Chapter Ninety-seven: Who Am I to You (Part Two)

At Dong Yanyan's words, her face turned green too. She shot him a look of exasperation. "You're just a menace!"

"How am I a menace? If I were really a menace, I'd just say we were betrothed as children. That sounds much more intimate." Song Mingcheng said with an utterly straight face.

Dong Yanyan suddenly felt like she didn't even know this person anymore. If a certified airhead could talk slick and act like a lecher, then pigs could fly! Had this guy damaged some wire in his brain when he got transported here?

"Why don't you just say we were promised to each other in the womb?! Even slander has its limits—go find somewhere cool to hang out and leave me alone!" Dong Yanyan snapped, annoyed.

"That's on you, then! I'm going! Don't forget to lock the door for me!" Song Mingcheng sauntered down the stairs, but he'd barely taken a few steps when he saw Lin Feng rushing up.

"Sorry I took so long. Let's head back to the dorm." Lin Feng, without waiting for a response, threw an arm around Song Mingcheng's neck and pushed him back upstairs. They passed the fourth floor and exchanged greetings with Dong Yanyan. She wanted to go downstairs too, but Ren Jiaxuan grabbed her arm and dragged her back in. The door slammed shut, and he bolted it. Then he turned on the light. It stung her eyes a little, and Dong Yanyan rubbed them hard. Under the light, Ren Jiaxuan could see her eyes swollen like goldfish.

"Come here. Let me see your eyes. Why are they so puffy?" He held her arm with one hand and grabbed her hair with the other to tilt her head up. Dong Yanyan's scalp stung. "What are you pulling my hair for? Let go!" She said indignantly. She looked up—the guy's face was so dark it could wring out water, and there was frost in his gaze. She shuddered inwardly. A phrase instinctively surfaced in her mind: a gaze like a sword. Gotta hand it to the teacher—she taught her students well. The body language was spot on.

"I'm asking you a question. Are you listening?" Ren Jiaxuan demanded coldly, still holding her hair.

Dong Yanyan felt the atmosphere was off. He really seemed angry. Well, thinking about it, she couldn't exactly blame him for being upset. It was probably better to explain.

"Song Mingcheng and I are from the same hometown. We just ran into each other after a long time. We talked about old times. Got a little sad, and couldn't help crying. Rain after a long drought, an old friend in a foreign land. You can understand the feeling, right?" She laughed lightly.

Ren Jiaxuan watched her with cold eyes and sneered. "Oh, so if I hadn't shown up just now, the two of you would have been having your wedding night instead."

Dong Yanyan burst out laughing. "Classmate, you're too funny! Wedding night, really..."

"Don't get cheeky with me! I'll tell you: just because I tolerate you doesn't mean you can make a fool of me! Piss me off enough, and tomorrow I'll have him kicked out of this school!" Ren Jiaxuan grabbed her chin and said harshly.

Dong Yanyan's chin hurt. Her irritation spiked. She grabbed his hand and yelled, stumbling over her words: "Can you just talk like a normal person?! You're a perfectly decent kid—why are you pulling this whole diabolical-charm-noble-arrogance act with me?! You keep this up and I'll get angry! Hey, why are you still holding my hair? Let go! You're messing up my hairstyle!" She unhappily tried to pull his hand away. Suddenly, she stumbled as he shoved her toward the corner. She instinctively pushed against him, but he lunged at her and pinned her down. She screamed and tried to run. He yanked her back and slammed her against the wall. Her back hit hard, and then his hands seized her wrists and pressed them above her head. His legs locked her down so she couldn't move. His chin dug into her forehead, squeezing her painfully. She struggled a few times without success and shouted furiously, "What are you doing?! I'm serious! You keep this up and I'll really get mad! Let me go, do you hear me?!"

"Why didn't you scream like that just now? I'll make sure you know whose girl you are today—see if you dare flirt with everybody anymore!" Ren Jiaxuan roared back at her. She could hear his heavy breathing, ragged and loud in her ear, and suddenly she was scared. His body pressed down on her until it was hard to breathe. The face before her was twisted and vicious; he looked like nothing but a thug. All she could do was shake her head desperately and shout, "Get off me! Who am I to you? What right do you have to accuse me?!"

Ren Jiaxuan squeezed her face and sneered. "Who you are to me is known to the whole school. What are you playing at? I'm telling you, I'm out of patience! If I don't do you right here today, my name isn't Ren!"

Dong Yanyan saw his right hand let go. She yanked hard at her hands, but couldn't break free. Ren Jiaxuan frowned, pinned her down even harder with one hand, lowered his head, and pressed his lips roughly to her cheek, biting and kissing indiscriminately. Her face was hot and humid. A chill ran through her heart. She twisted her head away with all her might, but with a sharp twist of his fingers he forced her head back around to face him. Her chin ached brutally. She was forced to look up, panicked, into his contemptuous gaze. "Have I been too good to you? Have I been spoiling you too much?! Huh?! Huh?!" His hand kept twisting and pinching her cheeks, jerking her head this way and that. The pain drove her nearly mad. Her brain was buzzing; she could only hear her own frantic heartbeat. She was on the verge of a breakdown, with only one thought in her head: run. She didn't want to be violated in this haunted place.

