Carrying My Senior's Coffin (GL) - Chapter 1

Summer came early this year. It was only the beginning of May, yet the temperature at noon was already approaching thirty degrees Celsius. The sun blazed fiercely overhead, and no sensible person would willingly step outside. On top of that, it was the summer lunch break, leaving the campus of Zhengling Women’s University deserted, with hardly anyone to be seen outdoors.

Fang Yiyi was the rare exception.

Her roommates had just thrown her out. She had not even had time to comb her hair, and it sat in a wild, tangled mess atop her head like a clump of weeds. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she wandered aimlessly around the enormous campus beneath the scorching sun.

The classroom buildings were locked at noon. There were people in the library who knew her, and if she went there, she would undoubtedly be mocked. The school’s rules were strict, and the gates only opened on Saturdays to let students leave for two days. It was Wednesday now.

In other words, she had nowhere to go.

Sweat slid from her temples down to her chin. Fang Yiyi raised her head with a miserable expression. Whether the sunlight was too dazzling or the weather too hot, when she lowered her head again, a wave of dizziness washed over her.

She pursed her dry, cracked lips, lifted the wide hem of her uniform jacket, and fanned herself with it.

Even the breeze was hot.

At this rate, she felt like she was going to suffer heatstroke.

She wiped the sweat from her face. Not far ahead, the campus convenience store was open. Beneath its glass wall, a white, box-shaped outdoor air-conditioning unit hummed as it expelled gusts of air.

Fang Yiyi stared longingly at it and instinctively reached into her pocket.

After rummaging around for a while, all she pulled out was an old black phone for seniors, battered beyond recognition. There was nothing else in there. Her pocket was cleaner than her face.

She stared blankly for a moment, then sighed.

Just then, the phone suddenly vibrated.

Fang Yiyi froze. A giant yellow envelope appeared on the screen.

Sender: Xuanxuan.

She was the only daughter of Fang Yiyi’s uncle. Her surname was Bai, and her given name was Xuan. She was two years younger than Fang Yiyi. Ever since Fang Yiyi’s parents died in a car accident four years ago, Fang Yiyi had been living with her uncle’s family. She and this cousin shared the same roof, and whenever they were not at school, they saw each other every day.

Fang Yiyi had excellent grades. Two years after she was admitted to Zhengling Women’s University, one of the top three universities in the country, Bai Xuan’s father spent money to force his daughter’s way into the school.

Now, the two of them were schoolmates.

Xuanxuan: Are you insane? What are you doing standing out there in this heat?

Fang Yiyi wiped away her sweat and raised her head. Squinting, she looked toward the pink dormitory building directly to her right.

Only then did she realize that she had unknowingly wandered all the way here.

She lowered her head again and was about to reply when Bai Xuan called her directly.

Fang Yiyi bit her lower lip. After hesitating for a moment, she answered.

Sure enough, the moment the call connected, Bai Xuan’s words came pelting at her like a barrage of bullets.

“Are you sick in the head? It’s thirty-three degrees, for God’s sake! Get the hell back inside! You might not care if you get heatstroke, but I’m embarrassed just looking at you. Look around. Is there any other idiot standing outside like you? If your roommate hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t even know. What do you think you are, a sweet potato? Do you have to roast in the sun to prove how special you are?”

Fang Yiyi glanced around, then slowly walked beneath the shade of a tree by the roadside.

“Okay.”

There was an oddly long pause on the other end.

“Fang Yiyi!”

The roar beside her ear sounded exactly like her aunt. Fang Yiyi thought absentmindedly that they truly were mother and daughter.

“Do you think I’m an idiot? Hurry up! Right now! This instant! Get your ass back to the dorm!”

Fang Yiyi hid behind the tree, moving out of Bai Xuan’s line of sight. She rubbed the ear that had nearly been deafened and replied weakly, “I’m going to the library.”

“Then hurry up and go! Don’t let me see you standing there like a moron. It’s humiliating!”

The call ended with a series of beeps.

Fang Yiyi pressed the hang-up button and sighed.

Her younger cousin had only ever called her “Sister” a few times when they were children.

Whether Bai Xuan called her that or not did not really matter. Fang Yiyi did not care much about it.

