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His Guan family was a major shareholder of Zhuo Ying High School. Any bad press attributed to the school because of the rumours surrounding Shen Xi would undoubtedly impact the school’s reputation and the Guan family.

Therefore, it was not strange for him to step in and handle this matter.

Guan Lei convinced himself that he was meddling in Shen Xi’s affairs because she was his partner and that he needed to protect the school’s reputation.

Many students recognised Peach. She was a known bully, and several had even been at her mercy. However, it took them a long time to reconcile the image of Peach in their memories with the miserable-looking girl standing awkwardly in their class. It was too great a shock for most. “Isn’t that our senior, Li Tao? Isn’t she called Sister Peach these days?”

The familiar name caused ripples. Peach was originally called Li Tao, and she was two years their senior. When they were in their first year of high school, Li Tao was already in her third. She was tall and had a robust physique, which she often leveraged to bully those around her.

Things were made worse by the fact that Li Tao came from wealth. The potent combination allowed her to run amok in school, and even teachers feared her wrath. Once, a teacher offended her, and she had no choice but to quit because of pressure from Li Tao’s family.

Li Tao failed her college entrance exams, and since then, she had roamed around the school, haunting its grounds. The teachers often told them to keep their distance from her.

Who would have thought that Peach, the fear-inducing bully, would be reduced to such a state?

When Jiang Xue heard her classmates confirm the person in front of her who was beaten like a pig’s head was Li Tao, whom she had found to bully Shen XI, she panicked and hid in the crowd.

Although she and Li Tao had kept in contact via messaging, neither knew what the other looked like, so Jiang Xue was confident Li Tao would not recognise her. Still, it did not dispel the pinprick of worry she felt.

Li Tao’s eyes were almost slits with all the swelling. It took her a long time to parse out Shen Xi and Zhao Yuan from the crowd of students, but when she did, she bawled loudly, spilling the beans.

“Shen Xi, Zhao Yuan, I only did what I did for the money. That person said they would give me 50,000 yuan if I beat you up and recorded you flailing naked. They said you were the seductress who seduced my boyfriend, so I was going to beat you up,” Li Tao sobbed as she admitted everything.

Guan Lei had threatened to dig up her past and bring it to light, which would certainly see her spending time behind bars, and it caused her to panic.

Her family was only wealthy when compared to the average person. She relied on that little bit of wealth to throw her weight around, but it was not something her grandfather knew. If she were to go to prison, everything would come to light, and her old-fashioned grandfather would probably beat her to death before she could disgrace the family further. There was even the very real possibility that she would be disowned.

At this point, Li Tao could not care less about her face, and she wailed like the hounds of hell were hot on her heels, “That person asked me to take nudes of you and send them videos. I… did neither. I couldn’t even lay a finger on you. You guys beat me up so badly that I now look like this. Please let me go. I know my mistake; I won’t do it again. Please let me go, I beg you.”

Li Tao’s words were a wrecking ball shattering any semblance of composure the students listening possessed. Had they not discussed Shen Xi being beaten up because she was a mistress to some man earlier?

Now, they did not know what to think. The revelation that the people who beat up Shen Xi were hired to do so made the accusations of her being a mistress rather suspect.

Before Shen Xi could respond, Zhao Yuan burst out in anger, “What do you mean you didn’t lay a finger on me? My face is all swollen. Are you blind?”

Li Tao squinted through swollen lids as she stared at Zhao Yuan. Suddenly, she was on her knees, hugging Zhao Yuan’s thigh as she cried, “I was wrong. Why don’t you beat me up again to vent your anger? I’ll let you hit me if you let me go!”

“You want me to let you go? Hah. You’re begging the wrong person. There’s nothing I can do for you; I would never have offended you, to begin with,” Zhao Yuan snarked, extracting herself from the plump girl’s grip around her thighs.

Zhao Yuan was clear about Li Tao’s family background. Although her family’s situation was not as good as Li Tao’s, it was obvious the school or someone in the administration was backing her up. In which case, why did she need to be a saint? Why should she let Li Tao go?

Shen Xi was unsure what had caused their sudden change of heart, but the difference was humbling. Even the school would not abide by injustice, stepping forward to expel the bullies who tormented its students.

However, the one thing she was certain of was that Guan Lei must have had a hand in the matter.

Shen Xi looked at Guan Lei with a complicated expression.

Perhaps he had sensed her gaze, but Guan Lei turned to look at her. Shen Xi must have guessed his involvement. She was probably trying to express her thanks covertly since they were still in class and there were too many people around. Was she too shy to speak openly?

Guan Lei nodded at Shen Xi, sending her a look he hoped conveyed: ‘I understand you are grateful.’ It was a look filled with indifference but infused with kindness.

Shen Xi was bewildered. What was Guan Lei trying to say with that smile that looked better suited on the face of a wizened priest?