Dating Myself - Chapter 23

Qin Yige’s voice dropped, and Jian Yihu stood up. Her face was swollen, but she held back her anger. “Qin Yige, go with her, get the phone, and watch her delete everything!”

He looked at her. “Aren’t you coming?”

Jian Yihu touched her burning face. Her anger turned into a terrifying smile. “How can I show my face? I’m going home. I’m leaving now.”

Qin Yige nodded. “Fine. You go home first.” He turned to An Mu. “Let’s go.”

As he turned, An Mu gave Jian Yihu a cold, expressionless look. But the faint smile on her lips made Jian Yihu’s skin crawl. Why is she smiling? Did she figure out my plan? No, that’s impossible! She’s probably just laughing at my face or just happy she won!

An Mu held Jian Yixi’s hand, and Xie Maomao followed close behind. They didn’t walk toward the classrooms. Instead, they walked toward the other exit.

“Where are you going?!” Qin Yige asked.

“Don’t you want to delete the pictures?” An Mu said without looking back. Her voice was calm but mocking.

Qin Yige cursed under his breath. He had assumed they would hide the phone somewhere close by, but he forgot that they could have hidden it anywhere from the equipment room to here. But it was still raining. Where could they have hidden it?

Jian Yihu watched them go, then turned and went to the teacher’s office. Qin Yige followed An Mu to find the phone. They walked in circles and ended up back at the equipment room. An Mu walked over to the boxes, reached in, and pulled out a phone from the gap between two rows of boxes.

Jian Yixi had already heard An Mu’s plan, so she wasn’t surprised. But Maomao’s eyes widened. “When… when did you put it there?”

“When you grabbed Qin Yige and Jian Yixi pulled me away.”

Maomao’s jaw dropped. “You’re not just smart. Your reflexes are crazy! How can you react so fast? Are you a goddess or something?”

Maomao was impressed, but Qin Yige was so angry he almost coughed up blood. He had gone through so much just to find out the phone was right under his nose! Just wait! You little brat! After I delete these pictures, you’re going to regret this!

Qin Yige’s face was pale. He clenched his fists and said, “Unlock it! Delete it!”

An Mu calmly unlocked the phone with her fingerprint and went to the album. Before she could do anything, Qin Yige snatched it from her hand. He selected everything from that day, including the cloud backup, and deleted it all. He wasn’t satisfied, so he went back to the album to make sure everything was gone. He then gave the phone back to An Mu. But as she reached for it, he threw it on the ground and stomped on it. He kicked it and jumped on it, and the dust flew up. He finally stopped, out of breath. “Pathetic!”

Qin Yige spat on the ground, a cold smile on his lips. His eyes were terrifying. Maomao grabbed An Mu and backed away. “What are you doing?! The pictures are gone! Why don’t you just leave?!”

Qin Yige scoffed. “What’s the rush? The show’s just getting started.”

“What do you want now?”

“You didn’t think you could just get away with slapping me, did you?”

Maomao was scared. She immediately covered her face. “Boys hitting girls is shameful!”

Qin Yige cracked his knuckles. The sound echoed in the empty room. “I’ve been called a liar, so I have to get my money’s worth, don’t I?”

Maomao gasped. “I… I’ll take back what I said! I’m sorry!”

“Sorry, but I have a great memory.”

Qin Yige loved being in control. The more scared Maomao was, the more he liked it. But An Mu was so calm that it was ruining his fun. He smiled and walked toward her, then slapped Maomao.

“Ah! No!” Maomao grabbed An Mu and fell backward onto the mat. The boxes blocked them, so all you could see was Qin Yige’s silhouette.

The sound of a slap echoed in the room. Maomao screamed and then fell on the mat. Qin Yige was shocked. He stood there with his hand in the air. Maomao, who was a master actress, slapped her own hand, grabbed An Mu, and sat on the mat. An Mu calmly moved to the side and even pulled her skirt down. Maomao was kicking the ground, making a lot of noise.

“Ahhh! Don’t hit me! Please don’t hit me! I’m sorry! I won’t call you pathetic again! Don’t hit me!”

PANG! PANG! PANG!

