CIATB Chapter 55 Helpless Ye Yixian
Chapter 55 Helpless Ye Yixian
Lu Yuan's heart tightened suddenly, a surge of anger welled up within him, and his face immediately darkened.
He rushed forward almost without thinking, his head burning with excitement. He didn't have time to think, and he shoved away the boy who was shoving and provoking Ye Yixian. Then he turned and shielded Ye Yixian behind him.
All his movements were instinctive, reactive responses; Lu Yuan didn't consciously hold back when he attacked.
The boy was already as thin as a bamboo pole, his body was very frail, and he couldn't withstand the force. He immediately lost his balance and fell heavily on the cold ground.
The sudden commotion startled passersby, who quickly gathered around, observing the situation with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.
Ye Yixian instinctively grabbed Lu Yuan's clothes, a frantic gesture of seeking help, and unconsciously shrank back behind him.
"What's going on?" Lu Yuan asked Ye Yixian behind him in a deep voice, but his gaze remained fixed on the boy on the ground, exuding an aura of inviolability.
"he……"
Ye Yixian had barely uttered a single word when the boy who had fallen to the ground scoffed disdainfully. He stubbornly struggled to his feet, dusted off his trousers, and looked up at Lu Yuan with a cold smile: "You're Lu Yuan, right?"
Lu Yuan was already somewhat famous at No. 1 High School for his grades and behavior, so it was normal for someone to recognize him.
Lu Yuan quickly recalled for two seconds, confirming that he had never seen this tall, thin boy before, and made a judgment in his mind:
This person wasn't coming for him, but to cause trouble for Ye Yixian; there's probably a deep-seated grudge between them.
"I am Lu Yuan." Lu Yuan's expression was anything but friendly as he warned in a cold tone, "Don't you dare lay a hand on Ye Yixian, or don't blame me for being impolite."
"What? Is Ye Yixian your girlfriend?"
Instead of showing any fear, the other party became even more arrogant. At the same time, the three boys who were with him quickly surrounded him, and the group stood in a row, instantly giving him a lot of confidence.
Lu Yuan turned his head slightly and glanced at Ye Yixian behind him.
The girl still clung tightly to his clothes, her clear eyes filled with panic and helplessness, and the tip of her nose was slightly red, making her look especially pitiful.
Even so, Ye Yixian suppressed her panic and explained in a low voice, "His name is Cheng Hao. I hit him when we were in the first year of high school."
"You hit him?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Lu Yuan's eyes.
But he quickly realized that Ye Yixian had previously hit a boy who confessed his feelings to her, so this must be the person in front of him.
But Lu Yuan knew in his heart that even if Ye Yixian hadn't made things clear, Cheng Hao's beating back then couldn't possibly have been just because of a confession.
Having spent so much time together, he knew Ye Yixian's personality all too well. She seemed aloof and rebellious, but she was never unreasonable or prone to violence. There was more to this story.
"Heh, I didn't expect you to remember?" Upon hearing this, Cheng Hao, as if he had been caught red-handed, deliberately raised his voice and shouted at the surrounding passersby, "Ye Yixian, aren't you just a gold digger who only likes rich guys?"
Cheng Hao's provocative remark caused an uproar among the unsuspecting passersby.
They began whispering among themselves, and their gazes toward Ye Yixian became strange. Some even pointed at her, secretly speculating that she was the kind of girl who would recklessly cling to someone for money.
"Cheng Hao, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll hit you again!"
Ye Yixian was so angry at this slander that she trembled all over. She clenched her fists and wanted to rush out from behind Lu Yuan. Her eyes instantly turned red.
Lu Yuan reached out and firmly stopped her, standing firmly in front of her without leaving her side. His gaze was sharp as he looked at Cheng Hao, his tone cold and stern:
"What kind of person Ye Yixian likes has absolutely nothing to do with you? You're just a loser who got rejected after confessing his feelings and can't even beat a girl, what are you barking about here for?"
Lu Yuan didn't even think about defending himself, let alone rushing to clarify things for Ye Yixian.
The incident happened suddenly. Cheng Hao took the initiative and deliberately splashed dirty water on Ye Yixian, hoping to use the opinions of the onlookers to push Ye Yixian and Lu Yuan into a moral dilemma.
Most people would immediately want to explain.
But Lu Yuan understood that under the sudden pressure of public opinion, any explanation would only make things worse and would be completely unconvincing.
The onlookers never cared about the truth; they only loved watching the excitement and listening to gossip.
The more sensational the gossip, the more excited they become.
