49 Apocalypse Rules

Mrs. Chen sighed helplessly. "They’re the ones who insisted on stirring up trouble. They’re almost twenty, yet they still don’t know how to hold back when they get into a fight."

Just then, Zhou Qinfeng’s phone rang. He answered and listened for a moment before his face went pale. "What? The students are causing trouble?! I’m heading back right now!"

He hurriedly hung up. "Quick, Mrs. Chen, Mr. Guan, we need to get back to the academy immediately! The students found out the trial results and are causing an uproar!"

The three of them didn’t dare to delay and hurried back to the academy.

As soon as they entered the main gate, they heard a chaotic din. Several hundred students were gathered in front of the administration building, chanting slogans like "Acquit him!" and "Shen Yun is innocent!"

A few teachers were trying their best to dissuade them, but to no avail. However, the students didn’t dare do anything more than chant slogans, as the academy’s security staff were stationed nearby, on high alert—a powerful deterrent.

Zhou Qinfeng jogged to the front of the crowd and called out, "Everyone, please, calm down!"

Seeing the dean only made the students more agitated.

"Shen Yun is innocent! You can’t sacrifice him just to appease public opinion!"

"Dean, you should be leading us in protest!"

"This is reverse discrimination against us academy students! We won’t accept it!"

While Zhou Qinfeng did his best to placate the crowd, Guan Tong and Mrs. Chen watched with furrowed brows.

Just then, another teacher ran over, looking completely frazzled. "Mr. Guan, Mrs. Chen, there are some students causing trouble over at the faculty housing. Could you please go handle it? We’re too short-staffed over here."

’Causing trouble at the faculty housing?’

Guan Tong and Mrs. Chen exchanged a look. Both had a feeling they knew what this was about, and they immediately headed over.

When they arrived, they found fifty or sixty students gathered in front of the building, shouting up at the windows.

"Traitor! Come out!"

"And she’s one of our own seniors! I can’t believe she’d do something like this!"

"Sneaking into the students’ Mind Network to eavesdrop is one thing, but then she went and tattled to the dean! It’s shameless!"

Hearing the students’ shouts confirmed Guan Tong and Mrs. Chen’s suspicions. The students causing trouble at the faculty housing were, as expected, targeting Counselor Fang Qian.

Fang Qian had provided testimony at the trial. News of this must have reached the academy, so it was no surprise the students were angry enough to cause trouble for her.

"I can’t believe our worst fears came true!" Mrs. Chen said, her face fraught with worry. She and Guan Tong had discussed that things would get ugly for Fang Qian if she was exposed, but they never thought it would become a reality so quickly.

"Let’s disperse the students first," Guan Tong said.

"Right."

The two of them walked forward. Seeing them, the dozens of students quieted down for a moment.

Mrs. Chen tried to persuade them in a gentle voice. "Everyone, why don’t you head back for now? We can discuss any grievances you have later."

A student shook his head. "Mrs. Chen, Counselor Fang somehow got into our Mind Network and reported us. If it weren’t for her, the academy would never have known we left the city, and..."

"If the academy hadn’t found out, do you think the conflict at Cangying Ridge wouldn’t have happened?" Guan Tong interjected.

"Well... even if it had, it wouldn’t have ended up like this."

"Are you saying that if I hadn’t gone, Shen Yun and the others could have silenced everyone, and then there wouldn’t be any of this subsequent trouble?"

The student’s face changed drastically, and he shook his head repeatedly. "That’s not what I meant!"

Another, calmer student spoke up. "Mr. Guan, if the academy hadn’t found out, over a dozen of us would have made it out of the city. If a group of a dozen or so went to Cangying Ridge, would those ordinary people have dared to make a move when they saw our numbers? The conflict might have been avoided entirely."

"He’s got a point!"

"Yeah! Those people only acted because they had the numbers and saw that Shen Yun and the others were just a small group. If there had been a dozen of us, would they have dared to try anything?" the other students chimed in.

Guan Tong said, "That’s a fine hypothetical. So let me ask you, what are your demands now?"

’Demands?’

The students looked at one another. The calm student spoke again: "We want Counselor Fang Qian to give us a formal apology!"

"That’s right, make her apologize to us!"

"An apology is the bare minimum. She shouldn’t be allowed to be a counselor anymore, either."

Guan Tong nodded. "And then?"

’And then?’

The students hadn’t thought that far ahead.

"So you only want her to apologize?" Guan Tong asked. "Or do you think the person who ordered her to do it doesn’t need to apologize? That only the one who carries out the order should take the blame?"

"Huh..."

The students were all stunned.

Mrs. Chen tugged on Guan Tong’s arm and whispered, "Mr. Guan, don’t be reckless!"

Guan Tong ignored her and looked at the calm student. "What do you think?"

Now, even that student began to stammer.

Just then, the main door to the faculty housing opened from the inside, and Fang Qian walked out, accompanied by her friend Qin Qing.

She had apparently heard what was happening outside. She walked before the crowd and bowed deeply. "I apologize to all of you. I’m sorry!"

"..."

The students had been clamoring for Fang Qian to come out, but now that she was actually standing before them and apologizing, they were at a loss.

Watching the tears fall to the ground at her feet, and recalling what Guan Tong had just said, many of them started to feel uneasy as they began to grasp the bigger picture.

Mrs. Chen seized the opportunity. "Alright, Counselor Fang has apologized. Let’s just forgive her. Come on, head back with me."

"...Let’s go."

"Heading back."

The students, grateful for an excuse to back down, quickly turned and followed Mrs. Chen away.

"Qianqian, they’re gone. You can stop bowing now!" Qin Qing said quickly when she saw Fang Qian was still holding her bow after the students had left.

Fang Qian slowly straightened up, her face covered in tears.

Qin Qing patted her pockets, but finding she hadn’t brought any tissues, she quickly ran back inside to get some.

Only Guan Tong and Fang Qian remained in front of the building. He was the first to speak. "Why did you have to take this on? This outcome was inevitable."

Fang Qian was silent for a moment before replying, "I didn’t want to make things difficult for anyone else..."

"So you decided to be the martyr. Who knew? I haven’t seen you in over a year, and you’ve become such a noble person."

"..."

Fang Qian thought Guan Tong was mocking her, but when she looked at him through her tear-blurred glasses, she saw no trace of sarcasm on his face—only calm.

She sniffled. "I’m going to request a transfer from the academy, go somewhere else. About what happened back then, I..."

"Fang Qian, you heard what I said to the students just now, didn’t you?" Guan Tong said suddenly. "Do you know what I was thinking when I said it?"

"...What?"

"Why did I only blame you back then, and not your parents who called you? They were the ones who told you about the hidden rules, who instigated you to go after me. Was the blame really yours alone?"

Fang Qian froze.

After saying his piece, Guan Tong turned to leave.

"So, I guess in the past year or so, we’ve both grown up a lot. No matter where you go from here, remember today. Don’t make the same mistake twice."