Standing Next To You-Chapter 53: The Coward and Pathetic Him

Bei Sangyun sat at the teacher’s table as she waited. The classroom was so quiet that nobody dared to breathe loudly or talk among themselves.

Ten minutes later, the suffocating silence was finally shattered by the sound of the door opening.

Several students entered, full of lively spirits. "Did you see that? It was so thrilling! I thought the drama was over, but the school tyrant bullying the janitor takes it to a whole new level!"

"I wasn’t in the cafeteria earlier, so I missed it. Luckily, someone recorded it. Do you think the school tyrant will reward them when she sees this—"

The students in the room who overheard them gulped nervously. They wanted to warn their clueless classmates that their topic of conversation was right in front of them.

The newcomers were laughing as they entered, but the speaker at the front suddenly froze in his steps. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at Bei Sangyun. The student behind him also saw her and covered his mouth in surprise.

"Hey, why aren’t you coming in? The president said if we don’t return immediately, there will be consequences—"

The third person behind them craned his head around their backs. His gaze spotted Bei Sangyun, and likewise, his eyes widened and he exclaimed in shock.

"T-the school tyrant!"

Bei Sangyun: "...."

Everyone: "...."

"Aren’t you going to come in?" Bei Sangyun asked.

The three students entered stiffly, noticing the unusual silence. They meekly returned to their seats.

So, this was the emergency the class president was talking about?

They asked their classmates in hushed whispers why the school tyrant was here, and their classmates kindly filled them in. Only then did they learn that the school tyrant had come for their five classmates.

Finally, after a few minutes, the door opened again, and the five male students that Bei Sangyun had been waiting for entered.

"Did you see Fei Chuan’s face? That coward left like a drenched puppy!"

"Hahaha. The Fei family name is wasted on him—"

Suddenly, the five men paused and noticed Bei Sangyun at the front.

"...Boss Lin!"

Their eyes lit up, and they surrounded her, with the expression of currying favor.

"Boss, why did you come here?"

"Did you see the video, Boss? Fei Chuan ran like the coward he is!"

"Did we do a good job, boss?"

Bei Sangyun raised her head and smiled coldly, "Good job? Why do you think you’ve done a good job? Did I ever tell you to do those things?"

The five men were stunned and exchanged confused glances.

The Boss did not seem as pleased as they had expected.

"You didn’t directly order us, but we did it for you. To make you happy—"

"Bullshit." Bei Sangyun stood up and approached a student with a menacing aura. "Who are you to judge whether I will be happy or not?"

The students stepped back nervously. "...B-but didn’t you hate Fei Chuan? We admired you and wanted to be in your group, so we—"

Bei Sangyun narrowed her eyes, "I didn’t hate Fei Chuan."

It was true. She did not hate Fei Chuan, even in the past.

Sure, she disliked him because of their history, and her dislike became more obvious when he constantly disrupted her plans in public. However, compared to the Lin family, Fei Chuan wasn’t even that detestable.

All the students in the room glanced at Bei Sangyun in shock. She did not hate Fei Chuan? Impossible!

Ever since Fei Chuan transferred, Bei Sangyun who was known for her school achievements and family background exercised her authority and made an open announcement that anyone who befriended Fei Chuan would be disliked by her. (This did not happen)

Bei Sangyun was someone you couldn’t afford to offend. Various incidents in the past where some foolish students had offended Bei Sangyun had led to her showing her might, earning her the title of the school tyrant.

With Fei Chuan’s arrival, her tyranny had been directed solely at one person.

So, everyone came to learn that Fei Chuan had somehow offended Bei Sangyun, and the tyrant was after him!

Every person who had come to bully Fei Chuan had the same goal – to gain Bei Sangyun’s favor.

So how could she say that she did not hate him after bullying him so much?!

The five students became even more confused.

"B-but we heard that you were giving orders to bother Fei Chuan."

Bei Sangyun crossed her arms, her expression thoughtful. She had indeed heard something like that. "And where did you hear that?"

"From Class 3-1A."

