Chapter 46: The Shock of Expulsion

As Xu Chen pondered, many pairs of eyes turned toward him.

After all, in the past week or two, the relationship between Bing Ge and Xu Chen had become the talk of the campus.

Now that Bing Ge had been disciplined again, Xu Chen inexplicably found himself in the spotlight as well.

Xu Chen glanced toward Class 3 once more but saw no sign of Xie Bingran, Li Rui, or Fang Tao.

Beyond anger, Xu Chen worried more about Bingran’s safety.

That girl’s fists were riddled with scars—had she suffered further injuries in yesterday’s off-campus clash?

Atop the podium, the Discipline Office Director cleared his throat before continuing:

“In the recent conflict, Xie Bingran and Li Rui of Senior Three, Class 3, bore primary responsibility.

Their actions caused extremely恶劣 consequences and severely tarnished First High School’s reputation…”

“Both Xie Bingran and Li Rui have already received three major demerits each for prior misconduct.

After careful deliberation by the Student Discipline Committee and review by the school leadership,

they will be expelled from Senior Three, Class 3.”

When the announcement landed, the entire athletic field fell deathly silent.

Expelled…

“…”

After a moment of frozen stillness, a wave of uproar swept through the crowd.

Bing Ge’s expulsion and public reprimand exploded across campus in an instant.

The students were stunned.

No one expected the school to actually go through with an expulsion—Bing Ge’s past troublemaking had always resulted in routine punishments and self-reflections.

Now many were terrified.

They realized the school truly would expel someone.

And right before the college entrance exam…

This timing was tantamount to a death sentence for their exam hopes.

Could the school really operate like this?

With exams approaching, would any high school accept a transfer?

Expulsion was nothing like a gentle recommendation to withdraw.

A withdraw left room to return or transfer.

Expulsion at this critical moment meant a dead end.

And as two poor kids from small towns, Bingran and Li Rui had no connections to fall back on.

This effectively blocked their path to higher education entirely.

Xu Chen’s expression darkened.

If the expulsions stood, the school had left them no escape.

But it was irreversible now—like the low, heavy clouds gathering overhead, promising an unstoppable storm…

Xu Chen looked toward Class 3 again.

The real question was: where was Xie Bingran?

…

After the break, every homeroom teacher also used the incident as a solemn warning.

It seemed the school planned an unprecedented discipline campaign.

Bingran and Li Rui wouldn’t just be expelled—they’d be used as cautionary examples in training for a long time.

In a blink, the once-popular, universally admired “Bing Ge” became a taboo topic on campus.

Phrases like “My brother Bing Ge’s loyalty” and “First High’s War God” would lose any positive, idol-worthy meaning.

…

…

During the morning’s third-period break, Xu Chen arrived at Class 3’s door.

His presence naturally drew curious looks and murmurs.

As Bingran and Li Rui’s classmates, they’d heard all the gossip about Bing Ge and Xu Chen from Class 5.

Ignoring the stares, Xu Chen scanned the room but saw no Bingran or anyone he knew.

He hesitated, then turned and hurried down the stairs.

Behind the teaching building, a group of boys were hiding and smoking in the flowerbed corner.

Among them, Xu Chen spotted Zhao Feng’s broad frame.

“Brother Chen!” Zhao Feng and the others turned at once and called out.

Zhao Feng had a cigarette dangling from his mouth and looked unsettled.

“Do you know where Xie Bingran is?” Xu Chen asked.

“Bing Ge and Li Rui were called in for talks this morning… then they left campus.

We don’t know where they are now.

Maybe they went home…”

Xu Chen fell silent, his face grim.

Zhao Feng scratched his head and said,

“Brother Chen, don’t worry too much.

Neither Bing Ge nor Li Rui had real hopes for the entrance exam anyway.

Bing Ge always said that once the exam was over, he’d go south to find work.

Li Rui got his driver’s license and planned to drive a taxi…

Their expulsion really isn’t the end of the world.”

Xu Chen thought a moment and asked,

“Does anyone know what happened yesterday? What set off the conflict with Xie Bingran?”

Hearing his question, Zhao Feng hesitated.

The faces of his friends behind him turned tense.

Xu Chen pressed, “What’s wrong?”

Zhao Feng took a long drag and replied,

“Brother Chen, maybe you shouldn’t ask. Bing Ge already handled it—everything’s settled.”

Xu Chen frowned; Zhao Feng’s response seemed odd.

He clearly knew what happened but refused to say.

What was there to hide?

Xu Chen said, “Xie Bingran’s gone missing. We need to find her.

I have no clue what happened yesterday, so I can’t start looking.”

Zhao Feng knitted his brow, troubled.

Xu Chen continued, “Zhao Feng, if you still call me Brother Chen, tell me the truth.”

After a long silence, Zhao Feng stubbed out most of his cigarette and finally spoke:

“The head of Sports University, Wu Di, sent word he was out to get you, Brother Chen.

Bing Ge found out yesterday…

he met Wu Di and stopped it at the source.

But it caused quite a stir—both Sports University and our school know about it now…”

Xu Chen said, “Get me? Why?”

The moment the words left his mouth, he already guessed.

What else could it be?

That Sports University leader had to be one of Zhao Linlin’s sworn brothers, right?

Since his rebirth, aside from Zhao Linlin, he hadn’t crossed anyone else.

He’d already tangled with Ma Xiang at the vocational school—now this mess had dragged Xie Bingran in too.

Xu Chen fell silent, recalling Zhao Linlin’s mysterious message from last night.

No wonder her “concern” for him had an agenda…

That nonconformist girl really was a disaster magnet.

She never let go and always delivered big surprises…

Zhao Feng looked at Xu Chen, knowing he’d figured it out, and added,

“Bing Ge didn’t tell you because he wanted to clear this up privately for you.

After all, you kept Bing Ge’s owed debt secret and helped pay it off.”

“I didn’t tell her because I couldn’t find her,” Xu Chen thought, anger rising.

This back-and-forth wasn’t noble loyalty—it was childish, backward, and utterly foolish…