Song Shi wobbled her way back to the classroom.
As she pushed the door open, she spotted Chen Lishu standing at the podium.
After a moment's reflection, she remembered that today was Friday, indeed the day when Chen Lishu managed the school's classes.
Gently closing the door, she made her way to her seat.
She noticed that an additional set of desks and chairs had been added beside her.
It appeared that a new student would be transferring in.
Approaching her own desk, Song Shi pulled out her chair and sat down.
Hearing the noise from the back door, Chen Lishu glanced up and was momentarily taken aback at the sight of Song Shi, whose appearance was simply dismal.
Her face was smeared with dried blood, her chin bore bruises, and there was a raw scrape on her forehead that thankfully hadn't started bleeding, while she leaned on her waist, moving slowly, suggesting she had injured her back.
Of course, Song Shi could sense Chen Lishu's unreserved gaze upon her. She covered her forehead with her hand and hung her head, avoiding his eyes.
If only she had known, she would have washed her face in the restroom.
Regretting her decision, Song Shi felt a deep sense of frustration.
She simply couldn't muster the energy to stroll a few extra steps to the lavatory, her waist hurting.
Moreover, her current attitude was that regardless of her ghastly appearance, it was the others' discomfort, not her own, that truly mattered, as she was unable to see herself.
She had forgotten that this class was Chen Lishu's...
Deciding to retreat further, Song Shi laid her head on her desk, pretending to be dead.
After a brief interval, she finally heard Chen Lishu's voice commence the lesson.
It was accompanied by the hushed whispers of the students seated in front and beside her.
"I heard the new transfer student is from Yanming High School."
"Yanming? Wow, isn't that the top high school in our Outer City District 11? What kind of trouble did he get into to end up here?"
Typically, students who transferred to a controlled school midway were those whom other schools had rejected.
Thus, the inquiry made sense.
"He got into a brawl that left someone disabled; the school insisted on expelling him. His parents made two trips to the school protesting, and while they managed to avoid his expulsion, he can't return to Yanming and must spend the remainder of his last six months here."
"That situation sounds… umm… quite similar."
The unfortunate Song Shi, stripped of her name, thought, "…"
The student in front of her whispered, "He's only sitting here for three months."
The student ahead of him remarked, "What cursed misfortune has befallen our class? One didn't leave, and now another arrives."
Song Shi wanted to interject that she would be leaving soon, but weariness swept over her, and her eyelids felt too heavy to lift. Thus, she refrained from further argument.
In her dreams, her back felt warm, as if someone were providing her with a gentle massage, and she relished the sensation, reluctant to awaken.
Until, abruptly, a heated argument shattered her blissful slumber.
The commotion was coming from right beside her.
Yet, there was evidently no one sitting next to her.
Groggy and half-awake, Song Shi recalled that a new student had apparently transferred in.
"Your teaching is utterly terrible! Are you merely reading from the textbook? Are you a reading machine?"
The voice belonged to a boy.
"Is the teaching quality at Renxi Middle School so poor? It's no wonder your school ranks below ours," he added, showing a lack of manners and a presumptuous attitude.
Song Shi opened her eyes.
Before her stood a boy with half-tied wolf-cut hair, sporting multiple piercings in his ears, adorned with several silver and black studs.
Chen Lishu, maintaining his composure, responded gently, "This ethics textbook was compiled by numerous esteemed scholars, with examples drawn from contemporary issues. I have nothing to elaborate upon; even your teachers at Yanming could only recite it verbatim."
"Furthermore," Chen Lishu adjusted his glasses and positioned the book upright on the desk, "the aim of this course is not merely to impart knowledge. You all know the content well enough."
Students who had attended ethics classes in this course for two years nodded in agreement; the material offered little room for innovation.
They found it difficult to comprehend what had provoked such ire in this new transfer student.
"The essence lies in whether or not you can apply this knowledge. This class was instituted by the controlled school to remind you, through various instructors, of your responsibility to be law-abiding citizens."
"So, if you're unwilling to listen, you may follow the example of others and lay down to sleep," Chen Lishu added politely.
Unfortunately, the boy was unwilling to yield; he swept the book off the desk with a wave of his arm, sending it crashing to the floor. "Do you really think I need your reminders about ethics?"
As fate would have it, the very book he knocked off landed right on Song Shi's foot.
Song Shi stared blankly.
The student in front of her gasped in astonishment, his eyes widening dramatically as he instinctively shifted his chair further away from her.
Song Shi lifted her foot and kicked the book back toward him.
She did so with minimal force, and the book merely bumped into the leg of his desk and came to a halt.
Considering herself a magnanimous person, she refused to be angered by his inadvertent action.
Alas, the boy did not share her perspective.
"You disgusting eyesore! Who gave you the right to kick my book?"
Preparing to lay her head down and catch a little more sleep, Song Shi thought, "?!"
This time, the other classmates also donned peculiar expressions.
Chen Lishu at the podium repeatedly opened his mouth, attempting to intervene, yet the boy's relentless tirade left him with no opportunity to speak.
"Disgusting! Have you gone days without washing your hair? Honestly, I was already irritated coming to this school, and now I have to sit in the same row as someone like you!" The boy disdainfully kicked the book back away from him.
Having just washed her hair that morning, Song Shi raised her head, removed the spare hair tie from her wrist, and hastily gathered her disheveled hair, a result of her earlier altercation.
Noticing Song Shi's movements, the student in front of her inched forward, extending a leg outside the desk to brace for a quick exit.
Song Shi refrained from directly retaliating; she remembered the system's warning that she could not harm the innocent.
However, she found herself uncertain whether those who had verbally insulted her still counted as innocent.
Inquiring the system yielded no response.
Determined to test the waters for herself, Song Shi resolved to unravel this situation, laying the groundwork for future encounters.
The system had always loomed in her mind, governing her actions.
According to its rules, she must not inflict harm on the innocent.
But who exactly qualified as innocent?
Those who had never committed wrongdoing? Or were those who had not harmed her also included?
Where lay the boundaries of harm? For her, both verbal insults and physical assaults constituted injury, but did the system view it the same way?
Did the system's notion of harm delineate between intentional and unintentional injury?
Today, she would seize this opportunity to clarify it all.
Removing her wristwatch, Song Shi hurled it toward the boy's head.
The watch was solid, and she held no fear of it breaking.
Caught off guard by Song Shi's sudden aggression, the boy attempted to evade, but unfortunately, he was struck on the forehead.
A small bump rapidly formed as he clutched his brow, incredulously glaring at Song Shi and roaring, "Are you insane?!"
Meanwhile, Song Shi attentively monitored the system's notifications.
[Harming the innocent, Anti-abuse value progress: -1%]
Song Shi let out a sigh of relief.
Verbal insults did not count as harm, leaving her unable to retaliate.
Wrestling with the desire to strike, she gazed back at the boy, feeling nothing but annoyance.
(End of Chapter)