A look of shock spread across Lin An and Ji Fan’s faces.
What was with this horde of noisy, aggressive boys?
And underneath it all—there was a faint trace of anger.
No matter how you looked at it, a bunch of guys yelling and screaming Summer Hua’s name like that was unsettling.
It was just… too much.
“Lin An…” Ji Fan hesitated, as if unsure whether to speak.
“I have no idea what’s going on either,” Lin An said, shaking his head.
The rowdy group of boys quickly dispersed, evidently having caught wind of Summer Hua’s whereabouts.
They sprinted off with the speed of a hundred-meter dash, not unlike something you’d see in P.E. class.
This only made things more suspicious—what on earth had Summer Hua done to provoke such outrage?
Just like Ye Tingzhu and the others, there were always scattered classmates from various years—middle school, elementary, even kindergarten.
It wouldn’t be hard for Lin An to dig up some gossip. But the truth… was hard to believe.
The two stared in silence at the message a friend from Class One had sent them, struggling to process it.
“All that just because she didn’t clean the sanitation area? That’s why those guys went after her like a pack of wolves?” Lin An threw his hands up in disbelief, his expression exaggerated. “That’s insane.”
Every class has students who slack off on cleaning duties.
At worst, people grumble a little and move on.
But to come after Summer Hua with such fury?
What, did she kill their moms or something?
Ji Fan stared at the painting on the computer screen, deep in thought. “This isn’t simple. I doubt it’s just because she didn’t clean. The truth behind all this—only Summer Hua would really know.”
“In other words,” he continued, “who do you believe—Summer Hua, or the entirety of Class One?”
“What if the whole class says she’s in the wrong?”
“Would you still believe her?”
“Uh… what are you getting at?” Lin An asked, confused.
“My classroom’s in another building. I don’t know what goes on in Class One, so I won’t judge. But they say handwriting reflects personality. Just looking at Summer Hua’s artwork, I feel like she must be a pretty calm person,” Ji Fan said thoughtfully.
“But that’s just my guess—it doesn’t prove anything.”
“I’m just saying, whenever she’s painting, Summer Hua always looks so composed.”
“There’s none of that panic you’d expect from someone being hunted down by their entire class. Which means… either she’s truly detestable, or she’s completely innocent. I mean, she doesn’t even seem nervous, right?”
“And based on how most people tend to bully the weak and fear the strong…”
“Let’s think this through…”
Ji Fan’s gaze lingered on Snow Memories of Jiangnan.
The more he looked, the more he liked it.
He could even feel a touch of artistry in it.
He wanted to add something to the piece—especially to the faint outline of the woman in the painting.
But he couldn’t bring himself to put pen to it—because the original artist was Summer Hua.
With a sigh, he said, “If Summer Hua really were a bad person, even if she put on a ‘don’t mess with me’ act, I doubt her classmates would have gone to such lengths.”
“But if she came across as someone easy to bully…”
“Ah—damn!!” Lin An scratched his head and picked up where Ji Fan left off. “The first time I saw Summer Hua, my first impression was that she was harmless. Totally non-threatening.”
“…”
“……”
They didn’t want to speculate too much. Guesswork wouldn’t get them anywhere.
Only the truth mattered. Lin An sent Summer Hua a message: Where are you?
Ding-dong~
“I’m by that crooked tree in the southeast corner of the school. I was trying to climb out from here…”
Summer Hua began venting on QQ, complaining that the tree was too tall and her arms were too weak to pull herself up.
Other people made it look so easy—just a jump, a grab, a flip, and they were over the wall.
So why didn’t it work for her?
Was it the wall holding a grudge?
Or was it the crooked tree that just didn’t like her?
“Looks like I really might have to hang myself from the southeast branch,” she wrote, attaching a photo of a sturdy-looking tree limb.
Pfft— Ji Fan, who had just taken a sip of milk tea, glanced at the message and immediately sprayed it all over the place.
This girl… was too much. Her attitude—how was it this good?
