Chapter 56: Saving the Bullied Top Student (4)

The sound of the desk crashing to the ground made Luo Xun flinch violently. Before Zhou Chenglong had even finished speaking, she stood up almost as a conditioned reflex. Zhou Chenglong let out a derisive snort, seemingly very satisfied with Luo Xun’s timidity. He didn’t offer any money, just waved his hand dismissively, as if commanding a little dog. “Go get me breakfast. I want buns from Cafeteria One.”

Luo Xun kept her head down, listening to the order like a subordinate. When she saw he was finished speaking, she turned to walk out without a moment’s hesitation.

Tang Qi stood up and blocked Luo Xun’s path. “Don’t go!” Her gaze shifted to Zhou Chenglong. “If you want to eat, go buy it yourself.”

Zhou Chenglong’s eyes widened, as if he’d heard the funniest thing in the world. He pointed at his own nose. “You want me, to go buy it myself? Are you talking to me?”

“Don’t you understand human speech?” Tang Qi’s tone was very flat, without much fluctuation. But her fists clenched at her sides, her muscles twitching from rage.

Zhou Chenglong put his feet up on the desk and gave Tang Qi a thumbs-up. “Ha… you’ve got guts. Ask her if she wants to refuse buying breakfast for me.” He yawned. “Luo Xun, isn’t buying my breakfast an honor for you?”

Hearing her name, Luo Xun couldn’t help but start trembling. She turned back, shivering, struggling to control her expression and voice. “I, I’m willing. I want to go…”

She looked at Tang Qi pleadingly. “Tang Qi, stay out of this!”

Luo Xun’s eyes held plea and fear. Tang Qi understood. Luo Xun was afraid…

Slowly releasing the hand holding Luo Xun’s shoulder, Tang Qi silently watched the tears in Luo Xun’s eyes. Luo Xun’s lips trembled. She was so frightened she didn’t even dare to make a sound, only mouthing the words. “Don’t interfere.”

Zhou Chenglong pounded the desk, laughing uproariously. “See? She’s my dog! If I stopped her, she wouldn’t be happy. Isn’t that right, everyone?”

The other students ducked far away, not daring to answer, constantly signaling Tang Qi with their eyes.

“It’s fine. Leave it to me!” Tang Qi squeezed the little bun on Luo Xun’s head and strode towards Zhou Chenglong. Zhou Chenglong hadn’t expected Tang Qi to have the guts to confront him. He lazily stood up. “What? Not convinced?”

“Mm. Not convinced,” Tang Qi nodded, very calm.

“I don’t hit women,” Zhou Chenglong spat out the chewing gum in his mouth. “You’re lucky.”

“But I do hit beasts!” The moment Tang Qi’s words fell, Zhou Chenglong cursed, “You fing btch, asking for it…” and swung a slap at Tang Qi’s face.

Tang Qi blocked with her left forearm, and her right hand quickly grabbed Zhou Chenglong’s wrist. With a forceful twist, she bent his hand behind his back. She pressed one hand down on his neck, the other gripping the back of his head, pulling his hair, and slammed his face hard against the desk surface.

“Bang!” The sound made every student in the class jolt violently.

Tang Qi yanked Zhou Chenglong’s hair, forcing his face up. Blood was already flowing from his nose. He struggled, but couldn’t break free from Tang Qi’s grip.

“How does it feel to be bullied? Do you dare bully the teachers? Those rich second-generation kids with power in the Elite Class, do you dare bully them? You don’t dare! You get your sense of achievement from bullying the weak, and you think you’re some kind of big shot?” Tang Qi ripped away his facade.

Without waiting for Zhou Chenglong to shout curses, she kicked him hard in the shin. Zhou Chenglong felt a sharp pain in his leg bone. With a cry of pain, his whole body crumpled uncontrollably to its knees.

Tang Qi still didn’t let him go. Her knee locked against his legs, she pulled his head down and slammed it against the floor. “I’m going to let you feel it today. Isn’t it fun? Isn’t it comfortable?”

With every question, she slammed his head down. Once, twice…

Bang, bang…

“Tang Qi, Tang Qi, that’s enough! Stop!” Li Min gathered her courage and shouted. Several other students also called for her to stop. Tang Qi didn’t react. Snapping out of it, Luo Xun rushed over. Seeing Tang Qi’s fierce expression, she didn’t feel much fear.

