The baby slapped me, and I said, "Sit on my lap and slap me."

Wen Zhaoyue recently discovered something: Wen Yan, that coward, has suddenly started to stick to her.

Saying he's clingy isn't quite accurate, since he never takes the initiative to come up and talk to people.

But wherever she went, she could always see him within a few meters—in the corridors, the cafeteria, the library…

Every time she turned around unintentionally, he was either looking down at a book, packing his schoolbag, or talking to the classmate next to him.

But every time she looked over, he was busy with something else, so she couldn't just rush over and warn him, lest she seem like she was being presumptuous.

Wen Zhaoyue was very annoyed, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.

During her lunch break that day, after finishing her meal, she came out of the cafeteria, intending to go back to the rest room for a nap.

Just as she turned the corner of the corridor, a girl suddenly blocked her way, nervously stuffed a note into her hand, and ran away without looking back.

Wen Zhaoyue paused for a moment, then looked down and unfolded the note.

A line of text was written crookedly above:

[Wen, come to the equipment room in the stadium, I need to talk to you.]

Signed: Wen Yan.

Wen Zhaoyue stared at the illegible handwriting, her brows furrowing in annoyance.

She thought about it carefully and realized that she really hadn't paid attention to Wen Yan's handwriting...

Is it really that ugly?

Both she and Wen Tingyun wrote beautiful calligraphy. After all, they were members of the Wen family. It was truly shameful for them to write so poorly.

I'll have to talk about him when I have the chance.

She stuffed the note into her pocket, and the image of Wen Yan's always pale face came to mind.

During this time, he kept lingering around her, as if he wanted to say something but didn't dare to.

Could it be that you've encountered some kind of trouble?

Wen Zhaoyue bit her lip, stood in the corridor for a while, and finally sighed before turning and walking towards the stadium.

Although she refused to admit that Wen Yan was her brother, she couldn't just ignore him since he was a member of the Wen family.

That kid is so timid, he probably wouldn't dare to utter a sound if someone bullied him.

Wen Zhaoyue walked to the door of the equipment room and peeked inside.

It was pitch black inside, and you couldn't see anything. A damp, musty smell mixed with a faint metallic rust wafted out from the depths.

She frowned and called out twice, "Wen Yan? Wen Yan?"

No one responded.

She hesitated for a moment, then stepped inside.

The soles of the shoes made a slight friction sound as they stepped on the cement floor.

I had only taken a few steps when I suddenly heard a "click" sound behind me; the door had been locked from the outside.

Wen Zhaoyue turned around abruptly.

"Haha, I didn't expect you to actually be related to Wen Yan. A single note was enough to lure you here."

A shrill male voice rang out from the darkness, filled with undisguised smugness.

Wen Zhaoyue's heart sank, but she remained expressionless and asked coldly, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Tsk tsk, as expected of Miss Wen."

The male voice chuckled, its tone dripping with sarcasm, "It's only been two weeks, and you've already forgotten about hitting me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the overhead light came on, and the harsh white light made Wen Zhaoyue squint.

After her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see the scene before her clearly.

Wen Yan lay on the ground, his school uniform covered in blood, making it impossible to tell where he was injured.

Three people stood on him, their faces full of mocking smiles.

Wen Yan's face was as white as paper, and his breath was weak, but his eyes widened in panic the moment he saw Wen Zhaoyue.

"Sister..." His voice was so hoarse it was almost cracking, "Sister, run..."

Wen Zhaoyue's pupils suddenly contracted, and her fingers unconsciously clenched.

The boy in the lead walked over slowly, bent down, grabbed Wen Yan's bloodied face, patted it casually, then looked at Wen Zhaoyue and gave her a meaningful smile.

"Miss Wen, is this your younger brother?"

He released his grip, and Wen Yan's face slammed heavily back to the ground.

"It seems you two don't get along very well. Otherwise, why would you always act like strangers to him, and even keep his identity a secret? Oh? So he's an illegitimate child?"

