RIRW – Chapter 190

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The counselor walked into the classroom with a dark expression and called the pale-faced Zhu Min outside.

As soon as Zhu Min left, the classroom erupted into a noisy discussion. In fact, some students had already sensed that something was off earlier, but they hadn’t reported it—worried that they might be wrong.

After all, Zhu Min had previously reported Zuo Dan without getting her facts straight, and everyone still remembered that clearly.

Who would have thought that Zhu Min’s belly really did end up growing?

Zhu Min was already divorced and had never remarried, yet she was pregnant. That was a major issue concerning her conduct.

Xiang Honghua ran over to Zuo Dan and said, “Zuo Dan, it’s true—she’s really pregnant. I noticed it back in the dorm, but I was afraid I might be mistaken. Turns out I wasn’t.”

Sun Hong, the oldest among Zhu Min’s dormmates and also a mother, had a more mature mindset. “Sigh, I kept hoping I was wrong. After all, this sort of thing is disgraceful. I never expected Zhu Min to be so foolish.”

The class life committee member said, “The real issue is: who’s the father? Now that Zhu Min’s been exposed, how can that guy get away without taking any responsibility?”

Xiang Honghua replied, “Isn’t it obvious? If we can tell, that man definitely knew too. He just doesn’t want to marry her.”

“What a disgrace. With this kind of scandal, our class is going to be infamous again,” the life committee member added.

Zuo Dan said nothing. She felt that Zhu Min would probably be expelled this time.

After class, Zhao Qianjin came to find Zuo Dan. He wanted to go with her to the counselor to understand the situation better. After all, as a man, it wasn’t appropriate for him to inquire too deeply into this kind of matter. But as class monitor, he couldn’t ignore it either.

Zuo Dan didn’t want to get involved either. Situations like this were always awkward for anyone. So she gave Zhao Qianjin a suggestion: “Comrade Class Monitor, I think in these kinds of situations, it’s never just one person’s fault. We should quickly identify the child’s father. You might not be in a position to ask Zhu Min directly, but you can track down the guy responsible. Once he’s out in the open, we can properly deal with this matter.”

Zhao Qianjin agreed—it was indeed important to find the man responsible.

So, he went to the counselor to ask whether the man had been identified yet.

A while later, Zhao Qianjin came back, face darkened. Zhu Min refused to say who the man was, wouldn’t go to the hospital for a checkup, and insisted she wasn’t pregnant—just had a bloated stomach.

“…” Zuo Dan thought Zhu Min was incredibly bold. With her experience, she could tell at a glance that Zhu Min was clearly showing.

“So what is the counselor planning to do now?” she asked.

Zhao Qianjin, visibly annoyed, said, “The counselor is furious. Everyone can see what’s going on, but Zhu Min keeps denying it, so things are at a standstill. But the school doctor is already in the office and confirmed that she is pregnant. She still refuses to admit it, clearly trying to protect the man. If she doesn’t cooperate with the examination, the school will issue disciplinary action directly.”

At this point, Zuo Dan no longer wanted to get involved either. Zhu Min’s situation was already a serious mess. “Old Class Monitor, I think now that the school is handling it, we don’t need to rush. Honestly, we’re all adults. No one can control anyone else. If problems come up, we class committee members just have to accept it.”

“Why do we even have someone like that in our class?” Zhao Qianjin was fuming. Zhu Min had already caused several problems before.

Zhu Min didn’t attend classes the entire day. Zhao Qianjin didn’t go asking again either.

After school in the afternoon, Zuo Dan came down the stairs and immediately saw Shen Yiming.

“Why are you here so early today?”

“Something happened in your class. I was worried,” Shen Yiming said, taking her schoolbag from her hands. He asked in a low voice, “Are you feeling okay anywhere?”

Zuo Dan leaned closer and whispered, “I’m fine, not feeling anything at all. Even better than before. You’re more caring than Shen Youyou.”

Shen Yiming smiled. “Then it must be a sweet little daughter.”

Zuo Dan smiled too. She felt it was probably a girl—lately, her skin had been getting better. She’d heard people say mothers become prettier when carrying daughters. She didn’t know if it was true.

Once they got in the car at the school gate, Zuo Dan finally started talking about what had happened in class.

Shen Yiming said, “There’s a stir in our department too, mainly among the freshmen. Some people had seen Zhu Min interacting with that male student before, so now the school is looking into him. Professor Gao assigned me to assist with the matter. But that guy clearly won’t admit to anything. When the disciplinary office came to investigate, he kept insisting he had nothing to do with Zhu Min.”

“Scumbag,” Zuo Dan commented bluntly. While Zhu Min had serious issues too, that man was clearly trash.