A voice in her heart seemed to tell her: Tang Qi wouldn’t hurt her, wouldn’t bully her.

“Tang Qi, stop hitting him. If you keep going, something bad will happen.” Luo Xun lunged forward and grabbed Tang Qi’s arm.

A familiar scent appeared at her side. Tang Qi paused and stopped her hand, but she didn’t let go of Zhou Chenglong. She instead looked at the classmates. “Since none of you spoke up when he bullied others, why are you pleading for mercy when I bully him?”

The students looked at each other. More than a few faces showed expressions of shame.

Tang Qi ignored these classmates. Lowering her head to hide the brutal look in her eyes, she stood up and nudged Zhou Chenglong’s waist with her foot. “My name is Tang Qi. I welcome you to come find trouble with me anytime, Classmate Zhou… I want to see if you have the ability to school-bully me!”

To Zhou Chenglong’s ears, her voice sounded like a demon from hell. “But I think bullying you is quite nice. From now on, I’ll let you experience it properly.”

Zhou Chenglong was already so battered he couldn’t speak, his mind a dazed, blurry mess, the world spinning before his eyes. Even after Tang Qi released him, he still couldn’t get up.

Luo Xun was dumbfounded. The usually insufferably arrogant Zhou Chenglong could end up this miserable. Before, it had always been Zhou Chenglong and his friends bullying her.

This was the first time Zhou Chenglong was so utterly beaten.

She hadn’t expected he could also be beaten by someone. The fear rooted deep in Luo Xun’s heart began to loosen slightly, and a little sparkle of light showed in her eyes.

By the time Tang Qi looked towards Luo Xun, her expression had returned to its usual aloofness. She glanced around the room. “In my whole life, what I despise the most is people who bully the weak. Challenging the strong, I can respect as a real man. Bullying girls? Trash! A beast!”

She walked back to her seat, looking at Luo Xun with a serious expression. “What are you waiting for? Get back here and sit down!”

Luo Xun froze. Tang Qi said, “From now on, I’ve got your back. You’re my lackey. Anyone who messes with you messes with me.” She feigned impatience and rapped her knuckles on the desk. “Hurry up, come back and sit. Class is about to start.”

She knew that helping Luo Xun overcome her fear couldn’t happen overnight. She would slowly help Luoluo become more cheerful and outgoing.

She then looked at Li Min. Li Min was startled by the look. Tang Qi spoke. “What are you waiting for? Go get the teacher!”

“Teacher… Teacher…” Li Min was bewildered. Tang Qi took out her textbook. “Go get the teacher to contact the parents. I’m guessing he’s got a concussion.”

“Okay, okay!”

The homeroom teacher came very quickly. Tang Qi proactively admitted her mistake, simply saying she couldn’t stand Zhou Chenglong’s behavior. The homeroom teacher knew Zhou Chenglong’s character too, was not surprised, and very calmly contacted the parents.

Hanging up the phone, she saw Tang Qi hadn’t left yet and was a little puzzled. “What’s the matter?”

“Teacher, did you know that Zhou Chenglong was bullying his schoolmates? Why didn’t you deal with it?” Tang Qi asked.

The homeroom teacher was somewhat embarrassed by the question, her face betraying discomfort. “The teacher has tried to manage it, but…”

“But it didn’t do any good. And after you intervened, he’d just get worse next time. And since Luo Xun is obedient and honest anyway, you could only let her be wronged, right?” Tang Qi was merciless.

The homeroom teacher said nothing. Tang Qi looked at her deeply, then turned and left.

The System was ranting furiously in her mind about how these classmates and the teacher were accomplices to evil. Seeing Tang Qi let the homeroom teacher off so easily, it was dissatisfied. “Host, you should have scolded her a few more times! Why did you just say it so mildly?”

“This kind of thing won’t end just by scolding her. In this school bullying situation, Zhou Chenglong is the perpetrator. But the silence of the teachers, the principal, and the classmates—they are all accomplices. Don’t they know the victim’s grievances in this matter? They know. But their individual power is useless, so they just choose to remain silent.”

