The young girl looked up with a slightly pale face, her gaze sweeping over the four people before her. She forced herself to appear calm and asked, "Did Shang Ziqian send you here?"
"Yo~"
The first boy to speak raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You're quite clever. Brother Shang did send us to 'take good care of you'."
As he spoke, the boys' eyes leered at her, their hands making subtle movements.
Wen Tingxue's heart leaped into her throat. "Then... what do you want to do?"
The tips of her fingers, gripping the handrail, turned slightly white, matching her complexion. They looked so vulnerable, so desirable.
The boy smiled and unzipped his school uniform jacket. "We want you to have some fun with your big brothers." His tone was utterly vulgar.
Wen Tingxue's eyes trembled, then she let go of the handrail. With a resigned smile, she appeared meek and fragile. "Just don't hit me," she said.
The boy blinked, then chuckled. "Don't worry, little sister. You're too cute to hit. As long as you behave, your brothers will be absolutely gentle." He reached out to put an arm around her shoulder, the others around him chuckling.
Seeing her chance, Wen Tingxue shoved the person in front of her hard and bolted towards the office. The curses that followed were ignored as she ran with all her might.
It wasn't until Wen Di's hand landed on her shoulder that she snapped back to reality. She stumbled back a step, and would have fallen if not for a stone pillar.
Wen Di frowned. "What's wrong with you? You look terrible."
"I..." Wen Tingxue turned to look back. The four boys were already closing in.
Wen Di saw them too, his frown deepening. "What are you doing?! Why are you loitering around the teaching building instead of eating?"
The leading boy grinned dismissively. "Teacher, we just have something to discuss with Wen classmate. You guys carry on."
They actually stopped beside the pillar, showing no intention of leaving. Wen Tingxue was shocked by their audacity, unfazed even in front of a teacher.
Wen Di, accustomed to their arrogance, scolded them sternly before preparing to lead Wen Tingxue to the office. However, Wen Tingxue's legs were so weak she could barely walk. She was covered in cold sweat from the intense stress, her face looking even paler.
"What's wrong with you..."
"Teacher."
Just as Wen Di was about to lose his temper, he heard Wen Tingxue say, almost devoid of strength, "...they want to mess with me."
The girl's dark eyes, devoid of any light, fell upon him. Even the scorching sun overhead couldn't illuminate her. She looked utterly despairing.
Wen Di felt a pang of unease but still found it hard to believe. "You say they want to mess with you, what do you mean by that?"
The young girl's gaze rested on him, emotionless and cold. After a moment, she slowly lowered her eyes and asked, without emotion, "What do you think?"
She knew those looks all too well. And she had some idea of what would happen next. She didn't believe that Wen Di, an adult, wouldn't understand her meaning.
Wen Di detected a hint of disappointment in her tone and frowned. "Do you have any evidence?"
The group of boys initially looked taken aback, then they chimed in, "Teacher, this is all a misunderstanding. We just wanted to chat with Wen classmate. How did it become 'messing with her' in her eyes?"
"Exactly. We're practically being framed. We just said a few words, it's not fair to accuse us of such a thing."
"Teacher, a one-sided story isn't reliable."
"If we really had such intentions, why would we still be standing here?"
Their tone was jovial, lacking any trace of nervousness from being accused. Instead, they sounded genuinely wronged. If Wen Tingxue hadn't personally experienced their words and actions, she might have believed their claims of innocence!
Meeting the girl's resentful gaze, the leading boy smirked triumphantly. There were no cameras on that staircase. Even if they had harassed her, she had no proof!
Wen Di recalled the girl's earlier panic and, to some extent, believed her. But these boys seemed unafraid of investigation, perhaps it truly was a misunderstanding? After much thought, Wen Di decided to smooth things over.
"Since nothing has happened, just apologize and leave. Don't be so eager to approach girls in the future."
"Okay," the boys readily agreed and quickly apologized.
Wen Di looked at Wen Tingxue, signaling her to say something to conclude the matter. A knot of frustration tightened in Wen Tingxue's chest. "Teacher, what I said..."
"Enough," Wen Di interrupted, thinking she was making a fuss. "You have plenty of your own issues to deal with, and besides, you're fine, aren't you?" He felt his words were a bit harsh and wanted to soften them, as he didn't mean to imply she was prone to trouble. She already had enough on her plate lately, having implicated Xie Jinyi last night. Why push it so hard? If they didn't actually cause any trouble, an investigation wouldn't yield anything anyway.
Before he could speak, the girl let out a sorrowful smile and said faintly, "You guys can go." Her lonely figure seemed shrouded in an unyielding chill.
Wen Tingxue entered the office first, feeling as if her chest was stuffed with cotton, making her want to cry. She managed to hold back, her eyes red from unshed tears.
Wen Di sent the boys away and strode in, explaining, "I didn't mean it like that..."
"It's fine." The young girl stared at her toes, her voice soft. "It's all in the past." She no longer expected anything from him and saw no need for further lectures.
Wen Di's heart tightened at her slightly wronged tone, and he wanted to comfort her. But pride kept the words of explanation from his lips. After a moment of silence, Wen Di cleared his throat and said gently, "Your grandmother called me again. She said your parents have blocked her, and even you..." Wen Di paused, looking surprised. "You've blocked her too?" In his memory, the girl was gentle and not the type to block people.
Wen Tingxue nodded. "Yes." A while ago, her grandmother had called her and immediately started scolding her, convinced her parents had blocked her because of Wen Tingxue's instigation. Her grandmother never considered her own faults. During that call, she only demanded money and hurled insults. Even with her good nature, Wen Tingxue couldn't tolerate it and, after much deliberation, chose to block her. She would never let her parents give her the five hundred thousand yuan, especially since it was her uncle's gambling debt. Her aunt wasn't poor; it was simply an attempt to squeeze money from her father and aunt.
A flicker of anger ignited in Wen Di's chest, and his tone became sharp. "Your grandmother worked hard to raise you, how could you block her? Can't you afford a mere five thousand yuan? Surely you can."
"Five thousand yuan?" Wen Tingxue genuinely laughed. "She clearly wants five hundred thousand."
"What?" Wen Di frowned in disbelief.