After all, they were not related by blood in the first place.

Fang Yiyi’s father had married twice in his life. His first wife was Fang Yiyi’s biological mother, and his second was Bai Xuan’s maternal aunt—Fang Yiyi’s stepmother.

Fang Yiyi had never met her biological mother. As a child, she had dreamed constantly of having a mother who could attend parent-teacher meetings for her. When she was seven or eight, the “mother” she had longed for finally appeared.

Unlike other children, Fang Yiyi had shown no resistance toward her stepmother. The two of them became extremely close, more like real mother and daughter than many blood-related families.

Later, Fang Yiyi’s father’s business went bankrupt, and all their assets were seized to repay his debts. Then both husband and wife died in a car accident.

Her uncle, who had no blood relationship with her, only took her in because of his deceased elder sister.

Since Fang Yiyi was not truly his child, there was naturally no way she could be cared for as attentively as before.

Overnight, Fang Yiyi fell from being a pampered young heiress to a pitiful orphan living under someone else’s roof. Not only had she lost both parents, but her standard of living had plummeted.

She could not adjust. For quite some time, she threw tantrums like the spoiled young lady she had once been.

Eventually, her aunt could no longer tolerate it. She grabbed Fang Yiyi, beat her brutally several times with a mop handle, and starved her for two days.

Only then did Fang Yiyi completely understand her situation and recognize her place.

From that point onward, she behaved properly and obediently, becoming what her aunt called “a freeloader.”

Fang Yiyi looked up at the sky.

The sunlight was brilliant, so dazzling that it hurt to keep her eyes open.

She decided that if she did not want to collapse from heatstroke on the stone pavement, which had become hot enough to burn her feet, she had to find somewhere cool to hide.

She had already said she was going to the library anyway.

She might as well go.

With another sigh, Fang Yiyi trudged toward the library, looking thoroughly dispirited.

Although the library was large, the reading area was separated from the bookshelves. The moment someone entered, it was easy to see who was sitting inside.

Without much hope, Fang Yiyi swept her gaze around the room.

As expected, she spotted several girls from her class in the northwest corner. They were preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam.

Fortunately, top students had one advantage. Once they entered study mode, they paid no attention to anything around them.

For now, they had not noticed Fang Yiyi’s arrival.

Fang Yiyi moved quickly and quietly past them. Using the rows of shelves as cover, her small figure soon disappeared among the stacks.

She stopped in front of a bookshelf and released a long breath. Her tense muscles relaxed.

Only then did she fully feel the library’s air-conditioning. Her pores, scorched open by the heat outside, cooled instantly.

It felt wonderful.

But before she could truly relax, a shrill voice filled with mockery suddenly sounded behind her.

“Well, well. Fang Yiyi.”

Fang Yiyi’s pupils contracted.

She turned around.

A round-faced girl with a ponytail stood behind her.

“What a rare guest.” The apple-faced girl raised an eyebrow and looked her over before casually issuing an order. “You came at the perfect time. Go buy us a few ice creams.”

Fang Yiyi had only just escaped the heat that had nearly given her heatstroke. Her limbs were heavy and sluggish.

More importantly, she had no money.

So she did not move.

Sensing her resistance, the apple-faced girl’s expression darkened instantly.

“What? You’re not going?”

Fang Yiyi lowered her eyes. Her long lashes fanned downward like tiny folding fans.

In a soft voice, she said, “I don’t have any money…”

“You’re the one going to buy something, and you expect me to give you money?!”

The apple-faced girl shrieked dramatically, as though she had heard something utterly absurd.

Her voice was especially abrupt and piercing in the silent library.

Unfortunately, the shelves blocked the view. The other students could only tell the general direction the voice had come from, not what exactly was happening.

Most top students valued their time. Only a few of the more curious ones wandered over and craned their necks to look.

When they saw that one of the people involved was Fang Yiyi, understanding dawned on them, and they all returned to their seats.

Fang Yiyi being bullied was common knowledge at the school.

At first, some people had been unable to stand it and stepped in to help. Later, they realized that it never made much difference.

As time passed, everyone gradually became accustomed to it.

