Chapter 29: Riding the Wind and Breaking the Waves with Indignation

  Chaos!

  The teaching building has become a farmer's market, with teachers, family members, students, school leaders, security guards, cleaning ladies, and cafeteria chefs all gathering to watch. Most people are not lacking in the pleasure of watching someone else's misfortune, and now thousands of eyes are fixed on the long-haired girl who jumped off the building, guessing and discussing the reasons for her death that cannot be shared with outsiders.

  The person upstairs seems to have given up all hope and remains completely still, no matter how loudly they are shouted at.

  "Which department and class are you from? Is there anything bothering you that you want to talk about? Whatever it is, don't think of harming yourself..."

  The leaders of the school administration are shouting, having encountered several instances of jumping off buildings, they have never shouted effectively even once.

  "Girl, listen to me... Your parents didn't raise you easily, think more for them, think more for your family..." The student's expression changed as the principal repeated this old tune, and only at times like these could one see Principal Shi and Ming's faces.

  "Girl, what's wrong? Tell me and the school leaders will help you solve it..." An old woman from the school union shouted loudly, her true feelings exposed, but not enough to win over the one who was about to take their own life.

  This kind of thing, the school's attitude is to delay time, no matter whether it's persuading or waiting for the fire department to open the air cushion, as long as no one dies, everything can be talked about; if someone dies, it will be troublesome, and the school won't mind paying compensation, but the leaders are afraid of being held accountable and having their heads chopped off, let alone the impact is unimaginable.

  Some people were saying good things, and some were making a ruckus. A foolish-looking young man among the boys shouted: "Hey, are you going to jump or not? If you don't hurry up, we won't wait around to watch, it's wasting everyone's time!"

  As soon as the words came out, they were immediately attacked by everyone. Director Shi stepped forward to prepare for a scolding session with some students from which class. The young man took advantage of the crowd and slipped away quietly. When Principal Wang Ke arrived, the situation had not been reported clearly yet. Another group rushed out of the teaching building, and upon seeing that it was the school's honored guest Professor Zuo, the police sirens sounded outside, and four or five police cars arrived, leaving the leaders busy and flustered, unsure which direction to attend to first.

  Just then... a loud, piercing sound cut through the air: "Director Gou Guoping!"

  The sound was very loud, like a sudden clap of thunder, and everyone's attention at the scene was drawn to where the sound came from. However, when they looked around, they couldn't find the source of the sound, but only heard the voice continuing:

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  "Many people in school know that Xia Mingtang, who runs the cafeteria, is your relative. Is this true? ... I feel like you're taking revenge on students who dare to speak out. The food quality is poor and overpriced, and the service is terrible for all to see. Are you suppressing those who dare to say no and protecting your own family's interests?"

  "That's right, it's my relative's business. What are you, daring to point fingers at me? I've already given you face by inviting you politely, what more do you want? Are you trying to force me to take drastic measures?"

  "Ruthless? I'd like to hear how you plan to deal with a defenseless student like me, just because of the loss in your relative's cafeteria? Don't you think the ill-gotten gains from cheating students are enough?"

  "I'm not afraid of you, but I think you're a bit redundant... Zhan Yong, do you really think I can't handle you? Someone has accused you of inciting trouble and posting attacks on the school online. These things may seem big or small, but giving you an expulsion warning shouldn't be a problem, right? Or should we investigate whether you have any theft suspicions since things keep getting lost in the dormitory recently? Even if I don't expel you, I can still withhold your graduation certificate and household registration, so you'll still have to deal with me anyway?"

  "You... you're a government official, how can you be like this?"

  "What's it to you?"

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  Abridged version of Shan Yong and Gou Guoping's dialogue, with sharp words back and forth, interspersed with a female voice.

