Chapter 32: The Submissive, Obsessive Top Student

That night, Jiang Zhiyi barely slept at all. She had roughly bandaged the wound on her forehead, and sometimes she even felt like she might die in this house, beaten to death alive by that drunkard, or—

Or maybe perishing together with him would be fine. In countless sleepless late nights, she had more than once imagined setting the whole place ablaze, burning everyone clean. If she didn’t want to live anymore, at least she could take them down with her.

But things were different now.

She curled up in the icy corner against the wall, clutching a small necklace tightly and pressing it to her heart.

She was no longer left with nothing. She still had Shi Qingyi. Even if it wasn’t quite in the way she imagined, wasn’t she gradually drawing closer to this person? She couldn’t just die like this. She just needed to hold on a little longer—half a year until high school graduation, and then she could leave this place with Qingyi, no matter where they went.

Just hold on a little longer—

The cold turquoise warmed slightly against her heart from the heat of her skin. She slowly rubbed the small crack on it, and a chilling frost unexpectedly bloomed in her eyes.

She couldn’t just die like this, but that didn’t mean she had to let herself be slaughtered either.

The pain in her forehead and body kept her from closing her eyes. If her aunt hadn’t come home to stop that drunkard, who knew how far he would have gone. It hurt so much. She forced her eyes open, staring hard at the window outside.

It was three in the morning, deep into the night. Night winds howled through the narrow alleyways, and there were still three hours until dawn. Then she could go to school and see Shi Qingyi—

Thinking of that person seemed to bring a spark of life even to her frozen heart, surging with endless tenderness.

“Qingyi…” She quietly shrank back into the cold bedding, murmuring softly in a tone full of grievance. “It hurts so much…”

—

In the middle of the night, Shi Qingyi suddenly jolted awake from her sleep.

The System yawned along with her. “What’s wrong? In the dead of night like this.”

Shi Qingyi shook her head and reached out to turn on the bedside lamp. In the dim yellow glow, she slowly let out a long breath, her mind unsettled.

“How’s Jiang Zhiyi doing?” Her voice was hoarse and weary, as if she’d just had a nightmare that drained her spirit.

The System gave her an admiring glance. “Host, this is the first time I’ve realized how dedicated you are to your duties. Worrying about the plot in the middle of the night.”

It pulled out a booklet and flipped through it. “Tomorrow’s plot is the male lead picking up the female lead for school…”

“Never mind,” Before it could finish, the girl leaning against the bed suddenly switched off the lamp and sank into the soft bedding, closing her eyes. “What if Deng Sisi goes to retaliate against her? I’ll still go pick her up early tomorrow.”

The System: “…”

Why ask me if you’ve already decided?!

—

At six in the morning, as the first rays of dawn fell into the urban village alley, Jiang Zhiyi opened her eyes and walked out of the house. Only then did she let out a light sigh of relief.

That drunkard was sleeping soundly; he didn’t even wake when she turned on the faucet to clean her wound.

It wasn’t until she walked out of that alley littered with garbage and broken bricks that she dared to lean against a tree, her back soaked in cold sweat.

She didn’t get a moment to rest before footsteps quietly approached from behind. Jiang Zhiqing gripped her backpack strap tightly, biting her lip as she hesitated, looking at her.

“Sis, did you really… take that six hundred yuan?” She had hesitated for a long time and ultimately avoided the word “steal,” opting for the milder “take.”

Jiang Zhiyi slowly turned her head back. “Did you tell him?”

“It wasn’t me. The teacher called to ask about the situation, and Dad came to ask me,” Jiang Zhiqing shook her head like a startled rabbit, but her teeth bit her lip until it turned pale. “But yesterday, I saw the money in your clothes. Sis, you took it, right?”

She looked so pitiful, innocent and pure. They were both mired in the same mud, yet she always seemed to stand above it all, looking down condescendingly at her suffering.

Just because she had no money, so the moment she had some, it was assumed to be stolen?

Jiang Zhiyi suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion. Her voice unconsciously grew cold. “You already have your answer in your heart. Why ask me?”

She tried to go around Jiang Zhiqing, but the girl, who was as docile as a rabbit, abruptly stretched out her arm to block her. They were so close that Jiang Zhiqing easily spotted the unfamiliar chain at her heart, ending in a valuable-looking turquoise blue pendant.

“Sis, did Shi Qingyi teach you to do this?” Her eyes suddenly reddened, misted over like with a layer of vapor, her tone inexplicably urgent. “I told you, you two aren’t from the same world—”

If she hadn’t mentioned Shi Qingyi, Jiang Zhiyi might have ignored her, but bringing her up made Jiang Zhiyi’s gaze turn utterly cold. She stared quietly at the pitiful girl before her, then suddenly curved her lips in a mocking, indifferent smile—the first time Jiang Zhiqing realized that her usually timid, quiet, almost invisible sister could show such an expression.

“What about you and Gu Chuanjing, then?” She said word by word, a trace of contempt in her eyes.

Her gaze was too cold, making Jiang Zhiqing momentarily speechless. She instinctively wanted to avoid it but still tried her best to retort. “You and her really aren’t from the same world—”

“How? Not from my world, so suddenly from yours?”

