Chapter 76: See You Tomorrow

There was a camera hanging there, pointed directly at her, with a small red light on it the size of a dot, indicating it was functioning properly. Its coverage was right around this area, and further into the alley would be a blind spot for the camera.

Although there were no surveillance cameras in the alley, if this matter were to escalate, Xu Yannuo’s reputation at the school would be at stake. Being out so late after school and lurking suspiciously at the entrance of the alley would look very suspicious.

Chen Ciyi looked at her and said, “Stay here, don’t move. I’ll go over.” After speaking, he reached into Xu Yannuo’s backpack, randomly pulled out a book, and walked inside.

The people inside heard footsteps from the alley entrance. The few individuals who had been about to push Zhang Qi again paused and turned to look in his direction. Seeing the surprised and wary gazes of the senior high school girls, Chen Ciyi flipped open the book in his hand and smiled. “Oh, studying at the back gate in such darkness? You seniors are so hardworking—we should definitely let the school teachers know about this.”

After saying this, he walked up to Zhang Qi with Xu Yannuo’s book in hand. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere—what are you doing here? This question…” Before he could finish saying “how to solve it,” the senior high school girls exchanged glances, glared fiercely at Zhang Qi, and said, “Just you wait!” before quickly leaving the alley.

After the girls had left, Xu Yannuo took off her mask and also walked into the alley.

In Zhang Qi’s flustered gaze, she looked at Chen Ciyi standing before her, lowered her head, and softly uttered a word of thanks.

Chen Ciyi put away the book. “Xu Yannuo asked me to come.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Qi turned her head at the sound of approaching footsteps. The moment she saw Xu Yannuo, her eyes instantly reddened. She ran toward him, but halfway there, a clear expression of pain flashed across her face, causing her to stumble slightly before continuing her approach.

Earlier that morning, Xu Yannuo had noticed something off about Zhang Qi’s walking, but when she said she had twisted her ankle, he didn’t think much of it. Now, however, it seemed highly suspicious. Moreover, although it was autumn, the lingering heat of the “autumn tiger” was still intense. All the girls at school were still wearing their summer uniform skirts, yet Zhang Qi was dressed in the autumn uniform pants today.

To prevent Zhang Qi from running away again, Xu Yannuo quickly ran up to her, pulled up the leg of Zhang Qi’s school uniform pants, and immediately saw a large, shocking burn on her calf.

Xu Yannuo immediately looked up at Zhang Qi and asked, “How did this happen?” Seeing that Zhang Qi pressed her lips together and remained silent, Xu Yannuo grew anxious and shouted, “Was it them? Was it?”

Zhang Qi had never seen Xu Yannuo like this before. She was startled, and now she widened her eyes, completely speechless.

Xu Yannuo didn’t wait for Zhang Qi to answer and angrily ran toward the alley entrance, but after only a few steps, she was pulled back by Chen Ciyi from behind.

Because she was running in a hurry and someone unexpectedly pulled her arm without warning, Xu Yannuo stumbled and nearly fell. Fortunately, Chen Ci reached out and caught her in time.

After that, Xu Yannuo began struggling wildly, “Let go of me! What do you want? Are you looking for a fight? Who are you with?”

Chen Ciyi held onto Xu Yannuo without letting go. “Calm down,” he said.

“Let go of me! Zhang Qi has been bullied like that, how can you expect me to stay calm? Even if it were a stranger, I wouldn’t be able to stay calm, let alone her!” Xu Yannuo practically shouted.

Chen Ciyi looked at her helplessly. “This alley is a dead end. Anyone who enters the alley can be seen clearly. If we get into a fight tonight and the security cameras are checked, but they can’t see what happened inside the alley, and then we followed those senior high school girls here and are still following them—how is that not going to look suspicious? They’re in their final year of high school, and the school prioritizes them. If they twist the facts, there’s no way for us to clear our names.”

Xu Yannuo glared at Chen Ciyi angrily, “So you’re saying I should just endure it and let this go? Let me tell you, Chen Ciyi, that’s impossible. If you dare make me tolerate this, our friendship is over!”

Chen Ciyi quickly explained, “Who said anything about enduring it? There’s no way we’re letting this go.” Chen Ciyi smiled helplessly, “Is it that I don’t understand you, or you don’t understand me?”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Xu Yannuo asked him.

“By tomorrow noon at the latest, those people will come looking for us. We’ll figure out what to do then. They won’t get away with this.”

Xu Yannuo frowned, “How can you be so sure they’ll come looking for us tomorrow?”

Chen Ciyi patiently explained to her, “First, we interrupted what they were doing today, and they’re definitely pissed. You’ve been telling me about Zhang Qi’s unusual behavior for at least two days now, so this wasn’t their first time targeting her. Before leaving, they even threatened Zhang Qi, telling her to wait for them. They won’t let tonight’s matter slide. Second, I just told them that studying so seriously should be reported to the teachers. Once they realize what I meant, they’ll panic about being exposed. Tomorrow, they’ll definitely come to threaten us into keeping quiet.”

He looked at Xu Yannuo and said, “So don’t rush. Just wait for them to come to us on their own.”

“Mm,” Xu Yannuo decided to trust Chen Ciyi. Now that she’d calmed down, her mind was clearer too—after all, she couldn’t just chase after those seniors and leave the injured Zhang Qi here alone. Given Chen Ciyi’s usual attitude toward girls, Zhang Qi would probably be more annoyed by his scowling face than scared by those seniors.

She walked over to Zhang Qi’s side, “How’s your leg? Can you still walk?”

Zhang Qi’s eyes were slightly red, staring at Xu Yannuo with disbelief. Xu Yannuo realized that her earlier “abnormal behavior” had revealed her true self, probably startling Zhang Qi, along with the content of her argument with Chen Ciyi just now. She looked at Zhang Qi, hesitating to explain, “Sorry, I… have my own difficulties. Can you… keep this a secret for me?”

Xu Yannuo didn’t expect Zhang Qi to agree. After all, Zhang Qi and Zhao Ying had truly been kind to her, yet she had been deceiving them all along and never genuinely regarded them as reliable friends.

Xu Yannuo was about to say that it was okay even if it didn’t work out, but Zhang Qi was already nodding vigorously. “Don’t worry, Nono. I won’t tell anyone what just happened. Also, thank you for tonight.” After saying this, she threw herself onto Xu Yannuo, hugging him and crying. It was as if she had emptied all her strength and suddenly relaxed, pressing all her weight onto Xu Yannuo.

Xu Yannuo gently patted Zhang Qi’s shoulder. He didn’t rush her or say anything else, just quietly stayed by her side.

From across the room, Chen Ci mouthed to Xu Yannuo: “He’s leaving first. See you tomorrow.” After all, with Zhang Qi crying nonstop, there was nothing more he could do here—and, more importantly, he didn’t want to stay.

After Chen Ci left, Zhang Qi cried for a while longer before gradually calming down.