  When the noise suddenly stopped, the crowd was in an uproar. The originally calm situation had just cooled down, but unexpectedly, such a scandal broke out at this time. The thousands of teachers and students present whispered to each other, looking around to see where the voice came from. Oh, it was the loudspeaker broadcasting the morning exercises. Principal Wang Ke heard it and was stunned, quietly arranging for someone to hurry to the broadcast room to cut off the signal. It must be that mischievous student Hu causing trouble again. This scandal is even more serious than a few students jumping off buildings.

  Zuo Nandong heard his daughter's voice, stopped in his tracks, and turned around to ask Lei Dapeng about the situation. But before he could find him, Principal Wang and others came up to greet him. Zuo Nandong's face fell, and he asked harshly: "You security department really arrested my daughter."

  "Impossible! How is it possible? Who has such audacity?" The principal was startled and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  "Just now, it was my daughter speaking in the loudspeaker... Principal Wang, if my daughter suffers any injustice here, I guarantee that I will investigate to the end." Zuo Nan said with a ferocious face, getting angry.

  "No, no, it's not like that... I really didn't know about this matter... Director Shi, what's going on? What is the Security Department doing?" Principal Wang turned around and shouted, getting anxious and flustered. Director Shi pointed upstairs: "She's still trying to persuade her from jumping off the building, but hasn't opened the skylight yet."

  Just then, a team of police arrived, followed by Minister Xu from the Propaganda Department, Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, and even Vice Mayor Li, who had accompanied them on their visit. They rushed to Left Old's side, asking about the situation. But Left South was at a loss for words. The school leaders looked around for someone from the Security Department, but couldn't find anyone. They arranged for someone to go to the Security Department to see what was going on, only to find that it was locked up tight.

  At this time, the security guards on the top floor who were prying open the skylight heard the loudspeaker broadcast. The one holding the crowbar, Hu Zi Ge, let out a "pa" sound and the tool fell down, hitting Zhou Ke Chang's foot. Zhou Ke Chang yelped in pain, clutched his foot, and Xiao Huzi was frightened out of his wits. However, the strange thing was that Zhou Ke Chang, who looked like he had lost his soul, didn't say a word, and sat down on the ground as if his backbone had been pulled out...

  Who is more ruthless will soon be revealed. He has now realized that he underestimated the student's abilities, and must be extremely careful.

  This is just a warm-up, something even more intense is coming... The loudspeaker broadcast stopped for over ten seconds before starting up again...

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  "It seems that Director Guo, you want to teach me a lesson... No problem, I'll take responsibility for my actions. I'll stay behind, but you have to let my girlfriend go, she has nothing to do with this."

  "No, it's no use. None of you can leave for now."

  "My girlfriend's father is a professor, he and Professor Song Chengyang from our school are good friends, Guo Guoping is the department head, you have no right to illegally stay in our country."

  "Don't waste your brain cells, it's not going to work. Don't you think you're being a bit childish? Do you think I'll buy what you're selling? If your dad were the principal or head of the education bureau, maybe it would be okay, but isn't he just a cook?"

  "If the country is peaceful and the government is stable, I'm talking about Professor Song Chengyang, a man of great virtue and prestige. He's really good friends with my girlfriend's father, who's also my future father-in-law. Can't give him some face?"

  "Ignorance, you're truly ignorant... I've seen many poor students like you, what's the big deal? You think bringing up Song Chengyang can intimidate me? Nowadays, school lecturers are everywhere and professors are as common as dogs. And he's even retired, almost dead!"

  "It seems like we students are all poor devils in your eyes, you can bully us however you want, is that right?"

  "What? You think you're a city person just because you've been to school for a few days? Hmph! A lifetime of being poor and lowly..."

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  The sudden change shocked all the students, teachers and professors present, who immediately realized it was Wei Guoping from the Security Department. This remark simply regarded teachers and students as nothing. Before the words were even out, shouts erupted from all sides.

  "This crazy dog is simply spouting nonsense!" a teacher shouted.

  "Unscrupulous and shameless." An old professor was shaking with rage.

  "Go find him... and see how he's going to deal with us poor devils."

