Qian Zhiyu, who had been acting like a vicious demon just minutes ago, was now crying and begging for mercy, having completely abandoned her pride.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
Chu Xiaomeng stopped, out of breath.
She truly had no energy left, her chest heaving with every gasp.
At that moment, as she looked at the bully begging for mercy, she suddenly felt that this girl wasn’t so terrifying after all.
Even a bully could feel fear.
Even she could be terrified.
Faced with violence, she was just as powerless.
“That’s enough, or you’ll actually kill someone,” Gu Chen warned, waving his hand.
He was just a bystander and didn’t want to get caught up in this mess, but Chu Xiaomeng’s actions had truly surprised him.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stepped in to help just now.
“Huh!?”
Chu Xiaomeng finally snapped out of it.
Once she calmed down, fear crept back into her eyes.
Venting her anger felt good, but the consequences were obvious.
She would face even more cruel bullying in the future, perhaps even at an unimaginable cost!
She instinctively moved away from Qian Zhiyu, her body so weak she couldn’t even stand.
‘What should I do? I’m dead for sure this time.’
She looked at Gu Chen but didn’t hold out much hope.
After all, he had said that morning that he wouldn’t protect her.
Now, her momentary satisfaction had brewed a terrible disaster.
The other two girls were also pale with fright, standing frozen in place, not daring to step forward to help.
The school’s number one bully was right here; they couldn’t afford to provoke him.
“Sigh, I should have known better than to come here,” Gu Chen sighed.
He scanned the area.
His gaze eventually landed on the horse-faced girl.
He walked up to her slowly and said, “You, take off your jacket.”
“What!?”
“Wh-What do you want!? This is a school, don’t do anything crazy!”
The horse-faced girl’s face twisted further in fear.
She took a step back, covering her chest with both hands, thinking he had some malicious intent.
“What are you thinking? With your looks, you’re like a monster that jumped straight out of the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*. I’d be losing money even if you paid me! Give me the jacket, or don’t blame me for getting my hands dirty.”
Gu Chen rolled his eyes.
Even if he wanted to take advantage of someone, he wouldn’t pick someone like her.
Did she think he had never seen a woman before?
“The jacket?”
Although she didn’t understand what he meant, she could only grit her teeth and comply.
She took off her thin jacket, her whole body trembling for fear that he might take further action.
Gu Chen pinched the garment with two fingers, his face full of disgust.
Then he turned and walked over to Chu Xiaomeng.
He handed her the jacket.
“Here, put this on. Otherwise, if people see you when you go back, you’ll end up on the news.”
As he spoke, Gu Chen couldn’t help but glance at her exposed chest.
‘Tsk tsk, this development… it’s so big and white. It’s no wonder the other girls are jealous…’
“Ah!”
Chu Xiaomeng finally realized her clothes were torn, exposing a large portion of her chest to the boy.
Her face flushed hot instantly.
She grabbed the torn collar to cover herself.
She took the jacket with her other hand, not caring that it belonged to someone else, and hurriedly put it on to avoid further embarrassment.
“I’m making an announcement. From today on, I’m covering Chu Xiaomeng. If anyone tries to find trouble with her, they’re picking a fight with me. If you don’t believe me, feel free to try!”
Gu Chen’s eyes turned cold as he made the declaration in front of everyone.
“What!?”
As soon as he finished, everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Chu Xiaomeng, in particular, wondered if she had misheard him.
He had clearly looked down on her before, crushing her with his words.
Why was he suddenly offering her protection?
“Let’s go. I’ll walk you back to the dorm.”
After finishing his piece, Gu Chen reached out his hand to her.
“Oh, okay. Thank you.”
Chu Xiaomeng grabbed Gu Chen’s palm, her gratitude beyond words as she stood up shakily.
Even now, it felt like a dream.
—
It wasn’t until the two of them left that Qian Zhiyu was helped up by the other two girls.
The burning pain on her face hadn’t faded at all.
*Slap!!*
*Slap!!!*
She then slapped the other two girls, her expression becoming even more distorted.
She roared, “You two useless pieces of trash! Why didn’t you help me when I was being beaten!? What do I even pay you for!?”
“Sister Yu, that was Gu Chen…”
“Yeah, even Senior Liu Han can’t afford to mess with him. We’re no match for him. There was nothing we could do.”
The horse-faced girl’s face was full of grievance.
If they had dared to move, their fate would likely have been much worse than Qian Zhiyu’s!
“Gu Chen! You bastard, I’m going to kill you!”
Qian Zhiyu’s face twitched as she could only scream out curses.
“But he’s too strong; we can’t beat him at all. And he said he’s going to protect Chu Xiaomeng from now on. He’s clearly trying to humiliate you. Sister Yu, we have to find a way.”
“No shit! If there was a way, he’d be dead already!”
Qian Zhiyu covered her face.
No matter how angry she was, she could only vent her rage powerlessly against his absolute strength.
“By the way, Sister Yu, don’t you know a Big Brother? No one on campus dares to mess with him, but we can ask for help from outside the school. I don’t believe Gu Chen will stay on campus his whole life, right?”
The horse-faced girl suddenly suggested an idea.
“You mean that guy?”
Qian Zhiyu’s expression turned a bit sour.
She didn’t seem very willing to do it.
“Yeah! When have we ever suffered this kind of bullying? Let that Big Brother help us kill Gu Chen! When the time comes, we’ll make him kneel and beg for mercy, and we’ll deal with that bitch Chu Xiaomeng along with him!”
“Fine, I got it.”
Qian Zhiyu bit her lip, her heart set after remembering the humiliation she had just endured.
—
On the other side, Gu Chen personally escorted Chu Xiaomeng to the entrance of the girls’ dormitory to prevent any further accidents.
But she was hesitating, not going inside.
“What is it? Is there something else?”
Gu Chen asked.
“Senior Gu Chen, why… why did you help me?”
Chu Xiaomeng finally couldn’t help but ask.
She was naturally happy to be protected, but she just didn’t understand why his attitude had changed so suddenly.
“There’s no special reason, I guess.”
Gu Chen thought for a moment.
“I told you, I don’t like useless trash who doesn’t even have the courage to fight back when bullied. Since you chose to resist, it proves you’ve got some spirit. Based on that alone, I don’t mind protecting you.”
“Is that the reason?”
Chu Xiaomeng seemed to understand a little.
Recalling their two previous conversations, she had indeed been hinted at; the reason he didn’t want to protect her was that she had been too cowardly.
“Yeah. I never hate the weak, only the cowardly. I’m a man of my word. From now on, you’re my underling. Just come to me if anything happens in the future.”
Gu Chen waved his hand and spoke his true thoughts.
Perhaps he felt some empathy because he had once been a weak existence himself.
It wasn’t until he mustered the courage to fight back that he completely transformed.
In Chu Xiaomeng, he saw a shadow of his former self.
“Thank you! I will definitely be a worthy follower in the future! Senior Gu Chen, you’re a good person!”
Chu Xiaomeng’s eyes turned red with emotion.
She bowed deeply in respect, her gaze carrying a hint of heat.