They all turned their gaze toward Yan Juexia.
Yan Juexia stared blankly at the strawberry milk in his hand, wrapped in a delicate pink package.
It was still intact, not crushed or twisted from the fight.
It was even still cold.
Someone in the crowd couldn’t help but laugh: “Pfft!”
More and more laughter followed: “Ooh”
“Oh my”
“So sweet”
Yan Juexia’s face instantly flushed bright red. He glared at the crowd in embarrassment and anger: “What sweet or not sweet! It’s just milk! Haven’t you ever seen milk before?!”
His lackey snickered from within the crowd: “Prince, we’ve seen milk before, but this kind of milk? This is our first time seeing it!~”
The classmates burst into laughter: “Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
Yan Juexia, red as a ripe tomato, shook his fist: “I’ll beat you up! Get lost!”
The lackey ran off with a cheeky grin, and the onlookers gradually dispersed.
A few excited female classmates chatted as they walked away: “Li Zhiyin looked so cool when she was fighting!”
“Yeah, those long legs of hers are longer than my whole life! She didn’t hold back at all when kicking! Even though I feel bad for the two Li young masters, she was even cooler than them!”
“Her moves were so smooth and decisive! Absolutely awesome! I hereby declare she’s my husband from now on!”
“The way she stepped on those two young masters just now was so queen-like! So alpha!”
“I don’t think so. I think she looked her best when she walked back and gave Yan Juexia the milk. I’m definitely taking that scene to my grave!”
“A cold, ruthless combat machine and her delicate little prince—I’m totally shipping them!”
“Girls, just imagine the scene: while she was kicking people, she had strawberry milk tucked in her skirt to give to her sweetheart! During the fight, she probably had to be careful with the strawberry milk so her precious could still drink it!”
“Ahhh, how is that not love?! That’s definitely love!!”
“Stop, I’ll ship them too, okay?!”
Yan Juexia kept his head down, his whole body tense, deliberately trying not to listen.
But those excited discussions seemed to have legs, automatically finding their way into his ears.
His mind kept replaying the scene from earlier.
Li Zhiyin’s hand, wrapped in a tie, forcefully shoving the milk into his grasp.
His face burned fiercely. “I need to step out for a moment.”
Li Wuyou watched Yan Juexia walk away, then turned to the Li brothers: “Brother…”
Li Xinghao and Li Yanlang didn’t want to deal with her: “You’ve really disappointed us. We trusted you so much, thinking you didn’t do it, but you actually went this far.”
Li Wuyou’s face drained of color as she tried to explain: “I—”
The two didn’t wait for her to say more. Dejected, they stood up, clutching their sore spots, and walked away.
Li Wuyou was in too much pain to move, helplessly watching them leave.
Once outside the cafeteria, Li Xinghao was fuming: “How could Wuyou do something like this? Mom said last night that Wuyou was faking it. Could she really have been pretending?”
Li Yanlang didn’t respond, pulling out his phone to search for contacts.
Li Xinghao: “? Brother, what are you doing?”
Li Yanlang was looking for useful connections: “Today, we covered for Wuyou. Wuyou did hurt Li Zhiyin, and we were part of hurting her too. So we need to compensate her for her pencil case.”Li Xinghao was incredulous: “We hurt Li Zhiyin? It was Li Zhiyin who hurt us! Look at how she beat us up! I feel like I have her footprint on my forehead.”
Li Yanlang: “It’s not a feeling—you actually have a footprint on your forehead.”
Li Xinghao: “?”
Li Yanlang paused his typing and said coldly, “We got beaten up because we couldn’t win, not because we willingly let her hit us, right?”
Li Xinghao choked up and slumped dejectedly. “Yeah, that girl really knows how to fight. She’s a complete maniac, but she’s the victim, so it’s understandable that she hit hard.”
Her strength wasn’t actually greater than his, but she was agile and knew how to target his weaknesses, the ones he couldn’t guard against.
No wonder she was so talented.
If they had grown up together, how would things have been between them?
Li Zhiyin sat on the sofa in the medical room, resting with her eyes closed.
The long-haired man, wearing narrow black-framed glasses, stood with his hands in the pockets of his white coat, quietly watching her.
Li Zhiyin’s straight legs were bent, her dark pleated skirt draping smoothly over her thighs.
Her firm, slender calves were wrapped in dark mid-calf socks, and below them were spotless black loafers.
She looked exhausted, leaning her head against the sofa, one hand covering her eyes, the other hanging limply at her side.
The hand wrapped in a navy blue tie was silently bleeding.
No one knew she had also been injured in that fight.
Like a lone wolf licking its wounds, she quietly eased her discomfort.
He unconsciously licked his lips.
Observing her up close like this, he realized that this Li Zhiyin wasn’t just physically perfect—her appearance was beautiful too.
Even her demeanor and actions suited his preferences perfectly.
She was just a bit young.
Six years younger than him.
Li Zhiyin suddenly lowered the hand covering her eyes and looked at him impatiently. “Didn’t you say I was injured and needed immediate treatment? Why haven’t you started yet?”
The long-haired man snapped out of his admiration, frowning in slight annoyance.
He’d gotten lost in watching her again.
He picked up the iodine and walked over to her, unwrapping the tie from her hand.
The skin over her knuckles was torn and bruised.
Even the tie was slightly damaged.
Seeing this, his expression changed. “Those two boys have modified cybernetic bodies—parts of their bodies are made of metal. Fighting against metal, doesn’t it hurt?”
Li Zhiyin closed her eyes and replied succinctly, “It hurts.”
He was surprised. “If it hurts, why did you fight? Couldn’t you have waited until you modified your cybernetic body? Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years’?”
Li Xinghao and Li Yanlang, limping their way to the medical room door, stopped in their tracks upon hearing this and listened carefully.
Li Zhiyin also opened her eyes, giving the long-haired man a cold glare.
Her gaze then fell on his name tag.
Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng, seeing her icy stare, realized he had said too much and lowered his head to disinfect her wound.
If she didn’t like him talking, fine, but what was that look?
As if she despised him.
He was the world’s top Implant Expert—who didn’t treat him with respect outside?
Feeling resentful, Xiao Cheng applied the iodine cotton ball a bit too roughly, rubbing it against the back of her hand.
Li Zhiyin, seemingly unfazed by the pain, suddenly spoke. “The things Meng Xiaoyu and Li Wuyou destroyed were gifts from my late loved ones.”
Xiao Cheng paused, his movements immediately gentler.
Li Xinghao and Li Yanlang were stunned.
That pencil case?Li Zhiyin gazed out the window at the magpies flitting back and forth. “She saved up for a long time before she passed away to buy me this pencil case, hoping I could use it for school. She wanted me to see the gift she gave me whenever I looked up while studying. I promised her that if I could ever return to school, I would definitely use it.”
“I shouldn’t have kept that promise.”
Li Zhiyin’s brow furrowed slightly. “It’s my fault.”
Xiao Cheng was taken aback.
Outside, Li Xinghao and Li Yanlang leaned against the wall, lowering their heads in self-reproach.
“How could it possibly be your fault!” A crisp, youthful voice rang out.
The Li brothers turned in surprise to look behind them.
Yan Juexia, who had been standing behind them for who knows how long, pushed past them with annoyance and strode straight into the infirmary. “It’s Li Wuyou’s fault. Why are you blaming yourself? I won’t allow you to blame yourself!”