Thud!
A loud noise echoed.
A long leg clad in black studded military boots slammed hard against the wall in front of Su Ruanruan, blocking her path.
A heavy, aggressive scent of cedar tobacco, mixed with the smell of expensive cologne, instantly enveloped Su Ruanruan.
“Yo, isn’t this our noble Queen Su?”
A teasing voice came from above, carrying a hint of a cruel smile.
Su Ruanruan stiffly raised her head.
Against the light, a tall girl was looking down at her.
She had wild golden short hair, arrogant piercings, and a school uniform shirt with the top two buttons casually undone, revealing a deep cleavage and healthy, sun-kissed skin.
Lin Lie.
The School Bully of this academy, the woman who held the nickname “Mad Dog.”
While she wasn’t as “massive” as Su Xiaoxiao, she was a solid 172 centimeters tall, possessing the build of a standard predator. At this moment, she had an unlit cigarette dangling from her mouth. Her golden, beast-like pupils looked at Su Ruanruan like a little white rabbit that had fallen into a trap, her eyes filled with amusement.
“What’s the matter? You won’t even greet your creditor? Weren’t you quite good at acting cute when you were borrowing money?”
Lin Lie suddenly leaned in, her high-impact face magnifying in Su Ruanruan’s pupils.
“S-Small Fry…”
Su Ruanruan instinctively tried to mimic the Original Owner’s tone to put on a show of bravado, attempting to use that “Mesugaki” mask to protect herself.
But as soon as she spoke, her fear caused what was meant to be a mocking tone to turn into a soft, trembling whimper. It sounded more like she was begging for mercy or acting spoiled.
The air froze for one second.
Lin Lie was stunned for a moment, but then her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she had discovered a whole new world.
“Huh?”
She reached out, and her rough, calloused fingertips unceremoniously pinched Su Ruanruan’s soft cheek. She squeezed so hard that Su Ruanruan let out a cry of pain.
‘This reaction isn’t right…’
Lin Lie looked at the girl in front of her. Su Ruanruan’s body was shivering, her eyes were rapidly turning red, and crystal-like tears were clinging to her eyelashes.
Where did the arrogant and domineering Su Ruanruan of the past go?
The current her looked… so easy to bully. It made one want to… make her cry.
“I-I’m sorry… it hurts… let go…” Su Ruanruan grabbed Lin Lie’s wrists with both hands, trying to push her away. But to Lin Lie, who exercised constantly, that bit of strength was like a cat scratching an itch.
“It hurts? You’re crying about pain when we haven’t even started?”
Lin Lie licked her lips, the playfulness in her eyes gradually turning into a dangerous desire. Not only did she not let go, but she also pulled on Su Ruanruan’s cheek even more maliciously.
“Where is the 250,000 you owe me, Su Ruanruan? Today is the final deadline.”
“What? I… I only borrowed 100,000…”
Su Ruanruan’s eyes widened in horror, tears welling up in them. In her memory, the Original Owner had only borrowed 100,000 from Lin Lie. How had it more than doubled in the blink of an eye?
“Ha? 100,000?”
Lin Lie let out a short, mocking sneer, as if she had heard a hilarious joke.
“Sweetheart, you don’t actually think I’m running a charity, do you?”
Lin Lie leaned close to Su Ruanruan’s ear. Her warm breath brushed against the girl’s neck, sending a wave of fine goosebumps across her skin.
“Jiuchushisangui is the friendship price I give to my friends. For a bad child like you… someone who once pointed at my nose and called me a ‘vicious dog,’ I naturally have to use a special calculation.”
“Late fees, mental distress fees, and the time I wasted trying to track you down… shouldn’t those cost money?”
“With the interest compounding, it has reached 250,000. I’ve already rounded down the change for you. What, are you trying to dodge the debt?”
“N-No… that’s not it… but I really don’t have that much money…”
“Since you don’t have the money to pay it back right now… why don’t we go somewhere quiet and talk about how you can compensate me?”
As she spoke, Lin Lie ignored the gazes of everyone around them. She reached out and grabbed Su Ruanruan by the back of her collar like she was picking up a little chick, lifting her up and dragging her toward a secluded corner of the teaching building.
“N-No! Help me…” Su Ruanruan cried out in despair, her feet kicking wildly in the air.
But the people around them only watched coldly. Some even wore gloating smiles.
Su Ruanruan’s wrist felt as if it were being clamped by red-hot iron pliers, her bones letting out a groan as they were pushed to their limit.