Eventually, no one bothered intervening anymore.

Fang Yiyi drew her shoulders inward uncomfortably.

She hated being watched and becoming the center of attention, even if only a few people were looking.

Normally, in order to escape a situation like this, she would already have fled in panic and obeyed them by going out to buy whatever they wanted.

But today, she truly had no money.

Turning around and leaving was not a wise choice either.

If she simply walked away, her life would probably become even worse for a long time afterward.

After weighing her options again and again, Fang Yiyi forced herself to remain where she was.

The apple-faced girl’s brows drew together, her eyes widening angrily. All the flesh on her face tightened.

“Hey! I’m talking to you. What the hell is that supposed to mean, Fang Yiyi?”

As she spoke, she reached out and shoved Fang Yiyi hard in the shoulder.

Fang Yiyi had been malnourished for years. Her frame was small, and she had little strength.

She immediately lost her balance, her back slamming into the bookshelf behind her.

The tall, antique wooden shelf swayed. Her thin spine struck the hard covers of the books, the edges digging painfully into her flesh.

“Manman, you’re only getting a book. What’s taking so long? You—oh, wow. It’s Miss Class Beauty.”

A girl with her hair loose walked over after hearing the commotion.

When she saw Fang Yiyi, she raised her carefully drawn eyebrows in surprise.

The “Class Beauty” she referred to was Fang Yiyi.

Fang Yiyi had a beautiful face. Even without makeup, she stood out immediately among a crowd of girls.

She truly deserved the title.

However, she was poor with words and so timid that practically anyone could bully her.

Because of that, “Class Beauty” had lost its original meaning and become a mocking insult.

Fang Yiyi lowered her head.

From an angle no one else could see, her brows knitted almost imperceptibly.

“Youlan,” Manman said to her companion, “come judge this for me. Our class beauty has really gotten full of herself lately. She’s becoming less and less willing to help her classmates. I asked her to go buy something, and she actually demanded money from me.”

“Ha.”

Youlan laughed. Malice glimmered in her eyes.

She folded her arms and leaned against the shelf beside Fang Yiyi. Together, she and Manman boxed Fang Yiyi in from the front and left.

“Class Beauty, our adviser just reminded us this morning that classmates should stick together. Acting like this… isn’t very nice, is it?”

Fang Yiyi pursed her lips.

She had no desire to speak.

When she received no answer, Youlan poked her forehead.

Each jab made Fang Yiyi’s head tilt farther to one side.

“Have you gone mute?”

With no other choice, Fang Yiyi finally spoke.

“…No.”

“What was that? Speak louder. You sound like a mosquito.”

Fang Yiyi pressed herself tightly against the bookshelf.

“I never asked to buy anything, and I never demanded money from anyone!”

“…”

The two girls exchanged glances.

Each saw the same trace of amusement in the other’s eyes.

Without warning, Manman grabbed the hair hanging over Fang Yiyi’s forehead and yanked it forward.

The pull forced Fang Yiyi to stumble half a step toward her.

“You dare talk back? Where did you get the courage? You just told me you were going to the convenience store to buy ice cream. Were you lying to me?”

Her scalp burned with pain.

Fang Yiyi pressed her lips tightly together and fell silent again.

It was not that she had nothing to say.

She simply knew that saying anything would be useless.

They would twist the truth, mock her even more, and use her words as another excuse to attack her.

That was how school bullying worked.

Once it began, if the victim chose avoidance and obedience, then unless she eventually gained enough strength to turn everything around once and for all, she would remain someone others could bully.

Fang Yiyi knew she did not possess that kind of strength.

She was an ant.

All she could do was cling to life however she could.

Seeing Fang Yiyi lower her head and fall into that numb, unresponsive silence again, Manman grew impatient.

“Why aren’t you going to buy it yet?”

“Wait.”

Youlan stopped Manman and gave her a meaningful look.

Manman froze, appearing slightly confused, but she still let go.

She really did want ice cream, but if her friend had another plan, then going without it did not matter.

Youlan raised a hand and caught a strand of Fang Yiyi’s hair where it fell over her chest. She wound it lazily around her fingertip and toyed with it.

