I’ll Hold Your Hand And Promise You A Lifetime - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Photo Controversy (3)

Yue Xi was more alert than usual the next morning. When she got to school, she went to find Zhou Yaxuan. She didn’t bring up anything about what happened yesterday afternoon—just said she was tired after playing basketball and forgot to help her carry the books.

Zhou Yaxuan smiled cheerfully and said it was no problem, that she still appreciated the help.

Yue Xi noticed she didn’t seem like she was pretending, so she didn’t bother saying much more and turned to leave.

“Yue Xi, about those photos… what’s going on?” Zhou Yaxuan suddenly asked.

“What photos?” Yue Xi hadn’t expected her to bring it up herself. She’d originally planned to confront her once she got evidence in a few days.

“You mean… you haven’t heard?” Zhou Yaxuan hesitated, seemingly holding something back.

“Heard what?”

“The photos on the school forum.”

“Oh, those. I’ve seen them. I just don’t know who uploaded them.”

“Did you show those photos to anyone?”

“No. Only you saw them.”

“But I only looked at the scenic shots you took that day. I didn’t open any other folders.”

“Only looked?” Yue Xi repeated, frowning. If Zhou Yaxuan really had only looked at the landscape photos, how would she know that the pictures of Yue Xi and Yi Luo were in another folder? If she truly had no idea, she should’ve said she didn’t even know those photos were in Yue Xi’s computer. But she only had suspicions—no proof.

“Yue Xi, you don’t think it was me, do you? I really only copied a few photos that day, and then I dropped my USB drive on the bus,” Zhou Yaxuan said quickly, defending herself.

“Mm. You mentioned that.”

“You really think I did it?!” Zhou Yaxuan raised her voice, seeing Yuexi’s obvious impatience. Several students nearby started looking their way.

“If only there was a way to check the computer’s file copy history,” Yue Xi muttered, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at her.

“I didn’t do it, Yue Xi, I swear!” Zhou Yaxuan suddenly burst into tears.

“You can never fully know someone’s heart,” Yue Xi muttered and turned away, not wanting to look at her anymore.

“Yaxuan, why are you crying?” Some of her classmates came over.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” she said, wiping her tears.

“Hey, you came to our class and made someone cry. You think you can just walk away?” a heavily made-up girl with dyed blonde hair tapped Yuexi on the shoulder.

“Something you need?” Yue Xi raised an eyebrow and stretched casually.

“Li Wei, she’s my friend. I’m fine,” Zhou Yaxuan said tearfully, pulling the girl named Wang Liwei back.

“So you’re that Yue Xi,” Wang Liwei said, as if she already knew something.

“Yeah,” Yue Xi said helplessly. Fame really was a double-edged sword.

“You’d better watch your back.” Wang Liwei looked her up and down.

“No problem,” Yue Xi replied coolly and walked back to class.

“Yi Luo! Yi Luo!” Liu Le came running over, flustered. “Come with me—Yue Xi’s in trouble!”

“What?” Yi Luo was shocked. “She was just sitting in class a moment ago.” She’d only stepped out to help the class monitor carry some homework—how did trouble find Yue Xi so fast?

“Come on, I’ll explain on the way. They’re still outside the classroom,” Liu Le said. She had been resting on her desk when she heard a loud commotion outside. Someone had called Yue Xi out to “ask her something,” and Yue Xi, without saying a word, followed them. Liu Le sensed something was off and ran to get Yi Luo.

As they neared the staircase, they could see a crowd gathered outside the classroom. Yi Luo’s heart was pounding. She pushed through the crowd and saw Yue Xi backed up against a wall, surrounded by a group of older students—the kind who usually hung around getting into trouble. She didn’t recognize them personally, but Lu Man had once whispered to her in the past that some had gotten punished for fighting or skipping class.

“Well, well, little beauty Yi Luo is here too. You two sure are close,” someone said from the crowd.

“Shut up,” Yue Xi snapped, glaring at him and pulling Yi Luo behind her protectively.

Across from Yuexi stood Wang Liwei. She motioned for the guy to be quiet.

“We’re not done talking yet,” she said.

“About what?”

“Zhou Yaxuan is from our class. You made her cry. Aren’t you going to apologize?”

“Why should I?”

“Because you made her cry.”

“I just said a few words. She cried—what do you want me to do about that?” Yue Xi shrugged.

“You’ve got guts.”

“Don’t you people have anything better to do?” Yue Xi swept her eyes across them, tone flat.

“Still acting so tough? You’ll be crying later,” the same guy blurted out again.

“Fine. I’ll wait.” Yue Xi glanced around. “Is that all?”

“Just don’t let me run into you again!” Wang Liwei said, and with the bell ringing, the crowd dispersed.

Yi Luo tugged Yue Xi’s sleeve. “What happened? Didn’t I tell you not to act rashly? Why’d you provoke them?”

“I’ll explain later. Go back to class for now.” Yue Xi was irritated, though not because of Yi Luo. “I need some air.”