She was dragged stumbling down the hallway, the scenery before her eyes shattering into fragments due to her tears.
“L-Let me go… please…”
She tried to pry Lin Lie’s fingers off, but to the School Bully, who trained year-round, that strength wasn’t even worth noticing. Instead, her fingertips, which had turned white from overexertion, looked pale and powerless against that tanned, muscular arm.
“Shut up. If you keep making noise, I’ll gag you.”
Lin Lie didn’t look back. Her voice carried an irritable tone from the noise, mixed with a certain… uncontrollable excitement.
“No one goes to the Old School Building ahead. It’s the perfect place to talk. If you don’t behave, I don’t mind collecting a little ‘interest’ there first.”
The Old School Building.
Those three words were like a bucket of ice water, dousing the last bit of hope in Su Ruanruan’s heart.
In her memories, the Original Owner had heard rumors about that place countless times—it was the school’s recognized “lawless land,” the nightmare end-point for countless victims of bullying. Once someone was dragged inside, no one would know what happened behind those rusted iron doors.
Despair crashed over her like a tide, and the feeling of suffocation made Su Ruanruan’s vision turn dark.
Bang!
The door to an abandoned classroom was kicked open, kicking up a cloud of choking dust. Su Ruanruan was thrown inside like a rag doll. Her knees slammed heavily onto the dusty wooden floor, the sharp pain causing tears to instantly burst from her eyes.
“Ugh… it hurts… Lin Lie, are you crazy…”
Ignoring the intense pain in her knees, Su Ruanruan scrambled backward using her hands and feet. This was a forbidden area of the school. The windows were all boarded up with wood, allowing only a few rays of dim light to filter in. The air was thick with the smell of rotting mold.
“Crazy? Maybe.”
Lin Lie approached step by step, her military boots making a tooth-aching *creak* on the old floorboards. She looked down at the trembling Su Ruanruan and suddenly leaned over, roughly grabbing the collar of her school uniform.
Rip—
The fragile summer school shirt couldn’t withstand such force. The top two buttons instantly snapped off, rolling away into some unknown corner.
As a large amount of cold air hit her, Su Ruanruan let out a terrified scream. Her hands frantically covered her chest. Her originally neat pleated skirt had also become a mess during the struggle, revealing a large area of snow-white, delicate skin and legs covered in scrapes. Right now, her hair was disheveled, her clothes were in disarray, and her face was covered in tear stains. She looked incredibly pathetic, yet she exuded a sense of broken beauty.
Click.
Accompanied by the sound of a shutter and a blinding flash, Su Ruanruan raised her head in terror, meeting the lens of the black phone in Lin Lie’s hand.
“N-No! Don’t take photos! Please delete them… ugh…” Su Ruanruan tried to lung forward to grab the phone, but she was easily suppressed by Lin Lie with one hand. Her arms were pinned behind her back as she was pressed against a dusty desk.
Lin Lie looked at the photo on the screen—a white-haired, red-eyed girl curled up in a corner like a stray cat, her eyes filled with fear and shame.
“What a great expression.” Lin Lie sneered and shook the phone. “Su Ruanruan, if you don’t want this photo to appear on the phones of your mother and sister, showing everyone what you look like…”
At that moment, the sharp ringing of the school bell echoed through the campus, breaking the dead silence.
Lin Lie clicked her tongue, a flash of impatience crossing her eyes. She released her grip and straightened Su Ruanruan’s ruffled collar. The movement was so gentle it was hair-raising, but her tone was as cold as ice.
“Consider yourself lucky. After school, come to the Old Sports Warehouse behind the equipment room alone. Remember, if I find out you told a teacher or if you don’t show up…”
She pointed at the phone screen, the corner of her mouth curling into a cruel arc. “I don’t think you want things to turn out that way, do you?”
Bang!
The heavy, soundproof iron door was slammed shut. Following the crisp click of the lock turning, the room returned to a death-like silence.
Only the ventilation fan made a dull humming sound, like a beast panting in the shadows.
Lin Lie was gone.
The string that had been pulled taut to the limit suddenly snapped. Su Ruanruan’s entire body lost its strength, and she collapsed onto the cold floor.
“Uuu… uuuu…”
Extreme terror turned into an uncontrollable wail, spilling from her swollen throat.
Like an abandoned kitten, she curled up in the dark corner, her entire body shivering uncontrollably and violently.
***
(This is one of the endings for the IF Route. There are dark parts in the main story as well, but the IF Route are generally bad endings.)