Chapter 19: Despair

The wind swept sharply across the withered branches, turning into a powerless noise.

The sun, hidden behind thick, dark clouds, spilled gray-white light below.

Clusters of buildings rose up like an incomprehensible maze, while the empty, icy streets devoured every hopeful soul.

A glutton would never be satisfied with enough—it was greedy, insatiable, never stopping.

A young girl was running, black hair sticking to her temples, her anxious eyes darting everywhere.

She didn’t understand—why had the one she was chasing disappeared, and why was her own heart so anxious, so faintly uneasy.

So, she searched with all her might.

“Ah la~ Don’t look so down. Since we’re playing a game, shouldn’t we be having fun?”

Tossing the sand-filled medicine ball lightly, she felt a slight sting as the heavy sphere slapped back into her palm.

Qin Haiyue smiled, watching the girl standing across from her, trembling all over.

“So, the first ball—are you ready?”

There was no reply; the girl just shook her hands in terror. Through the strands of the girl’s hair, she could see those pink eyes filled with fear—just as the girl could see her own eyes, shining with excitement, blue as the sky.

Qin Haiyue paid no attention to the girl’s defensive posture, nor to her desperate, muttering pleas for mercy. She gathered her strength, swung her arm wide, and hurled the ball with all her might.

Ye Xingmian saw her movement and instinctively ducked low, trying to dodge.

“Bang!”

A particularly dull thud exploded in her ears. The girl came back to her senses, stiffly turning her head—only to see the orange-yellow ball rolling slowly down from the iron locker.

“Ah, missed.”

Her face wore a cheerful smile, but she looked genuinely regretful. Qin Haiyue commanded, “Hey, bring it back to me.”

Bring…bring it back…?

Stiffly, the girl reached out, wrapping her hand around the cold, rough ball. It was so large that she could barely grip it with one hand. Its weight pressed heavily in her palm.

This was the very instrument Qin Haiyue wanted to smash onto her, and now the other actually demanded she fetch it herself?

What a humiliation.

Was she supposed to obey? No one would ever want to accept such a ridiculous demand. She was weak, but she had some fire left in her.

She wanted to hurl it back.

She wanted, with all her strength, to smash the ball in her hand against Qin Haiyue’s head, hard enough to draw blood, to split it open, until she vanished from this world.

Right?

Despite her weakness, despite the fact that even lifting the ball was a struggle for her frail, sickly body, she still entertained these fantasies, staring blankly at the thing in her hand.

Until, once again, that dull sound rang out beside her.

“Bang!”

She flinched, the ball in her hand slipping and dropping, and she instinctively squatted down, curling up tight.

Turning her head, she saw a familiar scene.

Another medicine ball, after striking the locker, rolled slowly down.

The girl turned her head in a daze, only to meet a pair of cold eyes that, she didn’t know when, were already inches from her.

“What are you thinking about, hm?”

There was still a smile at the corner of her lips, yet it chilled the girl as if she’d fallen into an icy pit, giving her the illusion that all her thoughts had been laid bare.

Qin Haiyue squatted down, a cold, fresh fragrance swirling at the girl’s nose. Qin Haiyue’s hands, clad in expensive silk gloves, gripped her wrist, and those eyes gazed upward into her vacant stare.

“Are you angry? Want revenge? Want to throw it back? Feeling wronged, aren’t you?”

“N…No.” Picking up a strange undertone in her words, the girl shook her head in a daze. Her denial was weak, for she really had thought that just moments before.

But she could never admit it.

No matter what, she could not admit it.

So, whatever Qin Haiyue might say next, she just kept shaking her head.

The fever still raged, gnawing at her consciousness, making her ever more exhausted. Her vision started to darken.

“It’s okay.” Qin Haiyue suddenly spoke words completely contrary to what she’d expected.

She picked up the medicine ball that had dropped from the girl’s weak hand and placed it lightly in her burning-hot palm.

Then, she lowered her head.

“Go ahead, smash it.” Qin Haiyue pointed to the top of her own head.

There, golden hair spread out, soft strands brushing against the girl’s hand, plump and smooth.

The girl did not move. She still stared off blankly.

“Go on? Don’t blame me for not giving you the chance, all right?”

Though her tone was sweet and gentle, all the girl felt was humiliation and terror.

This was something impossible—both of them knew it. The girl could never bear the consequences of actually striking down.

If she dared do it, all her future would shatter completely.

Qin Haiyue did this, not just to amuse herself, but with a little purpose.

She wanted to see just how weak the girl was, to gauge the proportion of violence in her heart, to see whether she had that uncontrollable impulse—under extreme emotion—to risk it all.

And the result pleased her greatly.

“Bang…”

Along with the medicine ball rolling to the floor, the girl’s silent tears fell as well.

“Drip, drip—”

Falling to the floor, as cheap as the dust they kicked up.

Qin Haiyue lifted her head, smiling in satisfaction, her grin wild and arrogant.

“This was your choice to give up. You can’t blame me.”

She picked up the medicine ball, weighing its heaviness in her hand.

She reached out, cupping the girl’s cheek.

“As a girl, you mustn’t have such violent thoughts again, okay?”

She then stood up, moving back to where she had stood before.

“So, as punishment, five more balls.”

“Come on, catch fifteen balls, and we’re done.”

“Ready——?” With a delighted lilt in her voice, Qin Haiyue raised the medicine ball above her head.

Ye Xingmian, her eyes brimming with tears, trembled all over, nervously watching her every move. Seeing this, Qin Haiyue’s smile only deepened.

“Second ball——”

Her loose golden hair flew up in mid-air, drifting, carrying a cold, fresh scent. Qin Haiyue turned sideways, her posture as standard as a professional athlete.

Then…

Without warning, without a sound, the medicine ball slipped from Qin Haiyue’s hand, arcing beautifully through the air. It landed squarely on the girl’s right shin.

Agonizing pain.

A searing burn shot up, as if her bone had snapped, the agony overwhelming her mind in an instant. The girl collapsed, kneeling on the ground, her strength gone. There was no scream, only her rapid breathing—made short and sharp by the pain. Her face went pale, sweat breaking out on her ashen skin.

Her throat burned. She didn’t want to speak, nor did she have the strength.

But Qin Haiyue, disappointed not to hear the girl’s expected, melodious cry of pain, grew dissatisfied.

“Come on, scream! Why aren’t you screaming? Doesn’t it hurt? Hm?”

Quickly, she picked up another ball at her feet, wound up as before, and let it fly.

This time, it hit the girl’s left leg.

“Ahh!”

Finally, she couldn’t help letting out a hoarse cry. Both legs lost all strength, and she collapsed to the ground.

This was not any kind of game—it was pure, one-sided bullying.

Catching the balls? Impossible, unless she wanted both hands broken.

Collapsed on the ground, gasping in the dust-filled air, the girl said nothing. Tears slid down her cheeks, past her ears.

“Mm…”

Her weak hands hugged her chest helplessly.

In this situation, perhaps the only thing she could do was wait for her tormentor to tire of this.

And to escape such pain, all she could pray for—

Was to faint, just a little sooner.