Chapter 13: Burn, Little Universe! The three-day holiday passed quickly, and upon returning to school, the intense period of final exam review had already begun. Every subject teacher was eager to assign more homework, as this exam would have a decisive impact on the class division for second-year students. Teachers were all very serious about it. Literature teacher Bai announced that starting from this month, there would be additional evening self-study sessions until 10 pm every night, with different teachers taking turns to answer questions. With less leisure time, even the top students in the first year had many complaints. I, on the other hand, was relieved to still be able to sit in the classroom at night and study with a bit of peace of mind.

  For most students, even if they are not happy in their hearts, they do not dare to disobey. Of course, there are also special people, such as Ji Dong and Xiao Rang. During the evening self-study session, the two seats were empty, and the teachers also turned a blind eye to this, having grown accustomed to it.

  After school in the evening, I waited until everyone was gone and finished my homework before leaving the classroom. The vast campus was empty, with high streetlights casting circles of white light. Summer nights were very quiet, warm winds blowing across my face, feeling comfortable. Walking while thinking about things, I became absent-minded.

  Ruoxi has been staying at my place for two days and she's gotten used to it. At this time, she should be asleep...

  Zhang Jiu Yu has graduated, and he won't be appearing here again... That wine was originally from his family's store, no wonder he always went there. I've been praying that I wouldn't run into him again, these past few days have been just as I wished, only...

  I pulled out my phone from my pocket, and there was a new number in the phonebook that I had just added recently. It was the night he announced that I was his girlfriend, he snatched my phone away, dialed his own number, waited for the ringing to stop, then handed it back to me after saving it. His cold voice commanded: "From now on, you have to come whenever I call." When I took the phone back, I furrowed my brow tightly, and later changed his name in the contact list from "Yu" to "Devil", of course he didn't know. Even though I'm desperately avoiding him now, if he calls me, I still have to pretend to obey, after all, he already knows where my house is, if he can't find anyone and goes there directly, wouldn't that be even more dangerous?!

  Suddenly enlightened, since meeting again is inevitable, he wants to continue playing, I'll play along with him, can't hide and have to bear it.

  As I walked to the corner, a black shadow quickly flashed by, and as it brushed past me, something was stuffed into my hand, and then it disappeared quickly.

  "Hey! Classmate..." I stared at that unfamiliar back, calling out to him but he didn't turn around. Big literary style.

  A mysterious hand opened, a folded square paper was quietly lying in my hand. Was it him again? But why not call directly, strange!

  The handwriting on the note was different, with crooked and twisted writing: Come to the woods behind the school playground tomorrow at noon after school, or you'll regret it.

  I furrowed my brow, and didn't want to bother with it at all. It doesn't seem like Zhang Jueyu wrote it. Comparing the handwriting, I have to admit that his writing isn't bad.

  During the break after morning reading, I turned my head and saw Ji Dong lying on his desk with his head buried in his arms, having a rendezvous with Lord Zhou. As I walked over to gently wake him up, he raised his head with an impatient expression, narrowing his eyes. When he saw it was me, his face relaxed and he straightened up.

  "Winter melon, I received another note yesterday. Take a look and see if it was sent by Zhang Jiu Yu's people." Just in case, we should ask clearly.

  He took over the note, looked at it carefully, and when he handed it back to me, he shook his head again: "No, I don't recognize this handwriting either. If you're not at ease, I can accompany you."

  "No need, I don't have that much free time." He smiled at him, "If it wasn't for him, then it should be given to the wrong person." As he said this, he casually threw it into the trash can.

  In the evening before self-study, I went to Ruoxi's place and it seemed like business hadn't been as good since the last time the milk tea house was occupied by a group of hoodlums. We chatted for half a day, and the topics were all about Zhang Jiyu and Ji Dong. After glancing at the wall clock, I said goodbye and headed back to school.

  The road was empty, and I quickened my pace. It seemed that we had really chatted for too long and forgotten about the time. As soon as I rushed into the school gate, the class bell rang out, so I took off in a sprint, finally approaching the teaching building. Looking at the bicycle shed, it was pitch black inside and out, making me feel a bit eerie. The lights were fine last night, how did they suddenly go bad?

  I'm not usually afraid of the dark, but today I had a feeling that something was off. My right eyelid kept twitching. To avoid being late, my feet were moving quickly, and just as I was about to enter the stairwell, three black figures suddenly darted out from nowhere. I let out a scream, and in an instant, a strong hand covered my mouth. I struggled desperately, twisting my head and grasping at the large hand with both of mine, trying to break free. The other two people joined in, one grabbing my arm and crossing it behind me, exerting so much force that I felt like my shoulder was going to dislocate. I shook my body violently, letting out muffled cries for help from my nose. The three people held me down with their six strong arms, leaving me no room to fight back.

  "Be honest with me!" A strange male voice.

  Who are these people? Are they also under Shu Yu's command? What do they want? Why do they want to catch me?

  In a panic, his mind was in a mess, and before he could clear his thoughts, he was hit heavily on the back of his neck and fainted.

  The smell of fresh soil... and also the fragrance of jasmine flowers... the sound of water... many people are talking... it's so noisy... let me sleep a little longer...

  A splash of cold water suddenly poured onto my face, entering my nostrils with each breath, and I curled up my body, coughing uncontrollably, instantly waking me up.

  Where is this? A forest? How did I end up here? My neck hurts so much.

  Closing her eyes and shaking her head vigorously, the blur in front of her gradually became clear.

