Chapter 7. From the inside out, down to the last strand of your hair, you are under my control…

The counselor was called back in the middle of the night and looked at the messy, stinking dormitory with a grim expression.

Cheng Yaxue twisted the truth, insisting that Wen Yu had hit her first and that she was a psychopath who destroyed everything she owned.

The other two girls, trembling under Cheng Yaxue's glare, echoed her.

Wen Yu, her pale lips pressed tightly together, stared intently at the completely destroyed sketchbook and imported original art book amidst the chaos, remaining silent throughout.

The counselor looked at Cheng Yaxue, then at Wen Yu, and felt so overwhelmed by the fumes that her head was spinning and she couldn't think straight.

She immediately instructed the dormitory cleaning lady to clean the dormitory to prevent disturbing the rest of students in other dormitories, and the counselor brought everyone to the office.

When they arrived at the office, Cheng Yaxue clutched her counselor's sleeve, looking aggrieved. "Teacher Wang, Wen Yu has gone mad. She's really gone mad. She threw dirty water from washing the mop at me. My bed and all my things are ruined. I can't sleep tonight. She has to pay for it, ten times, no, a hundred times."

Wen Yu remained silent.

She stood there quietly, her eyes numb and calm, as if she weren't the one who had just carried the bucket of dirty water and acted so madly.

She didn't even look at the counselor; her gaze was fixed blankly on the pitch-black window.

But this complete silence and disregard infuriated the counselor even more than Cheng Yaxue's wailing.

"Wen Yu, what else do you have to say?"

Counselor Wang questioned him sternly.

Wen Yu then turned to look at the counselor.

Her voice was hoarse: "Cheng Yaxue destroyed everything I owned first. My sketchbook, sketchbook, books, and clothes."

And there is her hope.

"You're talking nonsense, you were the one who hit me first."

Cheng Yaxue screamed and jumped up and down.

"Because your mouth is too dirty."

Wen Yu looked at Cheng Yaxue, her tone indifferent.

"You fucking..."

"Shut up, all of you."

Teacher Wang pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.

Seeing Wen Yu's unyielding attitude, she realized that Cheng Yaxue had probably started the trouble first.

"Alright, I don't care who went first or who went last."

Teacher Wang waved her hand impatiently: "The current situation is that you have damaged each other's property. You either need to apologize or call your parents to come and discuss compensation."

Teacher Wang had a general understanding of Wen Yu's situation and knew that she was staying with relatives.

In this situation, it's naturally inconvenient to call the parents.

Sure enough, Wen Yu's previously numb expression changed when she heard that her parents were being called.

Because in the parents' section, she wrote... Aunt Zhou's phone number.

Fortunately, Aunt Zhou wouldn't bother with such trivial matters.

Teacher Wang's clearly biased decision finally brought a flicker of emotion to Wen Yu's empty eyes.

But Cheng Yaxue raised her chin triumphantly: "Did you hear me? Apologize, kneel down and apologize."

"Otherwise, we'll call her parents and let Wen Yu's whole family know what kind of mad dog she is."

As her roommate, Cheng Yaxue overheard Wen Yu's story of being an orphan who relied on relatives for support from a tutoring center.

Since that's the case, she wants to see how those people who have been staying with Wen Yu will look down on her when they see that she has gotten into trouble.

Cheng Yaxue's home is nearby; her parents can get there in ten minutes by taxi.

Moreover, her parents doted on her immensely, so whatever she said was definitely what she wanted.

"Cheng Yaxue."

The counselor was a beat late in reprimanding Wen Yu, but her tone wasn't harsh; instead, she continued to put pressure on her.

"Wen Yu, did you hear me? Apologize. Otherwise, I'll call your family right now and have your parents come and see what you've done."

The word "home" momentarily stunned Wen Yu.

Her face immediately turned even paler.

She has no home for a long time.

Seeing Wen Yu's changing expression, Teacher Wang thought she had found her weakness and her tone became even sterner: "Make the call, make it now."

The call was answered quickly, and Teacher Wang explained the situation in a few words.

On the other end of the phone, Zhou's mother's tone was filled with undisguised annoyance: "Teacher Wang, right? Wen Yu is always causing trouble. We never taught her to do this. Since it's her problem, we'll handle it however we want. But in the future, don't bother informing me about these embarrassing things."

The counselor put the call on speakerphone, and every single word of Zhou's mother's cold attempt to distance herself from the situation reached Wen Yu's ears.

She closed her eyes.

I had already guessed it.

It's nothing.

Cheng Yaxue's face lit up with ecstasy.

She pointed at Wen Yu excitedly, gloating, "Did you hear that? Your family doesn't want you anymore, so hurry up and kneel down to apologize and pay compensation."

