After Becoming the Abused Heroine in a Campus Story - Chapter 37: If She’s Not Close to You, Would She Help You Like That?

Chapter 37: If She’s Not Close to You, Would She Help You Like That?

During the break after the second class, the homeroom teacher of Class 1 firmly refused to let Jiang Xianzhi go for the morning exercise. The teacher instructed her to rest her head on the desk for a while.

Jiang Xianzhi’s mind felt foggy. She kept wondering why Zhou Yining didn’t tell her about this matter. Her eyes were red, and just thinking about it made her feel even more upset.

Meanwhile, after finishing the exercise, Zhou Yining hurriedly returned to her classroom to grab the gift she had prepared. Although time was tight yesterday, she managed it well enough to get Jiang Xianzhi’s gift ready.

Zhou Yining carried the gift and walked toward the third floor. As she reached the entrance of Class 1, she saw a few students from Class 1 coming out.

Zhou Yining quickly stopped one of them and asked her to help call Jiang Xianzhi.

The girl cheerfully agreed and shouted into the classroom, “Jiang Xianzhi, someone’s looking for you.”

Jiang Xianzhi lifted her head, her eyes still red. She stood up and walked out of the classroom, then saw Zhou Yining in the hallway.

Zhou Yining had a smile on her face at first, but when she noticed Jiang Xianzhi’s red eyes, her smile instantly faded.

Zhou Yining hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Jiang Xianzhi’s wrist, and asked, “What’s wrong? Why are your eyes so red? Have you been crying?”

Jiang Xianzhi pulled her hand free from Zhou Yining’s grasp, refusing to let her hold it. She looked at Zhou Yining, tears welling up in her eyes, on the verge of falling.

“Let’s talk somewhere else,” Jiang Xianzhi said, her voice hoarse and clearly carrying a sob.

Zhou Yining also felt the hallway wasn’t a good place to talk. She and Jiang Xianzhi walked toward the open-air corridor where they had previously discussed problems.

A few minutes later, Zhou Yining stopped walking. There were hardly any people around, making it a good spot for them to talk.

She took a step closer, softened her voice, and said, “What’s really going on? What happened?”

Jiang Xianzhi looked at Zhou Yining, unable to hold back her tears, which slid down her cheek. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? Were you bullied at school?”

Zhou Yining froze for a moment but realized that since students loved gossip, it wasn’t surprising that other classes knew about it.

Zhou Yining quickly explained, “It actually happened a year ago. I only recently gathered all the evidence and reported it to the police. They arrested Lin Shaohui and those three scumbags. The legal process is still ongoing, but my evidence is solid. They can’t escape.”

As she spoke, Zhou Yining stepped forward to comfort her, saying, “I’m really fine. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry about this. Today’s your birthday, and I wanted you to enjoy it happily. Please don’t cry, okay?”

Zhou Yining took a tissue from her pocket and stepped forward, intending to wipe Jiang Xianzhi’s tears. But Jiang Xianzhi stepped back, avoiding her.

“I’m your friend, yet I only found out about this from someone else. If I hadn’t asked, were you never going to tell me?” Jiang Xianzhi sniffled, crying even harder.

“No, no, I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. It’s just bad timing—everything happened at once. I planned to tell you after your birthday, maybe next week. I really didn’t mean to keep it from you. Please don’t cry. Seeing you cry makes me feel bad too,” Zhou Yining said softly, trying to coax her while cautiously reaching out again to wipe her tears.

Jiang Xianzhi let out a cold huff but didn’t dodge this time.

Zhou Yining breathed a slight sigh of relief and gently wiped Jiang Xianzhi’s tears. “Don’t be mad. I haven’t even wished my little birthday girl a happy birthday yet. Stop crying—birthdays should be happy.”

Jiang Xianzhi’s tightly pursed lips curved slightly upward, but she quickly pressed them down. She couldn’t let herself be soothed so easily, or Zhou Yining might hide things from her again.

