Yet, to everyone's surprise, not only did those people fail to get revenge on her, they ended up suffering devastating blows one after another.
Even Chen Yuxiang was surprised. She leaned closer and whispered to Qiao Qiao, "Babe, have you heard? Apparently, Chang was off campus a couple of days ago... and someone b-beat him up."
Qiao Qiao froze, looking up from her book in confusion, and whispered back, "Huh? What happened?"
Chen Yuxiang frowned and answered uncertainly, "I don't know if someone deliberately went after him for revenge, but a bunch of thugs beat him up. I heard it was pretty bad. He even went to the hospital. Not that I feel sorry for him, haha."
Qiao Qiao nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he deserved it."
"And you know what?" Something suddenly occurred to Chen Yuxiang, and her eyes lit up. She couldn't wait to share this piece of "good" news with Qiao Qiao. "After he got out of the hospital, something must have really shaken him up, because he actually went to the local police station and turned himself in. He confessed to everything-forcing himself on girls, taking bribes... all kinds of disgusting things. They've taken him away now."
Qiao Qiao: "?!"
She truly hadn't expected that.
But that wasn't all.
Then Qiao Qiao heard Chen Yuxiang say, "And that Miao Rouning has been taken away too. Apparently, she seriously bullied a girl named Ying Jiajia before, and Teacher Chang accepted a huge sum of money to cover it up. He confessed to that too."
Qiao Qiao went blank, her mouth gaping as though someone had stuffed a huge duck egg into it. She could hardly believe it.
"Th-that's just unbelievable."
Chen Yuxiang smiled and raised an eyebrow at Qiao Qiao. "Right? I was stunned when I found out too."
Still dazed, Qiao Qiao nodded.
After that, they never saw Chang Jianfeng or Miao Rouning at school again.
They heard that after Chang Jianfeng turned himself in, the police tracked down the victims mentioned in his confession one by one to verify his account, and were compiling evidence to prosecute him.
Chang Jianfeng's self-exposure had utterly ruined his reputation.
He also had a wife and child. Once the news broke, his wife took their child back to her parents' home without another word, then sent him a divorce agreement.
Of course, that was only hearsay.
There were plenty of other versions too, including one in which Chang Jianfeng's wife brought people over and furiously beat him up again.
As for Miao Rouning, she had developed a phobia and kept rambling about Ying Jiajia being out to get her. No one knew how she was doing now.
After that, Chen Yuxiang and Qiao Qiao were inseparable. In part, it was to give Qiao Qiao the companionship of a friend-perhaps that could heal some of the scars in the boss "Qiao Qiao's" heart.
The other reason was to protect Qiao Qiao.
Although Chang Jianfeng and Miao Rouning had now left the school, the people who had once sided with Miao Rouning and bullied Qiao Qiao were still there.
It never hurt to be careful.
After that night, Che Quan and the others discovered that the number on the blackboard had changed.
There were 53 days left until the big exam.
In other words, it was April 15, the day the school began its twice-monthly break.
According to Qiao Qiao's diary, she went home that day and was falsely accused by her older cousin, Ning Dantong.
Because of this, Ning Dantong hurriedly asked Che Quan and Chen Yuxiang to meet her on the rooftop.
She asked anxiously, "D-do I really have to go back? Facing the boss all by myself still gives me the creeps."
Chen Yuxiang patted her shoulder and thought for a moment. "Then how about this? I'll invite Qiao Qiao out this week, or go over to her house, to take some of the pressure off you."
Ning Dantong immediately nodded as though she'd been granted a reprieve.
But she still turned to Che Quan for help. "Boss, if a conflict breaks out, should I stick to 'Cousin Ning's' character, or seize the chance to comfort Qiao Qiao and win some favor with her?"
They had assumed it would be an easy question to answer, but Chen Yuxiang and Ning Dantong saw Che Quan actually freeze for a moment upon hearing it.
As though he'd remembered something important, his expression abruptly darkened.
"What's wrong...?" Ning Dantong asked uneasily.
After a moment of tense silence, they heard Che Quan say, "We'll still have to die in the end."
Ning Dantong and Chen Yuxiang: "?!?"
Both of them immediately panicked.
Then Che Quan added quietly, "We have to die in here to get out alive."
Chen Yuxiang was confused.
Ning Dantong stared blankly for a moment before realization dawned on her. "So that's how it works!"
"How what works?" Chen Yuxiang was even more confused.
Ning Dantong explained, "I've had this vague question for a while now. What exactly do we need to do to let Qiao Qiao get satisfying revenge? Winning her over with love never felt very likely, because by the time we arrived, the damage had already been done. Besides, we're not the people who actually hurt her. We've only temporarily taken their places.
"So simply trying to make amends probably won't work.
"After 'Chang Jianfeng' and 'Miao Rouning' were dealt with in this instance, I kept wondering whether we needed to be 'dealt with' too.
"Now that the boss has said this, I'm even more certain my guess was right. You really are the boss for a reason."
Ning Dantong grew more excited as she spoke.
Chen Yuxiang only half understood. She tried to work through the logic, but remained rather muddled, so she simply gave up thinking about it. "So dealing with those people isn't enough. We also have to figure out what kind of tragic ending would be best for us, right?"
Ning Dantong nodded. "In theory, yes. After all, if that weren't how the rules worked, wouldn't Chang Jianfeng, Miao Rouning, and Yuan Zhou be doomed to die? Their own consciousnesses were suppressed the moment they entered. How could they possibly survive?"
"Th-that's true."
Having reached this conclusion, both girls felt weighed down.
The day-and-a-half twice-monthly break began.
This was also the first time they could leave the school grounds.
Unfortunately, the only place each of the three could go was their "own home." They still couldn't make any contact with the outside world.
Chen Yuxiang had originally wanted to go to Qiao Qiao's house, but that wasn't possible either.
Ning Dantong and Qiao Qiao lived under the same roof. Ning Dantong had planned to keep out of Qiao Qiao's way, but trouble still arose-
As soon as Qiao Qiao's parents came home, they called affectionately, "Tongtong! Tongtong! Come here! We bought you your favorite mangoes!"
Ning Dantong followed their voices into the living room, just in time to see Qiao Qiao looking delightedly at the mangoes in the box. Seeing this, the two adults snapped at her, "What are you doing? We bought those for your cousin. You can't have any."
Qiao Qiao's face immediately fell. "Why? I really want some too... Besides, there's so much... I'll only have a piece or two."
"Absolutely not! Do you realize how badly brought up you're acting? Is this what your mother and I taught you? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!"
"Dad..." His cruel words brought tears welling into Qiao Qiao's eyes. "I won't eat any, okay?"
Qiao Qiao stood up and saw Ning Dantong nearby. Resentment and anger overwhelmed her, and she broke down, shouting, "Go ahead and spoil an outsider like she's your own daughter! Do you have any idea how she bullies your daughter at school?!"
Before you continue