Chapter 9

“She’s with Lin Yeci now?!” Classmate #1 looked utterly shocked, even stopped mid-skewer bite.

He Shiduo instantly lost her appetite. “Why her?!”

Watching the two chatting and laughing together, He Shiduo felt extremely bitter. It wasn’t that she liked Lin Yeci—she just couldn’t stand a top student being with a delinquent everyone looked down on.

“My Mu-Ci CP can’t fall apart!” she said angrily, slammed money on the table, and stormed off from the BBQ stall.

He Shiduo seemingly wanted the trio to see her, deliberately turned sideways, intending to pass by Jiang Zhiyu.

Classmate #1 tugged her sleeve and whispered, “What are you doing? Don’t forget how Jiang Zhiyu roasted Ye Muwan the other day.”

“Hmph… I… I’m not that dumb,” He Shiduo replied with arms crossed, a bit tsundere.

Not far away, Jiang Zhiyu noticed the two being all sneaky by the BBQ stall and smiled faintly. They must’ve misunderstood, thinking Lin Yeci was on a date with her.

When the two realized they’d been seen, they got spooked and quickly retreated in the opposite direction.

After the meal, Jiang Zhiyu took the initiative to pay. Although Lin Yeci said it was his treat, she already taught him a lesson earlier with the “ice cream assassin” tactic—so it ended up being a fair split.

The weekend flew by, and a new busy week began.

Senior year was nothing like the easy-going days of freshman or sophomore year—everything revolved around studying.

Having already gone through the college entrance exam once, Jiang Zhiyu knew well: success in senior year depended on practice. The more problems you solved, the deeper your knowledge.

She used to love tackling the last big math problem on every test paper—and that hadn’t changed. Those challenging questions let her immerse herself completely in the sea of numbers and logic.

Nearby, some chatty classmates started gossiping again.

“Why is she suddenly studying so hard?”

“I bet she just stuffed her romance novel under the desk again!”

He Shiduo scoffed, clearly pissed, “Exactly. She was still out dating at Jiangbin on Saturday night.”

“She’s getting too full of herself. Shouldn’t we teach her a lesson?”

Jiang Zhiyu didn’t notice them scheming behind her back.

After evening study hall, it was close to 9 p.m. Since Zhang Qiangyi had taken a leave, Jiang Zhiyu had to head back alone. The corridor lights flickered.

Passing by the corner restroom, she paused. It was still a long way home, and if she needed to pee later, she’d be miserable. So, she went in and enjoyed the sweet relief.

Suddenly, the restroom light went out. Jiang Zhiyu quickly reached for the door—but it was blocked from the outside.

Logically, there shouldn’t have been a way to lock it from the outside, nor any object capable of holding the door shut like that. Which meant—it had to be a person.

Jiang Zhiyu went quiet, motionless, standing in the stall.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t she making any noise?” He Shiduo whispered, barely moving her lips.

The three girls holding the door relaxed a little, one of them shrugged as if saying, “No idea.”

At that moment, Jiang Zhiyu lifted her leg and, with full force, kicked the door open.

The girls on the other side collapsed instantly, tumbling to the ground, staring in horror as Jiang Zhiyu walked out completely unscathed.

“Having fun?” Her voice was icy cold—enough to raise everyone’s hackles.

Silence.

Then Jiang Zhiyu raised her voice: “I asked—IS THIS FUN FOR YOU?!”

“N-No… not fun at all…” Classmate #1’s voice trembled.

None of them had ever seen Jiang Zhiyu explode like that—her aura was overwhelming.

“Then why do it?” Jiang Zhiyu’s gaze was sharp and cold.

He Shiduo shakily got up, leaning against the wall but still refusing to back down. “You… you think you’re worthy of being with Lin Yeci? Someone needs to teach you a lesson. You think we’re invisible?”

“Yeah! And this isn’t even the first time you’ve been locked in a bathroom! Seems like you’re doing fine anyway,” Classmate #1 added.

Not the first time?

Jiang Zhiyu’s fury ignited. So the original Jiang Zhiyu had been bullied like this before…

She unzipped her backpack, pulled out an eyebrow razor, grabbed He Shiduo by the collar, dragged her into the stall, slammed the door shut, and pinned her to the wall.

“My knife doesn’t see clearly. Want to test it?” Her voice was low and lethal—as if they’d pushed her to this brink.

He Shiduo’s voice faltered. “You… wouldn’t dare?!”

Jiang Zhiyu pressed the blade to her neck, biting her lip. “You think someone desperate wouldn’t dare? Worst case, you die first and I’ll follow right after. Don’t think I won’t do it.”

He Shiduo and the others had bullied her for ages—but this Jiang Zhiyu was like a whole new person.

Maybe He Shiduo was weird or something, but right now… she actually thought Jiang Zhiyu looked kind of cool.

The other girls outside started pounding on the door.

“What are you doing? Let Shiduo out!”

“If she gets hurt, you’ll be in serious trouble!”

Jiang Zhiyu ignored them. Her grip on the knife stayed firm. Suddenly, she slammed it into the wall.

“AHHH—!!” He Shiduo screamed at the top of her lungs.

Jiang Zhiyu pulled out the blade—the wall had cracked from the impact. She slid the broken edge back into her bag.

With a cold smile, she let He Shiduo go and opened the door.

“Don’t mess with me unless you want real trouble.”

He Shiduo walked out drenched in sweat, face pale and gasping for air.

As Jiang Zhiyu’s silhouette disappeared down the hall, the others were left stunned.

“Damn… I thought that crazy chick actually killed you.”

A security guard who heard the scream rushed over and frowned. “Why aren’t you girls home yet? What was that scream about?”

Classmate #1 was about to spill the truth—but He Shiduo quickly covered her mouth and said first, “N-Nothing… We just saw a huge rat in the restroom.”

“A rat? You’re screaming over a rat? Hurry up and get back!” the guard barked, waving his flashlight.

Jiang Zhiyu had always hated school bullying. Now that she experienced it firsthand, there was no way she’d let it slide. She’d nip it in the bud—hard.

“I think… I’m starting to see Jiang Zhiyu in a new light,” He Shiduo muttered, walking behind the others, eyes fixed on Jiang Zhiyu from afar.

Classmate #1 patted her head. “Did she scare you stupid or something…?”