Lii giggled and raised her arms up to be held by her. "Jiaaaaa."
Jia picked her up and shrugged at the man, eventually giving up on the deduction challenge in defeat. "My niece."
He simply smiled.
Footsteps then marched from a distance and stopped in front of them. Jia glanced in that direction and stared at a woman, dressed in an all black uniform. A black jacket covered her back and partially her chest, but Jia was pretty sure the woman had a gun slung along her waist.
The bodyguard looked at the man with a deadpan gaze. "It’s ti to leave."
"Ah. I didn’t realize when the ti flew by. The little girl was a cheerful company."
She threw another deadpan look but this ti towards Jia who held Lii. Lii stared at the new woman with her bright eyes and cheerily laughed. "Waaaaaa!"
Her stony expression didn’t budge even for a second. She looked back at the man in the wheelchair. "It’s ti to leave."
He gave a placid smile. "I am done with my work anyway."
She walked around his wheelchair and stood behind it, holding the two handles at the back, ready to wheel him away.
The man gave a last glance at Jia. "It was nice to et you-"
He then noticed Lii trying to helplessly catch the fluttering butterfly.
"Don’t try to catch it."
Lii questioningly looked back. "Buttefwy?"
"It is beautiful because it is free."
"No buttefwy?" Her eyes watered.
His brow arched with a hint of mystery. "Yes or no depends on your choice. You can catch it and take away its luster or see it fly away with its colors."
Lii didn’t fully comprehend his aning but sowhere she did understand that it was wrong to take the butterfly with her.
"Apologies for being too philosophical."
Jia didn’t mind. "You said the right thing, though she is too young to fully understand it."
"Indeed. But one day she will," he smiled the veiled smile again.
"It’s ti to leave," the bodyguard repeated with her sa toneless voice for the third ti.
She disappeared with him without wasting any further second.
"Spicyyyyyyyyy!"
Mingshen popped up from behind Jia with a curious brow lifted up. "You were gone forever. Who were you talking to?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"I still have vested interests in the people my ex-wife ets~"
"Then I am happy to share that I t sobody way more charming and intelligent than you. Sobody who understands and talks sense. I see a bright and happy second marriage," she sneered.
"You should be more aware of the people who talk sense."
"What warped logic is that?"
"Commonsense people drive the world because they have sense and sense gives them cunningness. You should be happier to et a nonsense person. Easier to detect and fooled by a commonsense person~"
She gave him a dry look. "Your philosophy is beyond ."
"Ishennnn," Lii held up her hands in the air, wanting to go to Mingshen next.
"Why this brat cannot call Mingshen is also beyond ," he took her from Jia, frowning suspiciously at her.
They walked back to the group, and Mingshen ever so slightly craned his neck to see if he could still find that person Jia was talking to. He didn’t find any trace and continued walking with an unreadable expression.
—
Brightside University.
"The case is solved. Ti to leave. Thank you for all the help. Guess tomorrow will be a storm here," Huojin said after telling them how it went at the hospital.
Beiye chuckled. "I like storms, especially if it concerns Anhe. What did she say about the pictures and videos?"
"She will delete all her backups. She won’t keep a single photo or video. She has promised this in exchange for not going to jail. Everybody is safe."
"I see."
"So thanks a lot. See you later."
"Will I?"
"Will you what?"
"See you later."
"Low chances unless you happen to be coincidentally involved in so case. Otherwise, I generally don’t hang around college campuses," he smiled. "My university days are over."
She leaned back lazily, her eyes twinkling at him. "I can be a good reason to hang around."
"You sure will be."
"So will I see you later?"
"If there is a case which I sincerely hope not."
"And if there isn’t?"
"Then no."
"Don’t be so quick to refuse."
He smiled again. "It’s gotten dark. Head ho you four."
Bai chillingly said, "Dark is when the party starts, bro."
"Dark is when the cris start too, bro. Not to induce unnecessary fear but always be alert and cautious. Also, throw the trash before you leave."
He turned away and left the campus grounds.
Qigang eyed her. "Was it serious flirtation or nonsense flirtation?"
Beiye glanced back. "What do you think?"
"Don’t evade a question with a question."
"Old habits die hard," she stuck out her tongue.
Mingyu asked, "So the deal with Anhe is over?"
She laughed and looked up at the night sky. "Far from it."
—
It was two weeks later that Anhe took to recover and co back to college. Though she was still ntally traumatized by Yibo’s actions, she couldn’t stay at ho. Ho only made her restless.
The college burst into a huge buzz the mont she was seen. The students only knew that she was hurt in the horror house but the part of Yibo’s harassnt and all the secret videos she took was strictly kept under the wraps by Mr. Geng. Aang, Yibo and Jinping were now in jail and Daxia had left her side too. Yong was never a part of her group. Her once envied gang was broken apart and now she walked alone.
The only hope left and she cared about was Shilin.
Anhe cast a disdainful gaze at the crowd.
As long as Shilin is there, I don’t have to care about you useless tards.
That’s what she thought and that’s where she was heading. She stopped when sothing flew past her foot and took a look down. It seed like a picture and curious, she bent down to grab it.
The mont she turned it and her eyes laid on the picture, the entire ground shook beneath her. It was as if she was suddenly dumped into the Arctic.
"Oops, that is mine. I am sorry it flew your way."
Very slowly, Anhe looked up to find Beiye before her. She looked back at the picture and then at her.
"...How do you have this?"
"Have what?"
She sucked in a breath, her heart shaking hard. "Don’t act ignorant."
Beiye smiled. "Now I understand why it was so fun for you to have incriminating pictures and videos. It makes you feel so powerful~"
She said nothing.
"If people see this picture and you now, they would feel so amazed and inspired by your transformation. It’s so motivational to take the arduous journey of becoming so beautiful and dazzling from an overweight, ugly and below average personality girl."
Anhe gave a blank stare.
The nacing voice of the most beautiful and prettiest girl of her middle school rang in her ears, bringing out the suppressed mories.
’Hey, why do you still wear these pigtails? So ugly.’
’Damn nobody should go near Anhe. She is so slly because she has fat armpits.’
"Anhe will be an amazing sumo wrestler, won’t she? Aren’t sumos all fat and jiggly? Look at how the uniform hardly fits her. Hehe should I tug off the button at her chest~? Her breasts must be so plump and amazing."
’Eww don’t. Her skin is so oily. Must be all that cheese and oil clogging in there. She sweats a lot too! So disgusting.’
’Hey co on~ let just take one picture, Anhe. Don’t be shy,’ the pretty girl laughed as she violently pulled Anhe’s pigtail. ’Seeing you with will make look even more beautiful. I an the comparison is just that contrasting, isn’t it? You will be famous and I will be famous too but for very different reasons.’
Anhe’s knees trembled and she struggled to stand straight. The poisonous laughter wrung her neck. She looked ahead and to her, Beiye coincided with the image of the pretty middle school classmate, making her face pale like colors draining away to reveal the white, blank canvas.
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