CHAPTER 274: CHAPTER 205: BULLIED? EXPLOSIVE YOUNG AUNT

As for Xu Ruyan, Chu Tian had to admit he genuinely didn’t know much about her, beyond having seen her old photos and witnessed her talking to Xu Qingqiu on the phone. In reality, he had never actually met her, but he was very clear on Xu Ruyan’s importance to Xu Qingqiu. Outsiders could never imagine how much Xu Qingqiu, who had been unable to return home for many years, cherished her family. But ever since Chu Tian had been with her, he knew that whenever Xu Qingqiu had free time, she would either be on her phone chatting with Xu Ruyan or secretly looking at her photos, giggling to herself. Of course, what she paid most attention to were Xu Ruyan’s social media updates; whenever a new post appeared, she was definitely the first to ’like’ it.

Hearing Xu Qingqiu’s anxious voice on the phone, Chu Tian couldn’t help but feel nervous.

"What’s wrong?"

Chu Tian ran over, gasping for air. Setting his things down, he asked worriedly.

Li Chunhua and Yiyi looked equally concerned as they watched him. However, neither of them knew what had happened. They shook their heads in unison and then turned their gazes towards Xu Qingqiu.

Hearing Chu Tian’s voice, Xu Qingqiu continued to listen to the call while silently placing her hand into Chu Tian’s. Feeling the sweat in his palm, she looked up at him apologetically and squeezed his hand tightly.

"You’re really okay?"

"Oh, Sis, I’m really fine! Didn’t I just tell you? It was just an accident!"

"What kind of accident leaves you bruised like that? You think I can’t tell?"

"I really just fell, Sis. Why don’t you believe me?"

"How can I believe you? Can a fall scrape your face and give you a black eye? Are you at school right now?"

"I am. But don’t come over, okay? I already said I’m fine. There’s no need for such a fuss."

"Fine, I won’t talk to you anymore. I have to go to the library. We’ll talk later."

Faintly hearing the voice on the other end of the call and Xu Qingqiu’s side of the conversation, Chu Tian’s expression slowly turned from serious to puzzled.

"Didn’t you say something happened? She sounds fine to me," Chu Tian asked in surprise after Xu Qingqiu abruptly hung up.

Xu Qingqiu, her eyes welling with tears and her voice choked with sobs, said, "She’s definitely pretending! I’ll show you her photo. She’s covered in injuries! I think she’s being bullied!"

Saying this, she opened Weibo on her phone, found an account she followed, and then noticed the posts had stopped last month.

"Huh? Where did it go? That girl must have deleted it!"

Xu Qingqiu gnashed her teeth, exited Weibo, then opened her photo gallery, mumbling, "Luckily, I saved one. Look, this one. Her arm is bruised so badly, it hurts me just to look at it!"

Chu Tian carefully examined the photo. It showed a delicate, fair arm, unfortunately marred by a bluish-purple bruise over ten centimeters long. There were also streaks where blood had dried and scabbed over.

"This does look like it could be from a fall. How do you know she’s being bullied? Are there more photos?"

"No, but when we were video chatting just now, she accidentally answered with her camera on. I immediately saw injuries on her face, and her eye sockets were bruised. If that’s not from being hit, what else could it be?"

Hearing her say this, Chu Tian suddenly felt it made sense. While bruises and scrapes from falls were indeed common, he had never heard of someone getting black eyes from a fall.

"Is she at school now? How about I go take a look?"

Xu Qingqiu didn’t object. If it weren’t for a critical recording session she couldn’t leave, she would have flown back already.

"I’m sorry, Chu Tian, for troubling you again."

"What are you talking about? I’m your boyfriend. Isn’t this what I’m supposed to do?"

As Chu Tian spoke, he gently rested his hand on her shoulder, offering comfort but also stopping her from leaning in.

Xu Qingqiu snapped back to reality. She looked up at Chu Tian, then glanced at the subtle looks from those nearby, a touch of sadness and conflict flashing in her eyes. However, now wasn’t the time to dwell on these emotions; she was more worried about her sister’s situation.

The increasing attention on various troubling incidents at schools meant that parents were also growing increasingly anxious, their sense of unease skyrocketing. It was no wonder Xu Qingqiu was so concerned. The injuries themselves weren’t the main issue—after all, they weren’t so pampered as to be overly fragile. What Xu Qingqiu worried about was whether the underlying issues behind this incident could cause greater psychological damage to her sister. That was the most crucial part.

Watching the two of them, so affectionate yet reluctant to part, Li Chunhua, who had grasped the general situation, sighed helplessly.

"Never mind, I’ll go back. Chu Tian, you stay here and keep Qingqiu company."

Chu Tian refused without a second thought. "No, Sister Hua, you’ve been working hard enough lately, and you have a lot more waiting for you. Let me go. I’m not busy anyway."

"Besides, if someone really is bullying her, my presence as a man would be more intimidating."

Since he put it that way, Li Chunhua didn’t insist further. In such situations, a man’s intervention indeed carried more weight.

Then, he looked down at Xu Qingqiu and said, "As for the two of us, we have all the time in the world. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Giving Xu Qingqiu a comforting look, Chu Tian took the fruit he had just bought and handed it to Yiyi. "I just bought these. Find a place to wash them before you eat. Remember to save some for Qingqiu; don’t eat them all, got it?"