Kidnapping the Female Teacher's Best Friend - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Mo Zibei was still dazed when Du Chenxing rode his bike over and tapped her shoulder from the side: “You didn’t ride your bike today…” Seeing her face, Du Chenxing stammered, “Holy cow… what the… how did your face get like that?”

Mo Zibei snapped back to reality, glanced at him, and said flatly: “It’s nothing.”

Mo Zibei slung her backpack strap over her shoulder and walked forward. Du Chenxing cycled very slowly, keeping pace beside her, tilting his head as he quietly asked, “Did you get into a fight with someone?”

Mo Zibei gave a slight nod.

“!!!!!!!!!!” Du Chenxing tried to hold back but couldn’t. “Who did you fight with?”

Mo Zibei pursed her lips, looking down: “Liu Yang.”

“Holy crap!!!” Du Chenxing slammed on the brakes, nearly falling over. Fortunately, Mo Zibei quickly reached out and steadied his handlebars.

Du Chenxing stabilized himself with his feet on the ground, staring at Mo Zibei with a confused look: “Why would you fight him?”

“He deserved a beating.”

Du Chenxing knew that thug Liu Yang deserved a beating, but the question was why they suddenly started fighting.

However, he was sensible and didn’t press for more, likely knowing that Mo Zibei didn’t want to discuss it further.

On the way back to class, Mo Zibei received many curious glances. She was usually very low-key and was quite unaccustomed to this sudden attention.

Arriving at the classroom, she saw Meng Yuanhao sitting in Mo Zibei’s seat, currently whispering something to Qu Junzhi… Du Chenxing and Mo Zibei came through the front door. From this angle, they could see Meng Yuanhao’s side profile, and spotting that Meng Yuanhao’s face was also bruised and purple, Du Chenxing was shocked again: No need to ask—Meng Yuanhao definitely participated in the fight last night! Good heavens!!! This was a group fight!!!

One was speaking earnestly, the other listening intently. Mo Zibei had walked right up to them, but the two still hadn’t noticed.

It wasn’t until Mo Zibei sat backward on Zhu Dong’s chair and tapped her desk with her finger that Meng Yuanhao and Qu Junzhi looked up at her.

Mo Zibei’s gaze fell on Meng Yuanhao: “What are you doing here?”

Meng Yuanhao grinned at her: “I brought you two bottles of yogurt.”

Qu Junzhi next to her stared fixedly at Mo Zibei, more accurately, at Mo Zibei’s bruised and swollen cheek area. She raised her hand, gently reaching out, wanting to touch it. Just before her hand made contact, Mo Zibei suddenly grasped it.

“What are you doing?” Mo Zibei looked at her, puzzled.

Qu Junzhi didn’t pull her hand back, letting Mo Zibei hold it. This was the first time Mo Zibei had held her hand like this, palm against the back of her hand, a continuous warmth radiating from the point of contact…

“Does it still hurt?” Held like that, Qu Junzhi’s voice was much softer than usual.

Meng Yuanhao nearby couldn’t help but dig his pinky finger into his left ear…

Mo Zibei released her hand, her tone normal: “I put medicine on it, it’s much better.”

Qu Junzhi subconsciously rubbed the back of her right hand where Mo Zibei’s palm had rested: “That’s good. I’ll go get you some water.” She took Mo Zibei’s cup and her own, then stood up and headed to the back door.

After she walked away, Meng Yuanhao clicked his tongue twice: “I feel like Qu Junzhi is pretty good to you. I talked to her for ages just now, and she didn’t ask if my face hurt. Oh well, now she’s even fetching water for you…”

Mo Zibei ignored his words, tapping the desktop with her knuckle: “Did you tell her about last night?”

Meng Yuanhao gave an embarrassed cough and a sheepish smile: “She saw the injuries on my face and asked if you were involved, and I couldn’t help but tell her…”

Du Chenxing had been watching the scene out of the corner of his eye and straining his ears to catch their conversation. Hearing this, he finally couldn’t hold back, leaning in his head curiously: “What exactly happened last night?”

