9 Pure Hatred

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Li Shuangjie had been class monitor from elementary school through middle school. She was born to be a leader. A leader, a decision-maker—such people are defined by their ability to balance and coordinate the interests of all parties. Li Shuangjie inherited the commanding presence of Li Xi, whose word was law: either saying nothing or speaking with great weight. At the same time, she inherited her father’s cultural refinement and eloquence, rivaling the likes of Zhang Liang of the late Qin and early Han, Zhuge Liang of Shu Han, Fang Xuanling of the Tang dynasty, and Jiang Ziya of the Shang and Zhou eras. No, she had no intention of assisting others to rise. Li Shuangjie was her own sovereign.

She exuded the aura of an emperor, the hope of the people; all naturally cast their votes for her. Anyone who came into contact with Li Shuangjie was immediately captivated by her charisma… That had been true—until high school, when her once proud reputation suffered a crushing defeat.

“Who did you provoke this time?” Song Encheng asked. “The campus forum has been all over you these past couple of days…”

“What are they saying about me?”

He hesitated. “Nothing good, anyway.”

Li Shuangjie snatched the phone from him. “Let me see.”

[Doesn’t anyone find that girl in Class 11 really annoying?]

[Anonymous User 1]: Who is it? Decode, please!

[Anonymous User 2]: I know who it is…

[Anonymous User 3]: Even some in our class agree.

[Anonymous User 1]: You two upstairs! Stop being riddlers and just tell us! Everyone knows except me? Who is it?!

[Anonymous User 3]: Haha, who else? Obviously our grade’s top student. Who in Grade One doesn’t know her? Always so arrogant and overbearing.

[Anonymous User 2]: It really is her. I heard she has a strange temper, always picking fights with some boys in her class, relying on her good grades.

[Anonymous User 3]: Not just fights. She’s violent, loves slapping people. People like her belong in a psychiatric hospital.

[Anonymous User 11]: @Anonymous User 3, is it necessary to be so vicious? Could it be you’re the one she slapped? With your habit of whispering behind people’s backs, you deserve it. If you’re so brave, why not turn off anonymity?

Li Shuangjie: “Who’s this? Helping me out?”

Clicking on the profile, she realized it was Song Encheng himself.

Song Encheng scratched his head. “I’m just trying to control the comments for you.”

He took back the phone. “Alright, stop reading now.”

There wasn’t much else to see. Later, some Class 11 students posted the entire incident of Li Shuangjie slapping Zhao Ze, which derailed the thread. People argued whether boys watching erotic manga was wrong—opinions were divided. Girls saw it as indecent, boys thought it trivial. The boys of Class 17 had a unified stance:

“Just looking, who in the grade doesn’t?”

Some even countered in kind:

“Don’t you girls read fan fiction?”

The girls, embarrassed and angry, retorted, “At least we don’t read such explicit stuff in class! And who knows what Zhao Ze imagines while watching? What if he associates it with something else? Our fan fiction is just harmless shipping… it’s not like we bring it into reality!”

“Then boys watching erotic manga must always bring it into reality? Isn’t that a bit naïve? In Japanese manga, girls all have tiny waists, long legs, flawless skin, and no acne. Where is that in real life? We all like fictional characters, so why judge who’s better or worse?”

“You guys…” The girls were so furious they were speechless.

At that moment, someone chuckled lightly.

“You say boys don’t bring it into reality?”

Li Shuangjie calmly stared at the speaker.

“If you have the guts, don’t lie.”

The words stunned the boys.

“Don’t hide under the blanket at night…”

She sneered coldly.

“Masturbate. Huh.”

The classroom fell utterly silent.

“Hmph, if you don’t have the guts, how dare you say you don’t bring it into reality? Some guys only have a tough mouth.”

She dissected the truth effortlessly.

“Or are your body and mind disconnected? Spiritually pure, but physically vulgar?”

“…Li Shuangjie!” Zhao Ze couldn’t hold back. “Don’t go too far! Must you attack people personally?”

“Are you the only one who must take it personally?” Li Shuangjie smiled flawlessly. “Did I name you? Or are you the type I just described, so you’re triggered? Could it be you’re the one cursing me on the forum?”

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“You—stop slandering me!” Zhao Ze panicked for a moment but quickly composed himself amid the familiar boys around him and counterattacked Li Shuangjie.

