Helping Karuizawa (End)

Rika landed the first light slap on Karuizawa's face.

Zhen Guo and the others watched her with dissatisfaction.

Rika used a bit more force for the second slap.

Looking at the completely defenseless Karuizawa, Rika struck a third time with all her might.

Seeing this, Zhen Guo and the others laughed out loud.

"Hahahaha!"

Rika also glared viciously at Karuizawa, her slaps landing on Karuizawa's face with increasing force.

The phone recording from behind them quietly moved closer and closer to the group.

"Hahahaha, ah! So this is what it feels like not to be the one getting bullied!"

Rika shouted viciously.

Zhen Guo looked at Rika with an evil grin:

"That's the spirit, Rika. When we get bullied by others, we must bully them back."

"Doesn't it feel good to strike back?"

Rika laughed wickedly while continuing to slap her:

"It really does feel good. Can I do this to others too?"

Karuizawa looked at them with vacant eyes:

"I'm sorry, I beg you, please stop hitting me, okay?"

Yamashita laughed:

"Ahahaha!"

Yabu Nanami added:

"How could that be possible, you stinking—"

Zhen Guo leaned in close to Karuizawa and pulled up her bangs.

She smiled at Rika:

"Rika, you know what? Just slapping them is the most useless thing."

"People like this won't learn their lesson from just slaps."

Having said that, Zhen Guo gathered her strength and punched Karuizawa in the abdomen.

Karuizawa collapsed from the blow, her eyes wide as she clutched her stomach and coughed.

"Ahahahahaha, yes, that's exactly the expression."

Rika was no longer afraid and joined in with a wicked laugh.

Yabu Nanami looked down at Karuizawa, who was lying on the ground:

"Ugh, so disgusting. What kind of expression is that?"

"Eww~"

Yabu Nanami kicked Karuizawa, who was lying on the floor.

Yamashita chimed in:

"Oh my god, seriously, so ugly."

She kicked Karuizawa as well.

Seeing everyone else kicking her, Rika also viciously delivered a kick of her own.

"Ah, it hurts so much~"

Karuizawa cried out in a breakdown:

"Can someone come and save me?"

"I beg you, anyone will do."

Just as Karuizawa was calling for help in despair, Yi Chen, who had arrived long ago, had been at the entrance from the very beginning.

To capture the perfect footage more clearly, Yi Chen had quietly moved behind the shelves.

He had recorded the entire scene of the group beating Karuizawa.

Yi Chen walked out with a cold expression.

Zhen Guo and the others heard the footsteps and turned around to look.

"! Angela. Yi Chen!"

"What's going on? Why is he here?"

Yi Chen held up his phone, continuing to record them.

He said coldly:

"You people are truly something else. I wonder what would happen if this recording were sent to the school administration?"

Lying on the ground, Karuizawa looked at Yi Chen in despair.

Zhen Guo and the others felt their hearts pounding wildly, filled with immense fear.

Zhen Guo put on a brave front and shouted:

"It's fine, he's definitely bluffing. He must have just arrived and didn't record anything at all."

"Otherwise, why wouldn't he have come out the moment he got here?"

Yi Chen took a deep breath.

Zhen Guo smiled self-righteously:

"See? Just as I thought, hahaha."

Yi Chen slowly tapped his phone to stop the recording.

Yi Chen turned the volume on his phone to the maximum.

"Karuizawa, you really were bullied, weren't you?"

The sound from the phone echoed throughout the spacious Storage Room.

Zhen Guo and the others looked at Yi Chen, instantly collapsing into a state of panic.

Karuizawa's eyes regained a glimmer of life as she looked at Yi Chen in fear.

Zhen Guo gritted her teeth, her brain racing at full speed.

She then roared at the others:

"Everyone, attack together! Grab the phone!"

Yamashita Saki and Yabu Lailai-mei hadn't quite processed the situation, but upon hearing this, their gazes also turned vicious.

"Grab it!"

Rika returned to her original state, her knees hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Rika looked at Yi Chen and the others in a breakdown, then glanced at Karuizawa, who was climbing up from the floor.

"What have I done?"

Tears streamed continuously from Rika's eyes.

