Jiang Su instinctively wanted to ask who Qin Hao was, but in the next second, the boy had already stepped forward, attempting to barge inside.
"I'm here for Ruirui!"
Caught off guard, Jiang Su watched as the boy squeezed through the door.
Inside the room, Jiang Xuxu and the others heard the commotion. As they opened the bedroom door, the moment Mother Lin saw Qin Hao, her face turned incredibly unsightly.
As for Lin Ruirui, her already pale complexion turned a ghostly white, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
The moment Qin Hao entered, he saw Lin Ruirui sitting on the bed, staring at him. His gloomy eyes seemed to light up instantly, his voice filled with surprise.
"Ruirui! I knew you weren't dead!"
As he spoke, he took large strides toward her.
Mother Lin wouldn't dare let him get near her daughter, who had only just begun to recover, and instinctively blocked Lin Ruirui's path.
Jiang Xuxu had also guessed the boy's identity and was about to intervene.
However, another figure moved even faster than Qin Hao. With a sudden whoosh, a silhouette blocked the bedroom doorway. Raising a hand, he gave Qin Hao a violent shove, pushing back the intruder.
"Get the hell back! Take one more step and see if I don't break your leg!"
Though the boy was still young, the ferocity in his eyes was unmistakable.
At fourteen, he was already quite tall. At a glance, he actually looked somewhat reliable.
Stunned by the sudden shove, a look of malice flashed across Qin Hao's face. He glared at Jiang Su and demanded again, "Who are you?! This is between her and me!"
"Who am I? I'm Just a Righteous Passerby!"
Jiang Su retorted without a second thought. Seeing Qin Hao trying to push forward again, he shoved him back once more.
"Stay right there! Did the owner of this house invite you? You think you can just barge in? Besides, my sister hasn't said a word yet! Until she tells you to move, you'd better stay exactly where you are!"
Jiang Su had completely positioned himself as his sister's bodyguard, speaking with a tone that implied everyone else should be kneeling if she didn't give them leave to stand.
Qin Hao was focused entirely on seeing Lin Ruirui and had no patience for his nonsense.
Seeing himself being pushed back repeatedly, his temper flared. Without a word, he swung a fist straight at Jiang Su's face.
Though Jiang Su was young, he had undergone some training at home. Seeing the punch, he instinctively raised his arm to block.
However, his reaction was a fraction of a second too slow. Just as he thought he was going to take a hit today, Jiang Xuxu, standing behind him, gave a light wave of her hand.
Qin Hao's swinging fist froze mid-air, completely rigid.
Qin Hao was stunned.
Jiang Su was stunned as well.
But having had similar experiences before, Jiang Su reacted much faster.
Seizing those two seconds of opportunity, he immediately switched from defense to offense. He lunged forward, twisted Qin Hao's arm behind his back, and forced him down.
The movement was so fluid that Jiang Su almost impressed himself with how cool he looked.
He jerked his head around, looking at Jiang Xuxu with excitement, his eyes shining as if asking, [Am I handsome?! Just say it, am I handsome or what?!]
Although he guessed that Jiang Xuxu had helped him from behind, that didn't stop Jiang Su from feeling a surge of pride.
Pressed down and forced onto one knee, the violence on Qin Hao's face grew more intense. His face flushed bright red, looking like a literal enraged lion cub.
He struggled to break free from Jiang Su's suppression, but for some reason, his arms and legs felt inexplicably weak. He could only endure being pinned down.
Looking up, he caught Lin Ruirui's gaze through the bedroom door and couldn't help but shout, "Ruirui! It's me, Qin Hao! Are you just going to watch them treat me like this?!"
Lin Ruirui gripped the bedsheets tightly, her eyes fixed on Qin Hao outside. Her whole body was tense, but she didn't say a word.
Qin Hao continued, "Ruirui, I just wanted to see you... I've been worried about you for over a year. I wanted to find you, but my family kept watching me. They wouldn't let me come see you..."
"Ruirui, you know I love you. I've been thinking about you this whole time..."
Qin Hao poured out his heart, unaware that every word he spoke sounded like the whispers of a demon in Lin Ruirui's ears.
Her body wouldn't stop shaking. The memories of being bullied by him, of being threatened into becoming his girlfriendevery detail replayed in her mind like a nightmare.
Finally, she couldn't take it and screamed, "Shut up! Shut up!"
Lin Ruirui's eyes were bloodshot as she glared at Qin Hao, her voice trembling but resolute.
"I don't want to see you at all! Every single word you say makes me feel absolutely sick. Qin Hao! You're a piece of scum! Why won't you just leave me alone? What did I do wrong? What did I ever do to you?!"
Since waking up yesterday, Lin Ruirui had been holding herself together.
Like her mother, she had tried to force herself to forget what happened a year ago, even starting to fantasize about a new life.
But Qin Hao's arrival made her realize she couldn't forget.
She shouted with a hoarse voice, as if venting all the pain and despair of the past two years.
Jiang Xuxu remained silent, and Jiang Su, pinning Qin Hao down, pursed his lips and said nothing, though the force he used to hold Qin Hao increased.
The latter, however, seemed oblivious. He stared at Lin Ruirui, unable to believe she was reacting this way.
In his mind, they were having a long-awaited reunion. She should know he had been fighting his family for her sake. Since she had cheated death, she should have had an epiphany and realized her feelings for him.
But why...
Why did she say he was disgusting?
"Lin Ruirui, do you dare to say you never liked me?!"
Qin Hao spat through gritted teeth, still refusing to believe her words.
Yes, he had bullied her at first, but he had apologized!
Yes, he had forced himself on her back then, but that was just an impulse!
Later, when he realized he had fallen for her, he had legitimately made her his girlfriend.
While there were certainly threats involved, it was only because he loved her!
He had always believed that as long as she was his girlfriend and they spent enough time together, she would eventually fall in love with him just as he had with her.
Even if she usually acted resistant, he was convinced she actually liked him deep down!
"I never liked you! You were always the one forcing me! You threatened my mother's job! You threatened my education! How could I possibly like you? I don't like you at all! You're the one who refused to let me go!!"
Lin Ruirui's voice was filled with a total breakdown.
She didn't know what she had done wrong. Why did she have to suffer that kind of treatment?
He had led a group to corner her in the girl's restroom, sprayed her with a water hose, and joined others in mocking and humiliating her.
He had dumped his leftover scraps into her bowl, torn all her books to pieces, and even pushed her into the mud, forcing her to recite her lessons...
God only knew that when he said he loved her, she felt so nauseated she nearly vomited.
How could he possibly think that after doing so many vile things to her, she could ever love him?
How could a person ever fall in love with someone who had hurt them so deeply?
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