Unbearable - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: “But There’s Something More Worth Being Happy About.”

 

The first night of the school anniversary ended perfectly. From the auditorium to the entire campus, praise echoed everywhere. The school’s official WeChat account published a pre-written article, the forums were full of discussions and photos from the performances, and social media had even more pictures—some not even retouched.

 

All filled with awe and admiration.

 

But in the security control room, the atmosphere was tense.

 

From the school leaders to the grade director, the class advisors, the discipline director, and the head of security—all stood scattered across the room, brows furrowed as they stared at a particular screen.

 

The footage showed Class A’s classroom, which Yu Wei was very familiar with.

 

However, the camera was positioned in the front corner of the room, so the angle made it look a bit unfamiliar.

 

The video was rewound to the second break in the afternoon. It showed Yu Wei’s classmate, Yu Wei, walking over to her desk and saying a few words. Then, the two of them left together.

 

From a third-party perspective, the two didn’t appear particularly close. Unlike other girls walking arm-in-arm, chatting and laughing, they kept their distance and exited the room one after the other.

 

The video was fast-forwarded, and the people in the room watched the now-empty back row.

 

Students came and went, fewer and fewer over time, until the classroom was completely deserted.

 

“Seems like the students were really eager to take part in the school anniversary.”

 

The vice principal’s gentle voice broke the silence, and the grade director quickly followed up, “They’re responding to the school’s call—balancing work and rest.”

 

Wen Xiang responded half-heartedly, eyes locked on the screen.

 

The timestamp on the top right showed it was already past the start of the evening performance. The classroom was dark with the lights off, and no one had entered for quite some time.

 

Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a shadow appeared by the back door—someone hunched over, back to the camera, inching along the wall and crawling under a desk.

 

“Zoom in!”

 

The footage was enlarged, but the view was obstructed by desks and storage boxes under the table. Once the person crawled under, their movements became even harder to see.

 

They only managed to catch a glimpse of Yu Wei’s backpack being pulled away and shoved back after a few seconds.

 

Trying to avoid being seen by the camera, the person crawled back out from under the desk.

 

Aside from their short hair and build, nothing else could be seen.

 

The footage froze on the back door of the pitch-black classroom. Wen Xiang narrowed her eyes at the screen, hands clenched tight.

 

That silhouette… looked really familiar…

 

“We can’t identify the student based on this alone,” the grade director frowned.

 

Yu Wei suddenly looked up. “What about the hallway cameras?”

 

She didn’t believe someone could make it all the way from the stairs to the classroom without ever revealing their face.

 

“Don’t get too emotional, Yu Wei.” The vice principal tried to soothe her but didn’t ask anyone to pull other surveillance footage. He simply continued in a gentle tone, “Even if we check other footage, we may not catch this student on camera. And even if we did, without direct evidence of them damaging the skates, we can only say they’re a suspect—we can’t make accusations lightly.”

 

Yu Wei bit her lip, her hand clenched at her side—until Yu Wei reached over and held it.

 

Yu Wei turned to the vice principal. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

 

“I think you kids may be overreacting a little,” he said with a soft smile, pulling out a chair. “Don’t be so tense—let’s sit down and talk.”

 

The chair was placed right next to Yu Wei.

 

Yu Wei hesitated, then bit her lip and moved closer to Yu Wei.

 

A few other teachers wanted to speak, but the vice principal raised his hand to stop them. Still calm and composed, he continued, “Tonight’s performance avoided a crisis and was even more stunning as a result. Both school and district leaders praised it highly. As expected of a national champion and the apple of Mr. Yu’s eye. Whether this was intentional or accidental, the incident could be made big or small. If it’s blown out of proportion, outsiders might not see how good your program was and instead start spreading conspiracy theories. If a good thing turns bad, it won’t reflect well on you either.”

 

Yu Wei frowned.

 

She understood the subtext—the vice principal was implying Yu Wei wasn’t just any student. But still…

 

“Mr. Yu doesn’t know about this yet, does he?” The vice principal looked at Yu Wei with what seemed like genuine concern. “He and Director Ding are both very busy, always flying around with so many companies to manage. They already have enough on their plates. This small matter should be handled by the school. We’ll make sure you’re satisfied with the outcome!”

