When they were bullying Qin Jiaxi earlier, they felt no shame. But now, faced with the consequences, humiliation surged through them.

Some of the bullies wanted to resist—they couldn’t accept being treated this way.

But Qin Chao coldly added, “Damaging someone else’s property and collectively bullying another student? I believe we can discuss with the school the possibility of your expulsion. I advise you to act sensibly. This is your chance to minimize the damage. If you continue resisting, we won’t be so kind later.”

The boy who had been cowering in the fountain under Qin Chao’s intimidating glare couldn’t hold out any longer. “Why aren’t you all getting in here already? It’s clear we falsely accused her! I don’t want to get dragged down further. If this reaches the school…”

Hearing his words, the others finally broke.

Their earlier audacity in bullying Qin Jiaxi stemmed from the belief that no one would stand up for her. After all, Su Ze, her boyfriend, was seen as her only protector, and even he hadn’t intervened before. But now, Su Ze was thoroughly outmatched, and the people supporting Jiaxi appeared to have significant backing—even Qin Yi was on their side.

Still misunderstanding the full situation, they thought this might be a case of internal disputes within the Qin family, or perhaps the powerful siding with reason over favoritism. Whatever the case, they knew they couldn’t afford to escalate things.