Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan had not been out of the teaching building for long before Zhang Peng ran up to them.
"Brother Tian, the monitor asked if you wanted to find the homeroom teacher. I said not yet, wait for our news."
"Mm!"
Qin Tian nodded.
"Brother Tian, is it that Xu Ying feels unhappy because Cui Ying and the other girl have been getting close to us recently, and she's causing trouble again?"
Zhang Peng asked with a serious expression.
Qin Tian shook his head. "I don't know either. Let's find them first!"
"It might be because of me!"
Xia Nuannuan turned her head to look at Qin Tian, her pretty face filled with anxiety and panic. She said, "These past few days, I've felt that Cui Ying's mood has been off. It's like she's worried about something. I asked her, but she didn't tell me what was wrong, so I didn't press further."
"Don't worry, nothing will happen!"
Qin Tian comforted her softly.
"Let's hurry!"
Xia Nuannuan said anxiously.
Qin Tian and Zhang Peng responded, and the three quickened their pace to the school gate.
Fortunately, the preparatory bell for evening self-study had not rung yet, and the school gate had not closed.
The three walked out of the school gate and looked around, but they couldn't find Cui Ying and the others.
"Zhang Peng, you go that way, and Xia Nuannuan and I will go this way. Let's split up and search."
Qin Tian pointed to the right and then to the left.
"Okay!"
Zhang Peng agreed and was about to head right without hesitation.
"Wait a minute!"
Qin Tian called him back and took out his phone from his pocket, handing it over.
"If you find them and the situation is not right, call Nuannuan's phone first."
Saying this, Qin Tian looked at Xia Nuannuan and asked, "You have your phone with you, right?"
"Yes!"
Xia Nuannuan quickly nodded.
She had brought her phone when she went home for dinner in the afternoon and went directly to the track and field stadium after returning to school.
"That's good, go ahead!"
Qin Tian said to Zhang Peng.
"Okay, I'm going."
Zhang Peng grabbed his phone and ran towards the right side of the school gate.
Qin Tian and Xia Nuannuan headed to the left to look for them.
On both sides of Yucheng No. 4 Middle School campus, there were various small shops.
Bubble tea shops, ramen shops, and shops selling roasted chestnuts, and so on.
As they searched, the two asked the shop owners if they had seen three girls leave earlier.
At this time, there were usually more students entering the campus and very few students leaving.
If someone had seen three girls leave together, they might have remembered.
However, the shop owners all said they hadn't noticed.
Xia Nuannuan's expression became increasingly anxious and uneasy. She began to call out Cui Ying and Qiu Man's names loudly, hoping to hear a response.
The two searched all the way to the corner at the end of the street, still with no luck.
Just then, Xia Nuannuan's phone, which she was holding tightly, vibrated.
"It's Zhang Peng calling, answer it quickly!"
She hurriedly handed the phone to Qin Tian.
"Don't rush, don't rush."
Qin Tian took the phone, answered it, and turned on the speaker. "Hello, Zhang Peng!"
"Brother Tian, I saw them. They're on my side. It looks like that bitch Xu Ying found two boys from another school. Cui Ying and Qiu Man are temporarily fine, just a bit scared."
Zhang Peng concisely explained the situation.
"Okay, we're coming over. Don't hang up yet!"
Qin Tian gave Xia Nuannuan a look, and they both ran in Zhang Peng's direction.
...
...
At the same time, Zhang Peng held his phone to his ear, frowning and glaring at Xu Ying and the others not far away.
Because the distance was still a bit far, and it was already getting dark, he couldn't see their faces clearly, nor could he hear what they were saying.
He could only see Cui Ying and Qiu Man, like frightened quails, holding hands and timidly lowering their heads.
Xu Ying seemed to be saying harsh words to them, with two tall boys standing beside her.
The two boys seemed to be around the same age, but their clothing and style were a bit too flashy.
"What, you betrayed me, and you're unwilling to apologize? You've climbed up to someone high and mighty, haven't you?"
Xu Ying crossed her arms, looking at them mockingly.
Cui Ying and Qiu Man still kept their heads down, not speaking, their clasped hands tightening.
"Yingying, why waste time? With us here, why don't you just slap them a couple of times and vent your anger?"
One of the boys said impatiently.
Bullying two girls was not interesting at all. If it weren't for Xu Ying's relationship with him from playing in Jiangcheng during the May Day holiday, and her constant flattery, he wouldn't have bothered to come.
The other boy stood with his hands in his pockets, smiling without saying a word.
He was just there to watch the show.
"Brother Hang, don't be in a hurry!"
Xu Ying turned her head to look at the boy and pretended to look reluctant, saying sarcastically, "They're my 'best friends' in the class after all. How could I bear to hit them!"
Saying that, she looked at them with a playful smile, her tone unhurried.
"Besides, they have quite a few friends now, like the prominent figures in our school, and the monitor, and so on. If they find out and then tell the homeroom teacher, I'll be in a lot of trouble."
"Xu Ying, what exactly do you want?"
Cui Ying mustered up her courage and looked up at her, asking directly.
"Slap!"
Xu Ying suddenly slapped her across the face.
The boy with his hands in his pockets looked surprised and whistled.
Jiang Hang had a nonchalant expression. It was just to vent some anger, and this way was more direct and efficient.
Cui Ying was stunned by the slap. She raised her hand to cover her burning face, her reddened eyes looking directly at Xu Ying again.
"Is that enough?"
"Wow, you've really changed a lot!"
Xu Ying laughed coldly, her face full of disdain and mockery. "You used to only follow behind me, and now you dare to be so tough? What, do you think Xia Nuannuan and Qin Tian can back you up?"
"Xu Ying, we haven't done anything wrong to you, why are you doing this?"
Qiu Man asked with a crying voice.
These two boys were from a vocational school in Yucheng, where they were quite influential. Her younger brother, who didn't like studying, was also at that school.
It was precisely because of this that she could only suppress her fear and unease and obediently follow Xu Ying out of the school.
Cui Ying was just accompanying her.
Of course, Xu Ying's target was them from the beginning.
But in Qiu Man's opinion, it was her who had implicated Cui Ying and gotten her hit.
"Nothing? Are you sure?"
Xu Ying narrowed her eyes and glared at Qiu Man.
Qiu Man's face turned pale, and her voice trembled as she said, "I, we became friends with Xia Nuannuan, but we didn't do anything to wrong you. Please let us go!"
"Heh, alright, it's still the same as I said before. You two apologize to me, and it's okay if you don't talk to me later, but don't hang out with Xia Nuannuan and the others to disgust me, that's enough. It's very simple, right?"
Xu Ying said with a cold smile.
As soon as she finished speaking, a rather familiar angry shout came.
"Xu Ying, what the hell are you pretending to be?"