Chapter 54 - Ghost School (8) (1/2)

Seeing his younger self walk towards Su Ling, although he knew that this was just a memory from this world, Cheng Zhi Chu still couldn’t help but feel strange. Apart from the school uniform, the “Cheng Zhi Chu” here looked almost exactly the same as how he had looked when he was in high school.

The young teenager came over to Su Ling and bent down. He appeared to be very concerned about his condition.

Seeing that Su Ling didn’t care about his arrival and only continued to bury his face in his arms, the youth wasn’t angry. Instead, he asked more worriedly: “Do you have a heatstroke? Need me to get you some water?”

“………”

Su Ling still didn’t speak. He raised his head slightly and looked at him with his dark eyes.

The youth smiled at him cautiously and gently reached out to touch his forehead. At this moment, Su Ling’s reaction was very intense. His back stiffed and he harshly smacked away his hand. In a low voice, he said: “Don’t touch me.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to check and see if you have a fever.” The young teenager rubbed his red hand and apologised to him. “Sorry for offending you……I’ll go get you water?”

When the boy turned around, Su Ling finally revealed his entire face from within his arms. His lips were slightly pursed, and he looked at the back of the figure in the distance. Unconsciously, his fingers tightened around his clothes.

Su Ling had an attractive face. Although it was always dark and gloomy, he could still be considered as a good-looking young boy. When the youth left, he seemed to have removed all the spikes from his body and he revealed a soft and helpless expression. Like he had just troubled a small animal, he lowered his eyes and mumbled, “I’m sorry……”

Cheng Zhi Chu witnessed this scene and could only feel his heart ache.

He could tell that Su Ling had slapped away the boy’s hand due to a reflexive response. He had been subjected to violence and abuse by Ou Yang and the others all year round and had become very sensitive to the touch of others. What’s more, he didn’t want the boy to lean in too close and notice the injuries on him.

After a while, the teenager returned with a bottle of water. When he came over, Cheng Zhi Chu also heard other students say a few things to him. They were probably trying to persuade him not to be so nice to Su Ling.

“Su Ling ignores everyone. You’re just sticking your face in for no reason. He won’t appreciate you so why are you doing this……..”

“It doesn’t matter.” The teenager smiled at them. “I just remembered that I used to be alienated by my classmates because my ears were not good and don’t want to see it happen again.”

“In fact, it’s probably just my wishful thinking. I’m content if Su Ling just doesn’t hate me…….Uh, he hopefully doesn’t hate me?”

The other classmates didn’t say anything. They just rubbed his head and let him go. The young teenager went over to Su Ling and handed the water over.

Su Ling silently unscrewed the bottle cap and put it down after drinking a little. His fingers gentle played with his sleeve and, after a moment, he softly spoke up.

“………Thank you.”

“No problem.” The youth was stunned for a moment. He then asked happily, “Do you feel better now?”

Su Ling gave him a small nod.

“If you still need something, just tell me and I’ll help you get it. I’ll head back to class first, rest well.”

His thanks seemed to put the teenager in a good mood. Even his steps as he left had a slight spring in it.

Su Ling stared at the back of the boy for a long time. He raised his hand to cover his suddenly blushing face and his slightly raised lips. Those beautiful eyes of his were bright and the feelings that he held inside could no longer be contained.

…………

Until the end of school, Cheng Zhi Chu didn’t see Su Ling take any pictures. He watched him carry his bag out of the classroom and hesitated. He then decided to quietly follow him.

Su Ling’s home was located in a very old residential area. His family circumstances weren’t very good. His father was bedridden and his mother worked day in and day out to maintain the family’s livelihood.

Cheng Zhi Chu watched Su Ling return home and expertly take care of his father in bed. He did the housework, made dinner, set up a small table and brought it over to serve his father.

“Good child………”

The father sighed and touched Su Ling’s head. His eyes were both complex and filled with guilt.

“It’s all because of me dragging you and your mother down. If she didn’t follow me, she could have lived a good life. You too, if not because of me……..”

“Dad.” Su Ling stopped him as he added more rice to his bowl. He said calmly, “Mum has never regretted choosing you. She doesn’t regret leaving that place.” He paused for a moment, “And I am always proud to have you as my father.”

“Good, good……..”

The father’s hand that was holding onto the chopsticks trembled. He bowed his head slightly and didn’t want his son to notice his red eyes. He shoved the remaining rice into his mouth and said in a hoarse voice: “After you finish eating, feed the rest to the cat. It has recently given birth to kittens and it’s not convenient for it to find food.”

Su Ling nodded. He accompanied his father to finish his meal and took the leftovers out to a nearby alley.

The alley was dilapidated and narrow and there were piles of rubbish on both sides. He gently tapped a wooden box and a female cat along with a few fluffy kittens poked their heads out. Seeing that it was him, they intimately walked over while mewing and they played with his pant leg begging to be held.

Su Ling placed the rice onto the ground and sat on the steps. He watched them eat the rice with a soft gaze and a gentle smile on his lips.

It seemed that he would only let down guard when he is around his family or small animals.

Cheng Zhi Chu took this in and his mood was extremely complicated. He felt both regret and heartache for Su Ling but more of him himself was feeling resentment towards Ou Yang and the others. He didn’t understand why they would be able to do such a thing to such a pure and gentle teenager.

What kind of hatred does this worlds “Bai Yi” have towards Su Ling? Why would he make Ou Yang and the others bully him?

While he was both angry and confused, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from one end of the alley.

Upon hearing the footsteps, Su Ling’s expression suddenly changed. He hurriedly hid the kittens inside the wooden box and then ran over to the other end of the alley. However, before he was able to take more than a couple of steps, he stopped. Standing at the exit was Zhao Xiao Pang waiting for him to fall into his trap.