Bei Sangyun narrowed her eyes and fell into deep thought, trying to recall her high school days.

Did she really give out such an order?

She had indeed ruled Tian Shen Senior High in her era. With her around, the other heirs who were attending this school faded into the shadows. They couldn’t surpass her.

Inside the Lin mansion, Bei Sangyun was constantly oppressed, and coupled with her illness, her temper became even worse. She could only relieve the bottled-up feelings inside her from time to time by showing her bad temper.

So when others came to offend her at school, she never held back. Her ways were direct and ruthless. Thus, she earned the title of the school tyrant.

The school had become her kingdom, where students and teachers alike sought to gain her favor.

However, when Fei Chuan transferred, Bei Sangyun’s tranquil rule shattered. She became nervous. She knew that Fei Chuan was incredibly intelligent, someone she couldn’t defeat academically or intellectually.

She had a goal in mind – to achieve the top rank until graduation. But with Fei Chuan, her goal might be threatened.

So she did the unthinkable. She made use of the people who fawned over her and hinted at them to bother Fei Chuan before the exam days.

As for their methods, she didn’t care. They could either invite him to a party before the exams or influence him not to study – things like that.

However, she didn’t expect that Fei Chuan, who had been favored by the heavens during their childhood days, was so unpopular.

With his gloomy appearance, introverted nature, and arrogant attitude, no one came to like him, making him an easy target for those who wanted to oppress others.

The students started to bully him, and Bei Sangyun stood by and took advantage of it.

Bei Sangyun held her head.

She had indeed started this.

If she let this continue, the past would repeat, and Fei Chuan would grow to hate her even more.

What did she need to do to stop this?

She looked at the nervous five students, and an idea came to mind.

"Since you bullied someone, you have to take responsibility for your actions. And there’s a right way to make up for it."

The five men nervously looked at Bei Sangyun.

*****

Fei Chuan emerged from the shower room, dressed in his PE uniform. Fortunately, he had a spare PE uniform stored in his locker.

The shower room was empty, with no one else around. So Fei Chuan took his time showering while cooling himself down and slowly changing his clothes.

To be honest, he didn’t want to return to that classroom and wished the class would end by the time he finished.

Because in that place, she would be there. She was even sitting beside him to torment him.

He did not want to face her. He did not have any energy left to endure her attacks. Nor did he want to meet other people’s strange gazes constantly directed his way.

Fei Chuan suddenly paused. Then, he chuckled in self-mockery.

When had he become a coward, afraid of meeting other people?

He felt helpless and pathetic.

Fei Chuan looked at the mirror. A slender, fair boy with wet hair that stopped at his jaw looked back at him. He appeared gloomy and timid. A weak individual that anyone could hurt with their whims.

This was him. How pathetic.

How had he become like this?

Fei Chuan lifted up his bangs in frustration, revealing his clean forehead and a pair of beautiful eyes. The gloomy aura around him disappeared, and a dreamy, handsome prince appeared in the mirror. Unfortunately, no one was there to appreciate the view.

Fei Chuan lowered his eyes as he thought about the earlier scene.

Why did she have to come to his table and pretend they were on good terms when she was going to bully him later?

What did she want this time?

Fei Chuan let down his bangs, and the gloomy boy returned. He left the shower room and went to his locker to return his dirtied uniform.

But then, he found a slip of paper wedged between the gap of his locker’s door.

Fei Chuan’s expression darkened. Weren’t they done yet?

He grabbed the paper in annoyance and crumpled it without opening it. He put his uniform back and walked away.

However, he spotted one of the male students who had bullied him earlier standing not far away from the locker area. The student kept glancing his way.

Fei Chuan clenched his fist. He had just taken a shower. He really didn’t want to get dirty today.

Fei Chuan turned around and decided to take a detour. He didn’t want to confront that bully and subject himself to more bullying.

But in that direction, another student from the group of five was also standing there, discreetly glancing at him.

Fei Chuan: "...."

Fei Chuan looked around and noticed that the five male students were scattered in different directions, all glancing in his way.