Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

After speeding through the bustling main streets and past the dusty construction sites on the outskirts of the county, Ah Ying finally saw the GG sign that read "Er Dong Wholesale Department".

Before the bike had even come to a complete stop, Aying jumped off. She didn't even have time to put up the kickstand, and threw the bicycle on the ground.

"Brother Cheng Dong! Brother Cheng Dong! Are you in the store?" Ah Ying shouted as she ran, her face full of tension and unease.

Every time she accompanied her mother to buy goods, Aying was always listless, but now she seemed like a completely different person.

Cheng Dong responded and hurriedly came out of the shop. "Aying, what happened? Where's Aunt Zhao? Didn't she come with you?"

"Brother Dong..." Ah Ying said, her eyes filled with tears, her voice choked with sobs, "Quickly...quickly go save Qin Yuechuan, save my mother!"

Seeing Ah Ying crying with tears streaming down her face, Cheng Dong quickly handed the girl a white towel and then gently comforted her, "Ah Ying, don't panic, tell me what happened slowly."

Aying wiped away her tears and told the other party everything about how Zheng Xiong and others had bullied her mother and Qin Yuechuan.

Upon hearing that Yue Chuan had been beaten, Cheng Dong's eyebrows furrowed instantly. He stared into the girl's eyes and asked, "Aying, are you sure the guy who beat him was Zheng Xiong?"

"It's him!" Ah Ying replied firmly. "After you left the market, Zheng Xiong even brought Jiang San'er to cause trouble for my mother. I wouldn't be mistaken even if he turned to ashes!"

Hearing this, Cheng Dong's face darkened even further. He slammed his right fist into his left palm, cursing through the air, "Damn it! It's that Zheng bastard again! That bastard really doesn't learn his lesson!"

Cheng Dong's conflict with the Zheng family father and son had been going on for a long time. Now that he knew his little brother had been wronged by this guy, how could he tolerate it? The next second, Cheng Dong picked up his car keys, jumped onto the bread cart in front of the store in a few steps. Judging from his posture, it didn't seem like he was going to rescue someone, but rather to seek revenge.

Ah Ying followed closely behind, clinging to the driver's window and saying, "Brother Dong, I'll come with you so I can show you the way!"

"Your 'Little Tsinghua of Yanghe' is so famous, how could I not know where it is?" Cheng Dong chuckled and asked rhetorically, then pointed to the beer and drinks display at the shop entrance and said, "Aying, you watch the shop for me for a bit, I promise I'll bring Aunt Zhao over soon!"

Aying wanted to say something more, but Chengdong stepped on the gas, and instantly the roar of the engine exploded, and the bread truck shot onto the road like an arrow.

Cheng Dong knew very well that he was going to settle accounts with Zheng Xiong. It would be inconvenient to bring a girl along. Besides, Zheng Xiong was a vicious man. If he found out that A Ying had tipped him off, who knows what trouble he would cause. So he found a pretext to stay at the shop to settle A Ying.

Having dealt with Cheng Dong several times, how could Aying not understand his thoughts? The girl's eyes welled up with tears again as she stared blankly at the departing bread truck until it disappeared around the street corner...

Just as A-Ying was calling for reinforcements, Vice Principal and Director of the Political Education Department Dong Mingdao arrived at the school gate. He, along with security guards and a group of teachers, managed to bring the situation under control. He then instructed the security department to evacuate the students. As for the black-clad thugs and others, he had a plan to deal with them, but before he could implement it, Zhou Wenyao, who arrived shortly after, beat him to it.

Seeing that Yue Chuan was injured and still under Zheng Xiong's control, the old teacher went "crazy". Ignoring the threats of the hooligans, he forcibly "snatched" Yue Chuan away.

Zheng Xiong and his gang didn't dare to do anything to the teachers, and upon hearing the sirens, they scattered like birds in an instant. Zhou Wenyao had no time to pursue the other party's responsibility; he immediately took Yue Chuan to the county hospital and paid for his medical expenses for a full examination.

However, things did not stop there; an even bigger storm was brewing.

As the head of the school's security department, Dong Mingdao immediately convened an emergency meeting. Apart from the principal, Yang Zhengqing, who was unable to attend due to illness, all other management and faculty members were present.

"Zhang Tianhu, you're the head of the security department. Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Dong Mingdao's words made Zhang Tianhu shudder. He coughed and pulled a piece of scrap paper from his pocket, then began to read aloud: "Respected Principal Dong and teachers, first of all, I must take responsibility for the student group's 'rush to the gate' incident. Due to my dereliction of duty and negligence, I have tarnished the school's reputation. I have failed Principal Yang and Principal Dong's trust in me, I..."

"Who told you to write a self-criticism! Stop rambling! Get to the point and get straight to the point!"

