Chapter 2: Vindication

At last, the long wait was over. Their homeroom teacher, Old Chen, appeared at the classroom door and announced that class was over. Yet Zhang Qin’s mood did not settle simply because the bell had rung. His heart still roiled with waves of anxiety and unease over what had happened the day before.

Old Chen walked slowly into the office. Zhang Qin immediately rose from the desk, clutching a stack of papers in his hands. It was his detailed account of everything that had happened yesterday. His voice carried a trace of tension and hope. “Mr. Chen, would you take a look at what I wrote? This is my full explanation of yesterday’s events.”

Old Chen nodded, signaling him to continue. Zhang Qin drew a deep breath and began to recount what had happened the day before. “Mr. Chen, yesterday afternoon I was among the first group on the track to practice the triple jump. You were supervising the whole time, so you should remember that clearly.”

“Yes, I know,” Old Chen replied.

Zhang Qin went on. “And when I went up to practice, I went up together with you. You should know that too. After the practice ended, I came down with everyone else, and basically everyone can testify to that.”

Old Chen nodded again, gesturing for him to continue.

Zhang Qin kept speaking. “What I need to prove now is that I was also present when Teacher Huang was celebrating his birthday. Yesterday was Teacher Huang’s birthday, and I really was there. At the time, Teacher Huang even specifically asked whether I wanted some cake. You can ask the other teachers to confirm that if you like.”

Old Chen gave a slight nod, indicating for him to continue.

Zhang Qin explained further. “Next, you might think I secretly slipped away during that free period, right? But I remember the class monitor was filming video there the whole time, and I should appear in it. Yesterday the monitor already sent the video to the athletes’ group chat, sir. You can open it and take a look.”

Old Chen nodded, took out his phone, opened the athletes’ group chat, found the twenty-minute video, and began watching it carefully. Zhang Qin stood nervously at the side, both fists clenched, waiting for the teacher’s reaction after he finished.

In the video, Zhang Qin was indeed at Teacher Huang’s birthday celebration. He smiled and celebrated together with his classmates, even appearing in the frame as he took the cake handed to him by Teacher Huang. The video provided powerful evidence in his favor.

“Look, at exactly that time, when they said the fight happened, I came out from inside, and you can clearly see I was walking behind them. I was talking with Chen Xin the whole time, and we were completely absorbed in our conversation. This video is enough to prove I stayed here for the entire twenty minutes and had no time to do anything else.” Zhang Qin pointed at the scenes in the video and explained earnestly to Teacher Chen.

Teacher Chen examined the video carefully, then nodded. “All right, Zhang Qin. I believe you. The video clearly shows that you were indeed present at Teacher Huang’s birthday celebration yesterday, and your conversation with Chen Xin is recorded very clearly as well.”

Zhang Qin took a deep breath and continued, “Teacher, I have a request. I hope you can apologize to me publicly. Because think about it—being branded as a thief by others, how much damage does that do to a person’s mind and reputation?”

After hearing Zhang Qin’s words, Teacher Chen’s face showed a trace of remorse. “Zhang Qin, I’m sorry. I failed to investigate properly and jumped to a conclusion. I will apologize to you publicly during class meeting.”

When Zhang Qin heard this, his feelings were tangled and hard to sort out. In his previous life, this matter had never been cleared up, and as a result everyone came to believe that whenever something went missing in the class, Zhang Qin must have done it. How much grievance and misunderstanding had he endured? Now, at last, he would no longer have to bear that stain.

Even if his classmates might not care whether he had been misunderstood, who would want to be thought of as a thief in other people’s minds? The pain of being misunderstood and wrongly accused was truly unbearable. Now that he finally had the chance to clear his name, Zhang Qin felt an unprecedented sense of relief and release.

He looked at Teacher Chen gratefully, his heart filled with appreciation and hope. From then on, he hoped to live a lighter, happier life, no longer troubled by such groundless accusations and misunderstandings.

Just after Zhang Qin returned to the classroom, he found himself facing an enormous challenge unlike any he had ever encountered. This issue concerned not only his reputation at school, but also the deep wound in his heart—a grievance that had tormented him for two lifetimes.

In his previous life, Zhang Qin had never had the chance to clear his name. That feeling of helplessness and despair had always lingered in his heart. Even after he left this world, that regret never truly faded. Yet this time, fate had given him a chance to start over, an opportunity to vindicate himself.

When he returned to school again, Zhang Qin found that his classmates were all looking at him with strange expressions, as if he were the one who had done something wrong. Zhang Qin understood in his heart that he had done nothing wrong, but these baseless accusations and misunderstandings filled him with utter helplessness.

Just then, his homeroom teacher, Old Chen, walked into the classroom. Zhang Qin remembered that in his previous life, Teacher Chen had once erupted in fury at him because of a misunderstanding, and that anger and disappointment remained unforgettable to this day. Yet this time, Old Chen’s attitude was different.

He swept his gaze across the class and slowly said, “Just now, I wronged Zhang Qin. We have already gone to check the surveillance footage, and the facts prove that Zhang Qin was not responsible.” Then he turned to Zhang Qin and bowed deeply. “Here, I publicly apologize to you.”

When Zhang Qin heard this, his gratitude overflowed. He looked at Teacher Chen, tears glimmering in his eyes. He knew that an apology like this was not easy for a teacher, especially in public. For Teacher Chen to lower himself and clear his name was not only a sign of respect, but also an acknowledgment.

In that moment, he felt the resentment in his heart finally loosen, and the grievance that had tormented him for two lifetimes at last had been washed away.

From then on, Zhang Qin’s days at school became calmer and more self-assured. He knew that no matter what difficulties or challenges lay ahead, as long as he kept his heart pure and steadfast, he would surely be able to carve out a path of his own.

As for Zhang Qin’s next goal, it was to prepare for the sports college entrance examination. It was already September, and there were only a little over two months left before the exam, which, barring any surprises, should fall at the end of November. Since he had experienced it once before, there was absolutely no way he could leave behind any more regrets this time. The regret he had once carried came from underperforming in the sports exam and failing to score the result he had hoped for, so in the end he had only entered an ordinary second-tier university. But now that he had a second chance, and with the lessons of his earlier lack of experience, he would naturally avoid those mistakes. What was more, after entering a second-tier university in his previous life, he had gone on to earn a graduate degree there, so he had his own understanding of sports training and his own methods. This time, he could also avoid those previous missteps.