mynovelweb Chapter 143 Punishment
Chapter 143 Punishment
The office door was closed.
Song Huan sat alone inside, his chair far from the desk. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
The light bulbs were a stark white, making people's faces appear bluish.
Several people were standing in the corridor outside the window, with Xiao Yunqing at the front, her face pressed against the glass of the window looking inside.
Song Huan saw it and smiled at her.
The smile was very slight; the corner of her mouth twitched up briefly before disappearing.
Xiao Yunqing didn't smile; her brows were still furrowed.
Hurried footsteps came from the other end of the corridor. Xiao Yunqing turned around and stepped aside.
"Hello, teacher."
Lu Xu didn't respond. He pushed open the office door, went inside, and then closed it again.
He walked up to Song Huan, put the lesson plan on the table, and spoke in a low but muffled voice.
"I didn't even go to watch a single game, how did you end up fighting with me?"
Song Huan stood up from the chair and stood up straight.
"He pushed someone first, several times, but the referee didn't call it. The last time he knocked me down, I got up but didn't retaliate. When he left, he pushed Xiao Yunqing down."
He paused for a moment, then said, "I just made the move."
Lu Xu looked at him for a few seconds, then sighed.
"I pleaded with the prefect."
He leaned against the edge of the table, arms crossed, "But you got into a fight on the playground with so many people watching, it's a bad influence. Although there's no punishment, you can't avoid being publicly criticized throughout the school."
He paused for a moment, then said, "You've been disqualified from the competition. Even if our class makes it to the finals, you won't be able to play."
Song Huan stood still, remained silent for a few seconds, then bent down and bowed.
"Thank you, teacher."
Lu Xu waved his hand, "Think before you act in the future."
He turned and walked behind his desk, sat down, opened his lesson plan, and said, "Go out."
Song Huan turned around and opened the door.
The light from the corridor rushed in, momentarily blinding me.
Xiao Yunqing was the first to rush forward, followed by Chen Xu and Zhao Qihang.
She pushed aside Chen Xu, who was blocking her way, stood in front of Song Huan, and looked up at him.
They didn't ask about the punishment, nor about the competition.
The question was, "Does it hurt?"
Song Huan paused for a moment, then smiled.
"fine."
He then explained the disciplinary action.
He's suspended and can't play in the finals.
Zhao Qihang fell silent, while Chen Xu lowered his head and stared at the floor.
Xiao Yunqing stood to the side, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.
My heartfelt thoughts drifted over, softly and gently.
[It's all my fault.]
[If I hadn't rushed in, he wouldn't have attacked.]
He won't be able to play in the finals.
[It's all my fault.]
Song Huan patted Zhao Qihang on the shoulder, and then patted Chen Xu on the shoulder.
"The final is up to you."
Chen Xu looked up at him and nodded.
He didn't speak, but he nodded very heavily.
Zhao Qihang forced a smile, which looked somewhat unnatural, and his lips twitched slightly. "Don't worry, leave it to me and Lao Chen."
Song Huan nodded.
Zhao Qihang turned and left, with Chen Xu following behind.
He took two steps, glanced back, and then turned back.
The corridor was empty, with only two people remaining.
Xiao Yunqing stood beside him, head bowed, and said, "Let's go for a walk in the garden below."
Song Huan nodded.
The garden behind the teaching building is small, with a few banyan trees, a few stone benches, and fallen leaves on the ground, which no one sweeps.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
Xiao Yunqing walked in front, and Song Huan followed behind.
She found a stone bench, sat down, put her schoolbag next to her, and took out a small bottle from it.
A brown glass bottle with a label that reads "Trauma and Injury Relief Oil".
Song Huan sat down. "Where did you get this?"
"The school clinic." She unscrewed the bottle, poured a little into her palm, rubbed it, and said, "Your face is swollen."
Song Huan touched her face.
My cheekbone area is indeed swollen, and it feels a bit hot to the touch.
When Song Huan hit Zhao Ling just now, Zhao Ling also fought back.