Seeing Jiang Xianzhi stay silent but soften slightly, Zhou Yining moved closer, gently placing her hand on Jiang Xianzhi’s lower back. Jiang Xianzhi struggled briefly but didn’t push her away this time.

Zhou Yining’s lips curved into a smile. One hand rested on Jiang Xianzhi’s waist, while the other gently wiped the tears from her cheek. “Look, your eyes are all swollen from crying. Does it hurt?”

Jiang Xianzhi pursed her lips and shook her head. After a moment, she said, “So, what exactly happened? Can you tell me?”

Hearing the sob still in Jiang Xianzhi’s voice, Zhou Yining immediately reassured her, “Of course I can. A year ago, during the school sports festival, I and a few other girls were changing in the locker room. Lin Shaohui’s accomplice wore a wig, disguised himself as a girl, sneaked in, and secretly filmed us changing. Later, they used the video to threaten us. But it’s all over now. I personally made sure they were caught.”

Zhou Yining skipped the details, including how the original victim nearly jumped off a building. She didn’t want Jiang Xianzhi to worry too much.

“They’re too much! How could anyone do something like that? No, I need to call my family. People like that should be punished harshly, and the school needs to expel them all,” Jiang Xianzhi said, reaching for her phone.

Zhou Yining quickly stopped her, explaining, “No need. Teacher Chen helped me find a lawyer. They’ll definitely get the punishment they deserve. As for the school, Zhong Yumeng helped me pull some strings, so they’ll likely face severe consequences too.”

Hearing that Teacher Chen helped, Jiang Xianzhi felt a slight pang in her heart, but it was bearable since Teacher Chen was Zhou Yining’s homeroom teacher. But when she heard Zhong Yumeng’s name, Jiang Xianzhi completely broke down.

“What? Zhong Yumeng knows about this too?” Jiang Xianzhi said, tears falling again. “How many things are you hiding from me? Didn’t you say you and Zhong Yumeng aren’t close? If she’s not close to you, would she help you like that?”

Zhou Yining was startled. She had just managed to calm Jiang Xianzhi down, and now she was upset again, crying even harder.

“No, listen to me,” Zhou Yining hurriedly said, but Jiang Xianzhi pushed her arms away, refusing to let her hold her.

“Explain then! Why did you ask Zhong Yumeng for help? Why not me? My family background is no worse than hers. Why didn’t you come to me? Do you think you’re closer to her, that your relationship with her is better?” Jiang Xianzhi said, crying harder the more she spoke. After all this, she realized she was the one who cared too much. Zhou Yining didn’t think she was special at all and didn’t turn to her first when something happened.

“No, I didn’t ask you because I didn’t want our relationship to be mixed with other things. I know your family is powerful, but I didn’t want to use your family’s influence to achieve my goals. That would make our friendship less pure. It’s different with Zhong Yumeng. She helped me, and in return, I’ll tutor her in math for a year to improve her grades. It’s essentially a transaction,” Zhou Yining explained. Seeing Jiang Xianzhi still crying, she continued, “I don’t want any benefits mixed into our relationship, Zhizhi. You’re very special to me. I care about you a lot.”

Jiang Xianzhi’s tears fell one by one. She shook her head and stepped back, not listening to a word of Zhou Yining’s explanation. All she could think about was that she had lost to Zhong Yumeng, that Zhou Yining trusted Zhong Yumeng more, and that she wasn’t Zhou Yining’s first choice.

Seeing Jiang Xianzhi cry even harder, Zhou Yining hurriedly said, “I really care about you. Look, before reporting to the police yesterday, I spent half a day preparing your birthday gift—a little fox I made myself. I hope you like it.”

Zhou Yining stepped forward and offered the gift bag, but Jiang Xianzhi pushed it away.

Her mind was a mess, her chest felt tight, and her heart ached. “I don’t want it. I don’t want your gift. You don’t care about me anyway. Give it to Zhong Yumeng instead,” she said, turning and running back toward the school building without looking at Zhou Yining.

