Chapter Six: Threatened in the Warehouse

As soon as Mengxia Ye stepped into the warehouse, the door slammed shut behind her. The place was empty, filled only with discarded equipment. The girls who had seemed so sweet before dropped their charming facades, crossing their arms and kicking at the debris on the floor.

"Mengxia Ye, right? I didn't like you from the last competition. Do you think just because you have a pretty face you can flirt with anyone you want? Tangling with Xingchen Ye one moment, then entangling with Chengze Lu the next—aren't you just asking for trouble?"

They advanced toward her, brimming with arrogance.

"But if you get on your knees now and apologize, and promise to quit the cheerleading squad, we'll let you go. Otherwise, we'll strip you and let everyone get to know the real you."

Mengxia backed away, her eyes growing red with tears.

"Hurry up and apologize! Our patience is running thin!"

"I won't. What you're doing is wrong," Mengxia replied loudly, refusing to kneel even though she was terrified. She slipped her phone from her pocket and held it behind her back.

The girls burst into mocking laughter, bending at the waist with amusement. Seizing the moment, Mengxia quickly dialed a number. One sharp-eyed girl lunged and snatched the phone from her, but the call had already connected. With a sharp click, the call was ended. The girls exchanged glances, wasting no more words as they lunged for her, clawing at her clothes and yanking her hair.

Tears stung Mengxia's eyes, but she fought back with all her might.

"Don't touch me! Get away!"

Suddenly her head was slammed down onto a metal vessel, the impact leaving her dizzy and half-conscious.

As her clothes were torn open and the girls smirked in triumph, Mengxia's face grew icy and cold, devoid of all expression. In a sudden burst, she grabbed the hair of the girl to her right and slammed her head into the floor. With practiced movements, she kicked another in the stomach, yanked their hair, and dragged the ringleader toward the iron equipment.

They were so shocked by her sudden transformation that they froze.

Screams and the sound of bodies hitting metal echoed through the warehouse. The others tried to flee, but Mengxia caught them one by one.

The girls went pale with terror. What they didn't know was that Mengxia Ye was trained in taekwondo—and hand-to-hand combat.

"Take off your clothes. Now," she said coolly.

She unlocked her phone, opened the camera, and snapped quick photos of them.

"If you see me again, you'd better walk the other way. Don't bother me again—I could kill someone if I wanted to. Understand?"

The girls fled the warehouse in panic.

Left alone, Mengxia looked in disgust at her soiled clothes, then went to change into her cheerleading uniform.

Her phone kept ringing. When she answered, it was her cousin Xingchen Ye—and Su Yichen—on the line.

They said a lot.

"I'm fine," she replied simply.

She dressed and walked outside, where she immediately saw Su Yichen, drenched in sweat.

"Mengxia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Her cold tone made Su Yichen pause, but he still stepped forward to take her hand. "You're bleeding from your head. Let me take you to the infirmary."

Xingchen Ye and Manting Lin, who had just rushed over, stared in shock at the blood on her head and hands.

"What happened? Who did this to you? Mengxia, say the word, and I'll get them back for you."

Xingchen Ye was furious. In broad daylight, someone dared to bully his cousin? Didn't they know she was always under his protection?

He moved to pull her away, but Mengxia shook him off.

"Xingchen Ye, just stop causing trouble."

"Mengxia, you're heartless. When have I ever not protected you? Never mind, forget it."

The four of them went to the infirmary. The doctor on duty was an elderly man of about sixty, whose hands were not exactly gentle.

"Grandpa, let me do it," Xingchen Ye couldn't bear to watch and went to grab the antiseptic.

He hesitated for a long time, hand trembling, then handed the bottle to the anxious Su Yichen. "You do it!"

Su Yichen carefully dabbed at her wounds. The bruising on her forehead was severe, but the bleeding had nearly stopped.

"All done. A bunch of kids," the doctor grumbled. "Take this medicine—it's for pain and swelling."

Mengxia was ready to leave alone, but the other three trailed after her, Su Yichen frowning deeply.

"Mengxia, you must be hungry. Let's go eat," he suggested.

"I'll go by myself."

Su Yichen quickly caught up. "Your head injury is serious. Let me go with you."

"I'm going too," Xingchen Ye added. "I need to find out who bullied you. Don't misunderstand—I'm just worried people will say I can't even protect my own cousin. That would ruin my reputation."

The four of them, unusually, sat down to eat together.

"Alright, you can all go now. I'm heading home," Mengxia said after the meal.

Su Yichen followed, taking her hand. "I'll walk you home."

Mengxia paused, looking up at him. "Su Yichen, I told you not to follow me anymore."

He met her gaze and refused to look away. "I know. But just for today, let me walk you home."

She was silent for a moment. Her eyes narrowed involuntarily, brows furrowing. "Do as you like. But let go of my hand first."

"Alright," Su Yichen obeyed, taking her bag and things.

Xingchen Ye and Manting Lin both sighed, exchanging glances.

"Mushroom Head, why are you sighing?" he asked.

"I'm just marveling at the power of love. Does Mengxia have selective amnesia?"

Xingchen Ye gave a careless laugh. "What love? Wasn't it always the same before? That heartless Mengxia Ye—wasn't she in love with Su Yichen back then?"

"Hmm? What did you say?" Manting Lin stopped to look at him.

"I... I... Yeah, what did I say?" Xingchen Ye blinked in confusion. "Right, I said Mengxia Ye is heartless, always bullying Su Yichen."

"Hmph, you can't badmouth Mengxia. And anyway, Su Yichen—Mengxia doesn't like him anymore. You can't force it."

"What do you know, Mushroom Head?"

"Why wouldn't I know..." Xingchen Ye pressed down on Manting Lin's head, and the two of them tussled playfully. The golden light washed over them, making the scene look warm and beautiful.

Mengxia soon arrived home, collapsing on the sofa. Su Yichen stood at the doorway but did not step inside.

After a while, she got up, walked past him to a mailbox by the door, reached in, and took out a set of keys. She used them to open a box and retrieved a black package.

As she went back inside, she turned to look at him and asked in a flat voice, "How long do you plan on standing there?"

"Mengxia, you promised to tutor me," Su Yichen replied softly, so softly she almost didn't hear him. She looked at him quietly, her gaze drifting from his eyes to the pendant hanging around his neck.

She took a step back.

Her tone was cool and distant. "Tutoring was just a joke. Su Yichen, you don't really think I—"

"Yes. As long as it's you, Mengxia Ye, I always believe you."

Su Yichen's light brown eyes never left her.

She didn't continue, knowing that her next words would hurt him.

"Su Yichen, do you really want tutoring?"

"Yes," he replied.

Mengxia glanced at the pendant on his neck, then looked away. "Fine. I'll tutor you. But your grades must rise to the top ten in class within a month. If you can't, then after a month you must not come to bother me again."

"I will, Mengxia Ye," he said firmly.

"It's settled. No backing out."

He gazed at her, joy lighting his eyes. She, a bit awkward, went into the house. "Now you can go."

She closed the door behind her.

Steadying her emotions, Mengxia entered another room, opened the black package, and let the photos inside spill out.

She took one photo of herself from the pile.

From the bottom of a box, she took out a blackened iron basin, threw the rest of the photos inside, and burned them to ashes.