Liu Yutong had a stubborn streak in her bones—otherwise, she wouldn’t have refused to shed a single tear back when Zhao Zhu and her gang used to bully her.
This period happened to be their homeroom teacher’s history class, though no actual teaching was happening. The teacher let them study on their own while he sat at the podium, leisurely sipping tea and reading the newspaper.
Time passed slowly as Liu Yutong kept her head down, working through test papers.
Sitting in the back, Zhao Zhu grew impatient. Seizing a moment when the teacher was engrossed in the newspaper, she tossed a note over.
Liu Yutong picked it up, glanced at it, then casually tucked it into her desk without reacting.
“Zhu-jie, is Liu Yutong messing with us?”
“Yeah, looks like she has no intention of helping us.”
“Should we drag her to the bathroom after class and teach her a lesson?”
“...”
As they schemed, Yu Xin suddenly raised her hand, asking to go to the restroom.
Noticing this, Zhao Zhu immediately raised her hand too, citing the same reason.
Once the teacher gave permission, Zhao Zhu walked past Liu Yutong and kicked her again, the threat unmistakable.
About seven or eight minutes later, Zhao Zhu returned—but Yu Xin never came back.
Liu Yutong’s heart sank. She had a feeling Zhao Zhu had cornered Yu Xin in the bathroom again.
The moment Zhao Zhu sat back down, Liu Yutong steeled herself and stuck a finger down her throat.
Amid the quiet hum of studying, she suddenly vomited without warning, instantly drawing the attention of the entire class and the teacher.
Zhao Zhu watched, both impressed and secretly delighted by Liu Yutong’s audacity. She quickly motioned to her lackeys, and the three rushed over, feigning concern.
“Liu Yutong, are you okay?”
“Teacher, she’s sick. Let us take her to the hospital.”
The teacher approached, took one look at the mess on the floor and Liu Yutong’s pale face, and agreed.
Soon, Zhao Zhu and her lackeys were hauling Liu Yutong out of school by the arms.
Once they were out of the security guard’s sight, they let go and warned, “Liu Yutong, don’t even think about going back to school before we do, got it?”
“When will you be back?” Liu Yutong asked.
“This afternoon. Meet us at the internet café, and we’ll return together,” Zhao Zhu said.
How careful of them.
Liu Yutong nodded. “Fine.”
Zhao Zhu smirked. “You’re way more obedient than Yu Xin. Keep it up, and maybe I’ll stop hitting you.”
Liu Yutong thought bitterly, Oh, how generous of you.
Just as Zhao Zhu and her gang flagged down a pedicab to head to the internet café, Liu Yutong held out a hand. “You took all my money. At least leave me something for food?”
Maybe because she was in a better mood, Zhao Zhu pulled out five yuan and tossed it at her. “Buy yourself a pancake. And remember—if you dare go back to school first, you’re dead.”
Once they were gone, Liu Yutong pulled out her phone and called Yun Cheng, asking him to pick her up.
As she waited at the crossroads, she suddenly spotted a girl stumbling out of the school gate in the distance, clutching her stomach in pain.
Yu Xin?
Why was she leaving too?
Had Zhao Zhu beaten her so badly she couldn’t stay?
Before Liu Yutong could make sense of it, Yu Xin turned and headed toward the back of the school.
Liu Yutong’s face paled.
That was the direction of the river.
Behind their school’s dam was a wide stretch of water.
If Yu Xin was heading there, it wasn’t for a breezy stroll.
A memory from her past life surged up—a grim premonition.
In that life, Yu Xin had jumped into the river just before the college entrance exams.
Later, someone found a blood-written letter hidden in her desk, detailing Zhao Zhu’s cruelty.
Though Zhao Zhu and her gang were investigated, there was no direct evidence. Her family, who owned a successful restaurant chain, paid off the damages, and the matter was buried.
Zhao Zhu, the bully, faced no consequences. In fact, she thrived—her father’s business expanded, and though she flunked college, he sent her abroad to “study.”
By the time Liu Yutong had died and been reborn, Zhao Zhu was living in luxury—sporting designer clothes, driving luxury cars, married to a powerful man.
Absurd, wasn’t it?
But sometimes, no matter how much it stung, reality was just that cruel.
Liu Yutong followed Yu Xin all the way to the riverbank.
Yu Xin stood under a willow tree, staring at the flowing water, tears welling in her eyes.
Just as she was about to leap, a voice called out from behind:
“Yu Xin, is this really how you want it to end?”
Tears streaming down her face, Yu Xin turned to see Liu Yutong approaching slowly.
The sight of her shattered whatever resolve Yu Xin had left.
“What—what else can I do?!” she screamed, her voice raw with despair. “You know how vicious they are! I’ll never forget how they hit me, poured ink on me, drew turtles on my face, spat in my food and dumped it on my tray—”
“Maybe my existence is just entertainment for their miserable lives, but I can’t take it anymore! I CAN’T!”
Liu Yutong’s chest ached. She had been in Yu Xin’s shoes—had contemplated ending it all more times than she could count.
“Liu Yutong… thanks for coming to see me off.”
Yu Xin turned back toward the river.
“Wait!” Liu Yutong shouted. “Don’t you want to see Zhao Zhu pay for what she’s done? If you’re not afraid of dying, why not team up with me instead?”
“If you’d rather jump, fine—but I won’t save you. I can’t even swim.”
“Think about it. Together, we can make sure they get what they deserve.”
“Remember—I’m just like you.”
Yu Xin hesitated. It was true—Liu Yutong had suffered under Zhao Zhu’s torment too.
But then she remembered Zhao Zhu’s connections—her uncle who covered for her, her sworn brother who ran with a gang outside school.
Zhao Zhu’s reign of terror wasn’t just because of her family’s money. That brother of hers, the one who “managed” the internet café at Youth Plaza, had plenty of thugs at his disposal. Anyone who crossed Zhao Zhu ended up beaten bloody.
“No… no, we can’t win. She’ll have her people ambush us after school—”
Before she could finish, a group of about a dozen young men appeared on the dam, walking toward them.
Their swagger, their hardened expressions—these were real gangsters.
The moment Yu Xin saw them, her entire body trembled, thinking they were people Zhao Zhu had sent to teach them a lesson.
"Liu Yutong, run! Get out of here now!"
Though terrified, Yu Xin didn’t want Liu Yutong to get hurt.
For no other reason than this—when she had been at her most desperate, Liu Yutong was the only one who came to see her. That alone was enough.
However, just as the gangsters closed in, stopping ten steps behind Liu Yutong—
Liu Yutong suddenly turned to Yu Xin and said, "If you’re worried about Zhao Zhu retaliating against us outside school, you don’t need to be."
"She has people? Well, so do I."
The moment the words left her lips—
The gangsters abruptly bowed their heads in unison, greeting Liu Yutong with utmost deference.
"Young Mistress!"
"Young Mistress!"
"........."
