The shadows of trees dappled the street, and the car’s air conditioner hummed.
Lin Shuangxue leaned against the window, staring blankly at the pedestrians on the street.
Logically, she should close her eyes and take a nap now. After all, she hadn’t slept well for three or four days; even an iron man would be collapsing.
But as soon as Lin Shuangxue closed her eyes, a group of faceless women surrounding a girl named Jiang Cheng appeared in her mind, punching and kicking her.
It made her inexplicably irritated.
Why?
Lin Shuangxue couldn’t figure it out. What she hated most were things that were out of her control.
She hated the feeling of powerlessness.
‘Maybe it’s because Jiang Cheng helped me solve a big problem that I care so much about her.’
Lin Shuangxue thought that must be it, yet there was still an indescribable unease in her heart.
‘If I just pay her enough, what am I really worried about?’
“Miss, we’re at the Teaching Building.”
Just as she was puzzling over it, An Xin, sitting in the front passenger seat, suddenly reminded her.
We’re already here?
Lin Shuangxue looked up. Sure enough, the car had already come to a steady stop in the parking spot under the building without her noticing.
But she didn’t even remember entering the school gate.
Shaking her head, Lin Shuangxue simply attributed it to her poor mental state. She pushed the door open and got out, walking toward the classroom.
An Xin followed closely behind.
ring ring ring—
The sudden ringing of the class dismissal bell irritated Lin Shuangxue. Her mental state was already terrible, and now she couldn’t calm down. For a moment, she felt a surge of anger.
Her face cold, she strode forward.
The hallway after class became lively. Girls fetching water or skipping class hurried along, but no one dared to get within a meter of Lin Shuangxue.
They made way, crowding to both sides in a messy line, not daring to make a sound despite the chaos.
Their gaze of fear and movements of avoidance disgusted Lin Shuangxue. She walked faster and faster, more and more anxious, more and more irritable.
Finally, she stopped at the back door of the classroom.
Her hand on the handle, for some reason she suddenly didn’t want to push the door open—as if there was something inside that would make her extremely uncomfortable.
She vaguely heard chattering inside, like a few girls were making a racket. Lin Shuangxue took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and stood still to listen.
“Boo hoo…I’m totally full, don’t bring any more…”
It was Jiang Cheng’s voice.
“No way! You have to finish it all today, or else you’ll have to take the leftovers home!”
So that’s it!
Lin Shuangxue suddenly pushed the door open.
The door opened loudly. Half of the classroom turned to look at the back.
But at the back, two girls were still playfully messing around. They couldn’t see who had arrived due to the angle, but Lin Shuangxue clearly spotted the trademark white hair among the crowd.
However, things seemed different from what she had imagined.
At least, Lin Shuangxue couldn’t quite understand how a bullying victim could end up in the bully’s arms.
***
“Aiya, Xiaomei, no more! My pockets are already stuffed with snacks!”
Sitting on Meng Yu’s lap, Jiang Cheng giggled while playing with Zhang Mei beside her.
What? You ask why Jiang Cheng was in Meng Yu’s arms?
That’s just how it is when the shorter one tops.
“Orange, little orange?”
“Hmm, what’s up, Xiaoyu?”
Feeling her shoulder tapped twice, Jiang Cheng turned around instinctively.
“What, does Xiaoyu still want me to feed you…”
The girl’s words came to an abrupt halt.
She saw the tall figure standing beside the desk.
Lin Shuangxue? When did she get here…
Jiang Cheng subconsciously shrank her head, but suddenly realized something was wrong.
‘Wait, why am I scared of her?’
So she straightened up again to bolster her courage.
Unfortunately, a washboard can only be a washboard, no matter how much you stick it out.
“Jiang Cheng.”
“What…what is it…”
Meeting Lin Shuangxue’s eyes, feeling the impatience and a certain indefinable emotion in her gaze, Jiang Cheng immediately wilted.
‘What’s wrong with Lin Shuangxue? Why is she so angry?’
‘Is it that time of the month?’
“Um…Lin Shuangxue, you’re here for class too…”
Jiang Cheng gave an awkward smile, trying to lighten the mood.
But it was useless. Lin Shuangxue’s fair face was now so dark it looked like she had changed ethnicities.
“Um, the weather’s pretty nice today…”
“Waaah!”