Zhou Yining stared blankly at the gift box in her hand. She chased after her, calling, “Zhizhi, wait! Let me explain!”

As Zhou Yining called out, Jiang Xianzhi ran faster. Zhou Yining, seeing her emotional state, didn’t dare chase too closely, worried Jiang Xianzhi might fall.

She looked at the little fox in her hand and sighed. She hadn’t expected Jiang Xianzhi to cry so much, or she would’ve explained earlier.

Zhou Yining sighed again, following Jiang Xianzhi from a distance until she saw her enter Class 1. Zhou Yining still didn’t leave.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xianzhi wiped her tears as she returned to Class 1. She buried her face in her arms on the desk, crying even harder than before. Shi Yuanyuan and Si Yaqing exchanged a glance and walked over.

“Zhizhi, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you? We’ll go confront them for you,” Shi Yuanyuan said.

Si Yaqing quickly added, “Yeah, don’t cry alone. What happened?”

Jiang Xianzhi shook her head, still lying on the desk. Her mind was chaotic, her heart ached, and she just wanted to cry, nothing else.

Jiang Xianzhi didn’t know what was wrong with her. When Zhong Yumeng was close to Zhang Ye before, she felt uncomfortable, but not to this extent. Now, she felt so upset she could barely breathe.

Seeing something was wrong, Shi Yuanyuan quickly grabbed her phone and stepped outside to make a call.

She dialed a number, and soon the call connected. “President Jiang, it’s me, Shi Yuanyuan. Zhizhi doesn’t know what’s wrong. She’s lying on her desk crying, and she won’t tell us why. Maybe you should come pick her up and take her home.”

Jiang Yueyi frowned tightly and asked urgently, “What exactly happened? Who dared to bully someone from our Jiang family?”

“No, President Jiang, I don’t know either. She was fine this morning, but after the second class, something was off. Maybe she’s not feeling well. You should come check on her. Si Yaqing and I tried talking to her, but she’s ignoring us.”

“Okay, I’ll be there soon. Keep an eye on Zhizhi and make sure she’s okay,” Jiang Yueyi said, grabbing her car keys and heading out.

“Got it, President Jiang,” Shi Yuanyuan replied immediately.

As Jiang Yueyi left her office, her secretary chased after her. “President Jiang, you have two meetings soon.”

“Cancel them all. Something’s going on at home. Deal with anything else later,” Jiang Yueyi said, hurrying into the elevator.

By the time she drove to Nanchuan City No. 1 High School, the third class had already started.

The teacher, seeing Jiang Xianzhi still crying, felt a bit helpless.

Shi Yuanyuan spoke up, “Teacher, I called Zhizhi’s sister. She’ll be here soon to pick her up.”

“Alright,” the teacher said, continuing the lesson.

A few minutes later, Jiang Yueyi reached the third floor and knocked urgently on Class 1’s door.

“Hello, Teacher. I’m Jiang Xianzhi’s sister. I heard she’s not feeling well, so I’m taking her home,” Jiang Yueyi said.

“Okay, take her quickly. Check if she’s unwell,” the teacher replied promptly.

Jiang Yueyi walked quickly to Jiang Xianzhi’s side and gently patted her back. “Zhizhi, let’s go home.”

“Hmm,” Jiang Xianzhi said, her voice still thick with sobs. Her eyes weren’t tearing up anymore, but they were clearly swollen from crying.

Jiang Yueyi helped Jiang Xianzhi stand and said to the teacher, “Sorry, Teacher, for interrupting your class.”

“It’s fine. Take the child to get checked out and see what’s wrong,” the homeroom teacher said quickly.

“Okay, we’ll go now. Thank you,” Jiang Yueyi said, helping Jiang Xianzhi out of the classroom.

Perhaps from crying so much, Jiang Xianzhi felt a bit dizzy, but with her sister supporting her, she was fine.