Teacher Wang's tone became increasingly firm: "Wen Yu, you heard that too. Stop being stubborn. Apologize, compensate Cheng Yaxue for her losses, and this matter will be over."

"Otherwise, I will have to give you a severe punishment according to school rules."

Upon hearing this, Wen Yu slowly raised her head, her gaze sweeping over Cheng Yaxue's smug face before finally settling on the counselor's face.

The girl, who appeared delicate, had no expression on her face, but something seemed to have shattered in her empty eyes, revealing a cold and emotionless undercurrent.

"Wen Yu, I'm talking to you, are you deaf?"

The counselor felt uneasy under Wen Yu's gaze and slammed his fist on the table in anger.

Cheng Yaxue chimed in, "Teacher Wang, stop wasting your breath on her. She won't admit it until she's faced with a real problem. Just give her a disciplinary warning and kick her out of our dorm."

"Okay then."

Wen Yu looked at Cheng Yaxue, her voice hoarse but calm: "I'll call the police."

The counselor was taken aback and looked at Wen Yu in surprise.

Cheng Yaxue was also stunned: "Call the police? No, it's such a small matter, why would you..."

Facing their astonished and uncertain gazes, Wen Yu remained composed and dignified, displaying a fearlessness born from despair: "Since the school cannot handle this fairly, I request that the police be called. Let the police determine who is deliberately damaging property and who is committing insults and defamation."

"Wen Yu, how dare you?"

The counselor was furious.

She hadn't expected this quiet girl to pull such a stunt, which completely disrupted her plan to settle things peacefully.

"Call the police? How big of a mess do you want to make? Do you want the whole school to know that our college has done something so shameful? Let me tell you, if you dare to call the police today, I..."

How are you?

A voice carrying the chill of the night wind came from the doorway, instantly breaking the suffocating and oppressive atmosphere in the office.

The office door was pushed open, and a very tall man leaned leisurely against the door frame.

His posture was languid, yet he inexplicably gave off a strong sense of oppression.

The man looked like he had just hurriedly left a certain occasion; his silver-gray hair was slightly disheveled, and the collar of his black shirt was slightly open, revealing a section of his pale collarbone. He exuded a low-pressure aura that kept strangers at bay.

The man's light brown eyes lazily swept across the entire room.

The gaze swept past the bewildered counselor, past the shocked and slightly blushing Cheng Yaxue, and finally landed on Wen Yu's pale, bloodless face.

The moment Wen Yu met Zhou Shiye's gaze, her heart skipped a beat.

How did he end up here?

Was it... Aunt Zhou who told him?

still……

Overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness and panic, Wen Yu tensed up, her naturally drooping hands clenching into fists.

Zhou Shiye's gaze lingered on Wen Yu's face for a moment, taking in her obvious panic and feigned composure, his eyes instantly turning icy cold.

Then, Zhou Shiye stepped in.

The sound of a man's leather shoes on the floor was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent office, each step carrying an invisible pressure.

"Teacher Wang, right? Let me introduce myself, Zhou Shiye."

Zhou Shiye stood still in the office, his voice not loud, but carrying the penetrating power and pressure unique to professional lawyers.

He casually flashed his identification: "Brother Wenyu, also her lawyer."

Before the counselor and Cheng Yaxue could react, Zhou Shiye walked up to Wen Yu, his tall figure blocking all the malicious gazes directed at her.

"The threshold for filing a case for the crime of intentional damage to property is 5,000 yuan."

Zhou Shiye calmly curled the corners of his mouth, his cold tone completely unwavering: "According to Article 275 of the Criminal Law, anyone who intentionally damages public or private property, where the amount is relatively large or there are other serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or a fine."

At this point, Zhou Shiye turned to Cheng Yaxue, whose face was beginning to turn pale, and casually lifted his eyelids: "This student, according to Teacher Wang, you destroyed Miss Wen's private manuscripts, professional books, and other personal belongings. The preliminary assessment of the value far exceeds the threshold for filing a case. In addition, as an art student, the permanent destruction of her core learning materials and creative achievements has caused her special psychological harm..."

Zhou Shiye leaned forward slightly, his voice lowered, carrying an even more deadly threat: "Do you think this is enough for you to go in and experience it for a few days? To leave a criminal record that will stay with you for life? Do you need me to calculate the amount in detail for you right now, call the police, and ask the police and price bureau to appraise it?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaxue, who had never imagined such a thing, went completely blank.

Her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Zhou Shiye ignored her and looked at the two girls next to him who were helping Cheng Yaxue lie.

"As for you,"

Zhou Shiye's seemingly gentle voice was full of nonchalant sarcasm: "Giving false testimony in court and obstructing justice will result in fines and detention at best, and more serious consequences at worst... Are you sure you want to ruin your own records for such a small matter of friendship?"