“Geez, you’re a big guy, why are you so gossipy?” Meng Yuanhao pushed his face away. Seeing more people trickling into Mo Zibei’s class, he stood up. “I’m heading back. Oh, right, we’re eating at Ruoxin’s place for lunch today. Ruoxin said she’s going straight with her dad after school since he took the day off today.” Zhou Father came to the school that morning and went straight to meet the school administration. No one knew what they discussed, but a week later, Liu Yang transferred schools. Exactly where he went, no one was sure.

Mo Zibei nodded in agreement.

Du Chenxing pouted at Meng Yuanhao and sat back up straight.

As soon as Meng Yuanhao left, Qu Junzhi returned with the water. It was warm, just right for drinking.

“Thank you.” Mo Zibei had returned to her seat and took a sip from the cup.

“Why are you being so polite?” She often fetched water for Mo Zibei.

Mo Zibei didn’t reply, sipping her water slowly and looking down at her book. Qu Junzhi stared at her for a few seconds. Seeing that Mo Zibei refused to look up, she turned away, slightly displeased.

People from the surrounding desks, front and back, also kindly came over to ask about Mo Zibei’s injuries. Mo Zibei responded briefly and coolly, not engaging much. With her attitude, others who wanted to inquire gave up. Qu Junzhi was quite happy with her standoffishness toward others, and her momentary displeasure instantly vanished.

During the morning classes, Qu Junzhi kept glancing toward Mo Zibei, making Mo Zibei feel quite uncomfortable.

During the last period, Qu Junzhi was still doing it. Mo Zibei took advantage of the teacher not looking and whispered, tilting her head: “What’s wrong?”

“Next time you fight, you must protect your face so you don’t get disfigured.”

“Huh?”

Qu Junzhi leaned into her ear, her tone sincere: “Haven’t you noticed? You’re not as good-looking as you were before…”

Mo Zibei was stunned for a moment, then defended herself softly: “I’m not disfigured now.”

“You’re swollen…”

Mo Zibei never used to care about looks or beauty, but hearing Qu Junzhi say this, she suddenly wondered if Mu Hanxi thought the same when she applied the medicine… Her mind wandered, and she got distracted, eventually getting caught by the Chinese teacher, who called on her instantly. Fortunately, Qu Junzhi and Du Chenxing secretly whispered the answers to her, and she barely passed the test.

After school at noon, the three of them got into Zhou Father’s car.

Meng Yuanhao was exiled by Zhou Ruoxin to the front passenger seat. She sat in the back with Mo Zibei.

As soon as she sat down, Zhou Ruoxin turned her head to examine the injuries on Mo Zibei’s face.

In fact, she had been a bit angry at Mo Zibei last night. They had grown up together since childhood and knew each other best, yet when Mo Zibei was injured and needed medicine applied, she didn’t come to her but went to that woman. Zhou Ruoxin didn’t even know who the woman was, and most importantly, Mo Zibei had never mentioned her before. She felt awful, unable to sleep well all night. She was still upset and sad when she arrived at school this morning and didn’t even go find Mo Zibei during the breaks. But she was also worried about her injuries. Considering that Mo Zibei’s injuries were mainly because of her, her heart softened even more, and she couldn’t maintain her reserve when she saw her.

Seeing her reaching out to touch her face, Mo Zibei quickly said: “It’s fine, I’ve applied medicine, and it doesn’t hurt much anymore.”

“I won’t touch you,” Zhou Ruoxin lowered her hand, looking a little disappointed. “Just let me look.”

Only then did Mo Zibei willingly lift and tilt her face for her to examine. Zhou Ruoxin inspected it carefully. After applying the medicine, the situation was indeed much better than yesterday.

From the moment he sat in the front seat, Meng Yuanhao’s peripheral vision hadn’t left the two of them. Later, he simply twisted his body to watch openly. The more he looked, the sourer he felt. He had been punched several times on the face and was covered in bruises too, yet Zhou Ruoxin hadn’t shown him this kind of concern…

Spotting Meng Yuanhao pouting with a look of injustice, Zhou Father chuckled and reached out to rub his head during a red light.

