Molly (4)

“Teacher, my stomach suddenly hurts!”

At the exact moment the morning exercise music began, Mo Li abruptly raised her hand to ask for leave.

After receiving permission, she walked out of the classroom under a wave of knowing glances—classmates silently acknowledging the classic “I need to skip calisthenics” excuse.

Most students disliked the mandatory morning exercises and often used this period to feign illness and avoid them. Since this behavior had become widespread, teachers had grown wary and resistant.

For habitual offenders who skipped every few days with flimsy excuses, requests were often denied outright.

Mo Li, however, was seen by teachers as the ideal “good student.” To avoid leaving a bad impression, she’d never pulled such a stunt before. But today was different. She had a crucial mission that had to be carried out during morning exercises—when all students and staff would be gathered on the playground.

From the restroom window, she watched as students and teachers formed long lines and marched toward the field.

“It’s about time.”

With that thought, Mo Li stepped out of the restroom and headed straight for the faculty office on the same floor.

During exercise breaks, teachers usually locked the office door when leaving.
Officially, windows were supposed to be locked too—but such trivial details were often overlooked. To keep the room ventilated, the windows were typically left open.

Glancing around to confirm no one was watching, Mo Li placed both hands on the windowsill, pushed up lightly, and slipped inside with ease.

The empty office carried a faint scent of printer ink.
If she listened closely, she could still hear the distant melody of the broadcasted calisthenics routine from the playground.

It had just entered the third segment. Based on past experience, Mo Li estimated she had roughly ten minutes.

No time to waste. The moment her feet touched the floor, she hurried straight to homeroom teacher Li’s desk.

Her friends had told her that confiscated cosmetics were usually stored in the bottom drawer. So Mo Li began her search there.

She pulled it open—and sure enough, it was packed with items seized from students:
Boys’ trading cards used for battles. Girls’ makeup kits. All tossed in haphazardly.

But that wasn’t what she was looking for.

She moved to the next drawer—filled with teaching materials and lecture notes.

Two drawers down, disappointment began to creep in.

Could she really come back empty-handed? The thought made her chest tighten.

“Please… please let it be here…”

With a prayer in her heart, Mo Li opened the third-to-last drawer.

And there it was.

Her eyes lit up instantly.

“Found it!”

Inside lay a neat stack of comic manuscript pages.

After the incident, Teacher Li had confiscated these drawings from Bai Mian. But before she could return them, Bai Mian stopped coming to school altogether.

“Thank goodness… they’re still here.”

Mo Li quickly flipped through the pages to confirm. Then, clutching the stack tightly to her chest, she exhaled deeply—like a prisoner granted unexpected clemency.

“I’m saved… With this, I can make things right.”

Just then, the calisthenics music came to an abrupt stop. Mo Li rushed back the way she came, slipping out of the office just in time.

Retrieving Bai Mian’s comic manuscript was only the beginning. There was something even more important waiting ahead.

“Hey, do you think Mo Li found out we were talking behind her back at McDonald’s that day?”

The bell had rung—the time when students should have been returning to class. Yet four girls strolled side by side down the hallway, arms linked, completely at ease.

By tradition, afternoon period four at Xinwang High was self-study, and most students obediently stayed in their classrooms, focused on homework. As a result, aside from this chattering quartet, the entire building was unusually quiet.

They moved like a swarm of locusts—each classroom they passed briefly disrupted by their noise, drawing annoyed glances from studious peers.

Even noticing those hostile stares, the four showed no sign of restraint, continuing their conversation without a care.

“What do you mean ‘we’? Like we three did anything. You’re the one who spread those rumors, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!”

“That’s right!”

“Ugh, you guys are so disloyal!” the accused girl whined.

“Oh, really? When you claimed she was off enjoying a romantic getaway with her secret boyfriend, did loyalty matter then?”

