For a long time, Angelica lived trapped in the torment of campus bullying.
She didn’t understand why there was always someone targeting her. Every word she spoke, every action she took, seemed to be wrong.
No one was willing to understand her, no one was willing to believe her, and even fewer were willing to get close to her.
Every day that awaited her was filled with endless mockery, humiliation, countless glances full of sarcasm and disdain. She once tried to please them, only to receive even more shame.
Gradually, she fell into a long silence.
She dared not confide in anyone, unable to find any relief.
Until in her second year of high school, class 3, she entered Rui Hang’s class. A young, talented, and respectful homeroom teacher, along with twenty-three gentle and sincere classmates.
It was then that Angelica finally understood a truth: bullies don’t target you because you’re weak or vulnerable, but simply because they are inherently malicious and look for any excuse.
Once she realized this, Angelica found the strength to be herself for the first time.
Not long after, she transmigrated to Parnaki, undergoing a complete transformation in body and spirit, and upon returning to the past, she thoroughly turned the tables on those who once bullied her.
Life naturally became beautiful and smooth, as if she had triggered a cheat code to rewrite her fate.
Angelica never felt this was unrealistic or like a dream, but rather the delusion born from her despair.
Yet, for some unknown reason these past few days, she felt an intense discomfort.
It seemed as if everything had deviated from a certain path, and from time to time, images completely unrelated to her current self flashed before her eyes.
This feeling reached its peak with the morning’s rift in the Divine Prophecy.
The fragmented images gradually began to clear.
As she recalled them, she found herself unconsciously drawn to the school’s rooftop — a place deliberately sealed off by the school, but quietly opened at some unknown time.
— Wearing a school uniform, a thin and timid girl about her age stood nervously at the edge of the rooftop.
She was some distance from the railing, her frail body seeming as if a gust of wind could blow her off.
Besides her, there were three other girls on the rooftop.
The same age, but their smiles were arrogantly vicious, one with a cigarette hanging from her lips, pointing towards the thin girl while saying something, occasionally punctuated with curse words, laughing wildly.
Though the frail girl was clearly in grave danger, they acted as if she didn’t exist, chatting casually. Suddenly, they all turned their heads simultaneously and said something to her.
The thin girl turned her head slightly toward the source of the voices.
Only then did Angelica see her expression: hollow eyes, as if her soul had been drained away, leaving only a broken empty shell.
The next moment, the girl nodded almost imperceptibly and took another step toward the edge of the rooftop, her body increasingly unsteady.
The three girls burst into excited laughter.
But in an instant, the girl’s hollow eyes regained clarity. It was as if she had just realized the situation, staring blankly ahead, her lips trembling as she uttered a faint word.
In that instant, the three girls’ faces changed simultaneously.
Sensing something was wrong, Angelica could no longer hide by the door. Without hesitation, she rushed out.
At that moment, she heard the voices of the three girls.
“What do we do? It looks like she woke up!”
“What if she says we forced her to jump?”
“Then we’ll make sure she can’t speak.”
One of the girls pushed forward with all her strength, just as the trembling girl staggered forward in panic, but Angelica arrived in time, grabbing the girl’s wrist, holding her suspended in midair.
Only then did the girl fully realize what was happening and screamed in despair. As if responding to her desperation, a loud bang sounded from downstairs, making the entire building tremble.
“What, how come there’s another one here?!”
A voice with a crying tone rang in Angelica’s ears — one of the three bullies, full of panic.
Another voice also sounded frantic: “What do we do?”
The third girl, calmer and the leader of the group, flashed a ruthless glint in her eyes: “Get rid of them…”
Angelica’s voice interrupted them from the rooftop edge, calm yet unyielding: “I suggest you don’t do something so foolish. Your screams and the explosion just now have already drawn the entire school’s attention. If any of us falls now, the school will investigate the surveillance. Those of you who led her to the rooftop will be the prime suspects. Even if you did nothing, you won’t be able to prove your innocence.”
