Zhou Tian was a fat guy. Not only was he fat, but he also had a mouth full of yellow teeth, and his breath reeked when he spoke. Jiang Kewei looked at him and instantly felt nauseated.
How could someone like him be worthy of her?
“Eh? There’s another beauty? This year’s freshmen sure have a lot of pretty girls.”
Zhou Tian caught sight of Su Panyue and immediately forgot about Jiang Kewei. He stared at Su Panyue with lecherous eyes and walked over.
He had noticed Chen Luo, but since Chen Luo hadn’t stepped in for Jiang Kewei, he assumed he was just another coward like Xu Yi.
What was going on today? Why were all the pretty girls surrounded by losers?
“Little girl, such tender skin. Let me have a feel.”
He reached out with his greasy, pudgy hand. But just before he could touch her flawless face, a sharp pain shot through his wrist.
Chen Luo had gripped his wrist tightly!
Crack—
The sound of bone fracturing rang out, and Zhou Tian panicked.
“Let go! Let go!”
His voice trembled, carrying a tinge of a scream.
Su Panyue looked up at the boy shielding her. Her cheeks flushed, and her heart pounded wildly.
So this is what it feels like to be protected by the person you like…
Her heart felt sweet and tingly, like she was floating on clouds.
Only when Zhou Tian’s face twisted in pain did Chen Luo finally show mercy and released his grip.
Lin Mengyao rushed over and helped Zhou Tian up, whispering, “That’s Chen Luo and Su Panyue.”
Chen Luo and Su Panyue!
Zhou Tian was stunned.
These two were the most well-known figures at Jiangcheng No.1 High School!
He had only thought the new first-year students were easy to bully, which was why he dared act so wildly.
He never expected to run into Chen Luo and Su Panyue.
Let alone Chen Luo’s father being the richest man in Jiangcheng, even Su Panyue was someone he couldn’t afford to offend.
“So it’s Young Master Chen and Miss Su. I was blind just now. Please, don’t hold it against me. I hope you can be magnanimous and let it go!”
Zhou Tian’s attitude did a complete 180. Even though his wrist hurt so much that his face twisted, he didn’t dare utter a complaint.
How was he supposed to know this was Chen Luo?
So Chen Luo didn’t help Jiang Kewei earlier… because he didn’t care about her?
Chen Luo could win over a stunning girl like Su Panyue, so it was only natural he wouldn’t bother with someone like Jiang Kewei.
Su Panyue didn’t respond. She looked at Chen Luo instead.
Outside, she always listened to Chen Luo unconditionally.
Zhou Tian, a slick character who had been in society for years, immediately noticed this subtle gesture. He quickly added, “Young Master Chen, I won’t dare do it again. Please forgive me!”
“Which eye did you use to look at Panyue just now?” Chen Luo’s voice was cold.
Zhou Tian froze, a bad feeling creeping over him. “Both…”
“Then hit yourself twice,” Chen Luo said calmly but with an intimidating air. “Remember what you should and shouldn’t look at in the future.”
Zhou Tian didn’t dare refuse. He shut his eyes and punched himself hard twice, giving himself two black eyes.
He had no choice. If offending Chen Luo ended up ruining his father’s business deal with the Chen family, his father would beat him to death!
The Chen family was nothing like theirs. Chen Luo was an only child, spoiled to the extreme. A single word from him could determine the Zhou family’s fate.
“Get lost,” Chen Luo said.
Su Panyue snuggled up to Chen Luo, feeling like the air around them was filled with happiness.
To Zhou Tian, her submissive posture was shocking.
He’d heard of Su Panyue—famous for being cold and aloof, never paying attention to anyone. Yet in front of Chen Luo, she behaved like a docile little wife?
Damn, who wouldn’t be jealous?
No wonder he was Young Master Chen. He really did have the skills.
Zhou Tian and Lin Mengyao left one after the other.
Chen Luo gave Su Panyue a gentle smile, “Let’s go too.”
“Mm!”
In the biting wind, only Jiang Kewei remained standing in place.
Her eyes were wide, and she stood frozen for a long time.
What had just happened replayed in her mind like a movie scene.
Chen Luo didn’t help her.
Chen Luo helped Su Panyue.
Why?
She stood there dazed for a long time, then suddenly covered her mouth and ran off crying.
Chen Luo didn’t care at all about what Jiang Kewei was feeling inside.
He remembered clearly that something life-changing was about to happen soon.
That incident would become a turning point in his life.
No one would be foolish enough to stay a doormat forever. He got tired. And once he was tired, he wanted to quit.
The day Jiang Kewei asked him to apologize to Xu Yi, shattering his pride completely, was the first time he got angry at her.
Jiang Kewei had been frightened and cried her eyes out. Not long after, she fell ill.
He became the villain, forced to apologize in a low voice and beg for her forgiveness.
And even more absurd, Jiang Kewei was diagnosed with depression.
Song Qingyu spread it around the school, claiming Jiang Kewei got depressed because he broke her heart.
Suddenly, everyone was cursing him, calling him scum. They said he hurt the campus belle and ruined a pure and beautiful girl.
Sometimes even if someone did nothing wrong, if enough people said he did, he’d start to believe it himself.
Chen Luo blamed himself for Jiang Kewei’s depression. He thought he hadn’t done enough, that he had let her down. From then on, he became even more cautious, fulfilling her every request without asking for anything in return.
When he got home, Chen Luo lay on his big bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Being able to make someone willingly act like a loyal doormat—that was a skill in itself.
It felt like he had fallen into Jiang Kewei’s trap, unable to escape, letting her lead him by the nose until his dignity and sense of self were completely worn away.
Once he lost his dignity, Jiang Kewei’s goal would be complete.
She was truly skilled.
As he was reflecting, a new message from Song Qingyu popped up on his phone.
—Jiang Kewei is sick. Are you happy now?
Chen Luo smiled.
The reason he hadn’t blocked Jiang Kewei and Song Qingyu immediately was because he’d been waiting for this moment.
Clearly, though his rebirth had shifted the course slightly, the overall trajectory of events still mirrored his past life.
Jiang Kewei still fell ill.
All because of him, the so-called scumbag.
But back then, he had taken care of her with utmost care, afraid her condition would worsen, even neglecting his studies. Yet that sick Jiang Kewei still managed to get second place in the first monthly exam.
So depression doesn’t affect academic performance?
Looking at the chat with Song Qingyu, Chen Luo knew that if he said one cold sentence now, by tomorrow he would be labeled a scumbag by everyone at Qinghe High School.
To think that back in 2000, when terms like “moral coercion” and “PUA” hadn’t even become popular, Jiang Kewei and Song Qingyu were already masters of the game.
So what should he do?
Of course…
Defeat magic with magic.