Summer's Rose

Chapter 17: Being Evasive isn't a good student

Zhou Nan took out his phone casually, flipping it open and tapping a few buttons. He hit play on the audio recording that had been prepped and set it on the table. A cold, sharp voice came through the speakers.

“You know what you’re doing today, right?”

The next voice was unmistakably Yong Ming’s, filled with rage. “What the f**k are you pretending to be? You know this is a crime? It’s attempted r**e,you fool. Do you even get that? And taking photos of an innocent girl? Are you even a man? You're disgusting.”

Then came Lucius’s voice, a lot more desperate and frantic than it had been in person. “"I was wrong. Sorry! I shouldn’t have taken those photos, and I shouldn’t have thought about doing something so horrible to her. Please, since nothing actually happened, let me go this time!"”

Zhou Nan lean back in his chair, his face emotionless as the voices played out in the room. He didn’t react, but he knew this was the moment that would break Lucius’s facade. As the recording continued, Hannah's voice became audible as well, asking the girl if she wanted to call the police. But before they could continue, there was a shift in the room’s energy as the police officer took over the questioning.

The woman officer was sharp, her short hair framing a face that had seen plenty of situations like this one. “You told us earlier that you had never interacted with this girl before. But this recording paints a different picture. What’s going on here?”

Lucius froze, his face going pale. He gripped his hands tightly, trying to keep his composure. “I—I was just coerced into saying that stuff. I never meant it. Those guys at school, they’re always starting fights and bullying people. They threatened me. You have to believe me. I’m innocent, officer.”

Yong Ming, who’d been standing off to the side, clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles were turning white. His gaze was so intense, it seemed like it could cut through glass. “You’re not innocent, Liu. You’re just a coward.”

Zhou Nan, however, stayed calm. He leaned back slightly in his chair and spoke up, his voice low and steady. “If I remember right, the equipment room has cameras installed.”

“Cameras?” The female officer looked surprised, her gaze shifting to the male officer standing by her side.

Zhou Nan nodded. “Yeah. The school installed them after some tools went missing. They’re in a pretty hidden spot. Not many people know about them.”

The officer didn’t waste any time. “Get the footage. Now.”

Lucius’s expression shifted to one of panic as he realized the jig was up. He looked around wildly before muttering, “No, wait—I admit it. I did it. I—” He was interrupted by the officer’s firm voice.

Before the officer could say anything further, Lucius blurted out, “I admit everything. Just don’t check the footage.”

The officer looked at him, her eyes narrowing. “Why don’t you tell us why, then?”

Lucius’s voice hardened, an edge of bitterness creeping in. “Why? Because I was good to her, okay? I treated her right, and she just threw me away like I was nothing. She told me to stay out of her life and act like I didn’t matter. But I don’t care about that. I don’t care what she thinks. She played with my feelings and made me look stupid in front of everyone.”

Zhou Nan’s voice was calm but cutting, as if he were speaking to someone who should’ve known better. “Feelings are meant to be mutual. If she doesn’t feel the same, you don’t get to force things. Relationships are about respect, not control.”

Yong Ming, still bristling with anger, took a step forward, his voice loud and unyielding. “Exactly. You don’t get to just do whatever you want with someone else’s life, man. No one owes you anything. Especially not when you’re this much of a creep.”

The female officer gave a nod. “You should’ve thought about that before you decided to cross a line. You know there are serious consequences for what you’ve done, right?”

Lucius’s expression was now one of defeat, as though the weight of his actions had finally sunk in. He was done arguing. The truth was out.

“Why did you even do it?” the officer asked, her tone softening for a moment, almost as if she were trying to understand what had driven him to this point.

Lucius clenched his jaw. “I thought… maybe if I just pushed hard enough, I could make her see that I was the right one for her. I was wrong, okay? I see that now.”

Yong Ming let out a long breath, shaking his head in disbelief. “Man, you had a good future. Good grades, a chance at a good school, and you threw it all away for what? Some stupid crush that turned into this mess?”

Zhou Nan, ever the calm presence, simply looked at Lucius with a mixture of disappointment and clarity. “Sometimes we screw up. But it’s how we deal with the mess that matters. You’ve got a long road ahead of you.”

The officer turned to her colleagues, giving them a signal to proceed. “We’ll take it from here,” she said. “Get him processed and ready for the legal steps. He’s looking at at least three years. Maybe more.”