 

Yu Wei paused. She hadn’t told Ding Qing, and certainly hadn’t contacted Yu Jingcheng.

 

She forgot.

 

So that was it? The school clearly wanted to downplay the situation—they wouldn’t even let them view the hallway footage. Any so-called ‘resolution’ would likely be nothing more than an internal warning.

 

And that’s supposed to be justice?

 

Suddenly, Yu Wei stepped in front of her and spoke in a cold voice that cut through the buzz of the machines.

 

“I think you misunderstood something. A stellar performance is stellar on its own—it doesn’t get diminished by a few rumors. Everyone gets talked about. I’m no exception, and I don’t care.” Her eyes lifted slightly, sweeping across the room before resting on the vice principal. “But the one whose skates were sabotaged is me. You should be talking to me.”

 

Silence filled the control room for a moment.

 

Yu Wei was stunned, looking up at her—her figure outlined by the tight performance suit. Her shoulders weren’t broad, looked slender and even fragile.

 

But Yu Wei’s eyes burned suddenly, and she lowered her head.

 

“We will definitely get to the bottom of this,” Wen Xiang said firmly, stepping out from behind the grade director. “Our classroom is uniquely placed—the stairs to the right only lead to our class. And since the performance had already started, there shouldn’t have been many students returning to classrooms…”

 

“Ms. Wen!” The discipline director shot her a warning look.

 

He then turned to Yu Wei, face stern. “You didn’t take the entrance exam to get into our school, did you? And yet you were placed directly into our top class. Do you really deserve it? Young people need to learn to consider consequences.”

 

Yu Wei’s admission had always been controversial. On the forums, people had speculated that Yu’s family spent a large sum to ‘sponsor’ the school and pull strings to place her in the same class as Yu Jingcheng’s daughter. They said she had socialization issues. Now the ‘companion’ student is getting arrogant?

 

“I didn’t take the entrance exam,” Yu Wei admitted, face blank, her tone naturally cold and a bit mocking. “Then on what basis did your prestigious school accept me?”

 

The director was choked silent, face dark.

 

“Let’s all calm down,” the vice principal interjected, chiding the director. “Yu Wei was admitted as a special talent. Review the files properly when you get back.”

 

He sighed and turned to Yu Wei again. “It was a misunderstanding. We rushed in, thinking it was Yu Wei’s skates that were damaged. Let’s talk this out properly. The school is always student-centered—we’ll definitely stand up for you both, you have our word.”

 

Then he asked, “So, how do you want to handle this?”

 

Yu Wei lowered her gaze.

 

She didn’t care about rumors or speculation, but Yu Wei… even if she had nothing to do with it, people would still inevitably talk about her.

 

“According to school policy—”

 

“I called the police.”

 

Two voices overlapped.

 

Yu Wei bit her lip and tightened her grip on her phone. She looked up at Yu Wei. “This time I really did.”

 

She had saved the officer’s contact info from last time. While Wen Xiang was talking and drawing attention, she had quietly sent a message.

 

The room was silent for several seconds—no one spoke.

 

Finally, the grade director frowned. “You called the police over something like this…?”

 

“It’s necessary,” the vice principal nodded with a stiff smile. “It’s upsetting, yes. This time we were lucky to find out, but what about next time? To prevent this from happening again, the school supports a serious investigation.”

 

His attitude seemed unchanged, but the meaning behind his words had clearly reversed.

 

Yu Wei’s eyes widened in disbelief.

 

The local station wasn’t far, and soon an officer on the night shift arrived. Seeing Yu Wei, he greeted, “I happen to be on duty tonight.”

 

The school immediately changed its tone, enthusiastically cooperating to pull the footage. Before long, they identified the person who entered the classroom—it was a student from Class A, Ding Yangze.

 

Yu Wei’s damaged skates were also handed over. Before leaving, the officer turned back to Yu Wei and said, “Come by the station tomorrow. We’ve made progress on that previous extortion case.”

