The office at the end of the corridor was a modest single room, neither too large nor too small, furnished with a computer, printer, and other office supplies. Several pots of pothos sat in the corners and on the desk.
"A classmate just told me you beat up the class monitor in the classroom?"
The student counselor was a young man in his early thirties named Chen Mingming. Though he had delicate features, he was prematurely bald, his sparse hair scattered across his scalp like the desolate steppes in deep winter.
Chen Mingming frowned as he questioned Xu Xingyu, his expression grim. He looked like someone who spent most of his time dealing with the trouble she stirred up.
Xu Xingyu flatly denied it: "I didn't. It wasn't me."
Chen Mingming laughed in exasperation. He rolled an A4 sheet of paper into a tube and slapped it down onto the desk with a sharp snap. "Are you saying a classmate framed you in person? Were you framed every time you bullied your classmates in the past, too?"
Xu Xingyu wasn't scared at all; instead, she smiled, her eyes curving into crescents with a childish, mischievous glint. "Who knows?"
"You used to at least admit it when you did something wrong. Now you won't even own up to it?"
"I didn't do anything wrong!"
"You smashed a book against the monitor's forehead and kicked him right in the stomach, and he collapsed to the floor in agony on the spot. You don't call that doing something wrong? Do you have to beat someone to death for it to count?"
"Got any evidence? Talk is cheap. Even a criminal suspect needs physical evidence for an accusation. Since I supposedly kicked him half to death, there should at least be a bruise on his stomach."
*Knock, knock.* A knock sounded at the door.
Chen Mingming glanced at Xu Xingyu, then looked toward the door and said, "Come in."
Through the door came Xu Lingjing, Ruan Qianqian, and the class monitor, Li Shuwen, who was being supported by Ruan Qianqian. Li Shuwen looked ashen, his lips drained of color from pain.
"Monitor, are you all right?" Chen Mingming stood up to ask with concern.
"I'm fine," Li Shuwen replied weakly. His voice was as thin and rootless as a eunuch's, and though he claimed to be fine, anyone with eyes could see he was forcing himself to endure.
Li Shuwen clutched his stomach one moment and his head the next, walking hunched over in a rather comical manner.
A flash of worry crossed Chen Mingming's face. "Did you go get checked at the campus hospital?"
"We went just now. There's nothing major, except..." Li Shuwen shot a quick look at Xu Xingyu, then turned back to the counselor with the expression of someone who had finally found an upright official to deliver justice, seemingly hoping the counselor would protect him from Xu Xingyu's tyrannical bullying.
Yet the next second, a look of sheer astonishment crossed Chen Mingming's face.
Chen Mingming stepped forward and flipped up the hem of Li Shuwen's school uniform, only to find not a single mark—not even a red spot. He lifted it higher, nearly exposing his chest, but still could not find any injury.
His face sank as he looked at the monitor. "Did you people really frame Xu Xingyu for bullying you?"
"Counselor, I really didn't frame her! I just couldn't stand her bullying a classmate, so she kicked me."
"My leg isn't even as thick as your arm. How could I possibly knock you down with a single kick? You're obviously just trying to extort me," Xu Xingyu said, telling bald-faced lies without a shred of guilt.
Li Shuwen's face twisted in a terrifying, hideous grimace, his eyes burning with the desire to tear Xu Xingyu to pieces.
She was truly a lying bitch. How could she ever compare to Ruan Qianqian? She just relied on her family background to throw her weight around.
He'd better never catch her alone, or else...
He cast a veiled, venomous side-eye at Xu Xingyu, but as he pulled his gaze back, his body stiffened. A bone-chilling cold gripped his spine and his calves trembled, as if dense clusters of icicles were piercing his internal organs.
For he had accidentally caught sight of Xu Lingjing's expression. Those usually placid eyes of his were currently as dark and boundless as the universe—a chilling, eerie abyss that left him so panicked he could barely breathe.
He swallowed hard with a shudder, lowered his head in a blind panic, and didn't dare utter another word.
Ruan Qianqian looked as though she had been wronged so deeply her eyes instantly reddened. Frail and delicate like a wind-blown willow, she looked ready to faint at any moment, yet she forced herself to stand, her voice choked with tears: "Counselor, we really didn't frame Xu Xingyu. She kicked the monitor right in front of the whole class! Everyone saw it. You know how Xu Xingyu always bullies Xu Lingjing anyway, so wouldn't kicking the class monitor just be par for the course for her?"
She looked at Xu Lingjing as if seeking help, seemingly hoping he would speak the truth and prove her innocence.
Xu Lingjing lowered his gaze and said nothing.
He hadn't come here to expose Xu Xingyu's crimes anyway; they had simply assumed he had.
Since Li Shuwen knew full well that Xu Xingyu was naturally spoiled, couldn't bear the slightest grievance, and had accused her without cause, he deserved to get beaten.
He didn't think she had done anything wrong at all.
Besides, Xu Xingyu had already shown considerable mercy by not breaking Li Shuwen's bones, just letting him hurt for a while.
When Ruan Qianqian didn't get the response she was hoping for, a stinging sensation crept into the corners of her eyes.
