Chapter 114: You came to school to be bullied?

When Luo Yixia went to the cafeteria for dinner, she still hid among the group, terrified of running into anyone from her class. She had not replied to a single message.

“You’re acting like a thief,” Lin Ya said, gripping her collar.

“Don’t. Just pretend you didn’t see me, sis. Just let me silently trail behind you,” Luo Yixia replied, her face stricken with misery.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Sis will take care of you. Now lift your head high and look forward.” Lin Ya patted her shoulder.

Helpless, Luo Yixia had no choice but to follow the three of them.

They reached the cafeteria and began to queue up. Everyone seemed absorbed in their own affairs, with no one paying her any attention. Only then did she let out a small sigh of relief.

“Yixia, what would you like to eat?” Gan Yanran asked from ahead of her.

“I can have anything,” Luo Yixia answered.

They carried their trays to a table. By then, more and more people had filled the cafeteria, turning it into a sea of black.

Luo Yixia picked at her food, clearly distracted. The meals in the cafeteria could never compare to what Song Chengyi cooked… She had truly been spoiled.

The atmosphere had been harmonious moments ago, yet several people suddenly joined them, breaking the peace.

The two seats beside Luo Yixia remained empty. A few classmates who had shared a dorm with her during their training base period settled into them.

They greeted her one by one with open friendliness.

Luo Yixia smiled back.

The girl sitting beside her was the class flower of the medical department’s 169 class, and also the class flower of Luo Yixia’s own class: Xu Shen.

Relying on her title, she carried herself with arrogance and pride.

Gan Yanran held her in contempt. The dorm mates could never understand why Xu Shen had won the honor when Luo Yixia possessed greater elegance and better looks, yet Luo Yixia had not been chosen.

In truth, Luo Yixia had not minded. She had not been selected for a reason. Her personality was introverted; she disliked communicating with others, and only the few in the dorm were close to her.

Luo Yixia had always been lively. In high school, she had gotten along well with her classmates. But once she entered university, her demeanor changed entirely.

Perhaps she had grown up. She had finally understood…

How had an academic underperformer ended up in such a prestigious school, surrounded by top students, when she herself possessed only a burning passion—the same passion she held for Song Chengyi.

Xu Shen smiled and asked, “Yixia, why are you eating so little?”

Luo Yixia glanced at the untouched food on her plate, her appetite nonexistent. She replied indifferently, “I’m not hungry.”

“You can’t waste the food. You have to finish it, understand?”

Xu Shen spoke with solemn gravity.

Gan Yanran rolled her eyes, ready to retort.

But Luo Yixia, seated beside her, caught her arm.

“I know,” Luo Yixia said with a faint smile, then lowered her head to continue eating.

Xu Shen had nothing left to say. She had originally planned to let the others join in the mockery, allowing her to seize the opportunity to speak further. Now, it only made matters worse.

After a pause, Xu Shen could not help herself: “Yixia, on the day of our vacation, I saw Instructor Song pick you up, right? And during that farewell banquet, when you were drunk, you were hugging Instructor Song.”

Her sarcastic tone left Luo Yixia unmoved.

“Yes,” Luo Yixia answered.

“Do you know Instructor Song? He seems so nice to you. Is he your boyfriend?”

Xu Shen pressed on.

Luo Yixia’s chopsticks paused mid-motion. The entire table turned to stare at her.

“So… what does that have to do with you?”

Luo Yixia lifted her head, her smile faint.

“You…” Xu Shen could no longer sit still and stood up abruptly.

“So you know Song Zeming, meaning you know someone who knows Song Chengyi. But you weren’t saying any of that before. Stop pretending and get to the point.”

Luo Yixia set her chopsticks down.

“It’s the same question: what does it have to do with you whether I know Song Chengyi or not?”

Luo Yixia asked, her voice calm, her face stripped of all warmth, utterly serious.

Xu Shen could not refute her, but after calming herself, she spoke generously: “I’m not accusing you. Not telling us that you know Song Chengyi is one thing, but treating us like fools is another. We actually believed you when you said you didn’t know him.”

Luo Yixia truly had no desire to speak of Song Chengyi, yet now she had no choice. She feared the questions that would follow: why had she not said earlier that she knew him?

While Luo Yixia remained stunned, unable to answer.

Lin Ya stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Luo Yixia.

“Xu Shen, I find your behavior rather interesting. Our Yixia knowing Song Chengyi is none of your business. Even if she told you, you truly believe you could climb to his level? That Song Chengyi would ever look at you?”

A mocking smile curved Lin Ya’s lips.

Xu Shen already had many girls in the class who disliked her. After Lin Ya’s sarcasm, several of them joined in the laughter.

Seeing everyone mocking her, Xu Shen began to panic.