  A tall and strong student waved his fist and shouted. The shout was responded to by a surge of people, who rushed towards the security office like a tide. The indignant students were thoroughly enraged. If they could barely tolerate the poor food, this blatant insult was already unbearable.

  The situation is getting out of hand, the several police cars and seven or eight policemen who were originally majestic at the entrance now seem a bit overwhelmed, standing guard to the left and right, while Zuo Nanxia is anxiously worried about his daughter's safety, pulling Minister Xu and explaining the general situation, even he can't speak clearly.

  The crowd had just moved, and there was another change. The campus broadcast loudspeaker, the library's loudspeaker, the multimedia in the classroom, the speaker in the cafeteria, and the amplifier in the dormitory were almost all repeating this dialogue, which made the students' anger burn. Even people who didn't care about it before rushed out, led by Li, the half-bald librarian, who was angrily leading his staff to rush towards the security department with the students. He was a loyal supporter of Professor Song and had been thoroughly enraged.

  At this time, the skylight was pried open, and Xiao Hu Zi from the Security Department led his men straight up to the floor, fearing that they would startle the suicidal person, but after a few cautious steps, they were stunned.

  There was a figure sitting there preparing to jump off the building, but it wasn't a real person, it was a human body sculpture, an art department cost-saving substitute for a nude model, don't know who moved it to the rooftop and even draped a cloth on it as clothes.

  It's a conspiracy, a thorough and complete conspiracy. Guo Ping suddenly understood that the only purpose of the jumping building incident was to attract everyone to the small square. Listen to that wonderful dialogue.

  At this time, the broadcasting room on the first floor of the office building was pried open by the school staff. It is not clear which mischievous student blocked the keyhole, so they had to pry it open. At that time, the broadcast had been played several times, but there was no one, only an amplifier connected to the audio source line.

  The library, dormitory and cafeteria have successively blocked this discordant voice, but it's easier to block the mouth of the people than a river. I'm afraid this thing has already spread wildly online. A small audio file can't defeat students who are now widely using computers.

  The gate of the Science Building was tightly locked, and in a few minutes, two pieces of glass on the door had been smashed. Thousands of students from all over the school gathered, shouting slogans, spitting saliva, and inciting charges, making it impossible to distinguish what kind of noise it was.

  Principal Wang knew this matter couldn't be settled well, so he notified everyone who had been released to do one thing: find Gou Guoping.

  No need to look, he was in the teaching building, had just come down from upstairs, and was discovered by a group of angry students. They dragged him away, and several security guards tried to protect him, but these furious students beat and hugged him, with someone shouting: "The mad dog is here... don't let him run away."

  The crowd is hard to offend, the crowd is hard to calm down. Finally caught the public enemy of the whole school. The students who were usually well-behaved now seem to have become little tigers, wrestling with several security guards. Someone had already run to inform the onlookers from the security department, and in an instant, the crowd surged like a tidal wave, rushing towards this side. Fortunately, the police saw that things were not right and quickly caught up to protect the person being beaten by the crowd, surrounding them in a circle and blocking the students who were waving their fists. "Let's talk it out... we'll handle it. Don't make trouble..."

  The police officer wasn't having an easy time either, taking a lot of punches and kicks from Guo Guoping before finally bringing him to the security department's door. With a serious expression, he handed over a photo and asked in a stern tone: "You've been harboring a woman with the surname Zuo... where is she?"

  Guo Ping was frightened, mechanically pointing to the security department. This was easy, fully armed police officers holding steel pipes "opened" the door with a loud noise, kicking open several doors, and when they pushed open the training room door, they felt at ease.

  Shan Yong and Zuo Xiying were sitting leisurely, with a calm expression, as if chatting about something.

  "Captain, over here." The SWAT officer yelled after identifying the person in the photo.

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  It's over, but it seems like it hasn't started yet.

  Xiao Xian and Lao Bao, Ma Geng, Chou Jiao and seven or eight others were hiding behind the big stove, sneaking a peek. This scene was enough to make anyone's blood boil. The beehive plan had been blown up big enough that the whole school had become a beehive.