“Zhizhi, what’s wrong? I’ll take you to the hospital,” Jiang Yueyi said urgently.

Jiang Xianzhi shook her head. “I’m fine. I probably cried so much I got a bit oxygen-deprived. My head’s dizzy, but I’ll be okay after some rest.”

“Why were you crying? Did someone at school upset you or bully you?” Jiang Yueyi asked quickly.

Jiang Xianzhi sniffled, tears falling again. Jiang Yueyi’s heart ached. She only had this one little sister, pampered since childhood. The family never let her suffer the slightest grievance. Seeing her bullied like this, how could Jiang Yueyi not be angry?

Jiang Xianzhi shook her head and said nothing. She walked straight to the passenger side, opened the car door, and got in.

Jiang Yueyi quickly followed and got in the car. She cautiously asked, “Zhizhi, don’t be afraid. I won’t say much, but in Nanchuan City, anyone who dares to mess with our Jiang family needs to think twice about their own strength. If you’ve been bullied, just tell me.”

Hearing her sister say this, Jiang Xianzhi felt even more broken. Everyone knew her family was the richest in Nanchuan City. Zhou Yining couldn’t not know, yet she chose to go to Zhong Yumeng for help instead of her, even though Jiang Xianzhi could have helped. Thinking this, her chest felt even tighter.

“Sister, don’t ask. Just let me be quiet for a bit,” Jiang Xianzhi said, grabbing tissues from the box beside her to wipe her tears.

She was exhausted from crying, her body felt weak, and she leaned back in the seat to regain her strength.

The more Jiang Yueyi saw, the more her heart ached. Her little sister had never suffered such a grievance. If she found out who bullied her, she’d make them pay.

“Okay, okay, I won’t say anything. Let’s go home first and talk about it there,” Jiang Yueyi said, following her sister’s wishes. She quickly sent a message to their parents and started the car.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yining returned to her class in low spirits. She had made the little fox she cared about most cry.

Zhou Yining’s heart felt sour. Thinking of Jiang Xianzhi’s crying just now made her chest ache.

She took out her phone and started sending apology messages. Since she upset Jiang Xianzhi, she knew she should apologize.

Zhou Yining: [Sorry, Zhizhi, I was wrong. I didn’t mean to hide it from you.]

Zhou Yining: [Please don’t cry, okay? Your eyes were so swollen just now. After class, I’ll go to the store and buy an ice pack for you to soothe them.]

Zhou Yining: [It’s your birthday today. Birthdays should be happy. I was really wrong. I won’t do it again, okay? (Puppy bowing jpg)]

Zhou Yining: [I’m sorry. You can be mad at me, but please don’t hurt yourself with anger. (Hugging kitty jpg)]

The phone notifications kept chiming. Jiang Xianzhi’s emotions had just started to calm down. She glanced at her phone and saw all the WeChat messages from Zhou Yining.

She told herself not to look at Zhou Yining’s messages, but she couldn’t help opening WeChat. Seeing Zhou Yining’s words made her even angrier.

Did she usually talk to Zhong Yumeng like this? Did she chat a lot with Zhong Yumeng on WeChat? Did she send Zhong Yumeng these cute emojis too?

Oh, right—last time, Shi Yuanyuan and the others saw Zhou Yining and Zhong Yumeng eating dinner together. It clearly wasn’t a coincidence. They were close.

Thinking this, Jiang Xianzhi got even angrier and threw her phone to the back seat, startling Jiang Yueyi.

“What’s wrong with your phone?”

“I don’t want to look at it,” Jiang Xianzhi said, sniffling. She felt a bit pathetic. Though she was still mad and didn’t want to reply to Zhou Yining’s messages, she still felt heartbroken for her.

Zhou Yining was filmed by bad people and threatened. She must have suffered so much. Thinking of this, Jiang Xianzhi couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, yet she also felt like she was foolishly caring for someone who didn’t care back.

She was worrying about Zhou Yining, but Zhou Yining didn’t even tell her about this or ask for her help.

