Chapter 10.6| Queer eye

"Surprised, yet not entirely surprised." 

Xing Xiuze: "..."

"I actually heard about this matter before, but I never expected you to be involved," Meng Yin said.

Xiuze raised an eyebrow in response.

"I have a friend who, from a very young age, was aware of his identity and wanted to be a girl. "Remembering the purity and stubbornness on his face, Yin couldn't help but feel touched. "When he told me about it, he said two things. One was 'They must be particularly in love to have come this far from that era until now,' and the other was 'Even if it means bearing the weight of ten thousand pounds to grow up, one must be true to oneself.'"

"A friend from the Third High School?" Xu Zhiyi asked upon hearing her words.

Yin simply responded with a "yes". This is the first time she mentioned the Third High School by herself; she didn't know why she brought it up, it just came to mind and she spoke about it.

The Third High School was a school completely different from FHS in terms of school culture. It was characterized by a fully enclosed teaching style, where a person's worth was determined by their academic performance. Teachers spared no effort to suppress students' self-awareness, and the campus was filled with a twisted sense of "individuality and uniqueness." Of course, this was not perceived by the majority of students. Doomed to mediocrity definitely would lead to a loss of sensitivity. Therefore, Yin understood the determination behind Ma Yang's words of "being oneself."

"He actually admires you quite a bit," Yin added.

Thinking about the environment at the Third High School and the societal opinions, Xiuze understood the weight behind this "admiration," realizing how fortunate he was.

Scratching the back of his head, he said, "There may be a chance for us to meet."

Yin didn't agree or disagree. She looked at Xu Zhiyi and asked, "Apart from the matters concerning Wu Xiao and Xing Xiuzee, is there anything else?"

Every event requires a connection; in this case, a key link was missing.

Zhiyi didn't beat around the bush and replied, "Yes."

The afternoon when Xu Zhiyi, Xing Xiuze, Wu Xiao, and Yu Tang collectively disappeared was spent in the principal's office. Also present were several school leaders, Xing Xiue's father, Yu Tang's parents, and a lawyer accompanying them. Everyone's goal was the same – to discuss how to handle the fake news that had surfaced and the school's investigation into the "Yu Tang bullying incident." 

Xiao sat on the sofa, head down, nervous and uneasy. Even though she wasn't directly involved, she was the reason an innocent person got dragged into the situation.

Xing Xiuze's father is named Lude Xing (born in HK), and his dad's name is Lian Pu. Both of them initially expressed their attitude towards the incident. Pu walked to Xiao's side and squatted down, comforting her: "Wu Xiao, don't be afraid." 

Xiao lifted her stiff head, and in Pu's black eyes, she saw a sense of calm and a gentle smile spreading at the corner of his mouth. 

"The matters between adults will not involve you," he added. 

"Uncle..." Xiao's nasal cavity felt sour and bitter, her eyes were also extremely dry and painful. She could hardly hear her own voice, but she was sure she hoarsely uttered these two words, unable to say anything else beyond that. How could this be just a matter between adults? It was clear that she was involved with everyone present here! 

Lude stood behind Xiuze, received a signal from Pu, and said to Principal Chen, "Principal Chen, we do not intend to investigate the responsibilities in this incident, we just hope to minimize the impact on the children, and we hope the school can come up with a good public relations plan." 

Public opinion and stereotypes will always be the last straw that breaks the camel's back. They have inevitably been deeply immersed in it, covered in mud, but ultimately reaped a good result, yet the struggle was truly indescribable. They have experienced enough in their generation. On this inevitably difficult path, all they could offer to the next generation was this insignificant protection. They understand better than anyone that even though society is now more diverse and inclusive, their equal rights on this land are still too few.

Yu Tang's gaze lingered on Wu Xiao until her mother pinched her shoulder and brought her back to reality. "Wu Xiao, thank you for always protecting Yu Tang," 

She is a very elegant woman, the kind of elegance that gradually seeps into the bone marrow with the passage of time. There was not a hint of blame in her expression, but rather a sense of protection. 

Xiao was surprised and shocked by Tang's mother's stance, unsure of what Yu Tang had told her family these past few days, and whether it was as she had imagined. She opened her mouth but in the end, nothing came out. The man standing next to her spoke at the right moment, "Principal Chen, this is Lawyer Wang," with a solemn expression and a wave of hidden anger in his slightly furrowed brows, "We must investigate Yu Tang's case." 

Everyone present understood very well that Yu Tang's case did not refer to Tang and Xiao dating, but rather the school violence uncovered during the investigation of Xiao's case. In terms of the educational philosophy and school ethos of FHS, the existence of campus violence indeed came as a surprise, much like Schrödinger's cat, the superposition of certainty and uncertainty, an unknown to all. 

FHS's exams have never disclosed individual grades, only rankings, so most people are not sensitive to the highs and lows of their scores. However, this campus violence incident mainly affected that minor group of people who were sensitive to grades.

The first time Yu Tang experienced campus violence was shortly after the start of the second semester of her freshman year in high school, the perpetrator being her class monitor, Li Yi.

