B5SB -Chapter 35 Disfigurement

It was 10 PM. Gu Yihan wore a pair of 10 cm platform heels.

She put on a black tracksuit. At her natural height of 165 cm, she now looked more like a tall young man.

Once disguised, she grabbed a flashlight and arrived early at the agreed-upon spot. She tossed 200 jin of corn cobs from her spatial storage, waiting for the others to arrive.

She was alone, and the night wind was a little eerie, whistling through the streets. Her heart pounded as she kept repeating to herself: there are no ghosts, believe in science.

The sparse noises around her made her even more nervous. She thought maybe she shouldn’t go through with this.

“Little girl.” Gu Yihan recognized the voice of the woman from the scrap station. She shone her flashlight at the figure to make sure.

She exhaled, pressed her hat down firmly, lowered her head, and said in a steady voice, “Auntie?”

The scrap station woman, hearing a young boy’s voice, asked, “Who is this?”

Gu Yihan deliberately lowered her voice: “Auntie, that’s my sister. It’s too late to let her come out. Here are 200 jin of corn cobs.”

The woman tested the corn with her hand and said, “Yes, the quality is very good.”

She stepped out of the dilapidated doorway and whispered, “Come inside, the food is fine.”

Gu Yihan watched as three young men entered the house, each carrying two loads of coal. The woman handed Gu Yihan a coal stove.

Gu Yihan immediately directed them: “Put it here first. Our family is waiting at the alley entrance; they’ll come to carry it soon.”

The woman hurriedly said, “Put the coal down quickly, carry the food away. It’s late; let’s get back.”

She also worried that Gu Yihan’s group might take advantage of the unfamiliar area.

The young men efficiently moved the coal out and carried the food away at speed.

Once they left, Gu Yihan quickly stored the coal back in her spatial storage and cautiously looked around.

No one was there. She ran as fast as she could, heart racing, constantly feeling like someone was following her.

When she finally got home, she locked the door, entered the room, turned on the light, and collapsed onto the bed. She was terrified. Ever since her transmigration, she had become increasingly superstitious.

She insisted on sleeping with the lights on—it was the only way she could feel safe.

Time flew. Over the past six months, Gu Yihan had become busier than ever—submitting articles for money, studying third-year vocational school subjects in advance.

Finally, she carved out some free time around noon to rest in the dormitory.

As she was about to push open the dorm door, she was startled by An Ruo’s sharp voice.

An Ruo was crying and yelling, “An Duo, you shameless woman! Even if all the men in the world died, you had to steal my fiancé?”

An Duo sobbed softly, looking wronged: “Brother Jinghe and I love each other. You and him are just an arranged marriage!”

An Ruo pointed at An Duo’s nose: “Shameless! Brother Jinghe is avoiding you, can’t you see?”

An Duo, red-eyed, looked up and said, “It’s because you keep pursuing him. Your family thinks you’re a good match, so they don’t want to hurt me!”

“We grew up together as childhood sweethearts. How can you claim you love him and he must marry you?”

Disgusted by the sight of An Duo’s face, An Ruo raised her handbag and slammed it hard onto An Duo’s face.

An Duo screamed in agony.

Gu Yihan pushed open the door and saw a long scar slashed across An Duo’s face.

An Duo frantically covered her face with her hands, searching for a mirror. When she saw the scar, she screamed hysterically:

“My face! An Ruo, you ruined my face! May you meet a terrible end!”

Anger surged through An Duo. She slapped An Ruo down, straddled her, and swung a mirror at her face.

An Ruo was terrified, covering her face and dodging, saying, “I didn’t mean it!”

Gu Yihan noticed an iron hairpin stuck in the fallen backpack on the floor.

She immediately shouted to Zhou Tingmei, who was frozen in shock: “What are you standing there for? Pull them apart and take her to the infirmary!”

Zhou Tingmei had been hiding and watching for amusement when the fight began. She hadn’t expected it to get so serious. Hearing Gu Yihan, the two hurried to separate An Duo.

An Duo’s strength was surprisingly great. Gu Yihan and the others struggled to pull her off.

Gu Yihan shook An Duo hard: “An Duo, go to the infirmary now, or it’ll affect your facial injury!”

An Duo’s anger subsided, and with a look of hatred, she stared at the prone An Ruo: “Just wait. I won’t forgive you.”

She shoved Gu Yihan and Zhou Tingmei aside and stormed out of the dorm.

Zhou Tingmei was angry: “What kind of person is that? We just wanted her to go to the infirmary, and she got offended!”

Gu Yihan didn’t even look at An Ruo on the ground. She went straight to her bed and lay down, exhausted. She needed to rest.

From then on, Gu Yihan never went back to the dorm at noon. She only heard from classmates that both An Ruo and An Duo had disciplinary marks on their school records.

An Duo’s face was left severely scarred—disfigured. An Ruo never returned to school after that day. Gu Yihan just listened and didn’t care too much.

For the next month, Gu Yihan spent all her time in the library. By early July 1967, her reporting date at the machinery factory was approaching.

In the library, she noticed it was already 8 PM. Tomorrow was Saturday, so she planned to take her dorm bedding home, since she wouldn’t be staying in the dorm anymore.

Back in the dorm, it felt like the place had bad feng shui. Of the six original residents, only she and Zhou Tingmei remained.

She quickly packed up her bedding. There wasn’t much left anyway. She grabbed her luggage and, as she pulled open the dorm door, Zhou Tingmei at the doorway startled her.

“Not staying anymore?” Zhou Tingmei asked, looking at her luggage.

Gu Yihan didn’t feel like speaking. She nodded, indicating she was leaving. They already knew she had rented a place outside, so no need for explanations.

She left the school quickly. Packing her luggage had taken a little time—it was now 8:30 PM. She hurriedly stored her things in her spatial storage under the cover of night.

She jogged toward the tram station, feeling like someone was following her. When she glanced back, no one was there.

Assuming she was just being paranoid like last time, she slowed her pace. Suddenly, she felt someone tap her on the left shoulder. She turned, and everything went black. She instantly lost consciousness.