Mu Qinglin pulled Zhou Yi back to her side and whispered, “It’s really nothing. I’ll show you later.” Then she looked up at Yao Xiaoqi’s mother, her voice turning very serious. “Ma’am, you are a school principal. Please conduct yourself with dignity.”
Yao Xiaoqi’s mother had recovered somewhat. Hearing Mu Qinglin’s words, she cried out in anguish, “I don’t even know if my daughter will survive the night, and you expect me to conduct myself with dignity?!”
Mu Qinglin: “We understand your feelings, and we sympathize. But have you ever stopped to think about who’s really at the root of this?”
Mu Qinglin hadn’t wanted to say harsh words to hurt a mother who only wanted the best for her daughter, even if that mother was in the wrong.
But some things needed to be said, or another young person might be haunted by guilt for a very long time.
Mu Qinglin’s hand on Zhou Yi’s wrist tightened slightly. Feeling Zhou Yi’s emotions settle a little, she said to Yao Xiaoqi’s mother: “Your daughter is wonderful. All the teachers praise her. But have you ever considered that, with your position as vice principal at the forefront, everything you do could become a weapon that spoils her to death?”
Yao Xiaoqi’s mother’s eyes widened as if a sore spot had been pressed. Complex emotions flickered rapidly in her eyes.
Mu Qinglin saw her reaction clearly but had no intention of stopping. “You clearly haven’t thought about it. That’s why you’ve used your position as vice principal to create as many opportunities and as good conditions for her as possible. But what about the children who should have gotten those things?
They’ll feel sad, jealous, angry, and abandon the kindness of youth to take revenge. Over time, word of her special treatment spreads from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred. Even if it’s just out of herd mentality or simple amusement, your daughter would inevitably end up isolated and bullied.”
“You… you’re talking nonsense. I didn’t…” Yao Xiaoqi’s mother’s gaze was scattered and panicked, her earlier sharpness completely gone.
Mu Qinglin never spoke without evidence.
Those words had initially been nothing more than rumors to her. That’s why, even knowing this story could become an exclusive, she hadn’t breathed a word to anyone.
It wasn’t until she came to the hospital and had a phone conversation with a teacher she knew that she confirmed it was true.
She hadn’t asked the wrong question at the end of her news story, and Zhou Yi hadn’t been wrong earlier. Some pressure truly had nothing to do with the college entrance exam, but with the oversaturated expectations of parents.
“Who is Yao Xiaoqi’s family?” The emergency doctor rushed out calling for them.
Yao Xiaoqi’s mother immediately composed herself and hurried forward. “I’m her mother.”
“Come with me. Your daughter needs surgery immediately. Let me go over the surgical risks with you.”
“Okay!”
The two quickly walked away.
With no voices left, the air suddenly fell silent.
Zhou Yi pulled her hand back from Mu Qinglin and stuffed it into her pocket, asking casually, “You know about Yao Xiaoqi?”
Mu Qinglin: “Mm. I just confirmed it before you got here.”
“I figured it out a long time ago…” Zhou Yi looked toward the emergency room. “That day at the shop, the moment she said her classmates didn’t like her, I knew what was going on. But I still refused to let her come find me at the shop again.”
Mu Qinglin frowned. Just from “classmates don’t like me,” Zhou Yi could determine Yao Xiaoqi was being bullied at school? Had she seen it before, or was there something else?
“I’ve never been through anything like that. No one would dare.” Zhou Yi gave Mu Qinglin a definitive answer before the question left her lips.
Mu Qinglin thought back over everything since they’d met and chose to believe her.
With Zhou Yi’s temper, getting into trouble because of her smart mouth was one thing. But being bullied and staying silent about it? That would be about as likely as climbing to heaven.
Still, that final word, “refused,” and her earlier reaction to Yao Xiaoqi’s worsening condition made Mu Qinglin worry.