“Fang Yiyi, you were caught bullying a classmate just last week. Why are you still causing trouble? Now you’re already extorting money from your classmates?”

After speaking, she studied Fang Yiyi thoughtfully.

As expected, a faint flash of anger appeared in Fang Yiyi’s eyes.

Youlan let out a derisive laugh and continued.

“Tell me, if I report to the teacher that you refuse to change despite repeated warnings, do you think you’ll receive another disciplinary mark? If I remember correctly, one more this semester and you’ll be expelled, right?”

Fang Yiyi’s palm-sized face alternated between pale and flushed.

Her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

“I didn’t…”

Her voice was soft, her resistance weak.

She knew she had acted impulsively.

She also knew that this single sentence would immediately bring even harsher consequences.

But she could not stop herself.

If she did not say something, and they framed her again, she might truly be expelled.

She had worked so hard for so long.

She had swallowed her anger and endured years of scolding and beatings.

Was it not all for the diploma she had dreamed of obtaining?

She only needed to endure for two more years.

She was so close.

And now these people were talking about what?

Another disciplinary mark?

Expulsion?

How could that happen…?

Slap!

The sharp sound of a palm striking flesh rang abruptly through the library.

Fang Yiyi’s left cheek went numb, and her head snapped to one side.

Youlan shook out the hand that had gone slightly numb from the impact.

She stared at Fang Yiyi as though looking at a joke.

“Manman, what did she just say? Her voice was so loud I couldn’t hear clearly.”

Manman replied, “I didn’t hear it either.”

“Did you hear it?” Youlan asked Fang Yiyi.

Fang Yiyi’s eyes felt dry.

Her breathing quickened, yet she never once raised her head to look at them.

In the eyes of the abusers, this was nothing more than a weak person’s silent submission—a pathetic attempt to preserve the last scrap of dignity she still possessed.

“How about this?”

Satisfied with the result, Youlan curled her lips.

“I’ll give you a chance to make up for what you did. I want to move into your dormitory, but your room is full. If you move out on your own, we won’t tell the teacher about what happened today.”

She paused, then added with a casual threat, “But if you refuse, an unpopular classmate might end up being completely isolated.”

Hearing this, Manman seemed to remember something.

She hesitated, then looked at her companion in surprise.

“Youlan, don’t tell me you’re planning to…”

Youlan shot her a look, signaling her to keep quiet.

After spending so much time together, Manman understood her meaning immediately.

Still, out of concern, she said, “That doesn’t seem like a good idea. What if someone dies—”

Before she could finish, Youlan glared her into silence.

“Are you stupid? Did you learn nothing after all these years in school? We live in a scientific society, understand? Fine, if she won’t go, how about you go instead?”

“No, no, no…”

Manman shrank back.

Whatever she had thought of made her shake her head like a rattle drum.

“I-I-I’m not going…”

Youlan rolled her eyes at her.

“Exactly.”

Then she turned back to Fang Yiyi.

“It’s settled. Clear out your bed before evening study. We’ll explain things to the teacher for you. Got it?”

After giving the order, she did not wait for Fang Yiyi to respond.

She turned and walked away.

“Come on, Manman. Let’s go!”

Manman glanced at Fang Yiyi.

Fang Yiyi stood with the light behind her, her head slightly bowed. Her overly long bangs cast a shadow across her face, making her expression impossible to see.

But the swollen half of her face was painfully obvious.

Thinking about the place Fang Yiyi was about to be sent, Manman suddenly shivered.

An inexplicable chill rose from the bottom of her heart.

She did not dare look at Fang Yiyi again.

Hurriedly withdrawing her gaze, she jogged after her friend.

Once she caught up, Youlan said, “You don’t actually believe that stuff, do you? What century are we living in? How could something like that possibly exist? It’ll be fine. Relax. Besides, someone like her might even enjoy staying in that kind of place. It suits her perfectly!”

“Youlan,” Manman said, “if you really don’t believe it, why are you sending Fang Yiyi there in your place?”

Her companion answered by abruptly stopping in her tracks.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Li Ting: Let me out right now! They’re bullying my wife! I’m going to smash their skulls open!

I’m nervous as hell.

Is anyone even reading this? (:з」∠)