"I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please, just let me go first, okay?" She sobbed, and then, shamefully, she was crying—leaning against the wall, tears and snot streaming down her face.

Ren Jiaxuan paused slightly when he saw her crying. Dong Yanyan felt the pressure slacken. She shoved him away and bolted out for dear life.

"Still trying to run? I'll break you!" Ren Jiaxuan caught her by the waist from behind and dragged her back. Her heart sank. In desperation, she stomped backward hard, landing on his left foot. A cry of pain came from behind her. Then she felt her feet leave the ground, her body hoisted up around the waist, and thrown heavily onto the table. She tried to sit up, but his body was already on top of hers, his heavy breathing hot against her ear. She twisted her body backward frantically. He grabbed her collar and hauled her back.

"Not here. I'm scared." She begged through tears as a hundred thoughts flashed through her mind. In the end, all she managed was one complete sentence. She knew that screaming for help now would only invite destruction—if anyone saw this, it'd be bad for everyone. She needed to find a way out of here, and once she was outside, things would be easier.

"Scared, are you? Hmm?" Ren Jiaxuan's expression softened a bit. He lowered his head, kissed her cheek again, then moved to her lips. Dong Yanyan lowered her eyelids and twisted her head to the left with effort.

"That's enough," she said weakly, her right hand searching urgently across the table, feeling for something she could use as a weapon. This was the workbench where the engineering students ran their experiments. There was an oscilloscope, a multimeter, and a soldering iron on it. If she could just grab any one of them, she might be saved. Her fingertips suddenly touched something ice-cold. It was the padlock Song Mingcheng had put on the table earlier, key still in it. She grabbed it like a lifeline, raised her hand, and swung it hard at his head. Ren Jiaxuan looked up in shock. The lock struck his forehead squarely. Instinctively, he covered his head with his hands. Dong Yanyan shoved him off with all her strength, jumped off the table, and ran for the door. Seeing it was still bolted, she turned back and kicked him again in desperation. Ren Jiaxuan hadn't expected her to double back like that. He staggered from the kick. Dong Yanyan opened the door and fled. Terrified he might chase after her, she fumbled with trembling hands to lock the door behind her, then ran downstairs clutching the key. She reached the stairwell and collided head-on with someone. She screamed, nearly fell, and the key clattered to the floor.

"Yanyan, what's wrong?" Li Zhe grabbed her arm, confused.

Dong Yanyan stared at him, still shaking. She screamed again, shoved him away violently, and staggered down the stairs to the first-floor dormitory. The lights were on. Gu Xiaohan was sitting on her bed listening to music. Dong Yanyan threw her arms around her and burst into loud sobs.

Gu Xiaohan was completely bewildered. "What's wrong? What happened?!" she asked.

Dong Yanyan's shoulders shook with sobs, but she couldn't get a word out. Gu Xiaohan could only pat her shoulder and comfort her in a soft voice.

Li Zhe picked up the key. Wait—wasn't this the key to the laboratory? He heard the sound of heavy bangs coming from the fourth-floor lab, like someone kicking the door. He hurried upstairs and opened it.

Ren Jiaxuan charged out in a stride, ignoring Li Zhe completely and heading for the stairs. Li Zhe was quick, grabbing his arm. "Hey! Get back here! What did you do to Yanyan just now? Why is she that scared, huh?"

"None of your business!" Ren Jiaxuan wiped his forehead, furious.

"Jiaxuan! There's a huge lump on your head!" Li Zhe stared at the bump on his forehead like he'd discovered a new continent, and even poked it curiously. He laughed helplessly. "No wonder Yanyan was scared to tears and couldn't even talk—you must have been trying to get fresh with her! But looks like you didn't get much of a bargain. So she gave you that lump? It's nice and round! Oh, it's bleeding! That's a big gash! Come upstairs! I'll find you some gauze to wrap it up!"

Ren Jiaxuan shook his head, dejected. "No need. A little blood won't kill me. Come downstairs with me. I'm going to find her."

"No way. You're still seeing red right now. Go after you've cooled off. She's clearly shaken—give her some time to calm down too." Li Zhe said with a smile.

Ren Jiaxuan slammed his fist against the door. Li Zhe winced, looking at his hand.

*

Song Mingcheng and Lin Feng sat in the dormitory, facing each other in silence for a long while.

"I've always thought you treated Dong Yanyan differently from everyone else. I don't care what you two had in the past—she's got a boyfriend now. You sticking your nose in when you've got no business being there doesn't do her any favors." Lin Feng toyed with a go stone, turning to look at Song Mingcheng, speaking slowly and unhurriedly.

Song Mingcheng shot him a glance and smiled. "So you're saying, since you can't get what you want, you won't let me want it either? I never noticed you caring that much about her before. Didn't you used to be all for helping someone else get together with her? Who knew she'd not only turn against that person, but end up with Ren Jiaxuan instead? That leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, doesn't it?"

Lin Feng's face changed in an instant. "Lao Si, we're brothers in the same dorm. Is that really what you want to say?" (This is the original site. Your support is my greatest motivation.)