He took a few punches, but Zhao Ling's face was bleeding, and he's probably still lying in the school clinic.
He pulled his hand away slightly. "Never mind, I'm afraid of getting hurt."
Xiao Yunqing's hand froze in mid-air.
Looking at him, his brow furrowed and lips pursed, she asked, "Afraid of pain?"
Her voice rose a half-octave, "If you're afraid of pain, why did you even go up and fight!"
Song Huan stared blankly at her inexplicable anger.
Her eyes were red, and her eyelashes were glistening with tears, but they didn't fall.
Song Huan said calmly, "Because you were bullied."
Xiao Yunqing stood there, stunned.
He held his hand up, his palm filled with brown medicinal oil that shone in the sunlight.
Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't.
He lowered his head and stared at his hands.
Several seconds later, the voice was muffled, as if it were being squeezed out of the throat.
"How could you be so foolish? It's my fault that you couldn't even make it to the finals."
Song Huan leaned back in her chair, looking at the banyan tree leaves above her head.
The leaves rustled in the wind.
The light spots flickered on the ground.
"If we can't play in the finals, we can't play. It's no big deal."
He paused for a moment, then said, "But you were bullied, and I can't just stand by and watch. You're more important than the game. Even if it happened again, I would still beat him up."
Xiao Yunqing didn't speak, but clenched her fingers in her palm for a moment and then relaxed them.
Take a deep breath and suppress the sour feeling rising from your nose.
She looked up at him; her eyes were still red, but she wasn't crying.
"Then let me rub it for you, otherwise it will leave hidden injuries later."
Song Huan looked at her, and she rubbed the medicated oil in her palm again before turning to face him.
He sighed and leaned his face closer.
Her hand touched me.
My fingertips felt cool and had a strong, somewhat pungent smell of medicinal oil.
She pressed her hand on his cheekbone, gently, as if afraid of hurting him.
The medicated oil melted on the skin, feeling warm.
She pressed it twice, paused, and then pressed it twice more.
The movements were slow, and each movement was very gentle.
The garden was quiet.
There were muffled sounds of running from the playground in the distance, muffled and indistinct due to the trees.
A cool breeze blew in from the banyan tree.
Song Huan kept her eyes closed and didn't move.
……
When I returned to the classroom, everyone's eyes were on me.
The students in the front row looked up, while those in the back row peeked out from behind their textbooks.
Someone whispered something, and the person next to him tugged at his sleeve, so he stopped talking.
His gaze moved from Song Huan's face to Xiao Yunqing's face, and then back again.
Xiao Yunqing followed behind Song Huan, her head down.
Her short hair hung down, covering half of her face, making it impossible to see her expression.
The two walked to their seats and sat down, the sound of the chairs being pulled out being quite loud in the quiet classroom.
Zhou Shan turned around three times.
The first time, it opened its mouth slightly, then closed it again.
He pushed up his glasses a second time, glanced at Song Huan, and then turned back.
The third time, she didn't turn around; she just stood there sideways, tapped her fingers twice on the table, and stopped.
Song Huan smiled and said, "Ask whatever you want."
Zhou Shan then turned around and leaned against the edge of the table. "Does your face still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
"What about the punishment?"
"They'll issue a public reprimand, and then they won't be able to play in the finals."
Zhou Shan paused for a moment, then turned to look at Xiao Yunqing.
She lay face down on the table, her face buried in her arms, with only one ear showing.
That ear was white, half of it covered by hair.
Zhou Shan wondered what her reaction would be—sadness, regret, or anger.
She lay there expressionless, motionless.
Song Huan leaned back in her chair and didn't say anything.
The whispers drifted over from the side, very light and muffled, as if they were being squeezed out from under an arm.
It's all my fault...
It's all my fault...
Zhou Shan turned back.
Song Huan lowered her head and opened her textbook.
The breathing beside me was very soft, rising and falling, as if I was holding back something.
He didn't turn his head, held the pen in his hand, wrote a word, and then crossed it out.
I wrote another one, then crossed it out.
……
The author is so conscientious, who wouldn't give it a 5-star review?