Chapter 102: Just Playing

Su Yutao lunged forward, throwing herself at Luo Xiaoning.

Water splashed everywhere. The medicinal soup spilled all over the floor, splashing onto Luo Xiaoning’s face and body.

She tackled Luo Xiaoning, her hands flailing in the air, grabbing at something. Something slippery, warm, with a pulse.

A neck.

Su Yutao’s fingers tightened around Luo Xiaoning’s neck.

Luo Xiaoning’s head hit the wall of the tub, the back of her skull cracking against the tiles. A dull thud.

Her mind went blank. Her vision darkened, and her ears rang.

She tried to push Su Yutao away, but her arms wouldn’t obey.

Su Yutao’s fingers dug into her throat, nails sinking into flesh. Her airway was crushed. Breathing became harder and harder. Her mouth gaped open, and a rasping “huh, huh” sound came from her throat, exactly like the sound Su Yutao used to make when she couldn’t speak.

Su Yutao heard the sound and her eyes lit up.

She heard this person’s cries, heard her unable to make a sound, just like she herself once couldn’t. She found the sound so beautiful.

Her own mouth fell open, and a “heh, heh, heh” came from her throat. It sounded like laughter, and like gasping.

She pressed harder, pushing Luo Xiaoning’s head down, into the water.

Luo Xiaoning’s face went under. Bubbles rose from her lips, gurgling.

Her hands clawed at the tub, found Su Yutao’s arm, and her nails dug in. But Su Yutao felt no pain.

She only heard that “huh, huh” sound, growing weaker and weaker.

She felt incredible. A cool, refreshing sensation shot straight to her brain.

For people who bullied her for no reason like this, nothing felt better than killing them with her own hands.

Qiansui shrieked in Su Yutao’s ear. “Host! Don’t! You’re getting carried away! Stop! She was out of line, but she doesn’t deserve to die!”

Su Yutao couldn’t hear her.

All she could hear was her own heartbeat and that “huh, huh” sound.

She remembered that rainy night. Remembered being pinned underwater. No, she had never been pinned underwater.

But she remembered the nights of being beaten, choked, stepped on, kept on a leash like a dog.

Remembered how she used to curl up, tremble, beg.

Now she didn’t have to beg.

She was the one pinning someone down.

She was the one choking someone.

She was the one listening to “huh, huh.”

It felt so good.

Luo Xiaoning’s hands slid off Su Yutao’s arm.

Her consciousness flickered, then suddenly cleared.

She had been trained in the organization. Even if she was the worst, her body still remembered.

She stopped struggling. She held her breath and gathered her strength.

Then she snapped her eyes open, grabbed Su Yutao’s wrists with both hands, and twisted hard.

With a crack, Su Yutao’s wrists were forced apart. Luo Xiaoning broke free, then shoved Su Yutao with both hands, sending her backward.

Su Yutao fell back, her spine hitting the wall at the other end of the tub. She let out a pained grunt.

Water splashed up and spilled all over.

Qiansui’s voice came in Su Yutao’s ear. “Host, that was terrifying just now… jaw hanging open, making that heh heh sound, almost choking someone to death… wah… you’re so scary…”

Su Yutao shook her head, her mind clearing a little.

She had gotten carried away. She had taken all the grievances she’d swallowed and vented them on Luo Xiaoning.

She shouldn’t have done that.

But she didn’t regret it.

She just felt like she was becoming the same kind of person as that woman.

Luo Xiaoning collapsed against the edge of the tub, panting hard. She coughed until her whole body trembled, tears and snot streaming down her face.

She clutched her neck. Red finger marks were printed on it, and the spots where nails had broken the skin were oozing blood.

She stared at Su Yutao, her dazed expression turning to fury. Her voice was hoarse and shrill.

“You f*cking… you blind little b*tch… you dared to choke me…”

She pushed herself up on the edge of the tub, water streaming off her.

She lunged at Su Yutao and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Su Yutao’s shoulders had old injuries. The pressure made her suck in a sharp breath, a hissing sound leaking from her throat.

Luo Xiaoning looked at her and laughed. Her voice was still hoarse, but carrying a sick enjoyment. “Hurts, doesn’t it? Why didn’t it hurt when you were choking me?”

