The School Beauty from the Next Class Insisted I Confess - Chapter 51

Before their eyes, Gao Zhi was squatting on the ground, cradling a severely injured cat. Her school uniform was stained with fresh blood; it was impossible to tell if it belonged to the cat or Gao Zhi herself. Cat food was scattered on the ground around them.

Standing in front of Gao Zhi was a boy wearing glasses. Drops of blood were dripping from his spectacles. He was wearing gloves and holding a small pencil sharpener blade—something inconspicuous that the school wouldn’t confiscate, but which was more than enough to attack a cat.

When the boy saw the group approaching, he paused his motion, which had been intended for another attack on Gao Zhi, and shifted into a posture for escape.

Still trying to run? Xu Qingfeng didn’t hesitate; she immediately gave chase.

It was another spectacular flying kick, but this time it was different from her usual kicks—Xu Qingfeng followed up with an extra stomp.

“Pff.” The boy fell onto the concrete, still struggling to get up.

Liang Hao and the other two girls moved forward to help subdue him.

The moment Xu Qingfeng saw the blood on Gao Zhi, her mind switched to a state of extreme rationality.

“Yi Qiu, go get Teacher Liu Li.”

Liu Li should still be at school at this hour; he would soon be heading back to inspect the dorms.

“Okay, be careful then.” Xia Yiqiu patted Xu Qingfeng’s shoulder as she left, casting one last look at the cat-abusing scumbag.

Without Gao Zhi needing to say a word, everyone present understood what had happened.

Gao Zhi had witnessed the boy abusing the cat, and when she tried to stop him, he had become enraged.

Xu Qingfeng stepped forward to help Gao Zhi up, while Liang Hao and Kong Qiaofeng tightly held down the scumbag behind them.

“Are you okay, Gao Zhi?” Xu Qingfeng asked with concern.

“I’m fine, Qingfeng.” Gao Zhi replied, looking worriedly at the bloodied and mangled kitten in her arms.

Xu Qingfeng naturally saw this scene. She glanced at the plastic bag nearby and mused briefly.

This boy is so vicious; he planned to torture and kill the cat, then dispose of the body.

“Hiss—” Gao Zhi looked at her own arm, letting out a short gasp of pain.

Xu Qingfeng’s expression became serious. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing serious, just a little scratch,” Gao Zhi said lightly, but Xu Qingfeng’s frown did not ease.

It turned out that just before the dormitory students had to return after evening self-study, Gao Zhi had intended to use the restroom before heading back. The early winter weather was chilly, and the sense of accomplishment from a full day of studying made this a rare moment of ease.

After using the restroom, Gao Zhi walked over to the railing on the left side and gazed at the bright moon, thinking of Li Tian far away.

We’re looking at the same moon. Bright moonlight, please look after her.

Then, a strange sound like a child’s cry reached her ears. Gao Zhi froze completely. That can’t be right!

Driven by her belief in materialism, she went to search for the source of the sound. Standing on the second floor, she had a clear view, especially from the railing outside this restroom, which was typically used during exams.

What was that? By the light of the moon, Gao Zhi saw a figure there; the eerie wailing was coming from that spot. She immediately headed downstairs toward it.

She saw the boy holding the blade in one hand and the cat in the other. The cat’s blood had already stained the small blade red. Naturally, Gao Zhi couldn’t tolerate this. She immediately rushed forward, knocked the boy away, and snatched the cat into her arms.

Unexpectedly, the boy, driven into a frenzy, stabbed directly toward Gao Zhi’s chest. Running out of time, Gao Zhi had to use her arm to block the attack.

The boy knocked Gao Zhi down. She barely managed to get up and squat down, trying to use words to stop the boy, but the demon wouldn’t listen. Just as he was about to stab again, Xu Qingfeng and the others arrived.

Liu Li arrived quickly, followed by several bold and curious boarding students.

Once they arrived, Xu Qingfeng recounted the detailed situation to Liu Li.

The surrounding students began discussing, and the noise grew constant.

