Gu Mang and the others stood backstage at the school’s Culture and Sports Center.
On the surveillance camera’s screen they could see Meng Jinyang walking from one side onto the gorgeously decorated red-colored stage.
Gu Mang’s face was icy, her eyes terrifyingly grim, holding back an deathly aura. Her hands, hanging by her sides, were clenched tightly and the joints were pale.
“Parents, hello. I’m Meng Jinyang from Year Three Class Twenty.” Meng Jinyang bowed politely to the parents.
The Class One parent in the first row frowned and said, “Why is the school making you come up here? This has nothing to do with you. Who we want is to expel Gu Mang!”
“Yes! We want to expel Gu Mang!” A woman dressed like a rich upper-class person stood up. It was Ruan Qingqing’s mother, Xu Hui. “Let her come out and give her apology. If she were sensible she would drop out of school!”
Meng Jinyang smiled slightly. Without being over humble or overbearing, she said, “Gu Mang did nothing wrong. Why should she apologize if she hasn’t violated any school rules? Why should she need to drop out of school?”
“What are you saying! Don’t think that just because you are the top scorer you can come to reason with your elders like that. A bad student is a bad student! What good can she do?” Xu Hui sneered.
Meng Jinyang’s voice was clear and unhurried as she said, “Yes, Gu Mang does good deeds. She isn’t a bad student either.”
There was a steady light in the girl’s eyes as if she were defending her god.
Xu Hui had a mean expression on her face. “Stop spouting nonsense! Look at what she has done. She shouldn’t be at a normal school. She should be going to a special education school and be locked up!”
Meng Jinyang grasped the cuffs of her sleeves, her eyelashes trembling slightly. After being silent for a few moments, she sucked in a breath and said, “Gu Mang beating someone is not abnormal. She has been stronger than others ever since she was born. If she didn’t beat anyone up I believe I would have died when I was five years old.”
A commotion erupted in the audience.
Lin Zhou was stunned. Gu Mang beat the person into half-paralysis in order to save Meng Jinyang?
Xu Hui stared at Meng Jinyang. “What is the meaning of this? Are you making up stories to win our sympathy?!”
Meng Jinyang shook her head. She raised her hand and gestured at her stomach, her voice very soft as she said, “All the anorectal organs in my abdomen are artificial. Before the age of fourteen, I was wearing an ostomy bag every day. It took several major operations after that for me to go back to a normal life.”
Xu Hui’s eyes widened in shock.
All the parents were silent, staring blankly at the thin girl on stage.
No one would be so foolish as to compose such a story to earn people’s sympathy.
“I’m not sure if anyone has heard of a case in Changning County where a little girl was… hurt by a middle-aged man…” Meng Jinyang couldn’t say the actual words. Her mouth trembled awfully. She pursed her lips forcefully and continued to speak. “I was that little girl. I was about to die when Gu Mang saved me. That middle-aged man… was a… crazy…”
Meng Jinyang’s face grew paler as she trembled all over. She breathed slowly and controlled her emotions. “That’s why Gu Mang beat him up. It was to save me. Gu Mang was horrified when she saw me. She was only five years old. She only wanted to save me.”