Maomao kept slapping her own hand and kicking the boxes. The boxes scraped the ground, and the sound was terrible. Maomao cried, “Don’t kick me! It hurts! I won’t do it again! Don’t hit me! Qin Yige! Don’t hit me! Ah! It hurts!!”

BUMP! BUMP! PANG! PANG!

Maomao’s performance was so good that Qin Yige was confused. “What… what are you doing? Are you crazy?!”

Maomao ignored him. She kept making noises and fake crying. She kicked and slapped herself. “Boo hoo hoo… Don’t hit me… It hurts so much… Ahhh… I can’t take it… It hurts so much… Ugh! My stomach… cough cough… hurts… cough cough cough…”

Is she a graduate of an acting school?! Qin Yige, who was slow to react, finally realized something was wrong. Where’s Jian Yixi?! He turned around and saw Jian Yixi happily recording with Maomao’s phone.

Oh no! I’ve been set up!

“You! You little brat! You’re dead!” Qin Yige’s face was distorted in rage. He lunged at Jian Yixi, but she quickly turned and ran. He chased her, but before he could leave the room, he saw Jian Yihu crying with Zhao Xudong.

“Principal Zhao, they’re right there. Jian Yixi and her friends hit and kicked me. If Qin Yige hadn’t come to save me, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you.”

Jian Yixi ran into Zhao Xudong and stopped. She held the phone and looked at Jian Yihu. My sister is so cunning. She knew that Principal Zhao and An Mu had a conflict, so she came straight to him. Whether An Mu was innocent or guilty, Zhao Xudong would use this opportunity to blame her.

Qin Yige caught up and was relieved to see Zhao Xudong. “Principal Zhao, they…”

Zhao Xudong waved his hand. “I know. Let’s go to my office.”

Qin Yige pointed at Jian Yixi. “Principal Zhao, she… she recorded something… inappropriate…” He felt a little guilty. He was in the elite class and was the math representative. He was close to Zhao Xudong and knew he was petty and vengeful. But he wasn’t afraid. Zhao Xudong would want to protect the school’s reputation and would help him and Jian Yihu.

Zhao Xudong wasn’t a fool. He knew what Qin Yige was saying. He didn’t care about the truth. The rain had stopped, but the power was still out, and the cell service was unstable. He didn’t know about the live stream. He was just happy that he had a chance to get revenge on An Mu. “Where’s the video? Let me see it.”

Zhao Xudong held out his hand to Jian Yixi. She hesitated but gave him the phone. “Unlock it.”

Maomao and An Mu came out of the room. Maomao took the phone and unlocked it, then gave it to him. Zhao Xudong, who was wearing a striped shirt and slacks, squinted and watched the video. The video showed Qin Yige’s evil face as he walked toward An Mu and Maomao, who were hiding behind the boxes. You could hear kicking, slapping, and Maomao’s pathetic begging. Zhao Xudong looked at Qin Yige with a blank face. Qin Yige immediately said, “It’s fake, Principal Zhao! They’re acting! Listen, only Maomao is crying. An Mu isn’t saying anything.”

Maomao had given up. “The video is right here. People will see the truth.”

Before she could finish, Zhao Xudong put the phone in Qin Yige’s hand. “What is this? You say it’s fake, but the video is right here.” Zhao Xudong looked at Qin Yige and then at Jian Yihu. “Your face is pretty bruised. An Mu, what do you have to say?”

“I did it.”

Zhao Xudong was surprised. “You’re quick to admit it.”

An Mu said, “I’ll admit to what I did.”

“Good. Let’s go to the office.”

Maomao screamed, “Hey! Qin Yige! What are you doing?! Who said you could delete that video! Give me my phone back! Principal Zhao! He’s deleting the video!”

Zhao Xudong turned around slowly. “What video?”

“The video of him hitting us!”

Zhao Xudong’s face was blank. “What video of him hitting you? I didn’t see anything.” Is he even a principal? Does he think he can do whatever he wants?!

Maomao was so angry that she was about to confront him, but An Mu stopped her. “Don’t bother with him. He doesn’t even know what’s coming.”

Zhao Xudong scoffed. “We’ll see who’s finished.”

