The 99th Divorce

The sight of Li Jianyue caught Quan Jingyi by surprise. He was startled for a moment. He tried to hide the slap mark on his face by turning his face slightly.

Quan Jingyi pretended that he had not seen Li Jianyue. He turned his head back and walked outside.

“Quan Jingyi.” Li Jianyue called out to him. “Did you not explain what had happened clearly? The headteacher doesn’t know the situation that well. I can be a witness for you because obviously, you weren’t the one who started the trouble.”

Quan Jingyi stopped in his tracks. He may or may not have snorted somewhat disdainfully. “No need,” he said airily.

How unconcerned and apathetic those few words sounded. It seemed as though Quan Jingyi didn’t care at all.

Li Jianyue felt a little uncomfortable staring at his back. From the looks of it, he was over-developed for someone of high-school age.

She turned, entered the homeroom teacher’s office, and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” said the homeroom teacher.

Li Jianyue opened the door cautiously and walked in. In the room were her homeroom teacher, a couple, and a sophisticated-looking middle-aged man.

The couple seemed very young. Standing in front of the couple was the male classmate who had given what he said was his friend’s love letter yesterday.

The male student’s eyes were red. Even his pair of glasses couldn’t conceal that.

When he saw Li Jianyue, he lowered his head. Somewhat timidly, he crossed his hands.

When the boy’s parents saw Li Jianyue, they took a second look. His father said, “This female classmate looks familiar. I think I have seen her somewhere before.” He asked Li Jianyue, “What is your father’s name?”

That question had been asked of Li Jianyue many times before. “Hello uncle, my father is Li Sicheng.”

Her answer was: My father is Li Sicheng.

Instead of saying: My father’s name is Li Sicheng.

Although the two sentences differed only by a single word, their meaning was a whole lot different.

On hearing this, the well-mannered, middle-aged man discreetly looked at her up and down. “It turns out you’re Mr. Li’s daughter. You look very much like your mother.”

Li Jianyue smiled.

The homeroom teacher pushed up his glasses. Looking at Li Jianyue, he asked kindly, “Are you looking for a teacher?”

Seeing the math book in Li Jianyue’s hand, the homeroom teacher added, “Your math teacher’s office is next door.”

Li Jianyue nodded and said, “I know. But I wanted to come here to help explain. What happened in the classroom just now was not entirely Quan Jingyi’s fault.”

Yang Zihao was alarmed. He hadn’t expected to hear Li Jianyue say that. He gazed at Li Jianyue as he pinched the hem of his school uniform. He didn’t say a word. Instead, he just bit his lower lip.

Li Jianyue noticed his gaze. Sensing that her gut feeling was right, she felt a little angry. “This classmate butted heads with Quan Jingyi moments ago. Then he picked a fight with Quan Jingyi, who did not retaliate,” she explained.

“Enough.” A young boy’s voice came from outside.

Li Jianyue turned her head. At the backlit doorway, a tall figure stood propped on the office door. He had an aloof expression on his face. He gazed at Li Jianyue. “What does it have to do with you? I didn’t tell you to be nosy.”

Li Jianyue was startled. “I’m trying to explain on your behalf because obviously, you didn’t hit anyone. So why…”

Why be beaten?

Just before she finished speaking, she thought she caught a glimpse of Quan Jingyi smiling. He didn’t seem to care and said casually, “Some people have wanted to beat me for a long time. Whether or not I did something wrong is not important at all.”