Aria saw that William had already left, so she sneaked up to Ellie and recounted what she had heard today, saying, "William just beat up that guy for no apparent reason. Do you think William might one day, if he's in a bad mood, might beat us up too? He even directly put the tray on that person's head at noon."
Hearing this, Ellie paused for a moment and said, "Without knowing the full picture, I won't make a judgment, and I don't think he is that kind of person." Although her time interacting with William was short, and they hadn't spoken much, she felt that William wouldn't bully people indiscriminately.
Just as she finished speaking, she saw a person standing next to Aria.
William's face showed no expression as he said to Aria, "Excuse me."
Aria was a bit afraid of William to begin with, and upon hearing this, she said to Ellie, "I'll find you after the next class."
Ellie responded, "Okay."
William sat down and took out his phone to play his matching game.
He didn't care about those comments.
He was just a bit surprised that his good student deskmate would say, "I don't think he is that kind of person."
He glanced at Ellie and noticed she was reading some book.
Tsk.
Reading books during breaks.
Really a good student.
————
"I don't want to go to school anymore," Emily mustered up the courage to say to her mother.
"Why not? Why don't you want to go to school?" her mother asked.
Emily lowered her eyes and said, "I just don't want to go."
"You ungrateful girl, are you just looking for trouble? I work hard to provide for you, to clothe you, and to send you to school, and now you casually tell me you don't want to go to school. Are you trying to upset me?"
Images from yesterday came to Emily's mind, and tears couldn't help but flow down her cheeks. She said to Jessica with red eyes, "Stop asking why, I said I don't want to go, I just don't want to." Now, just mentioning school reminds her of those disgusting things, and she feels physically uncomfortable.
"Oh, I see. It's not about being sick and wanting to come home; it's about skipping class and not wanting to attend, right? You've grown up, haven't you, Emily? Now you dare to lie to your mother. Who have I been working so hard for all these years? Tell me, who is it for? Isn't it to give you a better life? I've placed all my hopes on you, can't you make an effort? Can't you make an effort?"
Jessica spoke while pulling at Emily, so angry she was about to explode.
"I said I don't want to go to school, stop talking, just stop it," Emily broke free from her arm, crying with tears all over her face.
"No, no, I don't care if you want to or not, you have to go to school today. You're a sophomore this year, and your studies are so intense. Can I let you relax at home for so long?"
Emily looked at Jessica and said word by word, "I said I don't want to go. Please don't force me, okay? I'm begging you, don't force me. I don't want to go to school, I really don't want to go to school at all."
"Do you feel you've lived up to all the years I've raised you? I work so hard every day, isn't it for you, to provide you with better conditions to study? Do you feel you've lived up to me?" Jessica said while wiping away tears.
She hesitated all night, mustered up her courage, and finally decided to tell Jessica about it, but it seemed that Jessica only cared about her studies.
She was left speechless by Jessica's words, feeling very upset inside.
Jessica cried while tearing at her hair and slapped her own face, "It's because I didn't educate you well, it's all my fault, all my fault." Her hair was torn into a mess by herself.
Every time the two had a dispute, or if Emily didn't do something as she wished, Jessica would use this extreme method to force her to give in.
She said, "Mom, don't do this, I'll go to school, I'll go to school, okay?"
Jessica looked at her and said, "You promise you'll study hard at school."
Emily said word by word, "I promise, I will study hard."
Jessica hugged her and said, "This is good, this is mom's good daughter."
Tears silently fell down Emily's face.
————
Emily was walking on the way to the teaching building, seeing the familiar school, the familiar road, she was trembling badly.
She didn't know what would have happened if William and the others hadn't come over suddenly at that time, and she didn't dare to think about it.
She looked up and saw the figure on the second floor, whom she would recognize even if turned to ash, with his arm around someone, talking to them about something.
She swayed, and a hand grabbed her from the side. The girl had clear apricot eyes and a soft voice: "Classmate, are you okay?"
Emily shook her head and said, "I'm fine, thank you."
Ellie asked again uncertainly, "Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine."
————
"Emily, you're finally here. You don't know that the school has been uneasy these two days. Do you know William from Class 17?"
Emily nodded.
The girl continued, "I used to think he was handsome when he fought, with a ruffian charm, but I didn't expect him to be this kind of person. He bullies classmates and even poured food directly on Matthew's head. Isn't this school violence? It's too much..."
Emily didn't listen to the rest. The hero who saved her became the perpetrator, and that disgusting scum became the victim in everyone's mouths.
Jessica had told her many times not to fall in love, that her focus should be on studying, and that only by studying hard was there a way out.
Perhaps due to rebellion, or perhaps because of the youthful flutter, she fell in love with Matthew from her class.
Matthew and her were both among the top students in the class, and he told her they had to keep their relationship secret and not make it public in class.
Emily agreed because she didn't want any gossip to reach Jessica's ears.
They dated for a while, and Matthew's grades didn't drop, but hers did.
Because she always felt insecure and couldn't help but think more, seeing him talk to other girls made her feel sad, and with the pressure from the teacher and Jessica, she broke up with Matthew.
Matthew readily agreed and said he had something to give her, asking to meet her behind the school playground.
She didn't expect that Matthew, who seemed cultured and friendly, would directly drag her into the equipment room and then lock the door.
"It's after school now, everyone has gone to eat, even if you scream your lungs out, no one will know."
Emily was very scared and said, "What do you want to do?"
Matthew smiled, his face looking somewhat ferocious and terrifying, and he said, "What do you think?"