Zhen Guo was the first to rush forward to snatch Yi Chen's phone.

Yi Chen dodged with a sidestep and delivered a Calf Kick.

"Ah!"

Zhen Guo fell to the ground in pain.

Yabu Nanami and Yamashita Saki immediately stepped forward as well.

Yi Chen unleashed a whirlwind double kick, striking both of them in the abdomen.

The two cried out in pain as they were sent flying.

They slammed heavily against the shelving unit.

The shelves were large and sturdy enough that they didn't topple over.

A few scattered small items fell onto them.

"Ah!"

"Sss~"

Zhen Guo clutched her calf in agony, looking at Yi Chen with a face full of despair.

Karuizawa leaned against the wall, staring at Yi Chen in astonishment.

Yi Chen slowly stepped forward.

Zhen Guo immediately crawled over and bit down on Yi Chen's ankle.

"Sss~"

With an indifferent expression, Yi Chen took out his phone and recorded the scene.

He then forcefully shook Zhen Guo's head off with his foot.

He kicked Zhen Guo in the back, sending her sprawling away.

With a cold expression, he reached out his hand toward Karuizawa.

The dim light of the Storage Room shone upon Yi Chen's face.

Karuizawa stared at Yi Chen in a daze.

Seeing that Karuizawa didn't respond, Yi Chen walked forward.

He looked at Yamashita and Yabu Nanami, who were lying on the ground.

The two of them leaned back in terror, watching Yi Chen with fear.

Yi Chen glanced at Rika, who was kneeling on the ground crying.

He gently pulled Karuizawa's arm.

Karuizawa's eyes were already red from crying, and her gaze had not left Yi Chen since a moment ago.

Yi Chen led Karuizawa away slowly.

After leaving the Storage Room.

Yi Chen said indifferently:

"Are you alright, Karuizawa?"

Karuizawa snapped back to reality, looking at the hand Yi Chen was holding with lingering fear.

She whispered:

"I'm fine."

Yi Chen said indifferently:

"Uh, I'm sorry I didn't step in right away."

Karuizawa said dejectedly:

"It's fine, someone like me deserves to be hit anyway."

Yi Chen looked awkward and said:

"...I originally wanted to help you from the start."

"But if I had intervened immediately, it's very likely the school would have judged it as a simple fight."

"That's why I had to resort to this."

Karuizawa looked at the ground, her eyes dim and listless.

Yi Chen opened his phone and held it out to Karuizawa:

"Here, we have the evidence, they don't."

"You can strike back at them however you want."

Karuizawa looked at Yi Chen and slowly pulled her hand away from his.

She glanced at the phone in Yi Chen's hand but did not take it.

Karuizawa said powerlessly:

"Thank you..."

Yi Chen said indifferently:

"Uh... you... sigh, forget it."

"It seems the bullying you've suffered really is quite severe."

Karuizawa buried her head even lower.

Yi Chen said indifferently:

"From now on, let me protect you."

Karuizawa's eyes regained some luster, and she looked longingly at the ground.

Karuizawa's lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Yi Chen looked at Karuizawa indifferently.

After a while, Karuizawa said softly:

"Why help me? Help someone like me?"

"I wasn't exactly nice to you before, either."

Yi Chen looked at her coldly and used his hand to lift Karuizawa's head up.

He waved his phone in front of Karuizawa.

"How should I put it?"

"You need someone who can protect you, right?"

"I can fully guarantee your safety, stronger than any other guarantee."

"And I need someone I can fully trust."

"Can you do that, Karuizawa?"

Karuizawa's eyes turned slightly red.

Her gaze was filled with hope at this moment.

"Thank you, Yi Chen-kun."

After saying this, Karuizawa couldn't stop herself from crying again.

Yi Chen said awkwardly:

"Don't you believe in me?"

Karuizawa sobbed:

"I can, I... I... can."

"Is someone like... me... really allowed to?"

Yi Chen didn't know what to do, so he pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed them to Karuizawa.

"Of course you can."

Yi Chen extended his pinky finger:

"Pinky swear."

With her face covered in tears, Karuizawa smiled from the bottom of her heart.

She extended her own pinky finger.

"Pinky swear."