Chapter 124: Third in the Grade……

September 1, Yu Yu hadn't gone to school for several days, being kept under house arrest at home, not allowed to go out, and also had no electronic devices.

This morning she finally went to school; Yu Father and Yu Mother learned from a student that on the night of August 31 she stayed at a male classmate's house.

Just a second before she arrived at class today, Yu Mother came to the school to cause a scene; everyone present knew……

Watching Mu Youyu's grim expression.

Jiang Liangjin had been watching her; seeing her poor complexion, his brows furrowed slightly.

Yu Ci and Gu Xingnan fell silent.

Below the message was also attached a surveillance video.

Mu Youyu took a deep breath, her trembling fingertips opening the last video.

The lighting in the footage was somewhat glaring; Yu Yu wore an off-white short-sleeve, carrying her backpack as she walked down the classroom corridor, her complexion pallid, head slightly bowed.

As she was about to approach Class 1 of Grade 10, her sleeve was suddenly grabbed.

It was a woman wearing high heels.

Mu Youyu had seen her several times at parent-teacher meetings; this was Yu Yu's mother, always dignified and graceful, and she spoke to her kindly.

But in the video now, the woman's hair was disheveled, her makeup half-smudged, and she was yanking hard at Yu Yu's clothing.

A sharp reprimand pierced the screen: "You said you'd been staying at a hotel these past few days—how did you end up at a man's house? Who told you to lie! How could I have borne such a shameless daughter!"

Yu Yu was pulled, stumbling, her body involuntarily leaning toward her mother.

She flinched, her pallid face full of panic, her voice halting as she defended herself: "Mom, I didn't—I just had nowhere to go; you won't let me go home… senior…"

"No place to go? At home we feed and clothe you, raising you white and plump, and you dare use that excuse! And you're still hanging out with some senior? I see you've grown wings and can't be reined in!"

"The senior was just helping me…"

Before she could finish, Yu Mother's other hand shot up and slapped her hard across the face.

Yu Yu's cheek instantly bloomed with a five-fingered red mark, her body staggering as she slammed into the wall.

"It's because of that green-haired dog of a man that your grades have dropped, isn't it?" Yu Mother stepped closer, her eyes fierce as if she wanted to devour her.

"I told you to stay away from those unsavory people, but you wouldn't listen! Now look—your grades have plummeted, and you've even learned to stay out all night and lie!"

"Holy shit! Class monitor!" a shocked and angry female voice suddenly rang out.

All that could be seen was a heavily made-up girl with a high ponytail striding forward, wearing a mid-length skirt and thick-soled shoes.

Mu Youyu recognized the high ponytail as Liu Wanwan's little follower, the one who had been bullied by Fu Qin before transferring schools and had urged her to beg for mercy.

"Who dares step forward!" Yu Mother snapped, turning her head and pointing at the several students gathering around; so angry they forgot all propriety.

The high-ponytail girl furrowed her brows, stepping in front of Yu Yu, her tone dissatisfied: "Auntie, let's talk this out—how can you just hit someone? She's still a student!"

The others watched the commotion, not wanting to get involved.

"Is this your pack of fox friends? They're far worse than whatever Mu, Liu Wanwan…"

Yu Yu lowered her head, her eyes flickering, "They're not my fox friends."

Yu Mother snorted coldly, her gaze sweeping over the high-ponytail girl blocking the way, then reached out to shove her aside: "I'm educating my daughter—what business is it of you outsiders to interfere?"

She shoved hard at the high-ponytail girl in front, but the girl didn't budge, still shielding Yu Yu.

A few other girls close to her also stepped forward, forming a line that subtly shielded Yu Yu in the middle.

"Is it because you've been hanging out with these friends, learning to date from them, that it's affecting your studies? Speak up!"

The high-ponytail girl's face darkened, and she spat out a torrent of vulgarities.

Yu Mother ignored the high-ponytail girl, instead yanking Yu Yu harder: "Good-for-nothing! How did I give birth to such a mute gourd! Before, you couldn't beat the Mu surname and Liu Wanwan, always settling for third place was fine enough! Now she's transferred, Liu Wanwan's become first, you're second—if you weren't first I could tolerate it, but now you've dropped to third! How can you be so unmotivated!"

"I've said it before—I'm doing my best…" her voice trembling with tears.

"Doing your best means staying out all night, running off to some wild man's place to fool around?" Yu Mother's eyes bloodshot, she reached to tug at Yu Yu's collar: "Today I'll strip your clothes off so everyone can see how shameless you are!"

The collar was pulled out of shape, revealing her slender neck.

"The class monitor is already impressive—her grades have always been in the top three of the grade, never dropping below!"

The high-ponytail girl, together with several sisters, hurriedly shoved Yu Mother aside.

Yu Mother, incredulous, shouted: "You dare lay hands on me? Yu Yu, aren't you going to stop them?"

Seeing her daughter show no reaction, she grew angry: "Then you might as well quit art! What girl studies this? It's also hurting your studies!"

Outside the screen, Mu Youyu saw this, her heart feeling as if something had violently wrenched it, pain nearly making her unable to breathe.

Since she met Yu Yu, Yu Yu has loved drawing; only after asking did she learn that Yu Yu had been self-taught all along—though the family was well-off, they hadn't enrolled her in cram classes, and later, seeing her genuine interest, Mu Youyu occasionally gave her a few pointers……

Yu Yu had said before that her family opposed her studying art; I never imagined the home situation was like this!

…After a long while, Yu Yu exploded, wrenching free from her mother's grasp.

While no one had yet reacted, she turned and, in a few steps, vaulted onto the hallway railing.

"Holy shit, Xiao Yu, calm down!"

The high-ponytail girl's face turned ashen with fright; she lunged to grab her, voice trembling: "This is the fifth floor! Jumping will get someone killed!"

The other sisters also urged her.

Yu Mother shuddered, a flash of panic crossing her eyes, then immediately steeled herself, gritting her teeth and shouting: "You dare jump! If you actually jump today, I'll disown you as my daughter!"

"Auntie, I've knelt for you—please stop!" the high-ponytail girl pleaded, tears streaming, "Please, don't provoke her any further!"

Yu Yu stood there, on the wall railing, her half-tied medium-length hair loosened and blown about by the wind.

Around her, a crowd of students had gathered, their gazes piercing her like needles.

The stares made Yu Yu both hurt and afraid, her eyes reddened, her throat releasing a broken shriek: "You think anyone wants to be your daughter?"

Yu Mother simply sat on the ground, clearly doubting Yu Yu would really jump: "What a misfortune for the family! How did the Yu household raise such a degenerate, good-for-nothing who can only manage third place? Hurry home with me… and as for art, you'd better never touch it again for the rest of your life!"

Yu Yu said nothing, shifting her weight forward a step; most of her feet were already hanging over empty air.

"Class monitor, calm down a bit! Calm down!" the high-ponytail girl extended a hand, inching close cautiously, afraid to provoke her: "Let's talk things over—don't do something stupid!"

Yu Yu neither spoke nor looked at her, merely gazing vacantly into the distance.

"Monitor, think about Wanwan sister, Cen sister..."

"Yu Yu's body moved slightly, a flicker passed in her eyes, but she still didn't turn back."

"Gaomawei got anxious, took a deep breath, 'Think about Mu sister...'"