When You Finally Turn Around After Playing Enough, I’ll No Longer Be There - Chapter 7:

Chapter 7: They Deserve the Best

Chen Luo walked over.

A spark of hope lit up in Jiang Kewei’s heart.

Surely Chen Luo wouldn’t stand by and watch her be bullied, right?

But Chen Luo, just like that, walked right past her with Su Panyue.

At that moment, it felt like a giant hand tore Jiang Kewei’s heart in half—it hurt. It really hurt.

As they passed her, Su Panyue intentionally leaned closer to Chen Luo.

Through the thin layer of fabric, Chen Luo felt a faint, strange sensation.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to try the red bean buns in the cafeteria? I’ll go with you.”

If he remembered correctly, something else was supposed to happen today too.

He couldn’t leave yet. He didn’t want to miss this great show.

Su Panyue looked up at Chen Luo, her eyes glowing, her voice sweet and clear, “Okay!”

The joy in her eyes couldn’t be hidden. She hadn’t expected Chen Luo to take even her offhand remarks so seriously.

Still frozen in place, Jiang Kewei suddenly felt dizzy.

Chen Luo… actually just walked away.

Seeing that Chen Luo didn’t step in, the girls became even more brazen.

The chubbiest among them even raised her hand, about to slap Jiang Kewei.

At the critical moment, Xu Yi appeared…

By the time Chen Luo and Su Panyue walked out of the cafeteria hand in hand, what they saw was Xu Yi standing in front of Jiang Kewei, the two of them surrounded by a group of upperclassmen with dyed hair and tattoos.

Exactly the same as the last life…

In the previous life, Jiang Kewei had purposely sent Xu Yi off on an errand with an excuse to buy water, just to get a moment alone.

That was when this group of people started causing trouble, and Xu Yi showed up in time to scare them off.

But what they didn’t know was, the girl leading the group—Lin Mengyao—was Zhou Tian’s girlfriend.

And Zhou Tian was a notorious thug in Jiangcheng.

Xu Yi had wanted to play the hero and save the damsel, but he ended up getting beaten black and blue. When he realized he couldn’t win, he simply ran away and left Jiang Kewei behind.

The one who cleaned up the mess was Chen Luo.

He had used his family’s connections to drive Zhou Tian away, but instead of being grateful, Jiang Kewei blamed him, saying he embarrassed Xu Yi.

Chen Luo, blinded by love, even went to Xu Yi’s place to apologize in person, just to calm her down…

“Brother Luo, Zhou Tian is here too. Should we do something?” Su Panyue’s voice pulled Chen Luo back from his thoughts.

“Do what?” Chen Luo replied indifferently, clearly with no intention of helping.

His parents had died because of Jiang Kewei. He had wasted over ten years of his youth on her. He no longer had any love left for her—only hatred.

When he was with Jiang Kewei, Song Qingyu would constantly belittle him in subtle ways, and over time, he started to believe he wasn’t good enough, growing more self-conscious and timid.

Looking back now, Song Qingyu dared to act that way only because Jiang Kewei silently allowed it.

She did nothing—and yet she did everything.

Why were there so many so-called “simps” in the world? Were those boys born without dignity?

No.

They were also their parents’ treasures. They deserved the very best.

They were just too sincere in love, willing to give everything to the girl they liked.

Yet they didn’t realize that their devotion meant nothing in the eyes of others.

“Don’t be scared, Jiang. I’ll protect you,” Xu Yi said from not far away, trying to sound confident.

But in reality, facing the gang in front of him, he had already lost his nerve!

Jiang Kewei shrank behind Xu Yi, her flawless face pale with fear—clearly terrified.

“Who the hell are you? Mind your own damn business! Get lost!” Zhou Tian shouted rudely, overflowing with arrogance.

Lin Mengyao stood beside Zhou Tian, chin held high, radiating a gangster queen’s presence.

“This isn’t over. Both of you better kneel and apologize right now!”

“What do we do, Xu Yi?” Jiang Kewei’s voice trembled. She was like a delicate flower raised in a greenhouse by Chen Luo, never having faced anything like this and clueless how to react.

Xu Yi didn’t want to lose face in front of new classmates—especially not in front of someone like Jiang Kewei, who was goddess-level in his eyes.

“It’s okay. Just stay behind me.”

“I’m Xu Yi from Class 1-3. I ranked second in the Jiangcheng joint exam. She’s my classmate, so for my sa—”

“What? You think being good at studying makes you special?!”

Zhou Tian, hot-tempered as always, interrupted with a curse and viciously kicked Xu Yi. “I can’t stand guys like you!”

Xu Yi was sent sprawling to the ground, clutching his stomach, crying out in pain.

Seeing him so weak enraged Zhou Tian even more, and he began kicking again and again.

“I told you to kneel, and you didn’t!”

“I’ll beat you till you do!”

No one had expected Zhou Tian to start throwing punches so suddenly. His gang blocked off the area. Jiang Kewei trembled in fear and backed away, desperately looking for somewhere to hide.

Lin Mengyao stepped in and blocked her, grinning, “Who said you could leave? Watch this!”

Zhou Tian targeted all the spots where bruises wouldn’t be obvious.

After several kicks, Xu Yi was covered in dust, his face pale from the pain. Thinking of how Chen Luo was just standing nearby watching, a deep sense of shame washed over him.

But Zhou Tian was too strong, a full head taller than him—he couldn’t fight back at all!

Jiang Kewei began to sob softly. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears, looking fragile and pitiful. She cast a helpless gaze toward Chen Luo in the distance.

Chen Luo simply stood there, showing no sign of stepping in.

But before… he had protected her so carefully. Even the tiniest scratch would make his heart ache for days.

Why was he now watching her suffer like this, completely indifferent?

Could this be Chen Luo’s new tactic for winning her over?

Was he playing hard to get?

Jiang Kewei bit her lip. A flash of anger crossed her eyes—Chen Luo was being despicable!

And yet…

She had to admit—it was working.

She had gotten so used to Chen Luo always being there. Without him, it suddenly felt unbearable.

Just then, Zhou Tian finally stopped and spat on Xu Yi, “Still acting tough?”

Xu Yi weakly shook his head.

“Then get lost!”

Struggling to his feet, Xu Yi glanced at Jiang Kewei, said nothing, and walked away.

Jiang Kewei’s mind went completely blank. Xu Yi… just left?

He really left her behind?

When she was with Chen Luo, even when she was annoyed by how clingy he was, he never once abandoned her.

He always followed behind her quietly, carrying her bags, waiting patiently for her anger to pass.

“What’s your name, huh? You’re pretty cute…” Zhou Tian looked Jiang Kewei up and down, then suddenly grinned. “Too bad you’ve got no taste in men. That loser couldn’t even protect you.”

“How about coming with me instead? I promise you won’t be treated badly.”

Lin Mengyao shot Zhou Tian a glare, but didn’t say a word.

To her, Zhou Tian was just a bit of fun.