A sudden questioning voice came from behind. The golden-haired girl, sipping soy milk, leaned against the alley entrance, watching the drama leisurely with her cool brows betraying no emotion.

“Woof woof—”

Before anyone could speak, a dog’s bark echoed from the depths of the alley. A little golden dog came darting from the other end, as if convinced Jiang Zhiyi was bullying its owner, charging over with furious barks.

“Huanhuan, don’t—” Jiang Zhiqing’s anxious cry was in vain. The golden dog rushed forward and was about to sink its teeth into Jiang Zhiyi’s calf when a foot shot out from the side, kicking the little dog away.

Gu Chuanjing, who had been coldly watching from the other end of the alley, paled instantly. Jiang Zhiqing bent down to scoop the tumbling dog into her arms. Shi Qingyi’s kick wasn’t light; the dog was unsteady on its feet. Jiang Zhiqing’s eyes reddened, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“What are you doing? Huanhuan is still little—”

“I don’t care if it’s little or not,” Shi Qingyi sneered. “I only know that walking a dog without a leash is as good as letting the dog walk itself. You ignore it when it bites people, but act like the sky is falling when it gets hurt. You’re so kind-hearted—why not worry if your sister gets bitten, or catches rabies?”

It was laughable. And this Gu Chuanjing beside her too, the loyal dog and its little pup bullying the vicious villain for the kind-hearted heroine—what a perfect scene. So he just watched coldly as his dog bit someone.

“I suggest you keep a better eye on this dog. Today I only kicked it once. If it bites someone else later, they might not be as easygoing as me. With so many people on the street, who’s to say someone won’t give it a couple more kicks? Don’t come crying to me then.”

Shi Qingyi couldn’t be bothered with Jiang Zhiqing’s teary, pitiful white lotus expression. She grabbed Jiang Zhiyi’s hand and walked off.

Jiang Zhiyi was gripped tightly by Shi Qingyi; her palm was full of cold sweat, her back damp. They had just reached the alley mouth when Shi Qingyi suddenly stopped. Caught off guard, Jiang Zhiyi nearly bumped into her shoulder.

“Here.”

“What?” Jiang Zhiyi was a bit dazed but instinctively took the bun and soy milk handed to her. They were warm; even her icy blood began to circulate slowly as she held them. She looked down—two portions.

“Let me check if it bit your leg.” Jiang Zhiyi felt embarrassed and tried to block but couldn’t.

The golden-haired girl crouched carefully to inspect. The lines of her leg tensed instinctively. She didn’t dare look down, only feeling the early autumn wind inexplicably hot, making her chest burn.

It was just a quick look. The dog’s teeth were sharp, but Shi Qingyi had acted fast—it hadn’t actually bitten, only snagging and tearing a bit of her skirt hem, looking like a small wound.

“Done?” Jiang Zhiyi wanted to touch her hair but didn’t dare.

“No wound. No need for a rabies shot.” Shi Qingyi finally relaxed. As she stood, her gaze darkened again. The girl’s slender fingers accurately brushed aside Jiang Zhiyi’s overgrown bangs, revealing the forehead wound. Her warm fingertips brushed near it, and Jiang Zhiyi flinched back instinctively.

“It hurts…”

“He hit you again?” Shi Qingyi’s voice suddenly chilled.

—

In the small clinic in the urban village, only one or two people sat waiting. Shi Qingyi carefully cleaned the wound with a cotton swab. The area around her forehead was red and swollen, with a half-inch gash. Perhaps from washing it with cold water that morning, the flesh looked pallidly white—particularly gruesome.

Even with such a wound, she could sit here so calmly. Shi Qingyi gently blew on it. “Tell me if it hurts. I’ll be lighter.”

“Mm, it hurts,” Jiang Zhiyi nodded, then shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt.”

But I love how you’re carefully blowing on my wound, your breath so light on my forehead.

Shi Qingyi disinfected it with iodine. The early autumn weather was still sultry; infection would be trouble. “Any other places on your body hurt?”

How could a beating from that drunkard only hit one spot? It was obvious there were more injuries.

Jiang Zhiyi shrank her left shoulder back. “No more…”

Which meant there were. Shi Qingyi gripped her arm and pulled back the sleeve. Sure enough, from the crook of her elbow downward was a dark purple bruise, stinging her eyes instantly.

He’d really gone all out. Thinking of how this trash ended up with a happy family full of children and grandchildren, Shi Qingyi couldn’t help grinding her teeth.

By the time they finished treating all the large and small wounds on her body, it was already nine in the morning. Shi Qingyi’s phone rang—it was the homeroom teacher, head aching from her skipping class, calling to ask what was going on.

Jiang Zhiyi waited until Shi Qingyi disappeared down the corridor before lifting her head.

The homeroom teacher was long-winded. With the theft incident yesterday and skipping class today, there was bound to be a heartfelt lecture.

The clinic doctor was still eating breakfast, slurping noodles. Looking up at the girl before him, he suddenly felt a jolt.

“The medicine comes to seventy-nine total. You didn’t bring enough, did you?”

“I brought enough,” The girl shook her head. Her expression was no longer the obedient softness from when the other person was there. A chill gathered in her eyes as she pulled out a stack of bills, her voice carrying a silent weariness. “Do you have sleeping pills here?”