Shi Li nodded, "I think that's a good idea too, but I want to say that there's no inherently good or bad personality - whether you're strong-willed or gentle, both are fine. Bad people don't bully you because of your personality, but because they themselves are not good people. It's because they're bad, and it has nothing to do with you."
Tears fell from the eyes of the bullied girl. "I often think, if I could be a bit tougher, if both my parents were by my side, maybe I wouldn't be bullied."
"It's not your fault that you encountered these bad people. It's just that you were unlucky and didn't meet good people."
"A tougher personality would undoubtedly lead to less bullying, that's for certain."
The girl left in a hurry, and it was unclear whether she had taken any of their advice to heart.
She refused to report it to the police, fearing retaliation from the bullies. Shi Li was unsure whether she should send the video in her possession to the police.
Shi Li was also worried that if she reported it, the girl might face even more severe retaliation in the future.
If the girl couldn't stand up for herself, no amount of effort from outsiders would make a difference.
There was another possibility - that the abusers might suddenly have an accident and be gone, though the chances of such an accident were practically zero.
As they headed to the main road, Song Ying's mood took on a different tone.
In less than half an hour, she had learned the true cause of her own death - that she had been bullied and, unable to cope, had taken her own life.
She didn't think she would ever consider suicide, but that was how it had ended.
Moreover, she had seen the thugs who would have bullied her in another possibility, now bullying a frail girl.
Song Ying's feelings were particularly strange, and Shi Li's mood was even worse.
[My reaction is really something else, the child dies and I come to comfort, only thinking to turn when the car hits the tree]
[Those bastards walked away, and only then did I realize they were the main culprits who would bully Song Ying for two years, driving her to suicide]
[If I could do it over, I would have rushed over and beaten them up to vent my anger]
[The reason is ready-made, I can't stand seeing the weak being bullied, I should step up]
People are selfish by nature, and Shi Li was no exception. When encountering strangers being bullied by a group, Shi Li felt that stepping up to stop it was already going above and beyond.
But if that group were the bad people who would bully her friend, just thinking about it made Shi Li's hands itch.
Even though it hadn't happened in this life, these people were paying for the evil they had done in their previous life.
Whether people should pay for the evil done in their previous lives is a complex question.
Shi Li wasn't a philosopher; she couldn't rationally answer this question. She just wanted to give these people a good thrashing to vent her anger.
Hearing this, Song Ying felt incredibly warm inside. The feeling of being cherished was quite nice.
She heard that her future self would be bullied, but didn't feel angry about it. After all, it was something that hadn't happened yet, and it was hard for her to empathize. However, upon hearing about the cause of her death, a faint melancholy washed over her, a kind of vague uncertainty about the future.
The old neighborhood was quite maze-like, and no one expected that the group of people Shi Li had been mentally flogging would be encountered again just around the corner.
This could be described as the old neighborhood version of "love around the corner."
The girls had cigarettes between their fingers, puffing away. They hadn't expected to have such a deep karmic connection with these busybodies, meeting twice in just half an hour.
The leader of the girls didn't speak, which was normal - after all, what kind of boss personally starts insulting people?
One of the skinnier girls, playing the sycophant, cursed, "What are you looking at? You'll get sties in your eyes."
By this time, Shi Li was already thinking, [If I run over and beat these people up now, what are my chances of winning?]
[The key is, will my classmates think I have a manic disorder?]
[Ah, how annoying. I shouldn't have agreed to go out for a meal with my classmates today. I should have brought ten bodyguards to eat here]
[Maybe I shouldn't act now. In the future, I'll bring bodyguards to eat in this area, walk around here a couple of times, and if we encounter this group bullying classmates, I'll act together with the bodyguards. That's called stepping in to right a wrong, sounds quite reasonable]
While Shi Li was pondering how to act without looking like a lunatic, Xue Xuejia had already started arguing with the other side.
"What's wrong with looking at you? You're ugly and afraid of being seen? Well, at least you're self-aware. But since you know you're ugly, I suggest you don't go out at all, to avoid hurting the eyes of passersby."
