You said you hated men, why are your eyes now full of love?

Chapter 20 - Fighting Violence with Violence

Smack!

The loud sound echoed through the cramped, shabby women's restroom.

Dappled shadows from the trees outside filtered through the blinds, casting patterns on the dirt-covered tiled walls.

The girl stood silently in a dirty corner, clutching her cheek.

"Ruan Qingqing, do you really think that just because you follow that four-eyed nerd around all day, no one will dare touch you?"

Chu Yashi's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Didn't I tell you? If I catch you spying on the school heartthrob again, next time it won't be just a slap."

The young girl kept her head down, her expression unreadable, and remained silent.

Chu Yashi frowned, a flash of displeasure in her eyes.

With a sullen face, she stepped forward and grabbed the girl's hair, pulling it up forcefully, forcing her to raise her head.

The girl's hair was disheveled, and her face turned pale from the violent tugging.

"Heh."

Seeing her pained expression, a hint of pleasure appeared on Chu Yashi's face.

"In front of men is not very good at talking, why are you acting mute now, is it possible that your mouth is only used to lick men's ***, hmmm?!"

Her words were dirty and insulting, and after she finished, she slapped her face hard again.

The girl let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Chu Yashi showed no mercy, grabbing the girl's hair and pushing her to the ground.

"First you seduce the heartthrob, then you go after Four-Eyes. Is scheming and clinging to men all you know how to do?"

Looking at the girl kneeling on the ground, Chu Yashi's eyes were filled with disgust. The words of contempt came out between her teeth.

"Shameless. You're nothing but a slut."

She was actually pleased to see the girl getting involved with Four-Eyes.

As long as this vixen didn't cling to Fu Rongjing, did it mean that she had a chance?

And what happened?

After two weeks of trying, she finally managed to get the heartthrob to agree to a dinner date, only for him to tell her over the phone that he didn't like girls who resort to violence.

Chu Yashi's heart sank at that moment.

"Wouldn't it be better to obediently follow Four-Eyes around as his sex slave? Why do you have to cause trouble?"

If it weren't for that bitch Ruan Qingqing, she would have been the heartthrob's girlfriend by now.

Damn it!

"You just can't see the good in people? Huh?"

Chu Yashi's eyes asked fiercely, her cheeks gradually showing a treacherous color.

"Since you don't want me to feel better, you don't want to feel better either."

She instructed the few people standing beside her.

"Later, undress her and take some pictures so that the students in the school can appreciate how decent this common school girl's body is."

Her casual tone sounded flat, but the words she spoke were laced with malicious intent.

"No..."

Ruan Qingqing struggled to control her emotions, but her body still trembled slightly.

"Please... no..."

"No?"

Chu Yashi snorted dismissively.

"You have no say in this, you bitch!"

After scolding her viciously and still feeling unsatisfied, she kicked the other girl again.

"Disgusting! I can't understand how any man could like a fake, pure bitch like you!"

The girl curled up in the corner, her body racked with pain.

She resembled an injured fox, helplessly licking her wounds and seeking solace in solitude.

The sun's rays were blocked by the dense foliage, robbing her of even the last bit of warmth.

The baseless malice was like a biting cold wind, penetrating every part of her body.

Biting her almost bloodless lip, she closed her eyes, her face pale as she endured the torment.

Once again, just like before, she was forced to endure the pain of her bullies, even though she had done nothing wrong.

"So cold, so painful..."

She repeated these words to herself in silence, slowly and hopelessly.

"Bang-"

Suddenly, a loud and abrupt sound echoed through the air.

The old, dilapidated wooden door of the toilet was violently slammed shut, crashing to the ground with a thud and sending a cloud of dust into the air.

A powerful beam of light poured in, dispersing the darkness and cold in the room.

A tall figure stood in the doorway, like a sturdy pine tree.

"Cough, cough."

Waving away the rising dust, Chu Yashi looked at the door.

"Four-eyes?!"

When they saw who had arrived, their eyes widened in disbelief.

"Impossible, how did you know we were here?"

This abandoned toilet was in a very secluded place; no one usually came here. How did he find it?

Ji Mu ignored her shock.

His gaze swept around the room, and when it landed on the girl huddled in the corner, he stepped on the fallen wooden door and entered the room.

