Shu Ning didn’t manage to get the money to Yin Mingzheng, but he hadn’t given up. He gave Mrs. Cai a call to let her know that he was going to meet up with a couple of classmates tonight. However, he was actually squatting in the stairwell of their building, lying in wait.

The villain had gone upstairs first. Shu Ning squatted in the stairwell until his feet went numb. It was about 8:30 PM when he saw Zhou Juan who was heading home after work.

Zhou Juan had a tired look on her face. A few strands of hair fell from her pulled-back hair. Anyone who saw her would have sympathy for such a hard-working woman, but Shu Ning couldn’t seem to work up any pity for her.

He stopped Zhou Juan. His expression was both polite and distant.

Zhou Juan was caught by surprise when she saw him. She recognized him as the boy from the beer bottle incident. She immediately became nervous and rushed to ask, “What’s wrong? Did Mingzheng cause trouble again? I apologize to you on his behalf…”

Shu Ning frowned and interrupted her, “I haven’t even said anything. What are you apologizing for?”

Zhou Juan said awkwardly, “I thought Mingzheng had gotten into trouble again. He has been a handful since he was young, always stirring up trouble…”

Shu Ning couldn’t listen to this anymore. “Mrs. Zhou, you might not remember it anymore, but I remember it very clearly. When I was four years old, that one time at the community playground, it was obviously the little fatty who pushed Yin Mingzheng first, but you assumed it was Yin Mingzheng’s fault without even asking about the situation. You even forced him to apologize.”

Zhou Juan was taken aback.

Shu Ning didn’t care whether she was uncomfortable or not, and continued, “Whenever Yin Mingzheng has a disagreement with someone, you never ask who’s right or wrong, you always force him to apologize. What kind of a mother are you?”

Shu Ning stared into Zhou Juan’s increasingly uneasy eyes and spoke word by word, “No mother would do this. Sometimes, I feel like you’re not Yin Mingzheng’s real mother”

Zhou Juan’s face instantly paled, and her pupils widened. It was only for a short moment, but Shu Ning noticed it.

He couldn’t help but sneer internally.

Sure enough, she’s got a guilty conscience.

The novel said that Zhou Juan was very kind to Yin Mingzheng. When Yin Mingzheng was beaten, she would comfort him. She was the one who supported him to go to school. She looked like a good mother on the surface, but would a real mother hide in the background and let her husband beat her child? Would a real mother force her child to apologize when he’s done nothing wrong? Would a real mother push her son out to take the blame for something he never did?

What a joke!

Zhou Juan loved him on the surface, but she knew better than anyone that Yin Mingzheng was not her biological son. Her love was superficial! Fake! A goddamn performance!

It’s as if she wanted to shout to the whole world: Look, look at how good I am towards him! So, Yin Mingzheng, even after the truth is exposed, you can’t mistreat me.

After recognizing Zhou Juan’s true nature, Shu Ning was even more disgusted.

“Did you know that Yin Mingzheng doesn’t have enough money to buy lunch? He is only fourteen years old. You’re only giving him two meals a day?” Shu Ning’s voice was icy, “Our homeroom teacher knows that I live in the same building as him. She specifically told me to ask you.”

The homeroom teacher was like a handy little tool. Whenever he needed a good excuse, he could pull out the homeroom teacher card.

“He doesn’t have money to eat?” Zhou Juan rushed to explain herself, “How is that possible? I did give him money… Maybe I didn’t give him enough money, and he spent it on something else. Our financial situation isn’t very good, and I don’t make very much. Ah Mingzheng, my Mingzheng, he’s had a hard time…”

The more Zhou Juan spoke, the more emotional she became. She even put her face in her hands and started crying.

The neighbors passing by stared at her curiously.

Shu Ning felt like he had a headache when he saw her crying. He said, “The homeroom teacher told me that there’s someone willing to provide disadvantaged students with financial aid. Apparently, they took a liking to Yin Mingzheng, and they were wondering if you’re willing to accept donations?”

Zhou Juan wiped away her tears and happily responded, “There’s something like that? Of course, of course we’re willing!”

Shu Ning said with a blank face, “I am in charge of the donations for our class. Everything regarding the donations will be organized through me. Give me your phone number.”

Zhou Juan stared at him hesitantly.

Shu Ning rolled his eyes, “Do you think I actually want your phone number or something?”

Embarrassed, Zhou Juan finally gave him her phone number.

Shu Ning handed her the two one-hundred yuan bills that he had on him. He also handed her a paper slip for her to sign.

The paper slip read: Yin Mingzheng’s guardian, Zhou Juan, has received a donation of two hundred yuan.

Zhou Juan was disappointed and asked, “Only two hundred?”

Shu Ning replied, “This is for his lunch money. I’m only allowed to give out two hundred yuan at a time. Sign it quickly.”