  Not yet, a few people urged, after a while, Tianlei brother hummed and carried a basket of things from the back door of the cafeteria. Everyone went to watch the excitement, no one was looking at home, Tianlei brother took advantage of the empty space to move out a large basket of eggs. He beckoned with his hand, this group of pests scooped up their clothes, three or five times they were all stuffed into their clothes, without worrying about breaking and staining their white shirts yellow. They quickly ran towards the crowd.

  What's wrong? Send equipment over!

  Throwing eggs, the eggs were stuffed into the hands of classmates who were filled with righteous indignation, and they knew without being taught to throw them at the entrance of the security department. Guo Ping had originally hidden himself, but unexpectedly was discovered by Li, the director of the library, hiding behind the security department door. This old man seemed to be a loyal supporter of Professor Song, and he dragged out Old Guo with one hand, slapping him several times, and scolded him: "You wolf-hearted and dog-lunged thing, if it weren't for Professor Song's support, your father wouldn't even have been able to marry a wife, how could you have been born...".

  Just showing his head, it's all good now, the eggs are flying like locusts, shooting straight at him, instantly covering his head, face and body with yellow and white stuff. He quickly rushed into the security department, but still not satisfied, someone led the crowd in shouting: "Release them, they randomly catch students... Let them release people."

  Many students waved their fists and shouted: "Release... release..."

  More people were outraged, waving their fists and shouting: "Release him, release him..."

  Who to release? Of course, it's Wang Yu. It was also those friends of his who were shouting and making a ruckus. Everyone realized that the person being held by Guo Ping was the one they were talking about, so more people joined in, ten, hundred, thousands of people shouting:

  "Let him go...... Let him go......"

  The crowd was like a sea, the noise was like a wave, and the momentum was unstoppable. Principal Wang grabbed Director Shi and scolded: "Release them quickly... If you don't release them and trigger a mass incident, how will you be held accountable?"

  That momentum, however, did not dare to move forward. Director Shi endured a few eggs and squeezed into the Security Department, arriving at the Training Room, where the special police surrounded him but would not let him in. Zuo Nanxia and Professor Song were inside, except for Zuo Xiyin and that idle sitting Danyong, as if nothing was wrong. After whispering a few words to the special police, asking about Zuo Nanxia and Minister Xu, he waved his hand and left!

  Zou Ren slowly got up, exchanged a smile with Zuo Xiying, but Zuo Xiying's smile had a hint of embarrassment. She knew this person was exceptional, but didn't expect him to be so formidable. Maybe she had thought he would use his identity to get out of trouble, and she wouldn't have minded that. But what she never expected was that he didn't need to do that at all. The security department probably couldn't even dream of it - the headquarters was right under their noses, and with a few swift moves, he had turned the whole school upside down. Zuo Xiying personally heard him deploying his troops, using nicknames like "Thunder", "Brother Xian", "Old Bao", "Stinky Feet"... a string of names that reeked of gangsterism. In the blink of an eye, the school was in chaos.

  A group of people followed the special police out, this special police is a municipal government directly affiliated security team, the main target is Zuo Xiying, surrounded by people in front and back. Dan Yong was ignored, and Shi Chunhua, who was standing at the door, seemed to have reappeared in front of him several decades ago, letting out a path with a bit of fear as he watched Dan Yong get up.

  As soon as they left the training room, several security personnel returned with miserable looks on their faces. Some had bruises and swelling, while others were pale yellow all over. When they approached the person in charge, Shuang Yong stretched out his hand, and that guy knew what to do, hastily handing over two mobile phones to Shuang Yong. Shuang Yong took his own phone and pointed at Li Xueying's phone, saying: "I've told you before, but you didn't listen. You can't just bully people like this, do you know the law? This is restricting someone's personal freedom... I won't tell you again, someone will deal with you."

  "Th...th..." Xiao Ye nervously handed over the phone, hastily shoving it into Director Shi's hand. As soon as he heard that it was someone else's phone, Director Shi was startled and quickly ran out to return it to its owner.