Then she said, “Anyway, the second child must be taught by my dad. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, they must not grow up to be stupid.”

Shen Yiming completely agreed. He decided that from now on, he should be more respectful to his father-in-law and avoid arguing with him. After all, old people have tempers just like children.

Zuo Dan really didn’t want to get involved in this matter, but she was the Secretary, and Shen Yiming was the assistant to the department director—obviously, they couldn’t stay out of it. That afternoon, Zuo Dan was summoned to the counselor’s office.

“Student Zuo Dan, you’re aware of the situation. This kind of problem emerging in our class is extremely serious. Even though Zhu Min refuses to admit she’s pregnant, the facts are clear. Her denial is useless. The school has already decided to expel her. The only problem now is that she refuses to reveal the name of the boy involved.”

Zuo Dan immediately analyzed, “Teacher, I don’t think Zhu Min will tell us who it is. She’s pregnant now and clearly can’t stay in school. Her only hope is to have that male student take responsibility.”

The counselor said sternly, “Even so, the school can’t just let that male student stay like nothing happened. This is covering up the truth.”

Zuo Dan tried to comfort her, “Teacher, I don’t think we need to rush. Zhu Min is trying to protect him now, but that also depends on whether that boy is actually willing to marry her. I don’t think he will. When the time comes, Zhu Min will say it herself.”

“There are too many variables in this. What is Zhu Min even thinking? Something this serious happened, and she still wants to protect him. How did she even get into this school?”

The counselor was clearly angry. This wasn’t the first time Zhu Min had caused trouble. No one in the entire class was as problematic as her. Such a scandal at a prestigious school like Jing University—how embarrassing if the news got out. As her counselor, she would also have to bear responsibility.

The counselor didn’t want to handle it anymore and had no patience left, so she delegated the issue to the class officers.

As the Secretary in charge of ideological guidance, Zuo Dan was forced to take the lead.

Brainwashing—once again, she had to try brainwashing. But Zhu Min’s mind was all twisted up already—how was she supposed to wash that?

She couldn’t. So all she could do was act.

After a quick discussion among the class officers, Xiang Honghua hurried off to the dormitory to find Zhu Min.

Zhu Min was sitting in the dorm like someone who had given up on everything. She showed no signs of nervousness. As soon as Xiang Honghua entered, she asked, “Zhu Min, did you used to date that first-year student from the economics department, Li Baohua?”

“No such thing.” Zhu Min flatly denied it.

Xiang Honghua breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I just saw him at the library with a pretty girl. My friend from the economics department said that’s his fiancée—they’re getting married soon.”

Zhu Min’s face immediately changed.

Xiang Honghua added, “Good thing it’s not Li Baohua. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even know who to hold responsible. I heard the school is expelling you. And you’re pregnant… How will you live in the future?”

After saying that, Xiang Honghua sighed and left the dorm. As soon as she got downstairs, she quickly hid behind a flower bed and whispered to Zhao Qianjin nearby, “Class leader, do you think she’ll actually go find Li Baohua? Is it really him?”

“Didn’t Zuo Dan say to give it a shot anyway? He’s the most suspicious,” Zhao Qianjin said, staring intently at the dorm entrance.

He hadn’t caught the issue of Zhu Min’s pregnancy earlier, so now he had to make up for it by catching the guy responsible. The tall sports committee member behind him asked, “If we find him, should we beat him up?”

The student life committee member rolled his eyes, “Beat him? Is it worth getting punished over someone like that?”

Just as they were speaking, Zhu Min really did come out of the dorm. The group hunched down and quietly followed her.

As expected, Zhu Min went to the library. She tried to keep a calm expression so no one would notice anything off. But once she entered and saw Li Baohua laughing and chatting with a girl, her expression completely changed, and she couldn’t suppress her emotions anymore—she rushed over.

“Li Baohua, who is she?!” she shouted, pushing the girl aside.

The girl was startled at first, but then calmly patted her clothes and said, “Baohua, who is this woman to you?”

“She has nothing to do with me,” Li Baohua quickly replied. There was no way he would admit to having anything to do with Zhu Min. If he did, he’d be expelled.

“Li Baohua, how can you be so heartless?! I suffered so much for you, and you betray me like this!”

Li Baohua frowned, “What nonsense are you spouting? I have nothing to do with you.”

The girl smiled, “Baohua, I’ll be off then. Let’s go out this weekend, okay?”

Before Li Baohua could respond, Zhu Min, completely agitated, lunged toward the girl. Zhao Qianjin and the sports committee member immediately stepped in and restrained her. The girl took the opportunity to run off, and as she passed Xiang Honghua outside, she patted her shoulder.