Dong Mingdao tapped the table with his fingertips, looking very impatient. Zhang Tianhu quickly put the manuscript aside and hurriedly said, "This is what happened. A middle-aged female vendor illegally set up a stall at the school gate and got into an argument with the street security personnel. Qin Yuechuan, a student from Class 1 of Grade 1, stood up for the woman, and the two got into a conflict, which eventually led to a serious incident of a group of people breaking through the checkpoint."

Zhang Tianhu was a burly man, and quite cunning! These few words not only defined the nature of the matter, but also...

He conveniently absolved himself of all responsibility. Look at his ability to shirk blame; he's really wasted his talents being a security captain!

As soon as he finished speaking, the management team began whispering among themselves. Seeing this, Dong Mingdao tapped the table again and questioned Zhang Tianhu, who was standing some distance away, "Section Chief Zhang, you said this student Qin got into a fight while standing up for someone else. Then tell me, the incident happened outside the school gate. How did he walk out so brazenly? Didn't your gatekeepers stop him?"

Dong Mingdao's words, seemingly an accusation, were actually giving Zhang Tianhu a chance to explain. What else could he do? Organize a meeting to prove Zhang Tianhu's wrongdoing? Forget it! If Zhang Tianhu was wrong, wouldn't he, the vice-principal in charge of security, also be wrong? Vice-Principal Dong was planning his promotion; how could things go wrong at this crucial juncture?

The leader offered a ladder, and Zhang Tianhu, of course, knew to seize the opportunity. At this moment, he righteously and sternly defended himself: "Principal Dong, teachers, I must say a few words on behalf of our security department. When that student Qin Yuechuan left the school gate, he was holding a day student pass. Before the security guards could even check it, he ran out of the school gate and caused trouble!"

Zhang Tianhu paused for a moment, then added, "According to my investigation, Qin Yuechuan's household registration is in Shuangling Mountain Area, so he has no right to obtain a permit. I'm certain he stole someone else's day student permit to try and get away with it! If he hadn't broken through the checkpoint, none of this would have happened. So, students with such poor character are simply... a rotten apple spoils the whole barrel!"

After speaking, Zhang Tianhu handed a copy of the household registration information to Dong Mingdao in front of all the teachers. Judging from his calm and composed demeanor, he was clearly well-prepared.

Dong Mingdao pretended to look at the documents, then placed the copy in front of a female party official next to him. This female secretary, surnamed Gao, was in charge of party building work and did not participate in the specific management of the school. She just glanced at the documents and put them aside.

The meeting room fell silent as everyone waited for Principal Dong to make the final decision. With Principal Yang Zhengqing about to retire, the position would most likely fall to Dong Mingdao, who was certainly qualified to make the final ruling.

A few seconds later, Dong Mingdao, with an air of authority, delivered a concluding speech: "Teachers! Comrades! Since its founding in 1956, Yanghe No. 1 High School has never before witnessed a group of students storming the school grounds! This is simply outrageous! Outrageous indeed! How serious and egregious is this incident? We must have a profound understanding of it! This is a blatant defiance of Principal Yang's closed management system! What's the point of keeping students like this? To allow them to continue violating school rules and regulations?"

At this point, Dong Mingdao suddenly stopped. He looked around, carefully observing the facial expressions of each teacher. After a long while, he resumed his official tone and announced the proposed measures: "I have two suggestions. First, this incident should be named the 'November 11.8th Malicious Ramming Incident' and announced to the entire school. Second, this first-year high school student named Qin Yuechuan should be expelled!"

In the history of Yanghe No.1 High School, expelling students has happened before. Generally speaking, such maximum disciplinary measures require approval from the principal. Dong Mingdao's approach of letting students pack their bags and leave without discussion by the management is indeed somewhat arbitrary.

The meeting room was completely silent, and no one expressed their opinion. This was not surprising, as in the past, Yang Zhengqing had made the final decision in closed-door meetings. However, with Principal Yang on sick leave, Vice Principal Dong made such a hasty decision, which made all the teachers present "smell" something different.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Dong Mingdao coughed lightly, and Zhang Tianhu seemed to have received some signal and was about to get up to say something, but at this moment, the female party official surnamed Gao beat him to it.

"Since this involves students' ideological and political education, let me say a few words as well." The female secretary smiled and then slowly began to speak. "First of all, I agree with Vice Principal Dong's handling of the matter in principle. However, regarding the punishment for student Qin, I have a small suggestion. I think that no matter how it is handled, it would be best to consult with Teacher Zhou Wenyao first. After all, Teacher Zhou is this student Qin's homeroom teacher. Once he arrives, we can issue a written disciplinary notice. That would be more prudent. What do you think, Principal Dong?"