Xie Chengsheng walked back into the classroom.
The moment he stepped through the door, he froze at the sight before him.
His almond-shaped eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the squinty-eyed boy.
“What are you doing here again?”
Xie Chengsheng watched the squinty-eyed boy warily, noticing Lu Yinghan standing in front of Jiang Yibai, her hand gripping the chair beside her.
Is she ready to throw hands at any second?
“Why do you keep coming to our class to cause trouble? If you bother our classmates again, you’d better watch your back.”
This was Xie Chengsheng’s ultimatum.
The anger in the squinty-eyed boy vanished instantly, replaced by a deep sense of dread.
“Let’s go!”
Glaring at Jiang Yibai in frustration, the squinty-eyed boy led his lackeys out of the classroom in disgrace.
Right then, the class bell rang.
The teacher slowly walked into the room.
Lu Yinghan released Jiang Yibai’s arm and returned to her seat.
“Lu...”
The thanks on the tip of Jiang Yibai’s tongue were swallowed right back down.
He turned around to focus on class.
Throughout the lesson, Jiang Yibai glanced back at Lu Yinghan from time to time, gripping his ballpoint pen tightly as he tried to calm his racing heart.
His mind was completely filled with the image of Lu Yinghan’s back as she stepped up to shield him, and his heart wouldn't stop fluttering.
He reached out to press a hand against his chest.
A deep flush spread all the way up his neck.
Soon, it was lunchtime. Lu Yinghan packed up her books, planning to head to the cafeteria.
“Um... Lu... Lu Yinghan!!”
As soon as class ended, Jiang Yibai rushed over to stand in front of Lu Yinghan, his face bright red.
“What is it?”
“Th-Thank you! Thank you for helping me today! To make it up to you, I want to buy you lunch!”
Looking at the timid, fidgety Jiang Yibai in front of her, Lu Yinghan knitted her brows slightly.
“Do you even have any money left? Did they take it all?”
“No, no! I still have a little left! At least I managed to keep some!”
“Mm... Let’s talk about treating me later. We'll just eat today, and when you have enough money in the future, it won't be too late to treat me then. We’re going to be at this school for years anyway.”
Seeing Lu Yinghan decline, Jiang Yibai’s disappointment was visible to the naked eye.
Most of the students in the class hadn't left yet. They nudged and jostled the people next to them, wanting to go up and talk to Lu Yinghan...
Lu Yinghan couldn't care less about them. They had all bullied her before, so there was no reason to give them a nice face.
After clearing her desk, Lu Yinghan looked at Jiang Yibai.
“Heading to the cafeteria together?”
“Ah?! Yes!! Let’s go together!!”
Jiang Yibai, who had just been feeling down, instantly re-energized. A bright smile broke across his fair face as he trotted after her like a happy puppy.
Now it was the rest of the class’s turn to feel disappointed.
They wanted to talk to her, but didn't get the chance.
Xie Chengsheng glanced at the reactions of his classmates and let out a cold sneer.
He stood up and casually strolled off toward the cafeteria alone.
“What should we do? We did bad things to Lu Yinghan before...”
“Why did we put thumbtacks under her desk in the first place? Whose idea was that?”
The kids chattered among themselves. A few sharp ones looked straight at Zhu Xiyue, whose pale face instantly lost all remaining color.
She abruptly stood up and snapped angrily, “I didn't tell you to put thumbtacks there! You guys were the ones who said you wanted to show her who's boss!”
Zhu Xiyue felt so wronged!!
She had only wanted to warn Lu Yinghan to stay away from Xie Chengsheng—she had never intended to bully her like this!
The classmates silently shut their mouths.
Now that it had already happened, it was already a blessing that Lu Yinghan hadn't come looking for trouble with them.
Seeing her fighting spirit today, it turned out she had actually been being very kind to them all along.
The crowd fell into a brief silence, after which frantic discussions about Lu Yinghan’s cool actions today broke out across the classroom.
This topic instantly struck a chord with everyone.
Even the students who usually belonged to opposing cliques naturally mingled together.
Everyone gushed excitedly, boasting about which part of Lu Yinghan’s stand they thought was the coolest.
Meanwhile, Lu Yinghan, who was walking to the cafeteria, was completely oblivious to all of this.
“Jiang Yibai, why did they target you in the first place?”
“Ah... I-I'm not really sure either. On the second day of school, they suddenly came up to me and told me to cover my face, or else they’d beat me up...”
His face????
Lu Yinghan turned to look at Jiang Yibai. Could there be some stunning beauty hidden behind those thick, round glasses?
“So you started wearing glasses?”
“I didn't wear them at first, but they actually dragged me away and beat me up. They said it was my fault that the girls they liked didn't like them... After that, it turned into demanding money from me every day. If I didn't give it to them, they would hit me...”
Speaking up to this point, tears began to pool rapidly in Jiang Yibai’s eyes.
Lu Yinghan immediately pulled a tissue out of her pocket and handed it to him.
“You don't need to wear glasses from now on. You get picked up and dropped off by your family anyway. After you arrive, just wait for me at the bus stop, and I’ll walk in with you.”
Jiang Yibai looked at Lu Yinghan in surprise.
“W-Won't that be too much trouble for you? You’ve already helped me so much, and now they’re targeting you too. If you keep protecting me, I’m worried they’ll...”
Lu Yinghan promptly put her hand over his plump, rosy lips to cut him off.
“You don't need to say anything. I'm only doing this for myself. If you keep asking, I won't walk with you anymore.”
With that, she turned and walked away without looking back, leaving Jiang Yibai to hurriedly trot to catch up.
Lu Yinghan walked on with her usual calm expression. When she had stepped forward to help Jiang Yibai today, standing in front of him...
What had flashed in her mind was her time back in the orphanage.
Scenes of being bullied by the other kids there, and being picked on by passersby when she went out to work and beg.
At the beginning, she too had been full of hope, holding a stubborn spark in her heart, believing that a righteous, kind person would come along to help her.
That was why she was able to stand up to those bullies every single day.
She felt her life wasn't meant to end like that, that she shouldn't stop here.
Yet after being crushed, beaten, and scolded time after time, no one ever appeared.
All that remained were the countless scars on her body and her heart that grew colder with time.
Heh.
What kind person?
What rule of law society?
What fairness and justice?
It was all complete bullshit.
Once people gained money and power, their own selfish desires followed.
She had struggled at the bottom of society until her death.
She had never once been treated with kindness by this so-called loving society.
She had been forced to endure it all by herself.
Today, seeing Jiang Yibai being pushed around...
What came to her mind was the memory of herself being pinned to the ground, surrounded by people laughing arrogantly and calling her an unwanted child.
Pebbles and eggs were thrown at her, accompanied by beatings and insults that left her unable to breathe from the pain.
Today, she had acted on impulse, charging forward in the heat of the moment.
In the eyes of others, it might seem like she was acting out of kindness to help someone who was being bullied.
In reality, it was mostly for herself.
If only someone had helped her back then...
How wonderful that would have been...
“Lu Yinghan?”
Seeing that Lu Yinghan hadn't spoken for a long time and seemed to be in low spirits, Jiang Yibai spoke up cautiously.
Lu Yinghan snapped back to reality, letting the dark harshness in the depth of her eyes disperse...
Rate on N.U.
