Chapter 74

New Year’s Day passed, but it was still very quiet around Zhu Ming.

Yun Zouchuan was busy studying, which was understandable. But Wenren Tu was busy with something, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, even busier than when she had constantly been running Dungeons.

Zhu Ming suspected she was dating someone, but dating shouldn’t reach this level…

And Wenren Tu seemed to be staying often at the Management Bureau. It looked like overtime but wasn’t, looked like dating a sweetheart but wasn’t. Impossible to figure out.

What was even worse: Zhu Ming received an Invitation Letter to enter a Dungeon, and Wenren Tu didn’t even care anymore!

Contrary to this, it was Wenren Bai who proactively sought out Zhu Ming. “From now on, when you have a Dungeon, I’ll come with you. I want to meet Yin Yu.”

Obviously, the fact that Yin Yu always clung to Zhu Ming when entering Dungeons was no longer a secret… But what was surprising was that in the following Dungeon, Yin Yu didn’t appear. Wenren Bai had accompanied her into the Dungeon for nothing.

Zhu Ming mused that Wenren Bai and Yin Yu most likely knew each other. Yin Yu was probably avoiding Wenren Bai. But the problem was, with her strength, she shouldn’t need to. Who could she possibly fear?

Pondering this, an unreliable thought suddenly struck Zhu Ming. Could it be that because she told her to get lost, Yin Yu thought she didn’t want to see her and thus stopped appearing…

Zhu Ming patted her own cheek, too lazy to think further. One shouldn’t be too narcissistic.

Her loneliness wouldn’t last much longer, anyway, because student winter break was coming soon. Yun Zouchuan wouldn’t need to stay at the school dorm and could keep her company at the studio.

As final exams approached, Yun Zouchuan was under a lot of pressure. The last two weekends she came home, she seemed to be in low spirits.

And this time, in just two days after returning to school, the actual finals would begin. Zhu Ming originally wanted to take her to pray to a God again, but thinking back on their previous unlucky experience, she decided against it.

So she just pulled up a little stool, sat herself next to the visibly downcast Yun Zouchuan, and comforted her: “I saw your midterm scores from last time. Middle of the pack. Considering your foundation, that’s good enough. This time, just aim to do better than the midterms. We’re only in the first year of high school, you can slowly catch up later. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Yun Zouchuan helplessly put down her pen. “I’m not under any pressure.”

“Then why have you been sulking lately?” Zhu Ming pinched her cheek. “I’m not blind, I can see it.”

“Is it really that obvious?” Yun Zouchuan asked hesitantly.

“Really!” It was at this moment Zhu Ming sensed something was wrong. “If it’s not because of studies, then why are you unhappy? Because of your mom?”

Yun Zouchuan shook her head, lowering her eyes slightly. “No.”

“Then what exactly is the reason? I’m your boss. Whatever it is, just tell me. Don’t be embarrassed.”

This matter seemed somewhat difficult for Yun Zouchuan to talk about. She thought for a moment before weakly asking, “Is my accent very heavy?”

Zhu Ming blinked. “So-so. You can tell you’re not a local, but it doesn’t affect communication. Why?”

Now that it was out, Yun Zouchuan decided to say it all. “My classmates don’t like playing with me. They say my accent is heavy, that I’m rustic, dumb, weird, and poor and stingy. But the salary Boss gives me is only this much, I have to save. Anyway, they all don’t like me.”

Zhu Ming: “…Tell me in more detail.”

She suddenly realized she had indeed been paying too little attention to Yun Zouchuan. The kid had been living at school by herself on weekdays. Zhu Ming felt she was old enough and reliable, unlikely to cause any major problems, but she’d forgotten that the world of high school students isn’t so simple to integrate into.

Yun Zouchuan didn’t know what more there was to detail. As for bullying? No one had openly hit her.

It was just that the boy sitting behind her always tugged on her braids, got handsy, and even wanted to secretly cut her hair. It was just that a few female classmates always gossiped behind her back, and when she walked past, they giggled and pretended nothing happened. It was just that when the Teacher assigned a task and she accidentally missed hearing it, no one reminded her. It was just that during group activities, when she wanted to join, she was always rejected…

“The Teacher said I should try harder to get along with my classmates actively.” Yun Zouchuan’s eyes were full of incomprehension. “I tried, it was no use. They won’t accept my goodwill.”

