Toilet

Due to a schedule adjustment, Class A and Class B were warming up on the same running track. After about ten minutes of jogging, the students were free to do as they pleased.

"Yuyou, Yuyou, want to play badminton later?" Tang Keke mimed swinging a racket as she grinned at the girl beside her.

Bai Yuyou thought back to Ye Shuang's words and nodded.

"Keke..."

"Yeah?"

"Restroom."

"Go ahead. I'll grab the rackets from the equipment room. Let's meet back here later." Tang Keke blinked and waved her off.

Bai Yuyou nodded.

The nearest restroom wasn’t in the school building but behind the spectator stands—a secluded spot usually only frequented by students having P.E. on the track.

As Bai Yuyou headed toward the restroom, she forgot one thing Ye Shuang had written in her notebook:

[5. If you need to use the restroom, go to the one next to the teachers’ office at the end of the hallway.]

From another class having P.E., a few girls noticed Bai Yuyou walking alone toward the restroom. Three of them quietly followed.

After finishing up in the stall, Bai Yuyou stepped out and noticed the door had been locked from the inside. Three girls stood there, arms crossed, smirking coldly.

That expression was familiar, but Bai Yuyou didn’t recognize them. Their school badges weren’t from the third year but the fourth—practically college students. There should’ve been no reason for their paths to cross.

"That’s her, right? No mistake?"

"Yeah, her. The prettiest one in Class 3A."

The girls closed in, surrounding Bai Yuyou.

"Not bad looking. No wonder Su Zhe likes you," the leader said flatly. "Hand over the love letter."

Love letter...

Bai Yuyou understood now. Some time ago, she had indeed found a letter in her desk—addressed to "Bai Yuyou" from a boy surnamed Su. But she had thrown it away. She didn’t know him at all.

"Threw... it away," Bai Yuyou said.

"Threw it away? Or did you hide it, you little flirt? Su Zhe is mine, got it?" The girl’s voice dripped with scorn.

Bai Yuyou stayed silent.

She wasn’t good with strangers, especially when cornered like this. Words failed her.

Seeing her quiet, the girls took it as guilt. When Bai Yuyou reached for her notebook to write, the leader suddenly slapped her across the face.

"Slut!"

A familiar sting burned her cheek. The notebook fell, soaking into the damp floor.

Bai Yuyou almost apologized—but then she remembered Ye Shuang’s words.

Slap!

She hit back, mirroring the girl’s own motion.

"I... did nothing wrong," Bai Yuyou said firmly. Her instincts told her this wasn’t her fault.

No mistake meant no apology.

The girl, stunned that Bai Yuyou dared retaliate, shrieked in rage. She grabbed Bai Yuyou’s hair and slammed her head into the sink.

Thud!

The impact was brutal. Bai Yuyou crumpled to the floor, blood trickling from her forehead down her pale face like a scarlet thread.

Her vision blurred. Dizzy, she couldn’t move.

"W-was that too much?" one girl whispered. "She’s bleeding."

"Who cares? Strip her. Once we take photos, she won’t dare talk," the leader said coolly.

"Oh, right. Good idea."

"You film it."

As two girls yanked Bai Yuyou up, a sudden flush roared from one of the stalls.

Whoosh!

The sound startled them. They glared toward the source—some idiot student who didn’t know better.

But then the last stall door creaked open. A short-haired girl stepped out.

She glanced at the hostile group, then casually turned on the faucet to wash her hands.

"Can’t even take a piss in peace these days," she muttered.

"You got a problem?" the leader snapped. She hadn’t expected anyone else here, but it didn’t matter.

An Shiyu shrugged, dried her hands, and tucked them into her jacket pockets.

Then her gaze landed on Bai Yuyou. She raised a brow. "You’re messing with her? Not scared of getting your skull cracked open by that old man?"

"Old man?"

"Who the hell are you?" The girls closed in on An Shiyu.

"Me?" An Shiyu tilted her head. "Just a passing Kamen Rider."

"The what?" They stared blankly.

"Fine. A high-level ninja with two and a half years of training," she amended.

The girls exchanged looks, as if dealing with a lunatic. One didn’t bother with words—she lunged to grab An Shiyu.

An Shiyu sidestepped, hands still in her pockets, and delivered a swift kick between the girl’s legs.

Though the move was deadlier on men, it worked just fine here. The girl paled, staggered back, and collapsed with a whimper.

The remaining two hesitated, but their pride won out.

"Get her!"

They regretted it instantly. Within seconds, both were on the ground, groaning.

"Pathetic." An Shiyu yawned, stepping over them to reach Bai Yuyou. One girl even got a shoe print on her face.

Kneeling beside the trembling Bai Yuyou, An Shiyu pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. "Here. Clean up."

Bai Yuyou took it. Blood dripped onto the white fabric, blooming into crimson flowers.

"Did I... do wrong?" she murmured, her dull eyes unfocused.

"Not sure what happened," An Shiyu said carelessly. "But you should go find that old man."

Ye Shuang...

Ye Shuang.

"Ye Shuang." A flicker of life returned to Bai Yuyou’s eyes. She struggled to her feet, swaying as she stumbled toward the door.

Ye Shuang, where are you...

I want to see you.