Zhou Nan stood up slowly, his expression unchanged. Yong Ming followed him to the door. “Hey, man,” he said, his voice low. “You’ve got to be kidding. You really just went and did that to someone, huh?”

Zhou Nan gave a small shrug. “He messed up. But I don’t waste time on things I can’t fix.”

On the way back, Yong Ming couldn’t help but ask, “Bro, when did the equipment room get cameras? I didn’t even know about that.”

Zhou Nan let out a soft chuckle. “There are no cameras.”

Yong Ming stopped in his tracks. “Wait, what? You lied to him?”

Zhou Nan glanced over his shoulder with a slight grin. “Yeah, I did. He was about to c***k anyway. No need to make things easy for him.”

“Damn, Zhou Nan. You’re cold, but you’re smart as hell.” Yong Ming couldn’t help but laugh, slapping his friend on the back.

Zhou Nan didn’t respond, just kept walking ahead, a thoughtful look on his face.

Back at school, the news spread like wildfire. Students from Class 17 couldn’t stop talking about what had happened. Some speculated wildly, throwing out every kind of theory.

“Yo, you think the girl went and killed herself because of what happened with Zhou Nan?”

“Are you for real? What’s Zhou Nan got to do with it?”

“I heard she couldn’t handle Zhou Nan rejecting her and just snapped.”

“Shut up. You really think she’d do that for some guy? Come on.”

One particularly loud voice interrupted the murmurs. “You guys got way too much time on your hands. Why don’t you go write a damn novel instead?”

The chatter didn’t die down. In fact, it only grew louder as the day went on.

Zhou Nan walked into class, his expression unreadable. All eyes in the room snapped to him. He was used to the attention by now. He didn’t acknowledge the whispers, just made his way to his seat.

Yong Ming, ever the blunt one, rolled his eyes and shouted across the room. “Why don’t you guys just ask Zhou Nan yourself instead of coming to me with all this gossip?”

The room fell silent for a beat before someone spoke up. “Yo, man, did you hear? Some of the people in Class 7 are saying Zhou Nan caused that girl to freak out and try to kill herself.”

Zhou Nan didn’t even blink. “And? What do you want me to do about it?”

Yong Ming shrugged. “You’ve got a reputation for being a cold dude, Zhou Nan. But even you can’t control what these idiots say.”

Zhou Nan leaned back in his chair, a smug grin creeping onto his face. “Let them talk. I don’t live in their heads.”

Meanwhile, Wen, who had witnessed the scene with Lucius earlier, found herself lost in thought. She’d seen the girl before, just a few days ago, offering a helping hand when she seemed unwell. The entire situation left a knot in her stomach.

Yong Ming leaned over and whispered to Zhou Nan, “Hey, can we tell people about what happened with Lucius? I mean, it’s not like anyone is going to keep quiet.”

Zhou Nan’s eyes met his. “We leave that up to the school and the cops. If they want the truth out, they’ll do it.”

Wen overheard their conversation and felt an odd stirring in her chest. She turned to Zhou Nan, who was now staring out the window, a faint smirk on his face. "Want to know?"

Wen heard a sudden voice from beside her and turned her head to meet Zhou Nan’s gaze, which was laced with a hint of teasing. She shook her head. "I don't want to know."

"Being evasive isn't the behavior of a good student."

"I never said I was a good student."

Zhou Nan chuckled lightly, his dark eyes filled with amusement, making him seem less intimidating. "So you're admitting that you're being evasive."

Wen only then realized she had been caught in his trap. She pursed her lips and stared at him for a while before shaking her head. "No, I'm not."

Zhou Nan looked at her clear eyes. "I'm not teasing you anymore. Go ahead and study."

Her gaze lingered on him, sensing something deeper beneath his cool demeanor. "You've got your own way of handling things," she said. "But just remember, you don’t have to be this cold all the time."

Zhou Nan smiled faintly, his eyes glinting with a teasing challenge. "Who says I’m cold-blooded?" he asked, almost amused.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class, and everyone settled down. Wen, feeling a mix of curiosity and uncertainty, couldn’t help but think that Zhou Nan was a lot more complicated than he let on. Though she would never admit it aloud, a part of her was drawn to his quiet strength and his ability to stay unfazed when everything around him seemed chaotic.

She glanced back at the chalkboard, but her mind kept wandering, wondering just what was going on in his head.