Chapter 71.1
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“How about it? What now?”
Yu Shuyan narrowed her eyes at Ji Yun. Without warning, she lifted her hand and pressed her fingertip against Ji Yun’s slightly swollen lips, giving them a firm rub.
A beat passed. Then she smirked.
“Don’t tell me… you still want to sleep with me?”
Ji Yun arched a brow, her gaze gleaming with challenge. “So what if I do, Peacock? Don’t tell me you’re scared.”
Scared?
Yu Shuyan let out a loud, incredulous laugh. She tossed her hair over one shoulder with dramatic flair. “Ji Yun, you must be joking.”
A glint flashed in Ji Yun’s eyes. She stepped forward, grabbed Yu Shuyan’s hand, and tugged. “Let’s go.”
Yu Shuyan was just about to shoot back a retort when the sharp clatter of footsteps echoed down the hallway—quick, purposeful, and closing in.
They stopped right outside the door.
A second later, the doorknob turned with a rattle.
“Who locked this? Is someone in there?”
The voice cut in unexpectedly, and Yu Shuyan’s stomach dropped. Reality crashed back over her in an instant. She slapped Ji Yun’s hand away and quickly bent her head, fingers flying to fix her wrinkled shirt.
By the time she fastened the last button, she was once again the picture of calm restraint—the cool and collected Teacher Yu.
A knock came at the door, brisk and impatient.
“Is that you, Teacher Yu?”
Yu Shuyan shot Ji Yun a sharp look, silently telling her to keep quiet.
“Yes, it’s me,” she called out, voice steady. “Please wait a moment.”
She shoved Ji Yun aside and turned her back to her, eyes clouded with inner turmoil. Her hands clenched at her sides. Fingernails dug into the soft flesh of her fingertip until skin broke. The sting grounded her. Brought her mind back to cold clarity.
She drew in a long, slow breath and spoke—voice calm, words merciless.
“This ends here.”
The eagerness in Ji Yun’s eyes faded, little by little. She reached out instinctively to take Shuyan’s hand—but Shuyan stepped away.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yu Shuyan didn’t turn around. Her voice came low and cold.
“Don’t you get it? I don’t play with the same toy twice. And I don’t sleep with the same person twice.”
Her words hit like a punch to the gut. A clean, brutal hit that landed square on Ji Yun’s pride, shattering it—along with her confidence and all her carefully guarded dignity.
Wasn’t that just a polite way of telling her: Don’t get ahead of yourself?
Ji Yun let out a hollow laugh, tinged with bitter self-mockery.
Seriously… what am I, some pathetic fool?
“Got it. Never again,” she muttered.
She stepped around Yu Shuyan, unlocked the door, and walked out—without sparing her a single glance.
Just as she passed through, a slightly chubby figure squeezed past her and into the office.
“Finally! I thought I was gonna die waiting,” the woman huffed.
“Something’s happened, Teacher Yu—something serious. That boy from your class, Wang Yang? He didn’t come to school today. Last night, he locked himself in his room and tried to overdose.”
Ji Yun froze.
Her mind flashed back to the scene outside the teaching building just days ago—a mob of furious parents, holding banners and shouting for justice.
So that was what it had been about. That teacher they were shouting about… was the Peacock. Looked like trouble had finally come knocking.
Not that it had anything to do with her. At least, that’s what Ji Yun told herself. Still, her steps unconsciously slowed, and her ears perked up.
“How’s the kid now?” Yu Shuyan asked calmly.
“He’s okay—thank God. Took a small amount, and they found him early. Got his stomach pumped and now he’s just under observation for a day or two.”
Ji Yun let out a quiet breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Then came the teacher’s voice again.
“The kid’s fine, but the parents are something else. They’re demanding answers—want you and the school to take responsibility. What kind of mom and dad is that? They ignore the kid every day, and now something happens and suddenly they’re storming the school like it’s their job.”
A pause.
“Hey—where are you going, Teacher Yu?”
“Gonna lie low for a bit. Those people are vicious.”
Footsteps approached the door.
Ji Yun turned slightly, gaze drifting out the window. She caught the pair of women in her peripheral vision as they walked off down the hall.
She hesitated. Then turned, and followed.
It wasn’t that she cared about the Peacock. She just didn’t want to miss the drama.
That was all.
Just that. Nothing more.
***
Outside the Class 2–1 homeroom, a crowd had already gathered—thick and noisy, like a dark tide.
Teachers from various departments had shown up, along with students and parents just released from the latest parent-teacher meeting.
Right in the center of it all stood Yu Shuyan, surrounded by several agitated parents.
A middle-aged woman in a blue work uniform, eyes red and voice sharp, pointed an accusing finger at her.
“Teacher Yu, we trusted you with our kids! We handed them over to your care, and now look what’s happened! My son came home from school and tried to kill himself! You have to give us an explanation today!”
Before Yu Shuyan could respond, a few other parents stepped forward.
“Mrs. Wang, your son’s incident happened at home,” one of them said. “Why are you blaming the teacher?”
Mrs. Wang turned on them instantly, words flying like spit.
“Of course you’d say that—your kid didn’t try to off himself, did he? Easy to act righteous when it’s not your family!”
Then she whipped back around, her glare locked on Yu Shuyan.
“You! I’m asking you—why did you call Wang Yang into your office alone yesterday after the midterm results came out? You two were in there for two hours. What were you talking about?”
Her voice rose higher, angrier.
“Were you punishing him because his grades dropped? Is that it?”
Her hands clenched at her sides, voice trembling now with a mix of rage and grief.
“My Yangyang is a good boy. Sweet, quiet, well-behaved. He would never do something like this unless someone pushed him.”
A few teachers couldn’t stand to watch any longer and began to speak up.
“Teacher Yu didn’t punish your son at all yesterday,” one said. “We were all in the office—she even brought him lunch. He was upset about his grades, and she spent a long time comforting him.”
Another added quickly, “She really tried to talk him through it. You’re blaming the wrong person.”
Just then, a tall man holding one of the protest banners shoved forward, his eyes sharp and furious as he shouted into the crowd.
“Oh, so now you’re covering for each other? This is what your school stands for?”
The teachers flinched at his tone, taking a few instinctive steps back. None of them dared speak again.
It was Yu Shuyan who stepped forward.
Her voice was cold, clear.
“Covering for each other?” she repeated. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
