Lin Qing had a lot of questions and wanted Su Yao to answer them.

But the situation right now wasn't right for him to speak up.

Still, Su Yao's deliberate teasing made him clench his fist.

Her fingertips had been burning hot. Even after she pulled away, the sensation wouldn't fade quickly.

Like a venomous snake lying in wait, she flicked her tail gently, ready to strike at any moment.

He had to dodge.

He couldn't fall into her trap.

Everything Su Yao did had a purpose. Even now, she was speaking up for Li Dong, who'd been bullied.

No matter how you looked at it, something was off.

What did she want?

He couldn't figure it out.

Lin Qing stared hard at Su Yao's back, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Su Yao, are you sure about what you just said? I don't want to accuse an innocent student.”

When Su Yao approached on her own, Wu Gang had the nerve to act all righteous, as if he couldn't possibly accuse an innocent person. The sight made Li Weiqiang feel sick.

That damn teacher was getting more and more irritating by the second.

And then there was that bitch, Su Yao.

How dare she report him!

“I'm sure, Teacher. And I have a video as evidence.”

Wu Gang had asked on purpose, but when Su Yao spoke again, she brought an unexpected surprise.

Su Yao simply raised her phone, the same warm, welcoming smile on her face.

But Li Weiqiang felt as if he'd plunged into an ice cellar. His hands and feet went cold. He'd never imagined Su Yao had recorded a video.

What had just happened so suddenly that there shouldn't have been time to record it.

Unless Su Yao had already been filming something, and happened to capture him beating up Li Dong.

Damn it!

All that effort, wasted.

Now things had gotten serious. He'd be disciplined by the school.

“Nice work. I'll give you credit for this.”

When Wu Gang saw Su Yao produce the crucial evidence, his brows lifted. Then he gave Li Weiqiang a knowing look. He knew he could finally teach this little punk a lesson.

It wouldn't get him into too much trouble, but at least the school would have some peace for a while.

Bullying would probably decrease too!

“Mr. Wu, I…”

“Enough. Stop whining at me. Let's go to the dean's office. Su Yao, you're coming too.”

With the evidence clear as day, Li Weiqiang had no way to argue his way out of it.

Li Weiqiang had just been about to back down, but Wu Gang wasn't having any of it.

He didn't give Li Weiqiang time to say another word. He pointed straight toward the dean's office, telling him to get moving.

No more dragging his feet and wasting time.

Where had all that swagger gone—the way he'd beaten someone up and shown such contempt for the teacher's authority?

“The rest of you are free to do what you like. But don't get up to mischief just because I'm not here, okay? If I catch you, you'll all be punished severely.”

“Yes, sir!”

Before leaving, Wu Gang reminded the students to behave. Then he promptly led Li Weiqiang and Su Yao away.

The students left on the field were thrilled. They clustered together, chattering about what had just happened.

They were so excited that it would take quite a while for them to calm down.

Everyone had already forgotten Lin Qing, the one who'd spoken up first. All anyone was talking about was Su Yao.

They were so animated, you'd think they were the ones who'd reported Li Weiqiang.

They didn't seem timid and withdrawn at all anymore.

While the students gathered in groups of three or four to chat, Lin Qing watched Su Yao's retreating figure. He knew he couldn't keep hovering around her. He had to speak with her face-to-face.

That was the quickest way to get to the bottom of things.

Besides the red skull, the fact that Wu Gang was working as a teacher also seemed unusual.

“Damn it, what the hell did that fat pig Wang Fanran do? Brother Liu just called and told me to leave him alone.”

As Su Yao's figure gradually disappeared from Lin Qing's sight, Zhou Lin's furious voice suddenly rang out.

At the mention of Wang Fanran, Lin Qing tilted his head in confusion. He had no idea what his troublesome desk mate had done this time.

…

“Li Dong, are you okay?”

After Wang Fanran hurriedly helped Li Dong off the field, he didn't take him to the infirmary right away. Instead, he found a quiet spot and helped Li Dong sit down on a bench.

He'd only been beaten up. It wasn't anything serious.

All he had to do was wipe the blood from his nose with a tissue.

What was the point of going to the infirmary?

“Wang Fanran, why are people even alive? Why am I the only one who gets bullied?”

Now that he'd come to his senses, Li Dong sat on the bench, curling in on himself. The places where he'd been hit throbbed with pain, enough to bring tears to his eyes.

In fact, Li Dong really was crying.

Tears and snot streamed down his face. He wiped them away carelessly with his sleeve, not caring at all how he looked.

Seeing this, Wang Fanran, standing nearby, immediately looked disgusted.

But Li Dong was too busy wiping his tears to notice the impatience in Wang Fanran's eyes.

“You think Li Weiqiang beat you up just because he didn't like you?”

“???”

Wang Fanran's words stopped Li Dong from wiping his tears.

He finally raised his head and looked over, utterly confused. He had no idea what Wang Fanran meant.

“That fake-nice guy Lin Qing is the reason Li Weiqiang beat you so badly. And then he turns around and plays the good guy. What a joke.”

“But…”

“Li Dong, we've known each other since middle school. Don't you trust me?”

Wang Fanran saw the hesitation on Li Dong's face and sneered inwardly. Then he kept piling on the pressure.

Since they'd been classmates before, Wang Fanran knew Li Dong's personality.

He was a fence-sitter who went whichever way the wind blew, with no mind of his own.

He was easy to fool every time.

“Just look at me. Lin Qing stirred things up in class, and I got bullied too.”

Wang Fanran lifted his shirt, revealing bruises and purple marks.

Li Dong stared in surprise. He hadn't known Wang Fanran had been bullied too.

Was it all because of Lin Qing?

“Why would Lin Qing do something like that?”

Li Dong thought back to Lin Qing, with his long hair covering his face. The person seemed completely unfamiliar; he didn't remember seeing anyone like that at school.

“Why else? He's a psycho. I'll let you in on a secret: he's good at pulling strings. He's great at stirring people up. Once this is over, Li Weiqiang's gonna beat you half to death.”

As he spoke, Wang Fanran watched Li Dong's expression slowly soften.

The corners of his mouth began to lift, but when he remembered his plan wasn't complete yet, he quickly schooled his expression and put on a look of concern for Li Dong.

Even though that freak Chen Sen had helped him deal with Zhou Lin, Wang Fanran swore he'd repay a hundredfold for all the torment he'd suffered because of Lin Qing!

“What should I do?”

“Don't worry. You've still got me, your old classmate. I'll help you.”

As Wang Fanran spoke, he couldn't hold back his smile any longer. It crept across his lips.