NH chapter 021

Chapter 21 Evidence

Gao Xiaoyuan quickly jumped down from her desk, ran to the corner to grab her phone, and then scuttled to hide behind Huo Ye.

Only now did she painfully realize that her face was burning hot; she could tell it must already be swollen. But in her heart, Gao Xiaoyuan felt unprecedented excitement. The pain at this moment felt like a badge of courage; she had done it.

Liao Zheng’s vision darkened repeatedly. After finally recovering from the sharp pain, he saw Gao Xiaoyuan clutching her phone, and recalling her strange actions just now, only a fool would not guess what had happened.

His expression completely changed, a mix of shock and anger: “How dare you! How dare you?! You little bitch…” Liao Zheng suddenly realized, his eyes red with fury, “He instructed you to do this, didn’t he? Huo Ye told you to do it! Otherwise, how could someone who usually trembles at the sight of me suddenly have such courage?”

For the first time, Gao Xiaoyuan displayed her disgust openly, as if he were some terrifying cockroach. Mimicking Liao Zheng’s harsh words from the equipment room that day, she said defiantly, “So what if he did!”

Liao Zheng was momentarily speechless, glaring at her with bitterness, looking as if he was about to spit blood from anger.

Gao Xiaoyuan held her phone tightly, as if it were a newly acquired life-saving amulet. Her courage soared, and peeking out from behind Huo Ye, she said, “Now I have evidence. If you dare to threaten us again, we… we can threaten you too!”

“Threaten me? Ha, do you dare?” Liao Zheng roared, seeming unafraid. “If you dare to expose this video, it means showing everyone how scandalous you once were. If your dad sees this, he’ll kill you, right? Let me ask you, do you dare?”

Gao Xiaoyuan’s lips trembled, but her courage overcame her fear, and she had never felt this brave before as she said word by word.

“I dare.”

She stepped forward, looking down at Liao Zheng: “Do you dare?”

Liao Zheng lay half on the ground, his fingertips twitching tightly.

…Actually, he didn’t dare.

The incident with that younger girl hadn’t been covered up yet. Liao Zheng hadn’t expected the current girl to be so fiery. After just a few provocations, she had threatened to kill herself, leading to an unfortunate accident with her parents determined to seek justice for their daughter, creating quite the chaotic aftermath for Liao Zheng’s father.

Liao Zheng’s father had a fiery temperament, and the most challenging thing he faced was his own spoiled son. After the incident, Liao Zheng was beaten for three days and couldn’t get out of bed, which forced him into a temporary period of compliance.

If this video were to be exposed, there would be one then two, three or four. If Gao Xiaoyuan stood up, the others wouldn’t be able to stay hidden any longer. They likely had been waiting for the opportunity to strike for a long time.

His father was a government official; though he had power and influence, he would not withstand such a scandalous uproar. He would definitely beat him to death.

But despite this, Liao Zheng was unwilling to lower his proud head at a time like this; that would be even more unbearable than being beaten to death. So he stubbornly said, “If you’re capable, go report it to the teacher! Go on, take this video to report me. You think I’m scared?”

Gao Xiaoyuan was momentarily intimidated by him, looking frantically at Huo Ye, unsure how to respond.

Huo Ye took her phone, calmly saying, “Since he isn’t afraid, let’s take it to the teacher now. Let’s go.”

Gao Xiaoyuan felt a bit uneasy and nodded.

Just as Huo Ye turned around, Liao Zheng, who had been half-dead lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up, pouncing on Huo Ye from behind like a hyena going for its prey, wrapping his arm tightly around Huo Ye’s throat.

Huo Ye was someone who had come out of hell; he had fought more in his third year than he had eaten meals. But even though he was prepared, Liao Zheng still managed to bring him down in that moment. Fortunately, the surrounding desks were all unused, and with a loud “crash—” the desks were knocked over, and the two started to grapple chaotically. Gao Xiaoyuan gasped in shock.

Liao Zheng’s fists flailed wildly, repeatedly trying to snatch that phone away, but Huo Ye wasn’t going to let him have it easily.

Gao Xiaoyuan anxiously thought about whether she should go find Shen Tingyu, but given Shen Tingyu’s attitude towards Huo Ye today, they clearly had had a fight, and she vaguely sensed that the spark might relate to her, so she didn’t dare to look for Shen Tingyu.

But now, the situation was chaotic; if she didn’t find someone and something happened, what would she do? Huo Ye was here to help her, and if something happened to him because of her, how would she live with herself?

However, Gao Xiaoyuan clearly underestimated Huo Ye. He never took risks without confidence. Huo Ye suddenly shouted, “Gao Xiaoyuan!”

“Ah, I’m here! I’m here!” Gao Xiaoyuan shouted in panic, looking up to see something fly out of Huo Ye’s hand, soaring through the air in a breathtaking arc. In that electric moment, her body reacted faster than her brain, reaching out to catch it.

—But due to a slight miscalculation, her fingers barely caught the corner of the phone. Gao Xiaoyuan exclaimed in joy, “I caught it!!”

Liao Zheng turned his head at the sound of her voice, distracted for just a moment, and in that instant, Huo Ye seized the opportunity to execute a beautiful grip from behind, twisting Liao Zheng’s arms and pinning him to the desk. Liao Zheng’s half face pressed tightly against the desk, warping it slightly, and he gasped for air, rage boiling over as he cursed, “Damn, bitch, let me go!”

Huo Ye applied pressure slowly, his eyelids lowered, a trace of cruel pity flickering in his eyes as he whispered, “Who’s the bitch?”

Liao Zheng gritted his teeth and fell silent.

Seeing this, Gao Xiaoyuan let out a sigh of relief, her legs turning weak as she leaned against the desk to steady herself.

Liao Zheng quieted down but Huo Ye seemed not to intend to let him off so easily, continuing to apply pressure. A cold, dangerous aura hissed like a snake, whispering in his ear, asking again, “Who’s the bitch, hmm?”