“Is that what you think? Sitting in the same classroom, do you girls really think we boys are that vulgar?”

His statement was too absolute.

The girls retorted, “Not all of us think that…”

“Then it’s just Li Shuangjie thinking so?”

Li Shuangjie knew exactly what game Zhao Ze was playing. Riding on his current popularity in class and having some female allies to speak for him, he was pushing her to the opposition’s side. The girls didn’t see his true nature, but it wasn’t their fault—Zhao Ze was a master of disguise… Still, she couldn’t be sure the forum’s slanderer was him. Li Shuangjie had to tread carefully.

But she hadn’t expected to lose to Zhao Ze by twenty votes—the votes in her favor were only five.

For someone as proud as Li Shuangjie, the only office she had ever run for was class monitor. This was the first time she tasted failure, and it was like a raging fire burning her heart!

She had been naive.

She overlooked a crucial factor.

Song Encheng.

Her childhood friend, who had been in the same class with her since elementary school, seamlessly advancing together through middle school. Song Encheng was handsome and well-built, not very smart but highly emotionally intelligent. Among boys, he was popular and could easily win the hearts of his peers.

In other words, Li Shuangjie’s smooth path was inseparable from Song Encheng’s strong support. He was the legendary “man behind Li Shuangjie.”

But the high school class division system separated them, and his charisma lost its effect. Distant water wouldn’t quench the immediate thirst. Although he tried hard to campaign for Li Shuangjie, he couldn’t outmatch Zhao Ze’s cunning, who not only garnered votes from boys but also from girls.

Yes.

Zhao Ze even had a girlfriend.

His girlfriend had transferred from the liberal arts class. Her name was Tang Xin, the discipline committee member. Tang Xin had little interaction with Li Shuangjie but got along well with Xia Ya, often going to the restroom or fetching water together. Tang Xin helped Zhao Ze campaign but knew Xia Ya secretly voted for Li Shuangjie.

She asked, “Are you close to Li Shuangjie?”

Xia Ya shook her head. “I don’t know her.”

“Then why did you vote for her?” Tang Xin was a bit hurt. “I guaranteed all my friends would vote for Zhao Ze, but you…”

Xia Ya said Li Shuangjie was a good person. “You must be joking, given how badly she insulted Zhao Ze…”

“Your opinion is biased because you’re Zhao Ze’s girlfriend,” Xia Ya said softly. “From an ordinary girl’s perspective, I think Li Shuangjie has a point. Even if her words were harsh, she’s fighting for us. We have no reason to criticize her.”

“…Alright.” Tang Xin was dismissive.

Because of her boyfriend, she had a very poor impression of Li Shuangjie.

She wouldn’t have guessed that next class election, she would decisively vote for Li Shuangjie.

At present, though, Li Shuangjie was only a minor sports committee member with a title but little real power. Not that sports committee members usually had little authority, but she was once the class monitor. The ascent is glorious, but the descent somewhat embarrassing. With Zhao Ze holding great power, there were many opportunities to undermine her. For example, during the first class officers’ meeting, no one even told Li Shuangjie.

It was the homeroom teacher who later reproached her.

“Why didn’t you come to the meeting?”

Li Shuangjie said she didn’t know.

“Didn’t I tell the class monitor to notify everyone?” Zhou Li frowned. “Didn’t Zhao Ze tell you? None of the other officers? Also, attendance during recess has been low lately, and some skip PE. These have been reported to me.”

Li Shuangjie fell silent.

Those people were all favored by Zhao Ze. If you were close to him, you could skip exercises and PE classes. With the class monitor so indulgent, if the sports committee member reported to the teacher, it would offend many.

Li Shuangjie couldn’t do that.

She couldn’t lose her classmates’ support.

She still had a comeback to make—a brilliant, stylish, and graceful comeback! More than anyone, she wanted Zhao Ze out. That throne was hers! It was always her rightful seat!

She calmly accepted the criticism and promised to improve.

In truth, she did the opposite.

She feigned ignorance of Zhao Ze’s favoritism.

Li Shuangjie hated Zhao Ze and those who elected him, but she wasn’t a fool. Only a fool would give up because of a bad start. Zhao Ze wanted to intimidate her into quitting the fight for class leadership.

Absurd!