“Remember to tell Secretary Zuo, I completed Assistant Shen’s mission. I really almost got hit this time.”

Xiang Honghua waved her off, “Got it, got it. Go quickly.”

The girl smiled and ran off.

Having failed to hit the girl, Zhu Min turned all her rage toward Li Baohua. “Li Baohua, how can you be so heartless?! I gave you everything, and now I have nothing left. How can you treat me like this?!”

Xiang Honghua quickly rushed over and said the lines Zuo Dan had taught her: “Zhu Min, are you still protecting him? Is he the father of your child? You’ve lost everything now. You’re facing punishment, disgrace, and you’re carrying a baby alone. He’s already dating another girl! Speak up! He has to marry you—if not, it’s illegal!”

Zhu Min was utterly devastated. Li Baohua had told her he loved her and just needed time to convince his family. But now, he was with another girl?

He had betrayed their love. “It’s Li Baohua! It’s Li Baohua!” she screamed.

Li Baohua frowned and tried to leave, but the sports committee member grabbed him. “You can’t go, classmate. Zhu Min has identified you as the father of her child. We suspect there are serious issues with your conduct.”

Li Baohua tried to struggle, but the sports committee member twisted both his arms behind his back.

Although Zuo Dan wasn’t directly involved, the whole matter was organized by her. So after Li Baohua was taken to the disciplinary office, Zhao Qianjin and the others came back to report to her.

Zhao Qianjin said, “That guy is truly worthless—no sense of responsibility at all. He couldn’t even admit to what he did.”

“Zuo Dan, you should’ve seen it for yourself. That Li Baohua was downright disgusting,” Xiang Honghua said angrily.

Zuo Dan didn’t really want to go, but she sighed helplessly. “This kind of thing is naturally my responsibility. But Zhu Min has such a deep prejudice against me—if I go, it might complicate things.”

Everyone understood this, since it was common knowledge. So they didn’t insist on her confronting Zhu Min directly.

Zhao Qianjin took the initiative to follow up on the matter. After all, he was the class monitor. Now that the male culprit had been caught, how things would proceed depended on the follow-up.

Since Zuo Dan felt the matter was resolved, she stopped getting involved.

A few days later, the school issued an announcement: both Li Baohua and Zhu Min were expelled.

There had long been no suspense about this outcome, so no one was surprised when they saw the notice. Zuo Dan, however, found it quite ironic. Back then, Zhu Min abandoned her husband and child just to attend college. And now, because she got pregnant with another man’s child, she lost her chance to attend university.

And it wasn’t just about losing her opportunity—due to their behavior, the issue escalated into a matter of moral conduct. It might even fall under the category of hooliganism, so the public security bureau had been alerted.

That afternoon, the police came directly to the school’s disciplinary office to take them away.

Because Zhu Min was emotionally unstable, the counselor called Zuo Dan over to help talk her down. They didn’t want the scene to escalate into something bloody.

Who would’ve thought that the moment Zhu Min saw Zuo Dan, she became even more agitated.

“Why? Zuo Dan, why did this happen to me? Why do you get everything, and I get nothing?” she shouted at her through tears.

Zuo Dan said with pain in her voice, “Zhu Min, seeing you like this really saddens me. Why do you think rural people must live worse than those from the city? Anyone who sincerely strives to live well deserves happiness. But ask yourself honestly—what have you done to deserve it? You married your husband to escape work, and once you got a chance to attend university, you abandoned him. If you had realized your mistake in time, you might’ve still had a bright future. But you had to keep comparing yourself with others, and that’s why you were drawn to Li Baohua’s family background. Zhu Min, when will you wake up?”

Zhu Min held her head and cried. She felt like life was just too unfair. Why did a city girl like her have to go to the countryside as a sent-down youth and be forced to marry a rural man? Just when she thought she could start anew, she ran into someone like Li Baohua. “It’s not fair, so unfair. I gave up so much…”

Zuo Dan held back a scoff and said seriously, “Unfair? You love the city and look down on the countryside. But there are people who’ve grown up and lived their whole lives in rural areas. You were raised in the city—do you still think life’s unfair to you?”

She continued sincerely, “Zhu Min, look around you. No one is hostile toward you. You’ve just been blinded for a while. I know you must’ve once been a kind-hearted girl. Think it over carefully, and then live your life seriously. Compared to the youth still struggling in the frontier regions, you are very fortunate. Please cherish that. I hope the next time I see you, you’ll be the same sunny, radiant girl I met the first time. Think of your teachers and classmates—we all hope you’ll pull yourself together and become a better person.”

