Chapter 10: Wanting to Know the Answer

Xu Yannuo: “Get it yourself.”

The erasers were custom-made at the beginning of the semester by a parent for ceremonial purposes—pink for girls, blue for boys, each engraved with the student’s name and ID number.

After Chen Ci took Xu Yannuo’s eraser, he glanced at the back of that Li-something guy sitting in the front row of the neighboring group, took aim, and hurled the eraser with precision and force, smacking the boy squarely on the back of his head.

Then, leaning back in his chair with a smirk, he settled in to enjoy the show.

When he came to see him yesterday, he was dawdling and nagging endlessly. So if he comes over later and keeps pestering, will Xu Yannuo react the same way as that night?

If he does, it would be the perfect opportunity to teach this annoying idiot a lesson!

Thinking of this, Chen Ci smiled.

As Chen Ciyi had anticipated, that Li guy immediately turned around angrily after being hit, shouting arrogantly, “Damn it, who the hell is it? Don’t you have eyes? You dare hit me!”

Seeing that no one paid him any attention, he bent down to pick up the eraser on the floor. Recognizing it as Xu Yannuo’s, he slammed the table and stood up abruptly, then told his deskmate, “Move aside.”

After that, his deskmate immediately stood up and gave him the seat—apparently, it wasn’t all just talk.

Afterward, that Li whatever-his-name-was angrily took a shortcut and walked straight to Xu Yannuo’s desk. Seeing that Xu Yannuo ignored him and continued lowering his head to memorize vocabulary, his temper flared even more. He flung an eraser onto Xu Yannuo’s English book, “Are you fucking studying yourself stupid or just blind? Where the hell are you throwing that? You hit the back of my head—didn’t you see?”

When Xu Yannuo still showed no reaction, he slammed his hand hard on the desk again, “I’m talking to you! Are you mute or deaf? Think about how you’re gonna apologize—did you hear me or not?”

Chen Ciyi sat leisurely to the side, twirling a pen in his hand, with little interest in watching Li Whatever stand there showing off. His gaze remained fixed on Xu Yannuo’s face, curious to see how she would react to being bullied at school—whether she could keep up her act.

Before him, Xu Yannuo’s face paled momentarily when she heard the loud “clang” of Li Whatever standing up and shoving the desk. After that, there was no further reaction.

In the front row, Zhao Ying and Zhang Qi quietly encouraged each other before mustering the courage to turn back and look at Li Wei. “Li Wei, don’t be angry. Maybe… just let it go. Nuo Nuo… she’s usually so timid, she definitely… didn’t mean it.”

Zhang Qi chimed in beside him, “Right, right, Li Wei, definitely not.”

So his name was Li Wei.

Chen Ciyi finally withdrew his gaze from Xu Yannuo’s face, his handsome brows lifting slightly as he looked at Li Wei. “I saw her hit you with my own eyes. Did she have a problem with you or something?”

This spark ignited Li Wei on the opposite side, and since Xu Yannuo had always been invisible in class, Li Wei now felt even more unrestrained in venting his anger. He grabbed Xu Yannuo by the collar of her school uniform, forcing her to stand up abruptly. The sudden movement caused her to slam into the desk in front, producing a dull thud. The impact sent pencil cases and exercise books tumbling to the floor, accompanied by startled gasps from nearby girls.

At this moment, the entire class fell silent, all eyes turning toward them, yet no one stepped forward to intervene—they simply watched in silence.

Xu Yannuo was forcibly pulled up to stand, with her school uniform collar still gripped in someone’s hand. If she didn’t fight back to break free, she could only remain stiff in this position, her toes barely touching the ground—extremely uncomfortable.

She inwardly cursed “fuck” and clenched her fists tightly. But then she thought, if she fought back now, her school life would become even more turbulent. She didn’t care about her own peace, but the teacher would definitely call Cheng Yun.

Cheng Yun’s injuries hadn’t fully healed yet. Xu Cheng hadn’t come home for three days, and she had just relaxed for those three days. Xu Yannuo really didn’t want to make Cheng Yun worry or feel sad because of her again—her life was already hard enough.

Xu Yannuo glanced around the classroom at the other students. They were all just sitting quietly, watching Li Wei throw his tantrum. Several minutes had passed since it started—even if they hadn’t reacted at first, they should have by now. Yet no one stepped in to stop it, no one went to report to the teacher, and apart from Zhao Ying and Zhang Qi, not a single person spoke up in her defense.

Xu Yannuo suddenly remembered the neighbors in the building. When Xu Cheng was beating Cheng Yun, it was impossible for the neighbors not to hear, especially the door banging in the middle of the night. Yet, no one ever came to help Cheng Yun. Even when they met afterward, not a single neighbor asked how she was doing. Before, they would at least exchange nods, but after Cheng Yun was beaten, even that basic courtesy disappeared.

Is this reality? Everyone chooses silence, whether neighbors or classmates. Because they’re not close, because the pain isn’t theirs, they all choose to turn a blind eye. This society is like this—everyone thinks it’s better to avoid trouble, that having gossip and entertainment is enough.

Xu Yannuo took a deep breath to calm herself down. Being bullied and apologizing—wasn’t that just a common occurrence in middle school? What was the big deal? She had long grown accustomed to it, hadn’t she? With a bitter smile, she softly spoke, “I know I was wrong. I’ll be more careful in the future. Please let me go, okay?”

Seeing Xu Yannuo give in, Chen Ciyi slightly furrowed his brows, completely unprepared for such a cowardly reaction from her. He couldn’t understand what she was trying to hide, even after being bullied to this extent.

Across from him, Li Wei remained relentless, even pushing his luck further, acting like some cringey big brother straight out of an idol drama.

It’s no wonder his reaction today was more intense than yesterday—Chen Ciyi hadn’t held back at all when hitting him to gauge Xu Yannuo’s response. It clearly didn’t look like an accidental misfire.

Li Wei grabbed Xu Yannuo with one hand while pointing at her with the other, angrily ranting nonstop, “What good is an apology? You already hit me—think saying sorry just wraps it up? Should I beat you up too and then apologize afterward?”

Xu Yannuo stared at him, too fed up to endure his whining. “If you’re going to hit me, hurry up. The teacher will be here soon.”

Li Wei froze for a moment, provoked and about to act when a dull thud of books hitting the doorframe echoed from the entrance, followed by Sister Hua’s furious voice, “What are you doing? What the hell are you all up to? Just a moment away and you’re already going wild, aren’t you!”

“What are you doing, Li Wei? Why aren’t you staying in your own seat? What are you doing over by Xu Yannuo?” Sister Hua looked at Li Wei, who had already quickly let go of Xu Yannuo and was now squatting on the ground picking up Xu Yannuo’s books.

“It’s nothing, teacher. Xu Yannuo dropped her workbook, and I came over to help her pick it up,” Li Wei explained with a smile.

“With two people sitting between you, was it really necessary for you to go out of your way to pick up a book?” Sister Hua naturally looked at Xu Yannuo with disbelief. “Yannuo, tell me, what’s really going on?”