  This is probably the woods behind the playground, I am surrounded by four girls wearing school uniforms and three men with a bad attitude. The leader of the girls is surprisingly Xiao Ran, she is standing tall with her head held high, a smirk on her face, her hands clasped together in front of her chest, looking at me with satisfaction as I lie on the ground. The other three girls seem to be her clones, their expressions and movements are identical. And those three thugs, they must be the ones who brought me here. So it turns out that Xiao Ran is behind all this, indeed, even if Zhang Ze Yu made things difficult for me in every way, he never really laid a hand on me, the only person with reason to hate me is Xiao Ran.

  I stood up, brushed off the fallen leaves stuck to my school uniform, and calmly looked at Xiaoran. Everyone else was oblivious, so that piece of paper must have been meant for me by Xiaoran.

  "Don't think you're impressive just because Yú Gē is backing you!" Xiǎo Rǎn said disdainfully. "I want you to leave him right now!"

  "I've said it before, this isn't what I wanted, and I want to leave." She spoke lightly, not wanting to get entangled with them too much. "As long as you can make him stop bothering me."

  "Although I really dislike you, as long as you agree to one thing for me, I won't make things difficult for you." She raised the corner of her mouth and looked at me with a tilted neck, "Otherwise... my brothers have been holding back for a long time, and I'm worried that there's nothing good to repay them. You'd better think carefully!"

  I glared with wide eyes, what did Xiaoran mean by her words? I turned to look at those three extremely disgusting faces, and saw a hungry wolf-like glow in their eyes. I took a step back, biting my lip in disgust.

  I stared into her eyes, trying to remain calm and wait for what came next.

  "I want you to go tell Yu..." She said halfway, her cold and gloomy laughter sounded, then continued: "You're done."

  "What?" I gasped, looking at her still exquisite face, shaking my head heavily, "No! I can't say that!"

  "If Ryo knew, he would let you go. Isn't that what you want?" She said with a smile, as if negotiating a deal, "Or are you really willing?"

  "Wait... wait a minute!" I looked at the men walking towards me with a licentious smile in terror, "No, Xiao Ran! Even if I said it, Ze Yu wouldn't let me off, he doesn't like me, so why would he care about these things? I've said before that he just wants to humiliate me!"

  Xiao Rong's face still had a scornful smile, gradually walking towards me, with a lazy tone: "I don't care what you say, if you're not willing to agree, then I won't be able to help you!"

  She gave a signal to the three men, and they walked up to me with big strides. Strong hands grasped my shoulders and arms, I struggled desperately, my hands were twisted behind my back, and the joints made a "crack" sound, it hurt so much! Xiao Rang walked up to me at this time, and gave me another loud slap in the face, accompanied by a cold laugh.

  "Have you thought it through? I'll give you one more chance." The indifferent voice, this wasn't the Xiao Rang I knew at all. In fact, hadn't been for a long time already.

  A surge of resentment suddenly welled up in my heart. Why should I always be the one to lower my head and yield? To Zhang Ze Yu, and to Li Xiao Ran as well. Damn it! Just because I haven't been a good older sister for many years, does that mean I deserve to be bullied by you all? My anger flared up, and like a madwoman possessed, I wildly turned around and bit down hard on the hand holding me. With a loud yelp, the hand released its grip in pain. I lifted my shoe tip and viciously kicked at the slippers beside me, each kick landing with precision. The hands grasping my arm also let go instantly, and clutching at their foot, they jumped up and down on the spot.

  "Damn it!" One of the men, covering his bloody hand, rushed towards me in a rage. I frowned and waited for an opportunity. He reached out to grab my arm, and immediately I kicked him hard in the crotch with my foot. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain. My sharp eyes caught sight of a thick wooden stick under a nearby tree. I walked over calmly, picked it up, and began to play with it in my hand while staring fearlessly at the group of people.

  "Who else wants to come up?"

  Three main forces have dispersed, leaving only four female students with a look of astonishment on their faces. Their eyes turned to Xiao Ran, who was holding back her fear, with an incredulous expression that was quite comical.

  "Let's go!" After a brief stalemate, Xiao Ran spoke up, turning around with her head still held high. The three men glared at me fiercely, but were no longer as arrogant, hunching their backs and limping along behind her.

  It wasn't until they had disappeared from view for a while that I cautiously emerged, still gripping the wooden stick tightly in my hand. What if they were just lying in wait or had gone to find reinforcements? In that case, I would really be in trouble. After all, I was just a weak woman, and the chances of me emerging victorious again in another sudden burst of violence were practically zero.

  As I walked out of the woods, a tall black figure suddenly appeared beside me. My conditioned reflex made me strike down with my wooden stick, but his palm caught it firmly. Sure enough, there was an ambush! With a tense lift of my head, the pure white moonlight that had just peeked out from behind the dark clouds illuminated his face - Ji Dong!

  I breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and lightly punched his shoulder with my fist. He was panting heavily, as if he had just finished intense exercise, and there was also a hint of joy in his eyes when they met mine. Running into an acquaintance suddenly made me feel at ease, only then did I realize that my whole body was sore and my hands and feet were completely out of energy.

  "Rice! Are you okay? You scared me to death!" He stretched out his long arms and hugged me, I also happily put my hands on his shoulders. Another time, breaking through the difficulties and breathing in the free air, it feels great! And this time, I'm really reborn!

  In the excitement, I saw a black shadow standing behind Ji Dong, ghostly under the moonlight, with eyes reflecting a bright light, and in the interplay of light and shadow, his expression could not be seen.