“Where are you going?”

The owners of footsteps from the other end revealed themselves. With Bai Yi at the front, he looked coldly at the trapped Su Ling. His handsome face was cold and behind him Ou Yang was sneering maliciously.

Su Ling’s eyes instantly darkened, and he clenched his fist. He didn’t reveal any sign of fear despite being surrounded by them. He stared at them without a word. His eyes were filled with both disgust and anger.

“You dare look at us like that? Did you think that I wouldn’t dare dig out your eyes?”

Liang Wen Bin stepped forward and landed a heavy blow onto Su Ling’s abdomen. Su Ling’s face immediately went pale and he crumbled to the ground in pain. He however didn’t make a single sound, not even a groan.

Cheng Zhi Chu at this moment was filled with anger. He wanted to punch Liang Wen Bin but his arm and body just passed straight through him. He had no ability to stop them.

Fuck!

Seeing Ou Yang and the others walk over and surround Su Ling, Cheng Zhi Chu had cursed at them innumerable times in his heart. He hoped that those beasts would meet their retribution right then and there, but he also knew that they would live on happily until the beginning of the instance. This time, they once again unilaterally abused Su Ling.

Not long afterwards, Su Ling’s body was covered in dirt from the ground. Because he had struggled a lot, his winter school uniform had rolled up to reveal both large and small bruises all over his arms. Just the sight of it was shocking enough and it was difficult to imagine what the rest of his body must be like.

Su Ling covered his head as he was beaten by them but from the beginning to the end, he didn’t make a sound. Bai Yi had his hands in his pockets as he stood on the side. He didn’t show any excitement on his face as Ou Yang and they others beat up Su Ling and he only watched on quietly.

Ou Yang and the others beat him up until they were tired. With their faces covered in sweat, they stood there gasping for air.

When their movements stopped, Su Ling slowly sat up. Just the act of doing that was very difficult for him but he didn’t want to remain lying on the ground all the time. He stood up unsteadily, but he was then once again tripped, and he fell back down. He however never one bowed his head and he continued to look straight ahead.

He was looking at Bai Yi.

Bai Yi looked down at him from above. Although he had no expression, his eyes were very cold. He looked at Su Ling like he was looking at something disgusting

“Meow———”

At this moment, a faint meow came from the wooden box. Several kittens poked their small heads out from inside and looked over at Su Ling. Seeing that he had not left yet, they jumped out from the wooden box and swayed their tails to and fro as they made their way to his side.

Su Ling suddenly became flustered and he subconsciously tried to protect the kittens in his arms.

“Ah, it’s a kitten. So cute.”

Lu Jie who was standing behind Bai Yi the entire time and had never acted suddenly spoke up and smiled. Her pure and beautiful face at this moment made others feel a chill run through them. She walked over to Su Ling and stepped onto his head. Crushing his head with her heel, she said: “Hand them over.”

Su Ling curled up his body and held onto the kittens tighter. Zhao Xiao Pang and Liang Wen Bing immediately pulled his hair and arms and forced him to release the kittens.

This time, Su Ling’s struggle was particularly fierce, but he still couldn’t resist the strength of two people. He watched Lu Jie pick up one of the kittens by the scruff of its neck.

“Mii——-mi!”

The kitten’s fearful cries attracted the mother cat from the wooden box. It immediately jumped out and rushed over to Lu Jie but it was quickly caught in a bag by Ou Yang. The mother cat could only pitifully struggle inside the bag.

“Don’t touch them!”

Su Ling’s eyes instantly turned red. He turned his head and fiercely bit onto Zhao Xiao Pang as he tried to free himself. However, it only resulted in him getting beaten even more brutally. The kitten was also held by the neck by Li Jue. Its cries and breathing gradually grew weaker.

“This kitten is really cute.” Lu Jie gave Su Ling a smile, “So I should kill them all right in front of you.”

This crazy woman!

Cheng Zhi Chu looked at the pure and innocently looking Lu Jie with disbelief. He felt a chill run down his spine. Even the Ou Yang trio revealed a horrified look. They even suspected that they had heard wrong.

“Enough Lu Jie. Release them.”

Bai Yi frowned slightly. He prevented Lu Jie from killing the kitten. Lu Jie stopped and immediately let go. The kitten tremblingly stumbled back to its nest and the mother cat that was trapped in the bag was also put back.

“Sorry, I just…..wanted to make Brother Bai happy……”

The girl revealed a pitiful expression but no one present was deceived by this. Some even felt some aversion.

Su Ling was being pressed down onto the floor on his knees. His eyes were red, and he glared angrily at her. His lower lip had been bitten until it was bleeding.

Bai Yi finally walked up over to him. He half bent down before him and pulled his head up by his hair. With cold and deep eyes, he said:

“I have no interest in animal cruelty, but you have to understand Su Ling.”

“Everything thing that you like, your hopes, your dreams, I will personally ruin them all.”

“You don’t deserve happiness.”

…………

After Bai Yi, Ou Yang and the others left, Su Ling did his best to pat off the dirt from his school uniform and went to a nearby small clinic to clean his wounds before returning home.

When Ou Yang and the others abused him, they would avoid causing injuries to his face. Therefore, when Su Ling entered through the dark doorway, his father didn’t notice anything strange. He just asked strangely: “Why did you go for so long?”

“…….Was playing with them.”

After a short silence, Su Ling answered his question. He then set up the dinner table and took out his homework: “I’ll work on my homework now.”

“Okay, dad won’t disturb you then. Hey, the light in the room is too dark. I should ask your mother to buy you an eye-protecting lamp or you’ll become short sighted…….”

“It’s okay, don’t have to buy.”