Chapter 148: Chapter 148
A short while later, Adam stood inside the dean’s office.
The room was not very large, but it felt heavier than a normal office. The dean sat behind the desk with two board members beside him. Ethan stood in the middle, still angry from the corridor.
Adam stood on one side.
The three boys stood on the other.
Their confidence was gone now. One held his stomach while another had blood near his nose. The third kept touching his neck.
The dean looked at Ethan first.
"Tell me what happened," he said.
Ethan straightened at once.
"Sir, I saw Adam fighting in the hall," he said. "He was attacking these three students. By the time I reached there, he had already beaten them."
His voice was controlled, but the anger under it was clear.
The dean did not answer immediately.
One of the board members looked at the three boys.
"You three," he said. "Tell us what happened."
The boy with the injured nose spoke first.
"Sir, we only went to greet Adam," he said quickly. "He came back after so many days, so we just wanted to talk to him."
The second boy nodded at once.
"That’s right, sir," he said. "We did not do anything. He attacked us first."
"We were shocked," the third boy added. "We didn’t even understand why he got angry."
Adam stood quietly and listened.
He knew they would lie. He had expected it the moment Ethan brought them here. What Adam wanted to see was not what the boys would say.
He wanted to see what the college would do.
Kiri had handled the sponsorship smartly. Aster Core had not given the college a small one-time donation. It had placed support for several years in front of them, so the college could not treat Adam like a normal scholarship student anymore.
Adam knew they would try to protect him.
What he wanted to know was how.
After hearing the three boys, the dean looked at the two board members. Then he turned toward Adam.
"Adam," the dean said, "now you tell us your side."
Adam raised his eyes.
"Sir, they used to bully me before too," he said. "Today, they tried the same thing again. They hit me first. I answered them the way they came at me."
The room became quiet for a moment.
Ethan spoke before anyone else could.
"Sir, as the student council president, I also have a responsibility here," he said. "We cannot allow violence inside this college. If we ignore this, other students will think they can do the same."
He looked toward Adam, then toward the three boys.
"We need to make an example," Ethan continued. "Adam and these three students should be removed from the college permanently."
The three boys looked at Ethan at once.
That was not what they had expected.
They had come here thinking Ethan would protect them. Now Ethan had placed them in the same punishment as Adam. Their faces became pale, but none of them dared to speak.
Adam stayed calm.
’Show me,’ he thought. ’Show me how you save me.’
The dean heard Ethan’s words, then looked at the two board members again.
He let out a slow breath and turned back to Ethan.
"Ethan," the dean said, "things are not as simple as you are making them."
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
The dean continued, "Bullying is involved here. You know our college does not tolerate bullying."
Ethan became more alert.
The dean was not completely wrong. The college did take action when a matter became too public. But Ethan also knew the truth of this place. Bullying happened, and students with strong families often got away with more.
That was why the dean’s tone surprised him.
The dean was softening the matter.
But Ethan could not tell yet who that softness was for.
The boy with the injured nose suddenly spoke.
"Sir, Adam is lying. We didn’t bully him."
"Enough," the dean snapped.
The boy froze as the dean’s voice became sharper.
"We gave you a chance to speak. Stand quietly now."
The three boys lowered their heads.
Ethan watched that small exchange, and his eyes moved toward Adam.
’I understand now,’ he thought.
The dean was not soft for those three.
He was soft for Adam.
Ethan looked at Adam more carefully.
’What are you?’ he thought. ’You are only a scholarship student. What did you do?’
The dean leaned toward the two board members. They also moved closer, keeping their voices low enough that the students in front could not hear clearly.
The first board member whispered, "What do we do?"
The second board member looked at Adam once, then lowered his voice.
"We cannot remove Adam."
The dean gave a small nod.
The first board member said, "Then remove these three and let Adam go with a light punishment."
The second board member nodded. "That can work."
The dean did not agree at once.
"No," he whispered. "If we do that, everyone will see we are protecting him. Adam used violence too. We cannot pretend he did nothing."
The first board member looked tense.
"Then what are you thinking?"
"Temporary suspension for Adam and the three boys," the dean said quietly.
The second board member’s face changed.
"Suspending Adam? Even temporarily?"
"A short suspension," the dean said.
The second board member shook his head.
"That may still upset them. You know the deal. You also know our funding situation."
The dean’s expression tightened.
"Then tell me what to do," he whispered. "I will not agree to removing these boys permanently. That is not an option."
For a moment, the three of them stayed silent.
Then the first board member spoke again.
"Fine. Temporarily suspend these three. Give Adam a formal warning. Keep it light, but make it look official."
The second board member looked at the dean.
The dean thought for one more second, then nodded slowly.
"Fine."
They moved back to their seats.
The room became still again.
The dean looked at everyone in front of him.
"We have made a decision," he said. "This is a serious matter. Normally, violence inside the college would bring very strict punishment."
He paused and looked at the three boys.
"But because there is also a bullying complaint here, we cannot treat this as a simple fight."
The dean picked up a pen and wrote the names of the three boys on the paper in front of him.
"You three will be temporarily suspended," he said. "Adam will receive a formal warning."