Zhu Ming stroked her hair and said, “I understand now. This isn’t your fault. How about this: next time someone messes with your hair, just hit back directly. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

“The Teacher said no fighting.”

“Well, the Teacher didn’t say you could mess with someone’s hair either!”

Yun Zouchuan suddenly became a bit curious. “Boss, were you popular when you were in school?”

Zhu Ming: “…” You really know how to stab right where it hurts.

Back when Zhu Ming was in high school, her treatment was even worse than Yun Zouchuan’s. Her high school was in a small, unknown place, a mix of good and bad elements. Add to that Zhu Ming being a simple fool back then, the bullying she endured was a horrific, unbearable sight.

At that time, most of the healthy children in the orphanage had been adopted out. Many people couldn’t imagine how bitter an orphanage in a small city could be. Children with congenital defects, serious illnesses, and intellectual disabilities together formed that oppressive, painful place. Even with state subsidies and social donations, illness devoured those resources like a bottomless pit.

Zhu Ming was the most promising child from that orphanage that year. Even so, she was no exception. She had severe auditory hallucinations, tinnitus, and a persistent high-fever condition.

She was slow to react, had some brain issues, and couldn’t give others normal emotional feedback. But at least she was physically sound, could communicate, and could learn.

The orphanage director was very driven. She felt Zhu Ming was just a bit slower and insisted on her entering a regular school to learn. She always believed Zhu Ming had a chance at a normal life; as long as she didn’t detach from society, she could surely grow up.

Zhu Ming didn’t disappoint her either. Although her grades were always at the very bottom, she stumbled through and kept up with her education.

It was just that she never told the director she wasn’t happy. No, more accurately, back then, she didn’t have very strong reactions to emotions like happiness or depression. She knew she was being bullied, intimidated, ostracized. She felt disappointed, low, dejected… but these pains were always bottled up inside, unable to be expressed outwardly. Her emotions were perpetually suppressed, both positive and negative.

Even when locked into the restroom, she felt no intense fear or rage. Only a slow, persistent despondency, accumulated over years, corroding her silently.

Zhu Ming knew that probably because of this, her classmates shunned her even more. They constantly whispered behind her back that she was a psycho, claiming psychos could kill without legal consequence. They had already preemptively placed her in the position of a villain. Naturally, they never felt any remorse for their actions against her.

But no matter how muted her emotions were, it didn’t mean she felt no pain. Otherwise, Yin Yu wouldn’t have been able to exploit that vulnerability.

Later, Zhu Ming became normal. She learned what bone-deep pain felt like and also learned what happiness and joy were. Looking back on that past time, she felt considerable regret—because her classmates had all scattered like birds, and she no longer had a chance to get revenge.

Of course, she didn’t want to see them either. They disgusted her.

But even to this day, Zhu Ming still didn’t know what she should have done back then to avoid the bullying. Because she hadn’t done anything wrong. She just existed the way she was.

So, Zhu Ming firmly patted Yun Zouchuan on the shoulder and said, “Nope. I was super unpopular too. So if you’re asking me how to fit into the group, I can’t teach you. But if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t make the effort to fit in. I would just do my best to make sure I wasn’t taken advantage of. Whoever hit me, I’d hit back. Whoever bullied me, I’d bully them. Whoever treated me well, I’d treat them well. Simple as that.”

Yun Zouchuan seemed to be mulling it over. Zhu Ming quickly added, “Of course, I’m talking about myself here. My situation’s different from yours. I’m definitely not saying you should do the same, I’m no educational expert, seriously… always making things hard for me!”

Yun Zouchuan was even more confused. “Then what am I supposed to do?”

Zhu Ming thought carefully, then said, “Do whatever makes you happy?”

Yun Zouchuan stared at Zhu Ming with her round, clear, limpid eyes, making Zhu Ming increasingly guilty. “I’m leaving first. You keep doing your homework.”

Running back to her bedroom, Zhu Ming thought it over and over, and still decided to call Wenren Tu.

Although she might not be able to solve Yun Zouchuan’s problem directly, she could help from another angle.

