In an instant, Lu Zhu felt as if she had fallen into an ice pit, her whole body chilled to the bone.
"What did you say?" Lu Zhu hoped she had heard wrong.
The old lady, with her eyes half-open, gripped Lu Zhu’s sleeve so tightly her hand almost formed a fist.
"You hit me, you can’t run away!"
The baked sweet potato Lu Zhu had been carrying dropped to the ground.
It was quickly trampled into a mash by the passing people, pitifully sticking to the plastic bag.
In the hospital, Lu Zhu, compelled to come along, sat on a bench, her mind in complete chaos.
Only four words remained.
Being a good person never pays off.
Otherwise, her dad wouldn’t have died so young, and she and her mom wouldn’t have been kicked out of the house after her grandmother took the condolence money.
She wouldn’t have been bullied by her uncle’s family, forced to kneel and kowtow to them, exchanging their cheap sympathy for a chance to go to school.
Ha, she was such an idiot, her dad who always played the good man was already dead, wasn’t he? Turned to ashes!
Lu Zhu raised her hand and fiercely slapped herself.
She hung her head, until someone grabbed her collar and yanked her up harshly.
"Was it you who hit my mom? Are you even human, my mom is so old, how could you not watch where you were going?"
The family members summoned by the hospital glared at Lu Zhu, and if it weren’t for the medical staff holding him back, the old lady’s son would have almost hit Lu Zhu.
"I didn’t!" Lu Zhu said indifferently, "That old hag got hit by a car on her own."
The man was furious, "What did you call my mom? I’ll kill you today."
Lu Zhu looked at him coldly, the last bit of light disappearing from her eyes.
"Fine, go ahead and hit me, you’ll at least be detained, and if you punch me a few more times you might even be charged with assault, you could be sentenced."
The man’s raised fist stopped mid-air, "Bastard! You hit my mom and still dare to talk to me like that, how are you worthy of being a student of Lingguang No.1 Middle School?"
Lu Zhu was released by the man and lowered her head to adjust her uniform, ignoring the other party.
Her indifferent attitude made the onlookers especially disdainful.
"She hits someone and still acts so arrogant, shameless."
"I heard if the old lady hadn’t grabbed her, she would have run away, what terrible character!"
"Quick, notify the school teacher, have the teacher contact her parents, she must compensate!"
When the homeroom teacher arrived, Lu Zhu was surrounded by a crowd pointing fingers, one person even spat on Lu Zhu’s face.
Lu Zhu numbly and mechanically wiped it off, remaining still otherwise.
"What are you doing!" The homeroom teacher rushed over and shielded Lu Zhu behind him, "She’s still a child, can’t you speak nicely?"
Zhang Dalu, who was the son of the injured Mrs. Lu, was furious.
"Speak nicely? Is talking nicely useful? She knocked down my mom and still wants to deny it, why should such a shameless person even go to school?"
He looked past the homeroom teacher.
"Where are her parents? Their daughter has knocked someone down and they don’t care? No wonder they raised such a person."
Lu Zhu’s eyes slightly moved, but she said nothing.
"Her father is a martyr, and her mother couldn’t come due to health reasons. I’ll say it again, speak properly, do not insult my student."
Hearing the word "martyr," Zhang Dalu snorted, seemingly mocking that a martyr’s daughter could be so disgraceful.
After some negotiation, Zhang Dalu’s anger slowly calmed down.
But his look at Lu Zhu was still quite hostile.
"I can let go of this matter, but she must compensate all the medical and nutritional expenses, and mental anguish, totaling ten thousand yuan."
The homeroom teacher was annoyed, "You’re asking for a huge sum."
"My mom is still in the hospital room, the doctor said her leg is broken and needs surgery, at her age it’s uncertain if she can survive the procedure. Is this amount of money a lot?"
The homeroom teacher was at a loss for words, yet Lu Zhu suddenly stood up.
"I said, I didn’t hit her, she was hit by a car!"
Zhang Dalu glared, "If not you, then who? My mom pointed you out."
The homeroom teacher gently hugged Lu Zhu, whispering, "Lu Zhu, let’s tell the truth."
"What I’m saying is the truth!"
The homeroom teacher lowered his voice, "But before I got here Ye Chunxiao and Zhou Xitong both came to me, they said they saw you knock the old lady down."