"You... gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle."

Chu Yashi: ???

I haven't even said anything yet!

"Sorry."

Ji Mu released his grip, his tone genuinely apologetic.

"I thought you wanted to continue drinking."

"You!!!

Chu Yashi's hand shook as she pointed at him, her face a mixture of anger and disbelief.

The air was filled with a pungent and unbearable stench. The thought of swallowing more than a mouthful of that disgusting water made her stomach churn violently.

Her anger and frustration reached a boiling point, making her want to vomit and curse at the same time. A wave of pent-up rage blocked her chest and left her breathless.

Finally, she rolled her eyes and fainted on the spot, overwhelmed by her own rage.

Seeing her fall into a sleep that resembled that of an infant, the system couldn't help but comment.

[Young people really have it easy; they can fall asleep the moment they hit the ground].

Ji Mu's expression remained calm and indifferent. He glanced sideways at the others.

"Any of you want to stay and try?"

The few girls who had been standing there frozen were jolted into action. They hurriedly dragged the unconscious Chu Yashi away and fled as fast as they could.

Once they were all gone, Ji Mu turned his attention to the girl on the ground.

Ruan Qingqing was kneeling, motionless, her expression blank as she looked at him.

Her usually beautiful face was now pale and devoid of any color, her gaze unfocused, like a subtlety doll that had lost its soul.

Ji Mu knelt down beside her.

He didn't say a word, just quietly raised his hand to brush away the cobwebs from her head.

A heavy silence filled the air.

After a long pause, her voice finally sounded, almost as if she was talking to herself.

"Am I... a really annoying girl?"

Ji Mu didn't understand why she suddenly asked such a question.

The girl continued, talking to herself in a low voice.

"If I wasn't annoying, they wouldn't have thrown dead insects into my desk or torn up my homework and textbooks that I worked so hard on."

"They wouldn't have cut up my clothes on purpose and called me a beggar who lured men."

"And they wouldn't have pushed me around on purpose or poured cold water on me in the winter."

Her voice was soft, and at the end a pale smile tugged at the corners of her lips, though her voice trembled slightly.

"So... you think all this is... my own... fault..."

The boy in front of her lowered his gaze silently and looked at her.

He neither agreed with her self-blame nor said much to comfort her.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

This simple, gentle question made Ruan Qingqing's nose tingle, and her vision gradually blurred with moisture.

"No, it doesn't hurt."

Ji Mu smiled, a hint of helplessness in his expression. "Don't lie at a time like this, even a child could see through it."

Ruan Qingqing's eyes grew hotter.

Their playful concern made her emotions, which she had been holding back, suddenly burst forth. In an instant, all her grievances and bitterness flooded her heart.

What should she do? She didn't want to cry.

But the tears wouldn't stop.

They fell, plop plop, one by one.

It felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body at that moment.

"I'm sorry, Ji Mu... I didn't... I didn't keep my promise to wait for you under the tree... They dragged me away... In the end, I still had to bother you... bother you to help me..."

Her frail back bent and her forehead rested on his shoulder, tears wetting her eyes.

"I'm sorry... I'm such a nuisance..."

"I've caused you trouble again..."

Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes with her intermittent sobs. The long years of repression had formed a meekness that made her blame herself all the time.

"I'm sorry..."

"Really... I'm so sorry..."

The tears that filled her eyes blurred her vision, and at that moment a hand rested gently on her head.

"It's okay, silly goose."

The boy's voice echoed in her ear.

His attempt to comfort her was a bit awkward, different from his usual lazy tone.

"It's okay."

"Don't cry."

The warmth of her palm gently touched his hair, turning into tendrils that slowly crept down from his neck, along his spine, and finally to his chest.

Beneath the uniform, his heart beat fiercely, like fireworks ignited under the night sky, exploding in a brilliant and magnificent display in the depths of his heart.

The wounds, raw and deep, began to heal bit by bit.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly.

The sounds of the outside world gradually grew louder and clearer.

Suddenly, Ruan Qingqing could hear the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves in the wind, the gradual calming of her own breathing, and the gentle words he spoke to her.

"Ruan Qingqing, you have never been a girl who causes trouble."