…

The teachers at school were practically superhuman. Just two days after the finals finished, the Test Papers were graded and the results were in.

Yun Zouchuan was quite happy getting her score report; her ranking had moved up several places from last time. But her happiness soon faded, because the Homeroom Teacher announced there would be a parent-teacher meeting, to encourage parents to supervise their children’s study during the break and address any learning gaps.

After the parent-teacher meeting, winter break would officially start.

But her parent was still in the mountains; how could she possibly come here for this meeting?

So she had no choice but to ask Zhu Ming to come. And Zhu Ming agreed readily, saying she would definitely be on time and told Yun Zouchuan to be ready to meet her.

What was there to greet her for? Her classroom wasn’t hard to find.

On the day of the parent-teacher meeting, Yun Zouchuan packed up her books and luggage early, preparing to take it all home after the meeting. With no classes, the students were relatively free, many of them wandering around the campus.

Suddenly, a commotion arose from outside the teaching building, accompanied by a few loud shouts.

“Yun Zouchuan from Class 6, Grade 10, are you there? Your family has arrived!”

With this shout, students from other classes all looked towards the door of Class 6. Everyone inside Class 6 looked at Yun Zouchuan herself. Yun Zouchuan was quite bewildered. Had Zhu Ming gotten so clumsy she needed Yun Zouchuan to personally lead her to the room?

She hurriedly walked out of the classroom and towards the school gate. As she walked, her footsteps grew slower and slower, and her eyes opened wider and wider.

There were many cars outside the gate, but Yun Zouchuan’s gaze was drawn to only one.

There, in an ostentatious, eye-catching red convertible sports car, a woman with a few streaks of red in her hair sat in the driver’s seat. She wore sunglasses, a diamond ring, a thick gold chain, a trench coat, leather pants, and Martin Boots. Flaunting and high-profile, she was lounging in the seat with her legs crossed.

Besides her, there was also a person in the passenger seat. This person was dressed in an equally flashy outfit, a copy of the driver’s, except her hair was dyed with an even more wildly unrestrained blue streak. She was even wearing a very attention-grabbing long sword at her hip.

It was January. Even if the weather was nice today, a normal person would at least be bundled up in a down jacket for warmth.

But these two fools only cared about style, not temperature, making one marvel at the thickness of their skin.

Although not very adept at social graces, as Yun Zouchuan walked, she truly could not bring herself to go up to the car and tell them to get out.

Her footsteps grew slower and slower, but Zhu Ming and Wenren Tu had already spotted her. There was no escaping for Yun Zouchuan!

The two women jumped down from the car, one on each side, swinging their long legs. In a few swift steps, they stood right beside Yun Zouchuan.

Yun Zouchuan instinctively opened her mouth. “Boss…”

Zhu Ming’s voice was sonorous and forceful. “The Boss is currently busy hosting a blessing ceremony. Today, we will attend the parent-teacher meeting in your esteemed mother’s place. We beg the Eldest Miss’s forgiveness!”

Yun Zouchuan: “…?”

Shing. Wenren Tu pulled out a section of her sharp blade, revealing a fierce grin. “This Subordinate knows you’ve finally managed to make some ordinary friends, so you didn’t want us disturbing your high school life. But apologies, the family simply couldn’t feel at ease, so this Subordinate had no choice but to come presumptuously.”

With a dazed expression, Yun Zouchuan led them towards the classroom. They hadn’t gone a few steps when Zhu Ming worriedly adjusted her collar. “Eldest Miss, are you unhappy? Apologies, this Subordinate didn’t mean to disturb your current life. But you know, Madam has always been worried you might be suffering grievances by keeping such a low profile.”

Wenren Tu scolded, “What nonsense are you spouting! The Eldest Miss is free from worldly desires, utterly uncaring about material things. Where’s the talk of ‘low profile’ or ‘suffering grievances’? As long as the Eldest Miss lives easily and comfortably, this Subordinate wants for nothing more.”

Zhu Ming humbly accepted the lesson. “Indeed. The Eldest Miss has always been so approachable.”

Yun Zouchuan’s face grew redder and redder. But before she could say anything, Zhu Ming and Wenren Tu just swaggered into the classroom like that.