  Guo Ping's appearance was the most miserable, having been punched N times with a blue nose and swollen face, his body covered in N eggs, yellow and white all over, squatting in the corridor. The matter had not been settled yet, as an illegal overstaying investor, he was now being guarded by special police, and it seemed that he would have to wait for processing. Shan Yong walked away, then came back, looking at this person who had just been pointing fingers with a pitiful gaze. Their eyes met, with deep resentment, but unexpectedly, Shan Yong smiled and said: "Director Guo, people can be shameless, but they cannot be ignorant... You are too ignorant, in the face of authoritarianism and wealth, you also belong to the category of poor devils and cheap bones, and from today on, you are the public enemy of the whole school, haha..."

  In an instant, Kou Guoping's whole body shook with rage, while Shan Yong let out a long laugh and released the pent-up frustration in his heart. Although the outcome was still uncertain, at this moment, there was an indescribable sense of relief and joy. Just then, someone in the crowd of onlookers shouted:

  "Shan Yong... He is Shan Yong."

  He was already quite famous, and now he's even more so. The boys and girls responded with thunderous applause, automatically clearing a path for him to pass through. Lei Dapeng, Si Muxian, Lao Bao, Choujiao and the others gathered around him, with Lei Dapeng egging him on: "Egg brother, say a couple of words... say a couple of words."

  "Exactly, Egg Brother, say a couple of words... Today you've made a name for yourself in school history." Old Bao also chimed in, awesome.

  Ma San Yang thought of the treatment he had received here and felt angry. He was tall, not to be trifled with, stretched out his hand and shouted: "We welcome Dan Yong to say a couple of words, how about it?"

  "Good..."

  The crowd erupted in cheers, with boys and girls clapping their hands. The commotion grew into a frenzy, surrounding Shanyong in the center. Shanyong hadn't expected the domino effect to cause such a huge stir, but at this moment, his blood was boiling, and he didn't care about anything else. With a wave of his hand, the entire hall fell silent, and all that could be heard was Shanyong's voice shouting...

  "Brothers and sisters... Today, someone forced me to admit my mistake. I told them: No!" Shuang Yong shouted, with many people echoing him.

  "Some people are destroying our health, some people try to cover up the dark side of the cafeteria, I tell them: No!" Dan Yong shouted, and more people echoed.

  "From today on, everything will never be the same again, because I'm not the only one who dares to stand up and say no...". Dan Yong was extremely excited, waving his fist and shouting several sentences in a hoarse voice.

  "Good! Well said!" Over a hundred voices of men and women burst out, hands raised above their heads, clapping loudly, stirring up thousands of people to surge forward and shout.

  "Also today, someone calls us poor devils, we are very indignant, why? Because even if we are poor, but also poor with dignity, poor with self-respect, our dignity and self-respect do not allow arbitrary insult and trampling..."

  Shan Yong spoke as he walked, waving his hand, like standing on the crest of a wave at dusk. The crowd followed him, and when he stopped suddenly, the whole audience was quiet. Shan Yong raised his hand high, feeling hot blood boiling over, holding back his breath to shout to thousands of classmates:

  "Whoever dares to insult us will be insulted in return, just like today; one day we will proudly and openly get everything we want, and no one can stop us, just like today!"

  Fists rose, applause rained down, cheers erupted from all sides, and Dan Yong was lifted up by the crowd, tossed into the air, and surrounded by a sea of people. It seemed as if years of pent-up emotions were finally released in this moment, with some students even getting teary-eyed with excitement. The crowd followed the group at the center towards the dormitory building, while more people gathered on the open ground in front of the dorms, surrounding Dan Yong in the middle. The scene was one of support and protection, forming a stark contrast to the school administration's stance.

  No matter how absurd it is, that enthusiasm always cannot help but boil over.

  No matter how ignorant, there is always that fearless courage that excites people.

