As the bus drove away, Chen Lishu tightly squeezed her sweaty palms and said to the two men in a pleading tone, "Gentlemen, you want money, right? Name your price, and I'll give you as much as I can."
"Tsk," sneered the man on the left. "Talking about money is so vulgar. Look at your beautiful face. Why don't you have some fun with us?"
Chen Lishu's heart sank to the bottom of her stomach. The worst had happened.
"Stop wasting words with her," the other man said impatiently, shifting the knife pressed against Chen Lishu's lower back. "Walk that way."
Chen Lishu glanced in the direction he pointed. It was away from the school. If they continued, they would soon reach a distillery, and beyond that, there were very few houses.
At that point, she would truly be beyond help.
"Let's negotiate. How about I give you money? Just tell me how much you want. With money, you can find any woman you want, and I promise today's events will remain our secret."
"Stop the nonsense. Why are you acting so pure now? When you were clinging to people shamelessly, why didn't you think of today? If you satisfy us, perhaps we can even introduce you to new clients."
Seeing her hesitate, the man intensified his grip. Chen Lishu felt the tip of the knife pierce her clothes and scratch her skin.
...
"Zhiwei, I don't have classes this afternoon. Shall we go to the roller skating rink?"
Li Zhiwei shook his head. "I used to go every day, I'm already sick of it."
"Then where do you want to go?"
"How about the swimming pool? We can take a bath there too."
Feng Pangzi nodded. "Alright."
After class, the two didn't head directly for the school gate. They first went back to the dorm to grab a change of underwear before walking towards the school entrance.
Just as they were about to head to the bus stop, their sharp eyes spotted Chen Lishu standing under the bus stop sign on the other side.
"Chen Lishu!"
Li Zhiwei called out loudly, pulling Feng Pangzi towards her.
Chen Lishu, who was in despair and anxious, suddenly heard Li Zhiwei's voice, which felt like a godsend. She turned around happily. Before she could speak, she felt a sharp pain in her lower back and instinctively frowned.
"You know what to say if you don't want to suffer, don't you?"
Chen Lishu forced a smile. "Where are you two going?"
Her back was to the two men, and though her tone betrayed nothing, she was desperately blinking at Li Zhiwei, trying to signal him.
She didn't know if Li Zhiwei understood her meaning. Just as she was about to disregard everything and speak out, Li Zhiwei suddenly stopped.
"You're going home, right? Remember to bring some food. Fatty and I are going to the swimming pool, so we'll be leaving now."
With that, Li Zhiwei grabbed Feng Pangzi and turned away.
Seeing him leave without looking back, Chen Lishu felt like killing him.
She had been so obvious with her hints...
That's right, Chen Lishu's eyes moved. She had given such a clear hint. Unless he was blind, Li Zhiwei couldn't have missed it. If he was leaving now, it was likely to call the police or fetch help.
Understanding dawned on her, and Chen Lishu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but her nerves remained taut.
She had decided to stall for time. If Li Zhiwei didn't appear before they reached the distillery, she would risk being stabbed again and find a way to save herself.
Chen Lishu was right. Li Zhiwei had understood her hint and quickly assessed the situation. If he had rashly approached, Chen Lishu would have been in more danger, and with only him and Feng Pangzi, the villains might have escaped.
Therefore, he pretended to merely greet her as a classmate and then left.
Upon reaching the school gate, he told Feng Pangzi to call the police and quickly returned to the dorms to gather people.
...
As they approached the distillery gate, Chen Lishu saw several figures sweeping the courtyard inside. She deliberately twisted her ankle and lunged forward, falling to the ground. Before the men could react, she rolled away from them.
Just as she was about to cry for help, she heard two muffled thuds behind her. Turning around, she saw several familiar faces beating the two men.
Li Zhiwei was the most enthusiastic fighter.
Wearing his leather shoes, he repeatedly kicked the men in the face. His ferocity in the fight showed no sign of him being a novice.
"Damn it, you've got the guts of a bear, daring to commit crimes near our school. Believe me, I'll kill you!"
The other roommates had never seen Li Zhiwei fight so brutally. Seeing the men collapsed on the ground, faces covered in blood, they quickly stepped in, fearing he might kill someone.
"Zhiwei, that's enough. The police will be here soon, and it won't look good if you've beaten them too badly."
Li Zhiwei spat in dissatisfaction and went to Chen Lishu. "Are you alright?"
Chen Lishu shook her head and brushed the dust off her clothes. "I'm fine."
Then, her gaze fell on the two men. She walked closer and crouched down. "What did you mean by what you said earlier? Was someone instigating you?"
The two men looked up, but did not answer, only glaring fiercely at Chen Lishu.
Chen Lishu nodded and stood up. Just as the two men thought she, a mere girl, couldn't do anything to them, one of them suddenly felt an excruciating pain in his finger and cried out in agony.
Chen Lishu, however, had no intention of letting him go. She pressed down hard with her foot. "It's okay if you don't say anything. You used this hand to point the knife at me just now, didn't you? What if I press down harder and break it? Would that be considered self-defense?"
The man gasped in pain, his face contorted with suffering.
The surrounding students were all stunned. They had never seen this side of Chen Lishu.
Li Zhiwei, however, was amused. He stepped forward and placed his foot on the other man's hand. "We're asking you a question."
"Lu Chengming said that you were always shamelessly pestering him. He complained to us a few times, so we wanted to help him vent his anger. We didn't really intend to do anything to you."
At this moment, they wouldn't dare to say anything else.
Good riddance, Lu Chengming! I'd been too lazy to deal with him before, but I didn't expect him to come seeking trouble himself.
Soon, Feng Pangzi called the police. It turned out the two were regulars at the police station. Previously, they were usually detained for ten days to half a month, but this time, the crime was more serious and malicious, and they were sure to be sentenced.
After thanking the other classmates repeatedly, Chen Lishu, shaken by the ordeal, decided not to visit Wang Aixiang's house anymore and instead planned to return to her dorm.
"Who is this Lu Chengming? Tell me about him. I may not be good at other things, but I can gather some people to teach him a lesson."
Feng Pangzi chimed in, "Chen Lishu, Zhiwei isn't bragging."
Chen Lishu's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Beating him up is too good for him."