Tôi chưa bao giờ nghĩ mình có thể tức giận đến như vậy.

Đứng trước kẻ bắt nạt kia, kẻ thù tiền định của bản thân, từng tế bào trong cơ thể tôi ngay lập tức bị chiếm hữu bởi một sự căm hận đen tối. Trong tích tắc, tôi như bị cuốn đi bởi cơn sóng thần tạo nên từ cảm giác kinh tởm.

Vào hôm qua, tôi đã biết được cuộc đời của mình rồi sẽ đi về đâu, số phận sẽ kết thúc như thế nào dưới tay tên bắt nạt kia, và cũng đã biết được ai sẽ là người sẽ hy sinh vì mình. Những hình ảnh ký ức của C vẫn còn mồn một trong đầu tôi. Sự cố gắng trong vô vọng của chàng trai vô diện ấy vẫn chưa chút nào phai nhạt.

Càng đến gần tên bắt nạt khốn kiếp, nội tâm càng kêu gào điên cuồng hơn. Như thể bị đưa vào lò luyện với nhiên liệu là cơn đại nộ của mình, nhiệt độ toàn thân tôi ngày một nóng lên, thiêu đốt lấy cả toàn bộ mặt trời và mặt đất.

Chiếm trọn lấy suy nghĩ vào lúc này là một giọng nói đến từ chốn hỏa ngục sâu nhất nơi tận cùng thế giới.

Nó bảo tôi phải trả thù. Cho chính mình, và cho chính chàng trai ngốc nghếch kia nữa. Sự trừng phạt đấy phải chậm, phải đau, để nỗi thống khổ mà tên bắt nạt kia phải chịu gấp trăm ngàn lần thứ mà kịch bản dành cho tôi.

Đứng gần đó, Rachel có vẻ đã nhận ra sự thay đổi này, và ả cứ nhìn tôi với một ánh mắt đầy ẩn ý.

May mắn thay, chàng bạn trai chẳng thể nhìn thấy nét mặt của tôi vào lúc này được. Nếu không, cậu sẽ thấy được sự vặn vẹo kinh hoàng mà tôi đang thể hiện ra để rồi bỏ chạy ngay tức thì. Hoặc cũng có thể C sẽ làm một điều gì đó ngoài mong đợi của tất cả mọi người ở đây. Nhưng nhìn chung, tôi không hề muốn cậu ấy chứng kiến sự xấu xì mình đang thể hiện.

Laura, ổn định lại đi! Trong suy nghĩ của chàng trai vô diện đó, mày là một cô bạn lớp trưởng nghiêm túc, một người luôn chấp hành đúng nghĩa vụ của mình. Bạt tai một ai đó rõ ràng không phải là một việc mày nên làm, và mày phải nhớ lấy điều đó mới được!

Hít một hơi dài, tôi tìm cách trấn tĩnh bản thân. Ngay cả khi Rachel cưỡng hôn bạn trai mình, tôi cũng chưa điên tiết như hiện tại. Họa chăng, tôi chỉ cảm thấy ghen tị và mất mát vì mất đi khoảnh khắc đầu tiên và thiêng liêng đó cùng cậu. Tôi là bạn gái chính thức của chàng trai vô diện kia, nhưng bằng việc lợi dụng lòng tốt của cậu, ả gà đồng kia đã tước đoạt nụ hôn đầu của cậu ấy khỏi tôi.

Cá nhân tôi muốn để mọi chuyện diễn ra thật chậm rãi. Nếu tôi hôn cậu vào ngày đầu tiên thành đôi, sợ rằng cậu sẽ đánh giá Laura là một con người dễ dãi. Dẫu cho

Even when Rachel kissed C, I only felt a deep sense of jealousy and envy rather than the current wrath boiling inside my heart. I was his girlfriend, but somehow, she was able to snatch his first kiss away from me. Personally, I intended to take it slow. If I did kiss him on the first day of our meeting, C would have thought of me as a loose person. Funny and charismatic as he was, C was clearly not in the best condition for me to be so aggressive. Concerning Rachel, she was technically naked already. That girl had all the elements for her kiss to be logical. She screamed for his name, and he came to her aid, even when he was terrified of the outcome. He was willing to sacrifice his life for her, so a kiss would be a good reward.

It must have been that when C touched her, Rachel saw what he had done in order to save her and could not contain herself anymore. She might have stepped over the line last night, yet it was something logical, something C deserved.

However, how she acted and C's thoughts made me wonder what happened between the two in the past. Given a chance, I will get an answer from Rachel. C might have disregarded the apocalyptic world he saw. It is only natural for him to be that defensive after all the pain and grief he has been through. Therefore, it is my responsibility as his girlfriend to find out about his past and heal his broken heart. The reason he saw that apocalyptic world and Rachel's role back then are two things that I need to make clear. Unless I want history to repeat itself, I must understand it first.

However, right now, I have something more important to do. This...waste of natural resources needs to be dealt with. What the school bully just said was simply unacceptable. No matter how much I want to contain myself, I can not ever let him get away with insulting my boyfriend. My heart refuses to allow any threat that can cause C any pain.