If he gave them too much, it would probably all end up in Zhou Juan and Yin Qiang’s pockets. Did she think he was stupid?

Zhou Juan said, “Oh.”  Then, she picked up the pen and signed her name carefully.

The purpose of the paper slip was very simple. Shu Ning was afraid that Zhou Juan would take the money for herself. This way, she would at least think twice before doing something she’s not supposed to.

“The donor will visit regularly to send me the donations. I’m Yin Mingzheng’s seatmate, so I’ll let him know what the situation is. Make sure you don’t use the money for other things. If you misuse the donations, the donor will stop sending them.”

Zhou Juan smiled and said, “I understand, don’t worry. I’ll give it to him as soon as I get home.”

“Also, Yin Mingzheng has a strong sense of pride. Mrs. Zhou, it’s probably best if you don’t talk about the donations to him.”

Zhou Juan readily agreed.

Of course she was willing to agree. This way, she could take credit for everything without spending a single cent of her own money.

Shu Ning put the paper slip away, and turned around to go home. When he got home, he realized that he hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

However, he lied to Mrs. Cai and said that he would eat dinner with his classmates.  He didn’t dare heat up food in the kitchen and expose himself, so he grabbed a few rice crackers to stave off his hunger for now.

The next day at school, Shu Ning waited anxiously. When the last morning class was over, he lingered around on purpose and kept peeking at the person next to him.

The other students in the classroom headed out in twos and threes. A couple of friends invited Shu Ning to go eat lunch together, so Shu Ning had no choice but to get up and leave with them. Once he reached the classroom door, he finally saw the villain get up from his desk and secretly let out a sigh of relief.

There was only one cafeteria in the entire school. The group of boys lined up to get their food and looked for a table to sit down at.

Shu Ning looked around absentmindedly.

“…Hey, Shu Ning, what are you looking at?” Long Qiao said a little unhappily, “Are you listening to me?”

Shu Ning came back to his senses and replied halfheartedly, “Yes, yes, yes.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the little villain holding a metal lunch tray. Reassured, his face finally revealed a bit of a smile.

Wang Shenshen clicked his tongue, “Tsk. Lately, I’ve been seeing Shu Ning meeting up with Cheng Xiaoyu in private. I bet he’s looking at Cheng Xiaoyu, right?”

“Really?” Long Qiao was discontent, “Hey! You can’t go after your friend’s crush! I liked Cheng Xiaoyu first. Shu Ning, you’re not being fair.”

Shu Ning hurriedly gave one of his drumsticks to Long Qiao and reassured him, “I don’t feel that way about Cheng Xiaoyu, really.”

“Really?” Long Qiao picked up the drumstick, unbelieving.

Shu Ning quipped, “Didn’t they say that I’m gay, that I like guys? Don’t you all know this by now?”

The group chuckled at the joke.

Long Qiao was relieved and happily ate the drumstick. “That’s more like it.”

“Yo, look.” Wang Shenshen suddenly gave them a look. “Does that girl not know about Yin Mingzheng’s reputation? Can’t believe she has the guts to go up to him.”

Shu Ning turned his head and saw a girl sitting next to Yin Mingzheng. She also had dyed yellow hair, sporting a scene girlTranslator’s NoteSha ma te, visual kei, scene sort of hairstyle. kind of style.

“You know, Yin Mingzheng’s looks aren’t bad. It’s only natural that they’ll like him if they don’t know anything about him.”

“Tch, birds of a feather flock together. I heard that that girl will do it with anyone. She’s a perfect match for the school bully.”

The boys burst into laughter.

Suddenly, something slammed against the table.

The two boys were startled and looked at Shu Ning at the same time.

“What? What’s wrong?” Long Qiao asked cautiously.

Shu Ning’s face was cold. He called them out through gritted teeth, “How can you say something like that about a girl?”

The two boys looked at each other in dismay.

Wang Shenshen stuttered, “I just…happened to hear about it. Just look at her hair…”

“What’s wrong with dying your hair? What, if you dye your hair, you’re a slut? If you dye your hair, you’re a bully?” Shu Ning asked.

The two boys were speechless.

“Hey, Shu Ning, don’t be like this. Why are you getting upset over nothing…”

“I’ll tell you right now. When I get the gauze removed, I’m gonna dye my hair yellow too.” Shu Ning decided.

“Pfft—” Long Qiao was drinking water and accidentally sprayed it all onto Wang Shenshen’s face.

Shu Ning could’ve gotten the gauze removed a long time ago. However, Mrs. Cai was afraid that her baby’s head wouldn’t be able to heal well, so she had been putting it off.

When Shu Ning went home, he begged her to take him to the hospital to get the gauze removed. After coaxing and pestering her, Mrs. Cai finally agreed to take him to the hospital the very next weekend.

Shu Ning was looking forward to it a lot.