How could she be defeated by such a petty scoundrel?

Li Shuangjie’s motto was endurance.

The day she resumed her role as class monitor was coming.

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All traitors must perish!

On the surface, Li Shuangjie gave up. After all, she was the top student and had no time to squabble with Zhao Ze. She quietly remained a lone figure. If she couldn’t rally people for exercises, she wouldn’t. If a dozen skipped PE, she wouldn’t note it. Zhao Ze was still class monitor, so why should she worry? This time, not only Li Shuangjie was reprimanded; homeroom teacher Zhou Li realized the leadership team had problems and called them out one by one.

The hygiene committee member was the most furious.

“Zhao Ze! Why is it that when you mess up, the teacher scolds the rest of us? Whenever it’s the boys’ turn to clean, they all run off! Can you stop being so lazy? On Thursday’s big cleaning, when it’s time to move desks, you guys just go play ball in groups!”

Zhao Ze shrugged. “There are others moving desks.”

“But it can’t always be the same few!”

Zhao Ze was carefree, always going to play ball during cleaning, often dragging his girlfriend Tang Xin to stroll the playground. He left the diligent boys to move desks. If those boys were willing, it was understandable, but tolerance turned into exploitation.

“I’m not moving desks this time!” one boy declared.

“Why does it have to be me every time?” another complained.

Zhao Ze grew frustrated. “You two…”

A cold voice interrupted.

Li Shuangjie stepped forward. “I’m strong; I can help. As sports committee member, it’s my duty. Also,” she glanced sideways at Zhao Ze’s angry gaze, “aren’t you going to play ball? You and Tang Xin can hand over your cleaning duty to me.”

“How come...” he looked at her suspiciously.

“I was wrong before,” Li Shuangjie said obediently. “Next week is re-election of class officers. I hope you, as class monitor, will forgive and help me campaign for sports committee.”

Zhao Ze thought, that’s more like it. Even the most stubborn girl can be swayed.

“Alright,” he said, examining Li Shuangjie anew.

Sigh, she was pretty—just liked slapping people.

If he and Tang Xin broke up…

Maybe he’d consider her.

What Zhao Ze could never foresee was that within hours, he would curse the day he trusted Li Shuangjie. But he could not glimpse the future, just as he did not know what a cunning and ruthless woman she truly was.

The next day at school, he saw a crowd blocking the classroom door, unwilling to enter, covering their noses with complicated expressions. Something felt wrong. As he pushed through, the first thing he smelled was the stench of feces.

Yes.

The punishment.

Zhou Li arrived, face ashen. “Today is the student council’s hygiene inspection day! Who was on duty yesterday? How did you smear feces everywhere?”

Zhao Ze immediately knew he had been set up.

He looked at Li Shuangjie in the crowd. “You!”

“What are you looking at me for?” Li Shuangjie feigned innocence.

“Wasn’t it your turn as class monitor to do duty?”

“Or did the class monitor skip it altogether?”

She feigned realization. “Or did you poop in class?”

“Li Shuangjie!!” Zhao Ze was furious, ready to explode.

He looked around, then suddenly grabbed Xia Ya.

“By the way, Xia Ya! You’re the key holder, right? You left after the last evening self-study. Did you see anything? It must have been Li Shuangjie!”

Xia Ya had indeed seen.

The night before, Li Shuangjie borrowed the classroom key from her, using the excuse of doing duty. Xia Ya hadn’t said anything and left with her backpack but didn’t go far. Instead, she returned upstairs and hid behind a pillar on the fifth floor, silently and devoutly watching Li Shuangjie’s “masterpiece.”

Her heart pounded.

Xia Ya was not a liar.

This was even her first lie.

Her upbringing was strict. Her parents had served as officials for decades, and their most frequent advice was to be upright and transparent, to keep one’s conscience clear, and never do anything against one’s will. Xia Ya knew this wasn’t fair, but she did not act against her conscience; she believed she was following her ideal of justice.

At this moment, she clasped one hand behind her back, fingertips pressing against a trembling wrist. The first lie, like the first time seeing someone do something wrong, was thrilling and strange, filled with unstable courage and fearlessness. She couldn’t look at Li Shuangjie, though she cared deeply.

Xia Ya cleared her sweet, soft throat:

“I didn’t see anything.”