Liu Chusheng had not expected that before he even started looking, Liu Yaoyao would appear in front of him on her own initiative.
Looking at Liu Yaoyao’s pale little face, Liu Chusheng felt not the slightest guilt or fear. Instead, his gaze carried a hint of aggression as he sized up Liu Yaoyao from head to toe, wondering where this little girl had found the courage to jump from a building.
Liu Yaoyao was so scared that her legs shook uncontrollably, like tender flowers trembling on the branches, fluttering frantically in the wind.
Liu Yaoyao was indeed terrified; she hadn’t expected to encounter the principal in the hospital.
Apart from the initial few seconds when her body froze, once she came to her senses, she hastily retreated, as if wanting to go back to the ward.
Liu Chusheng noticed her intention and raised his hand to stop her, saying, "Liu Yaoyao, your homeroom teacher just called me, saying you jumped off a building. Now look at you, aren’t you just fine?"
"Do you remember what I told you before?"
In front of others, Liu Chusheng was always the refined and gentle principal, speaking warmly and kindly, but when his voice reached Liu Yaoyao’s ears, it was no doubt like a venomous snake crawling.
Liu Yaoyao trembled in terror, tears welling up in her eyes.
Seeing her cowardly, quail-like demeanor, Liu Chusheng was satisfied, but his visit today was not meant to scare Liu Yaoyao.
He lowered his voice and said to Liu Yaoyao, "Come with me, there are some things I want to discuss with you alone."
Seeing the resistance on Liu Yaoyao’s face, he added in a lower voice, "Don’t worry, after today, we will just be principal and student, and all the past issues will be wiped clean. From now on, your tuition and miscellaneous fees at Yulu Middle School will be waived. Consider it... compensation for my previous actions."
As he spoke, Liu Chusheng lightly added another sentence, "You don’t want your mother and grandmother to keep struggling so hard, do you?"
The hospital was crowded, and he couldn’t use force as before. Liu Chusheng didn’t want to attract the attention of others, so he had to adopt a combination of soft and hard tactics.
Liu Yaoyao was just a teenager, an inexperienced student. In terms of psychological warfare, how could she be Liu Chusheng’s match?
With just a few words, Liu Chusheng had seized control over her life.
Thinking of Ge Haoli in the ward, Liu Yaoyao bit her lip tightly.
Her mother and grandmother were already living a hard life; she did not want them to know... it would only add to their sorrow and troubles.
Seeing this, Liu Chusheng’s heart eased slightly, confident that he held the winning ticket.
He was the first to turn around and look for a place to talk, not the least bit worried that Liu Yaoyao would not follow.
Liu Yaoyao stood there, gazing at Liu Chusheng’s retreating figure, and gripped the cup in her hands tightly, feeling a chill all over.
The light in her eyes began to dim.
Just as she took a step to follow, someone suddenly tugged at her.
Liu Yaoyao turned around and the tears that had been swirling in her eyes finally slid down, blurring her vision and the figure in front of her: "Sister Jiang Ning."
"It’s me, don’t be afraid, I’m here," Jiang Ning said, patting her shoulder to soothe her.
However, time was of the essence. If Liu Chusheng saw that Liu Yaoyao wasn’t following, he might return at any moment.
Jiang Ning had to cut to the chase and clipped a Little Bear hairpin onto Liu Yaoyao’s disheveled bangs, "Have you seen undercover movies? How about you be a brave undercover agent for today?"
"Don’t be afraid; we’ll be right behind you, protecting you."
"Together, we’ll send him to prison."