The trigger for the incident was simple. Along with the start-of-term assessments, Tang had taken the top spot from Yi twice in a row. This greatly upset Yi, as she believed that the position of class leader belonged solely to her. Consequently, Li Yi began closely observing Tang's every move. She noticed that Tang not only had her own unique approach and pace in studying but also carried herself confidently in her interactions with others. However, Yi interpreted this confidence as artificial behaviour from a young girl, which she found intolerable.

The first time Yu Tang was ambushed was at a bubble tea shop near the subway station. Several vocational school boys blocked her path, making vulgar remarks. Luckily, Xiao appeared and helped her escape, leading to the two becoming friends.

 The second ambush took place before the monthly exams. Yu Tang had an upset stomach and took permission to go home after evening self-study. While waiting for a ride at the street corner, three or four motorcycles stopped in front of her. The leader of the boys took off his motorcycle helmet and looked at her, saying, "Yu Tang?". His semi-joking tone, combined with his inappropriate leather outfit, seemed ridiculous and greasy. What followed was nauseating; he said, "I heard you're good at acting cute. If you top the exams again, come and act cute in front of Big Brother down there~" 

This led to a commotion.

Tang was truly frightened or disgusted, as she continued to have nightmares for over a week, spaced out occasionally, visibly deteriorating. During the exam period, she suddenly developed a fever and missed two exams. During the illness, Xiao realized her feelings were changing. Her heart was filled with concern and anxiety for Tang's condition, a feeling that she wished she could bear the illness for her.

Xiao's confession came about when she happened to see a male student inviting Tang to his birthday party on a weekend. In her own words, the confession was impulsive, but the sincerity behind it was genuine. 

Yu Tang, for the first time, was being confessed to by a girl, but she did not feel lost. She took a week to think things over and then accepted Xiao's feelings.

The two girls' school life didn't undergo significant changes after getting together. They maintained a balance between closeness and independence, akin to childhood friends, sharing meals, chatting, having fun, and sometimes dreaming about the future together.

The third time Yu Tang was cornered, just like in all TV dramas, it happened in the female toilet. As the first year of high school came to an end, Xiao, a member of the student council, arranged to meet Tang in the classroom for a final summary meeting. After waiting for a while, Tang went to the toilet. 

Upon opening the stall door, she was faced with Li Yi, along with several unfamiliar girls who did not seem to be students from their school. Yi glanced at Tang, took a few steps forward, grabbed Tang's chin, filled with jealousy and malice, "Yu Tang, why do you act in such a way that makes people despise you? Do you really want to try to act cute in front of others?" 

The hand gripping Tang's chin tightened, causing her jaw to ache, but she couldn't stop the physical reaction of feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit upon hearing Li Yi's words. Tears welled up in her eyes, and an unbelievable and absurd thought suddenly popped into her mind. The Yi in front of her, wearing a short skirt, heavy makeup, and a sneering expression, seemed almost impossible to overlap with the diligent, introverted class monitor Li Yi she had known for a year. 

Li Yi seemed to enjoy watching the changing expressions on Tang's face. She stepped on the sidestep, adjusting her tone, "Here's the deal, take off all your clothes, let me take a few photos, I'll provide you with protection, and then you can leave here, how about that?" 

"Are you really Li Yi?" Tang trembled all over but managed to ask this question. 

Yi looked at her face as if she had heard the funniest joke of the year, "I'm an only child, Yu Tang," she said, "Do you find it strange that I am different from the Li Yi you know?" Her voice suddenly sharpened, "Let me tell you, all of this is because of you all, because of you all!" Li Yi squeezed out these four words from between her teeth, her voice full of resentment. 

Before Tang could think or refute it, several people who had come with Yi began to tear off her clothes. Suddenly, she saw Li Yi taking out her phone and turning on the camera aimed at her. In her thin summer school uniform, Yu Tang was almost defenceless, her hands crossed in front of her to shield herself, but it was futile against the onslaught of those people. 

"Let go of me..." Amid the pulling and tearing, she fell on the steps, her eyes red, tears streaming down her face as she hoarsely screamed.

It felt like an eternity had passed when the people around her suddenly dispersed, inhaling air that was not exactly fresh into their nostrils.

"Yu Tang," the person holding her in their arms felt her trembling all over, "I am Wu Xiao, don't be afraid." Grasping onto Xiao's collar, Tang finally dared to cry out.

Li Yi's phone was taken by Xiao, causing a few girls to sit down abruptly on the ground. Also lying on the ground was a janitor's mop. 

Xiao took out the phone, showing a picture of Li Yi and a few others in the hallway, "Li Yi, how do you think your parents would feel if they knew about this?" Xiao's words were like screws, piercing into the hearts of the people across from her, "Furthermore, students from our school collaborating with students from other schools to engage in campus violence against our school's students is a criminal offence."

Tang couldn't see clearly how Xiao had managed to knock someone down, or where Xiao had obtained these photos, but the one thing she could be certain of was that when Li Yi was perpetrating violence against her on campus, she was also feeling anxious.

After that, Tang confided in Xiao about the incidents she had encountered previously. Wu Xiao, like a knight, stood by her side whether on campus or off. It wasn't until Wu Xiao was forced to come out that Yu Tang was never bullied by anyone again.