“Be careful. Don’t take it to heart. I’ll ask the teacher to excuse you,” Yi Luo said, worried. She never expected this mess today. Yue Xi wasn’t the type to seek conflict, but she refused to let herself be bullied. One summer, a chubby kid two years older had pushed her and scraped her arm. Yue Xi beat that kid so badly he wailed and never dared go near them again. That was the first time Yi Luo had seen Yuexi so fierce, punching him over and over—it made her forget her own injury. She now sent Zhou Yaxuan a message.

Yue Xi sat on the edge of the field, jacket unzipped, thinking this group probably wouldn’t let things go. She could handle herself, but she didn’t want Yi Luo dragged into it. But that girl had just rushed in earlier… what if they targeted her?

“Sis, can you pick up Yi Luo after school?”

“Okay. Something happen?”

“Kind of.”

“Tell me when you’re back.”

“Mm.”

Yue Xi texted Yi Luo too, asking her to go home with Ning Ran after school.

Yi Luo didn’t argue—she knew Yue Xi was worried and felt touched.

After school, Yue Xi still went to practice with Yuanzi.

“Yue Xi, I really don’t think Yaxuan would do something like this.”

“Then what about her ‘angry mob’?”

“Our classmates were just being dramatic. Don’t be mad—it’s all a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?” Yue Xi held her basketball and gave Yuanzi a cold look. “Don’t defend her anymore.”

“Alright… I just don’t think Yaxuan’s that kind of person.”

“Just wait. A fox always shows its tail eventually.” Yue Xi tossed the ball. “Scored.”

“Senior, what happened today was Yue Xi being too impulsive. I’ll talk to her later,” Yi Luo said, waiting at the school gate for a long time. People were trickling out, and finally she spotted Zhou Yaxuan and approached her.

Zhou Yaxuan yanked her hand away and walked past. “Don’t act so fake. You’re secretly happy about this, aren’t you?”

“Wait, senior—I didn’t…”

“Don’t bother me,” Zhou Yaxuan said, shoving Yi Luo hard now that Yue Xi wasn’t around.

“Ah!” Yi Luo lost her balance and fell into a bike passing by. Her right arm got scraped by the exposed brake wire.

“Are you okay?” the cyclist jumped off and helped her up. Zhou Yaxuan just stood there with her arms crossed, coldly watching.

“I’m fine,” Yi Luo said, holding her arm and forcing a smile. “Thank you.”

“Xiao Luo!” Ning Ran had just pulled up and saw the whole thing. She slammed the car door shut and rushed over. “Who are you?”

“Mind your own business,” Zhou Yaxuan scoffed, seeing Ning Ran protectively shielding Yi Luo, and stormed off, gritting her teeth.

“I’ll call Yue Xi. We’ll go home together,” Ning Ran said, pulling out her phone.

“Please don’t tell her, Ning Ran-jie.”

“Who was that girl?”

“A senior—Zhou Yaxuan. I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Alright. I won’t say anything.” Ning Ran looked at the mark on Yi Luo’s arm. “Good thing it didn’t bleed.”

All three had things on their minds, so the car ride was quiet. Ning Ran couldn’t stand the silence and turned on some music.

Back at the neighborhood, Ning Ran went to park while Yue Xi and Yi Luo walked toward the house. Yue Xi noticed Yi Luo’s hands trembling when she took out her bag. Her pants were dirty, like she’d scraped along the ground, and her steps were unsteady. Yue Xi was suspicious. She gently pulled Yi Luo’s right hand.

“Hiss…” Yi Luo gasped.

“What happened?” Yue Xi lifted her sleeve—and a swollen, red scratch met her eyes. “Was it her?”

“Don’t go looking for her. Just ignore her from now on.”

“So it was her.”

“I know you’re worried, but she didn’t mean it.”

“You’re still defending her? If you hadn’t said you didn’t care, I would’ve let it go. But now she’s touched you…” Yue Xi’s anger flared again. The person she cared most about had been hurt. “Was it just her or others too?”

“Yue Xi, don’t be like this. You’re scaring me,” Yi Luo said softly. She’d never seen Yue Xi so angry—her eyes were red.

Yue Xi calmed herself and gently stroked her hair. “I’ll have my sister pick you up after school for the next few days. Go rest—I’ll come check on you later.”

When she got home, Yue Xi told Ning Ran and Sarah everything.

Ning Ran was lounging with her legs up on Sarah’s lap, munching on an apple. “You couldn’t even handle something this small?”

“Don’t tease,” Sarah said, handing Yue Xi a peeled apple. “Want your sister to handle it, or will you do it?”

“I’ll do it myself,” Yue Xi said. She knew Ning Ran had her ways, though she never mentioned them around her. “If I fail, I’ll come to you.”

“Good. Just be careful—don’t get ambushed.” Ning Ran tossed the apple core. “And open your eyes when making friends.”
She didn’t know it yet, but this would become one of the most regrettable decisions she ever made.

“Mm.” Yue Xi knew she’d been too naive. She hadn’t expected things to get this messy even in school.