“Isn’t that Wen Kangshi from the third year? He lives in the dorm next to ours. Why is he pinned to the ground?” asked a male student from the Humanities class, mentioning that their dorm served as the boundary between the second and third years.

“Didn’t you hear the class monitor? This person was abusing and trying to kill a cat, and Gao Zhi got hurt,” the girl behind him explained.

“No way, he’s a very gentle person. I heard he often fed the cats; he seemed quite loving.”

The boy was surprised, but the undeniable evidence before his eyes forced him to believe it.

“You can know a person’s face but not their heart. You’ve studied so much you’ve gotten stupid. Be careful, you brainless kid,” the girl teased.

“Oh my god, so that strange crying sound recently… could it have been the cat’s painful screams?” the boy exclaimed.

“One hundred percent, yes.” The girl’s confirmation made Xu Qingfeng feel a little embarrassed as she glanced at Xia Yiqiu.

She had completely misunderstood earlier. She had been so certain when telling Yi Qiu it was just cats in heat.

After hearing Xu Qingfeng’s account, Liu Li immediately notified the school leadership. He then instructed the security guards to watch Wen Kangshi, called the third-year director to notify the student’s parents, and finally told the students present not to spread rumors and to wait for the school to investigate the truth.

Hearing this, Wen Kangshi, lying on the ground, began to wail hysterically, “No, it wasn’t me! I was just passing by to feed the cat.”

If it weren’t for the fallen blade right next to his hand, his words might have held some credibility. However, facts spoke louder than words.

He was undeniably a devil and a scumbag.

Yet, rumors and gossip about this incident quickly spread throughout all students’ social media accounts.

Liu Li responsibly took Gao Zhi to the hospital. Xu Qingfeng wanted to follow, but Gao Zhi declined.

“Hey, it’s just a small scratch. Why do so many people need to accompany me? I’ll take the cat along, too, to see if we can put some ointment on it.” Gao Zhi’s tone was light; saving the cat made it all worthwhile.

However, the cat in her arms fell silent forever on the way to the hospital with Gao Zhi.

Gao Zhi looked at it and suddenly felt a sense of release.

It’s better this way. Your life was too miserable. I don’t know how many times you were abused. In your next life, be a happy child. It was only a young adult orange tabby.

On the way home, Xu Qingfeng and Xia Yiqiu were both in a heavy mood, lacking the joy of having uncovered a mystery.

“Yi Qiu, why do you think he did something like that?” Xu Qingfeng, riding the bike, asked.

If Xu Qingfeng relied only on her own thinking, she would never understand. There is a type of madman in the world who is well-mannered and outwardly respectable in front of others, but secretly indulges his boundless inferiority and brutality, using the unrestrained abuse of animals to vent his dissatisfaction.

This is because they dare not bully people or things stronger than themselves. What’s even more terrifying is that they chose cats, a species whose cries of pain are similar to a human baby’s.

Without the restraint of the law, people like Wen Kangshi are capable of unknown horrors.

“Don’t think about it anymore, silly girl. There are always going to be crazy people.” Xia Yiqiu replied. Not wanting her to be troubled further, Xia Yiqiu had already sent a message to the Xia Group’s legal team.

“Mhm.” Xu Qingfeng’s voice was muffled.

She was thinking: The world isn’t perfect, but for every moment you are by my side, I will do my absolute best to keep you from harm.

Xia Yiqiu, who was wrapped around her waist, leaned her head against Xu Qingfeng’s back. “Qingfeng, today we solved a psychological problem for the whole school.” Xia Yiqiu’s voice was gentle in the quiet night.

“Yes, it was very meaningful,” Xu Qingfeng said with a sense of relief, looking up at the full moon.

On the road going in the same direction, Liang Hao decided to drop Kong Qiaofeng off at her apartment before going home; fortunately, their routes were the same.

It was just after evening self-study ended.

Liang Hao and Kong Qiaofeng were together searching for the source of the strange wailing. Because Kong Qiaofeng needed to use the restroom, she ordered Liang Hao to wait outside for her.

