“Bang!”
In the dimly lit first-floor restroom, An Le's body slamd against the cold tiled wall, the force leaving her montarily dazed.
The muffled blare of the campus alarm outside didn’t penetrate the suffocating silence of this private space. Here, in the shadows, a different kind of darkness thrived.
“Ugh…”
The pain in her back forced a soft groan from her lips, prompting her to clutch her chest instinctively. That familiar suffocating tightness returned, but this ti, she had no chance to loosen her collar for relief.
Tension swirled in the air as the noise in An Le’s mind—part fear, part self-reproach—morphed into a high-pitched ringing.
“Hummmm…”
Even so, her focus wasn’t on her inner turmoil but rather on Park Shuwen, who now held the letter she hadn’t yet delivered.
With a mocking sneer, Park Shuwen glanced at the writing on the envelope and said,
“Well, well… ‘Little Huan,’ is it? Awfully close, aren’t we?”
“G-give it back…”
Seeing Park Shuwen about to rip open the envelope, An Le’s instincts kicked in, and she struggled to snatch it back.
Park Shuwen’s expression darkened as she stepped back, lifting the letter out of reach.
“Hold her down. I want to see what this cow wrote to our dear President!”
Two other girls stepped forward and grabbed An Le’s arms, pinning her firmly against the wall.
“Hummmm…”
The ringing in her ears grew sharper, more unbearable.
“An Le, you’ve been naughty. Sneaking around and using Yaqiao Mu to deliver your little love letter? What else have you been eavesdropping on, huh?”
“I can’t believe it. Quiet little An Le, secretly so… bold.”
Despite her attempts to resist, An Le’s strength was no match for the two girls holding her down. Tears welled in her eyes as she watched helplessly, her long black hair concealing her face.
The letter was torn open, and Park Shuwen unfolded the paper with a triumphant smirk. But as her eyes scanned the words, her expression shifted to one of disbelief.
She turned to the others and mocked,
“Get a load of this! She’s delusional! Talking about how the President used to care for her as a kid, even stayed at her house—like so kind of childhood sweetheart fantasy!”
“Childhood friends, huh? Cute story, An Le,” one girl teased.
“So what were you, a little cow calf back then?”
Park Shuwen stepped closer, waving the letter in An Le’s face.
“An entire sester has gone by, and he hasn’t even spoken to you once. If he really rembered you, wouldn’t he have said sothing by now? Face it, you’re just making it all up. Isn’t that… pathetic?”
An Le’s weak struggles stopped as Park Shuwen’s accusations hit a nerve. She lifted her head, her voice trembling but defiant.
“I’m not lying! I just… I just…”
Her words faltered. Deep down, she knew the real reason she hadn’t approached Yan Huan since the start of the sester.
Fear.
She was terrified.
Terrified that after all these years, Yan Huan had moved on, filled his life with new friends, while she remained stagnant.
Unconfident. Timid. Weak.
Would he even rember her?
“Who are you again? I think I might’ve forgotten…”
The thought alone was crushing. It was easier to stay silent and pretend the opportunity for a reunion was still there, rather than risk confirming that she had already been forgotten.
Park Shuwen grabbed An Le’s chin, forcing her to et her sneering gaze.
“Let
tell you sothing: if I were the President, I’d be disgusted by you. A gloomy little rat from the gutter, can’t even afford decent clothes… You’ve got no right to like him.”
With a sharp gesture, she used the letter to lift An Le’s bangs, revealing her face.
For a brief mont, Park Shuwen froze.
An Le’s pale, delicate features, hidden beneath her heavy hair, startled her. But the pause lasted only a second before Park Shuwen shoved her bangs back down, gripping the letter with both hands.
“You like writing letters? Let
fix that for you!”
With a loud rip, she shredded the carefully written note into pieces, scattering the fragnts onto the floor.
“Hummmm…”
The sharp ringing in An Le’s ears subsided, replaced by a cold voice in her mind.
“You useless piece of garbage!”
It was the snake, Little Pinky, hissing furiously.
“How can you let them walk all over you like this? I’ve been shouting at you, but you’re too paralyzed to even hear !”
