Throughout the entire morning, Lin Ziyang hadn’t taken the initiative to say even one word to Ye Xingmian. She was as quiet as a mute. However, Ye Xingmian didn’t feel relieved by this. Instead, she only felt a deeper sense of unease.
‘She seems to be brewing something terrible,’ she thought, but she didn’t know exactly what the other was plotting. This left the girl constantly shrouded in a faint sense of anxiety.
Finally, school was dismissed for lunch.
Lin Ziyang didn’t even give her a glance, heading out of the classroom toward the cafeteria on her own. The girl remembered her promise to Qin Haiyue from that morning. After hesitating for a moment, she carefully checked the phone in her bag and the money Qin Haiyue had given her, making sure they were still there. Only then did she stand up, intending to wait for the other at the classroom door.
After all, she didn’t know where Qin Haiyue was, and the other had said she would come find her when they parted. Although she was uneasy, she forced herself to calm down. ‘It’s just a meal anyway. It’s not like I’ll lose a piece of flesh.’
‘Besides, I just received such a big favor from her this morning. If I ran away, there would definitely be no good end, right?’
Shouldering her backpack and looking around the classroom, the girl suddenly froze.
“Class Monitor…?”
Liu Yinuo was walking toward her.
Unlike before, Liu Yinuo’s expression was much colder this time. She walked slowly toward the girl, her gaze making the girl instinctively feel uneasy.
Once Liu Yinuo reached her, the girl instinctively retracted her head and asked hesitantly, “Um… is something wrong?”
Liu Yinuo looked at her. The girl was still timid, her eyes darting around, not daring to look back. After a brief pause, she said, “Do you want to come to my house? It’s our previous arrangement.”
“Huh? Class Monitor… I…”
The girl was stunned. After she reacted, she said, “I’m sorry, Class Monitor… I have something to do. I can’t go…”
“What is it? Can you tell me? I can help you solve it!”
“…”
“Why aren’t you talking? Did Lin Ziyang bully you again this morning? Did she threaten you with something?”
The girl remained silent. Looking at her hand being held by Liu Yinuo, she gently used some force to pull it out.
“I’m sorry, Class Monitor… I have to go…”
Just as she was about to leave, her hand was tightly grasped by Liu Yinuo again. She tried to break free, but the strength was too much for her to manage.
“Where are you going? Can’t you take me with you? Why are you avoiding me? What did I do wrong? Can you tell me?”
Ye Xingmian was taken aback upon hearing this. She gritted her teeth and said, “Class Monitor, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s all my problem. Can you let go of me? I really have something to do. Please!”
‘I must get rid of the Class Monitor before Qin Haiyue arrives, otherwise it will definitely cause even more trouble,’ the girl thought, her gaze becoming more determined.
However, Liu Yinuo was unmoved. She used more force, pulling the girl directly in front of her. She placed both hands on the girl’s shoulders and looked at her with a burning gaze.
“Then tell me, what exactly do you think you did wrong? Okay? Just say it. Tell me and I’ll help you solve it. No matter what, I’ll forgive you. Stop hiding. It’s torture, do you know that!”
The more she spoke, the more emotional she became, her voice even carrying a hint of a sob. This made the girl in front of her freeze.
“Class Monitor…”
Gently placing her hands on Liu Yinuo’s hands that were on her shoulders, the girl silently turned her face away, refusing to look at her. She really hadn’t expected that her distancing would cause Liu Yinuo so much pain. She had underestimated her value in Liu Yinuo’s eyes. She had thought she was still that poor little thing that no one cared about.
But actually, this was fine too.
‘The Class Monitor cares about me, but no matter how much she cares, once the hurt is deep enough, she’ll get disappointed and give up, right?’ This was her chance. As long as she escaped one more time, perhaps the Class Monitor would stop caring about her.
But her heart felt so heavy.
‘What if I just told the Class Monitor everything right now?’ The Class Monitor would surely do as she said and help find a solution to help her escape the Lin family. Even the delusional idea of being with the Class Monitor might not be impossible…
But then she felt that she didn’t deserve it.
The Class Monitor’s family background was excellent, her grades were good, and she had a bright future. She shouldn’t be dragged down by a little freak like her. She had this self-awareness. Precisely because she liked the Class Monitor, she didn’t want to burden her.
All her dodging and all her evasion stemmed from this.
‘I’m sorry, Class Monitor. Forget me…’
Closing her eyes, she had already resolved to refuse this kindness. After all, she had never thought about being wealthy or climbing the social ladder. What she wanted, from beginning to end, was only to reunite with her mother and live a peaceful life. She hadn’t even thought about anything beyond that.
Her thoughts ended there. The girl opened her eyes again and parted her lips, wanting to refuse. However —
Footsteps suddenly echoed in the corridor, interrupting her thoughts. The two of them couldn’t help but look toward the source of the sound. Upon seeing the newcomer, Liu Yinuo immediately furrowed her brows in disgust. Recalling the events of the morning, she instinctively shielded the girl behind her.
“Qin Haiyue, what are you doing here? Do you want to bully Student Ye again?”
Qin Haiyue…?
Being shielded by Liu Yinuo, the girl felt dazed for a moment. This scene was so similar to the day the Class Monitor rescued her from Qin Haiyue’s hands. In just a few short days, the situation had changed drastically.
Ye Xingmian looked up at Qin Haiyue. She still had that flashy blonde hair, a smile on her face, and a sharp sarcasm in her blue eyes.
She hadn’t managed to send the Class Monitor away before the other arrived after all…
The remaining matters were no longer within her control.
Qin Haiyue watched them with leisure, crossing her arms and tapping her elbow with her finger. “I’m here to take my girlfriend to lunch. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Girlfriend?!”
Liu Yinuo turned around in astonishment to look at the girl behind her, but the girl just lowered her head and remained silent.
Gritting her teeth, she felt that Qin Haiyue was talking nonsense. “What nonsense are you talking! Stop harassing her. If you bully her again, believe it or not, I’ll call the police!”
“You don’t believe me?” Qin Haiyue raised an eyebrow and shrugged. Her blonde hair shook exaggeratedly with her movement. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask her? We confirmed our relationship as a couple last night, you know.”
She pointed at the girl behind Liu Yinuo. Having been suddenly singled out, the girl’s body trembled. At this moment, Liu Yinuo also cast a confused gaze toward her. Under the pressure, she could only nod, effectively admitting it.
Seeing the girl’s movement, Liu Yinuo’s pupils shrank. Her face was instantly filled with disbelief. In that moment, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
Would the girl really be willing to become Qin Haiyue’s girlfriend? After how much Qin Haiyue had bullied her before, was that even possible? She desperately wanted to ask the girl directly if Qin Haiyue had forced her, but before she could speak, Qin Haiyue interrupted her.
“See? She admitted it. Do you have anything else to say?”