Chapter 68: Human Nature, Unchecked, Is Evil

Tang Yu returned to the dormitory and pushed open the door, only to be met with a scene that wiped the smile from her face, replacing it with terror. She turned to flee, but suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her hair from behind, forcefully dragging her inside.

Tang Yu screamed, tossed to the ground like a rag doll.

“So you’re Tang Yu, aren’t you?”

The dormitory was empty; her roommates were nowhere to be seen. Instead, five or six women dressed in eccentric, flamboyant clothes occupied the room.

The one speaking wore boots, sitting atop Tang Yu’s bed, surrounded by her scattered belongings. Before Tang Yu arrived, these women had ransacked her bed.

A woman with a lip piercing gripped Tang Yu’s chin, examining her closely.

“That’s her, definitely Tang Yu. No mistake.”

Tang Yu trembled all over, struggling to regain composure. She reached for her phone in her pocket, but it was quickly noticed, snatched away, and thrown to the floor. The woman stomped on the screen, shattering it instantly.

“Who were you trying to call? A teacher? Or your little lover, Bian Yang?”

Tang Yu bit her lip hard. “You’re not students here. You were sent by Meng Shirui…”

The women exchanged glances, laughing with exaggerated delight.

The woman sitting on her bed jumped down and squatted before her, tattoos winding over her arms and neck. “Wrong, wrong. We just don’t like you. To be honest, we like Bian Yang too. But there’s only one Bian Yang. So tell me, what should we do?”

Tang Yu’s face paled.

The tattooed woman pinched her face, addressing the others behind her. “Hit her! Let her learn who she should and shouldn’t touch!”

They grabbed her hair, pinned her arms, and tore at her clothes. With scissors, they snipped away at the hair she’d grown for years, intending to sell it to pay for her grandmother’s medical bills. Any resistance was met with slaps, her face pressed to the floor, her abdomen and legs kicked, her spine trampled underfoot.

From room 406 came the repeated shrieks of a girl in agony.

In the hallway, everyone was anxious, trembling, huddling in their dorms, terrified.

“Call the police! Tell the teachers! If this goes on, Tang Yu will be beaten to death!”

They were students too, never having experienced such horror, already frightened out of their wits.

“But those women warned us: anyone who meddles will be next… Remember how Wang Qing tried to intervene and was slapped several times? Do you want to be hit? Go ahead and call the police… As for me, I know nothing…”

Hearing this, those who’d intended to call the police panicked, too afraid to dial.

“Forget it. Wang Qing went out to find a teacher. Let’s not get involved. Tang Yu brought this on herself by provoking outsiders…”

The cries from the dormitory sent chills down their spines, each fearing they’d be next.

“Look at her, she’s actually quite pretty. Her face is just like a temptress.”

“Isn’t she a top student? Got first place last time, full marks this time. Later, let’s post naked photos of this bitch on the school forum, so everyone can see what the top student’s pale skin looks like, ha ha ha…”

“I just love seeing these obedient girls, the so-called good students, reduced to trash.”

“Let’s hang up a sign that says, ‘Cheap slut, free viewing,’ and let people come in for a tour!”

“Ha ha ha, will she ever find a boyfriend after this?”

They mocked and insulted her, kicking her chest and private parts deliberately.

Did any of them know Tang Yu? No.

Kindness stems from years of constant guidance and correction. Adult goodness is tangled and complex, but evil is sometimes just evil—nothing to be prettied up.

Pure evil is simply pure venting, pure jealousy, pure destruction—

They vented their dissatisfaction with life this way. Why should they be forced out of school, looked down upon, abused by men, never cherished even after multiple abortions?

They envied Tang Yu’s beauty, her academic achievements, resented that she could score full marks and be the teachers’ favorite, while they themselves were at society’s bottom, jobless and scraping for every bit of money.

They wanted to see purity stained, the proud brought low, the talented begging for mercy, to drag more people into their degraded ranks.

