Chapter 19: Fright

Ji Shuyi’s evening self-study classroom was on the fifth floor. By the time she had slowly ambled down the stairs to the second floor, there were hardly any people left in the stairwell. As she neared the ground floor exit, she finally figured out what kind of gift to bring Yanyan. Her steps became noticeably lighter as she skipped around the corner of the stairs.

“Ah… Mmm!”

Suddenly, from the dimness, a demonic claw shot out, directly covering her mouth and abducting her.

Ji Shuyi’s soul nearly flew out of her body as her eyes widened in terror. She desperately wanted to shout for help, but could only manage low, muffled whimpers.

In a dizzying, lightning-fast moment, she was slammed against the stairwell wall. Terrified, she frantically turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut, assuming she’d encountered a hooligan. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out how to resist and escape…

However, several seconds passed, and the hooligan made no further move. Ji Shuyi, her eyes still tightly closed, even heard a low, deep chuckle from the man in front of her. The laughter was full of mockery, and the voice was extremely familiar…

Hesitantly, Ji Shuyi cautiously opened one eye. Sure enough, she was met with Jiang Cheng’s infuriating face, wearing a wicked grin.

“Jiang Cheng!” Ji Shuyi was genuinely angry. “You’re really sick in the head! Playing jokes like this! You scared me to death!”

Enraged, she used both her hands and feet to scratch, hit, and kick at the damn dog!

Jiang Cheng allowed Ji Shuyi to vent her anger in his arms. He merely braced one hand against the wall above her head, slowly lowered his body, and drew closer to the girl’s face. His voice was low and dangerous. “Were you very scared?”

“What do you think!” Ji Shuyi retorted, glaring up at him. “If a dog suddenly jumped out at you while you were walking, wouldn’t you be scared?”

“Good that you’re scared…” Jiang Cheng said in a cold voice, his eyes betraying no emotion. “Then starting tomorrow, remember to bring a bodyguard to school. Otherwise, if I see you alone again…”

His face drew ever closer. Ji Shuyi, not caring, again turned her head away while pushing at his lowering head with her hand. Her heart pounded erratically as she retorted:

“What… what do you want?”

Her strength was too weak. Even though she was pushing hard on Jiang Cheng’s head, she still couldn’t stop him from continuing to lower his face closer to her cheek. The girl’s body emitted a refreshing fragrance. As he drew nearer, his body unconsciously stiffened for a moment, his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and his tone turned sinister:

“If I see you alone again, I’ll drag you into the woods, leaving you with no way to call for help, and do… whatever I want to you.”

He chuckled wickedly and continued:

“Like this…”

As the words fell, he forcefully lowered his head, intent on kissing her lips.

“Ah!! You pervert! You’re shameless!”

Panicked, Ji Shuyi struggled to push him away, quickly escaping from his embrace. In her haste, she threw a sentence at him:

“I’ll bring 108 heroes tomorrow! If you come near me again, I’ll definitely beat you to death!”

Watching the terrified little white rabbit flee in a hurry – and with 108 heroes, no less – Jiang Cheng curved his lips in amusement.

“Feisty.”

As Jiang Cheng walked out of the teaching building, he spotted Chen Xingyi waiting by the entrance, looking utterly dejected.

“Seriously, you scared Ji Shuyi away again?” Seeing Ji Shuyi running out in a flustered state, Chen Xingyi asked, puzzled, “Weren’t you supposed to remind her to be careful and not be alone if there’s danger around? What happened?”

“Oh, nothing much,” Jiang Cheng said casually. “I just gave her a demonstration of the kind of danger she might encounter.”

“Holy crap!” Chen Xingyi exclaimed, his mind doing mental gymnastics. “Did you force yourself on her? How could it be so quick… Crap! That hurt!”

Jiang Cheng kicked him, scolding, “Don’t make me sound like you – a beast.”

The next day.

Jiang Cheng, who had no classes in the morning, found himself inexplicably drawn back to the school.

Ji Shuyi had a class during the second period of the morning.