She even began to feel a slight resentment toward Xu Lingjing.
She was so heartbroken.
She knew Xu Lingjing was enduring it, that he couldn't openly stand by her side just yet.
He still needed to build up his strength and couldn't let Xu Xingyu find out and suppress him.
Yet Ruan Qianqian still felt aggrieved and sorrowful.
Why couldn't he just say a word for her? Did he really have to stand by and watch her get framed and bullied?
She decided that when Xu Lingjing confessed his feelings to her in the future, she definitely wouldn't say yes right away—that would be his punishment for staying silent today.
...
Xu Lingjing naturally had no idea what Ruan Qianqian was imagining.
The counselor's face was dark. "Then why isn't there a single mark on him? According to your description, Xu Xingyu smashed a book against the monitor's forehead and he was nearly knocked out. So why isn't there even a bump on his head, not a trace of red? What, does she practice magic and leave no trace when she hits people?"
How was Ruan Qianqian supposed to know why there wasn't a single injury?
Yet there wasn't even a hint of red, so what could she do? Feeling even more aggrieved, she bit her lip and let her tears fall.
It had to be said that Chen Mingming had hit the nail on the head.
Xu Xingyu let out a sudden, mocking hum.
Hearing the sound, Xu Lingjing lifted his gaze to look at her.
The bright smile on Xu Xingyu's face vanished instantly as she shot him a cold glare.
Xu Lingjing didn't react outwardly to her glare, his expression unchanged as his quiet gaze drifted elsewhere.
He was always like this, completely unmoved, like frost in the dead of winter—cold and utterly devoid of human warmth.
Xu Xingyu found him utterly exasperating. She thought to herself that a person like this wouldn't bat an eye even if his emotions were toyed with, discarded, and betrayed.
Could he really gather enough emotional fluctuation to complete the mission?
Noticing their interaction, Ruan Qianqian immediately pointed a finger at Xu Xingyu. "Look, she's still bullying Xu Lingjing right now!"
This person was so annoying. Maybe she should just drag her off to some empty spot after school and beat her to death.
Xu Xingyu wrinkled her little nose, her cheeks puffing out with irritation. Deciding to drop the act altogether, she flashed a malicious smile at Ruan Qianqian. "I *am* bullying him. What's it to you? Can you stop sticking your nose into other people's business?"
Chen Mingming slammed his hand down hard on the desk, the impact turning his palm red. "Xu Xingyu, you're bullying a classmate right in front of a teacher and you still think you're in the right?"
His face contorted slightly as he stoically fought through the burning pain in his palm. He figured he was going to go bald purely from the stress of these disobedient students, and that one day they would literally drive him to his grave.
Xu Xingyu fluttered her eyelashes and put on an innocent look. "Xu Lingjing *likes* being bullied by me. Besides, he's my older brother—isn't it normal for a brother to let his little sister bully him a little?"
Chen Mingming was well aware they were step-siblings. Back then, Xu Huaishen, the head of the Xu Family, had personally brought Xu Lingjing to enroll and had even donated an entire building, purely out of fear that the boy would be ostracized in a school where everyone came from immense wealth and high status.
Because their college differed from other universities, largely replicating high school study methods and class structures.
But his worry had evidently been redundant; Xu Lingjing's academic performance was stellar, and he had been working on projects with physics professors since his freshman year.
Even though he was naturally aloof and distant, his classmates looked up to him with admiration and certainly wouldn't isolate him.
The only one who bullied him was his step-sister, but precisely because of that, it was a tricky situation to handle. Sometimes she would pull harmless pranks like pouring ink on his textbooks, yet Xu Lingjing remained completely indifferent. Besides, they were both adults now, and it wasn't his place to go running to their parents.
Chen Mingming was once again laughed into a state of fury. "Some people actually like being bullied? Xu Lingjing, are you willing to let Xu Xingyu bully you?"
Xu Lingjing lowered his gaze to look at Xu Xingyu.
*Older brother.*
Didn't she always refuse to acknowledge it?
Didn't she think he was disgusting?
Her pretty eyes clearly radiated nothing but hatred and disgust for him.
Why had she admitted it twice today?
Xu Xingyu glared at him fiercely again.
Xu Lingjing withdrew his gaze and looked back at the counselor. He pressed his thin, pretty lips together, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. "Yes. I upset her, so it's normal for her to throw a little tantrum. I don't consider this bullying."
Xu Xingyu raised an eyebrow, puffed out her cheeks, and gave a small yawn before rubbing her slightly sore eyes. "Well, all the misunderstandings have been cleared up. May I leave now? I'm a bit sleepy and want to go back to the classroom to catch some sleep."
"Fine, go on, get out of here," Chen Mingming waved his hand, feeling mentally exhausted.
He had finally figured it out: the two siblings were simply a case of one willing to beat and the other willing to be beaten. He'd best stay out of it from now on.
Just as Xu Xingyu pushed the door open to leave, an exasperated voice came from behind her: "Xu Xingyu, it's class time right now! You're going back to the classroom to sleep?"
Xu Xingyu rubbed her earlobe, turning a complete blind eye to Chen Mingming's words.