“Lin… Lin Lie?!”
Su Ruanruan’s legs went weak with fright, and she slumped directly onto the toilet lid.
“Shh —”
Lin Lie held one finger to her lips, while her other hand slammed against the wall beside Su Ruanruan’s ear with a dull thud.
“Su Ruanruan, you don’t really think I cornered you here to talk about that 250,000 business, do you?”
Lin Lie leaned down, her wild and beautiful face closing in on Su Ruanruan.
“Let me tell you the truth. Money? I have plenty of that. What I want… is you.”
“Wh-What do you want…” Su Ruanruan trembled violently, her hands shielding her chest as she tried to stall for time. “I’ll pay the money back! I borrowed some from Youyu, and I can pay you back right now…”
“Shut up!”
Lin Lie suddenly exploded in rage, grabbing Su Ruanruan’s chin with a grip so strong it felt like it would crush her bones.
“Don’t mention that Young Lady to me! And don’t mention that dog-like Saginomiya Shiori! Right now, it’s just you and me!”
Before she finished speaking, Lin Lie jerked her head down and kissed her fiercely.
Rather than a kiss, it was more like a beast’s bite. She roughly forced open Su Ruanruan’s teeth, and the sheer ferocity—as if she intended to swallow the other girl whole—made Su Ruanruan feel a wave of intense nausea and suffocation.
“Mmph —! Let… go…”
Su Ruanruan struggled desperately, her hands clawing wildly at Lin Lie’s face and neck, her nails leaving several bloody scratches on Lin Lie’s skin.
SLAP!
A crisp sound of a slap echoed through the narrow Toilet Cubicle.
Using every ounce of her strength, Su Ruanruan struck Lin Lie across the face.
The air went dead for a second.
Lin Lie tilted her head, her tongue pushing against her swollen cheek, before she let out a blood-curdling low chuckle.
“Heh… Heh heh…”
She turned her head back. The desire in her eyes had not faded; instead, it burned even brighter. It was a sadistic urge ignited by her prey’s resistance.
“Fine, Su Ruanruan. You dare hit me?”
Lin Lie grabbed Su Ruanruan’s wrists, pinning them behind her back, and then violently tore at the collar of her School Uniform.
rrip —
The fragile fabric gave way, and her necktie fell limply to the floor.
“No! Help! Youyu! Shiori!!”
Su Ruanruan screamed in despair, tears streaming from her eyes.
Just as Lin Lie’s hand was about to touch the final line of defense—
BANG!!!
A massive crash sounded.
The door of the Toilet Cubicle shook violently, as if it had been struck by something incredibly heavy.
Immediately after, Chu Youyu’s exasperated roar came from outside:
“Lin Lie! Get out of there for this Young Lady!!”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sounds of impact grew more intense. With a deafening roar, the fragile cubicle door finally succumbed to the violence and was kicked open from the outside!
Broken fragments of the door flew inward, even grazing Lin Lie’s cheek.
Against the light, two figures stood at the doorway, their bodies radiating a murderous chill.
On the left was Saginomiya Shiori.
Her usually neat, dark-blue short hair was currently a mess, and her amber eyes were filled with a dead, icy coldness. In her hand… she was actually clutching a Metal Water Pipe she had dismantled from somewhere, her knuckles white from the force of her grip.
On the right was Chu Youyu.
The Young Lady remained in her door-kicking stance, her chest heaving violently and her eyes rimmed with red. Her hand shook as she pointed at Lin Lie.
“Take your filthy hands off her!!”
However, facing these two furious “saviors,” Lin Lie didn’t show the slightest hint of panic.
She didn’t even change her posture, remaining pressed firmly against Su Ruanruan with one hand still pinned to the girl’s throat.
“Yo, you got here pretty fast.”
Lin Lie looked back, her eyes sweeping over the two at the door with contempt, her lips curling into a mocking smirk.
She even tightened her fingers provocatively, causing a pained whimper to escape Su Ruanruan.
“You!!” Chu Youyu shook with rage, yet she was afraid to move lest she provoke Lin Lie further.
Saginomiya Shiori slightly raised the hand holding the pipe, a flash of decisive murderous intent in her eyes, as if she were prepared to charge forward and fight to the death regardless of the consequences.
The situation was on the verge of exploding.
Lin Lie held the absolute advantage. In this cramped space, no one could stop her from continuing her assault if she so chose.
She looked down at Su Ruanruan.
The once-proud Queen was now disheveled, her face covered in tears, her eyes filled with the despair of someone facing death. Those eyes that used to look at her only with indifference were now unfocused with terror. Her lip was bitten through, and a thin trail of blood ran down the corner of her mouth.
“…”
Lin Lie’s movements suddenly stopped.
Her heart felt as if it had been pricked by something sharp.
‘Is she really that afraid of me?’
‘Afraid to this extent… if I continue, she really will break, won’t she?’
The burning, tyrannical desire was instantly extinguished, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it, the moment it touched a single tear falling from the corner of Su Ruanruan’s eye.
“Tch, what a buzzkill.”
Lin Lie suddenly let go. The ferocity on her face vanished, replaced by a look of boredom.
She stood up slowly and adjusted her own ruffled collar as if the person from a moment ago hadn’t been her at all.
“Since the audience is all here, this play can’t go on anyway.”
She didn’t even look at the two people at the door who were ready to risk their lives. Instead, she looked down at Su Ruanruan, who was still slumped on the toilet lid.
She reached out, her rough thumb gently wiping the blood from the corner of Su Ruanruan’s mouth. The gesture carried a strange, eerie tenderness.
“Stop crying. It’s ugly,” Lin Lie said in a raspy voice. “Consider yourself lucky today. I’ve suddenly lost interest.”
Having said that, she kicked aside the remains of the door and strode toward the exit.
As she passed Chu Youyu and Saginomiya Shiori, she paused and gave them a contemptuous glance.
“Don’t think I’m afraid of you. I just… don’t want to break her yet.”
As that wild figure disappeared down the end of the hallway, the suffocating pressure finally dissipated.
“Ruanruan!!”
Chu Youyu was the first to react. She threw down her school bag and rushed over to embrace the disheveled Su Ruanruan.
“Waaaah… you scared me to death… you idiot! Why did you run off!”
The Young Lady cried even louder than the victim. While scolding her, she hurriedly took off her expensive coat to cover Su Ruanruan’s torn clothes.
Saginomiya Shiori walked over silently.
She dropped the pipe and stared blankly at the bleeding bite mark on Su Ruanruan’s neck—the mark Lin Lie had left behind.
She reached out her fingers and gently stroked the wound, a trace of morbid gloom flashing deep within her eyes.
Su Ruanruan huddled in their embrace, her body unable to stop trembling.
Though she had escaped this time, she knew that Lin Lie’s final look meant one thing—
This wasn’t over.
Sooner or later, she would still be hers.