 

Progress? Yu Wei was dazed. Wasn’t that case already closed?

 

As the group exited the building, they saw their Class A classmates—previously shooed away by school leaders—still milling about outside, trying to look casual while clearly waiting for updates. When they saw Yu Wei, Cheng Miao exaggeratedly winked at her.

 

“Ms. Wen, your class is excellent at studying, but maybe we should work on moral education too,” the vice principal said pointedly before leaving.

 

Every student turned to glare at his retreating back until he disappeared.

 

“Xiang-jie…” Yu Wei said softly.

 

“Feeling wronged?” Wen Xiang looked at her.

 

Yu Wei shook her head.

 

“That’s good.” Wen Xiang gave a helpless smile. “School is a microcosm of society. Consider this your early introduction to its darker side. But this—this is just a tiny ink spot in a beautiful world. In the span of your life, it’s nothing.”

 

“Thank you, Xiang-jie.” Yu Wei bit her lip and lowered her head. “Sorry for causing you trouble.”

 

As their class advisor, Wen Xiang was young and relatively inexperienced. Speaking out like that in front of senior staff would surely bring her trouble later.

 

“You didn’t cause any trouble. It wasn’t even your fault.” Wen Xiang laughed—she carried a carefree air, quite different from how she acted in class. “Alright, it’s late. Go rest.”

 

“Okay, Xiang-jie!”

 

“Yes, Xiang-jie!”

 

A chorus of students noisily “sent her off,” joking that she was returning to the palace. Then they turned back to Yu Wei.

 

“What happened? Why were the police here? Did they find out who did it?”

 

Everyone agreed it wasn’t a minor issue and had stayed behind to wait. They bombarded her with questions. Did the school try to cover it up?

 

Yu Wei couldn’t get a word in and didn’t know if she should say anything.

 

“We called the police. There should be results in a couple of days,” Yu Wei’s voice was less cold than usual as she stood beside Yu Wei, shielding her from the night wind.

 

Everyone guessed what had happened, cursed whoever was behind it, and assumed it must have been jealousy from another class.

 

It was getting late, so they all scattered.

 

Yu Wei was still wearing the green performance dress, with her school jacket over it. Her calves felt cold in the breeze.

 

Yu Wei looked down at her. “The dress isn’t comfortable?”

 

“Not really,” Yu Wei murmured.

 

It was quite comfortable actually. The breeze made the hem brush softly against her legs—cool and silky.

 

She thought for a moment, then looked down at the hem swaying in the wind. “It just feels… a bit strange.”

 

“Do you dislike it?” Yu Wei asked.

 

They walked from the school gate to the road. The damp night wind whispered through the trees, brushing past the traffic and pedestrians, tugging gently at her skirt.

 

Yu Wei looked down at the fluttering hem. Under the dim streetlights, the green fabric shimmered in waves of different shades.

 

“No… I don’t dislike it.”

 

Her voice was soft. After a pause, she asked Yu Wei, “Why didn’t you get mad today?”

 

She didn’t dislike the dress—but it was her first time wearing one.

 

And the first one she wore… was hers.

 

Yu Wei felt something stir inside. She was already planning which colors and styles she might buy for her next. Then, Yu Wei’s sudden question brought her back.

 

“Mad?” Yu Wei repeated.

 

Yu Wei looked up at her. “Aren’t you mad?”

 

She still wore her glasses, eyes wide behind the lenses, reflecting the warm light and a faint image of Yu Wei’s faintly smiling lips.

 

“I am,” Yu Wei said, glancing away. “But something else made me happier.”

 

Yu Wei didn’t notice the blush rising to Yu Wei’s ears. After a long moment, she brightened with realization, “Right! The performance was amazing today!”

 

Yu Wei’s smile faded slightly.

 

Why did her mood suddenly drop again? Yu Wei glanced over twice, thinking: she says that, but she must still feel terrible inside.

 

Yu Wei lowered her eyes. Suddenly, her hand grew warm.

 

She looked down—Yu Wei had slipped her hand out from her sleeve and gently grasped hers, giving it a light shake.

 

“Don’t be sad, okay?”