Meng Yuanhao felt a little embarrassed and sat up straight.

“Did… did she apply the medicine to your other injured areas too?”

“Mhm.” Mo Zibei turned back and sat upright.

Zhou Ruoxin felt a pang of jealousy again. She bit her lip tightly: “Who is she?”

“She’s a friend of our Teacher Lin,” Mo Zibei thought for a moment, then added, “I’m getting English tutoring from her now.”

These details weren’t the real concern. What Zhou Ruoxin truly wanted to know was why Mo Zibei was so close to that woman, allowing her to touch her and help apply the medicine.

But how could she ask that… and even if she asked, would Mo Zibei tell her?

Zhou Ruoxin moved away a little, distancing herself from Mo Zibei. She leaned against the window, gazing down at the rapidly passing ground, her thoughts drifting…

Her current mood couldn’t be described as sadness or grief, but a sense of emptiness…

She felt that a very important part of herself, something she had always cherished deeply, seemed to be quietly slipping away, and she could only watch helplessly as it flowed away…

Zhou Father had called an acquaintance that morning to pre-order food, and the restaurant prepared the dishes in advance and delivered them.

Lunch was extremely lavish, a table full of delicious food, but Zhou Ruoxin looked listless and barely ate a few bites. Moreover, she usually sat next to Mo Zibei but sat across from her today.

Zhou Father certainly noticed the anomaly but knew it wasn’t the time to ask questions. He coaxed his daughter to eat a few more bites, then drove the three of them back to school.

On the way back, Zhou Ruoxin proactively took the passenger seat.

Mo Zibei and Meng Yuanhao sat in the back.

Leaning in, Meng Yuanhao rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned closer, whispering: “What did you do to upset her?”

Mo Zibei shook her head, leaning back against the seat with her eyes closed. Zhou Ruoxin was upset, and it was still because of her. Even she, as slow as she was, could feel it…

“That’s weird,” Meng Yuanhao rubbed his chin, deep in thought. “She’s actually refusing to talk to you…” Anyone who wasn’t blind could see how good Zhou Ruoxin was to Mo Zibei, which always made Meng Yuanhao feel quite sour.

Mo Zibei continued to keep her eyes closed, not engaging in conversation.

“This isn’t your fault,” Meng Yuanhao thought hard until his head hurt, yet he couldn’t figure out why Zhou Ruoxin was unhappy. “It’s her strange temper. You fought for her last night, and today she’s acting like this towards you… Anyway, that girl’s emotions are volatile, changing faster than a summer sky. Alas, only the two of us can tolerate her.” As he talked, he suddenly cheered up. Previously, Zhou Ruoxin only acted this way towards him; now she was doing it to Mo Zibei too. Thinking this way, he felt a sense of camaraderie and shared suffering with Mo Zibei. This spontaneous feeling completely dispelled his years of sour resentment, and his emotional imbalance vanished entirely.

He turned to look at Mo Zibei. The more he looked, the friendlier he felt, and he couldn’t resist inching closer, nearly touching Mo Zibei.

Mo Zibei moved her butt outward, pushed him away with her hand, and opened her eyes, puzzled: “Why are you sitting so close to me?”

Meng Yuanhao blinked, not yet finding an explanation, when he felt a chill on the back of his neck. He instinctively looked at Zhou Ruoxin, meeting her cold, glaring eyes. A chilling aura seemed to condense around her, making Meng Yuanhao unconsciously shrink his neck.

Zhou Ruoxin turned sideways, her face tense, and told Zhou Father: “Dad, stop at the intersection ahead.” Before Meng Yuanhao could grasp her intention, he was exiled back to the front passenger seat. He grumbled with a long face, complaining a few times, but no one paid attention.

Mo Zibei opened her eyes, looked at Zhou Ruoxin, who had returned to sit beside her, and whispered, “Wake me when we arrive.” Saying this, she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes again.

Zhou Ruoxin looked at her quiet, closed-eye appearance, and the still-faint bruises on her face, and her heart softened again. Regardless of everything, it was true that Mo Zibei had fought for her last night and was injured because of her…

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