In the next few days, Shu Ning would check every day whether or not the villain ate lunch or not. When he came to the conclusion that he was, in fact, eating lunch, Shu Ning felt relieved.

He planned on giving Zhou Juan the lunch money once a week.

On the weekend, Mrs. Cai brought Shu Ning to the hospital to remove the gauze. After it was removed, Shu Ning secretly asked the doctor if it was okay for him to dye his hair.

The doctor took a look at his wound and didn’t outright refuse. The doctor only said that it was best not to dye it.

Generally speaking, this meant that it was okay to dye his hair, so Shu Ning was relieved.

As soon as they left the hospital, Shu Ning sent Mrs. Cai away and found a hairdresser to dye his hair.

The hairdresser recommended a milder hair dye, and Shu Ning agreed.

A few hours later, a handsome, sunny, and blond boy appeared in the mirror.

The blond hair matched his complexion very well. Shu Ning wasn’t naturally pale, but the blond hair made his skin seem paler in comparison.

What’s more, he discovered that blond hair seemed to suit him very well. He thought he would look cringey or lame, but it actually turned out really nice.

Then, he went home and was beaten by Mrs. Cai on the spot.

When Papa Shu came home and saw his blond hair, Shu Ning was once again double-teamed by the two of them.

In the end, Shu Ning had to escape to his room in order to save his life.

The next day, Shu Ning apologized for a long time before he finally managed to coax Mrs. Cai and Papa Shu. What’s done was done, so Mrs. Cai and Papa Shu reluctantly spared him.

On Monday, Shu Ning walked into class with a head full of blond hair. Everyone in the classroom was shocked.

“Shu Ning, what the hell happened to you?” Long Qiao walked up to him in disbelief and reached out to touch his yellow hair. “Y-you really dyed it?”

Shu Ning looked around and boasted, “I’m blond and proud.”

Then, the blond and proud Shu Ning was dragged off to the office and questioned by the homeroom teacher.

“Why did you dye your hair?” The homeroom teacher was heartbroken, as if Shu Ning had committed some heinous crime. Then, she started muttering to herself, “Sure enough, I shouldn’t have put you next to Yin Mingzheng. Now look at you, you’ve been led astray…”

Seeing that the blame had been shifted towards Yin Mingzheng, Shu Ning rushed to deny, “Mrs. Li, you shouldn’t say that.”

The homeroom teacher raised her eyebrows, and her eyes were like knives. Her expression was guarded, as if she had already placed Shu Ning among the “bad students” in her heart.

Shu Ning didn’t want to offend the homeroom teacher. If he got on her bad side, it would make a lot of things he needed to do more difficult in the future, so he softened his attitude and said, “Ma’am, hair color doesn’t really determine whether a student is good or bad. I want to prove that, even if I dye my hair, I’m still a good student.”

“Oh?” The homeroom teacher crossed her arms, “How are you going to prove it?”

“I’ll study hard and get good grades on our exams.”

The head teacher responded, “Alright, you can prove it to me on your next exam, but you have to dye your hair back to its natural color.”

Shu Ning put on a sad face, “Mrs. Li, my injury hasn’t completely healed yet. It was risky enough to dye it once. If I dye it again, it might get infected.”

The head teacher glared at him for a while. She rebuked him, “Then why’d you dye your hair in the first place?”

Shu Ning explained, “A couple days ago, I heard someone say that people with dyed hair are all bad students. The girls are sluts, and the boys are bullies. I’m so angry. I don’t think people should think like that.”

The homeroom teacher’s face became serious.

“Yin Mingzheng’s a good classmate. He shouldn’t be discriminated against just because of his hair.”

The head teacher’s face softened, “You don’t have to worry so much about Yin Mingzheng…”

Shu Ning continued, “Last time, I was provoked by someone else and falsely accused Yin Mingzheng. That was my fault. I want to be friends with him and get to know him better.”

In the end, the homeroom teacher was soft hearted. She sighed and relented, “Sigh, alright.”

After saying that, she waved her hand, shooing him away.

Seeing that she wasn’t going to force him to dye his hair back, Shu Ning happily slipped out of the office.

When he got back to his desk, the little villain next to him stared at him with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Shu Ning ran a hand through his blond hair. He wanted to get closer to Yin Mingzheng, so he grinned and said, “I’m just like you now.”

In the future, if anyone dared to say that students with dyed hair were bad students, he could confidently refute them. He also needed to come out with good grades on their exams. Then, he can prove that dyed hair has nothing to do with grades and has nothing to do with bad students.

He’s going to let everyone know that they can stop staring at the little villain’s dyed yellow hair and discriminating against him for it.

“Oh?” The little villain raised his eyebrows, “You’re copying me?”

Shu Ning answered with another question, “Can’t I?”

The little villain scoffed and said, “We are not the same.”