Someone’s being beaten.

During evening self-study, someone called from the classroom door, “Mu Qingxi, someone’s looking for you.”

Mu Qingxi looked up and replied, “Oh, I know.” She got to her feet and went out, wondering who would seek her out at this hour.

She hadn’t found anyone yet when she heard a voice: “Mu Qingxi, can we talk for a bit, under the plane trees you like?” It was Wang Feiyan. Didn’t she need to be at university? Why did she keep coming back every few days?

Mu Qingxi nodded, and the two walked one after the other. Her heart was uneasy; Wang Feiyan always gave off a bad feeling. Whatever she was here for, it couldn’t be good.

The plane trees beneath the bright white lights were beautiful, but Mu Qingxi had no mind to admire them. Her thoughts were all on Wang Feiyan.

“Mu Qingxi, I really hate you!” Before Mu Qingxi could steady herself, Wang Feiyan began, “Mu Qingxi, you’re so fake, so coy and manipulative! Aren’t you disgusted with yourself? You say you don’t like them, so why do you keep getting close to them? Do you really expect me to believe you?”

Mu Qingxi said nothing, just stared at the ground, listening to Wang Feiyan’s tirade: “Mu Qingxi, say something! Do you think by staying silent you can deny the truth?”

Mu Qingxi had not expected this kind of hysteria from Wang Feiyan. She thought Wang Feiyan would speak quietly, gently, maybe linger for a while, not shout at her outright.

Coldly, Mu Qingxi replied, “Enough, Wang Feiyan. Whether I’m disgusting or not is none of your business, but whether you’re disgusting—that’s for me to say.”

Wang Feiyan sneered, looking at her. “And what are you, Mu Qingxi? Who are you to judge me? Isn’t Fan Hao just using you for fun?”

“Wang Feiyan, what exactly did you come here to say tonight?” Mu Qingxi asked impatiently.

Wang Feiyan fell silent. Mu Qingxi turned to leave, but was yanked back. She turned and looked at Wang Feiyan, “Miss Wang, if you have something to say, say it quickly.”

“Mu Qingxi, you’re such a little slut! What did your mother teach you?”

A sharp slap cracked through the air.

Wang Feiyan clutched her face with one hand, her other hand gripping Mu Qingxi’s wrist hard—so hard it hurt.

“Mu Qingxi, how dare you hit me? You really are a little slut! What kind of parents raised you to be like this?” Wang Feiyan glared at her with murderous fury, spitting each word with venom.

Mu Qingxi leaned in, eyes narrowed, then suddenly jerked her knee up into Wang Feiyan’s stomach.

With a muffled thud, Wang Feiyan doubled over, coughing and gasping.

Finally, Wang Feiyan released her grip on Mu Qingxi’s wrist. Mu Qingxi was certain her wrist would be bruised, it ached so much. Shaking out her hand, she looked at Wang Feiyan and said, “Wang Feiyan, mind your mouth. Do you think I’m made of clay for you to mold as you please? Do you think I’m Fan Hao or Xi Haifei, willing to let you insult me?”

Wang Feiyan was crying now, sobbing bitterly, yet her words remained harsh: “Mu Qingxi, what gives you the right? Haifei likes you, and now even Fan Hao, who used to like me, likes you too. What does that make me? You’re nothing but a fox spirit, a whore!”

Mu Qingxi’s gaze turned icy as she stared at Wang Feiyan. “Wang Feiyan, do you believe I won’t tear your mouth apart?”

“Hmph. You think I’m afraid of you? Mu Qingxi, you’ll be expelled for this, not me. Ha! Ha!” Wang Feiyan’s madness left Mu Qingxi with only one thought: to give her a beating, to leave her half-crippled if not worse.

And that was exactly what she did.

They fought. Wang Feiyan was too weak to land a blow but had plenty of strength to throw curses, vile words that made one’s blood boil, until at last she slumped against the plane tree.

Mu Qingxi was about to slap her again, to silence those insults, when a voice called out.

“Mu Qingxi, stop!”

But her hand had already struck. Now, looking at Wang Feiyan’s face—red and swollen on both sides at last, perfectly symmetrical—Mu Qingxi gave a mocking smile.

She raised her hand, then turned to face the group that had arrived: Xi Haifei, Fan Hao, and their usual followers.

Mu Qingxi sneered, “Well, what is this? Are you all here to back her up?”