Bang!

The door slammed into the wall with a deafening crash.

The entire building shuddered.

A porcelain cup tumbled and shattered across the floor.

Some panicked; others looked dazed and lost.

The furious youth standing at the doorway—strikingly beautiful, almost girlish—now radiated raw, overwhelming power.

He didn’t stop to wonder if he’d embarrass himself: what if the door was locked and he tripped?

Only one thought burned in his mind.

Damn it all!

People like her shouldn’t walk free for even a second—endangering other girls!

After all… he’d just witnessed the tragedy that once unfolded in that classroom. His fury was palpable.

But the next instant, his eyes widened.

Inside the office stood the criminal geography teacher, Kong Qinlan… yet cradled in her arms was a girl, weakly struggling to keep her from stripping off the school uniform.

Though the outer jacket lay scattered on the floor, the girl fiercely guarded the inner layer. A trickle of crimson blood seeped from the corner of her lips.

She should’ve been unconscious—but fought the drug’s effect with sheer will. She dared not imagine what would happen if she fell asleep…

If that happened… if that happened…

She’d betray her brother. In the most humiliating way.

“Qianqian…!” Ye Chang’an roared.

For a fleeting moment, Gu Qianqian’s hazy eyes cleared.

“…Brother?” she whispered, disbelief trembling in her voice.

Jiang Jixue lunged faster than Ye Chang’an.

Her state was volatile—especially for Kong Qinlan. Hatred blazed in her eyes like twin fireballs scorching her pupils.

She rammed forward, yanking Gu Qianqian from Kong Qinlan’s grasp and shoving her toward Ye Chang’an behind her. Chang’an caught Qianqian instantly.

As for Jiang Jixue—she etched pure terror onto Kong Qinlan’s face, shattering its hypocritical mask.

She seized Kong Qinlan’s collar—not merely “pulling,” but *slamming* her off the chair.

Over a year of grief and rage had forged terrifying strength in her. Kong Qinlan crashed to the floor.

Kong Qinlan’s mind went blank.

One second ago, she’d been savoring the girl’s struggle, ready to leisurely claim her beauty.

The next—violently thrown down.

Her first taste of brutality. Truly, villains deserve no mercy.

She wanted to fight back…

But she could never fathom the strength of a sister who’d spent over a year chasing truth for her dead sister, drowning in despair.

“You—”

The word died as Jiang Jixue’s fist slammed into her face.

Gold-rimmed glasses twisted; a sharp edge sliced Jiang Jixue’s knuckles. Blood trickled—but she didn’t flinch.

Punch after punch rained down, pinning the squirming Kong Qinlan beneath her.

No doubt remained.

This demon… killed her sister.

Ye Chang’an’s words alone weren’t proof.

But the moment the door opened—the scene, Kong Qinlan’s hands on Gu Qianqian—the truth became glaringly clear.

It was so close… *so close*.

Had they arrived a moment later…

Gu Qianqian would’ve become another victim.

And given her devotion to Ye Chang’an, the shame would’ve shattered her.

Who knows what she might’ve done…

She could’ve become the second… to take her own life.

Chang’an had always been a gentleman—never laying hands on a woman.

Yet watching Jiang Jixue’s fists land with brutal precision, reducing the criminal’s face to a bloody pulp until she lay barely breathing… he felt a strange, grim catharsis.

Gu Qianqian’s hazy gaze stayed locked on Chang’an, unwilling to blink—until two silent tears traced down her cheeks.

At last… she no longer had to resist.

At last… she no longer had to wait.

Tears streamed down her delicate face. All defenses melted away. Surrendering to the drug’s pull, she nestled into Chang’an’s arms—the arms of the one she loved… Her eyelids fluttered shut. She sank into deep, peaceful sleep.

…

Five minutes later, security guards arrived outside the office, surrounded by students.

They saw Chang’an gently cradling the sleeping girl.

They saw Jiang Jixue—covered in blood, tears streaking her face, fists raw and bleeding.

And Kong Qinlan, motionless on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

Ye Chang’an and Jiang Jixue were swiftly handcuffed, silent and unrepentant.

They felt no regret.

Until the truth surfaced, restraint was necessary—and an ambulance was called. Kong Qinlan’s life hung in the balance.

That day, at Chang’an Girls’ Elite Academy…

Ambulance and police sirens wailed without end.