule and so on, fueled the flames of bullying.
It was easy to incite people. At first, there were only a few people. Later, they became more and more. Not everyone was jealous of Chen Su, most people were just swept along by the general sentiment, treating him as a bad person with terrible character.
Qiao Shao's mood was very complicated: "Chen Su's only third in our year and it's already like this for him. Wouldn't the first in the entire school have it so much worse?"
He Shen paused."Well, it's actually fine."
Qiao Shao up to this day still didn't know who was first in the entire school, and he hadn't bothered to ask. First off, with a top student like Chen Su around, it was enough for his objectives. The second reason was that this person wasn't likely to be in the same class as himself, so it was meaningless to know.
"Why?" Actually, Qiao Shao liked listening to He Shen when he spoke seriously.
It was a pity that this man couldn't remain serious for more than three seconds."Gods and men aren't the same. Man can only be jealous of man. He can't be jealous of a god, because the gap is too big."
Qiao Shao: "???"
He Shen explained: "Of course I don't think of myself as a god, but they might think so."
Qiao Shao: "........."
OK, the school's no. 1 blowhard has reared its head again!
When they entered the classroom, the first period of evening self-study had already begun.
Qiao Shao quietly glanced at Chen Su when he passed by.
Chen Su had his back ramrod straight and was making doing his exercise sheet. He noticed Qiao Shao's gaze and turned his head slightly.
By this time, Qiao Shao had returned to his seat.
It was still evening self-study and the teacher came soon after. Qiao Shao stopped thinking about it and listened to the class carefully.
After the class, He Shen put down his pen and said to Qiao Shao, "Young knight, it's time to apply your medicine..."
He hadn't finished speaking when he saw Chen Su coming.
Chen Su was seated in the first few rows and almost never walked to the back of the classroom.
And now he walked in front of Qiao Shao and bowed deeply."Thank you!"
Qiao Shao's eyes widened.
Chen Su turned to He Shen."Thank you."
He didn't speak very loudly, but these two words of thanks were as heavy as a thousand pounds, filled with gratefulness and deep gratitude.
Qiao Shao quickly said, "It's nothing, you don't need to..."
At this time, Song Yixu at the desk in front, said falteringly, "Chen Su, I'm sorry for everything."
He was sitting while talking, his head hung low, and he was uncomfortably clutching the back of his chair.
Chen Su was stunned.
Jie Kai from the last seat on the other side also came over and said, "I'm sorry, Chen Su."
He spoke more awkwardly, but he said it seriously.
Qiao Shao was so excited that he had carelessly grabbed on tightly to whatever was nearest on hand.
Song Yixu and Jie Kai both apologized to Chen Su.
When they were cleaning yesterday, these two were still talking badly about him behind his back and still bullied him.
And now...
They all watched the video and knew what happened!
Jie Kai's eyes were evasive. He was a very strong and robust man but now he was being very timid. He said, "Why didn't you explain? How can we blame you for picking up something? And so what if you're poor? You study so well, you'll definitely have a bright future."
This sentence almost made Chen Su shed tears.
Six months of misunderstanding and exclusion did not make him shed a single tear.
But at this moment, when he took the initiative to take a step, and his classmates actually tried to accept him. All the bitterness and sorrow that he had pressed down into the abyss suddenly came pouring out.
Song Yixu also said, "It's okay if you have a bad family situation. You work so hard and your grades are so good, you will certainly be very successful in the future."
Chen Su couldn't stop his tears.
Qiao Shao gave way and was next to He Shen.
Looking at the utterly shattered Chen Su crying, he knew that Chen Su had finally found relief.
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