Chapter 5: Unaccepting, Unforgiving

Liu Li's mom was displeased and glared at Teacher Zhu, saying, "Teacher Zhu, how can you be so biased and credulous? My Lili wouldn't do such a thing."

Teacher Zhu said, "There are students who have confirmed it, and Wan Chu'er also has injuries all over her body. If you don't admit it, then we can report this matter to the principal. If the final truth remains as Wan Chu'er has stated, I'm afraid Liu Li will be expelled from school. Right now it's just within our class; if Liu Li admits her mistake and has a good attitude, and gets Wang Chu'er's forgiveness, then we can let the matter rest here."

An Lian furrowed his brows, but he didn't speak. He realized that Wan Chu'er was someone with strong convictions; if she had been wronged, he would certainly stand up and seek justice for her.

Liu Li's mom was frightened by Teacher Zhu's words, and she looked at her daughter, "Lili..."

Either admit to the truth and apologize with compensation, or face expulsion or even the police; Liu Li's heart was in turmoil, she didn't want to face any of it.

"Wan Chu'er, do you really have to be so ruthless?" Liu Li glared fiercely at Wan Chu'er.

Wan Chu'er scoffed and said, "Fine then, you can give me five yuan every day, do my cleaning duties for me, and when I'm not happy, I'll beat you up to vent out, like how I dragged you by your hair on the ground today. How does that sound?"

Liu Li choked with anger: "You... don't go too far!"

Wan Chu'er couldn't be bothered to entangle further with her and directly said to the class advisor, "Teacher Zhu, although I don't have a father to protect me, I will fight with all my might to seek justice for myself. If the school can't give me justice, I will turn to the police, the press, and if that's not enough, I can only follow Yang Sanjie's example and file a complaint. I know Teacher Zhu will surely support me in getting this justice."

Teacher An Lian, standing by, heard this, turned his head to Wan Chu'er, and said: "Don't worry, the teacher will definitely seek justice for you."

These words left Teacher Zhu sweating coldly. If Wan Chu'er really did that, their school, no! Their class, or even herself, would certainly become infamous.

Teacher Zhu, with righteousness on her face, consoled Wan Chu'er, "Don't worry, our school is a just one."

Then she turned to Liu Li and her mother and said, "Student Liu Li, do you have anything else to say? Are we resolving this matter here, or should we report it to the school? Or would you prefer the police take over?"

She can't be expelled from school! All that rang in Liu Li's mind was one thought; she had to keep studying, or else if she didn't, her dad would certainly force her to go work in the south, just like her older sister, and then get married to a useless man for a dowry of ten thousand yuan.

Circumstances were more powerful than the individual, and with Wan Chu no longer under her thumb, Liu Li could only reluctantly accept the reality before her.

But Teacher Zhu didn't give her time to drag her feet, pressing her again for an answer.

Liu Li grabbed her mother, who was about to argue further, and said in a low voice, biting her lip, "I'm sorry, Teacher Zhu, for disappointing you. I won't bully Wan Chu'er ever again."

"Lili!" Mrs. Liu shouted.

If her daughter admitted to this, then their family would have to pay 1,200 yuan. If Lili's dad found out about it, there would surely be a tremendous uproar at home.

Liu Li pleaded, "Mom, I'm sorry, I've caused you trouble. I'll figure out a way to get the money."

Since both parties involved had acknowledged the situation, the next steps were easy. Teacher Zhu said, "Liu Li, then as Wan Chu'er said, you repay her 1,200 yuan and apologize in public. Any objections?"

She had objections, but of what use would they be?

Liu Li could only silently nod her head, and then turned to Wan Chu'er, saying, "Wan Chu'er, can the 1,200 yuan be delayed? I don't have that much money right now." She did not dare to let her dad know and wanted to figure out a way herself.

Wan Chu'er's eyes swiveled, and she said, "Sure, but could you write me an IOU? I'll give you a term to come up with the money. I won't be too hard on you; you can repay me fifteen yuan every day. If you're over two days late, I'll make the IOU public and call the police."