Jiang Cheng was still trying to change the subject when Lin Shuangxue strode over, grabbed her arm, and yanked her out of Meng Yu’s lap.
The little white-haired girl stumbled up, then lost her balance and fell straight into Lin Shuangxue’s arms, completely trapped.
‘Damn, I’m helpless!’
“Lin Shuangxue, what are you doing!”
Before Jiang Cheng could ask why she was angry, Meng Yu jumped to her feet.
“Yeah! Why are you so aggressive!”
“Exactly! Xiao Chengzi clearly doesn’t want this, how can you just drag her like that!”
The girls around stood up and formed a semicircle, surrounding the white-haired girl at the center.
Ironically, Lin Shuangxue had originally come to rescue Jiang Cheng from being bullied, but instead, those who wanted to isolate Jiang Cheng were the ones stepping forward, afraid that Lin Shuangxue might harm the girl.
Lin Shuangxue didn’t bother to explain at all. She dragged Jiang Cheng and walked out.
“No, no! I’m fine!”
With something huge blocking her vision, Jiang Cheng couldn’t see but could hear the scraping of desks and chairs behind her. She quickly spoke, afraid a fight would break out.
“Lin Shuangxue and I are good friends! We’re just playing around!”
If she’s calling her by her full name, how can they be good friends?
Zhang Mei and the others didn’t believe it for a second, but Jiang Cheng obviously didn’t want them involved, and as new friends, they couldn’t meddle in someone else’s business.
Only Meng Yu hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and ran out after them—she was still feeling guilty about her earlier prejudice toward Jiang Cheng, and she didn’t want to see her get hurt.
In the hallway, Jiang Cheng, being dragged by Lin Shuangxue, felt her face burning.
‘Ahhh! This is so embarrassing!’
Just like when a kid refuses to listen to their mom and insists on buying a toy, only to get a spanking and be dragged out!
‘Wuwu…why is this happening…’
She wanted to resist—not physically, of course.
After all, a girl barely one meter sixty against a mature elder sister type of almost one meter eighty—the gap couldn’t be overcome by skill alone, and Jiang Cheng wasn’t as good at fighting as Lin Shuangxue anyway.
So she decided to use words. Not to make Lin Shuangxue let her go, but at least to change positions, right?
“Lin Shuangxue?”
She said cautiously.
“Can we change the way you’re holding me? I’ll go with you, but this is too undignified.”
“Undignified?”
Lin Shuangxue stopped.
“Yeah!”
Seeing a reaction, Jiang Cheng perked up a little.
“After all, I’m a lady. Well…I think I count as a lady.”
“A lady deserves gentlemanly treatment, right?”
“I’m not saying I have to walk by myself, but at least…hold my hand, okay…Lin Shuangxue!”
Suddenly, the world spun. Jiang Cheng let out a yelp as Lin Shuangxue scooped her up in a princess carry.
“Now, is this enough?”
She said coldly, then, ignoring everything, walked steadily downstairs under the shocked gazes of everyone.
Not having her feet on the ground made Jiang Cheng panicky, and the stares of the onlookers made her unable to lift her head. She could only whimper and bury her face in Lin Shuangxue’s neck.
‘I’m a social butterfly, not a social terrorist!’
‘Wuwu, tomorrow I’m definitely going to be the hot topic on the campus forum…’
‘Nooo, I haven’t cuddled enough with other girls yet…’
Meng Yu, who had rushed out hastily, saw this scene and froze in place.
She had imagined Jiang Cheng might get beaten, or scolded.
But she never imagined that Jiang Cheng would be carried in Lin Shuangxue’s arms!
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be!
“Aiyaya.”
Just then, someone patted her shoulder.
Meng Yu turned around instinctively. It was a girl dressed in a maid outfit.
She was frantically taking photos with her phone, her face full of excitement, as if a best friend was recording an embarrassing moment.
Only when Lin Shuangxue, carrying the girl, disappeared around the corner did she lower her phone and look at Meng Yu.
“Aiyaya, isn’t this the classmate who was sitting nearby just now?”
An Xin put away her phone with a smile.
“How do you say it… a loser? I think that’s right.”
Then, without waiting for Meng Yu to react, she jogged off.
She didn’t care what Meng Yu thought; she just hurried after the two.
Leaving Meng Yu alone, utterly bewildered.
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