Chapter 211: Bullying
Zhang Mengning smiled cruelly as she spoke her harsh words to Yang Xinxin. Yang Xinxin was stunned, her wide eyes filling with tears that silently streamed down her cheeks. Instead of standing up for her, the others laughed and even clapped, approving of Zhang Mengning’s cruelty.
"Zhang Mengning, that’s enough! We’re all classmates; how can you say something so mean?" A short-haired, handsome girl quickly stepped in front of Yang Xinxin. She was Yang Xinxin’s best friend, Lu Keran, who had been pushing Yang Xinxin’s wheelchair and helping her survive all this time.
Zhang Mengning clutched her stomach and laughed loudly. "Ha! Lu Keran, who do you think you are to talk to me like that?" Her eyes flashed with contempt as she pointed at Lu Keran. "You, a scholarship student, dare to challenge me? Have you forgotten your place?"
In this elite school, social hierarchies were rigid. Zhang Mengning was the daughter of a wealthy family, while Lu Keran, though from a decent background, was at the bottom tier at Tianqing Academy.
Lu Keran blushed, clenching her fists. "So what if your family is rich? Can your money save you now?"
"Shut up! No matter the situation, the gap between us remains!" Zhang Mengning shouted. "Once we get out of here, we’ll still be worlds apart!"
She laughed maniacally, pointing at Yang Xinxin. "It’s because of you, Yang Xinxin, that so many of our classmates are dead! You should just die instead of clinging to life!"
Yang Xinxin’s tears fell onto her pale hands, but she didn’t argue back. Lu Keran, however, couldn’t stand her friend being humiliated. "Zhang Mengning, Xinxin is a person too. She has the right to live! You can’t blame her for the deaths of others!"
Zheng Yuncong, the daughter of an official from Jiangnan Province, approached with an air of innate arrogance. "So, Zhang Mengning is right. You’re a burden, Xinxin. We shouldn’t have to suffer because of you."
"Everyone helped you out of kindness, but you shouldn’t take advantage of it," she continued. "You’re morally blackmailing us with your disability. It’s just too much."
With these two leading the way, others who had long harbored resentment towards Yang Xinxin, or simply wanted to see someone else suffer, began to join in.
Yang Xinxin, with her beauty, disability from polio, and status as a top hacker, perfectly fit the "beautiful, strong, and tragic" archetype, making her popular at Tianqing Academy. Many boys wanted to be her knight, which naturally stirred jealousy among the girls. Now, their long-suppressed malice erupted.
"Yang Xinxin, stop dragging us down, will you?"
"Without Teacher Liang’s soft heart, I’d have left you behind ages ago."
"Just go find a place to die, will you?"
Yang Xinxin’s hands clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Lu Keran stood protectively in front of her, arguing, "What have you ever done for Xinxin? I’m the one who takes care of her. Stop blaming her for your misery!"
Zhang Mengning sneered, "Lu Keran, you’re pathetic. She’s a wealthy heiress, and you’re just a scholarship student. Do you really think she’d be friends with you if she weren’t disabled? She’s using you to feel superior!"
"She’s not like that!" Lu Keran retorted angrily.
Yang Xinxin remained silent, but the noisy crowd around her made her feel even more miserable. "It’s so noisy," she whispered, but the ongoing argument drowned out her voice.
A girl with luxurious burgundy hair and an exquisitely beautiful face walked over. "Everyone, stop arguing! We need to be united in these times!" Shen Miaoke, the class representative and the girl with the highest social status in the class, spoke gently.
Her words quieted the others. Shen Miaoke’s family was extremely influential, and her authority was well respected. She looked at Yang Xinxin with soft eyes. "Xinxin, don’t worry. You might be a burden now, but we won’t abandon you. I’m sure you don’t blame us, right? Let’s stay friends."
Shen Miaoke smiled and extended her right hand to Yang Xinxin. Her kindness seemed genuine, but her tone had an unsettling nuance. Yang Xinxin didn’t reach out. Shen Miaoke waited, her smile fading slightly in awkwardness. She tilted her head, trying to look into Yang Xinxin’s eyes.
"Won’t you even shake my hand? I’ve always cared about you the most!"
The other students watched eagerly, with some saying, "Miaoke, you’re too kind. Being nice to someone useless like her."
"Hey, Yang Xinxin, what’s your problem? Miaoke’s offering you her hand!"
"Maybe her brain’s messed up too, not just her legs."
The boys watched from a distance, enjoying the spectacle without any intention of intervening. In this oppressive environment, watching someone else suffer provided a twisted pleasure.
Yang Xinxin finally moved to raise her hand, but a loud noise interrupted before she could. "Clang!" The students turned instinctively towards the sound, and then a blood-curdling scream echoed through the gym.
The gym's three-meter-high metal window was pushed open, and a massive, five—to six-meter-long black claw with a metallic sheen reached inside. It grabbed Zheng Yuncong's head and effortlessly lifted her into the air. A grotesque face appeared at the window, its mouth curling into a sinister smile.