“Don’t make a sound.”

Su Yao didn’t get the chance to carry out her wicked little plan. The moment Lin Qing heard someone twisting the doorknob outside, he stopped letting her hold him in place, grabbed her wrist, and turned the tables.

He opened a random empty closet and shoved Su Yao inside.

Then he met Su Yao’s direct gaze. She looked so innocent and pitiful, with eyes like a little deer’s, all wet and pleading. It was enough to make anyone feel sorry for her.

Lin Qing’s hand froze on the closet door. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he shut it quickly.

Quick and decisive.

At last, peace and quiet.

At first, Lin Qing had planned to give in for a little while and see if he could get anything out of Su Yao.

Too bad.

As it turned out, he’d been far too naive. Su Yao wasn’t easy to deal with.

He got nothing.

In that case, there was no point dragging things out. He should leave as soon as possible!

As for why he’d shoved Su Yao into the closet instead of hiding in there himself to avoid whoever was coming in… Lin Qing watched the doorknob twisting again and again, his eyes beneath his black hair turning cold.

The reason was simple: the person coming wasn’t a girl.

It was a man.

Someone Lin Qing knew.

All this time, Lin Qing had thought that if he ignored things, he could avoid most trouble.

But he’d forgotten one thing.

Some trouble doesn’t go away just because you avoid it. It only gets worse.

Just like his troublesome deskmate.

Wang Fanran had acted strangely all morning. His frequent glances were full of malice, and none of them escaped Lin Qing’s notice.

Lin Qing had pretended not to know, just to keep everyday life peaceful.

He didn’t want his school life turning into a complete mess.

But Wang Fanran had gone too far. He kept crossing the line.

What kind of trouble had he prepared this time?

Whatever it was, Lin Qing wasn’t going to ignore it. He was going to fight back.

With that in mind, Lin Qing reached for the doorknob. Click. He released the latch.

Then, just in case, Lin Qing quickly backed away.

The doorknob turned again, and the door opened from the outside.

With a creak, the changing room door swung wide open.

“You?”

But when Lin Qing saw the person standing in the doorway, he asked in confusion.

He’d expected his deskmate, Wang Fanran. So why was Li Dong here?

After the incident where Li Dong had been beaten got out of hand, Li Dong had asked the school for leave.

And now he was here…

Lin Qing’s question went unanswered. Then he saw the craft knife gripped tightly in Li Dong’s hand. It only took a moment’s thought for him to understand what had happened.

That bastard Wang Fanran wanted to come after him, but he was making someone else do it for him.

And now he was bringing a knife into it? Wasn’t he afraid something would happen?

Li Dong still looked timid and meek. It was hard to imagine him having the nerve to attack someone with a knife.

He was nothing but a puppet!

Looking at Li Dong and the knife in his hand, Lin Qing felt the memories he never wanted to see rush back for the third time.

It was as if something had pinned down his arms and legs, lifted his head, pried his eyes open, and forced him to watch those horrible, unbearable scenes.

The basement. Limbs scattered across the floor. A duel. Cowardly cries and sobs…

Scene after scene flashed before his eyes.

As these fragments of memory surfaced, the vein at Lin Qing’s temple throbbed. An indescribable hatred surged up inside him.

He clenched his teeth so hard they ground together.

His head hung low. His fist was clenched, and his arm trembled faintly—the sign of emotions pushed to the extreme.

His anger, held back for so long, was close to reaching its limit.

No!

This was school.

He couldn’t.

He wouldn’t allow it.

Think of a normal life. Think of a peaceful school.

He couldn’t afford to lose control here.

“It’s all because of you, Lin Qing, that Li Weiqiang beat me! You think speaking up this time was saving me? It wasn’t… You were just making yourself feel good!”

The hand holding the craft knife trembled. But once Li Dong had finished speaking, the shaking mysteriously stopped.

Wang Fanran had given him those words, but saying them out loud now made Li Dong feel they were completely right.

Thinking about what would happen to him when Li Weiqiang came back to school, Li Dong tightened his grip on the knife.

He glared at Lin Qing, anger in his eyes. It was as if the scrawny boy standing in front of him was one of the bullies who’d always picked on him.

Lin Qing looked even weaker than he did, like he couldn’t hurt a fly. Even Li Dong could beat him!

Wang Fanran was right!

Lin Qing hadn’t been trying to save him. He’d wanted to watch him get bullied even more cruelly, and that was why he’d set this up.

A chance for a school thug to beat up someone weaker.

“Li Weiqiang’s going to beat me again—and worse this time!”

As he spoke, Li Dong raised his voice and lifted the knife in his hand.

He pointed it straight at Lin Qing.

His voice rang out, but Lin Qing didn’t react. His head remained bowed, and he seemed distracted. He didn’t even care to look at Li Dong.

But Lin Qing wasn’t the only one watching.

Su Yao pressed both hands against the closet door and peered outside through its narrow, rectangular ventilation slits. Her pretty red lips curled upward. She found the whole situation fascinating.

What would happen next?

Li Dong had been badly bullied before, but he was of average build, with a normal height and weight.

Lin Qing, on the other hand, was so scrawny that the contrast between them was stark.

There was no way he could win in a fight!

Especially with his opponent holding a weapon.

Even if it was only a craft knife.

A sharpened blade was still very sharp. If Lin Qing wasn’t careful, he’d regret it.

So what would Lin Qing do?

Things were getting more and more interesting.

She wanted to shove open this annoying door and enjoy the show—just the two of them.

“Lin Qing, you hypocrite! You shouldn’t even be at school!”

Lin Qing hadn’t said a word for a long time. Li Dong’s anger kept building, and with it, his courage.

As he spoke, he stepped forward. The knife in his hand entered Lin Qing’s field of vision.

At that moment, Lin Qing unclenched his teeth. His arm stopped trembling, too.

It was as if everything had returned to normal. But when he raised his head, a wolfish, vicious light shone in his eyes.

His black hair couldn’t hide it. The moment Li Dong met his gaze, he froze.

Then Lin Qing moved!

Lin Qing was small, but he was fast. He dashed up to Li Dong and grabbed the wrist holding the knife.

His grip was like an iron clamp, pinning Li Dong’s hand in place and making him grimace in pain.

But Lin Qing didn’t stop there. He kicked hard at Li Dong’s ankle.

The impact made Li Dong cry out. His body pitched forward, and Lin Qing twisted the wrist holding the knife backward.

A faint crack rang out.

The sound of a bone cracking.

“I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please let go—it hurts! Ah, I was wrong!”

A wave of terrible pain washed over Li Dong. Tears and snot streamed down his face as he shouted and begged for mercy, desperate to be free.

But Lin Qing listened coldly, with no intention of letting go.

He looked at Li Dong, who was wailing and crying, and spoke in a frigid voice.

“Save you? Make myself feel good? What are you worth that I’d do something like that for you?”