  Zuo Xiying stared unblinkingly, never expecting that the mediocre student she had mixed with would have such great appeal, and was afraid that there were thousands of followers who moved because of him. Until her father pulled her, she reluctantly got on the bus and left.

  In the corner of the building, there was also a person who stared unblinkingly at Dan Yong talking to the students. It was Wang Huating. She looked at Dan Yong with a complex gaze, standing in the limelight. Perhaps that feeling was what she had always dreamed of as the president of the student union but never got. She also knew that neither the school nor the logistics system that the student union had been working hard to maintain would ever exist again after this incident.

  The crowd had not yet dispersed, and new people arrived. The school party committee and the school administration were discussing an emergency response plan in the security department, knowing that Zuo's identity could not be ignored, considering the adverse impact of this incident. After failing to reach a consensus, the gatekeeper reported that another inspection team had arrived, from the Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau and the Health Bureau, who entered the campus under the pretext of law enforcement based on public reports. When Director Shi and the school administration's director arrived, four cars carrying over a dozen uniformed law enforcement personnel had already opened the storage room on the left side of the cafeteria's back door and were taking photos. This was the end; expired vinegar, seasonings without a production factory, suspected unqualified rice flour, and unidentified edible oil in barrels were all moved to the courtyard behind the cafeteria. The chefs and operators scattered, and even an insider from the quality inspection department could not be found.

  Song Siying is being very arrogant this time, directing a group of sisters to take photos of the scene and upload them to the internet. She's also urging a certain media reporter to come quickly over the phone, saying: "Big news, absolutely big, even bigger than the fake scandal! Counterfeit and shoddy products harming students, you say it's not big?! Fake news, I spit on it... The quality inspection is right here, you can come see for yourself. It's almost chaotic."

  Xia Mingtang Xia Pangzi has been operating for three years without going bankrupt, but he hasn't shown up. However, everyone knows that there is only one thing left for him - to roll up his bedding and get out of here!

  More than an hour later, the school party committee's handling announcement came out: The original director of the security department, Guo Ping, was dismissed on the spot for summoning students without authorization and using improper means. The original operator of the school cafeteria, Xia Mingtang, has been handed over to the relevant departments for processing due to suspected sale of counterfeit and inferior food.

  The school printed over a hundred copies of the notice with the bright red official seal and posted them all over the campus. The students who were still watching cheered excitedly, shouting "victory" and threw dozens of high-fives at Shan Yonglian.

  The school authority will provide free meals to students on campus before the order of dining hall is restored.

  The whole staff, from the director to the clerks, lecturers and counselors, all got moving, dispersing into the crowd of onlookers, persuading students from their own classes and departments, it took over an hour before the number of people gradually thinned out.

  Along with the notice of make-up classes, there is also an emergency notice sent to each department and class: The internship period for graduating students in each department and class will be advanced, and they must leave school on the same day. For out-of-town students, the school will provide transportation.

  No written notice mentioned the jumping incident or the breaking into the broadcasting room, and the school authorities issued a gag order. Even the adjacent Affiliated Middle School did not know that such a big thing had happened at Ruan Institute. On the same day, when reporting to the higher-level Education Commission, only the poor quality of food in the cafeteria was mentioned as causing students to riot. The handling by the school authorities was very euphemistic, and the ending was that under the unified arrangement of the school party committee, it had been completely resolved.

  The booked canteen cars and buses all entered the school before dark, one to pick up the graduating students who were leaving school for internships, and the other to comfort the students who were having meals on campus. It is really true that there is no struggle without power. More than a dozen canteen cars brought in a dazzling array of dishes with dozens of varieties, and the usually deserted cafeteria was suddenly packed with people.

  Dan Yong was personally driven away by the department head, Wang Hengbin. The reason given was that his internship period had been brought forward. However, Department Head Wang took him back to his home in Xiangmazi Village. Along the way and after they arrived home, Director Wang occasionally let out a few sighs, only saying "don't worry about your internship", without mentioning anything else...