Only then, it seemed, could the imbalance in their hearts be somewhat eased.

This was evil in their bones, inferiority in their bones, instinct in their bones—evil untouched by guidance, like children scalding ants with hot water or slicing earthworms to watch them writhing, never considering the worth or pity of life.

Human nature, untamed, is evil.

On the floor lay locks of severed hair and torn pieces of clothing.

Tang Yu curled up on the cold floor, clutching the thin fabric tightly, feeling as though she were submerged in some thick, black substance, suffocating and decaying.

When the women had insulted and beaten her enough, they rested nearby.

“This little bitch is really tough—aside from calling for help, she hasn’t cried at all.”

“You two, strip her clothes, pose her legs, take a few photos.”

They thought Tang Yu, lying on the ground barely breathing, had no strength left to resist.

But unexpectedly, as they reached for their phones, she scrambled up and bolted out.

Liu Shuran, who had just saved Bian Yang’s number and visited the convenience store, was heading upstairs with snacks when Tang Yu crashed into her, scattering the food everywhere.

Her back slammed against the wall, pain shooting through her body. She was about to curse, but when she looked up and saw Tang Yu’s condition, she froze.

“Tang Yu, you…”

Behind them came the sounds of pursuit. Tang Yu, biting her lip and clutching at her torn clothes, ran out.

Liu Shuran didn’t even have time to react before several tattooed, pierced, oddly dressed women chased after Tang Yu. Only then did she realize what had happened.

She spread her arms to block them. “Hey, you’re not from this school! How did you get into our dormitory?!”

The women sneered. “Classmate, I advise you not to meddle, or else…”

Liu Shuran’s shoulder was shoved hard.

Just then, Wang Qing arrived with the dorm supervisor and security guards.

“Auntie, it’s them! They’re not from our school! They assaulted someone in the dormitory!”

The women exchanged glances, then pushed through the crowd and fled.

Security chased after them.

Earlier, when Wang Qing had gone to Tang Yu’s dorm, she’d found them ransacking Tang Yu’s things. After confronting them, she’d been slapped several times; her face was still red.

The dorm supervisor was furious. “I was gone for a moment, and unauthorized people got in. The school’s security is useless—anyone can just walk right in!”

The surroundings were chaotic. Qingyuan was not a closed campus, and the current principal was negligent, obsessed only with building new facilities and achievements, leaving all sorts of loopholes.

Liu Shuran, steadying herself, suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled out her phone to make a call.

“Bian Yang, something terrible happened! Tang Yu was beaten! She ran out and we don’t know where she is!”

Bian Yang didn’t reply. From the phone came the sounds of collision, a muffled groan, then he quickly hung up.

Wang Qing hadn’t known what had happened before, but hearing this, she hurriedly asked, “Xiaoyu ran out?! Which way did she go?”

“I don’t know. I bumped right into her when I came up. Her face and body were covered in injuries, her clothes torn. Those people are truly disgusting!”

Before Liu Shuran could finish, Wang Qing dashed out to search for Tang Yu.

Liu Shuran glanced at the snacks scattered across the floor, hesitated, then followed.

“I’ll help you look.”

After all, she owed Bian Yang a favor and hadn’t helped with anything yet.

It was so late—Tang Yu needed to be found quickly.

Liu Shuran, Wang Qing, and the security guards searched the entire campus, but found no trace.

Along the way, they encountered Bian Yang, whose forehead was slick with sweat, his back soaked, his dark eyes rimmed with visible red veins.

“Have you found her?!”

Wang Qing and Liu Shuran were startled by his appearance.

That look in his eyes inspired a strange, bone-deep fear.

“Not yet. We searched everywhere. She’s nowhere to be found…”

Before Wang Qing finished, Bian Yang rushed out of the school.

He searched the streets, large and small, like a madman, darting across traffic, calling Tang Yu’s name.

Tang Xiaoyu, don’t scare me…

Tang Xiaoyu, we promised to go to Qingbei together. Please, don’t scare me…