CHAPTER 9

Spending money to hire ruffians to harm a classmate was a serious matter.

The incident involving the thugs caused quite a commotion, eventually even alerting the police. The thugs were apprehended, and even the principal was involved.

The entire afternoon was spent discussing the incident. No one was in the mood for class, and the school leaders were in and out of the conference room for various meetings.

Hedy's homeroom teacher also attended.

With no one in charge of the class, everyone openly discussed the matter. They all speculated whether the incident was true or not, and if it was, who was the victim?

And were the ruffians really counterattacked in retaliation?

Which student possessed such remarkable martial arts skills? They had never heard of someone like that in their school.

In less than an afternoon, the incident had spiraled out of control. Everywhere they went, people were discussing it.

Teachers in each class stood on the podium and warned students not to excessively discuss the matter, create public opinion, and negatively impact the school and students in the internet age.

However, they could not stop everyone's curiosity.

Catherine was picked up from the police station by her father, and she was crying all the way. As soon as she entered the house, her father slapped her.

She had always been the apple of her parents' eyes, their pride, and the good girl in the eyes of relatives and friends.

However, she did something so heinous.

"Do you know that I was preparing to run for deputy bureau chief? You've ruined everything!"

"How did I give birth to such a troublemaker like you?"

Bob was so angry that he kept cursing. At the same time, even Regina McNeal, who was always protective of her daughter, was not spared.

The Leifs were in turmoil until late at night.

The happiest person in Catherine's incident was, of course, Kayla.

After class, she hummed all the way home.

She always thought she was not inferior to Catherine in terms of looks, but because her family background was not as good as Catherine's, she was always overshadowed by her.

She managed to vent her resentment that was building up after all these years, and she was extremely pleased. Even when she saw Ethan doing housework for Hedy, Kayla was in such a good mood that she did not bother to find fault with Hedy.

The next morning, the school made an announcement.

The principal personally clarified that the entire incident was a misunderstanding.

The troublemaking ruffians had been arrested, and the so-called evidence was all fake and non-existent.

Hedy sat in her seat. As she listened to the principal's words of caution about safety and various concerns, she found it amusing.

It seemed that Catherine's family had spent a lot of money to resolve the situation.

Hedy remained calm. She had anticipated this outcome, but this was also enough to give the Leifs a hard time.

Two days after the incident, Catherine returned to school.

She looked exhausted and no longer carried the arrogance of the past. The entire time, she kept her head down and remained quiet.

The incident had been festering for two days and was still a hot topic at the school. It even became a leisure-time topic. When everyone saw Catherine, they would whisper and point.

Catherine was not well-liked among the girls in the school, and now they had a chance to express how they truly felt.

Many took pleasure in her misfortune.

When she ran into Hedy in the corridor, Catherine could only glare at her and then quickly walk away with her head down.

Hedy was indifferent to this because she had never taken Catherine seriously. Even if she was looking for entertainment, she would not choose someone like Catherine because she was far from deserving.

She remembered that when she used to be bored and was looking for some excitement, she would blow up an information building in a certain country just like she was setting off fireworks.

That was her character.

When Alex returned home, his father asked him about Catherine's incident. It was evident how significant the incident had become.

So, Alex relayed the principal's words to his father.

Having been influenced by his father since childhood, Alex was adept at observing and understanding people. Of course, he would not fully believe the principal's words.

After hearing that, Peter Sanders smiled and said, "Bob Leif has been eyeing the position of deputy bureau chief, and his daughter ruined it when he was about to succeed."

Alex was not interested.

He had initially thought that Catherine was only spoiled by her family, but at least she was not foolish and her grades were quite good.

A few days ago, he heard that she was planning to apply to Raven University, and he thought they could support each other in Raven City in the future.

However, this happened.

It seemed that one should not judge a book by its cover.

In short, the little bit of goodwill he had developed is now gone.

After self-study that evening, Ethan was on his way home when he was stopped by a few malicious ruffians.

"So, are you gonna hand over everything or do you want us to use force?"

"I don't have any money."

"You bookworms always claim you have no money. You have to force us to beat you up until you cough up the cash," one of the ruffians said, snatching Ethan's backpack and emptying its contents.

Ethan watched them while gritting his teeth in silence.

When they did not find any money in the backpack, they impatiently began searching Ethan's pockets. "Where did you hide the money? Hand it over."

"I told you, I don't have any money."

"Oh, you have a phone. That'll do."

"Give it back."

"Screw you. How dare you fight back? This crappy phone isn't even worth my time."

A dispute over the phone broke out between Ethan and the ruffians in the dark alley.

The ruffians were surprised that Ethan was willing to risk his life for a phone, so they were about to start a fight.

"Hey!"

Suddenly, a female voice shouted.

The ruffians turned to the sound and saw a girl in a school uniform.

Ethan turned his head and saw Hedy. So, he immediately became anxious and urged her to leave.

However, Hedy did not leave. Instead, she walked towards them with her hands in her pockets, looking as relaxed as if she were strolling in a garden.

It was as if she could not hear what he was saying or understand the situation.

Ethan was frantic.

However, just as Ethan was about to take action, the ruffians, as if possessed, looked at Hedy as if they had seen a ghost. They threw his backpack and phone away and ran away as fast as they could.

Some of them, who were lacking agility, stumbled and crawled away. At the same time, some even screamed as they fled.

This sudden and absurd scene left Ethan speechless.

Hedy approached. "Are you alright?"

Ethan shook his head in a daze. After that, he quickly bent down to retrieve his phone from the ground. The screen was black after it fell.

He attempted to turn it on but found that it was broken.

Ethan remained silent for a moment. Then he quietly gathered his books from the ground and placed them back into his backpack.

As she watched this, Hedy furrowed her brow slightly, looking in the direction where the ruffians had disappeared. She was contemplating whether to chase after them and demand compensation.

"Why were they so afraid of you? They ran away as soon as they saw you," Ethan asked, standing up with his backpack.

Hedy shrugged. "Maybe they were in a hurry to go home and sleep."

Ethan was clever, and he deduced almost instantly, though he was not entirely certain. "You're the one Catherine wanted to hurt, right?"

Hedy replied, "I did encounter them on my way home from school a few nights ago."

Ethan was incredulous. "So you were the one who fought them? And you were the one who made them go to school to demand medical expenses from Catherine?"

Hedy seemed indifferent. "I was already showing mercy by not asking them to beat Catherine up."

As Ethan stared at her, Hedy reiterated her previous statement. "Like I said, I just didn't bother to waste my time on them."

"But…" But regardless, how could a girl like you defeat those ruffians? Moreover, you were so ruthless.

Although he sometimes felt a sense of strangeness and unfamiliarity, he genuinely admired this powerful sister.

Just as Ethan was about to say something, he heard Hedy ask, "Where is the nearest bank?"

Ethan was puzzled, but he provided the information nonetheless. Then he asked, "What do you need a bank for?"

"You should go home first. I have something to take care of." After saying this, Hedy headed towards the bank.

It was a self-service bank.

Hedy retrieved the only bank card from her backpack.

This card was issued by the school, and she used it to pay her tuition fees every semester.

After inserting the card into the machine, Hedy checked her balance.

[Account Balance]

150 thousand?

The Thorn boy was quite stingy, huh? He only gave me 150 thousand for saving his life? Is life so cheap in the eyes of his family? Or is it just Sam's life that's cheap?

Well, 150 thousand is better than nothing.

Hedy put away the card and went straight to a mobile phone shop