“Yao Xiaoqi’s situation has nothing to do with you. Even if you help her with her homework every day, if the root problem isn’t solved, there will still come a day when she can’t take it anymore,” Mu Qinglin said. Her rare gentleness made Zhou Yi turn to look at her. “When did I ever say this had anything to do with me?”
“? ” Mu Qinglin was caught off guard. “Then why did you come to the hospital? And why such a big reaction?”
Zhou Yi was quiet for a moment, then murmured almost to herself, “Maybe I thought it was familiar.”
Familiar?
Like who?
Before Mu Qinglin could decide whether to press further, Zhou Yi had already steered the conversation away.
“Were you just being mean to me?”
“…” Was Zhou Yi’s reflex arc so slow she’d gone to the Southern Hemisphere for a sunbath and just come back?
That was ages ago.
Mu Qinglin finished her inner monologue and said coolly, “Someone like you who picks on the weak and fears the strong…”
Zhou Yi’s expression turned chilly. “Who are you calling that?”
“No one…” Mu Qinglin smoothly changed her tune. “Would you have listened if I weren’t blunt?”
Zhou Yi scoffed, turned around, and walked away.
Mu Qinglin watched her swaying back, smiled silently, and followed. “Did it hurt your heart seeing me get slapped just now?”
Zhou Yi stopped in place, turned her head, and gave Mu Qinglin a look that said “I can’t even” before replying, “What are you dreaming about?”
“Wasn’t it you who looked like you were about to eat Yao Xiaoqi’s mother alive?” Mu Qinglin clumsily mimicked Zhou Yi’s tone. “‘She hit you.’ If I hadn’t seen that your eyes weren’t red, I would’ve thought you were crying.”
Zhou Yi: “I believe you’re hard of hearing.”
Mu Qinglin shook her head and left her a clear “Tsk…”
To Zhou Yi, it sounded dripping with sarcasm.
“When Yao Xiaoqi’s mom lunged at me, didn’t you block my way too? So what’s wrong with me returning the favor?” Zhou Yi remembered this and perked up immediately. “As for you, why would you block me for no reason? What if she’d been holding a knife? You’d be dead by now.”
Mu Qinglin took a deep breath. “Now that you mention it, that was a close call. But instinct is hard to equate with rationality.”
Meaning that no matter who was standing here today, Mu Qinglin would have stepped in to protect them?
“…” Zhou Yi paused, then accepted the answer.
Mu Qinglin was that kind of person. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have settled the Bastard for her the very first time they met, and then taken down those guys along with their whole operation.
Oh, right.
She was just basking in the light of Mu Qinglin being a saint, playing an ordinary little role on her path of saving all living beings.
Without a word, Zhou Yi pulled off the two wrist guards someone had given her and buried them at the bottom of her pocket.
Mu Qinglin didn’t notice. She reached up to touch her neck and hissed in pain. “If Yao Xiaoqi’s mother had slapped you across the face just now, you’d be swollen into a little pig by now… Hey! Why are you glaring at me again?”
Mu Qinglin was afraid of Zhou Yi now. “Fine, that was a slip of the tongue. I sincerely apologize.”
Zhou Yi didn’t accept. She glanced at Mu Qinglin’s neck. “Are you going to show me or not?”
Mu Qinglin: “Hm? I will. A promise is a promise.”
Mu Qinglin pulled her collar open slightly and leaned toward Zhou Yi.
It was bleeding a little…
“Told you it’s nothing. Believe me now?” Mu Qinglin spoke from inches away.
“Mm…” Zhou Yi raised her hand and slowly brought her fingertip toward Mu Qinglin’s neck. Then, she pressed down hard and said flatly: “Swollen up, it really does look a bit like a pig’s neck.”
“?!” Mu Qinglin was stunned. She wanted to hang this heartless wretch up and beat her. Unfortunately, that single press of the finger had left her breathless with pain. She didn’t have the energy.
