Gu Chen had long since grown accustomed to things like school bullying.
Back in the day, she had also been a victim.
It was only through her refusal to give in that she eventually managed to strike back, returning the favor to every piece of trash who had bullied her.
This sort of thing was quite common in middle and high schools.
Over the last two years since arriving at this school, she had dealt with quite a few school bullies, and her notoriety had gradually spread.
However, Gu Chen mostly only beat up those blind fools or people who looked for trouble because they thought she was an easy target.
As for ordinary students, she had basically no interest in bullying them.
Yet, in the eyes of outsiders, someone who could make school bullies take the long way around was definitely the ultimate dark force.
They simply didn’t believe she was a good person.
Combined with Tang Ziya’s exaggerated propaganda, Gu Chen had slowly been completely demonized.
A student falling while walking was due to internal injuries from Gu Chen; someone getting diarrhea after a meal was because Gu Chen had poisoned them; and whenever a classmate cried, it was absolutely because they were being threatened by Gu Chen…
‘Over time, she simply stopped bothering to explain. After all, the prejudice in people’s hearts was indeed a great mountain.’
“Tsk, tsk. Are young people these days always this reckless?”
Coming back to her senses, Gu Chen lamented with a sigh, not feeling much of anything.
They could fight if they wanted to, but stripping someone and filming it to post online was indeed a bit much to watch.
Wait?
The few girls tearing at the clothes finally noticed Gu Chen standing not far away, and their expressions shifted to surprise.
They hadn’t expected to be discovered in such a secluded place, and they instantly felt a bit guilty, halting their actions.
“Hey, kid, what are you looking at!”
One of the girls, who looked like a Snorlax, pointed at Gu Chen and roared with bolstered courage.
“Get lost! This has nothing to do with you, and you’d better keep your mouth shut!”
The girl next to her also threatened Gu Chen fiercely, her expression unkind.
Little did they know that the person they were offending was the Great Demon King who terrified the entire school.
Otherwise, they would have regretted it enough to bash their heads against a wall.
Gu Chen didn’t respond, her forehead covered in dark lines.
She shook her head and couldn’t help but mutter, “Young people these days are really getting more and more rude.”
“Why haven’t you gotten lost yet? Are you looking for death or something!”
Qian Zhiyu stood up from the chair and crossed her arms.
Gu Chen smiled.
It had been a long time since she had heard that kind of tone.
Interested, she continued walking forward.
She glanced at the girl with disheveled clothes and teary eyes, feeling a sense of lament.
She then said, “I have no interest in who you choose to bully. But right now, my tatami has been stepped on and dirtied, and someone is sitting in my chair. Even the drinks I was saving were taken out and finished… Isn’t that a bit too rude?”
“What!?”
The group looked at one another, exchanging glances.
All these things belonged to her?
No wonder they had seen a free resting area when they first came in.
They had guessed someone had set up camp here, but they hadn’t taken them seriously.
They had even planned to make this their own base in the future and kick the original person out.
“Do you not understand human speech?”
Gu Chen continued, “Now, I’ll give you a choice. I have a bit of a germophobia, so I don’t want things that have been touched by others anymore. Pay for all the damages here—1,000 yuan—and I’ll consider the matter forgiven.”
Rather than the bullying itself, what made Gu Chen angrier was that her belongings had been encroached upon.
Her anger began to rise.
If it weren’t for her principle of not hitting women, she wouldn’t even have bothered wasting her breath here.
But to their ears, her words sounded like a joke.
“Haha, what a joke. Compensation? I’ll compensate your mother!”
Qian Zhiyu laughed in anger when she saw someone actually looking for death.
It seemed she would have to deal with one more busybody.
Those who were frequently bullied knew that these types of people usually had one thing in common: they had no brains…
A few of the girls walked over aggressively, raising their hands to strike.
*Slap!*
In the next second, a crisp sound echoed.
To the shock of the other girls, they saw Qian Zhiyu scream as she spun around once before collapsing in a daze.
The entire thing happened in the blink of an eye; they hadn’t even seen how Gu Chen made her move!
Only then did they realize they had seemingly encountered a truly ruthless character.
“In principle, I don’t hit women, but I’m the one who decides the principles.”
Gu Chen remained standing where she was.
“Sister Yu!!”
The others finally reacted and rushed forward to help Qian Zhiyu up.
Their faces were ashen, but they were already too scared to do anything.
“Kid, you’ve got guts. Just you wait!”
Qian Zhiyu touched her burning cheek, her eyes looking as if they were laced with poison.
Clearly, she wasn’t going to let this go.
“Hold on. You think you can leave without paying the compensation?”
Gu Chen didn’t plan to let it end like this.
That strike just now was merely self-defense.
Her gear had been bought with real money, so how could she take a loss?
Qian Zhiyu’s face flushed red with rage, but in the end, she could only grit her teeth and scan a payment for 1,000 yuan as compensation before being allowed to leave.
A grudge had officially been formed between the two sides.
After handling the matter, Gu Chen finally turned her attention to the girl who had been bullied.
Although the girl was a mess, it was still obvious that she was quite beautiful.
Her standard baby face was very cute, her skin was fair and inviting, and her large, watery eyes combined with her pitiful expression were enough to make most boys feel a protective urge.
“I have to say, why are you so useless? You were being bullied and you didn’t even dare to fight back?”
Gu Chen, however, didn’t feel much sympathy.
Perhaps she had seen too much and had grown numb to it.
“Huh?”
Chu Xiaomeng had thought she was saved and was about to give her thanks, but she hadn’t expected to be met with a wave of ridicule.
“What? Did you think the next part of the story would be me comforting you out of pity and then taking you to the infirmary for treatment? And then telling you that you can come find me if you’re bullied again, so you don’t have to be afraid?”
Gu Chen arched an eyebrow.
“I… I didn’t…”
Already feeling miserable, Chu Xiaomeng lowered her head and stammered, her tears starting to flow uncontrollably again.
“If you don’t have the courage to resist, don’t expect some legendary hero to save you. I never sympathize with the weak, understand?”
Gu Chen shook her head.
To say she didn’t sympathize at all was naturally a lie.
But if the girl stayed like this for the rest of her life, she couldn’t blame others for bullying her.
“But… there were so many of them, and I…”
Chu Xiaomeng’s shoulders trembled slightly as she tried to explain.
“So what if there were many of them? Couldn’t you have just picked one and fought them to the death? If you don’t even have that much courage, then just wait to be bullied until the day you die.”
Gu Chen was helping the girl in her own way.
After all, if she had to protect every person she saw, she wouldn’t have time for anything else.
She wasn’t some superhero.
Chu Xiaomeng clenched her fists before finally standing up.
She gave a bow and limped away.
“Hey, my name is Gu Chen. Tell those girls that if they want revenge, I’ll be waiting for them anytime.”
“Thank you…”
The girl’s footsteps paused.
She nodded and whispered the name softly.
“Sigh, I have to set everything up again. What a drag.”
Looking at her Secret Base, which had been trashed into a mess, Gu Chen’s already depressed mood grew even more somber.