Ning Dantong had burned her hand so badly that it was covered in blood blisters, ugly and horrifying.
Though Qiao Qiao helped apply ointment, her face was still full of disgust.
Neither spoke.
Suddenly, Qiao's Father and Qiao's Mother came over, their expressions grave.
Qiao's Father spoke coldly. "Ning Dantong, we never imagined you would do something like this. We believe we've treated you well, yet you've behaved so viciously and seriously hurt our daughter, Qiao Qiao. You are no longer welcome to live with the Qiao Family."
Ning Dantong froze, inwardly ecstatic.
But she kept her expression composed as she nodded and replied quietly, "All right, I understand. Thank you, Aunt, Uncle, and Qiao Qiao, for taking care of me during this time."
No one answered her.
Qiao Qiao looked at her parents in surprise, tears faintly glistening in her eyes.
Their midmonth break was over in a flash.
When Che Quan and the others returned to school, the countdown to the big exam on the blackboard had dropped to just fourteen days.
In other words, it was May 25.
According to Qiao Qiao's diary, this was the day of the graduation photos-and the day Miao Rouning hired someone to sexually assault her.
Chen Yuxiang and Ning Dantong felt uneasy.
Although they had already dealt with Teacher Chang and Miao Rouning, they had no idea whether something else might happen on this particular day.
Chen Yuxiang stuck even closer to Qiao Qiao, afraid something might happen to her.
Fortunately, the whole morning passed without incident.
After their lunch break.
Chen Yuxiang was about to invite Qiao Qiao to the school store for some chilled watermelon, but the moment she stood up, she saw someone utterly unexpected walk through the classroom door-
Miao Rouning.
The relaxed expression on Chen Yuxiang's face instantly froze.
Qiao Qiao was tidying her desk with her head down. Noticing that Chen Yuxiang had suddenly gone still beside her, she looked up in puzzlement and followed her gaze.
Qiao Qiao's expression changed instantly too.
Chen Yuxiang dropped back into her seat and leaned toward Qiao Qiao in disbelief, whispering, "She-she-I'm not seeing things, am I? Miao Rouning? Am I hallucinating? Quick, slap me."
Qiao Qiao had been feeling grim, but Chen Yuxiang's last remark immediately made her laugh.
She gradually regained her composure. "Yes, it's Miao Rouning. I don't know what she's doing here now."
Chen Yuxiang had no idea either and instinctively looked toward Che Quan in the back row.
The big shot, who had been resting with his eyes closed, had already opened them and was watching Miao Rouning enter without a trace of emotion.
He was utterly indifferent.
Chen Yuxiang immediately felt reassured.
She turned back and watched Miao Rouning, now looking utterly haggard, approach them step by step with a gloomy expression.
Miao Rouning stopped beside Qiao Qiao's desk.
She looked gaunt and withered. Leaning forward with her hands braced on Qiao Qiao's desk, she said viciously, "I know you were behind this. Ying Jiajia isn't dead at all! She's alive and well. You set me up, and I'll make you all pay, especially you, you bitch."
Chen Yuxiang couldn't hold her tongue when she heard that.
"Watch your mouth. Did you even brush your teeth before coming this close to talk? Aren't you worried your breath will knock us out?"
Once again, Chen Yuxiang's words made Qiao Qiao laugh.
Seeing how little either of them took her seriously, Miao Rouning's expression instantly darkened further.
But she said nothing more and hurried out of the classroom as though afraid of the crowd.
Soon, it was time for the afternoon graduation photos.
They would be taken at the Main Sports Field.
Getting there from the classroom building required passing along a narrow, winding path lined with dense trees.
Qiao Qiao and Chen Yuxiang had planned to go over early together, but Qiao Qiao suddenly developed a stomachache and spent quite a while in the restroom.
By the time they were ready to leave, it was almost their class's turn.
Chen Yuxiang turned and saw Che Quan still resting listlessly at his desk. "Big shot, aren't you coming for the graduation photo?"
Slumped over his desk, Che Quan silently turned his head toward the wall, answering the question with that expressive gesture.
Chen Yuxiang couldn't help smiling.