Or maybe… she was just way too funny!
“Anyway, enough talk—they’re here…”
That was the last message from Summer Hua.
Reading those words, Lin An and Ji Fan both tensed up.
They could guess what had happened—Summer Hua’s classmates had caught up with her.
They exchanged a glance.
Would they be heroes for a minute… or cowards for a lifetime?
Ji Fan packed up his laptop.
He ran into a few fellow art students on their way to the cafeteria and asked them to bring some food back.
Then he smiled and said, “People always say art students are just a bunch of slackers with bad grades.”
“They say, ‘If you had good grades, why would you go into art?’”
“That’s the impression we give.”
“I don’t really care anymore…”
In reality, Ji Fan was exceptionally skilled—both in art and academics.
After all, how many high schoolers could already take on paid commissions?
Lin An, meanwhile, was even more laid-back. “I think she’s a good person…” he said.
And just like that, Summer Hua earned herself a “nice girl” card from one of his closest friends—a card she might never even know about.
Summer Hua, in the meantime, was still stuck at the wall.
No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t climb over that damn barrier.
Was it because she was a girl and didn’t have the strength?
“No,” she refused to admit that. “It’s because I’ve been doing fat-burning workouts for the past couple days. My body’s sore all over—that’s why I can’t climb up.”
“But…”
“We’re surrounded!”
In her line of sight, a whole group of boys were sprinting toward her like they were running a 100-meter dash.
If someone didn’t know any better, they’d probably think these guys had just reunited with their long-lost mothers or something.
Summer Hua had no intention of running anymore. Honestly, the school wasn’t that big—sooner or later, she’d have to face them.
It’s just that after everything that had happened today, she really didn’t want to deal with a confrontation today.
At least wait until tomorrow, please!
“Summer Hua, you’re not getting away,” Chen Kailun shouted from a distance, laughing with excitement.
“Oh really?” Summer Hua sighed, glancing at the crooked tree beside her, then turned to the boys storming toward her.
“So eager—what, am I your long-lost mom or something?”
“You—” Chen Kailun’s face flushed bright red.
“You what?” Summer Hua said coolly. “Would you mind getting out of my way?”
“No way. You’re coming back with me. The homeroom teacher’s going to teach you a proper lesson this time.”
“Good dogs don’t block the road,” Summer Hua replied with a soft sneer.
“What did you just say?”
Chen Kailun’s pride couldn’t handle being humiliated in front of so many people.
Without even trying to hide his aggression, he grabbed the collar of Summer Hua’s uniform and yanked it roughly. “You dare insult me?! Do you even know what the consequences are? I swear I’ll make you regret this…”
At that moment, Summer Hua was incredibly annoyed.
She wanted to flip him over her shoulder, clean and crisp.
But she couldn’t—she simply didn’t have the strength.
She had this terrible premonition: even if Chen Kailun beat her black and blue, all she could do in retaliation was scratch him wildly like a furious kitten.
Girls hitting guys… really didn’t go well.
Ugh. Should I just scratch his face off?
The thought had barely formed when—
Flash! Flash! Flash flash~
A burst of phone camera flashes lit up the scene.
Lin An and Ji Fan stood nearby, frowning at the spectacle.
Ji Fan clicked his tongue and shook his head. “A group of guys ganging up on a single girl? Wow, real classy. I honestly can’t stand people like you.”
“I think you’d better let her go,” Lin An said calmly, pointing toward Summer Hua.
“Who the hell are you? Mind your own business,” Chen Kailun snapped.
“I’m from Class 3. Also,” Lin An waved his phone, showing a series of freshly taken photos, “would it be fair to call this bullying?”
“With photographic evidence like this, who’s going to believe otherwise?”
“You…” Chen Kailun faltered, his bravado draining away.
At that moment, Summer Hua quietly slipped behind Lin An and Ji Fan, finding safety in their shadow.
And just like that—me, a lone little wanderer—was hiding behind a couple of boys for protection?
The feeling… was awful.