Chapter 62
Hao Ren thought about it for a moment but walked out of the Administrative Building and returned to his dorm instead.
On his way up the staircase and through the hall, he found that all of the male students, whether they knew him or not, were all staring at him strangely as if he was an alien.
"Is that him? Sun Han's rumored boyfriend? The guy who beat Huang Xujie at the long-distance race, and the one who fought against half of the basketball team on his own?"
"You can't really tell from his appearance, can you? He looks just like a normal kid, who would have thought…"
They continued to gossip behind Hao Ren's back. None of them had ever imagined that Hao Ren, an ordinary looking student and a n.o.body in the school, could have badly beaten up those arrogant and presumptuous players on the basketball team.
Their words, more or less, had not escaped Hao Ren's keen hearing. He found that as more people talked about it, the more exaggerated and distorted the descriptions of the incident had become.
Paying no attention to their comments, Hao Ren directly returned to the third floor; all he cared about right now was Zhao Jiayi's condition.
"Ren, you took care of half of the basketball team all by yourself?" Gu Jiadong rushed out and asked astoundingly as he saw Hao Ren pa.s.s by their dorm room.
It seemed that the people in their dorm building fell behind on the news. After Zhao Jiayi went to the hospital and Hao Ren went to the Administrative Building, the reports of Hao Ren's heroic deeds such as how he took on multiple players and frightened and restrained them finally came through.
By the time Hao Ren had come back, word had spread throughout the dorm building No.7 and the entire southern region of the dorm area.
"Is Zhao Jiayi and the others back yet?" Hao Ren asked.
"Not yet, but Yu Rong called just now and said that the test results are out. According to the results, Zhao Jiayi's injuries are mostly bruises, and the worst injury was just a muscle strain on his right arm. Zhou Liren also only has a bruise around his eyes… and that's all," Gu Jiadong replied.
Hao Ren felt slightly relieved upon receiving this update. Luckily, Zhao Jiayi had tough skin. Acquiring only minor injuries after being a.s.saulted by a round of basketball players indicated that Zhao Jiayi was no doubt the fittest in their dorm room.
"Oh, and there is something else," seeing that Hao Ren started to head towards Room 302, Gu Jiadong stopped him and said, "Apparently, two of those guys on the basketball team have mild bone fractures, one pulled his hamstring, and one got sc.r.a.pes on his back. Out of the six, four have been injured, and the situation seems more serious than what the Cla.s.s President had said. Since this is the latest update acquired by Yu Rong, I think it should be accurate."
Hao Ren went blank for a second and did not say anything.
"It seemed that the basketball team suffered more from this
Taking out his key, he got into their dorm room and seated himself in front of his desk. He then opened a textbook and tried to read, but he couldn't digest any of it. After all, with the occurrence of such a hectic incident, he could not remain calm.
Shortly after, Zhao Jiayi and Zhou Liren had returned with Xie Yujia's company.
When they saw that Hao Ren was reading on the balcony, they couldn't help but almost applaud him for being so composed.
"How was it? Are you alright?" Hao Ren inquired as soon as the gang walked in.
"Nothing serious. I just pulled my arm. With a few days of rest, it will be fine," Zhao Jiayi answered. After today's incident, he looked to Hao Ren with a slight sense of reverence.
No one would have guessed that Hao Ren, who was mild and gentle and had a name even resembled the p.r.o.nunciation of "good person", was such an incredible fighter. To Zhao Jiayi, who had shared a room with Hao Ren for a long time and supposedly knew him well, it came as an even bigger surprise.
"You already know about the situation with the basketball team, right?" Yu Rong walked over and asked Hao Ren.
"Yes, more or less," Hao Ren put the book back on the desk.
"The basketball team consists of 12 players. Four of them are now injured, and they are all starting players. Not only that, this incident will likely affect the outcome of the basketball match between East Ocean University and Jinghua University which is taking place two weeks from now. Hence, the school will definitely take this incident seriously," Xie Yujia said solemnly as she turned to face Hao Ren.
She was a little irritated. At a time like this, the fact that Hao Ren was able to read calmly and act as if nothing had happened had angered her. She felt like all the worries she had for him had gone to waste.
"Ren, this has nothing to do with you. I started the whole thing! It doesn't matter if it results in punishment or expulsion, I am the one responsible and will deal with the consequences alone!" Zhao Jiayi spoke up suddenly.
"What nonsense, I was the one who injured those guys, and you are a victim who was a.s.saulted by those players. This has nothing to do with you!" Hao Ren stood up and stated determinedly.
"Don't leave me out!" with bruises around one of his eyes, Zhou Liren stood with them.
"Me too. They'd better penalize none of us or all of us! F*ck, if they're going to make one of us a scapegoat, then all of us in Room 302 will be scapegoats together!" Cao Ronghua who was usually gentle and soft-spoken declared fiercely.
"Alright! Stop this, you guys!" Xie Yujia raised her hand and interrupted them, "At any rate, I will try my best to ease things with the school. Don't you dare stir up any more trouble at this time!"
Zhao Jiayi disagreed with her words, "What do mean we stirred up trouble, they were the ones…"
Seeing that Zhao Jiayi was raising his voice at Xie Yujia, Hao Ren promptly pulled at Zhao Jiayi's arm to stop him from continuing. He then turned to Xie Yujia and said, "Thank you, Cla.s.s President, and sorry for all the trouble we caused you."
Looking at Hao Ren, Xie Yujia paused and gave up on lecturing him. In the end, she could only let out a sigh. "Ay…"
Then, she turned and walked out of Room 302.
"Ren, don't worry, it's probably going to be detention or something! I will see the Guidance Counsellor tomorrow and explain everything. I will take full responsibility and accept all consequences. In any case, this should have nothing to do with you!" after Xie Yujia walked out, Zhao Jiayi looked at Hao Ren and said.
"It can't be that simple…" Hao Ren responded silently.
Xie Yujia was right. If this incident had taken place at any other time, it would not have been a big problem, and they might get off with just a verbal warning. However, the fact that it happened right before the basketball match between East Ocean University and Jinghua University had made it complicated.
Jinghua University was the runner-up for last year's National College Basketball League, and their basketball team's skill sets were comparable to those of East Ocean University's. After all, they lost with a mere two-points difference at last year's finals.
This year, they called for a friendly exhibition match with East Ocean University before the official start of the season; it was obvious that it was an act of provocation. If East Ocean University lost this match, it would significantly impact the morale of the team and their confidence to do well in the regular season. As a result, both the basketball team and the school placed immense emphasis on winning this match.
Yet, during such a pivotal moment, the top players on the school's basketball team had been injured in a fight. This has turned into a very sensitive matter.
If the school was hoping to defend their champion t.i.tle this year, they would have to take the basketball team's concerns into consideration. Having said that, even without the imminent match, the school would have ruled in the basketball team's favor to pacify the group anyway.
Moreover, Hao Ren knew that the captain of the basketball team, who usually only took responsibility for training the team and rarely got involved in any school affairs, had taken matters into his own hands this time.
One way or another, this dispute had to be resolved!