Damn this obsession with looks.

Guo Jingyuan’s desk, like Chen Ruowen’s, was in the last row of the classroom. At this hour, Class Eight was sparsely populated: a handful of girls clustered by the window, chatting idly, while a few others were scattered throughout the room, hunched over their desks, scribbling furiously, too busy even to eat. Guo Jingyuan was among them. She wasn't looking in a mirror now; instead, as Gao Tang had described earlier, she wore a mask, her head bowed low.

Chen Ruowen stopped in front of her seat, arms folded across her chest. At first, Guo Jingyuan was absorbed in her work and didn’t notice anyone had approached. Only when whispers began among the girls who recognized Chen Ruowen did Guo Jingyuan lift her head, a little confused. Her gaze resembled that of a lost lamb, so helpless that even those inclined to trouble her would lose interest.

Chen Ruowen truly couldn’t fathom how anyone could bring themselves to target Guo Jingyuan.

When Guo Jingyuan realized it was Chen Ruowen standing before her, she froze for a moment, then ducked her head like a startled rabbit, trying to hide.

“Come,” Chen Ruowen said coolly, tossing out the word as she turned away, only to glance back and add, “Don’t make me say it twice.”

Guo Jingyuan watched Chen Ruowen’s retreating figure, her expression complicated as she set down her pen and followed her out of the classroom.

The girls in Class Eight, who had been watching closely, immediately huddled together in gossip.

“That was the famous Chen Ruowen, wasn’t it?”

“Must be. That aura—there’s no second like her in the whole school.”

“She suddenly came for Guo Jingyuan…”

One girl snickered, covering her mouth in gleeful anticipation. “Maybe Guo Jingyuan offended her?”

The others grew excited, chirping about the prospect of Guo Jingyuan being confronted by the school’s newly crowned “number one not-to-be-messed-with,” their laughter echoing.

In the corridor, Chen Ruowen glanced at Bai Jingyan and Gao Tang, who stood nearby chatting, then led Guo Jingyuan to a spot out of their sight.

“What happened to your face?” Chen Ruowen asked bluntly.

Though it ought to have been a kindly question, coming from Chen Ruowen—with her commanding tone and proud bearing—it sounded more like trouble, at least to those lurking nearby.

“Nothing…” Guo Jingyuan replied, head still lowered.

“Then why the mask?”

“Uh… the weather’s cold. The mask keeps me warm.”

Chen Ruowen laughed at the flimsy excuse, sizing Guo Jingyuan up for a second before reaching out and tearing off her mask without a word. The movement was so abrupt that, to the onlookers behind, it seemed as though she’d slapped Guo Jingyuan across the face.

Guo Jingyuan was startled, instinctively raising a hand to cover her face, but Chen Ruowen brusquely knocked it aside.

“Too intense! I knew Guo Jingyuan must have provoked Chen Ruowen. That slap—so solid, so satisfying!” whispered the girls in hiding, their voices tinged with excitement.

Their commotion finally caught Chen Ruowen’s attention. She withdrew her hand, raised her eyes, and fixed her gaze silently on their hiding place. The girls, realizing they’d been discovered, fled in a panic.

With the nuisance gone, Chen Ruowen returned her gaze to Guo Jingyuan.

“Who hit you?”

Guo Jingyuan’s eyes reddened instantly. She covered the large bruise on her face with one hand, forcing a smile.

“I fell… scraped myself,” she said.

To Chen Ruowen, that smile was infuriating. She frowned, expressing her displeasure, then raised her head and spoke to Guo Jingyuan.

“You probably don’t know me very well yet.”

She deliberately raised her voice and slowed her speech.

“I don’t like repeating myself. I won’t give anyone a second chance.”

Guo Jingyuan’s eyes grew dim, as if saddened. She was silent for a long moment before sighing, heartbreakingly.

“It was my family.”

Chen Ruowen arched a brow. Her own family had never dared lay a finger on her, so she couldn’t comprehend how anyone could beat their own daughter so severely.

“Why did they hit you?”

Guo Jingyuan’s gaze darkened further.

“Maybe my existence just bothers them…”

So there was no reason? No reason for such violence? And so harsh?

Was Guo Jingyuan’s family sick in the head?

Chen Ruowen couldn’t comment on Guo Jingyuan’s family matters. Perhaps Guo Jingyuan’s passive endurance only emboldened them, leading to such a state.

There’s no such thing as peace through patience, nor vast horizons through retreat. Patience only makes the other side more ruthless; retreat only invites further trespass.

“Are you planning to keep enduring this?”

Chen Ruowen felt Guo Jingyuan lacked all backbone.

Guo Jingyuan smiled and nodded, her pure eyes shining with a hint of starlight.

“One more year. Once I get into university and can work and earn my own money, I’ll move out. Then they won’t be able to find me.”

Chen Ruowen sighed. “Should I call you foolish, or praise you for being naïve?”

Work and earn a living? Strike out on her own? Cut ties with family? With Guo Jingyuan’s timid demeanor, without help, it was impossible.

Chen Ruowen took out her phone and sent a text. Once she received a reply, she looked up at Guo Jingyuan.

“Skip evening study. You’re coming with me.”

Guo Jingyuan was flustered. “Do I need to do anything?”

“You need to see a doctor.”

Guo Jingyuan was stunned, taking a long moment to react, clutching her face as she stared at Chen Ruowen. It was as if Chen Ruowen had assigned her some advanced physics problem, not simply told her to see a doctor.

“But I… I…”

She stammered, but under Chen Ruowen’s calm yet forceful gaze, she relented.

“Wouldn’t this… trouble you?”

“At least you know.”

Chen Ruowen had no patience for pointless politeness, gesturing for Guo Jingyuan to follow. She cast a disdainful glance at the large scar on Guo Jingyuan’s face and said something that Guo Jingyuan would remember for a lifetime.

“I rather like your face, so you’d better pray it doesn’t scar.”