She pressed down hard. Su Yutao’s body jerked like a fish hit with a shock.

Luo Xiaoning was about to press again when the door opened.

Lin Qingxue stood in the doorway, still holding a spatula, her apron stained with water.

She took in the scene in the bathroom. Water splashed everywhere. A towel on the floor. Medicinal soup overflowing the edge of the tub, streaming across the floor.

Su Yutao was huddled in a corner of the tub, her white hair plastered to her face, water up to her chin, pinned down by Luo Xiaoning.

Luo Xiaoning was kneeling in the tub, her hand on Su Yutao’s shoulder, her hair soaked, her face covered in water, a red mark on her neck.

Luo Xiaoning froze when she heard the door.

Her hand sprang off Su Yutao’s shoulder as if burned.

She turned and saw Lin Qingxue standing at the door. Her heart skipped.

She didn’t know what Lin Qingxue had seen, how much she had seen, whether she would realize she was bullying that little blind girl.

Her mind raced. Her face froze for a moment, then quickly stretched into a smile. Not the sweet, soft smile from before, but one tinged with guilt and pleading, overdone.

“S-Sister Lin!”

Her voice was unsteady. She scrambled out of the tub, water sloshing off her.

“We were just playing! Little Peach was having so much fun. We were racing to see who could hold their breath!”

She crouched down, swished her hand through the water, and flicked up a spray.

“See? We’re having a great time.”

She didn’t dare meet Lin Qingxue’s eyes. Head down, she reached out to brush Su Yutao’s hair.

“Little Peach, right? We were just playing, weren’t we?”

Su Yutao stayed huddled in the water, motionless.

She felt Luo Xiaoning’s hand brushing her hair, fingers trembling.

She heard Luo Xiaoning’s voice shaking, with a forced cheerfulness, like she was covering something up.

She didn’t respond. She just made herself even smaller, burying her face in the water.

Her head felt dizzy. She couldn’t be bothered to deal with this idiot.

Lin Qingxue stood in the doorway, looking at Luo Xiaoning’s overly smiling face, her trembling fingers, listening to her shaky voice.

Lin Qingxue didn’t answer.

She walked into the bathroom, bent down, and scooped Su Yutao out of the water, wrapping her in the towel.

Su Yutao was lifted up, leaning against her, her face buried in the crook of Lin Qingxue’s neck, her whole body trembling.

With one hand holding Su Yutao, Lin Qingxue tested the water temperature with the other. It was already cold.

She turned to look at Luo Xiaoning, her gaze pausing on the red marks on her neck. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was calm.

“The water’s gone cold. How long have you two been playing?”

Luo Xiaoning opened her mouth, her eyes darting. “Not long, we just…”

“Not long? And your neck got choked like that?”

Lin Qingxue cut her off. Her voice was still low, but Luo Xiaoning’s words got stuck in her throat.

Lin Qingxue didn’t press further. She carried Su Yutao out of the bathroom. As she passed Luo Xiaoning, she paused.

“Your hair is still wet. Dry it first. The hair dryer is in the cabinet under the sink.”

Then she left.

She didn’t need to ask, “Were you two fighting?” She didn’t need to ask, “Who started it?”

She had seen the water all over the floor, the cold medicinal soup, Su Yutao’s trembling body, the red marks on Luo Xiaoning’s neck.

She didn’t need evidence, and she didn’t need a confession. She only needed to know one thing. These two children could not be left alone together.

Luo Xiaoning stood in the tub, water streaming off her.

She watched Lin Qingxue walk out carrying Su Yutao. Her mouth opened, then closed.

She looked down at the red marks on her neck, where nails had dug in and were still bleeding.

She gritted her teeth, climbed out of the tub, grabbed a towel, and started wiping herself dry.

Su Yutao leaned against Lin Qingxue, her face buried in the crook of her neck.

She breathed in the scent on her. Cooking oil, ginger and scallion, and the fragrance of laundry detergent.

Just then, Qiansui said, “Host, that pink-haired little brat is so mean. She bullies you and then says it was just playing.”

Su Yutao laughed coldly in her heart.

‘Heh. Wait until tonight. She’s in for it. I’ve got a nasty idea.’

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