Wen Zhaoyue stared intently at the blood-soaked figure on the ground, feeling as if something had struck her chest hard.

Wen Yan lay on the ground, trembling all over, but still desperately tried to push himself up with his arms, repeating himself intermittently.

"Sister...go...hurry up..."

The man kicked Wen Yan hard, sending him crashing back to the ground.

"But your younger brother seems very loyal. When he heard that we were going to mess with you, he rushed over like a madman. Even after being beaten up like this, he still tried to protect you."

He paused, and the smile on his lips deepened slightly.

"It's all thanks to him. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have known we could get you to come out this way."

Wen Zhaoyue took a deep breath, but her hand quietly went into her pocket, and her fingertips quickly tapped a few times on the screen.

"Is the young lady trying to call for help?"

The boy in the lead noticed her little gesture and sneered, "Save your breath. We were prepared for this since we dared to send you."

He shook the black box in his hand. "Signal jammer. There's no signal here. You can't send your distress messages."

Wen Zhaoyue's fingers paused, but her hand pressed another button on the phone.

The boy made a gesture, and the remaining three immediately released their feet from Wen Yan, turned around, and surrounded Wen Zhaoyue with disgusting smiles on their faces.

Wen Zhaoyue took a step back, bracing her back against the shelf piled with miscellaneous items, and casually pulled out a stick.

She coldly rebuked him, "You dare touch me? Have you got a death wish?"

"Miss Wen," the leading boy said, pacing back and forth, his tone full of smug confidence.

"Who doesn't know your father has a mild temperament and dislikes conflict? Besides, even if our families can't compare to the Wen family, together..."

He shrugged, his smile growing even more arrogant. "It's not like we can't take a gamble. We can bleed a little and get some benefits in return, and that might just solve the problem."

As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and four people pounced on him at the same time.

Wen Zhaoyue learned grappling and fighting from elementary school. Although she wasn't particularly proficient, she could hold her own against a few thugs who hadn't had proper training.

She dodged the first person's bear hug by sidestepping, grabbed the wrist of the second person who was reaching out, and twisted it with the force of the twist, causing the person to scream and bend over.

She kicked the third person away and then smashed the fourth person's nose with a stick, causing him to cover his face and take several steps back in pain.

For a time, the group was truly at a loss with her.

However, girls' stamina is no match for boys'. After more than a dozen rounds, Wen Zhaoyue's breathing became heavier and heavier, and her arms began to go weak.

The boy in the lead seized an opening and suddenly lunged forward to trip her leg. Wen Zhaoyue lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground, hitting the back of her head on the concrete. Her vision went black for a moment.

"Hold her down!"

The other three immediately pounced on her, grabbing her hands and feet in a flurry.

Wen Zhaoyue struggled desperately, but her wrists were pinned to the ground and her legs were also pinned down, making her unable to move as if she were nailed to the ground.

The boy in the lead looked down at her and slowly squatted down.

His gaze slid from her face to her collar, a disgusting smile curving his lips.

The hand reached out, attempting to peek into the collar of her school uniform.

"Miss Wen, you're so beautiful..."

Wen Zhaoyue froze, her pupils suddenly contracting.

An unprecedented fear spread from the depths of my heart, like icy water washing over my head.

Her lips were trembling, and her teeth were grinding together, but she couldn't utter a single word.

The hand was getting closer and closer.

Just then, a furious roar exploded from the side.

"Don't touch my sister!"

Wen Yan, with a sudden burst of strength, got up from the ground, clutching an iron rod, his eyes bloodshot and his face covered in blood, and charged straight at them.

The iron rod whistled through the air as it struck the first person on the head, who screamed and instinctively covered his head.

Wen Yan swung her stick a second time, slamming it hard into the back of the person who was pinning her legs down. The sound of flesh and bone striking each other was dull and grating.

"Get out of here! All of you, get out of here!"

His voice was hoarse and cracked, and the way he wielded the iron rod was nothing like that of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy.

They were acting like madmen, like they didn't care about their lives.