Along with countless viewers in the scrolling comments, she couldn't help thinking:
The pretty little big shot is just too adorable! That lazy turn of his head was just like a beautiful, regal cat basking in the sunshine and gently flicking its fluffy tail. My heart can't take it!
Arm in arm, Chen Yuxiang and Qiao Qiao hurried toward the Main Sports Field for their graduation photo.
Because they had left so late, there was no one around when they reached the already secluded, winding path.
Chen Yuxiang felt inexplicably uneasy.
She abruptly caught Qiao Qiao's arm and eyed the tall, dense trees on either side of the path warily. "Qiao Qiao, I feel like someone's in there."
Her words gave Qiao Qiao a fright. She replied hesitantly, "Surely not? There are so many people at school. Who would dare hide here?"
"You never know."
Chen Yuxiang frowned.
Unfortunately, this was the only route to the Main Sports Field.
She didn't want Qiao Qiao to miss the graduation photo this time too.
Chen Yuxiang patted the frightened Qiao Qiao reassuringly, then pretended to bend down to tie her shoelace, quickly picking up a large stone from the grass and slipping it into her pocket.
"Let's go."
With righteous resolve, Chen Yuxiang took Qiao Qiao's hand, and the two hurried along the path.
With just one bend left before they emerged from the path, Chen Yuxiang could already faintly hear the lively hubbub ahead.
The Main Sports Field was right there!
But suddenly, a dark figure appeared in front of them.
It was a slovenly man with unkempt stubble and a lecherous gleam in his eyes.
Just as I thought, Chen Yuxiang thought.
She felt Qiao Qiao shrink back in fear beside her.
"Hey, this doesn't concern you. Get lost. I only need this one to stay." The man pulled a dagger from his filthy jacket and growled at Chen Yuxiang in a low voice.
He was clearly there for Qiao Qiao.
This must have been when Chen Chen, the fake friend in Qiao Qiao's diary, had run away.
How desperate and bitter Qiao Qiao must have felt, left all alone.
Chen Yuxiang clenched her fist, slipped her hand into her roomy pocket, and gripped the stone. At the same time, she whispered to Qiao Qiao, "Qiao Qiao, when I count to three, run straight ahead. Understand?"
Pale-faced, Qiao Qiao nodded.
Seeing this, the man strode toward them and snarled impatiently, "What the hell are you still yammering about?"
"One, two, three-"
Counting just loudly enough for the two of them to hear, Chen Yuxiang lunged straight at the man as soon as she finished. Qiao Qiao gritted her teeth and ran toward the end of the path as hard as she could.
The man was no professional, after all. He hadn't expected two delicate-looking girls to dare fight back, and his momentary lapse let Qiao Qiao escape.
Qiao Qiao shouted for help as she ran.
Not daring to linger, the man viciously thrust his dagger at Chen Yuxiang.
Chen Yuxiang immediately hurled the stone at him. It struck him squarely in the eye, and an agonized scream instantly rang out.
A large group of teachers, students, and security guards rushed over at the sound. They quickly subdued the man, whose right eye was streaming blood, and handed him over to the police.
After the commotion, Chen Yuxiang and Qiao Qiao stood close together and smiled sweetly at the camera, preserving a lovely memory in their graduation photo.
Click-
Not long after that little incident, they heard that the man had named Miao Rouning as the person who had hired him. Now Miao Rouning was a Legal Troublemaker through and through.
Apparently, even her family had been implicated. Her father was a government official and had come under investigation because of it. He was probably frantically scrambling to deal with the fallout now.
After another night, Che Quan and the others woke up and went to the classroom.
The moment they looked up, they saw that the numbers on the blackboard were gone.
And that wasn't all.
Their surroundings had changed subtly too.
Chen Yuxiang couldn't see Qiao Qiao, only Che Quan. Growing a little nervous, she asked, "Big shot... is-is the exam coming up, or is it already over?"
Miao Rouning secretly stealing Qiao Qiao's identity to attend college definitely wouldn't happen now, so... what else did they need to do?
Che Quan gazed thoughtfully at the blackboard without answering her.
Before you continue