In the evening, Fu Yan leaned against the door of Class 3 Grade 2 and yelled at Ren Ran, "Hey!"
The curious glances of the other students darted back and forth between Fu Yan and Ren Ran.
Lin Xiaoyi elbowed Ren Ran. Bewildered, Ren Ran looked up at Lin Xiaoyi's urging and saw the person at the door.
"What's up?" Fu Yan was laconic.
Ren Ran got up and followed him outside.
"What's the matter?"
"Come with me." He strode forward as he tossed out the three words, not bothering to check if the person behind was following.
The two walked one after the other towards the junk area behind the school. The location got increasingly remote. When they arrived at the abandoned sports equipment storage area, Fu Yan pushed open the dilapidated wooden door.
Ren Ran hesitated for two seconds before following him in.
The room was chaotic. It was filled with all kinds of discarded sports equipment. The most eye-catching thing was the three people in the room. One pockmarked male student was being held by two slackers and forced to sit in the middle. He looked frightened.
"What are you trying to do?" The boy yelled at Fu Yan, "Fu Yan, what are you trying to do?"
Fu Yan casually brought over a chair from the side and sat down leisurely with his legs crossed. "Tell me, what good things have you been up to recently?"
"What have I done?" The pockmarked boy's eyes shifted around.
One of the men holding him gently patted his cheek, his voice cold, "Kid, if you haven't done anything, would we look for you? Boss Fu is giving you a chance. Do you believe if we hand over the stuff to the police, you'll know the consequences? You'd better confess honestly and not waste everyone's time."
"I really didn't do anything."
"Seeing is believing." Fu Yan looked at Lu Yu.
Lu Yu understood. He punched the pockmarked boy in the stomach. The other party's face turned red in pain.
"Last chance to tell me."
Lu Yu raised his fist again.
The pockmarked boy was afraid. "I just praised Ren Ran on the school gossip forum. What's wrong with that?"
"Just praised her?"
"Yeah, you guys can check." The pockmarked boy feigned ignorance.
Ren Ran walked up and waved her hand. Lu Yu and the others looked at Fu Yan, and upon seeing his nod, they let go.
The newly freed pockmarked boy didn't dare run away. He watched Ren Ran warily as she approached step by step.
"Let me guess, you don't really think I'm great, let alone want to praise me sincerely. Someone told you to do it, right?"
The pockmarked boy said nothing.
"The person who asked you to do this, it's Kong Lian, or Kong Lian's relatives and friends, right?"
The pockmarked boy still did not speak.
"If you don't say it, don't admit it, it doesn't matter. I'll have professionals check your whereabouts these past few days and easily obtain surveillance footage of your transactions with others. By then, you won't have a chance to cry. As fellow schoolmates, I'm giving you one last chance. It's up to you whether you can seize it."
"Of course, you can also cling to wishful thinking, hoping that we can't find anything. You can also hope that we will be very kind and won't resort to other means against you or the people around you."
Ren Ran crossed her arms and looked down condescendingly at him, exerting invisible pressure.
"Do you want to gamble on this? Think about it yourself."
The pockmarked boy hesitated as his expression kept changing. Finally, he chose to confess.
He didn't dare gamble!
He didn't dare gamble his future or his family. If he lost, it would really be over.
"I'll talk!"
"A few days ago, a strange man found me, gave me some money, and asked me to blindly praise you on the school forum."
