Chapter 51 (｀∀´)Ψ

“But… but I’m the victim…”

He Rou was at a loss. She simply couldn’t accept such an outcome.

“Miss He Rou, please cooperate with my work. We’ll properly discuss the grievances afterward.”

The class teacher held up her phone, recording them.

“But… why?”

He Rou widened her eyes, somewhat incredulous. Was there no justice here?

“Miss He Rou, you’re in your senior year now. Something like this happening creates a bad influence for everyone—you, me, and the others. I hope you can understand the school and the teacher.”

“Can you understand me then…”

“Let’s finish this matter first.”

“…”

He Rou’s head felt dizzy.

She couldn’t tell if it was from anger or her existing injuries.

She already understood: big issues are minimized, small issues are swept away.

Given what Cheng Ruo had said about this being the sixth incident this week… this school truly was ugly.

“I’m sorry…”

He Rou bent over.

Her posture and tone made her look even more like the perpetrator than Ling Jie.

“Alright, alright.”

After filming the scene, the teacher sat back down at her desk and typed “mutual schoolyard fight” on the keyboard.

He Rou’s head was still lowered.

She didn’t know what to do.

She had thought she’d escaped Luo Yun’s control, thought she’d gained brief, restricted freedom.

But looking at it now… that wasn’t the case at all.

Everyone here was a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times more vicious than Luo Yun!

“Each of you write a thousand-character self-criticism. Deadline is this morning. Since you’re seniors, I won’t inform your parents.”

The teacher didn’t even lift her head from her desk.

“Heh, bye-bye.”

Ling Jie and the other two laughed as they left the office.

But He Rou didn’t move.

She wanted to ask: why… why did she deserve this judgment?

“Why aren’t you leaving yet?”

“Teacher… didn’t you say you’d give me an explanation?”

Tears streamed down He Rou’s cheeks.

Why did she have to suffer so much undeserved misfortune?

“He Rou, I think you should focus on the upcoming college entrance exam instead of dwelling on this. You didn’t suffer any real loss… oh, at most your clothes got dirty. So why make things so complicated?”

“Because you weren’t the one locked in the restroom stall… You’re not me… You didn’t feel those dirty slops being thrown at you! You didn’t experience being surrounded by the cold! You’re only thinking about yourself! You… you’re unworthy of being a teacher!”

He Rou sobbed, shouting at the teacher who hadn’t even lifted her head from her desk.

“Unambitious… If you want to stay here, go ahead and stay. Just make sure you leave your self-criticism on my desk before lunch.”

Having said that, the teacher left the office, casually putting the coat she’d had draped over her shoulders back on.

Only He Rou remained in the office.

Once outside, the teacher found a secluded spot, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

“Aah…”

Even after a long drag, her frown didn’t ease.

He Rou was this week’s… who even knew which case.

She really didn’t want to deal with those young masters and mistresses.

Whatever they wanted to do, however they did it, she didn’t care.

She only cared about her own teaching performance.

As for school bullying?

The school was clamping down hard on this issue now.

Such things would never happen in her class.

If something did happen, it was just a conflict between students.

Take photo evidence, write a self-criticism—then it wasn’t really a problem.

Otherwise, with all these cases piling up, she might as well just resign.

…

He Rou stood in the empty office, her nails digging into her palms, leaving deep crescent-shaped marks.

She was furious, but even more so, she was aggrieved.

Should she tell Luo Yun?

She didn’t know if Luo Yun would care about this, but she knew she was Luo Yun’s property.

But if she were here… would all this grievance from being bullied by outsiders disappear?

The thought barely circled in her mind before He Rou forcefully crushed it out.

On one side, a knife pointed at her.

On the other, a cage with a collar.

Both directions were dangerous.

As for the self-criticism—only a dog would write one.

She absolutely couldn’t be that cowardly.

Now, anger had surged to He Rou’s head.

What happened today absolutely, certainly wouldn’t end like this.

Maybe she was usually too submissive.

Suddenly being this angry made her body feel feverish.

She walked out of the office.

The cold wind in the corridor pressed the thin hospital gown tightly against her skin.

She didn’t go back to the classroom.

Instead, she turned and walked out toward the school gate.

She didn’t want to stay here any longer.

Compared to a place that didn’t treat people like people, she’d rather go to her workplace.

Even though that place also held bad memories, compared to this nauseating school, that villa wasn’t so bad.

She felt like she was going to explode.

Every breath of air in this school carried a sickening smell.

Outside, the sky was gloomy.

Traffic on the road was fast, car horns making her ears ache.

It wasn’t yet lunch break.

There were few people on or off campus.

She had no money, no phone, and was wearing only a thin hospital gown.

Cold…

Her whole body was cold.

No matter how strong the fury inside her, it couldn’t stop He Rou from shivering.

The driver wasn’t coming until 5 PM.

If she waited here until then, she’d probably freeze to death.

He Rou gritted her teeth, hugging her arms tightly to block some wind.

She lifted her foot and started walking.

From school to Luo Yun’s villa, it was a thirty-minute drive.

On foot?

She didn’t know.

She only knew that if she didn’t leave now, she might die in this school.

Pedestrians on the roadside stared at her, at her strange clothes, as if she must have escaped from some mental hospital.

But He Rou didn’t look at anyone.

She only stared at the path under her feet.

The wind was strong, blowing her hair into a mess.

The trees by the road were bare, exuding a stark desolation.

She passed one intersection, then another.

The ache in her legs had gone numb.

Her knees felt icy cold.

“Atonement…”

She mechanically repeated the word in her mind.

He Rou didn’t know why she thought of it again.

Right…

All the suffering she’d endured since that fire seemed tied to this word…

But… until now, how could she ever atone for her sins?

He Rou didn’t know.

She felt she had long been unable to leave Luo Yun.

Her whole life would be spent by her side forever.

But… if that were the case, could a “dog” complain to its master?

And would the “master” stir up trouble with others for her sake?

He Rou didn’t dare gamble.

If this matter caused Luo Yun to come back, knowing her malicious taste, she’d probably just watch on the sidelines while He Rou got bullied.

That’s probably how it’d be…

He Rou thought about everything Luo Yun had done to her before.

Reaching that conclusion wasn’t baseless guesswork.