Xue Xuejia's sharp tongue never failed to deliver.
The girl on the other side wasn't as eloquent as Xue Xuejia in insulting people; she had already started spewing vulgar words about male and female genitalia.
Xue Xuejia laughed, "You're getting angry, you're getting angry, you're getting angry, you're getting angry. Looks like what I said was quite on point."
These thugs didn't have much rationality to begin with. Being insulted to their faces about being ugly, and having their lackey lose in a war of words, was intolerable.
How could they stand for this?
They had to teach these mouthy, nosy little girls a lesson, strip off their clothes, make them kneel and lick their shoes, to let them know who they could and couldn't mess with.
Although just by looking at their appearance and attire, they could tell these people were probably from well-off families.
But now, in the heat of anger, they didn't care whether these people were really from wealthy backgrounds or not. They were ready to teach them a lesson.
These young thugs were the type of people without brains who were easily angered, acting without considering the consequences.
Seeing the opposing side rolling up their sleeves, ready for a fight, Song Ying was dumbfounded. How did things escalate to a fight so quickly?
Moreover, she had never realized before that her classmate Xue Xuejia was someone who liked to stir up trouble.
Facing a group of thugs experienced in gang fights, even though Shi Li's side had more people, she knew everyone's background.
This was a group of people who had never been in a fight before, usually escorted by bodyguards wherever they went, never needing to lift a finger themselves.
The transition from verbal insults to physical confrontation happened in an instant.
Before Shi Li could react, she found her classmates uniformly pulling out long, stick-like objects from their bags.
She looked closely and saw that they appeared to be baseball bats?
Shi Li: ? What kind of good people carry baseball bats in their bags? What have my classmates been up to when I wasn't looking?
Shi Li could hardly believe it.
She doubted what she was seeing, but they were indeed baseball bats.
It was from the time they went to Duan Yaojing's house, when everyone was prepared to attack the pervert who stole underwear, but Shi Li's shout had brought the formidable Grandma Sun instead.
The baseball bats the classmates had brought that day hadn't been put to use and had become decorative items.
Although they hadn't been useful that day, everyone felt super safe with a small baseball bat in their bag.
Mom no longer had to worry about them encountering bad people.
So the baseball bats had stayed in their bags ever since, making their bags a bit heavier when walking, but otherwise having no other drawbacks.
Who could have imagined that these baseball bats would come in handy at such an unexpected moment?
Shi Li didn't know why all her classmates were carrying baseball bats, but she had no time to think about it now.
Shi Li also noticed the disbelief in the eyes of the other group when her classmates pulled out the small baseball bats from their bags.
There were eight people on her side, six on the other side; they had the advantage in numbers.
On her side, there were three boys and five girls; on the other side, zero boys and six girls.
On her side, almost everyone had a baseball bat; on the other side, they had grabbed brooms and mops from the roadside.
On her side, they had zero combat experience; on the other side, those people were battle-hardened and ruthless.
Although her side had many advantages, the other side could somewhat level the playing field just based on their frequent experience in arranged fights.
This was Shi Li's first time fighting, let alone in a group brawl.
The people on the other side, seeing that Shi Li didn't have a baseball bat, targeted her and Song Ying.
Logically, Shi Li and Song Ying should have been the safest, protected in the center of the group.
However, sometimes well-equipped weapons may not be as effective in the face of experience.
Although Shi Li's side had strength in numbers, two of them had zero fighting ability, and one even accidentally hit Shi Li with a bat.
[Alas, defeated before the battle even begins!]
Getting injured by friendly fire during a fight is a common occurrence. In such situations, blame cannot be assigned. Shi Li found herself having to confront the girl who had approached her head-on.
As a student who deeply understood the principle that knowledge is power, Shi Li might not have had a baseball bat, but she did possess a backpack filled with several hefty workbooks.
Swinging the backpack to strike her opponent proved to be just as effective as a baseball bat, if not more so.
The following day at school, the class teacher let out a piercing shriek.
His precious top student had injured her arm right before the exams.
Who on earth was the accursed individual responsible for hurting her arm?
He was ready to fight to the death with the culprit!