Although half of her body was suspended outside the building, still clutching the falling girl’s arm, if her strength failed, she could be pulled down with her.
Not to mention the three malicious girls standing nearby, needing only a little force to silence both her and the frail girl forever.
Despite the danger, Angelica’s voice remained as calm as if she were giving a report: “Rather than living a lifetime burdened with guilt as ‘criminals,’ you can save her with me and become ‘heroes who dared to act.’”
“…You’re not lying, are you?” The bravest of the three girls was moved by Angelica’s words but was stopped by another beside her.
“Don’t. Once they’re saved, they’ll tell the teachers immediately. Then we’re doomed.”
“But…”
“This is their own fault! That girl rushed up to save them recklessly; if she falls, it’s none of our business!” Though protesting, the girl’s tone was weak, forcing herself to say, “We can just say it was sudden and we didn’t have time to stop it. Even if they die, so what? It’s not like we killed them. Worst case, we just move cities. What’s there to fear?”
The leader silently stared at Angelica, pursing her lips without a word.
Angelica acted as if unaware that the three girls were weighing pros and cons, coercing each other into silence.
She snorted coldly in her heart, her voice still light: “Let me make one thing clear: I can hold on for another hour and a half, and I might not even fall. That’s enough time for the teachers to arrive and witness the entire incident. I’ve made the stakes clear; our lives are in your hands. Why would I lie to you? And when this is all over, if it doesn’t end in a fall, do you think the teachers will believe us two or you three?”
“If you’re worried I won’t tell the truth, I suggest you take out your phones right now and start recording.”
“…Fine,” the leader said.
As the camera focused on Angelica, the once calm girl suddenly sounded panicked: “Seniors, please come help!”
At the word “help,” the three bullies relaxed. Two of them immediately ran over, putting on nervous and concerned expressions as they forcefully pulled Angelica and the frail girl up, even theatrically patting their backs while saying, “Are you guys okay?”
The frail girl, Bao Xiaoyuan, finally escaped the threat of death. She collapsed weakly on the rooftop, tears streaming down her face, trembling like a sieve.
In contrast, Angelica appeared somewhat more composed, but exhaustion and post-traumatic terror were clearly visible on her face.
Her right arm was limp in the embrace of another girl, evidently badly injured.
This pitiful scene obviously pleased the three bullies. They stopped recording, and the leader arrogantly lifted her chin and sneered, “Remember, you two foolish girls climbed onto the rooftop and almost got yourselves killed. We just happened to be there to save you. You owe us your lives, got it?”
At her words, the frail girl visibly shrank, eyes filled with deep fear, nodding frantically.
Angelica looked up toward the three bullies, a faint, elegant smile appearing at the corners of her lips: “Of course. But there’s one thing I need to clarify—”
Before the three girls could show confusion, Angelica’s tone shifted: “If you bullies ever pull something like this again, we won’t let you get away with it.”
In the next instant, two strong arms grabbed two of the girls from behind, pinning them to the ground. The seemingly fragile Angelica suddenly leapt up and with a single move restrained the last girl.
“Well timed,” Angelica said calmly. “If I hadn’t acted immediately instead of standing like a fool frozen for a few seconds, I wouldn’t have had to waste so many words.”
“That’s because there were so many things happening you didn’t have time to react?” Lin Yuan smiled awkwardly. “But I remembered your advice not to rush in before they pulled you up, preventing them from panicking and treating you as a threat.”
“What about the teachers?”
“I notified Rui Hang. The others are on their way.”
Bai Luo pressed his knee into the back of the leader to prevent her from struggling, chuckling: “Now four mouths are louder than three~”
“You xxx—”
The leader’s face pressed against the ground, anger and fear leaving no room for thought, she lashed out with curses, trying to cover her inner panic: “You bastards! We saved you! And you turn around and slander us!”
“Saved?” Angelica blinked. “It was my classmates who saved us. What does that have to do with you?”
