Zhuang Nuo lowered her head and nudged the edge of the step with the toe of her white sneaker.
“What’s with the dazed look?” Su Li asked with a laugh, flicking her lightly on the forehead.
Zhuang Nuo covered her forehead. “I don’t want to. I don’t want to go to school.”
Su Li frowned.
He had a pair of peach-blossom eyes that made him look as though he was gazing at everything with deep feeling. Yet they were paired with sharp, heroic brows.
Whenever his expression darkened, it was easy to think he was angry.
Afraid that he might lose his temper, Zhuang Nuo put on an obedient look. “My parents said our family has plenty of money. It doesn’t matter if I don’t go to school.”
“Idiot!”
Su Li let out a cold snort. “The people who bullied you all got into college. Are you really willing to accept that?”
Zhuang Nuo lowered her head without answering.
She no longer had the courage to fight back.
Su Li hadn’t meant to scold her. Seeing her avoid his gaze while stubbornly holding herself together, he slipped both hands into his pockets and sighed.
“Forget it. I’ll take you to get even today.”
These past few days, Su Li hadn’t merely been accompanying her and having fun. He had also investigated what had happened to her at school. The people she had written about in her diary had all been matched to real individuals.
Zhuang Nuo might not even have known why she had been bullied.
The He family of Jiangbei had a daughter named He Jiaxin, who was the same age as Zhuang Nuo.
Her father was a university professor, while her mother stayed home full-time to care for the children. The family was well-off.
The He family had been extremely strict about He Jiaxin’s education since she was little, demanding that she learn everything and do everything perfectly.
On the surface, He Jiaxin was sweet and well-behaved. In reality, she was obstinate and domineering.
The source of her bullying Zhuang Nuo turned out to lie in something that had happened when they were children—an article about Zhuang Nuo that had appeared in the newspaper.
At a large citywide cultural performance, He Jiaxin had also participated, performing a solo dance.
But in the end, Zhuang Nuo’s solo piano performance had stood out more and even been featured in the newspaper.
After He Jiaxin went home, her parents had scolded her. They had also often compared her to Zhuang Nuo.
Over time, He Jiaxin had come to resent Zhuang Nuo.
Zhuang Nuo had transferred back to the capital during high school, putting her in the position of an “outsider.” Under He Jiaxin’s leadership, she was quickly isolated.
The ironic part was that while Zhuang Nuo had been driven to take a leave of absence because of her, He Jiaxin was now holding her college admission banquet at the Great Wall Hotel.
The moment Su Li entered the Great Wall Hotel with Zhuang Nuo, he noticed the water fountain and lush greenery in the middle of the hotel’s atrium.
Su Li clicked his tongue and turned to Zhuang Nuo. “This place is perfect, don’t you think?”
Zhuang Nuo felt a little uneasy. She had a feeling he was about to do something major.
He Jiaxin’s admission banquet was being held in the largest ballroom on the first floor, the Peony Hall. A welcome sign stood outside the door, its message written in elegant regular script: “Congratulations to student He Jiaxin on her outstanding success in the college entrance examination.”
There were eight or nine tables inside. Guests sat in small groups, chatting and exchanging pleasantries. The room was bustling with activity.
He Jiaxin wore a brand-new red dress and stood beside her parents, smiling gracefully as she accepted congratulations from the arriving guests.
Su Li held Zhuang Nuo’s hand and stopped at the entrance instead of going any farther.
He smiled at the waitress in a red vest stationed by the door. “Miss, I’m here to see He Jiaxin. Could you please ask her to come out?”
The waitress nodded and went inside.
A moment later, He Jiaxin came to the door with a glass of orange juice in her hand, a sweet and gentle smile still on her face.
Her gaze paused on Su Li’s face for a moment.
He had just come in from the blazing sun, and a thin sheen of sweat glimmered at his temple. Set against his striking features, it gave him a vivid, almost intoxicating allure.
The smile at the corners of He Jiaxin’s lips deepened. She tilted her head slightly. “And you are?”
Su Li said nothing. Instead, he pulled Zhuang Nuo out from behind him.
The smile vanished from He Jiaxin’s face.
She set the orange juice aside and lifted her chin slightly. “Zhuang Nuo? Long time no see. You actually had time to come to my admission banquet?”
Zhuang Nuo’s entire body stiffened.
The instant she heard He Jiaxin’s voice, a layer of cold sweat broke out across her back. She bit down on her lower lip and couldn’t say a word.
Su Li tightened his grip on her hand and calmly stepped in front of her.
“He Jiaxin, I heard you used to bully Zhuang Nuo.”
He Jiaxin froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed. The sound was especially grating.
“Zhuang Nuo told you that? I knew it. She’s such a tattletale. We were only fooling around with her. Who would’ve thought she couldn’t take a joke?”
“You call deliberately pouring water all over her and tearing her clothes ‘fooling around’?”
He Jiaxin’s parents were standing behind her, along with many relatives, friends, and her father’s colleagues. She didn’t want to make a scene here, so she lowered her voice.
“That was all in the past. She’s already taken a leave of absence, and we’ve all graduated from high school. Who still cares about some trivial high school drama?”
Su Li narrowed his eyes slightly. “So you admit you did it?”
“So what if I did?” He Jiaxin said impatiently. “She’s fine now, isn’t she? She’s standing here perfectly well.”
“Be good. Stand over there and watch.”
Su Li turned around, lifted a hand, and gently smoothed Zhuang Nuo’s bangs. His voice was so gentle it sounded completely unlike him.
“Su Li…”
Sensing what he was about to do, Zhuang Nuo tried to catch his hand, but Su Li pushed her aside.
Before He Jiaxin could react, Su Li had already seized her wrist and dragged her toward the atrium.
He Jiaxin stumbled along for several steps, her high heels scraping sharply against the hotel’s marble floor.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!”
Su Li ignored her and strode toward the fountain pool.
The indoor fountain at the Great Wall Hotel was famous throughout the capital. In the center of the atrium was a massive skylight, beneath which lay an artificial pond. Smaller fountains, rockeries, and a Chinese-style hexagonal glazed-tile pavilion surrounded it.
The pond was lined with smooth granite, and the water was about shin-deep for an adult.
The hotel also had four glass observation elevators, which offered a full view of the fountains and flowing water as they traveled up and down.
At that moment, Su Li thought the design was truly excellent.
With a twist of his wrist, he shoved He Jiaxin straight into the pool.
“Ah!”
With a loud splash, water flew in every direction.
He Jiaxin fell into the pond, her red dress instantly soaked through and clinging to her body.
The carefully styled half-up princess hairstyle had come loose as well, leaving her looking utterly disheveled.
He Jiaxin nearly lost her mind.
She climbed out of the water and was just about to leave when Su Li came over and pushed her back in.
The moment she emerged again, Su Li shoved her back into the pool.
After several rounds of this, He Jiaxin was so furious that she began hurling abuse from inside the pool, cursing him with every filthy word she knew.
The commotion in the lobby finally drew people over.
The crowd formed a circle around them. Su Li remained where he was, allowing He Jiaxin to throw her tantrum but refusing to let her climb out.
More and more onlookers gathered. At last, He Jiaxin’s parents, relatives, and classmates heard the commotion and hurried over.
“Jiaxin!” He Jiaxin’s mother cried out in alarm as she rushed forward and pulled her daughter out. “What happened? Who pushed you in?”
“Mom, it was him! It was him!” He Jiaxin shouted. “Call the police! Have him arrested!”
He Jiaxin’s father and the relatives crowded around Su Li, surrounding him completely.