With the IOU in hand, she was no longer afraid that Liu Li would renege on the deal later. She had to pay back fifteen yuan every day, and that was no small amount. From now on, Liu Li would likely have to focus most of her energy on the fifteen yuan, feeling as if there was a stone constantly pressing on her heart. This slow torture was far better than beating her up a few times.

Liu Li wanted to bargain, but Wan Chu'er refused to give in, and there was an angry PE teacher standing by, while Teacher Zhu also looked impatient. So, Liu Li had no choice but to write the IOU.

"Good, taking advantage of everyone being free today, let's go to the classroom now. You'll apologize to me in front of all the classmates," Wan Chu'er said indifferently.

The apology was actually the last thing Liu Li wanted to do. Usually, she was the queen bee of the class. If everyone saw her apologizing to Wan Chu'er, they would likely no longer be afraid of her, nor would they flatter her. Moreover, she had a crush on the class representative, Huang Rufe. If he found out what she had done, what would she do?

"Wan Chu'er, can't I just apologize to you here?" Liu Li hoped.

Wan Chu'er let out a cold laugh, "When you hit me, you didn't do it behind anyone's back. If you like to apologize in front of the whole school, then we can change the scene."

"You!" Liu Li was choked with anger once again.

Eventually, they returned to the classroom led by Teacher Zhu.

The classmates were having a study class in the room. When they saw Wan Chu'er and Liu Li's faces, they all boiled with excitement, eyes shining with gossip.

Teacher Zhu let Zhang Xiaoyu and the others sit down, then stood on the podium and said, "Quiet down, everyone. Liu Li will apologize to Wan Chu'er; please bear witness." Then she signaled to Liu Li.

Liu Li didn't dare to look at the gaze of the classmates below. After hesitating for a while, she gritted her teeth and said to Wan Chu'er, "Wan Chu'er, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bullied you before. I apologize to you here; I hope you can forgive me."

Standing on the podium, Wan Chu'er felt her heart 'thump' when she heard Liu Li's apology, as if a certain obsession had finally been let go, shaking her soul, leaving her without a reaction for a long time. However, her heart was full of complexity. She had longed for this scene in her previous life.

Standing in the familiar classroom, she really had come back and on the first day, had done what she had always wanted to do in her past life but never managed to do.

Liu Li saw that Wan Chu'er wasn't even looking at her and hadn't reacted for a long time. She was somewhat annoyed but with Teacher Zhu standing by and the classmates watching, she didn't dare to say anything excessive. At Teacher Zhu's signal, she said once again:

"Wan Chu'er, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bullied you before. I apologize to you here; I hope you can forgive me."

This Wan Chu'er must be doing it on purpose, purposely making her apologize twice, purposely wanting to see her be humiliated!

Little did they know, Wan Chu'er suddenly smiled and said loudly, "Liu Li, when you bullied me before, do you realize how much pain you caused me? Do you know how many times I thought about suicide? So I will not accept your apology, and I will not forgive you!"

After hearing Wan Chu'er's words, the classroom erupted into chaos, and Liu Li's eyes widened in shock.

Wan Chu'er waved her hand, quieting the classroom, and continued, "You owe me 1,200 yuan. Please pay it back within this semester; otherwise, I won't mind doing something else. Besides repaying the debt, I hope we have no more interaction in the future. If you dare touch a hair on me, I will risk my life to ensure you end up paralyzed and unable to take care of yourself for the rest of your life!"

The others in the classroom were once again stunned by Wan Chu'er's harsh words.

Wan Chu'er didn't care about the impact she had made and hurriedly said to Teacher Zhu, "Teacher Zhu, I would like to ask for leave to see a doctor."

Then without waiting for Teacher Zhu's approval, she left at a brisk pace.

Teacher An Lian, who was waiting outside the door, had naturally heard everything in the classroom and quickly followed her.

Immediately after, Liu Li ran out of the classroom crying, throwing herself into the arms of her mother who was waiting outside.