“Ah—” a scream rang out. Kong Qiaofeng rushed out of the restroom and immediately barreled into Liang Hao’s arms.

Liang Hao knew she was afraid of the dark. Not knowing the reason for the scream, Liang Hao didn’t ask. The restroom’s motion-sensor light turned off, and the girl hugged her even tighter.

Liang Hao didn’t know what kind of past Kong Qiaofeng had endured. Her fear of the dark was unlike that of ordinary people. She didn’t dare to think about it, nor did she want to.

Later, when Xu Qingfeng and the others arrived, she subtly motioned for them to leave first.

After holding her for about a minute, Liang Hao felt the arms wrapped around her loosen slightly.

“It’s okay. Don’t be afraid, I’m here. What happened just now?” Liang Hao patiently inquired.

“I wasn’t scared!” Kong Qiaofeng remained stubborn.

“Okay, you weren’t scared. Then tell me, please? I’m a little scared.”

Sister Liang felt she had never spoken so softly to coax anyone in her life. She must have been overwhelmed by a surge of compassion; she couldn’t stand to see Kong Qiaofeng’s usually sassy demeanor gone.

“I saw a black shadow, and it swoosh—disappeared.”

Stray cats didn’t appear during the day, and it was only now that the student presence was low that Kong Qiaofeng ran into one. After all, the first floor housed the teachers’ offices, and students wouldn’t usually come here. Except for the homeroom teacher, the rest of the faculty had usually left long ago.

“It’s fine, it wouldn’t be a ghost. Maybe…” Before Liang Hao could think of the right words, the sound of the child’s cry came through.

This time, Kong Qiaofeng wasn’t afraid. She was, after all, a “King” who had been around the block for years. She hadn’t forgotten the goal for the evening; her fear just now was purely instinctive.

Why did I run into Liang Hao’s arms? That’s the second time. Kong Qiaofeng was annoyed and felt a bit embarrassed.

She timidly suggested to Liang Hao, “Let’s go over there and take a look.” Kong Qiaofeng was pointing in the direction of the strange sound.

“Okay,” Liang Hao agreed.

Before they could move, Xu Qingfeng and the others arrived with the cat recording.

Liang Hao genuinely worried about Kong Qiaofeng. It was so dark tonight; would she be scared going back alone?

Fine, Sister Liang will do a good deed and see her home.

The ride home for Liang Hao and Kong Qiaofeng was as silent as the day they returned from Xia Yiqiu’s house, though this time Kong Qiaofeng was in a much better mood.

When they reached the bottom of the apartment building, Liang Hao thought she should head home and turned to leave.

“Hey, you’ll be taking me home from now on, understood?” Kong Qiaofeng used her familiar commanding tone.

“Idol, don’t you usually skip evening self-study?” Liang Hao habitually called her ‘Idol.’

Students in the international class weren’t required to attend evening self-study. Even today, Kong Qiaofeng had been playing games on the school grounds (fortunately, there were no mosquitoes).

“What, I’m not allowed to go to school if I want to?” Kong Qiaofeng had to retort.

Then, considering that it was more comfortable at home, she amended, “Well, on the rare occasion I’m at school in the evening, you have to take me home.”

The girl, wearing a single-shoulder bag, still habitually had a lollipop in her mouth—the grape flavor that Kong Qiaofeng liked, which Liang Hao had bought for her when she got drinks at noon.

“Got it, Qiaofeng.” Liang Hao waved goodbye. Ever since she had called Kong Qiaofeng by her name that day, she had to call her ‘Idol’ in front of others, but when they were alone, Liang Hao could call her whatever she wanted.

“Hmph.” Who said you were allowed to call me that?

Kong Qiaofeng stood in place. After watching Liang Hao walk away, she entered the elevator lobby.

Returning home late at night, Xu Qingfeng saw her father (‘Old Xu,’ referring to Xu Zhenzhong) chatting with Uncle Gao (Gao Zhi’s father).

“Don’t worry, Old Gao. This kind of thing must be dealt with severely,” Xu Zhenzhong told his old friend with a firm tone.

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