Jiang You headed downstairs with her three followers trailing beside her.
"Sister You, aren’t we going to the cafeteria?" Yu Lin asked, noticing this wasn’t the way there.
"We’re going to corner someone first." Jiang You’s lovely face was expressionless.
The System wanted her to force Zhou Yu into a relationship with her.
It was perfectly in line with her persona. Even with the bet against Yun Yue to see who could win over Zhou Yu first, the original owner of this body had never been the type to humbly pursue someone. Instead, her method of "pursuit" was to force herself upon them.
And now, Jiang You was about to do just that—aggressively pursue him.
However, Jiang You didn’t know which class Zhou Yu was in. She decided to wait for him along the main path students took after class; she was bound to catch him there.
"Which little bitch pissed off Sister You?" Yu Lin, not knowing the details, assumed someone had offended Jiang You. She was instantly indignant. "We’ll ruin her!"
"I made a bet to be the first to ’get’ a scholarship student within a month," Jiang You said, her voice calm and confident. "Don’t say a word about this to anyone. Wait until he’s my boyfriend."
"I get it!" Chen Yu realized at once. "Sister You has found a new toy. We’ll give you our full support!"
"Sister You, you’ll definitely be the one to get the scholarship student first!" Lin Xue added, sucking up mindlessly. "This is going to be fun!"
"Sister You, should we get Yang Qi and his gang of simps to help us corner the guy?" Yu Lin asked.
Jiang You fell silent for a moment. As the resident vicious rich girl, she naturally had a few thugs and simps at her beck and call. Yang Qi was one of those simps, and he had his own crew of followers.
"That won’t be necessary," Jiang You refused.
The System only said to "force" him, with no other specific requirements. That left Jiang You free to improvise.
"Alright!" The three followers thought nothing of it. They figured the scholarship student wouldn’t dare to do anything to them anyway, so they excitedly followed Jiang You.
「At a corner of the academic building.」
Lin Jie and his friends were lying in wait for Zhou Yu.
The moment Zhou Yu rounded the corner, Lin Jie and his cronies surrounded him.
The tall, slender boy was forced to a halt. He exuded an aura of cold detachment. Beneath his slightly long, messy black hair, one eye was covered by a square, white gauze patch. His other eye was a dark, murky orb that seemed to absorb all light, churning with unseen currents.
"Trash, don’t think I’m letting you off the hook. You actually dared to hit me last time? This isn’t over. I’m going to teach you a lesson so you learn not to disrespect Lin Jie!" Lin Jie took the cigarette from his mouth and moved to press the glowing scarlet tip against Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu flinched back instinctively, but two of the other guys grabbed his shoulders, holding him in place. "This is a gift from our Brother Jie," one of them sneered. "You’d better not refuse it!"
Lin Jie pressed the cigarette butt into the collar of Zhou Yu’s uniform. It burned a hole straight through, releasing a foul, scorching smell.
"I heard your mom’s a whore. Got gang-banged in a nightclub and popped out a little bastard like you..." Lin Jie hadn’t even finished his deliberately vile taunt.
when Zhou Yu’s fist slammed into his face. The force sent Lin Jie stumbling to the side. He spat out a mouthful of blood, a tooth seemingly knocked loose.
"Fuck! Get him!" Lin Jie’s eyes turned savage.
In an instant, the others pulled out clubs and swung at Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu dodged one club but couldn’t evade the others. A baseball bat slammed hard against his back, making his slender frame stagger. Then, someone kicked him hard in the back of the knee.
He collapsed heavily to one knee, his fingers clawing at the pavement.
A sneaker stomped down hard on the back of his hand.
The boy’s jet-black eyes were impossibly dark, filled with a dead, hollow stillness.
His knuckles strained, like a caged beast pushed to its limit.
Sensing something, Zhou Yu lifted his gaze. His dark, cold eyes looked over in that direction.
A beautiful, enchanting girl was looking down on him, her expression aloof.
He was forced to his knees before another boy, and his dark, cold eyes began to burn with specks of crimson.
The boy’s pride flared into a furious, crimson humiliation.
’Why is it that every time I run into her, I’m in such a pathetic state?’
Jiang You was caught off guard by his gaze, and her heart gave a little tremble. She hadn’t expected to find the male lead being bullied before she even had a chance to corner him herself.
She knew that while the male lead was being bullied now, he would later use his hacking skills to get revenge on his tormentors.
Still, seeing it happen made her uncomfortable.
’These people are completely lawless, bullying others just because their parents are rich.’
’But I’m the villainess. I can’t just step in and save him.’
’But I have to complete the ’force’ mission.’
’Maybe I can use this situation.’
"What do you think you’re doing?" Jiang You’s voice was cold and haughty as she addressed Lin Jie and his crew. "He’s my person to bully. Did I give you permission to touch him?"
Lin Jie turned to look at Jiang You, whom he of course recognized. His gaze lingered for a moment on her full, shapely chest. "Miss Jiang, have you taken a liking to this scholarship student?"
"Who do you think you are? Are you even worthy of speaking to me?" Jiang You said, making a point to advance her mission. "Don’t waste my time. You all can scram. He stays. I need to talk to him."
’This way, the System will think I’m carrying out the ’force’ mission, not saving him.’
’Of all the rotten luck! I come to corner the male lead, only to run into another group already doing it!’
Lin Jie’s expression stiffened, but he couldn’t afford to provoke someone of Jiang You’s status. He could only force a smile and ask, "May I ask what business Miss Jiang has with him?"
Jiang You didn’t say a word. Her three highly-effective followers launched a verbal assault for her.
"Does our Sister You need to report her plans to you? Who the hell do you think you are!" Yu Lin shouted, her attitude even more arrogant than Jiang You’s. "Are you deaf? When we tell you to scram, you scram! Stop wasting our time with your bullshit!"
"That’s right! Didn’t your mother give you ears when you were born? If they don’t work, go get them fixed! Why are you still here embarrassing yourself!" Chen Yu sneered.
"Our Sister You isn’t someone you can afford to mess with. Scram now if you know what’s good for you!" Lin Xue added, her tone even more insolent.
’Jiang You had to admit, her followers had way more firepower than she did.’
Lin Jie’s expression turned ugly, but he could only force a smile. "We’ll get going, then."
His was a red brooch.
Jiang You remained silent.
Lin Jie led his crew away, a sinister glint in his eyes.
’Just because she was lucky enough to be born into the right family. So arrogant.’
Jiang You walked slowly toward Zhou Yu. His hand was still pressed to the ground—long, slender fingers with tense, prominent knuckles, stomped red and seeping blood, now caked with dust.
Zhou Yu stared at the small leather shoes before him and the delicate gold chain on her snow-white ankle. A fresh wave of pain seemed to shoot through his tense, reddened knuckles, and his fingers trembled, flinching almost imperceptibly.
The exquisite shoes formed a stark contrast with his hand, which was scarred, muddy, and taut with protruding knuckles.
His lips pressed into a thin line. His throat felt raw. He lowered his cold, crimson-tinged eyes.
’Zhou Yu was still kneeling pathetically, and as the villainess, Jiang You certainly couldn’t help him up.’
Jiang You adjusted her expression, looking down her nose at him as she spoke:
"Hey, Zhou Yu. I’ve decided I like you. From now on, you’re my boyfriend."