TRAP.

Warning: This chapter contains violence and mature themes. Reader discretion is advised.

The hall was packed with students, all standing in orderly rows, their uniforms crisp, their postures straight. The air was heavy with anticipation as Hua Rong stood on the stage, her heart pounding in her chest. Yet, she maintained her composure, her expression calm and unwavering.

Taking a steady breath, she spoke into the microphone, her voice clear and confident.

"As a student of Dihua High School, I am proud to stand before you all today. Our school has upheld a tradition of excellence, a place where discipline and perseverance shape not just students but also future leaders. It has been my greatest honor to serve as the class representative, striving for the best not for recognition but because I believe in the values we uphold. We work hard not just for ourselves, but for those who believe in us..."

As Hua Rong concluded her speech, the hall erupted in applause. She took a step back, her hands gripping the sides of the podium briefly before she moved away. To everyone else, she was the ideal student—intelligent, disciplined, and respected. But for her, this was all for one reason alone—her mother.

Every achievement, every honor she earned was not for pride, but for the smile that would appear on her mother's face whenever she heard praise about her daughter. Her mother had worked tirelessly to send her to a good school, to give her a chance at a better future. Hua Rong was determined not to let her down.

Dihua High School had a near-perfect record. For the past seven, not a single student name had been sent to Blackthorn Academy, the notorious reform school where the most troublesome students from across the country were sent in their final year. The mere mention of the place was enough to instill fear in any student.

Everything was perfect. She was happy.

Until it all changed.

"Hua Rong!"

Shen Yiren's voice rang through the classroom as she hurried over, breathless. Her long, wavy dark hair stuck to her forehead, damp with sweat.

"There's a fight!" she blurted out.

Hua Rong blinked, startled. "Are you sure?" She immediately stood up, her brows furrowing in disbelief.

Dihua High didn't have fights. The discipline was too strict, and the students were too careful. It was unheard of.

"Yeah! I saw it with my own eyes!" Shen Yiren insisted, her brown eyes wide with urgency.

Something felt off, but Hua Rong pushed aside her doubts and followed. The corridors were eerily empty, the silence unsettling. If a fight had truly broken out, there should have been at least some commotion.

Shen Yiren led her down the hall, past the library, then turned a corner into a less-frequented hallway. And there, to Hua Rong's shock, two students were indeed fighting.

Lin Yue and Feng Xinyue. Two girls who were known to be inseparable.

"What are you doing? Stop it!" Hua Rong rushed forward, inserting herself between them as she grabbed their arms, forcing them apart.

"Stay out of it, class representative!" Lin Yue hissed, struggling to break free.

"I will, but only if you both stop! Whatever this is about, we can talk it out."

Before she could say another word, Feng Xinyue suddenly turned on her and slapped her. Hard.

Hua Rong staggered back, her face stinging, the shock rippling through her body. Blood pounded in her ears. A cold rage overtook her, and before she could stop herself, she grabbed Feng Xinyue by the back of her hair, yanking it with a force she didn't even know she had.

"Hua Rong, have you lost your mind?!" Feng Xinyue yelped, her voice laced with disbelief, as though she had done nothing wrong.

And then came the moment she should have foreseen.

"Teacher! Look! She's fighting them!" Shen Yiren's voice was sharp and accusing.

Hua Rong froze. Her fingers loosened their grip as she turned slowly. Standing a few feet away was their homeroom teacher, his stern gaze locked onto her. Beside him, Shen Yiren stood with a satisfied expression, pointing at Hua Rong as though she had just exposed a criminal.

Hua Rong's mind raced. No. This was wrong. This wasn't how it happened.

She took a deep breath, stepping forward. "Teacher, she's lying. I didn't start anything. Shen Yiren brought me here, saying there was a fight, and when I arrived, Lin Yue and Feng Xinyue were already fighting. I tried to stop them, but Feng Xinyue slapped me first, so I—"

"Why are you lying?" Shen Yiren interrupted, her voice sharp with feigned innocence. "I never called you here."

Hua Rong's breath caught in her throat.

Her words... They were so smooth, so convincing.

"Teacher, we asked Hua Rong for help," Lin Yue added, stepping forward. "But she refused, saying we never supported her before. And when we begged, she got angry and attacked us."

"Yeah! And when I said I'd tell the teacher, she said no one would believe us," Feng Xinyue chimed in.

The room spun.

Lies. All of it.

Hua Rong felt something crack inside her.