“You xxx—”
“Besides, I already gave you a chance.” Angelica looked at them coldly. “You should be grateful your lives don’t bear the weight of a death.”
No matter how much the three bullies insulted her, Angelica ignored them.
She gently helped the frail girl up. “Are you okay?”
Bao Xiaoyuan shyly shook her head, two faint blushes rising on her cheeks. For the first time, she showed signs of life: “Thank you.”
She hesitated, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her uniform, then after a long moment, cautiously and with some joy asked, “How did you know… I was forced onto the rooftop?”
“Actually, I didn’t see it.” Angelica answered simply. “I just guessed, though it turns out I was right.”
“…Oh.” Bao Xiaoyuan seemed a little disappointed but quickly gathered courage and thanked Angelica again: “Really… I don’t know how to thank you enough!”
At that moment, several teachers rushed onto the rooftop.
Seeing the three bullies pinned to the ground by Angelica and her classmates, they quickly raised their voices, anxiously shouting, “What are you doing? Bullying classmates?”
Rui Hang calmly stepped forward from behind, cutting in before the three girls could cry out: “No, they are restraining these three so they can’t bully anyone.”
“Restraining?”
“One of our classmates told me that someone was bullying another on the rooftop and forcing her to jump. Fortunately, our classmate Angelica saved her but was injured by the three bullies, almost risking her life.”
“That’s not true!” The three bullies screamed. “They’re lying!”
“Oh?” Rui Hang raised an eyebrow, squatting down before one of the girls.
His calm eyes seemed to hide an abyss, chilling her to the bone. “So you’re saying this student lied because I’m covering for her? How about we check the monitoring room to see who got to the rooftop first, or…”
He glanced toward Bao Xiaoyuan, clinging to Angelica in panic.
His expression softened, showing the unique gentleness and comfort of a teacher: “Don’t be afraid. With us here, they won’t dare to bully you again.”
Rui Hang’s smile and gaze seemed magical. Bao Xiaoyuan instinctively looked at Angelica, and with that trusting look, regained calm.
She wiped her tears and, though still frightened, bravely pointed at the three bullies: “It was those three… they pushed me and this classmate off the roof, trying to silence us!”
“We saw it too!” Bai Luo and Lin Yuan immediately testified. “This classmate was forced to stand beyond the rooftop railing, and one hand reached out to push her off. Luckily, Angelica saved her!”
“Silence?” Rui Hang raised his voice. “I’m curious what these three did that they want to kill two classmates to cover it up!”
“I didn’t—”
One of the bullies tried to defend herself, but Rui Hang cut her off coldly: “Angelica, let Teacher Wu see the injury on your arm.”
He helped Angelica hold down the last bully and let her show the supervising Dean of Students, Wu, the mangled, flesh-wounded arm scraped from the rooftop edge.
Rui Hang couldn’t hide his pain: “Teacher Wu, I’m not exaggerating. A few days ago, Angelica participated in the provincial Art Competition and passed the preliminaries. Wang Teacher from the art class spoke highly of her. She has a bright future as an artist, yet because of these three girls’ bullying, she was injured in the arm most important to her craft. Teacher Wu, this matter must be properly addressed!”
The Dean of Students looked at Rui Hang with a headache.
He could tell Rui Hang wasn’t just handling the incident professionally but stirring things up.
But no wonder— his student was innocent and nearly lost her life, and she was talented to boot. Any teacher would be angry.
Fortunately, Angelica saved Bao Xiaoyuan. If a student fell at a time when the school was under leadership inspection and a hot topic on social media, and it turned out to be bullying…
The Dean shivered all over.
“This is utterly disgraceful! How could Second High School have students like you!” He slammed his hand down, sealing the matter: “Call the police! This can’t be swept under the rug!”
Despite their cries and protests, the three bullies were handed over to the arriving security and physical education teachers.
Rui Hang took a step back and gave Angelica and the others a meaningful glance.
‘Come to my office.’
The three nodded discreetly in understanding.