Thinking this, Jiang Xianzhi broke down again. She had stopped crying, but now she cried even harder.

Jiang Yueyi was at a loss. She didn’t know what was wrong with her sister. She had just stopped crying, but after looking at her phone, she was crying like this again? It must be whoever caused this mess talking to her sister again.

But who was it? Her sister’s social circle was small. The rich kids in their circle were just superficial friends, not close enough to upset her like this. At school, her sister was only close to Shi Yuanyuan and Si Yaqing, but it definitely wasn’t them. The only person Jiang Yueyi could think of was Zhang Ye, since her sister used to be crazy about him.

Jiang Yueyi thought it over and concluded that, though her sister wasn’t into Zhang Ye anymore, she probably still had feelings for him. It must be Zhang Ye who made her cry like this. She’d call and confront him later.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yining’s messages went unanswered. She rubbed her forehead, feeling drained. She had really upset her this time, and Jiang Xianzhi wasn’t even replying. The only thing Zhou Yining was grateful for was that the little fox hadn’t blocked her.

Zhou Yining didn’t dare send too many messages, worried that Jiang Xianzhi might find her annoying and delete her. That would be disastrous.

She could only sit at her desk, sighing. Xu Yueming glanced at her several times, but Zhou Yining ignored him.

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Xianzhi and her sister arrived home. After getting out of the car, Jiang Xianzhi stood by the car for a few seconds, then went to the back seat to grab her phone before heading upstairs to her room.

Once there, she had no energy to change clothes. She buried herself in her blankets, tossed her phone far away, and tried to keep it out of sight.

Jiang Yueyi, worried about her sister, went upstairs to check on her. Seeing Jiang Xianzhi buried in her blankets and unwilling to talk no matter how she asked, Jiang Yueyi gently closed the door and walked to the other side of the hallway to call Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye was in class but didn’t dare ignore Jiang Yueyi’s call, since his family’s business relied on the Jiang family. Though he didn’t like Jiang Xianzhi, he couldn’t afford to offend them.

Zhang Ye asked the teacher for permission to use the restroom and stepped out to take the call. “President Jiang, what’s up?”

“You have the nerve to ask? What’s going on with Zhizhi?” Jiang Yueyi demanded.

Zhang Ye was confused. He saw Jiang Xianzhi crying, but he didn’t know why. He didn’t cause it.

“No, President Jiang, I really don’t know what’s wrong. She was fine this morning, but after the second class, she started lying on her desk. This has nothing to do with me,” Zhang Ye said, quickly clearing himself.

“Nothing to do with you? Hah, you think I believe that? My sister doesn’t have any other close male friends at school. You know she used to like you. She’s crying so hard this time, and you’re saying it has nothing to do with you?” Jiang Yueyi grew angrier, questioning him coldly.

“President Jiang, it really has nothing to do with me. Jiang Xianzhi hasn’t talked to me in ages. She hasn’t come to me recently either. We’ve barely said ten sentences combined. It definitely wasn’t me who upset her,” Zhang Ye said, feeling wronged. He was already uncomfortable with Jiang Xianzhi being distant, and now he was taking the blame?

“Zhang Ye, I suggest you think hard. I remember your family has a construction materials deal with our group. If you can’t figure this out, that deal is off,” Jiang Yueyi said, hanging up.

She then sent a WeChat message to her secretary, instructing the team to pause the partnership with Zhang Ye’s company until she gave the go-ahead.

Zhang Ye nearly cried after the call ended. He really didn’t upset Jiang Xianzhi. Why wouldn’t she believe him? If the business deal was canceled, his dad would kill him.

Zhang Ye rubbed his face in frustration. Wait, he hadn’t interacted with Jiang Xianzhi recently. Then he remembered—Jiang Xianzhi started acting off after hearing about Zhou Yining being bullied at school.

Zhang Ye thought he might still have a chance to clear things up. Maybe Jiang Xianzhi was crying because of that?