Chapter 10.4| Queer Eye

The first task in the class meeting is to choose seats. 

As expected, no one chose his "throne". Yin's seat was also not taken by anyone. Meanwhile, Haibecame Yin's back neighbour, and Xipei remained her front neighbour.

"The second matter of the class meeting is for those who still have proposals for The Double Session of the Representative Conference to the class monitor by Friday," announced the teacher. "Each class will still appoint two representatives for the DSOTRC. Those interested in going should follow the usual procedure."

"As for the final matter," Mr Wang cleared his throat and pointed to Xu Zhiyi, "Xu Zhiyi, the theme you came up with for last year's event was outstanding. Zang Kai would like you to participate in planning the theme for this year's school sports event. What do you say?"

"I can do it," Xu Zhiyi replied, leaning back against the chair with his back.

Before she could ask Xipei quietly in class, Yin felt a bit confused from the moment the words "usual procedure" were mentioned. 

Yin held Xipei's hand and walked towards the cafeteria, her eyes filled with confusion. "What does 'usual procedure' mean? And what was the theme from last year?"

"Do a quick allegro, let me entertain you," Lin Xipei could speak, Hai, walking behind, took over, with an air of performing a fast-paced cross talk. 

Xipei pretended to stroke a nonexistent beard, "This is probably the worst time Tianjin allegro has been criticized." 

"I'm just setting the mood, understand?" 

"Maybe let's skip it," Xipei linked arms with Yin and said, "The usual procedure is that those who haven't attended the DSOTRC before and wish to be class representatives can sign up with the class monitor, and then the representatives from the last time will draw lots." 

Yin thought of being randomly selected to give a speech at the beginning of the school year and asked, "Is 'blind box' an ancient cultural tradition?" 

"This is the fairness of random sampling." 

Yin nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with Hai, but finding it a bit exciting. 

"What was the outstanding theme from last year's event?" 

"Well," Hai cleared his throat and glanced at Zhiyi walking beside him, "let Big Brother Yi talk about that." 

The sudden change in tone made it seem like there were many unspeakable stories. 

During last year's meeting, I proposed a motion," Zhiyii's tone had little fluctuation, and Yin couldn't detect any trace of the oppressive aura he had exuded the year before, as Xiei had just whispered to her. 

Yin was surprised; she rarely saw Zhiyi's angry, let alone in a low moment. It seemed like he had an ability to see through the essence of things, always able to protect those precious things as much as possible. 

"Queer Eye" Meng Yin met Zhiyi's gaze as she inserted the chopsticks into the rice, "Xipei mentioned something to me." 

An unmistakable gaze shot over, Yin slightly tilted her head as Xiuze stared straight at her, as if trying to extract something subtle from her face. "Xing Xiuze, you make me feel a little uneasy." 

"Aren't you surprised at all?"

On a Monday morning nearing the end of the first semester of the second year of high school, Wu Xiao, Class 6 in the second year, her parents entered the principal's office with her, carrying an unrestrained emotion, demanding an explanation from the school. The cause was on Friday night, when Wu Xiao and Zhang Qian went to watch a movie, her mother found over a dozen pieces of homosexual literature under the bed while cleaning her daughter's room. In disbelief and with a strong sense of unease, she called Zhang Qian. 

Xiao and Qian were close at school, often spending weekends together, leading Wu's mother to have Qian's contact information. After a conversation of about ten minutes, Wu's mother not only found out that Xiao was not with Qian that night but also discovered her daughter's sexual orientation. 

Trembling, she held her phone, facing the pile of "unsightly" reading materials, forcing Wu Xiao out of the closet.

Having raised her daughter for over a decade, Wu's mother believed she knew Wu Xiao well. She had invested all her efforts in nurturing her child, whose growth trajectory had never deviated and should not have deviated. 

That weekend was a nightmare for Xiao's parents, and for Wu Xiao as well. 

They took away Xiao's phone, dissecting her communication records and internet browsing history. Xiao felt violated, exposed to the harsh daylight as if being molested, and her other secret was unsurprisingly discovered. She had a girlfriend, a girl from the adjacent class named Yu Tang. Xiao's parents firmly believed that the so-called "tolerant, diverse, democratic" school atmosphere advocated by the school led to a lack of educational management capabilities, failing to guide students' physical and mental development correctly, causing students to deviate from the right path. 

They arrived at the school to complete Xiao's transfer procedures, demanded Yu Tang apologize to Xiao for her inappropriate behaviour, and also requested the school to publicly apologize to their family for the misguidance of Wu Xiao's self-awareness due to their negligence in educational management capabilities.

The incident at the principal's office escalated rapidly from calm to chaos when Wu Xiao's parents stormed out an hour later. 

That afternoon, numerous educational forums and media outlets reported on the Wu Xiao incident, with headlines mostly focusing on "Mismanagement of Education at First High School Leading to Student's Misconception of Identity." Using the alias Little Tian, Wu Xiao's parents detailed Little Tian's upbringing and various "abnormal behaviours" since attending FHS, until they discovered her unconventional sexual orientation.

This was just the beginning of the unfolding events. 

On Wednesday noon, the same report appeared on local forums, newspapers, and social media platforms. The report did not explicitly name the individual but insinuated that the parents of a student at FHS were of the same gender, influencing the student to develop psychological and character flaws during growth, including but not limited to the rejection of the opposite sex and romanticizing "same-sex relationships." Despite the student's outstanding academic performance, FHS ignored these issues, leading to a prevailing "same-sex trend."

Upon reading the report, those familiar with the situation immediately recognized the subject of the report as Xing Xiuze. 

Only a few people were privy to this information, with the principal and Xu Zhiyi being among them. 

Xu Zhiyi briefly glanced at the headline before leaving the classroom. Observers noted that he went to find Xing Xiuze, and upon returning to the classroom, Xu Zhiyi remained unusually silent, his deep, enigmatic eyes filled with intense pressure akin to the depths of the sea.

That afternoon, Xu Zhiyi, Xing Xiuze, and Yu Tang took leave, while Wu Xiao, who was confined at home, took the opportunity to escape.

From the initial report to the insinuations of defamation, FHS took no action. 

A proverb says "lack of complete information, no comments will be given, " yet human nature tends to form biased impressions based on initial perceptions. 

Throughout that week, netizens engaged in fervent discussions about the two incidents at FHS, which sparked a broader debate on "adolescent identity awareness."

Public opinion showed no signs of subsiding, and FHS continued undisturbed, albeit with an increase in auxiliary police officers around the campus to deter the influx of media personnel. Meanwhile, all members of FHS awaited an answer in silence.