Once she’d barely recovered, Mu Qinglin kicked the tip of Zhou Yi’s shoe. “Let’s negotiate something.”
Zhou Yi: “Speak…”
“Could you try acting like a decent human being around me?”
“Don’t know you well enough. Not happening.”
“I’ve beaten people up for you, and I’ve taken hits for you. Isn’t that close enough?”
“Isn’t it just because I’m entertaining that you’re going to all this trouble?”
“There’s some genuine sincerity in it. Otherwise, who would willingly make themselves miserable every day?”
Is that so?
Probably. That must be why, after losing her temper at Mu Qinglin, she’d been moved to apologize in the first place.
Tang Yuanzhou used to say she had no conscience. She was selective, thank you very much. With someone like Mu Qinglin, she could occasionally have a conscience.
Zhou Yi moved her fingers and hooked the edge of a wrist guard.
Seeing Zhou Yi’s expression soften, Mu Qinglin struck while the iron was hot. “Think about it? You don’t have to be decent right away. We can wait until we’re closer. How about it?”
Zhou Yi thought for two seconds, not even glancing at Mu Qinglin. “Let me make one thing clear. If you dare to ruffle my head like that again, I’m done with you.”
“Hm?” Mu Qinglin didn’t catch on at first. Once she figured it out, a smile spread rapidly across her face.
“You mean like this?” Mu Qinglin shot back, adding action to words. Before Zhou Yi could react, she rubbed her head, even harder than before, practically turning her fluffy hair into a bird’s nest.
Zhou Yi was appalled. “Mu Qinglin, are you insane?!”
“Yeah. It’s a condition where I feel sick if I don’t get on your nerves. Just diagnosed.”
“Get lost!”
No sooner had Zhou Yi cursed than she sneezed. The furious expression from a second ago immediately turned pitiful.
Mu Qinglin lowered her hand and coughed. “Have you not been taking your medicine properly?”
Zhou Yi suddenly felt guilty.
What happened on Christmas Eve was too embarrassing, and for the following days… she just wasn’t in the mood…
“Ah…” Zhou Yi said, the sneeze drawing out her nasal voice.
Mu Qinglin: “I know an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor. I’ll take you to see him sometime.”
Zhou Yi simply held out her arm to make her position clear. “Take my arm. The rest of me isn’t going.”
Mu Qinglin: “If you could still move after having your arm chopped off, Tang Yuanzhou would have come at me with a knife already.”
“He wouldn’t dare…” Zhou Yi sneered.
Mu Qinglin: “So I’m the one who wouldn’t dare?”
Don’t… dare?
That sounded weird no matter how she thought about it.
Zhou Yi shrugged her shoulder up to rub her ear, glancing at Mu Qinglin from the corner of her eye. “Is there anything you wouldn’t dare?”
“Plenty.” Mu Qinglin sighed. “Teacher Jiu chews me out every day. I’m already traumatized. Speaking of which, Teacher Jiu?” Mu Qinglin called out to Zhou Yi.
The title was fresh. Zhou Yi took two seconds to realize it was addressed to her.
“Say what you have to say,” Zhou Yi said.
Mu Qinglin: “Doesn’t a sincere apology require showing good faith?”
Zhou Yi turned her back. “No…”
“How can you lie through your teeth?” Mu Qinglin pushed Zhou Yi’s shoulder from behind. “If you really want to apologize, promise me one thing.”
“I’ll consider anything unrelated to hospitals.”
“Next Wednesday is my day off. Come with me to the traditional Chinese medicine hospital.”
“?!” Zhou Yi turned around in disbelief, about to say “you’re the one who can’t understand human speech.”
Seeing Mu Qinglin’s earnest expression, the words that had been halfway out rolled back into her stomach and bounced around.
Zhou Yi sniffed her congested nose and murmured from her throat, “Mm…” Well, for the sake of the fact that the two of them were about to get pretty close.
