A Kiss for Life - Chapter 4

The situation was quite simple—it was a power struggle. The boy from the Discipline Committee was someone Wen Zhu recognized as a younger brother. When Julie Li confronted him with a less-than-friendly tone, Wen Zhu naturally stepped in.
The two queen bees quickly got into an argument, each calling the other “nothing.”
They had always disliked each other, and this was just an excuse to escalate things.
Julie Li came from a wealthy family. No matter where she went, people fawned over her, and she had friends everywhere. Being surrounded by admiration all the time had inevitably made her spoiled and arrogant. Wen Zhu, on the other hand, had transferred from a school in a mining district, where things were always chaotic. She had developed a fierce and unruly nature, vastly different from the delicate students at No. 11 High. She especially couldn’t stand privileged princesses like Julie Li.
Wen Zhu had strong influence in her class, and in an instant, a group of people rallied behind her, looking aggressive.
At first, it was just a heated exchange, a verbal clash that neither side actually intended to escalate into a physical fight. But then Julie Li brought up Sheng Xia to provoke Wen Zhu, saying, “No wonder Lu Ye doesn’t bother with you. He’s more interested in his new deskmate than in you.”
For Wen Zhu, Lu Ye was her biggest sore spot—mentioning him was like lighting a fuse. She pressed a finger against Julie Li’s forehead and cursed before storming off in frustration. Unable to vent her anger properly, she then turned on Sheng Xia, slapping her face condescendingly, as if lecturing a subordinate. “I’m warning you—stay away from Lu Ye. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She kept tapping Sheng Xia’s face. Though it wasn’t hard, the action was blatantly humiliating. Sheng Xia’s eyes turned cold as she slapped Wen Zhu’s hand away, her expression full of disgust.
Wen Zhu scoffed. “You’ve got quite a temper.” She enjoyed breaking down people with strong wills. This time, she actually swung a real slap. Sheng Xia tried to dodge, but she wasn’t fast enough and took the hit hard on one side of her face.
Half her face went numb.
Sensing that things were spiraling out of control, Julie Li grabbed Wen Zhu’s hand. “Enough! What the hell is wrong with you? Are you insane?”
Wen Zhu’s people moved in to pull Julie Li away. “Who the hell are you cursing at?”
Wen Zhu easily shoved Julie Li aside, cursed, and turned back, ready to continue teaching Sheng Xia a lesson.
No one expected Sheng Xia to suddenly fight back. She looked too soft—round baby face, bobbed hair, fair complexion, an innocent and adorable appearance. No one imagined that when she struck, she would be so ruthless. Using her knee, elbows, and fists, she precisely targeted painful but non-lethal spots. She clearly knew how to fight.
Since transferring to No. 11 High, Wen Zhu had never encountered a fight like this. She was momentarily surprised.
When Shen Jinian arrived, Wen Zhu had Sheng Xia cornered against the wall, gripping her chin and tilting it up slightly in warning. “If I see you again, I’ll hit you again.” But Sheng Xia bit down hard on the webbing between Wen Zhu’s thumb and index finger, eyes fierce, putting all her strength into it.
Her doe-like eyes were filled with real, unyielding fury.
Julie Li was held back and couldn’t intervene. She kept cursing at Wen Zhu, but with classes in session, there was no one she could call for help. Since the third science class had no lessons at the moment, no teachers were monitoring the classroom. A few people stood outside, guarding against anyone who might report them to a teacher.
Sheng Xia stubbornly refused to let go. The more Wen Zhu struggled, the harder she bit. Enraged, Wen Zhu kicked her twice, but Sheng Xia deflected the kicks, preventing Wen Zhu from gaining the upper hand. When Wen Zhu’s followers tried to step in, Sheng Xia’s gaze flashed with disdain, which only fueled Wen Zhu’s frustration even more. “Stay out of this!” she barked.
Sheng Xia had always known that the only way to deal with people like this was to be even fiercer and more reckless than them. If she gave in even once, she would be bullied forever.
She hated being bullied, but she didn’t expect to run into people like this right after transferring schools.
When Shen Jinian pushed through the crowd, everyone was stunned for a moment. If there was an unbridgeable divide between good and bad students, then Shen Jinian was someone these troublemakers would never normally interact with.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
He calmly stepped past the last layer of people and saw Sheng Xia in the middle of it all—bloodied at the corner of her mouth, face defiant. His eyes darkened as he tapped Wen Zhu’s hand away and pulled Sheng Xia to his side.
For a brief moment, when Sheng Xia saw him, she exhaled in relief, momentarily dazed, allowing herself to be dragged behind him.
When Shen Jinian turned to Wen Zhu, his usual indifference was replaced by a cold, oppressive glare. “Get lost.”
Cai Mengfei and Zheng Can quickly followed behind him. The two exchanged glances—one pulled Wen Zhu aside. “Forget it, Wen Zhu. Give Lu Ye some face and don’t cause trouble with Class 7.”
Zheng Can dragged Julie Li out of the crowd and yelled, “Mr. Duan is in the office! Are you all out of your minds? Get back to class, now!”
Cai Mengfei, being Wen Zhu’s cousin, knew her well—she never backed down when confronted head-on. The only way to calm her down was to mention Lu Ye.
Despite his unremarkable appearance—short, wearing rimless glasses with a thick prescription—Zheng Can was known for his good social skills. His loud, commanding voice convinced everyone to back off.
Wen Zhu stared at Shen Jinian for a moment but eventually stepped aside. Bl00d oozed from the bite wound on her hand, numbing her fingers. She cursed under her breath.
Shen Jinian held Sheng Xia’s wrist as they walked away.
No one moved.
He could feel Sheng Xia’s tense body, her emotions wound tight like a hedgehog’s spikes, ready to lash out at any moment.
After they had walked four or five meters, she suddenly turned back, her gaze so sharp and intense that it unsettled Wen Zhu.
Shen Jinian squeezed her slender wrist gently. When she looked up at him, he shook his head slightly. “No.”
Sheng Xia wiped the bl00d from her mouth with the back of her hand. It had already dried, leaving a long streak across her pale face, making her look even fiercer.
She let out a low grunt, slowly reining in her hostility.
Shen Jinian used his thumb to wipe away the remaining bl00d and examined the bruises on her face and neck. “You need to go to the infirmary for medicine.”
“I don’t want to.” Sheng Xia tried to pull away.
Shen Jinian frowned at her, and she immediately fell silent. She internally complained—why was she even afraid of him? But she still didn’t dare act tough in front of him.
She grumbled to herself that he always looked so stern, rarely smiled, and constantly furrowed his brows—what a waste of such a good-looking face, making him seem like he had been frozen.
“Don’t tell Aunt Shen,” she tugged at his sleeve.
He tilted his head slightly, looking at the bruise on her cheek. Because her skin was so fair, the mark stood out starkly.
He pursed his lips. “Idiot.”
There were so many other ways she could have handled it. Why did she pick the dumbest one?
After taking a beating and then getting scolded by him, Sheng Xia glared at him angrily, but he simply looked back at her expressionlessly.
She tried to come up with a comeback but failed, so she just turned her head away in a huff.
Shen Jinian reached out and playfully ruffled her short hair.
She turned back, glaring viciously.
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “Childish.”