Chapter 65: Maintain

When she came to her senses, Zhang Lu's heels left the ground, a suffocating feeling came from her neck, and in her panic she met a pair of pitch‑black, icy eyes; the owner's gaze stared at her like cold frost, making the hairs on her back stand up involuntarily.

"Shu... Shu Lingchen, what are you doing?" She had never been treated like this by Shu Lingchen before, and she felt a little panicked.

"What are you doing?" the boy snorted coldly: "Don't you know your mouth stinks? It's like the rotten mud in a stinky ditch; you can smell it from far away."

"You like to badmouth people, huh?" Then Shu Lingchen's gaze swept over Zhang Lu's face, his voice not low: "Don't you look in the mirror when you get up every day? With your square face, flat nose, sausage lips, and eyes not even half the size of Pei Muyin's, how dare you comment on others' looks?"

Hearing Shu Lingchen say that, everyone instinctively glanced at Pei Muyin beside them.

Actually, no need to look closely; the girl's peach‑blossom eyes are gorgeous beyond words, her skin is as smooth and flawless as milk, and the baby fat on her cheeks is cute and endearing.

In Zhang Lu's mouth, she made Pei Muyin sound terribly inadequate, but in fact, looking at Zhang Lu herself, she really is just as Shu Lingchen said.

After Shu Lingchen "changed his hairstyle," he didn't realize that, behind the label of school bully on the school forum, he had gained another label: a real handsome guy.

He's genuinely handsome.

Under the boy's short hair, his whole face was revealed, his features sharp and his bone structure superior; he wore just a plain white T‑shirt and black long pants, one hand lazily in his pocket, the other hand with long, slender fingers holding a can of cola as he walked by.

Occasionally, when he talked with the person next to him about something interesting, the corner of his mouth curled into a smile, cool and handsome, making it hard to look away.

As the saying goes, one's worldview follows one's features.

Recently, many people inside have been asked by female friends from other schools to get Shu Lingchen's contact information.

Good‑looking people draw attention with every move; now, hearing him evaluate Zhang Lu this way, the people from Class 1 and Class 12 who gradually gathered around stared at her with amused looks, and murmurs began.

For example:

"A student from Class 1 said: "Zhang Lu really isn't good‑looking, always following Chu Lian around as if she were some big shot; I've seen her more than once in the QQ group, either complaining about this or that."

"Hahaha, laughing my ass off, pretending to be the Eldest Young Lady's little lackey, loving to point and gesture at classmates, really taking herself seriously, I'm done."

"Also a girl from Class 12 said: "Is this girl crazy? Pei Muyin is so gorgeous, you don't know—when Lao Liu brought her to our class that day, I really wanted to ask her how her skin can be so good, and she looks soft and tender, so cute."

"I'm going to take a photo of this Class 1 girl, post it on the forum, open a thread just to roast her—hey, look here, eggplant~"

Everyone looked at Zhang Lu with disdain, pointing and gossiping.

Shu Lingchen had never targeted a girl like this before; obviously he was truly angry this time.

For those who love to talk behind backs and bully the weak while fearing the strong, the best way to deal with them is to drag them in front of everyone and let them experience this feeling themselves.

Zhang Lu's face flushed red with shame and anger; she couldn't even cover her face in time before the camera.

"How, you also feel bad now?" Shu Lingchen sneered, glancing at Zhang Lu's face, which looked like a palette, grabbed her collar like holding a chick, and dragged her to Pei Muyin's front: "Apologize!"

Being talked about was already embarrassing; as soon as Zhang Lu heard the demand to apologize, she immediately resisted: "Why should I apologize? I didn't say anything wrong!"

She couldn't break free, fuming: "Shu Lingchen, you're protecting her so much, saying you have no relation—who would believe that?!"

"Of course I'm related to her—" Shu Lingchen openly admitted, then said word by word: "I tell you, I'm her brother, she's my sister; whoever dares to bully her, I'll fucking kill them!"

Actually, Pei Muyin has heard similar words from Zhang Lu many times; each time, she instinctively lowers her head, wanting to curl up, like a hedgehog burying its head in its belly.

Because no one would protect it, it can only rely on this method to give itself a sense of safety.

But this time, as it covered its ears, nervously waiting for the danger to pass, it heard a voice full of reassurance say, "Hey, don't be scared, that monster has already been chased away by me."

Then Pei Muyin's hearing returned, and she heard that sentence: "I'm her brother, she's my sister; whoever bullies her, I'll fucking kill them."

She couldn't help but look up, seeing the boy's determined profile.

Pei Muyin's gaze was dazed; suddenly she felt that, if she lost that basketball bet just now, it might actually not be so bad.

"Brother...?"

She had certainly seen other classmates with older brothers before.

But this was the first time Pei Muyin felt a real, substantive sense of that title.

"Brother," meaning a sense of security.

Shu Lingchen pressed Zhang Lu's head: "I'll say it again—apologize!"

Zhang Lu fumed: "Shu Lingchen, treating me like this, aren't you afraid Xiao Lian will have objections? She'll get angry at you and never want to see you again!"

Then she heard Shu Lingchen not hesitate at all, giving a cold snort: "Tch, who cares."

Even if, let's say, Shu Lingchen still cared now, he would never let Chu Lian cause him to wrong Pei Muyin; he had personally promised his mother that he would protect his sister well.

"..." Zhang Lu widened her eyes, as if she couldn't believe that Shu Lingchen said he'd let go of Xiao Lian and just let go.

At that moment, a group of people who had been playing ping‑pong, Bo Luo Zai and company, ran over and asked what was going on.

After hearing the whole story, Bo Luo Zai tossed his racket into someone's arms, rolled up his sleeves in anger, and shouted at Zhang Lu: "You little brat, do you really think our Class 12 has no one? You dare to come and bully someone from our class!"

"Chen Ge, let go, hand her over to me, I'll teach her how to behave."

Shu Lingchen frowned slightly, glanced at him: "Don't use foul language."

"?" Bo Luo Zai: "I didn't say anything foul."

More and more people gathered around; almost all of Class 12 had arrived, and quite a few from Class 1 also came.

Zhang Lu's face turned pale as she was surrounded in the middle by Bo Luo Zai and his group.

Everyone from Class 12 stared at Zhang Lu with a tiger‑like gaze, while not a single person from Zhang Lu's class spoke up for her.

In short, if she doesn't apologize, she can't leave.

"I‑I'm going to call the teacher!" Zhang Lu thought this threat would work.

"Go ahead and shout." A Class 1 person said, recalling that day when they went to the office to turn in homework and accidentally overheard: "You don't even know how big a trouble you've stirred up, do you? Do you know what status Pei Muyin has? Her family donated a gymnasium to the school; you're talking trash about her—see if the teacher comes to help you or comfort her; just wait to get scolded."

"Don't say you're Xiao Lian's sidekick; chances are, even if Xiao Lian came, she wouldn't be enough to look at in front of Pei Muyin."

"If you don't hurry up and apologize, do you still think the black reputation we've brought to Class 1 isn't enough—"