To make the video more convincing, and more realistic, Chen Ge had carefully chosen his angles while filming. He hadn't captured any of his employees on camera — only himself and the bullies.
Anyone who didn't know the truth, if they just watched the footage, might assume Chen Ge had single-handedly brawled with a group of bullies several times his number.
By the time filming was done, every bully lay sprawled on the ground. The looks in their eyes as they stared at Chen Ge were filled with nothing but fear.
"You should've learned your lesson this time, right?" Chen Ge didn't bother with the bullies anymore. He set down his backpack, flopped onto the ground, and rolled around until his clothes were covered in dust. Then he tore open his jacket and pant legs, and finally smeared himself with the blood on other people's bodies.
"A hero always needs to look the part — tragic and battle-worn."
The employees around him were long since used to this. They simply looked at the bullies with a touch of sympathy — running into their boss was just their bad luck.
Once the employees were recalled, Chen Ge steadied himself against the wall and headed back the way he'd come. He needed to return to the infirmary.
He hadn't gone far when he rounded a corner and slammed straight into a boy coming from the opposite direction.
"Another bully's lackey?" It didn't matter who it was — the moment he was bumped, Chen Ge let himself fall backward, creating distance.
"Chen Ge!"
What filled his vision was a round, chubby face. The newcomer had ordinary features with a bit of baby fat, and his eyes were brimming with worry.
"Li Bing?" This boy was Chen Ge's deskmate. Before, when the other kids bullied Chen Ge, he had always kept silent. To avoid being targeted, even when he did communicate with Chen Ge, it was only through passing notes. "What are you doing here?"
"I..." Li Bing took in Chen Ge's disheveled state — his torn clothes, his dust-covered face, the bloodstains on his body — and immediately panicked. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"What are you apologizing for? I don't have time to waste talking. If you're not one of those bullies, step aside." The blood-red sun hanging over the Ghost School had started to change, and Chen Ge was in a rush to get to the infirmary.
"I came to help you! I already told the teacher!" Li Bing's gaze was resolute. The change in him caught Chen Ge off guard. "This is all I can do for you. I hope you won't provoke them again. Those guys are connected with thugs from outside the school. They've got a lot of people, and they even have well-performing friends who speak up for them with the teachers. If you keep going like this, you'll pay a heavy price."
"I appreciate that you were willing to stand up for me, but there are some things I won't compromise on." Chen Ge leaned weakly against the wall. "I'm the stubborn type. Right is right, wrong is wrong. When something is clearly wrong and people go along with it anyway, pretending it's fine — I can't do that."
"I'm not telling you to go along with them! I'm telling you how to survive better in this school!" Li Bing pleaded earnestly. Chen Ge understood his good intentions.
"What you're saying makes sense, but someone has to stand up." Chen Ge wiped the blood from his collar, his voice slightly hoarse. "Standing up to a bullying clique, speaking up for those who get picked on — everyone knows this is a thankless, foolish thing to do. Why sacrifice yourself for someone else's well-being? But have you ever considered — it's precisely because everyone thinks that way that those small pockets of psychologically twisted bullies can be so brazenly unchecked!"
Chen Ge's voice grew louder. "I've always believed that people are fundamentally kind, that the vast majority bear no ill will. But if the kind-hearted are clearly in the overwhelming majority, why do they still get bullied by that small handful of scumbags?"
Li Bing's mouth hung open, at a loss for words.
"Let me tell you the answer. Because kindness is easily mistaken for weakness. No one dares to speak up, no one dares to stand out, and that's why those scumbags can run rampant." Chen Ge grabbed Li Bing's hand and pressed it against his own chest, where the blood of outside thugs had been smeared generously. "People like us — the kind-hearted — make up the majority. Everyone simply lacks the courage to step forward. What they need is someone to set the example."
Li Bing finally understood Chen Ge's earnest intentions. "So that's why you openly challenged the bullies in class?"
"No matter when, no matter where, bullying is wrong. If they won't acknowledge their mistake, then I'll remind them in my own way." Chen Ge reached out and gripped Li Bing's shoulder. "I can't fall. I have to show everyone that those bullies aren't so fearsome — that there's no reason to be afraid of them at all! Anyone can stand up, bravely call them out, and show them contempt! If everyone had that kind of resolve, bullying would be stopped before it even happens!"
Honestly, Li Bing had stopped listening to the specifics of what Chen Ge was saying partway through. All he knew was that it sounded profoundly right, and it made the blood in his veins burn hot.
"There are four bullies in total. You stood up for me today. If other students follow your lead, how many people would come to my side? Wouldn't we vastly outnumber the bullies?"
Li Bing nodded firmly. He might still not have the courage to openly help Chen Ge in front of the bullies, but at least his way of thinking had fundamentally changed.
"Come on. Come with me somewhere." Chen Ge wanted to bring Li Bing along to the infirmary. He had thought of a rather good plan.
"Where? The teacher might be coming soon, and those people who bullied you, they..."
Before Li Bing could finish, Chen Ge handed him Lin Sisi's phone. "I won this round. But if the day comes when I fall, I hope you'll be able to do the same — not bow your head to them."
After watching the video and then looking again at Chen Ge's dust-caked, bloodstained clothes, Li Bing was truly shaken this time. His desperate resolve shattered, and a faint glimmer of hope stirred in his heart.
The two of them sprinted together toward the infirmary. The hallway was completely devoid of students; only a handful of hurried school staff members could be spotted here and there.
"Come in with me?" Chen Ge led Li Bing into the infirmary and walked straight to Yan Fei's bed. "Under that white sheet — that's Yan Fei."
Li Bing felt a pang of guilt over Yan Fei. He hesitated for a long time before finally lifting the white cloth.
When he saw Yan Fei lying on the hospital bed, Li Bing repeated "I'm sorry" several times in rapid succession.
What caught Chen Ge's attention was that Yan Fei, who had shown no response whatsoever until now, upon seeing Li Bing, actually twitched his fingers. His gaze slowly drifted toward Li Bing.
"The two of them must have been good friends once."
Time was limited. Chen Ge didn't waste words. He took out Lin Sisi's phone directly and opened the video for Yan Fei to watch.
"They'll never bully you again." Chen Ge repeated to Yan Fei everything he had just said to Li Bing. He hoped Yan Fei could understand him, because this was the path he had chosen — a path completely different from the Painter's and from Chang Wenyu's.