Chapter 25: Teasing
Holding a utility knife in one hand and a thermos in the other, Leng Qing Qiu returned to the classroom.
Putting down the blood-stained utility knife and the empty thermos, Leng Qing Qiu took off her school uniform jacket and checked the wound on her right arm.
A five-centimeter cut had been made in her white shirt, the flesh exposed, and blood was gushing from the gruesome wound.
“…”
Leng Qing Qiu frowned; the wound seemed to be more serious than she was letting on.
However, she had no intention of going to the infirmary immediately. Class was about to start, and she didn’t want to be absent.
She crudely bandaged the wound with her school uniform jacket and sat quietly in her seat.
Soon, as the bell rang, the teacher and the students who had been playing outside gradually returned to the classroom.
The trash can was right behind her, its foul odor completely covering the smell of blood. No one, neither the students nor the teacher, noticed that Leng Qing Qiu was bleeding.
Because of Leng Qing Qiu’s excellent academic performance, the teacher did not intend to trouble her. In fact, it should have been a disciplinary offense to wrap a school uniform around one’s arm like Leng Qing Qiu did.
If Lu Zhiyin had done this, she would have inevitably been thrown out of the classroom to write a self-criticism.
“…”
Without a word, Leng Qing Qiu pondered who had instructed those people to cause her trouble.
The only people she had offended at school were Lu Zhiyin and Long Qinxin. Her childhood friend could be ruled out; although she was changing, she hadn’t changed that much.
Thus, it could only be Long Qinxin.
“…Long Qinxin…Long Qinxin Yi Qiu Yi Qi Si Wu Jiu IV Zhou Ba…”
Silently reciting Long Qinxin’s name, Leng Qing Qiu clenched the blood-stained utility knife.
She harbored homicidal intent towards the person who was always lurking around her childhood friend.
“…Presumption of innocence. Later, I’ll round up those thugs and question them first.”
She shook her head. Although she had a general idea of who was behind it, Leng Qing Qiu decided to deal with those scummy thugs first.
They were all going to die anyway, so it didn’t matter who went first, did it?
Squinting her eyes, Leng Qing Qiu had a general plan for handling the matter.
She straightened her back and began to listen attentively to the lecture.
Time ticked by, and before long, school was over.
Leng Qing Qiu did not leave immediately. Instead, she sat in her seat for a while longer. Only when most people had left did she stand up.
It was better not to be discovered about her injury if possible.
She figured the thugs she had injured wouldn’t dare report it to the police, especially since they had been paid to cause her trouble in the first place.
Squinting her eyes and turning her head to look at her right arm, Leng Qing Qiu felt a sense of helplessness.
“Tsk… hasn’t the bleeding stopped…”
She shook her head and quickened her pace.
Upon arriving at the infirmary, she found no teacher present, which suited her even better.
She took a roll of bandages, quickly wrapped the wound on her arm tightly, grabbed a box of cold medicine, left some money, and headed out of the school gate.
Ballin up the blood-stained school uniform, Leng Qing Qiu quickened her pace, carrying the uniform and the cold medicine.
As she passed the school gate, Leng Qing Qiu saw the thugs.
“Don’t say anything,” she mouthed, walking past the thugs as if they weren’t there.
Five of them, not a small number. Leng Qing Qiu planned to deal with them over the weekend.
She didn’t care if they noticed her warning; it didn’t matter anyway.
Thinking this, Leng Qing Qiu sped up again.
By the time she reached her doorstep, she was already panting.
In the living room, Lu Zhiyin, who had just tidied everything up, was staring blankly by the sofa.
She heard footsteps outside and calculated that it was time for Leng Qing Qiu to get out of school.
She walked to the front door, opened it, and was greeted by a somewhat pungent smell of blood.
” …?”
Hesitantly, Lu Zhiyin sized up Leng Qing Qiu. The tall girl’s face was a little pale, her body slightly leaning forward, with a circle of bandage wrapped around her right arm, the white bandage slightly stained red.
“Leng Qing Qiu… are you injured?”
Lu Zhiyin moved aside to let her in.
Leng Qing Qiu did not reply, merely tossing the cold medicine she was holding at Lu Zhiyin as she entered.
“Didn’t you see? Why ask?”
Shaking her head, Leng Qing Qiu went to find a first-aid kit, removed the bandage, and began to re-treat the wound.
Watching Leng Qing Qiu tend to her wound, Lu Zhiyin stood awkwardly holding the cold medicine, unsure of how she could help.
After some thought, she went into the kitchen and started preparing food.
There was some chicken soup left in the pot, so Lu Zhiyin simply used it to cook a bowl of noodles. By the time she brought the chicken soup noodles out of the kitchen, Leng Qing Qiu had already finished treating her wound.
Her face was still pale, and the first-aid kit was on the sofa, its contents scattered everywhere.
Feeling a little apprehensive, Lu Zhiyin placed the noodles and chopsticks on the coffee table and began tidying up the first-aid kit on the sofa herself.
Leng Qing Qiu said nothing. The only sound in the room was the whirring of Lu Zhiyin’s wheelchair, making Lu Zhiyin feel a bit guilty.
After finishing tidying everything up, Lu Zhiyin steered her wheelchair closer to Leng Qing Qiu.
She reached out and gently touched Leng Qing Qiu’s finger.
“Leng Qing Qiu, did something happen to you?” she asked tentatively.
This was a rather obvious question. If nothing had happened, how could she be injured?
Lu Zhiyin thought herself quite foolish, even wanting to slap herself.
“Mhm,” Leng Qing Qiu nodded. Seeing that Lu Zhiyin had tidied up the first-aid kit, she began to eat her noodles.
“Someone hired five thugs to cause trouble for me,” she said, shaking her head.
“Those thugs were useless. The wound on my arm was intentional,” she added, turning her head to look at Lu Zhiyin’s face, observing the girl’s expression.
“I haven’t offended anyone at school. The only two people I’ve offended are you and Long Qinxin.”
As her words fell, Lu Zhiyin’s heart skipped a beat.
Lu Zhiyin couldn’t recall hiring anyone to attack Leng Qing Qiu. This meant it must have been Long Qinxin, right?
Her mind was in a turmoil. If it really was Long Qinxin, then Long Qinxin was likely in danger.
Lu Zhiyin didn’t believe Leng Qing Qiu would easily let Long Qinxin off the hook.
“Gulp…” Lu Zhiyin swallowed and gently cupped Leng Qing Qiu’s hand.
“Maybe it was someone else?”
As she spoke, Leng Qing Qiu frowned.
She then grabbed Lu Zhiyin’s wrist, pulled her out of the wheelchair, and placed her on her lap.
Taking out the utility knife, she pressed the blade against Lu Zhiyin’s neck. As expected, the girl froze in fear.
“No, it can’t be a third party. It’s one of you two. Tell me, was it you or Long Qinxin?”
Leaning close to Lu Zhiyin’s ear, Leng Qing Qiu’s voice was as terrifying as a ghostly apparition. It seemed she was making Lu Zhiyin choose, and the one chosen would become Leng Qing Qiu’s prey.
Of course, Leng Qing Qiu was actually just trying to scare Lu Zhiyin, teasing her timid childhood friend. She had already decided who wanted to harm her.