Her gaze snapped to Shen Yiren, who looked back at her with an expression that sent a chill down her spine. A smirk that vanished before anyone else could see it.

She had been set up.

Betrayed.

The teacher let out a sigh. "Hua Rong, we need to talk."

Everything was crumbling.

And just like that, her perfect world started shattering.

  .....

Hua Rong tapped her foot under the bench, her frustration building with every second. Before she could sink deeper into her thoughts, Feng Xue suddenly threw her arms around her head, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Oh, my Rong, don't worry! Everything will be okay!" she said, her voice filled with warmth.

Hua Rong glanced up, but her view was blocked by Feng Xue's short hair falling over her eyes.

"Feng Xue…" Hua Rong muttered.

"Listen, the teachers know you're a good student. A single accusation won't change that. Just make sure to stay away from them," Feng Xue reassured her.

She was right. No matter what happened, Hua Rong knew the truth—Shen Yiren and her friends had never liked her. Unlike them, she didn't come from a wealthy background, and they never let her forget it. She should've never listened to them in the first place.

"I will," Hua Rong sighed, hugging Feng Xue back briefly before they pulled apart.

Just then, Bai Qinyue approached them, adjusting her glasses. The class's resident top student and Hua Rong's biggest academic competitor, she rarely engaged in unnecessary conversation.

"I heard what happened," Bai Qinyue said, her tone neutral but firm. "But don't worry, everyone in school knows you're a good student. There must have been some kind of misunderstanding."

Hua Rong felt a wave of relief at those words. Bai Qinyue wasn't the type to comfort others, which meant she genuinely believed in Hua Rong's innocence.

"Yeah, yeah! See, Hua Rong? Even Bai Qinyue agrees with me!" Feng Xue chimed in enthusiastically.

Hua Rong chuckled softly, feeling slightly lighter. But across the room, Shen Yiren sat at her desk, quietly observing the scene.

"What do we do now?" Lin Yue whispered beside her, her voice laced with urgency.

Shen Yiren's sharp brown eyes didn't waver as she watched Hua Rong, a calculating expression forming on her face

Shen Yiren's lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.

"Don't worry," she said, her voice smooth yet laced with malice. "Let's see how long she can keep up that mask."

Lin Yue leaned in, intrigued. "You have a plan?"

Shen Yiren didn't answer immediately. Instead, she tapped her nails against the desk, her mind replaying a scene that had been seared into her memory.

It had happened months ago, on a quiet evening when she was on her way home. She had been walking through the empty streets, her school bag slung over one shoulder, when the faint sound of a struggle reached her ears. At first, she ignored it. Fights weren't uncommon in this part of town, and she had no intention of getting involved. But something made her pause. A voice—low, pained groans—echoed from a nearby alley.

Curiosity won over caution. She hesitantly glanced into the dimly lit gully below. What she saw made her blood run cold.

Hua Rong.

The model student. The class representative. The girl every teacher adored.

But she didn't look like any of those things at that moment.

She was crouched over a man, her school uniform stained with blood, her face bruised, and her knuckles raw. Her long black hair hung loosely over her shoulders, strands clinging to her sweat-dampened skin. And her eyes—cold, dark, devoid of any warmth—were locked onto the man beneath her.

With terrifying precision, Hua Rong raised her fist and slammed it into the man's face. Again. And again. The sickening crunch of bone filled the alleyway as blood splattered onto the pavement. The man whimpered, barely conscious, but Hua Rong didn't stop. She kept going until he stopped moving, until the only sound left was her own heavy breathing.

Shen Yiren's breath hitched. Her hands trembled as she clamped them over her mouth, suppressing a gasp. The scene was like something out of a nightmare.

This wasn't the sweet, obedient student everyone thought she was. This was something else—something darker, something dangerous.

Slowly, she backed away, forcing her legs to move even though fear had turned them to stone.

And yet… amid the terror, something else stirred inside her. A thrill.

So, this was the real Hua Rong?

Shen Yiren's lips curled further as she pulled herself back to the present. That night had given her something priceless—a secret. And now, she was going to use it.

"You want to get rid of her?" Lin Yue asked, watching Shen Yiren's expression shift.

Shen Yiren's gaze darkened with satisfaction. "Not just get rid of her. I'm sending her exactly where she belongs."

Blackthorn Academy.

A place where delinquents were thrown away like trash. A place where no one ever came back the same.

Girls like Hua Rong didn't deserve to be at Dihua High. They deserved to rot in Blackthorn. And soon, Hua Rong would be gone.

For good.