After Becoming the Abused Heroine in a Campus Story - Chapter 66: Expulsion

Chapter 66: Expulsion

So, in the following days, whenever Zhou Yining had time, she spent all day in the library writing.

Jiang Xianzhi knew Zhou Yining was busy during the day, so she only chatted with Zhou Yining at night, but actually, Zhou Yining, who was at home in the evening, was frantically writing holiday homework.

To be honest, although Zhou Yining had good grades, the teachers really gave a lot of homework, and she wrote homework almost until 12 o’clock every night after returning home.

On August 25, Zhou Yining went to the examination venue early. The provincial essay contest’s examination venue was set in a hotel conference hall in Nanchuan City.

All fifty participants needed to arrive at the first floor of the venue by eight o’clock to sign in, receive their admission tickets, and then enter to wait for the exam.

Zhou Yining arrived at the examination conference room early, found her seat number, sat down, and waited for the essay topic announcement.

At nine o’clock, the essay contest officially began. The topic was very broad: freely narrate about a person who left a deep impression on you.

Zhou Yining almost started writing without thinking. The novels she wrote in her previous life were not for nothing; creating a fictional person was easy for her.

At ten-thirty, the contest organizer asked everyone to stop writing and submit their essay papers.

When Zhou Yining left the hotel, she felt she could probably earn some money this time, but with only five days left before school started, she still hadn’t finished her homework. Zhou Yining decided to spend three days writing and use the last two days to finish the incomplete homework.

With her effort, she finally saved 140,000 words of draft before school started and completed her homework on the last day of the holiday.

On September 1, school began. Zhou Yining went to school looking exhausted. Xu Yueming couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you? Your dark circles are so heavy. Did you stay up all night at an internet café?”

“I was writing homework all night, okay?” Zhou Yining said speechlessly.

Xu Yueming looked like he discovered a new continent. “No way, you only finished your homework yesterday? I did better than you.”

“Yeah, I finished my homework yesterday, but my grades are still better than yours.”

Xu Yueming was choked by her words and didn’t dare to speak.

Zhou Yining’s gaze fell on Tian Xue’s seat not far away. Tian Xue’s seat was empty, and she didn’t show up even for morning reading.

During morning self-study, Chen Yitong came over. She asked the class monitor to lead everyone in reciting texts and then called Zhou Yining out. The two went to the office together.

When they arrived at the office, Chen Yitong spoke, “Yining, the school has expelled Tian Xue, but since she is a minor, the school’s decision is not to announce this publicly. Is that okay with you?”

Zhou Yining nodded. “Okay.”

This way, it was like she helped the original self and Tian Xue settle things. Such a friend wasn’t worth keeping.

“Hmm, I hope this hasn’t affected you. You’re already in your senior year. Don’t let these bad things disturb your mind. Also, if anything happens at home, you can always come to me for help. Don’t be polite with me.”

“Thank you, Teacher. I understand,” Zhou Yining said sincerely. A teacher like her, who helped her find a lawyer last time and rushed to her side when something happened, was a hundred times better than the original self’s family.

“No need to thank me. Go to class,” Chen Yitong said with a smile. She was afraid Zhou Yining might develop mental health issues. After all, in just a few months, so many things had happened to Zhou Yining. How could a child bear all this?

After Zhou Yining returned to class, many people secretly looked at her, wanting to know what happened.

Zhou Yining, of course, didn’t say anything. Right after school started, the class representatives’ first task was to collect homework and report the names of those who didn’t submit it to the teachers.

The class was full of complaints. Zhou Yining, with her dark circles, submitted all her homework. By the time the class representatives collected everything, it was already after the third period, and students finally had time to chat.

Some people in the class noticed Tian Xue didn’t come and asked, “Hey, look at Tian Xue’s seat. Why didn’t she come to class today?”

“I don’t know. She’s usually so aloof. I’ve never talked to her, but Zhou Jie should know.”

“Yeah, yeah, Zhou Jie and she are friends. She must know.”

A gossipy boy already approached Zhou Yining and asked, “Zhou Jie, why didn’t Tian Xue come? Did she not finish her homework and not dare to come to school?”

In previous years, some students didn’t come to school on the first day because they didn’t finish their homework, so everyone didn’t find it strange.

Zhou Yining glanced at him coldly. “I don’t know.”

The boy had some tact. Seeing Zhou Yining’s dark circles and cold expression, he immediately backed off. “Let’s go, let’s go. Zhou Jie doesn’t know either. Maybe she’ll come tomorrow.”

Tian Xue was originally a marginal figure in the class. In the past one or two months, she only became slightly noticeable because of Zhou Yining.

Zhou Yining was really sleepy now. During the headteacher’s Chinese class earlier, she fell asleep with her chin propped up. Fortunately, Chen Yitong knew what had happened to her recently and didn’t criticize her in front of the whole class.

The fourth period was politics class. Before class, Chen Yitong came by. “Yining, don’t rush off after school. Come to the office to find me.”

“Okay,” Zhou Yining nodded.

