The leader, a boy with dyed gray hair, reached out and roughly brushed the dust off Jiang Xianzhuo’s shoulder, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.
“Young Master Jiang, this school uniform isn’t cheap. What a shame to get it so dirty.”
“Why don’t you take it off and let us brothers wash it for you?”
Another round of raucous laughter erupted around them, filled with undisguised malice.
Shen Zhili stood not far away, watching as Jiang Xianzhuo remained at the center of this hostility, his back still straight and unwavering.
Her heart suddenly tightened, as if someone had stomped on it.
Jiang Xianzhuo lowered his eyes, his thick, long lashes casting a faint shadow on his overly pale skin.
After a long moment, he finally raised his head.
In those narrow, beautiful eyes, there was none of the anger everyone had expected, nor even a trace of humiliation.
There was nothing.
Only a dead stillness.
“Get lost.”
His voice was soft, yet carried a chilling undertone.
The smile on the gray-haired boy’s face instantly froze, as if he had been publicly slapped.
He paused for a second before a wave of shame and anger surged to his head, turning his entire face a deep, purplish red.
“What did you say?!”
“Say it again if you dare!”
He roared, reaching out to grab Jiang Xianzhuo’s collar.
Shen Zhili’s brows instantly furrowed, her feet involuntarily stepping forward.
However, Jiang Xianzhuo was faster.
He sidestepped the grabbing hand, his leg moving so swiftly it left only a blur as he mercilessly kicked the gray-haired boy in the knee.
The entire motion was clean and precise, without a single wasted movement.
“Ah!”
The gray-haired boy screamed, collapsing to his knees.
The surroundings fell silent.
Everyone was stunned.
The laughter, the mockery, the whispers—all of it came to an abrupt halt.
Jiang Xianzhuo slowly retracted his leg.
He looked down at the person kneeling on the ground in pain, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.
“I told you to get lost.”
Jiang Xianzhuo’s voice was still soft.
But this time, it sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
The gray-haired boy clutched his throbbing knee, humiliation and fury turning his face crimson, veins bulging on his forehead.
“You… you bastard…”
“What, still want to fight?”
Jiang Xianzhuo interrupted him, tilting his head slightly, a sickly smile appearing on his excessively handsome face.
“Then come at me together.”
As he spoke, those dead eyes swept over everyone around him who had once mocked him.
There was no warmth in his gaze, as if he were looking at a group of lifeless objects.
Shen Zhili stood not far away, watching this scene, her heart pounding wildly.
She remembered now.
Jiang Xianzhuo had never been the kind of weakling who would let others bully him.
He was just enduring it.
Grinding all his hatred and resentment into dust, burying it deep within his bones and blood, waiting for the day he could reclaim it all with interest.
But those who bullied him didn’t know that.
They only saw him as an easy target—a bastard son—using the most vicious words and the most despicable means to trample and humiliate him again and again… until one day, the façade could no longer contain his hatred.
Shen Zhili’s breathing grew uneven.
She suddenly remembered the man from years later, dressed in a custom-tailored high-end suit, elegantly seated in the chair that symbolized absolute power, a cigarette held between his slender fingers.
He narrowed his eyes, watching her through the swirling smoke, his gaze unfamiliar and dangerous.
“Shen Zhili, guess why I came back?”
She felt a chill run down her spine under his stare, unable to utter a single word.
Jiang Xianzhuo chuckled to himself.
“Because I want every single person who once humiliated me to kneel down and beg me.”
He paused, cigarette ash falling onto the expensive carpet, but he paid it no mind.
“Including you.”
Back then, hearing those words, she only thought he had gone mad, turned into a complete monster.
But now, standing here, witnessing firsthand everything Jiang Xianzhuo endured in his youth, Shen Zhili finally understood.
He wasn’t insane.
He was just filled with hatred.
Shen Zhili pulled back her chaotic thoughts.
She took a deep breath and stepped toward the center of the square.
Her high heels clicked crisply against the ground.
All eyes turned toward her.
The gray-haired boy who had been kneeling on the ground wailing moments earlier brightened at the sight of Shen Zhili. He scrambled to his feet, clutching his knee as he limped toward her.
“Miss Shen, please judge this fairly. This illegitimate child, he—”
“Shut up.”
Shen Zhili coldly spat out the two words, not even sparing him a glance from the corner of her eye.
She walked past him and stopped in front of Jiang Xianzhuo.
The young man slowly lifted his head.
Those narrow eyes stared directly at her, filled with undisguised coldness and a hint of hatred.
Shen Zhili froze for a moment.
Being looked at by Jiang Xianzhuo with such an expression felt truly unfamiliar.
This kind of gaze… as if she were an enemy.
Her throat tightened.
But she quickly suppressed all her outward emotions, forcing herself to maintain that aloof, indifferent expression.
“Your uniform is dirty.”
Jiang Xianzhuo said nothing.
He just kept staring at her, the coldness in his eyes deepening, as if waiting for her to say something even more hurtful and humiliating.
Under his gaze, Shen Zhili could barely maintain her composure.
She paused for a second, reached into her limited-edition bag, and pulled out a card.
“Go buy a new one.”
Without waiting for his reaction, she shoved the card into Jiang Xianzhuo’s hand, turned, and walked away.
The entire interaction lasted no more than five seconds.
Everyone around was stunned, their jaws hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.
What was going on?
What kind of twist was this?
Miss Shen… had she taken the wrong medicine?
Everyone in the school knew how much Shen Zhili despised illegitimate children, confronting and humiliating them at every opportunity with endless insults.
What had happened today?
Not only had she not kicked him while he was down, but she’d… even given him money to buy a new uniform?
The gray-haired boy was even more bewildered, standing frozen in place.
“Miss… Miss Shen, what are you—”
“Get lost.”
Shen Zhili, already some distance away, tossed the word over her shoulder without looking back.
Shen Zhiyu stood where he was, looking from Jiang Xianzhuo to Shen Zhili’s retreating figure, his face full of confusion.
He quickly jogged to catch up, leaning close to her and lowering his voice. “What’s wrong with you today…?”
Shen Zhili ignored him; her mind was in complete disarray.
The way Jiang Xianzhuo had looked at her moments ago left her feeling suffocated.
She walked quickly, her high heels tapping urgently and crisply against the ground.
Tap, tap.
Just like her completely out-of-control heartbeat.
Behind her, in the center of the square.
Jiang Xianzhuo remained standing where he was, motionless.
A cool sensation traveled from his fingertips, carrying a hint of unreal warmth.
He slowly lowered his head, his gaze falling on the card in his hand.
The card was pure black, its edges adorned with a thin gold border—clearly something of great value.
His fingers unconsciously tightened slightly.
After a long moment, Jiang Xianzhuo finally looked up again, toward the direction where Shen Zhili had long since disappeared.
The icy chill in the young man’s eyes, cold enough to freeze someone to death, had faded away at some point.
In its place was a deep, unfathomable confusion.
Shen Zhili…
What exactly had she been up to from last night until now?