Chapter 514: Chapter 514: 2 vs 3
"Repeat what you just said, I’m old? Which eye of yours sees me as old?" Of all the things the goddess said, only the words about age penetrated Yu Xia’s ears.
No matter who it is, as soon as it touches on the issue of age, even the mildest woman will instantly transform into a fierce lion, fiercely defending her dignity, not to mention Ariel, who never had a particularly good temper.
The smile on Ariel’s face had diminished significantly, and though her features were still exquisite and beautiful, this beauty was now tinged with a strong sense of menace.
The others thought Ariel was just angry, but the three girls targeted by Ariel were already trembling in fear. If it weren’t for the companions beside them and the desire not to appear cowardly and shame themselves, the three girls would have run away long ago.
"Didn’t you all have quite a lot to say just now? Why are you all quiet as quails now? Speak up! Say I’m old, where do I look old? Do I look very old? Huh?" With every step Ariel took forward, she posed another question. By the time she finished asking the last question, she was only an arm’s length away from the three girls.
Due to the height difference, Ariel lowered her head and leaned her body slightly forward, her nose almost touching that of the leading girl. The scent of hyacinth from Ariel enveloped the girl’s nostrils like a powerful torrent that was overwhelming and unavoidable.
The girl unexpectedly approached by Ariel couldn’t help but shiver. The palpable intent to harm paralyzed her legs, rendering them as weak as noodles, and she abruptly knelt on the ground, her knees hitting hard and causing a dull thud, which made her gasp in pain through her fear.
"With that arrogant demeanor earlier, I thought you were much tougher than this. Turns out you’re just a paper tiger, revealing your true self at the slightest scare." Ariel said disdainfully, looking at the woman as if she were gazing at a pile of filthy, rotten garbage.
"Who are you calling a paper tiger? What right do you, a foreigner, have to act all high and mighty in front of us? Do you really think we’re scared of you?" The girl on the left swallowed and spoke to Ariel.
The girl on the left was cunning. As she spoke to Ariel, she took the chance to aim a kick between Ariel’s legs. Although Ariel wasn’t a man, getting kicked there as a woman would still be excruciatingly painful.
The girl’s eyes filled with confident excitement as she didn’t believe her sneak attack would fail. Many had fallen prey to her tactics, and she anticipated seeing Ariel in tears, kneeling on the ground in pain like those before her.
But the girl’s gleeful anticipation would prove futile. Ariel’s upbringing had ingrained in her the instinct to remain vigilant in any environment. Often, Ariel’s mind might not react in time, but her body would instinctively respond first. When the girl’s foot approached, Ariel’s body was already reacting faster than her mind could comprehend.
The best defense against an attack is a counterattack. Ariel’s high-heeled shoe lightly yet firmly landed on the girl’s foot as if it floated there but with more than enough force, pinning her foot to the ground and grinding it firmly. The sensation of a stiletto heel pressing into a toe was something the girl had never known until this moment.
A searing pain radiated from where they made contact into her brain. People often say "the fingers are extensions of the heart," but in this case, the same could be said for her toes. The girl couldn’t help but let out a piercing scream.
Upon Ariel’s release, the girl fell ungracefully onto her backside, clutching her toes and angrily cursing, looking less like a student and more like a shrew with no semblance of dignity.
Ariel found the noise excruciating, and her finely shaped eyebrows furrowed together out of irritation.
"You’d better swallow all those words back, or I’ll make you understand what it feels like to have your mouth torn and tongue pulled out. After all, I’m a foreigner, and I’m not bound by your Chinese laws. If I kill you, I can return to my country and continue to enjoy my freedom." Ariel leaned down and whispered softly in the girl’s ear.
The girl’s body trembled violently, and the scream she wanted to let out was forcibly held back, making her face flush red with the effort. She looked at Ariel with eyes filled with terror.
Seeing the girl’s expression made Ariel’s previously foul mood improve dramatically, and she even smiled. "I was just kidding you earlier. It’s a shame you, a Chinese person, don’t even understand your country’s laws. I’m truly embarrassed for you." Ariel said maliciously.
Ariel’s words made the girl look at her with even more hostility. Initially, she might have been frightened of Ariel, but now, as Ariel restrained her threatening aura for some reason, coupled with the intentional glee in her eyes and the malicious smile at the corner of her mouth, along with the earlier injury, all combined to stir the darker, more vicious aspects of the girl’s nature.
The girl’s gaze was unsettling even to the spectators. Yu Xia broke out in a cold sweat from the girl’s gaze, wanting Ariel to leave quickly. However, Ariel seemed very satisfied with the girl’s hardened expression, continuously fanning the flames to intensify the girl’s malevolence.
Although China was an interesting place, its peace was too stifling for Ariel, who grew up amidst bloody conflict. Staying here too long made her feel stagnant.
She desperately needed something exciting to spark her life, even if it was just dealing with immature kids.
The veins on the girl’s forehead visibly throbbed at Ariel’s words, and her eyes gleamed with a more vehement malice. "Am I not right? Aren’t you attacking her out of jealousy? You envy her looks, her academic success, and the people who adore her, while you slink around like a despised gutter rat. Even the boy you like doesn’t want to spend time with you."
"You despise your own helplessness, blaming the world and everyone in it for your shortcomings, convinced that you’re the protagonist and she’s overshadowing you. So you want to eliminate her, thinking that doing so will win you the affection of others, that you’ll gain everything she has. But people must have self-awareness; even if a rat learns to fly, it’s still only a bat, not a swan."