“What are you saying? I was only asking. We were so eager to add Song Chengyi’s WeChat before, and since Yixia knows him, she lied and said she wasn’t familiar. I think she’s guilty.”

Luo Yixia clutched her hands tightly. If this continued… she would be exposed.

“Guilty or not—do you really think Song Chengyi would hand his WeChat to just anyone? You claim to know him for a month. What kind of person is he? Maybe he doesn’t want Yixia to cause him trouble. Think about it: if you all knew Yixia knows Song Chengyi, would you really let her off?” Lin Ya spoke unhurriedly.

Luo Yixia gave her a grateful look.

Lin Ya offered her a reassuring gaze, letting her feel at ease.

Meanwhile, the tension was at its peak, while the parties slowly entered the cafeteria.

The commotion around Luo Yixia had drawn many onlookers who gathered in a cluster.

Song Chengyi walked beside her: “What’s going on in the cafeteria today? What are you all staring at? Looking for entertainment?”

Everyone saw the main figure arrive and quickly made way.

Song Chengyi had not intended to pay any attention.

But in the path where everyone stepped aside, she saw a figure shrouded in dejection.

Song Chengyi frowned and walked over. Earlier, when she had left, everything had been fine. Now she was being bullied?

“Song Chengyi is here,” someone called out.

Luo Yixia and the others turned.

Xu Shen’s eyes lit up with admiration she could not conceal. She called out coquettishly, “Senior!”

Song Chengyi swept his gaze indifferently over Xu Shen’s face, then fixed it on Luo Yixia.

“You came to school just to be bullied?”

His calm words proved to all that Song Chengyi had come to support Luo Yixia.

He turned to Xu Shen, who looked incredulous. She hurriedly explained, “Senior, me and Yixia were just chatting. Yixia said you know each other.”

The statement drew contempt from everyone. Clearly, she had been the one probing Luo Yixia and Song Chengyi’s relationship, yet now she claimed others were speaking to her.

Luo Yixia kept her head lowered.

“Has everyone eaten?” Song Chengyi asked, glancing at the nearly untouched food on the table.

“I’ve eaten,” Luo Yixia answered stubbornly.

Song Chengyi did not believe her and looked toward Gan Yanran.

Gan Yanran understood at once: “No. Yixia only took a few bites, and someone deliberately caused trouble.”

Xu Shen now regretted her words: “It’s not like that, Senior. We were just joking.”

But Song Chengyi paid her no heed.

“From now on, if anything happens, come find me. Otherwise, you’ve wasted all these years calling me brother.” Song Chengyi left those words and turned to leave.

After a few steps, he stopped: “Remember, you did not come to school to be bullied.”

Then he strode away.

The cafeteria fell silent for a time.

Then everyone suddenly understood…

So that was the relationship between Luo Yixia and Song Chengyi.

It was only natural that she had not told others she knew him. Song Chengyi was a major figure at the school; admitting it would bring them nothing but trouble. That was why she had kept silent.

Xu Shen silently retreated a few steps and left.

The others gradually returned to their seats.

Watching the dispersing crowd, only they remained.

Luo Yixia felt extremely uncomfortable…

She had never expected Song Chengyi to come to her defense.

Everyone’s expressions were complex, especially Lin Ya’s.

She was now bewildered. Before, when Luo Yixia had spoken of her relationship with Song Chengyi, it had made her stiff. She had said Song Chengyi’s temper was terrible. But now it seemed… that Song Chengyi was not as bad toward Luo Yixia as she had claimed. He was willing to stand up for her.

Not at all like the extreme dislike she had described.

“I…” Luo Yixia began.

“Forget it. If there’s anything, let’s go back to the dorm and talk,” Gan Yanran interrupted.

The three of them nodded. After the small interruption, their appetites vanished.

They left the cafeteria in haste and returned to the dorm.

They sat together on the floor.

“I… I’m sorry. I lied to all of you,” Luo Yixia apologized first.

But even now, she still did not know how to explain her relationship with Song Chengyi.

“It’s fine. We can all understand,” Xu Jia Yu said with a smile.

“It’s not… there are other things…” Luo Yixia bit her lip.

Gan Yanran looked at her, lost in thought. Yixia wanted to confess.

“I… actually knew Song Chengyi for a long time,” Luo Yixia said.

“You’re neighbors. Of course you’ve known each other for a long time,” Xu Jia Yu continued on her behalf.

“I… have always liked Song Chengyi,” Luo Yixia said, head lowered, not daring to meet their eyes.

Only Xu Jia Yu and Lin Ya wore complex expressions. Gan Yanran remained indifferent, as if she already knew everything and felt no surprise.

“But… didn’t you say Song Chengyi often bullies you? This isn’t your fault. Song Chengyi looks like that. Being young and infatuated is normal,” Lin Ya sighed.