The five girls, including Dong Meng, exchanged glances. They weren’t sure whether they should mourn for the boys or be relieved that someone had finally stood up to Yan Qing.
Dong Meng said, “I don’t think they can beat her.”
Diao Xinyi nodded in agreement. “I second that.”
Jing Jing spoke up, “Stop talking, just watch.”
At that moment, Yan Qing stood up from her seat. Standing at just 1.56 meters (about 5’1″), she looked like a little chick surrounded by a group of boys over 1.7 meters (about 5’7″). But her presence was no less imposing. With a smile on her face and a calm, steady gaze, there was not a trace of fear in her eyes as she looked at them.
“I’m just returning the words you said to me earlier. What’s the problem? Can’t handle it? Then how do you have the face to treat me this way?”
A hint of shame and anger flashed across the boys’ faces. One of them spoke up, “We’ve already apologized, what else do you want?”
“I’m sorry,” Yan Qing said firmly, her smile widening. “I’ve apologized too, and? Do you feel uncomfortable?”
They still hadn’t taken action. After all, she was a girl, and at this age, most boys wouldn’t hit a girl in front of their classmates unless they were particularly vile.
So, they just surrounded her.
At this point, the boys’ faces turned completely awkward. A couple of them had already taken a step back, not wanting to be involved anymore.
But the remaining boys stood there, glaring at her, but struggling to find a legitimate excuse to act. They were stuck in a standoff, their expressions changing.
Yan Qing noticed this and took the initiative to say, “How about we settle this after school with a fight?”
“I’m not hitting a girl!” one of the shorter boys grumbled, clenching his teeth. “I was wrong this time, alright? Let’s call it even! But next time, I won’t care about ‘don’t hit girls!’”
With that, the boy kicked the table hard and turned to leave.
The others hesitated for a moment. Should they just back down?
At that moment, Yan Qing called out, “Wait!”
The boy froze and turned around.
Yan Qing pointed at the table. “You knocked it over, you clean it up.”
The boys stopped, stunned, not quite believing what they were hearing.
“No need, no need…” The table’s owner was a short, bespectacled boy who was often bullied, though not severely—just the occasional teasing. He wasn’t very brave, so when he saw a few of the athletic boys around, he didn’t dare to say anything. Instead, he bent down quickly to pick up the table, not wanting to make things worse.
Yan Qing frowned, giving the boys a mocking look. “You dare to do something but not take responsibility? Are you embarrassed?”
“Who’s afraid to take responsibility?” one of the boys snapped.
With that, they pushed the small boy aside, lifted the table themselves, and arranged the books for him. Afterward, they finally cooled down.
These weren’t particularly mean-spirited boys, but after Yan Qing’s pointed criticism, they realized their behavior had been wrong. They hadn’t been able to apologize earlier, but now they understood. Before leaving, they mumbled, “Sorry!”
Though the apology was mumbled, it felt more sincere than their previous “sorry not sorry” attempts.
Yan Qing didn’t respond, simply sitting back at her desk with an indifferent air, as if she hadn’t heard anything. She sat upright, her profile looking just like a model student—slender, with a straight nose and soft, pink lips, eyes cast downward as she looked at her books.
But only she knew that, just moments ago, when the boys were apologizing, she felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. This bitterness was a remnant of the original person’s emotions, and it carried with it a sense of realization.
The original owner of this body was no longer here, only their lingering attachment remained.
Perhaps it was because of what had happened the previous day and today, that she suddenly understood. She had never dared to resist, but maybe if she had just fought back fiercely from the start, no one would have dared to give her that nickname. Maybe she could have been free of it much earlier. The act of resistance wasn’t as terrifying as she had imagined…
The classroom fell silent.
The boys looked somewhat embarrassed and frustrated, but no one brought up the incident again.
Then Yuan Ye, without any shame, whistled toward Yan Qing.
The class erupted into noise once again, and the atmosphere became lively.
Hong Jun grinned mischievously. “What’s going on here?”
Yuan Ye’s bright eyes gleamed as he said, “I like it!”
The Yan Qing in front of him was completely different from the one he knew before. When it was revealed that Yan Qing liked him, Yuan Ye only felt repulsed. Especially when he saw the mushy love letters she had written—he found them disgusting, mainly because they had never really interacted.
Back then, when others teased him about it, he had bluntly said, “Don’t like me, it’s gross!”
He didn’t think it was a hurtful thing to say; he was just being honest.
And this time, he was still being honest.
Yuan Ye flashed a devilish grin, his mischievous smile carrying a hint of allure. His sharp, handsome features left many girls in the class, including Dong Meng and Diao Xinyi, mesmerized.
Dong Meng watched, green with envy, and pouted, “Damn it! I want to hit her so bad!”
Diao Xinyi, pretending to be casual, said, “Then go ahead, yesterday was just an accident.”
She didn’t seem too afraid.
But Dong Meng was scared. Rubbing her sore arms and legs, she felt pain at the slightest touch. Though she was tall and usually picked on weaker girls, when it came to Yan Qing, she felt real pain. Yan Qing knew how to hit with skill, and she simply couldn’t defend herself.
Dong Meng muttered, “No, that wasn’t an accident. People need to face reality.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152