They all went to the office. The punishment was decided quickly by Zhao Xudong. An Mu was given a major demerit for fighting, had to write a 3,000-word apology, and had to apologize in front of the whole school. Jian Yixi and Maomao were given minor demerits for helping. They had to write 1,000-word apologies but didn’t have to apologize in front of the school. The incident with Qin Yige was not mentioned, and An Mu’s phone was said to have been broken by her.

An Mu didn’t say a word. She even stopped Maomao and Jian Yixi from arguing. After the punishment was announced, Zhao Xudong told them to leave. At the door, he laughed and said, “Time is running out. You have to finish your apology by Monday’s school assembly. Don’t forget to apologize to Jian Yihu. If you don’t, this isn’t over. Do you understand?”

An Mu looked at him. Her eyes were lowered, and her lips were turned up. She was not defeated. She was calm and even smiled. “Yes,” she said.

Zhao Xudong felt uneasy. Is An Mu planning something else? Is she going to go on the news again? He shook the thought out of his head. No, that’s impossible. This time, there’s no video. The video was deleted. And An Mu admitted to hitting Jian Yihu. She didn’t even mention that Qin Yige hit her. She knows that without evidence, she can’t prove anything. At least she’s being reasonable.

In front of the school leaders, Jian Yihu kept her act up. She asked for time off and left with Qin Yige. An Mu and her friends couldn’t leave. Zhao Xudong wouldn’t let them. They brushed themselves off and went back to their classes.

Maomao was sad, and Jian Yixi felt guilty. She felt that she had gotten them into trouble. But then An Mu said, “Trust me. You won’t get a demerit.” Maomao was immediately energized. She grabbed An Mu’s arm. “How do you know? Tell me! Tell me!” Jian Yixi also looked at her.

An Mu smiled at their innocent faces. “Check your cloud backup’s trash.” Jian Yixi didn’t know much about it, so she looked at Maomao. Maomao’s eyes lit up. She hugged An Mu and started jumping up and down. “Ahhh! You’re a goddess! I can’t believe I forgot about the trash… Mmmph!”

An Mu put her hand over her mouth. “Can you be quiet?” Maomao immediately closed her mouth and zipped her lips.

An Mu explained to Jian Yixi. “When you delete a file from the cloud, it’s not actually deleted. It’s just moved to the trash for seven days, and then it’s gone forever.”

Jian Yixi’s eyes widened. “Then… the pictures of Qin Yige are also…?” An Mu nodded. “If Zhao Xudong hadn’t come, I would have found him myself. Now we can just sit back and watch the show.”

Jian Yixi was relieved. She didn’t care about the show. She cared about her friends. “I’m just glad I didn’t get you into trouble.”

Why is she still thinking about this? And why is she not mad at me for setting her up? Her sixteen-year-old self was so naive.

Maomao was so excited that she immediately took out her phone. She had to see it for herself. They waited for her. An Mu was bored, so she looked at Jian Yixi. She saw that Jian Yixi’s hair was messy, so she reached over and tucked it behind her ear. Her fingers brushed against Jian Yixi’s soft earlobe. Jian Yixi flinched. An Mu didn’t notice. She fixed the hair on the other side. When she looked up, she saw Jian Yixi’s bright eyes.

Jian Yixi’s cheeks were pink. She looked so beautiful. Her hair was a little wet, but it made her look different. Her skin looked whiter, and her lips looked redder. Jian Yixi couldn’t describe it. She looked away. “I… I feel like I must have been a great person in my last life to have a friend like you.”

No, you were so unlucky. An Mu lowered her eyes and patted the wrinkles in Jian Yixi’s skirt. Maomao had finished. She smiled and hugged them, then started walking up the stairs. They separated on the third floor. An Mu went to Class 21, and Jian Yixi and Maomao went to Class 11. They waved goodbye.

An Mu thought for a moment, then went back. She told Jian Yixi to come to the railing. The railing was wet, and a few drops of water fell when they touched it. The rain had stopped. An Mu leaned in and said, “You saw what your sister is like. She’s probably going home to lie to your parents. Be ready.”

Jian Yixi forced a smile. She felt useless. “Don’t worry. They’re my parents. Everything will be fine.”

How can I not worry when you say that?