The ghostly snake tattoo on her skin writhed angrily, its movent erratic and agitated.
“Kill them! Right now! Rip them apart!”
An Le’s gaze fell to the shredded letter on the ground, each torn piece a mirror to her shattered confidence. Tears blurred her vision, rolling down her cheeks before she realized she was crying.
“She’s crying? Seriously?”
“Wow, a few words and she’s already in tears?”
In her mind, Little Pinky was at its wit’s end.
“Get up! Stand straight! Stop crying like a wimp! Fight back, you idiot!”
Amid the tension, the sound of a flushing toilet echoed through the restroom.
Park Shuwen froze, her mocking expression faltering as the door to one of the stalls creaked open.
A blonde girl with a blank expression stepped out.
“…Spencer?”
Park Shuwen recognized the transfer student from her class. A sense of unease bubbled within her, for reasons she couldn’t explain.
Spencer’s gaze swept the room, lingering on An Le’s trembling form.
“What are you looking at?” Park Shuwen snapped, her brows furrowing in irritation.
Spencer didn’t respond. She turned to the sink, calmly washing her hands.
“Just ignore her,” Park Shuwen muttered to her friends, returning her attention to An Le.
But before she could speak, the roar of the hand dryer filled the room, accompanied by Spencer’s icy voice:
“Hey, b*tch. Were you talking to
just now?”
“…What?”
Park Shuwen turned, startled, to find Spencer standing right behind her. The blonde’s lips curled into a smile, revealing a sharp, tiger-like tooth.
Despite the smile, a dark, oppressive aura surrounded her, suffocating in its intensity.
Park Shuwen took an instinctive step back, her earlier bravado wavering.
“Mind your business. This has nothing to do with you…”
“Oh, I heard everything,” Spencer said casually, crossing her arms.
“And honestly? You lot should take a good look in the mirror. You think she’s unworthy of writing to Yan Huan? Please. Have you seen yourselves? Barking like stray dogs—you’re lucky I wouldn’t even tie you up outside my house.”
The room fell silent.
An Le’s tear-filled eyes widened as Spencer’s cutting words echoed through the air like a slap.
Park Shuwen’s face flushed with anger. She opened her mouth to retort, but her words caught in her throat under Spencer’s unwavering glare.
Looking at Spencer now, with her radiant golden hair cascading elegantly over her shoulders and her strikingly bold, flawless features, even in the dim light of the restroom, Park Shuwen felt a pang of frustration.
She couldn’t win against Spencer in looks.
Fine, then. What about family background?
Glancing at Spencer’s luxurious pendant and custom-made athletic wear—designs so exclusive she couldn’t even recognize them—Park Shuwen realized she couldn’t compete there either.
"Y-your mom..."
Out of sheer anger and frustration, Park Shuwen raised her hand and swung it toward Spencer’s face.
“You’re in trouble now…”
Spencer smirked mockingly, effortlessly catching Park Shuwen’s wrist mid-air with her left hand.
“Wanna fight? Sure, I love a good fight,” Spencer taunted, her grip tightening.
Park Shuwen gasped as sharp pain shot through her arm, feeling as though a bear had clamped down on her wrist.
Before she could plead for rcy, Spencer raised her right hand high, casting a shadow over Park Shuwen’s pale, terrified face.
“W-wait… hold on…”
But Spencer didn’t hesitate. Her hand whipped forward with a loud whoosh, and the sound of impact echoed through the restroom.
“BANG!”
Park Shuwen spun twice like a poorly launched top before collapsing onto the floor, out cold.
“Shuwen… Shuwen, are you okay?”
One of the other girls stamred nervously, crouching down to check on her friend, who remained completely motionless.
An Le, trembling, couldn’t even cry anymore. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared at Spencer. To her, Spencer now resembled so urban legend, a figure capable of silencing even the rowdiest troublemakers.
The two other girls holding An Le froze, their minds going blank. An Le could feel their grip weaken as their knees wobbled, unable to stand firmly.
Neither of them had ever witnessed soone slap another person so hard that they spun in place.
Spencer flexed her fingers, studying her hand in mock amazent. Her smile widened, taking on an unnerving edge.
