Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Shiman’s prediction was correct. In fact, Gu Zhiyue’s bullying started even earlier than in my previous life.

At school, my head was shoved into a sink while a group of boys jeered around me.

At the moment I was about to run out of oxygen, someone grabbed me by the back of my neck and pulled me up. Gu Zhiyue looked at me with a beaming smile.

“You want my family’s money? Sure.”

“Drink all the water in the toilet. For every gulp, I’ll give you a hundred thousand. How about it?”

His lackeys cheered with excitement.

I looked at Gu Zhiyue.

In my past life, this was the man who had tenderly said he loved me. Now, he was venting his malice on me without restraint.

But Gu Zhiyue wasn’t looking at me.

His gaze passed over me, looking behind me.

I knew that Zhou Shiman was there, bent over, scrubbing the floor.

“Isn’t that Zhou Shiman?”

“Why is she still scrubbing the floor?”

One of the lackeys told Gu Zhiyue, “Zhou Shiman’s mom is a school cleaner. She goes to school during the day and has to help her mom work at night.”

A flash of shock appeared in Gu Zhiyue’s eyes, followed by a hint of heartache.

He shouted toward Zhou Shiman, “Hey, it’s freezing out. Stop scrubbing. No one’s going to check anyway.”

Zhou Shiman straightened her back. Her black hair fell over her shoulders, and her delicate face wore a stubborn expression.

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

“If someone comes to inspect and finds the floor isn’t clean, my mom will have a hundred yuan docked from her wages.”

“I know a hundred yuan is nothing to a young master like you, but for my family, it’s my food budget for an entire week.”

After saying this, Zhou Shiman bent down and continued scrubbing.

In truth, Zhou Shiman’s scheme was transparent. Out of all the floors she could have cleaned, she chose to scrub right in front of Gu Zhiyue. She had even intentionally let her hair down and found the perfect angle to present her most beautiful self.

Unfortunately, this was exactly the kind of thing Gu Zhiyue fell for.

Sure enough, Gu Zhiyue stepped forward, helped Zhou Shiman up, and snatched the rag from her hand before tossing it to his lackeys.

“You guys, finish scrubbing the rest of the floor for her.”

He looked at Zhou Shiman’s hands, which were red from the cold. After a moment’s thought, he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

“It’s late. How are you getting home?”

“My bike.”

“You’re riding a bike in this weather?” Gu Zhiyue was shocked. Then, in a tone that brooked no argument, he said, “Go wait downstairs. I’ll have my driver take you home.”

Zhou Shiman left under Gu Zhiyue’s protection.

As she walked away, she didn’t forget to glance back and flash a mocking smile at my pathetic state.

A moment later, the crowd dispersed, leaving only me by the sink.

Struggling to get to my feet, I used my sleeve to wipe the water dripping from my hair.

“Use this.”

A cool, detached voice sounded from behind me.

I turned around. It was our class monitor, Song Xiaoli.

She was a quiet, taciturn girl who studied very hard. She always wore long sleeves, regardless of the season.

In my previous life, she had also tried to help Zhou Shiman when she was being bullied. She had offered Zhou Shiman a towel and urged her to expose Gu Zhiyue’s bullying.

But Zhou Shiman had slapped her hand away.

“What do you know? That’s my brother!”

At that time, Zhou Shiman was still dreaming the impossible dream of making Gu Zhiyue fall in love with her.

Consequently, Song Xiaoli stopped involving herself and went back to being a silent loner.

Later, near graduation, Song Xiaoli committed suicide.

Only then did we learn that her family was extremely poor. Her grandmother was bedridden with chronic illness, and her father was a gambler who not only physically abused her but also planned to sell her to settle his debts.

Now, she stood beside me, holding a clean towel.

I froze for a moment before taking it.

She didn’t say anything else and turned to leave.

She probably felt there was nothing to say to a high-and-mighty young lady of the Gu Family like me.

Seeing her silhouette about to vanish, I suddenly spoke up.

“Class Monitor!”

Her footsteps paused.

I scratched my head. “Um, I just transferred here and I don’t know my way around yet.”

“Where is the cafeteria? Can you take me there?”