Chapter 39: Despair

Xu Qiaoqiao was also afraid of them, so she didn’t tell anyone about what happened.

But they had no intention of letting her go!

In the days that followed, they escalated their abuse and beat her even more brutally.

They deliberately targeted areas where injuries wouldn’t show.

They even used a burning cigarette to sear her stomach!

She couldn’t endure it any longer.

They had gone too far!

So one day, after being bullied again, she went home intending to tell her parents everything.

But her parents didn’t even give her a chance to speak. They just said they were exhausted after a full day of work and told her not to bother them.

The words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed down.

With no other choice, she placed her hope in their homeroom teacher—her math teacher.

The math teacher was a responsible person. During lunch break that day, he brought Ruirui An and the other girls to the office and scolded them one by one.

For the next few days, Ruirui An and her group really did quiet down. After school, they didn’t bother her.

But little did she know—that was just the calm before the storm!

One day after school, a classmate came to pass her a message saying the math teacher wanted to see her.

That classmate didn’t usually have a good or bad relationship with her, so she didn’t think too much of it and went.

But as soon as she walked in, someone struck the back of her neck hard.

She blacked out immediately.

When she woke up, it was to the sound of people talking.

Opening her eyes, she saw the room filled with teachers and students all around her.

They were pointing at her and saying things.

Her head was spinning, but she could still vaguely hear phrases like “shameless” and “how could they do such a thing?”

She turned her head in confusion and saw herself and the unconscious math teacher lying on the office floor, clothes disheveled.

Seeing Ruirui An and the others hiding in the crowd, smiling smugly, she realized—

She and the teacher had been framed.

Panicking, she tried to explain that she and the math teacher were innocent.

The math teacher also woke up during this time and explained that he didn’t know why he had suddenly passed out.

In the end, the principal stepped in to suppress the matter.

He said there was something suspicious about the situation and promised to thoroughly investigate it, instructing the students present not to spread any rumors.

But with Ruirui An and her group involved, how could the incident possibly be kept quiet?

Sure enough, the next day, the entire school—teachers and students alike—began talking about it.

The students in her class even scolded Xu Qiaoqiao to her face, calling her shameless and indecent.

Every single word felt like a sharp knife stabbing directly into her heart.

It made her already battered heart crumble even more.

It didn’t stop there. They used colored pens to write slurs like “slut” and “whore” all over her textbooks, notebooks, and desk.

That afternoon, the math teacher’s wife also came to the school.

She stormed into the classroom, holding up a photo on her phone of Xu Qiaoqiao and the math teacher lying together, and without a word, slapped her across the face several times, leaving Xu Qiaoqiao stunned.

The math teacher rushed in upon hearing the commotion and dragged his furious wife away.

Xu Qiaoqiao spent the entire evening study session under the scrutiny and gossip of her classmates.

After school, she sat quietly in the classroom.

She wanted to wait until everyone had left before going home.

She truly didn’t want to see those people’s eyes on her or hear their cruel words anymore.

But that decision led her straight into a nightmare.

When the classroom was empty and everything outside had gone quiet, she finally put on her backpack.

She was a day student and lived close to the school, so she always went home by herself.

Her parents were busy and never came to pick her up.

They said she was old enough to be independent.

She left the teaching building, planning to walk through the small garden toward the school gate.

But suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from the side and covered her mouth.

Terrified, she looked at Ruirui An—and the two boys standing next to her.

She wanted to ask what they were trying to do.

But before she could say a word, the two boys dragged her into the small grove behind the teaching building.

This small grove was located beside the sports field, with many small stone tables and benches inside.

During the day, students often sat here in small groups, chatting and laughing.

But now, it was eerily silent.

She struggled with all her might, but they held her down tightly, firmly covering her mouth.

The two boys pinned her beneath them and violently tore off her clothes…

About an hour later, three figures rushed out of the grove one after another.

On the ground, a girl lay there like a broken rag doll on the cold earth.

She was completely naked, her hair disheveled.

Her body was covered in countless marks from the brutal abuse.

No one knew how much time passed before she finally pushed herself up.

Her eyes were hollow and lifeless, her entire being like a withered husk.

She slowly picked up her school uniform scattered across the ground, putting it on piece by piece.

As if completing a task—her expression never changed the whole time.

She pulled out her phone from her backpack and called her mother.

The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered.

“Mom, I was…”

“Whatever it is, tell me when you get home. I’m really busy right now. That’s it. I’m hanging up.”

The call was heartlessly cut off.

At that moment, Xu Qiaoqiao felt completely hopeless.

So this was the truth—there wasn’t a single person in the world who cared about her.

Since that was the case, what meaning was there left in her being alive?

So, she staggered to her feet and limped toward the scenic lake on the other side of the sports field…

As Xu Qiaoqiao finished telling the full story from beginning to end, netizens were filled with righteous anger, all wanting to jump through the screen and tear Rui Ruian apart.

【Damn! Are they even human? They’re animals!】

【What I hate the most in my life is bullying. Every time I see news like this, I just want to rip those people to shreds!】

【Why must women make life harder for other women?】

【Hell is empty, the devils are all here on earth!】

【I just went back and reread all the news reports—this case was seriously mishandled. With all the injuries on the girl’s body, there should’ve been a forensic report. And after being… violated, there should’ve been a medical report too. But there wasn’t a single mention of it.】

【Maybe the police deliberately covered it up. After all, if this kind of thing spreads, it’s also a blow to the victim’s reputation.】

【You still have the nerve to say you were scared? Were you scared when you were hurting someone else? You’re truly vicious!】

Seeing the entire comment section filled with scolding, Rui Ruian trembled and didn’t dare to say a single word in defense.

She knelt in front of Xu Qiaoqiao, repenting over and over again.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I… I was really wrong. Please, I beg you not to kill me. I’m still so young. I don’t want to die!”

【What the hell! I’m furious! You don’t want to die, but did you think the other girl wanted to die? If you hadn’t done all those things, she would’ve had such a bright future ahead of her!】

【People these days are too mentally weak. To think she actually killed herself over something like this. Doesn’t she value life at all?】

【Shut your mouth or I’ll slap you! What do you mean “something like this”? I hope you and your whole family experience “something like this”!】

【Actually, the girl’s parents also bear some responsibility. If they had cared for her more, maybe she wouldn’t have reached such a breaking point.】

【Sigh…】