Zhu Min squatted on the ground and cried. Though she wasn’t resisting as intensely as before, it seemed more like she was too overwhelmed to fight back. After all, being lectured by someone you once looked down on can be a huge emotional blow.

Still, it made things easier for the police to take her away.

The counselor was very satisfied with this outcome and patted Zuo Dan on the shoulder.

With Zhu Min gone, the matter was no longer the school’s responsibility. But the counselor was still reprimanded and so held a class meeting to address it. She specifically criticized Zhao Qianjin and Zuo Dan for failing to properly manage the class.

After they both sincerely admitted their mistakes, the counselor added, “Of course, I also want to commend them for successfully identifying Li Baohua, and for Zuo Dan persuading Zhu Min and assisting the police. Well done. Zuo Dan, would you like to say a few words?”

Zhao Qianjin had nothing to say—he was more of a doer than a talker—so the speaking duty fell to Zuo Dan.

She said emotionally, “Anyone can make mistakes. But the mistakes we make must have boundaries—don’t cross moral lines, don’t hurt yourself, and don’t hurt others. The mistake Zhu Min made hurt herself and disappointed those who cared for her—her family, teachers, and classmates. Now that she’s been punished, there’s no need to dwell on it. Let her reform herself and become a useful person to society. At the same time, let us take this as a lesson. From now on, let’s love ourselves, love others, and hold on to our moral bottom lines. I hope that when we graduate, no one from our class will be missing.” She paused for breath. “Let’s always remember—we are classmates who love and support each other. Let’s be understanding and forgiving, and let our friendship last forever—”

Applause erupted in the classroom and grew louder and louder.

By the end of June, Zuo Dan noticed her belly was starting to show. She had been eating well, and had even put on weight all over.

She felt like her good-student image was crumbling. She used to be the rule-abiding, ideologically upright student. Now… she was the one breaking the rules. But she didn’t regret it—this child was her greatest source of joy.

Some observant classmates had noticed. Zuo Dan faced it openly.

What surprised her was that no one said anything. They all tacitly avoided asking her about it.

At the end-of-term class meeting, the counselor gave her belly a few meaningful glances.

“Zuo Dan, come to my office afterward,” she said.

Clearly, the counselor had sensed something. Zhao Qianjin offered, “Teacher, is there anything you need us to help with? We’re happy to assist.”

The counselor replied, “…I just noticed that Zuo Dan has changed a bit and wanted to check in on her.”

Xiang Honghua chimed in, “Zuo Dan did gain some weight. When someone puts on a bit of weight, they get rounder. She does look different, but it’s nothing unusual.”

Someone else echoed, “Yeah, looking a little chubby is nice.”

“Fair and plump—nothing wrong with that.”

Even those who didn’t fully support her remained silent. No one criticized her, and definitely no one reported her.

So the whole class, as if by silent agreement, covered for her.

Zuo Dan held her forehead. Who knew she was actually so well-liked?

The counselor’s face darkened. She felt like these students were treating her like a blind fool. They were all adults—how could they lie so shamelessly?

But with final exams approaching, she decided not to stir things up. Better to deal with it after the break—no need to impact exam performance. “Alright, Zuo Dan, make sure to review properly. Also, watch your diet. Being too fat isn’t good either.”

With that, she swept away, leaving Zuo Dan full of black lines. This was called being “prosperously plump”!

No matter what, Zuo Dan appreciated her classmates’ good intentions. Everyone quietly avoided the topic of her pregnancy and focused on exam prep. After all, exams wouldn’t give her full marks just because she was pregnant.

If anything, her pregnancy made her more determined to do well—to prove that nothing could interfere with her studies.

Seeing Zuo Dan bury herself in books right after dinner, Chen Zhisen felt heartache and scolded Shen Yiming, “Why didn’t you wait until after graduation?”

Shen Yiming had no comeback.

Zuo Dan quickly interjected, “Dad, we were worried that the policies might change. Look, now we’re allowed to have a second child—but what if later it’s back to one?”

Chen Zhisen felt a bit jealous at how Zuo Dan defended Shen Yiming. Of course, he didn’t show it. Instead, he said, “Why worry? The child can be registered abroad. It’s the same as raising them by your side.”

But Shen Yiming didn’t want to concede. “Dad, both of our household registrations are domestic.”

Chen Zhisen said coolly, “Then register the child under the grandfather’s name. Remember how Youyou’s was handled when he was little?”

Seeing both Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming staring at him, he smiled and said, “I’m just saying ‘if.’ Since there’s no policy change yet, it’s fine. Don’t overthink it.”

Shen Yiming found it hard not to overthink. But at times like this, pretending to be clueless was the best strategy.

“Right. We’re not overthinking it.”