The two girls were already terrified by Zhou Shiye's dangerous aura. Now, upon hearing that even they would be punished, they shook their heads in fear, on the verge of tears.

Finally, Zhou Shiye looked at the counselor, whose face was ashen but who was already sweating, and suppressed the mocking smile on his lips, his tone becoming cold and hard:

“Teacher Wang, the facts are clear and the evidence is conclusive. My client has suffered severe property damage and emotional trauma.”

"I will have my assistant make a detailed list of the value of the damaged property for you."

"Our demands are: First, the perpetrator must compensate Ms. Wen for all her losses, including property damages and emotional distress;"

"Second, a written apology to mitigate the impact within the department. Of course, if the university cannot meet these reasonable demands, or attempts to evade responsibility..."

At this point, Zhou Shiye gave Cheng Yaxue a sharp look.

"I will formally report the case as 'intentional damage to property' and reserve the right to pursue legal action against them for defamation, disturbing the peace, and other offenses. At that point, the matter will not be as simple as a private negotiation."

The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Cheng Yaxue was so frightened that she didn't even dare to breathe.

She hadn't expected that Wen Yu had an older brother.

She isn't like that; she's not someone who's unloved or uncared for...

Zhou Shiye, too lazy to waste any more words, grabbed Wen Yu's icy wrist.

“I’ve taken the person with me. The detailed compensation list and lawyer’s letter will be delivered tomorrow. I hope the school can give us a satisfactory answer.”

Before he finished speaking, he pulled Wen Yu and left the office directly.

They took her away from that suffocating place.

Downstairs, Zhou Shiye shoved Wen Yu into a sharply styled black sports car.

The car door slammed shut, and the air pressure inside the cramped space was terrifyingly low.

Zhou Shiye turned to the side, grabbed Wen Yu's chin with one hand, and forced her to look up at him.

The man's eyes, which had been filled with sarcasm and arrogance just moments before, now churned with barely suppressed rage, and a hint of lingering fear that even he himself was unaware of.

"Wen Yu, you've gotten so bold, haven't you? You've been bullied like this and you didn't even say a word? Is my name, Zhou Shiye, carved on the wall to ward off evil spirits?"

The thought that if he hadn't happened to be home and overheard that disdainful phone call, Wen Yu would have had to face that filthy situation alone.

She might be forced to apologize to that kind of trash, and she might end up crying alone with nowhere to go...

Just thinking about that scene made Zhou Shiye want to tear Cheng and his clueless mother apart.

Wen Yu's chin ached from Zhou Shiye's pinching, but she stubbornly turned her head away, her low, hoarse voice revealing deep exhaustion and a hint of barely perceptible grievance: "I... I don't want to trouble you."

"Don't want to trouble me?"

Zhou Shiye seemed to be completely enraged by those words.

He was so angry he laughed.

After a while, Zhou Shiye approached Wen Yu.

The man's hot breath, carrying a surge of wild, raging anger, sprayed onto Wen Yu's face.

“Wen Yu, listen to me carefully. You are under my control from head to toe. If anyone bullies you, they are stepping on my face. If you dare to say ‘I don’t want to bother you’ again, I will…”

The harsh words were on the tip of his tongue, but when he saw Wen Yu's pale and fragile appearance, yet with a stubbornness he hadn't seen in a long time, Zhou Shiye was slightly taken aback, and the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.

After a moment, he cursed under his breath in frustration and started the engine.

Immediately, the sports car let out a furious roar and shot off like an arrow.

The streets were deserted at night, and Zhou Shiye pushed the car to its limit.

The neon lights outside the window were stretched into blurry streaks of light, and the wind howled.

Wen Yu leaned stiffly against the back of the chair, her fingers gripping the armrests tightly.

The car was going too fast, making her dizzy and her heart pounding wildly in her chest as if weightless.

She looked out the window at the blurry street scene rushing past, and at Zhou Shiye's cold, tense profile. A belated, immense fear overwhelmed her already numb nerves.

It was no longer the despair of facing dormitory conflicts, but the fear of the surging anger of the man beside me.

This fear, which almost suffocated her, forcefully pulled her out of her zombie-like state.

Then, she was mercilessly thrown into another vortex that terrified her even more.

At a red light intersection, Zhou Shiye slammed on the brakes.

Wen Yu fell forward uncontrollably.

However, the expected painful impact did not come. Instead, a strong arm quickly came across and locked onto Wen Yu's chest, forcefully pulling her back onto the chair.

The next second, Zhou Shiye's hot lips, carrying a hint of punishment and a sense of losing control, pressed down hard.

The man savagely pried open Wen Yu's teeth, violently rubbing against her, as if he wanted to devour her and melt her into his own bones and blood.

A note from the author:

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