All three of them were startled into a shiver.
One of the red-haired non-mainstream youths could no longer shirk his responsibility and stepped forward as if marching to his execution.
“S-Sorry, Lu Shiyin. We are not human. We should not have bullied you just because you lacked a background. And as for those rumors and photos, we failed to distinguish right from wrong and were used by others. We did not mean it.”
“And for causing you to get hurt and leaking your personal information so that you were harassed by others, it is our fault. I am sorry.”
“I am sorry! Please forgive us!”
As soon as the red-haired youth finished speaking, the other two non-mainstream youths chimed in unison.
Lu Shiyin did not give them the reaction they wanted. The insults, cyberbullying, and harassment suffered by the original owner could not be undone by a single apology.
Beside him, Lu Shijian let out a cold snort. “Such an insincere apology? If apologies were useful, what would we need the police for? Shall I send you all in to reflect and get an early taste of government-funded room and board?”
“S-Sorry, President Lu! We all know we were wrong. We will go back today and issue a public apology, clarify the truth, and clear Young Master Lu’s name. Young Master Lu, we are sorry, we did not do it on purpose.”
“When we go back, we will film an apology video. We will release every single version: text, PPT, video, speech, and foreign language editions. From now on, whenever anyone speaks ill of Young Master Lu, we will be the first to charge into the front lines.”
A yellow-haired youth stepped forward.
“Or perhaps, Young Master Lu, you can beat us up to vent your anger. We will never fight back, and if you get tired of hitting us, you can even use your feet to kick.”
“That is enough.” Lu Shiyin cut them off.
“I am not like you, and my hand still hurts, so I do not want to use violence.”
“I have forgotten many things, and I have almost no memory of the rumors, photos, and leaked information you are talking about.”
“However, from your fragmentary words, it is not hard to guess what you did.”
“I also do not want to forgive you. After all, the one who suffered the pain was the past me, and the current me without my memories cannot forgive you on his behalf.”
Just as those words fell, Lu Shiyin felt his hand being grasped and held increasingly tight.
Not paying attention to this small gesture, Lu Shiyin continued.
“You have not experienced this kind of harm, nor can you comprehend the pain of the victim. You must have felt quite smug while photoshopping those images, and quite smug while spreading those rumors, thinking that you would not have to bear any responsibility and that it did not matter what you did.”
“If I were not a member of the Lu family, and if you were not terrified of the Lu family’s retaliation, you would not be standing here right now. When it comes down to it, you are simply bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. Why should I forgive you?”
Hearing this, the three non-mainstream youths did not dare to utter a sound, keeping their heads lowered.
Having spoken so much all at once, Lu Shiyin felt his head start to spin.
Furthermore, the pain that the doctor had warned would come after changing the wound dressings seemed to be starting now.
A fiery burning sensation spread from his left arm, causing his right hand to involuntarily tighten its grip around the hand holding his.
Lu Shiyin tried to shift his focus and ignore the pain brought on by the wound.
He let go of Lu Shijian’s hand, picked up the water cup in front of him, and took a sip.
“What you did before, tell me the whole story from start to finish again.”
“O-Okay, I will tell it.”
A green-haired youth volunteered to speak.
“We did not know you at first. Someone online spread the word that you liked our Brother Jiang, and that is how we found out about you. Damned if I know who started it; if I find out, I will never let them go.”
The red-haired youth next to him tapped the green-haired youth on the waist to cut him off. “Less useless chatter.”
“Oh, right. Someone posted online that a computer science student liked our Brother Jiang, and our curiosity got the better of us since Brother Jiang has never been in a relationship.”
“But you know how Young Master Lu was before: you never spoke and just buried your head in your own work. Even when we deliberately knocked over your food tray to get your attention, you did not say a word and just quietly cleaned it up and left.”
“Later, Brother Jiang felt bad about it, so he came forward to apologize to you and even gave you things.”
“We thought, how could someone like you be worthy of our Brother Jiang? Even if you are good-looking, you are still a toad trying to add swan meat. Clearly, Brother Chen.”
“Ahem.”
“Oh, actually, this was all Chen Qingling’s fault. We were in the same class. He liked Brother Jiang, but he never confessed his feelings.”
“He also found out that Young Master Lu liked Brother Jiang, and he kept talking in front of us about how great Jiang Shu was, and how he should not have his reputation stained by your feelings.”
“Of course we thought the same way, so we kept coming over to mock you from time to time, saying in every possible way that you were not worthy of Jiang Shu. We did not hit you though, no we did not.”
“Later on, regarding the rumors, I think it was just Chen Qingling being jealous that Young Master Lu is good-looking, which made him feel threatened, so he had us spread those rumors and photos, saying that making Jiang Shu completely disappointed in you was just one of his goals.”
The green-haired youth said righteously, “Young Master Lu, we were also tricked by him. If it were not for him, we would not have done these things.”
After listening, Lu Shiyin did not reply. Right now, due to the dizziness in his head and the pain in his arm, he did not want to utter another single word.
Cold sweat had long since beaded across his forehead, and he had slumped against the sofa like a boneless creature, abandoning his earlier upright posture.
Not hearing his younger brother speak, Lu Shijian finally noticed Lu Shiyin’s abnormal state.
He leaned in closer and grasped Lu Shiyin’s hand.
“Xiaoyin, are you alright? Does the wound hurt?”
“Mm.”
Lu Shiyin nodded in response and did not say another word.
At this moment, Lu Shijian was itching to send him right back to bed to rest, but there were still a few eyesores in the way.
“Xiaoyin feels uncomfortable right now and does not want to listen to your hypocritical repentance. Get lost immediately. I want to see those several versions of your clarifying apologies by tomorrow. If even one is missing, I am very curious to see how your parents will clean up your messes.”
“Alright, alright, we are getting lost right now. Getting lost.”
As soon as they finished speaking, the few of them shoved past each other toward the doorway like they were being chased by a ferocious tiger.
They only dared to catch their breath after escaping the hospital.
“I mean, how come nobody mentioned that Lu Shiyin has such a massive background? Even my family is wealthy, and I have never seen such a luxurious hospital room. That has to be a VIP suite! Apart from the living room, there is even a gym and a swimming pool!”
“Who knew he was the younger brother of that richest man in City B? They hid it way too deep. Weren’t we just courting death before?”
“Stop talking. President Lu only told us to admit in front of Lu Shiyin that the arm injury was caused by us, and to make those apology videos. That is already considered letting us off easy.”
“How is that letting us off easy? I am going to be reprimanded by school leaders and lose face in front of the whole school. By then, my direct messages are definitely going to be full of insults. That bitch Chen Qingling.”
“Forget about him. We better figure out how to make those videos first. We need a PPT and foreign languages and so many versions. Why did you have to run your mouth like that?”
“You bunch of cowards, back then besides me, who else dared to step forward? If we do not show some sincerity, we are never getting out of this.”