She shifted her gaze to the two girls, who imdiately started shaking their heads in unison.
“W-we didn’t do anything!” one of them stamred.
Unmoved, Spencer kicked the first girl in the stomach, sending her crumpling to the floor in pain.
The second tried to flee, but Spencer grabbed her by the hair, yanked her back, and tossed her onto the ground. While the impact wasn’t severe, the girl stayed down, too scared to even attempt standing.
With a satisfied scoff, Spencer dusted off her hands, casting one last glance at An Le. Then, she shook her head and turned to leave the restroom.
Just as she reached the doorway, a timid voice called out,
“T-thank you… for helping …”
Spencer paused mid-step, turning back to see An Le looking at her with teary but earnest eyes.
“What for?” Spencer replied nonchalantly. “If that b*tch hadn’t run her mouth, I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“But… when you ca out of the stall earlier, you were looking at . So I thought…”
“Ugh, are you always this annoying?”
Spencer rolled her eyes, flipping her golden hair as she turned her head away in irritation.
An Le lowered her head, biting her lip nervously. For a mont, silence lingered between them, filled only by the muffled sounds of the commotion outside.
Eventually, An Le found her voice again.
“If… if they co after you for this, I’ll testify for you.”
Spencer snorted, unimpressed.
“They wouldn’t dare. But you should worry about yourself. You won’t always have soone around to save you, you know?”
Her blunt words made An Le wince. She nodded ekly, clutching the hem of her skirt.
The two walked out of the restroom together, passing through the now calr hallway. The sound of police sirens still lingered in the air, prompting them to glance toward the source of the commotion.
Near the front gates, they saw a figure surrounded by officers and a distraught woman.
An Le’s gaze lingered on the distant silhouette of a boy before quickly darting away, as if the sight had burned her.
Little Huan…
The na echoed in her mind, triggering mories of yesterday’s conversation with Spencer. Rembering Spencer’s dismissive remarks in the restroom earlier, An Le hesitantly asked,
“Spencer… you seem to talk about President Yan a lot. Do you… like him too?”
Spencer scratched her chin thoughtfully before shaking her head.
“No, not really.”
Her enjoynt ca from the thrill of disrupting others’ plans, not from any genuine feelings for Yan Huan.
Hearing this, An Le breathed a sigh of relief, though she quickly chastised herself for feeling that way. Smiling nervously, she tried to bridge the gap between them.
“You know… everyone seems to avoid you in class. I understand how that feels. But you’re actually… really kind.”
Spencer froze mid-step, casting An Le an incredulous glance.
“You think I’m… kind?”
“Yes,” An Le said earnestly. “Even if you don’t like to admit it, you helped . I want to be friends with you.”
Spencer blinked, then huffed a laugh.
“You’re weird, you know that?”
Before she could say more, a notification pinged from her pocket. Taking out her phone, Spencer’s mood imdiately soured as she read the email:
“Aria Spencer, Mandatory Participation in the Study Group.”
The lengthy ssage outlined the reasons behind her inclusion and the consequences of non-compliance. Spencer skimd the text, her face darkening further with each word.
To her, the entire email boiled down to one thing:
“JAIL TI.”
At the bottom, the ssage concluded:
“Failure to report to the Student Council Office by the end of Friday will result in escalation to the principal’s office, including parental notification.
Signed,
Yan Huan, Student Council President.”
Spencer’s hand trembled as she gripped her phone tightly, veins bulging on her knuckles.
“Didn’t you ask
earlier if I liked Yan Huan?” she growled. “I didn’t then, but I think I might actually hate him now.”
“Eh?”
An Le blinked in surprise, her first instinct a twinge of happiness she quickly suppressed, embarrassed by her own pettiness.
“Little Huan is just following the rules,” she said, her voice soft. “He doesn’t have a choice as President…”
Spencer’s scowl deepened. She looked at An Le’s timid figure and found herself unable to fully unleash her anger.
In the end, she clicked her tongue and walked away, throwing over her shoulder,
“Lickspittles like you make
sick. You know that?”
An Le froze but quickly recovered, trailing after Spencer as the two returned to their classroom amidst the wailing sirens outside.
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