Chapter 196 - 149: Was Nuannuan Often Bullied Before?

’This Jiang Yunnuan really is a handful.’

Ning Xiu felt both frustrated and helpless. After some thought, he sent another friend request, this time with a message attached.

「Central City Childcare Center.」

After parking the car, Jiang Yunnuan opened her Light Brain to contact Jiang Tang, only to see the friend request and message from Ning Xiu.

"Did the ten million expire so quickly? I’d like to ask, Miss Jiang, how do you charge for a spot on your friends list?"

Seeing this message, Jiang Yunnuan couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.

Seeing her spacing out, Fu Yuan couldn’t help but ask, "What are you thinking about? You’re so lost in thought."

’Even her expression is strange!’

Jiang Yunnuan quickly snapped back to her senses. Ignoring Ning Xiu’s friend request and message, she opened her chat with Jiang Tang and saw that the last message was still the one she had sent before leaving the house.

"It’s nothing. Tangtang hasn’t replied to me yet. Let’s just go straight to where we agreed to meet her."

’It’s better to avoid trouble.’ She had no intention of adding Ning Xiu again, so she decided not to tell Fu Yuan about it to keep him from getting needlessly jealous.

"Okay."

They got out of the car and walked toward the meeting spot, attracting countless stares along the way.

It was Jiang Yunnuan’s first time walking this path, but it felt remarkably familiar. Memories of the body’s original owner flooded her mind uncontrollably, and she couldn’t help but feel her mood affected.

"Why the sudden change in mood?"

Fu Yuan, holding her hand, turned his head to look at her with concern.

Jiang Yunnuan shook her head, trying hard to suppress the original owner’s emotions.

"I was just thinking about some unpleasant things."

"Nuannuan... were you bullied a lot in the past?"

Fu Yuan couldn’t help but ask.

He had also grown up in a childcare center and knew the rules of survival there all too well. Forming cliques, the strong preying on the weak, snatching supplies, bullying roommates—he had experienced it all.

Hearing this, Jiang Yunnuan frowned, unsure for a moment how to answer his question.

’The original owner was indeed bullied often, but that wasn’t me, after all. I’ve never been the type to be bullied, not once in my life. I only possess the original owner’s memories, and Fu Yuan is asking *me*.’

"It’s all in the past. Let’s not talk about it~"

After a long pause, she gave a perfunctory reply. Just as she finished speaking, she realized they had arrived at the meeting spot, but there was no sign of Jiang Tang at all.

Jiang Yunnuan frowned. "That’s strange. Why isn’t Tangtang here yet? She’s not replying to my messages either. She’s never late. Could something have happened to her?"

"Don’t worry just yet. Maybe something came up and she’s running late. Try sending her a call request."

"Okay."

Five minutes later, Jiang Yunnuan shut off her Light Brain, her face dark. In that time, she had sent seven or eight call requests, but none were answered.

"No one’s picking up. Tangtang wouldn’t stand me up. Something must have happened to her. Fu Yuan, release your Divine Sense and help me search the area with it."

A Half-step Ultimate Venerable’s Divine Sense could extend for hundreds of miles, more than enough to cover the entire childcare center.

Fu Yuan nodded. "Alright."

「A secluded corner of the rest area.」

A dozen or so girls of various heights and builds, all with different faces, were huddled together in a circle.

In the middle of the crowd, Jiang Tang was slumped on the ground. Her delicate, pretty face was beaten beyond recognition, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her long, silky black hair was being yanked by someone.

Among the others, some kicked her while others brutally tore at her clothes, quickly ripping them to shreds.

"Slut, you used that face of yours to seduce Song Xingheng, didn’t you? Don’t you know that Sister Yinyin has her eye on him?"

"Did you really think you could stop paying your monthly dues just because Song Xingheng gave you a second glance? Where’s the money? This month’s living allowance was distributed two whole days ago. Why haven’t you handed it over?"

"And this dress, it’s new, isn’t it? Who do you think you are, spending money on new clothes? We’ll make you go back naked today~"

The curses were vile, and their actions were even more vicious and crude. Countless fists and feet rained down mercilessly on Jiang Tang.

Jiang Tang’s entire body was numb with pain. She desperately clutched at what was left of her clothes with both hands.

In that moment, she was completely overwhelmed by a profound sense of humiliation, yet not a single tear fell. She just stared fixedly at them with wide eyes.

"What are you looking at? Keep looking and I’ll gouge your eyes out!"

"Hah, this slut only has a pretty face. She’s already sixteen, but her chest is as flat as a board. What the hell does Song Xingheng even see in her?"

"Cut the crap. Sister Yinyin said to strip her naked, film it, and send her the video. She wants to send it to a lot of people to ’enjoy’ for free."

"Sister Yinyin also said that after filming, we have to shave her hair and eyebrows. Once she’s a hairless freak, Song Xingheng will never look at her again..."

The group of vicious degenerates turned on their Light Brains and began brazenly filming the barely-clothed girl.

Suddenly, a Barrier appeared.

SLAP SLAP SLAP...

The crisp sound of slaps rang out. One of the girls was grabbed by the hair and slapped a dozen times across the face before being kicked to the ground. Her face slammed hard into the ground, and the bone in her nose instantly snapped.

"AAAAAH..."

An immense wave of pain washed over her, and she let out an earth-shattering scream, startling the others.

The others stopped filming and whipped their heads around to look. An incredibly beautiful woman had appeared out of nowhere, her foot pinning a wretched-looking girl to the ground.

Although the girl’s face was beaten beyond recognition, her clothes and style clearly marked her as one of their own.

"Wh-who are you?"

Everyone jumped in fright, hastily turning off their Light Brains and staring nervously at the woman who had materialized out of thin air.

The woman seemed to be cosplaying a mermaid. She had long, ink-blue hair and wore exquisite makeup with pearls and rhinestones. Her features were delicate and her face was breathtakingly beautiful, but her eyes were chillingly cold, like a grim reaper straight from hell. A ferocious, terrifying aura radiated from her entire being.

She walked step by step toward the girl who had spoken. Terrified by her intimidating presence, the girl’s face filled with dread as she unconsciously backed away.

"Y-you, stay ba—"

Before she could finish, a powerful kick sent her flying to the ground. It felt as if the bones in her chest had shattered. The girl was in so much pain she couldn’t breathe, let alone scream.

But she wasn’t finished.

Jiang Yunnuan crouched down and mercilessly started stripping the girl’s clothes, leaving her completely naked in the blink of an eye.

Then, taking the relatively loose-fitting garment, she walked over to Jiang Tang, crouched down, and draped it over her.

Sensing someone approaching, Jiang Tang’s pupils trembled. Her expression subconsciously revealed a mix of terror and despair, which quickly gave way to lifeless apathy.

Seeing this, Jiang Yunnuan’s breath hitched. The hand holding the clothes trembled. Alongside her heartache was a murderous intent on the verge of breaking loose.

She reached out and hugged the girl tightly. As if afraid of scaring her, her voice was so soft it was barely a whisper.

"Tangtang, don’t be afraid. It’s your big sister."