Standing Next To You
Chapter 77: Exposed

Chapter 77: Exposed

A/n: Content Warning: This Chapter contains depictions of school violence.

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Lin Sunji wore a satisfied smile as she read the message that had been sent to her phone.

Everything was falling into place now. The only thing left to do was to expel that wretched girl from the school and banish her from the Lin mansion.

With that accomplished, Lin Sunji would secure her position as the number one ranked student and the model student that everyone looked up to. It was a day she had longed for, and it was finally here.

"Everyone, today I’ll treat you all. So choose a place to eat," Lin Sunji generously announced to the students gathered around her.

After the class had ended, Lin Sunji and her friends remained in the school. She had a separate French class with her teacher, and her friends waited for her outside the classroom.

Today, however, Lin Sunji decided to cut her French class short.

Because today was a specially good day. Not only did she get Jang Rui as her dance partner, but the plan she put so much effort into was coming to fruition. So she deserved some time off.

"Wow, really? Can we go to Celestial Heights Haven then? I’ve been wanting to dine there, but it’s exclusive to members only," one of her friends exclaimed.

"Me too! My family tried to get a membership, but the requirements were so strict. It’s nearly impossible for regular people to get in," another friend chimed in.

"I heard that members can bring guests or reserve tables for their friends. Lin Sunji, since you’re from the Lin family, I’m sure you’re a member there, right?" a third friend inquired.

Lin Sunji smiled in response to their hopeful expressions. "Actually, my family and I have dined there frequently. But since none of you have been there yet, I’ll make a reservation. Let’s have dinner at Celestial Heights Haven."

"Oh my goodness! You’re an angel!"

"We’re so lucky to be friends with you!" The girls clung to Lin Sunji’s arm, expressing their gratitude.

Lin Sunji maintained her smile outwardly, but inside, she scoffed at their remarks.

Friends?

They were hardly on the same level as her to be considered friends. To Lin Sunji, they were merely lackeys whom she rewarded when she was in a good mood.

As the group of girls exited the senior building, several students suddenly appeared on both sides, each holding a bottle of vinegar with the cap removed.

With determined expressions, they yelled and hurled the contents of the bottles at Lin Sunji and her friends, dousing them in vinegar.

The area was immediately filled with the pungent smell of vinegar.

"Kyahhh! What are you doing?!"

"It smells! It’s vinegar!"

"My limited edition bag!"

Lin Sunji’s friends screamed in horror as they tried to rid themselves of the pungent vinegar.

Lin Sunji, however, received the most damage, drenched as if she’d taken a vinegar shower.

Lin Sunji glared at the familiar faces of the students who had doused her. Her fury contorted her face.

"How dare you! Who gave you the courage to do this to me, you lowlife bastards!"

In the heat of her shock and anger, the sweet and gracious facade Lin Sunji had always worn crumbled away.

Her friends, shocked by the sudden change in her demeanor, stopped their attempts to clean themselves. Although they were taken aback by Lin Sunji’s sudden outburst, in this situation, they would be angry too. They joined her in cursing out the perpetrators.

"These bastards! You dare to play such a prank on us?!" Lin Sunji’s friends were ready to confront the students, though they hesitated to get physical as the perpetrators were all bulky young men.

The overpowering scent of vinegar was driving Lin Sunji to the brink of madness. She fixed her dark glare on the leader of the students, the biggest bully among them.

"You dare do this to me? I’m telling you, your life is over starting today!"

The students remained silent, merely glancing back.

"Why are you getting so angry? It’s just a small prank among students,"

Bei Sangyun’s voice cut through the tension as she appeared behind the perpetrators, wearing a cold smile.

"You bitch!" Lin Sunji yelled in a high-pitched fury, her face distorted. She had forgotten everything in her rage, her focus solely on the cocky smile of Bei Sangyun.

"This is just a prank to you? Do you think you can do whatever you want because everyone fears you in this school? Let me tell you, you lowly bitch, you’ll be kicked out of the Lin family soon!"

"I’ll be kicked out? Then how do you plan to do that?" Bei Sangyun approached Lin Sunji with measured steps, her expression was calm. However the hidden madness in her eyes was awakened little by llittle

She paused right in front of Lin Sunji. "Are you using that man with the crew cut? What’s your intention? You even dragged an innocent person into this mess. I’m very interested to hear about it."

Lin Sunji’s anger still smoldered, but when she heard Bei Sangyun’s words, her eyes widened. How did she know? Had she figured it out already?

Bei Sangyun took another deliberate step towards Lin Sunji, her voice ice-cold, " ’How do I know?’ Well, since you started using other people under my name to bully Fei Chuan."

A horrified expression crossed Lin Sunji’s face, and she stammered, "I-I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"You don’t know? Then let me remind you. Aren’t these people’s faces familiar to you? Weren’t they some of your lackeys you used to torment Fei Chuan?"

Lin Sunji’s friends looked at her in disbelief as they absorbed the shocking revelation. Could it really be true?

Lin Sunji glanced around and indeed recognized the repeaters. They were the very students she had been coordinating with to make Fei Chuan’s life miserable. But she couldn’t admit to it.

"You’re trying to pin this on me now? If you think you can escape the consequences of your actions by blaming me, you’re mistaken. Don’t push me."

Bei Sangyun rolled her eyes in exasperation. She was going nowhere by doing this. She suddenly yanked Lin Sunji’s collar and held her in a tight grip.

"Do you really want to go down this path? I’m giving you a chance to come clean now. Decide. Do you want to be embarrassed in front of your friends or in front of the entire school?"

Bei Sangyun leaned in closer to Lin Sunji’s ear, her voice a menacing whisper, "I’m being generous by offering you these two options. If you push me further, you might end up living in the slums. Believe me, I’m not making idle threats."

Bei Sangyun’s tone was calm yet terrifying, sending shivers down Lin Sunji’s spine. For the first time in her life, she felt true fear emanating from another person.

When Bei Sangyun’s emotionless eyes looked deep into her, her body involuntarily shook.

Lin Sunji had a thought....that Bei Sangyun was not really bluffing.

This devil was really capable of annihilating anyone who stood in her way.

Bei Sangyun was just a young woman her age, how could she have this aura that made people terrified?

Lin Sunji’s knees weakened. But the strong pride in her wanted to fight back. She did not be oppressed by her!

"...I...I didn’t do it...." Lin Sunji stammered, her voice barely audible.

Bei Sangyun’s expression darkened as she slowly released her grip on Lin Sunji’s collar.

"Ah, Lin Sunji. You once said that if we met again in the next life, you wouldn’t choose me as your enemy. But it seems you can’t even manage that. You keep diving headfirst into trouble."

Lin Sunji, who had finally regained her breath, stared at Bei Sangyun as if she were some kind of deranged creature.

"Since you don’t want the easy way, let’s do it in a hard way."

Bei Sangyun then suddenly kicked Lin Sunji’s knees. She moved without warning, taking Lin Sunji off guard.

Lin Sunji cried in pain and was forced to kneel. She hugged her knees in pain. Her face filled with tears, "What are you doing?! Resulting to violence now?!"

Bei Sangyun’s face remained cold and emotionless as Lin Sunji cried out in pain and clutched her knees. The tears streaming down Lin Sunji’s face seemed to have no effect on her.

"You broke his leg in the past, right? You must be thinking that if he was hospitalized with a severe injury, you could use it against me. After all, I am his ’bully,’"

Lin Sunji, her voice shaking with a mixture of pain and frustration, retorted, "What are you talking about, bitch!"