The System fell silent. Tang Qi continued, “This kind of thing requires the whole society, the entire environment, to work together.”

“Then why were you able to do something?” the System muttered. Tang Qi sighed. “Because I’m me.” She had lived ten thousand lifetimes. She had the ability. And what she could do was still very limited. In places she couldn’t see, there were many more people just like Luo Xun.

She pushed open the classroom door. Luo Xun’s expression was tense. Seeing it was Tang Qi, she unconsciously relaxed a lot. Tang Qi returned to her seat, took out a book, and started reading.

Li Min kept watching her. Finally, unable to resist, she passed a note over: “Zhou Chenglong’s parents are very difficult to deal with. Be careful.”

Tang Qi casually crumpled the note and threw it away, nodding at Li Min, acknowledging the sentiment.

At lunchtime, everyone scattered: some went home, some to the cafeteria. Seeing no one was around, Luo Xun quickly wrote a note and tossed it to Tang Qi. “Zhou Chenglong’s friends and family might come looking for trouble with you. Be careful. Take a few days off to lay low.”

Tang Qi tucked the note inside her book, sighing inwardly.

In just a few hours, the relief Luo Xun had felt seeing Zhou Chenglong beaten had already dissipated. The fear from being bullied before had regained the upper hand. Just how afraid was she of that person?

“What about you if I ask for leave?” Tang Qi asked openly.

Luo Xun bit her lip, silent. Bowing her head, she wrote another note: “It’s fine, I’m used to it! He can’t really do anything to me.”

Tang Qi closed her eyes, suppressing the bitter ache in her heart.

Her Luoluo! She really knew how to stab a knife into her heart. Seeing Tang Qi silent, Luo Xun took out her lunchbox. Tang Qi leaned over to look: the box contained some dry, hardened white rice and a bit of pickled vegetables.

She snatched Luo Xun’s lunchbox away. Steadying her nerves, she made her smile look natural. “Errand Boy, come with me to the school gate. Help me carry some things.”

Tang Qi had helped her today. Luo Xun hesitated for a moment and put the lunchbox aside. “Then… you walk in front. Don’t let anyone see me following you.”

“Why?”

“Zhou Chenglong, he… he has some friends. If they see, they’ll find trouble with you.” Luo Xun’s voice was very low. Mentioning Zhou Chenglong’s name, the fear in her eyes was utterly uncontrollable.

Tang Qi fell silent, understanding the principle of not pulling up seedlings to help them grow. Her voice hoarse, she answered, “Okay.”

The two of them walked one after the other to the school gate. Tang Qi’s housekeeper was already waiting there. The housekeeper was carrying two thermoses. Tang Qi took one and placed the other on the ground near the gate, signaling to Luo Xun, who was behind her, to take it.

Luo Xun carried the thermos and followed all the way to the school doctor’s office. The school doctor was a little surprised to see Tang Qi. Tang Qi smiled and said, “Miss, could I borrow your office to eat lunch?”

The school doctor gave a few instructions and then left. Tang Qi explained to Luo Xun, “She knows my grandfather.”

After the school doctor left, Tang Qi took out the dishes. Bone broth, Dongpo pork, scrambled eggs with Chinese toon, cold shredded chicken breast, and garlic-sautéed vegetables.

A mix of meat and vegetables, a colorful array spread across the table. The bone broth was simmered to a golden color, floating with emerald green scallions. The Dongpo pork was in large chunks, with an enticing caramelized color.

Luo Xun sniffed, struggling to tear her gaze away from the food. “I’ll head back then. If you don’t want to carry the empty containers, just leave them. I’ll come pick them up after school.” She felt Tang Qi had helped her several times now. She ought to return the favor.

Tang Qi’s heart melted. Luo Xun was so soft and gentle, yet so thoughtful. It made her want to “bully” her a little too.

She spoke. “That won’t do. You’re my lackey, remember?” She tried to put on a stern face but failed, and could only sigh softly. “I’m a very picky eater. I need to eat several dishes for a single meal, but I can’t carry them all myself. Every day, you help me carry the lunch containers. In return, I’ll treat you to lunch.”

She smiled at Luo Xun. “What do you say?”