Chapter 0099 Angry Birds

That night, Wang Zhen hardly slept a wink. No matter how Zhao Fusheng and the others asked him, he simply wouldn't speak.

Early the next morning, after getting up and tidying themselves, several of them went to the cafeteria for breakfast, only to find that Wang Zhen had already left the dormitory.

The stream of people was like a tide, yet no one seemed hurried. Some rode bicycles along the path, others strolled with books in hand, and quite a few walked in twos and threes. The surroundings were planted with green trees, casting deep shade.

"What's going on over there?"

There were many people at the bulletin board, both freshmen and upperclassmen. Tan Kaixuan frowned and asked curiously.

"Wang Zhen is there too." Wen Yu, sharp-eyed, spotted Wang Zhen's figure, and the group squeezed their way in.

After just one glance, the expression on Zhao Fusheng's face turned strange.

"Dong Chenxi, Class of '96, School of Advertising and Media, is hereby criticized for stealing a freshman's belongings."

Among the crowd, there was a buzz of discussion, some gloating, others indignant.

"Who would have thought that such a pretty girl would be a thief? You really can't judge by appearances."

"Isn't that so? I heard someone was even chasing her. Ha, lucky he didn't catch her—what if she stole from her boyfriend?"

Two male students nearby, from some unknown major, were muttering to each other. Their voices weren't loud or soft, but just enough for Wang Zhen, Zhao Fusheng, and the others to hear clearly.

Wang Zhen clenched his fists, his eyes slightly red, his emotions agitated.

"What a disgrace. I wonder what her parents would think if they knew..." The two were still chattering away. Perhaps the ingrained flaw of the Chinese people is just this: they love to join in the excitement, love to gossip behind others' backs, and even more, love to stand on a moral high ground to judge others' actions.

Zhao Fusheng understood this very well, because in the age of the internet, he had seen too many keyboard warriors.

But clearly, Wang Zhen could not take it lightly, or rather, he could not tolerate it.

Turning around, Wang Zhen walked up to the two male students and said through gritted teeth, word by word: "Do you dare say that again?"

Zhao Fusheng felt a pang in his heart. He wanted to pull Wang Zhen back, but in the end, he did nothing and simply followed behind Wang Zhen.

"Say, say what?" The taller of the two glanced at Wang Zhen, shrugged, and said indifferently, "What, you like her?"

"A thief can't be criticized?" The other sneered.

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

A muffled grunt and a scream sounded almost simultaneously—Wang Zhen couldn't hold back and threw a punch.

The speaker was knocked to the ground. Wang Zhen was too strong; only the one hit could feel how fierce a full-force blow from a burly man weighing over ninety kilograms could be.

His companion was about to make a move, but Tan Kaixuan and Wen Yu emerged from behind. Tan Kaixuan wore a sinister grin: "Oh? What, want to fight?"

Wang Zhen wanted to hit again, but Zhao Fusheng grabbed him: "Wang Zhen, Wang Zhen, stop! This won't solve anything!"

He was more rational than anyone. Hitting this guy might vent Wang Zhen's anger, but it would only confirm Dong Chenxi's reputation as a thief, doing no good and meaning nothing at all.

Wang Zhen turned and stared at Zhao Fusheng: "Dong Chenxi must have been wronged. Do you believe me?"

Zhao Fusheng was startled. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his face changed dramatically.

"Go find her!"

Abruptly pushing Wang Zhen, Zhao Fusheng turned and pulled him away.

"What's wrong?" Wang Zhen was startled by Zhao Fusheng's action, his face full of confusion.

As for the two beaten male students, they stood up and were about to say something when Tan Kaixuan and Wen Yu blocked them. Not far away, Qin Wentao was walking toward them, talking with a few people.

"What's going on?" Qin Wentao looked curiously at Tan Kaixuan and Wen Yu scuffling with the other two, and in the distance, he could faintly see Zhao Fusheng's disappearing back.

"Looks like Zhao Fusheng got into a fight with someone," a roommate said.

Though they said that, they had no intention of helping.

Relationships among college students—except for those in the same dorm who might be especially close—classmates might become closer after graduation, but during school, people form their own small circles based on dormitories or interests.

But that was before. Now, Qin Wentao, upon hearing that Zhao Fusheng was in a fight, charged over without a second word, shouting, "Let's get them!"

His roommates looked bewildered but followed anyway.

After all, they were from the same dorm and the same class as Tan Kaixuan and the others. No matter who the other side was, since Qin Wentao had made a move, they couldn't just stand by and watch.

Every college student is the same: they miss their close-knit high school classmates and look forward to a brilliant and extraordinary college life.

Though almost all who think their college life is extraordinary end up having an ordinary, mundane experience, with few memories to leave behind, even as they try hard to remember.

Because most people are just ordinary.

But for Zhao Fusheng, the reason he could get to where he was now was often due to the vague memories in his mind. These memories lurked deep in his brain, and sometimes even Zhao Fusheng himself couldn't recall them clearly.

The moments when he occasionally remembered often sent chills down his spine.

In fact, most people experience this: they feel like something is hidden in their hearts, as if they've forgotten something crucial, but they just can't recall it until something actually happens, and then they suddenly wake up.

Whether in dreams or in reality.

What Zhao Fusheng woke up from in dreams was the lingering fear of the unreality of rebirth. In reality, he often felt that something was about to happen, but he couldn't recall what. He couldn't be omniscient—that was certain. The brain isn't a computer that can flawlessly retrieve massive stored data from a database. And Zhao Fusheng's brain couldn't even reliably remember things closely related to him. So many details from his past life were beyond his recall.

Sometimes he even wondered if his past life was just a dream, and this present life was the true beginning. He wasn't reborn; he was a prophet.

To hide a big secret, one must become mysterious and low-key. That was Zhao Fusheng. He had a treasure trove, but he had to use it reasonably, in line with his own interests.

Wang Zhen had a secret crush on Dong Chenxi. Zhao Fusheng didn't remember it clearly from his past life, because it didn't matter much to him. Later, Wang Zhen married someone else, not Dong Chenxi.

But the mocking words of those two just now suddenly flashed a few images through Zhao Fusheng's mind.

Like scenes from an old black-and-white movie, they swiftly passed before his eyes. Memories surged like a tide: Wang Zhen, after graduation, married and cried loudly at a gathering with friends; Tan Kaixuan and the others cursed the school leaders.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Fusheng finally remembered why the name Dong Chenxi would gradually fade from his memory.

In his junior year, on the first day of the semester at Ninghai Normal University, a student suicide occurred. Due to the underdeveloped internet and the school's deliberate control, the incident didn't cause a stir. Even Zhao Fusheng himself barely remembered it.

Even Wang Zhen never mentioned it at school—that the Dong Chenxi who died was the one he had secretly loved for so long. In fact, Zhao Fusheng knew that everything that was about to happen today would become a shadow Wang Zhen would never forget, haunting him for a long time.

If there were nightmares, perhaps for Wang Zhen, he would really want to treat everything that happened today as a nightmare.

And now, what Zhao Fusheng had to do was to prevent that tragedy.

That tragedy that would ruin the lives of several people.