Lu Yuan understood this well, so he chose not to argue, but instead launched a strong counterattack, portraying Cheng Hao in a few words as a petty person who was enraged and maliciously retaliated after his advances were rejected.
This tactic worked as expected. The gazes that were originally pointing and whispering at Ye Yixian gradually turned to Cheng Hao, and the discussions began to lean towards questioning Cheng Hao.
Cheng Hao's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He was both angry and annoyed, but he still tried to remain calm. He suddenly pointed at Ye Yixian and shouted loudly, as if he had nothing to lose:
"Her father is a murderer and is still in jail! Her brother is a thief who has stolen a lot of things and has also been arrested and imprisoned!"
There isn't a single good person in Ye Yixian's family! She used to take advantage of my feelings for her, deliberately getting close to me and stealing my money! When I found out, she hit me!
I'm a good student, I never fight, and I would never hit a girl! Her family is so poor they can't even afford food, yet she's spending money on steamed buns today? That money must be stolen!
Cheng Hao's distorted words instantly caused a stir in the crowd. The gazes of passersby towards Ye Yixian instantly changed from doubt to contempt, rejection, and alienation.
"So she's Ye Yixian?"
"I've heard of her. Her family is very poor. Someone like that could really be dishonest."
"I saw her dressed in rags a while ago, but now she's dressed decently. Could she be doing something shady?"
"Tsk tsk, it looked so clean, I didn't expect it to be so dirty."
The harsh and unpleasant comments pierced Ye Yixian's ears like needles. Standing behind Lu Yuan, her face was ashen, her lips trembling, but she was speechless and could not utter a single word.
At that moment, she was surrounded by overwhelming malice, and she was filled with helplessness and despair, her whole body trembling slightly uncontrollably.
Looking at Ye Yixian's disheveled and helpless appearance, Cheng Hao's lips curled into a smug and malicious smile. He turned to look at Lu Yuan, feigning kindness as he stirred things up:
"Lu Yuan, your family is well-off, right? I think Ye Yixian is only with you for your money! The day you find your allowance is less than usual, search her thoroughly; the money is definitely hidden on her!"
"When did I ever steal your money!"
Ye Yixian could no longer suppress the grievances and anger in her heart. She roared at Cheng Hao, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You still dare to deny it?" A boy next to Cheng Hao immediately jumped in to his defense, "We were all there that day. I was the one who found the fifty yuan Cheng Hao had lost in your pocket!"
"That's right, we can all testify!"
"You only hit Cheng Hao because you were exposed and got angry!"
The other two boys echoed her sentiments, unanimously insisting that Ye Yixian was the thief, their every word confirming her guilt.
"You deliberately put money in my pocket to frame me!"
Ye Yixian roared angrily with red eyes, but her weak explanation seemed pale and powerless under the echoing of the others, and instead attracted unrestrained ridicule from Cheng Hao and his group.
Cheng Hao said innocently, "Ye Yixian, I used to like you so much, how could I possibly frame you? What good would it do me to frame you?"
At this point, Cheng Hao became even more unrestrained, turning to the growing crowd of onlookers and loudly proclaiming:
"Listen to this, everyone! Her father is in jail, her brother is a thief. You can't believe a word someone from a family like her says!"
"Exactly! If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. She's definitely not a good person either!"
"You're a complete liar, don't you feel ashamed at all!"
Cheng Hao's henchmen kept fanning the flames, each sentence accusing Ye Yixian of misconduct, constantly deepening the negative impression of Ye Yixian among passersby.
Many people around who knew a little about the inside story tacitly agreed with Cheng Hao's words.
Ye Yixian's father is indeed serving time in prison, and his brother also has a criminal record for theft. Unable to find a good job locally, he has to go to the provincial capital to work, and they live a very frugal life.
In addition, Ye Yixian had a history of being a troublemaker, fighting with thugs, violating school rules multiple times, and even assaulting classmates. All these past experiences combined made Cheng Hao's lies sound extremely credible.
Passersby became increasingly convinced that Ye Yixian was a girl of bad character.
"I don't!"
Ye Yixian was driven to the brink of despair. Cheng Hao's words were full of slanderous lies, but she couldn't find any way to refute them.
Under the overwhelming malice and pressure of public opinion, she finally teared up, tears welling up in her eyes. All she could do was shake her head frantically and deny it over and over again. There was no other way.
Seeing Ye Yixian's devastated state, Cheng Hao felt extremely smug. He looked down at her with the air of a victor, his face full of arrogance and pleasure.
But his smugness lasted less than two seconds before a fist the size of a sandbag, brimming with rage, slammed into his face...