Chapter 6: Open Challenge

  One step at a time, down the stairs, just like the heavy mood, sinking to the bottom. With both hands grasping the slanting straps of her bag, she slowed down her pace, turning back to glance at the faint light illuminating above the stairs. The ground beneath her feet was damp, far from being another world compared to the one above the stairs...

  She shrugged, the basement that others would ignore became her home. The damp place that others despised was her daily route. The experience that others dared not think of, she was going through it.

  The further forward, the darker it gets... Here, whether day or night, it remains in a state of nocturnal darkness. There are no pedestrians here; sometimes even your own footsteps can startle yourself, you can't see but you can hear.

  She walked for about five minutes and then stopped. She skillfully pushed open the unlocked door, one hand manipulating something in the air, and before long, the room lit up. The dim yellow light bulb emitted a warm glow in the less-than-thirty-square-meter space, giving her a slight sense of home.

  There were not many items in the room, only a few wooden boards made into a bed against the wall corner, an old wooden square table on the opposite wall corner. Next to the table was a clothes rack missing one leg... Xīn Rán was hanging his bag on it.

  Boiled water with an electric kettle, and then fetched a packet of instant noodles from under the bed with a somewhat tired expression.

  She had a bowl of instant noodles, but after just one bite, she lost her appetite. She twirled the noodles with her chopsticks, but her eyes were welling up with tears. Thinking about all that had happened in the past day was like reliving all the humiliation and suffering she had endured over the years.

  The past days were also very hard, not easy at all, and there were times when I was ridiculed, misunderstood, and felt very sad and wronged, but none of them were as intense as this time.

  It's hard to ignore when one is trampled underfoot and has to choose to turn a blind eye for the sake of survival.

  She placed her hand on her chest over her heart, and her tears couldn't be held back, falling silently.

  Are you doing well up there? I think I saw you tonight. Sorry, mom, I promised to take good care of myself and not let anyone bully me, but for the sake of living, some things can't be changed. I lost my job, how am I supposed to pay off debts? If you hear my heart's voice, please bless me! Don't worry about me, absolutely don't!

  The sky is bright, heralding the arrival of a new day, but the sun has no intention of coming out to work. The entire sky is gray and hazy. The dense dark clouds on the horizon, with strong gusts of wind, are also telling people that it may rain.

  She smiled and raised her head to gaze at the sky, with a hint of melancholy in her eyes, and unresolved thoughts...

  After being late the day before, she came early today with a smile. When she walked to her seat, she felt absurd and didn't know why people would be so childish nowadays. The table was overturned on the ground, and there were some drawing pins on the chair, obviously a prank.

  Glancing around the classroom, I couldn't imagine when I had offended them. Why were they doing this? The inquiring eyes met with provocative and repulsive attitudes from many classmates.

  When a person is unlucky, even drinking water can get stuck in their teeth. Xīn rán didn't mind too much, picked up the desk, pulled out the drawing pin from the chair, and sat down as if nothing had happened, taking out the textbooks needed for class from her bag.

  There were deliberate and piercing sounds coming from around...

  "I don't know what shortcut he took to get into our school, and he even has the nerve to provoke our Young Master Ren, it's nauseating."

  "Who does she think she is? Trying to attract Ren He Yu's attention with that pretentious attitude? How shameless!"

  "Oh no, how can their figure be compared to ours? We're on a completely different level. Don't tarnish Ren He Yu's reputation because of that woman, he's our idol."

  "I heard that her parents died a long time ago, and she's so shameless because she doesn't have..."

  Enduring the discomfort, Xinran hastily ran out of the classroom, panting heavily. Her eyes were slightly red, and with great effort, she persuaded herself not to mind what those people said, no matter what they said, don't pay attention. Don't cry, can't cry...

  My mood was affected, I leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance. There were raindrops falling, it's still raining after all.

  Her restless heart was soothed by the gentle rain, and she regained her composure, living her own life and learning her own lessons. Just as she was about to turn back into the classroom, someone collided with her, causing her elbow to make solid contact with the stone corridor wall, the pain contorting her face.

  "Sorry about that, it wasn't on purpose." The person who bumped into him had a very casual attitude and didn't show any sign of apology.

  My face is red with pain. I really want to forgive the other person, maybe they were just unintentional, but inadvertently saw the other person sneaking a smile... From this point on, I firmly believe she did it on purpose.

  The pain in her arm had already been replaced by the anger and injustice in her heart. She stood up straight, very angry, and asked: "Classmate, did we have any past conflicts? Why was I standing here fine, and you came over to intentionally bump into me?"

  "So you're not stupid after all, you knew I was doing it on purpose." With a very arrogant tone, "Who made you offend Ren He Yu? I will make you pay the price for him."

  "What?" Xiran, who hadn't fully understood, wanted to clarify, but that person had already left.

  After some deep thought, she admitted that there were some problems between her and Ren He Yu. However, last night at BLUEMOON, he also said that as long as she wasn't working there, everything from before could be written off. So what do these little actions mean now?

  Xin Ran, who was still puzzled, happened to see Ren He Yu's figure entering the classroom.

  Xin Ran reacted extremely quickly and ran to his front, blocking his way. With a tall stature, he forced Xin Ran to look up at him with his head raised, "Why did you do that? Last night you clearly said that past matters were settled, as long as I left BLUEMOON, now you're having people bully me, what do you mean by this?"

  Ren He Yu sneered and glanced at Xin Ran with a disdainful attitude, "How's that? I'm going to mess with you until you're out of my sight."

  A deafening thunderclap resounded through the sky in September. It was as if one had heard a shocking remark, leaving them speechless and unable to help but laugh and cry at the same time.

  "Are you kidding me, Ren He Yu? Don't think that just because everyone else is serving you like a young master, I'll also bow down to you. When you're overpowering and suppressing others, don't mistakenly take their tolerance as useless weakness. You're not the strongest, others will be stronger than you."

  "Is that so?" Ren He Yu denied, not taking Ye Xin Ran's words to heart at all. "Ye Xin Ran, listen up, anyone who messes with me, Ren He Yu, has never ended up well, are you interested in trying?"

  Dropped the topic, intentionally bumped Xiran's shoulder. Unable to withstand Ren Heyu's strength, Xiran's body was forced to lean aside. He, with a triumphant smile, walked into the classroom...