The classmates were curious about why the headteacher wanted Zhou Yining, but seeing Chen Yitong’s kind expression, it probably wasn’t to trouble Zhou Yining.

After school, Zhou Yining went straight to the teachers’ office. “Teacher, you wanted to see me?”

Chen Yitong nodded with a smile. “Hmm, let’s go. I’ll take you to eat.”

“No need, Teacher. You go rest. I’ll go home,” Zhou Yining said. She really didn’t want to trouble Chen Yitong anymore. She naturally disliked troubling others.

“Come on, tell your family,” Chen Yitong said, pulling Zhou Yining out of the office.

Zhou Yining had no choice but sent a WeChat message to Zhao Xiuna, saying she was going out to eat with a classmate and wouldn’t be home for lunch. Then she muted her phone. Zhou Yining was very tired today and didn’t want to take Zhao Xiuna’s calls or deal with her.

“Let’s go, get in the car,” Chen Yitong said, getting into the car first.

Zhou Yining then sat in the passenger seat. She fastened her seatbelt, feeling a bit unsure of what to say.

Chen Yitong smiled at her. “Have you been too tired because of Tian Xue’s matter recently? I saw you seemed to fall asleep in class this morning.”

“It’s actually okay. This matter didn’t affect me much. I was working part-time during the summer, and I only finished my homework at three in the morning today,” Zhou Yining said honestly.

“Part-time?” Chen Yitong took a breath. With Zhou Yining’s good grades, if she had normal parents, they would definitely let her rest well during the holidays. Who would let a soon-to-be senior go out to tutor?

“If you’re short on money, you can tell me. You don’t have to push yourself so hard,” Chen Yitong said. Thinking of Zhou Yining’s personality, she added, “Just treat it as a loan from me. You can pay me back later.”

“No need, Teacher. I can’t always rely on others. People have to grow up. It’s just a matter of time. Given my family’s situation, instead of pinning hopes on my parents, I’d rather rely on myself,” Zhou Yining replied calmly. She was telling the truth. Unlike the original self, who would definitely feel sad about her family, she just felt annoyed.

Chen Yitong glanced at Zhou Yining from the corner of her eye. The girl spoke unhurriedly, without even a change in tone, calm to a frightening degree, as if her parents had hurt her so much that she no longer had any expectations of them.

“You’re still young. You shouldn’t put all the pressure on yourself. Don’t look at this car; it’s only worth a few hundred thousand. I bought it on purpose; it’s the cheapest of all my cars. I bought this car for commuting, otherwise, there’s too much gossip at school, and I find it troublesome. I’m not short on money. I can really lend you some first,” Chen Yitong continued, practically writing “I’m rich” on her face.

Zhou Yining felt touched but also found her headteacher a bit cute. Sometimes, it’s like this: your closest bl00d relatives might only want to scheme against you or even ruin you, but some friends or even strangers you meet might help you.

You could only say people have a thousand faces. Her luck wasn’t great; after crossing over, she felt malice from family and classmates, but similarly, she also met good people like Jiang Xianzhi, Zhong Yumeng, and Chen Yitong.

“No need, Teacher. If I really can’t hold on, I’ll ask you all for help. Don’t worry,” Zhou Yining said with a smile. Her bad state today was entirely because the holiday was too busy, plus she stayed up late last night finishing homework, leaving her mind numb.

“Alright, I’ll take you to eat something delicious to relax,” Chen Yitong said, feeling slightly relieved seeing her smile. She was really afraid Zhou Yining might get depressed. After all, with so many bad things happening, who could handle it well?

But Chen Yitong didn’t know that Zhou Yining also sued two people in court during her training.

Chen Yitong drove, and twenty minutes later, the car stopped beside an unremarkable alley.

Zhou Yining glanced at the nearby parked cars, all luxury vehicles. Chen Yitong’s Mercedes, worth less than three hundred thousand, was inconspicuous here.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Yitong asked, seeing Zhou Yining looking around.

“All the cars parked here are luxury cars. Is this restaurant famous?” Zhou Yining asked.

Chen Yitong opened the car door and got out, explaining while waiting for Zhou Yining, “It’s alright, just well-known in certain circles. Inside is a private kitchen restaurant. You can’t order dishes; they serve based on the day’s ingredients. Also, this place requires a reservation five days in advance, or you definitely won’t get a seat.”

Zhou Yining nodded, roughly understanding. It was a private kitchen restaurant in the circle of the wealthy.

“Let’s go. I’m hungry after half a day of work. You eat a lot too; you’re not even 18 yet, you might still grow taller.”

The two chatted casually and entered the restaurant. Immediately, a staff member came to greet them.

“Do you have a reservation?”

“Hmm, Friday’s number 21.”

“Are you Ms. Chen?”

“Yes.”

“This way, please.” The waiter led Chen Yitong and Zhou Yining to a private room on the second floor.

Zhou Yining looked around, feeling the decor was quite simple. The private rooms on the second floor were also very quiet, indeed suitable for discussing matters, but the food prices probably weren’t cheap.