"The fuck...?"

Of course, someone with an IQ as high as a single digit like him would never be able to grasp what just happened to him. It is a miracle how he can breathe with such a sophisticated brain.
[Did...did Laura slap the school bully?? I mean... She was always straightforward, but this is a new different level of that...]

Please...C, do not be disappointed in me...

[That was a good slap! I am not going to lie. And that compliment is not because of me, though. A low-grade insult coming from the school bully will never be able to hurt me. He should get that for all the crap he did to Laura in the past. Actually, I wish I could be doing that for her. Jolly good show, dear class rep!!]

[Wait! Wait! Shit! Now is not the time for admiration! That's the bully we're talking about! Merely stopping him from approaching Rachel, she was already facing a fate worse than death. That slap might have made everything a whole lot worse!! What am I going to do? Should I kneel down and apologize in her stead?]

A warm feeling suddenly rushes into my chest. Even when C is not doing anything, I can still feel the encouragement in his voice. And most importantly, out of everything, he cares more about me than anything else.

How on earth is there a dreamy person like C? And oh, kind-hearted man, there is no need to care for my safety. He is not facing one, but three people.

Looking to one side, I can see Kurokawa clenching her fists tightly. Through her bang, I can see a pair of fiery pupils bursting with raw anger. Nearby, Rachel's emotionless eyes are creepily void of any light as she waits for her turn. Her current face is the opposite of what she has been showing C up to this point. It is simply menacing.

"We're s..." C steps forward, trying to stop the commotion from growing more uncontrollable.
"C, sweetheart," Rachel turns back at C, cutting his sentence midway. Without a trace, her murderous stare turns back to the soft and cuddly face. "Let us help you with something, okay?"

[But...but...your safety? He is the bully! He is going to hurt you!...I...um...what should I be doing?]

"Just stand still, and we will bring you justice, okay?"

"Okay..."

[When they turn their backs on me, I will sneakily move over there and rush in if he dares throw anything at them.]

The woman definitely has talents. I will give her that.

"The fuck did you just do?!" The bully shouts. "Do you want to fucking die?!! Don't think I won't hit you because you're a woman! I will do things much worse than hitting you, bitch!!" At the end of his sentence, the bully does not forget to eye me from head to toe like a sex object. All of his thoughts are clear as night and day already.

"Apologize to my boyfriend. I will not say this for the third time." Ignoring his threats, I deliver my ultimatum coldly.

The bully looks straight at me. His face turns red from all the anger and embarrassment he got. He must think how shameful it is for a big and masculine man who is the embodiment of a Greek god is being humiliated by someone like me. Especially when one side of his face is the mark of my hand.

"No! Why would I do it?! Because you told me to?!"

He keeps talking big, but he does not dare to use force. Possibly because Rachel is right there, and he does not want her to think badly of him. Maybe in his feeble mind, he believes if he can show Rachel how kind his heart is, he still has a chance. Unbeknownst to him, what C has is something he can never surpass.

"What a pathetic piece of human garbage you are." I sigh heavily.

"You whore! What did you say to me?!" He screams louder than ever.

"I actually agree with the class rep. You really are leeching on the land. Please do this world a favor and kill yourself. That will benefit us much more than what you are doing currently." Kurokawa joins me.

"Fucking fuck!! Fuck!!" He points his finger at Kurokawa. "You goddamn shut your fucking whore hole up!!!"

[Honestly, this is getting so repetitive that it is boring. Can we leave now?]

"Is that everything that can come out of your mouth? How many obscenities have you used until now? Fuck, whore, bitch. That's three, isn't it?" Kurokawa clicks her tongue sadly like she pities the school bully. "You lack so many chromosomes that it is hard to create a coherent sentence with better words."

[Okay! There is no time for a joke! The girls are literally poking a bear!! I need to intervene immediately!!]

"F-f...! Kuh!!!" It is amazing how the color of one person can change this fast. Rage takes over with ease, and the bully raises his fist in the air, taking a stance to punch Kurokawa in the face.
[Shit! Kurokawa is in danger!!]

"Ah! Sorry! You don't lack chromosomes. My bad, my bad! Sometimes my mouth keeps running on autopilot, so I can not control myself very well." But rather than continuing her verbal attacks, the bookworm starts apologizing out of nowhere.

Seeing a girl with bandages all over bowing her head slightly, the bully changes his attitude and lowers his arm.

[Phew! An apology is a good start! At least that gives us a little room to wiggle. I do not want the bully to target Laura and Kurokawa because they are trying to protect me.]

Rachel and I turn to look at Kurokawa, puzzled by her words. With her back-stabbing history, there is no way she is backing down on something this severe. I bet Kurokawa is trying to find another way to break her opponent even further. After all, she single-handedly changed the situation last night without anyone's help except her own.

[Okay, I only need to tiptoe closer to the girls quietly to make them unaware of my present. If push comes to shove, I will not hesitate to prostrate myself to ensure their safety. Yes, it is a simp move, but my dignity value drops significantly low when placed right next to these girls.]

"Please, let me correct myself. You don't lack any chromosomes. It's actually the reverse."

(Did you miss me?)