“Hehe, fair point. But I wasn’t targeting Mo Li! It was just… the vibe at the time. I was only trying to share some internet memes I’d read…”

“Whoa, you total pervert!”

The group burst into laughter.

“She definitely knows. That’s why she’s making us run this weird errand.”

“Exactly! This is the Queen’s punishment—punishment!”

“You know why Mo Li wants us to block Teacher Li from entering the classroom, right?”

“No.”

“Don’t know.”

“…Seriously? You’re not even gonna check?”

“Well, you don’t know either, do you?”

“Guess you’re right…”

Normally, teachers didn’t patrol self-study periods, but Teacher Li usually made an exception—visiting the classroom in person to supervise.

Earlier that afternoon, Mo Li had approached the four girls and asked them to intercept Teacher Li before she arrived, ideally keeping her away for the entire period.

Though they didn’t understand her reasons, they agreed without hesitation.

“…Eh, whatever. Who cares about the reason? We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Exactly. If Mo Li asked, of course we’ll help.”

“Makes sense. Hahahaha.”

The topic was quickly dropped, replaced by the next idle chat.

“…Wait, how do we stop Teacher Li? Should we beat her up? No way, right?”

As they spoke, the group reached the stairwell—the only path Teacher Li would take to the classroom.

“How about you tell her you’re pregnant, Pervert?” one girl suddenly suggested.

“If your own student says she’s pregnant, Teacher Li will collapse in shock. No way she’ll make it to class after that.”

“Pregnant!? What the hell kind of joke is that? I’m still a virgin! And since when am I called ‘Pervert’?!”

“Can’t virgins get pregnant? Wasn’t the Virgin Mary a virgin too?”

“You two are so weird. I don’t get you at all…”

“Try shouting: ‘Teacher! I’m pregnant! The father is… the Principal!’ How’s that, Pervert?”

“Die already! Who’d sleep with that bald middle-aged—”

Before they could finish laughing, the sharp click of high heels echoed from the stairs.

“She’s coming!”

The four exchanged glances and fell silent instantly.

“Teacher Li!”

The young woman looked up, startled to see four of her female students standing shoulder-to-shoulder like a wall blocking the stairway.

“You four…”

“Teacher! My head hurts! Please take me to the infirmary!”

One girl suddenly cut in, groaning dramatically.

“My stomach hurts!”
“My leg hurts!”
“My… my hand hurts!”

“…Huh? Wait, what?”

Back in the classroom, several minutes had passed since the self-study bell rang.

Unlike the others, diligently writing with focused expressions, Mo Li sat stiffly, staring anxiously out the window.

Then—her phone buzzed.

[Done! I’ve got Teacher Li at the infirmary. Won’t be back anytime soon.]

Only after reading the message did Mo Li finally exhale in relief.

“…Thank you.”

Silently, she sent her gratitude. Then, gripping the stack of comic manuscripts, she stood up from her seat.

Under curious gazes from classmates, Mo Li walked to the front of the classroom and cleared her throat.

“Sorry to interrupt everyone,” she said.

Popular and well-liked, Mo Li commanded attention. At her words, boys and girls alike set down their pens and turned to listen.

“You all know Bai Mian hasn’t been to school for over a month.”

She glanced toward an empty desk, guilt heavy in her heart.

“The reason she’s not here… it’s because of me. I think… you all know that too, don’t you?”

No one answered.

Some surely agreed, but feared speaking up—afraid of challenging Mo Li’s status in the class.

“I was wrong. Terribly wrong. For a long time, I refused to see it. But…”

Mo Li recalled Bai Mian’s fury, her curses—pain she knew she deserved. And because of that, she stood here now.

“I want to apologize. I want to fix what I’ve broken.”

She lowered her head, voice thick with emotion.

“But I can’t do it alone. So—”

Here, she bowed deeply to her classmates.

The girl known as the Queen—the center of social circles since childhood—bowed her proud head for the first time among her peers.

“Please… help me. I’m begging you.”