At the school gate, Ji Shuyi, having just stepped out of the car, saw Jiang Cheng walking out of the campus, hands in his pockets, looking arrogant as ever. Taking a closer look, she realized he was walking towards her.

He even made eye contact from afar, raising an eyebrow at her in a teasing gesture. The faint smile on his lips instantly brought her back to the scene in the stairwell last night, when he had bullied her.

Startled, Ji Shuyi hurriedly hid behind the girl her brother had arranged to escort her.

Jiang Cheng noticed the unfamiliar woman next to Ji Shuyi. Dressed in all black, her expression was cautious and stern. It was clear she was a trained fighter. Especially when he saw Ji Shuyi hide behind her as he approached, he was certain that the woman could protect her.

It seemed this little firecracker had actually listened to him for once.

With that, Jiang Cheng nonchalantly walked past her.

For a moment, Ji Shuyi felt as if he hadn’t been looking at her at all, and that she had been imagining things.

After walking a short distance from the school gate, Jiang Cheng suddenly heard someone call his name from the left.

“Jiang Cheng.”

It was Song Ning, holding textbooks and wearing a restrained smile. Today, she had straightened her previously curly hair, and dyed her dark brown hair black. She had pinned a small, fresh hair clip above her left ear. She had also traded her figure-hugging clothes for a light-colored dress and her high heels for flat leather shoes. She had mustered a great deal of courage to call out his name in the crowd.

Hearing her voice, Jiang Cheng turned his head and stopped for her for the first time.

Seeing him stop, Song Ning happily clutched her textbooks closer, assuming her transformation had caught his eye.

As expected, he liked girls who dressed this way.

But in the next second, Jiang Cheng blurted out, expressionless, “That kind of outfit doesn’t suit you.”

That was the style of clothing Ji Shuyi liked.

Even though she was a wild rabbit ready to bristle at the slightest touch, she insisted on dressing prim and proper, like a little white flower.

Song Ning felt a moment of defeat. Just as she was about to say something else, she saw Jiang Cheng had already left without a second glance.

The girl stood there stunned for a long while, then lowered her head and smiled slightly. This was the first time she had suddenly called out to him on the road and received a response, even if it was only about her clothes. Perhaps this kind of outfit really could attract his attention.

After that, Song Ning couldn’t help but start to imitate Ji Shuyi’s style of dress.

At lunchtime after school, Lu Zhixia, full of gossip and seeking confirmation, grabbed Ji Shuyi’s arm and asked:

“Did you bring that person to protect you from Jiang Cheng? Did he try to assault you, and you ran away?”

Lu Zhixia analyzed, completely unwilling to believe it, “No way, no way. If Jiang Cheng really wanted to do something to you, how could you have escaped?”

Ji Shuyi thought about it, and it was true. If he really wanted to do something, she wouldn’t have been able to escape at the time.

“Whatever, I can’t be bothered to think about him.” Ji Shuyi said, giving up. “Anyway, I don’t want to get near him recently.”

In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday.

In the afternoon, Ji Shuyi dressed herself up beautifully, took the gift she had prepared for Yanyan, and drove out in her flashy, cherry-blossom pink Ferrari.

Inside the “Fireworks” villa, Shen Yan picked out a bottle of red wine from the wine cellar. When she came out, she saw that Jiang Cheng had already arrived.

“Sis,” Jiang Cheng said, taking his hands out of his pockets to greet her first.

“You’re here!” Shen Yan said to him warmly. “Dad and A’Jiu are playing chess. Go sit down for a while. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Jiang Cheng: “Okay.”

“Oh, right, there’s one more thing,” Shen Yan hurriedly called out to Jiang Cheng as he walked away, reminding him, “When Shuyi comes later, don’t always bully her. She’s afraid of you.”

Jiang Cheng pursed his lips in annoyance. He really wanted to say, ‘She’s the one who always leaves me with injuries,’ but the words that came to his lips sheepishly turned into a single syllable: “Okay.”