Summer's Rose

Chapter 19: The Moment of Truth

"Mom, what did the police say?"

Hannah's mother gently rubbed Hannah’s head. "He've been caught. He’ll at least be sentenced to three years."

"No, I mean the person who saved me. How did the school handle it? Did they clear things up? Because of him saving me, many people at school have been criticizing him. I don’t mind if others know about this, but I can’t let him suffer for no reason. He saved me. How could I repay kindness with harm?"

"Hannah , your teacher has already sent me a message. The school will address the matter, but they'll also protect your privacy. The school will expose Lucius for his misconduct and his s****l assault attempt on an unnamed girl. Mr.Zhou only fought Lucius because he was trying to help that unnamed girl. The school will state that the reason you were so pressured was because of your relationship, and Lucius’s persistent emotional abuse, leading to your mental distress, which caused you to make such a mistake."

Hannah murmured to herself, "That's good, that’s good."

If the school didn’t hide the truth, she was fine with it.

"Hannah, I know I’ve put too much pressure on you. It’s my fault. In a few days, I’ll go to your school to handle your leave of absence and take you out for a trip."

Hannah's mother realized that she had put all her expectations onto Hannah, pushing her to study without ever asking about her feelings, her thoughts. But now, she understood. Academic performance was important, but it couldn’t compare to Hannah’s happiness.

Hannah shook her head. "I’m fine, Mom. I’ll go back to school after some time."

"Alright, if you want to go back, then go back."

...

Later that evening, the school quickly disseminated the notification to all the classes.

Miss Wee looked down at the students who were diligently working on their assignments, cleared her throat, and said, "Please stop what you’re doing. I have an announcement."

She raised a piece of paper. "This is a disciplinary notice. The situation is very serious, and the person involved is from our class."

It wasn’t uncommon for students to be reported for misconduct, and usually, the class teacher would read out the notice and warn the students not to repeat such behavior.

Brandon and Yu Xiao knew about the situation and exchanged glances as they looked at the paper in her hand.

"Student Lucius from Class 7 has exhibited improper behavior, including an attempted s****l assault, which severely violates both the law and the school’s rules, creating an extremely negative impact. After a unanimous decision by the school leaders, Lucius will be expelled."

The entire class of Class 7 was in shock.

Just earlier, they had been discussing how pitiful he seemed, and now this.

Miss Wee continued, "I’ve also heard some false rumors. Some say Hannah attempted suicide because of Zhou Nan, claiming that Zhou Nan had bullied her. These are all untrue statements. The truth is that if Zhou Nan and his two friends hadn’t stepped in, that girl would have been ruined."

"As for Hannah, she was under a lot of pressure due to her relationship with Lucius, which affected her academic performance. Coupled with the emotional abuse from Lucius, she suffered immense mental stress, which led to her making poor decisions. Let me just add, high school students are advised not to be in relationships, but I have one piece of advice for the girls in this class—choose your boyfriends wisely."

The students in Class 7 were restless, but because Miss Wee was standing at the front, they didn’t dare discuss it too loudly.

Meanwhile, in Class 17.

Miss Loh stood at the front of the classroom and addressed the students below. "I need to inform you about something."

The students immediately put down their pens and looked up at him in unison.

Miss Loh cleared her throat and said, "Student Lucius from Class 7 has exhibited improper behavior, including an attempted s****l assault. After unanimous decisions by the school leaders, he has been expelled."

"Whoa."

"Are you serious? Attempted s****l assault?"

"Just a few days ago, he was playing the victim, saying Zhou Nan was bullying him."

"This is disgusting."

The students started whispering amongst themselves, but Miss Loh raised his hand to silence them. "Let me finish."

Once the classroom fell silent, Miss Loh smiled faintly as he glanced at the boy sitting at the back, who remained expressionless. "I’d also like to commend three students—Zhou Nan, Yong Ming, and Hao Ming—for their bravery. If not for them, that girl’s life would have been ruined."

Yong Ming was furious. Just a few days ago, Lucius had been provoking Zhou Nan in the cafeteria, and after that, he acted like he was the innocent party.

Zhou Nan had no expression on his face as he listened to Miss Loh talk about the events, but when he heard the last part, he lowered his head again, focusing on his work.

Miss Loh continued, "But Lucius didn’t stop there. He was also dating Hannah and was emotionally manipulating her, constantly suppressing her. Later, he committed this heinous act, which caused great psychological harm to Hannah. It’s truly shocking."

"I told you, Zhou Nan wouldn’t have beaten him for no reason."

"Disgusting."

"Those assholes are really getting on my nerves. Just a few days ago, one of them in Class 7 was saying Zhou Nan pushed some girl to suicide. I wanted to punch him in the face and tell him the truth—that Lucius’s the one who’s the problem, not Zhou Nan."

"That girl must have suffered so much."

"I really want to slap those idiots who keep talking nonsense."

Yong Ming was furious, but Zhou Nan remained calm, not bothered by the accusations being thrown at him.

Miss Loh glanced around the room. The incident had shocked everyone. The students were still murmuring, and he knew they needed some time to digest the information.

She looked again at the boy in the back row. Zhou Nan, with his casual posture and indifferent expression, seemed to be completely unaffected by the commotion around him. He didn’t care much for what the others were saying, yet his fierce look and the faint scars on his face made him seem like someone who shouldn’t be provoked.

But despite his tough exterior, it was clear that Zhou Nan wasn’t a bad person.

Yong Ming turned to Zhou Nan and said, "That bastard Lucius has finally been exposed. I’m so glad. A few days ago, I almost lost it when people were talking nonsense about you."

Zhou Nan’s voice was calm. "I don’t care what they say about me."

Yong Ming knew Zhou Nan didn’t care, but hearing people talk about Zhou Nan like that still made him angry.

Zhou Nan was fiddling with his phone, his attention elsewhere, when a voice from beside him called his name.

He looked up at the girl. "What’s up?"

"This story doesn’t seem like what the school is saying, does it?" Wen said seriously, her eyes fixed on him.

Zhou Nan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Too many gaps in the story," Wen said, her expression thoughtful. "But I know the school is just trying to protect her."

Zhou Nan smiled faintly. "You’re pretty smart."

He had forgotten that the diligent student in front of him had once been one of the school’s top students.