Chapter 362: Chapter 362

Mr. Zhang never imagined that his smooth-sailing life would encounter a massive setback after bumping into Sun Bangyu.

He had almost been strangled to death by her, and now she was bowing to him like she was paying respects to the dead—this only infuriated Mr. Zhang even more.

Even though he always maintained the persona of a refined and knowledgeable scholar in front of the trainees, at this moment, he couldn’t stop himself from swearing: "Classmate Sun, if you want to kill me, just say it! How dare you commit violence in front of everyone!"

In response to Mr. Zhang’s questioning, Sun Bangyu showed no intention of explaining herself. Other than bowing and more bowing, she didn’t even utter an apology.

Sang Ning was truly astonished by Sun Bangyu. This girl’s state could only be described as theater-possessed. When acting, she was like a madwoman; when not acting, she faded into the background like a ghost, so irrelevant she might as well not exist.

"Mr. Zhang, Classmate Sun has already apologized and admitted fault. How about we let this matter go? She was just too deep into the role, lost control for a moment. We’ll guide her properly this afternoon, and it shouldn’t be a big issue," Sang Ning tried to mediate.

Sun Bangyu struggled to get out even one sentence, and with Mr. Zhang clearly in a bad mood, Sang Ning had to step in as Sun Bangyu’s temporary spokesperson, apologizing and owning up on her behalf.

Sun Bangyu raised her head and cast Sang Ning a grateful glance, but the moment their eyes met, she anxiously turned her face away and began bowing incessantly again.

"You... you..." Mr. Zhang pointed at Sun Bangyu’s head, his words stuck in his throat.

In the end, he simply spat out: "You’re even crazier than Sang Ning when you’re in-character. If you can’t distinguish between reality and acting, then I suggest you leave this training camp early. Plenty of people are vying for this role!"

It was evident that Mr. Zhang was genuinely furious.

Being nearly killed by your own student—who wouldn’t be livid?

Sun Bangyu’s bowing visibly slowed down; Sang Ning could feel that she was now genuinely afraid, afraid of being kicked out of the group.

"Mr. Zhang, don’t worry. Later, we’ll make sure to work on Classmate Sun’s mindset properly. We guarantee that nothing will happen again," Sang Ning vouched for her.

But Mr. Zhang was clearly too angry to entertain Sang Ning. He simply waved toward the trainees below the stage, visibly exhausted, and said, "That’s it for today’s acting class. I hope all of you take this as a lesson and strive to find the balance between acting and reality in your hearts."

On the way back after class.

A few trainees who weren’t part of the main cast deliberately paused as they walked past Sun Bangyu to size her up.

"Look at her, would you? That weakling looks nothing like someone with any fighting power."

"Seriously, compared to how fierce she was when almost killing Mr. Zhang earlier, it’s like night and day."

"Guess you can’t judge people by appearances—there’s no measuring a lunatic with your eyes."

On the return journey, the four girls from the dorm walked together.

Don’t be fooled by Sun Bangyu’s ferocity during class; privately, she was just a pitiful thing who wouldn’t retaliate against insults or fight back at hits.

Facing the boys’ malicious mockery, Sun Bangyu simply buried her head lower, pretending not to hear.

Initially, Sang Ning considered teaching those mouthy guys a lesson, but Wei Lejun beat her to it: "Scram, scram, get lost! Don’t block my view or I’ll rip you apart! Forget Sun Bangyu not hitting you—I might just shred you myself!"

Wei Lejun’s tone was fierce, and combined with her naturally striking appearance, her words carried some real intimidation.

The boys hadn’t expected anyone to stand up for Sun Bangyu, and after getting humiliated, they quickly quickened their pace to leave.

Even as they walked away, they couldn’t resist muttering grievances.

"The girls’ dorm here at the training camp is cursed. Why is every girl more feral than the last? Not an ounce of femininity, like gender-swapped versions of dudes."

"Eh, don’t bother. Even Huang Chengzi alone could crush you one-and-a-half times over, let alone the battle monster Sang Ning. They’re troublemakers we’re better off avoiding." Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝕟𝕖𝕥

After the boys had all left, Wei Lejun stopped, grabbed Sun Bangyu by the collar, and forcibly turned her head straight.

"This is so annoying! You were so fierce when you attacked the teacher earlier, but now you can’t even walk with your head up? Come on, try behaving like a normal human being! If you keep this up, you’ll turn into a gloomy psychopath!"

Wei Lejun had long been fed up with Sun Bangyu’s behavior. She rarely spoke, and back at the dorm, she was like a lifeless corpse standing there, giving others the creeps.

If Sun Bangyu could speak and act like a normal person, then she ought to display that normalcy and stop walking around with her forever-dismal face, spreading bad vibes everywhere.

Getting yelled at, Sun Bangyu stood there stunned for a while before awkwardly squeezing out a rare "Sorry."

Wei Lejun shot her a glance, unimpressed: "See? You can talk outside of acting too. Stop pretending to be some underworld ghost!"

After being berated, Sun Bangyu hung her head so low she couldn’t lift it again, while the instigator folded her arms and strode forward with an aggressive demeanor.

Huang Chengzi gently patted Sun Bangyu’s shoulder and consoled her: "Xiao Yu, don’t take it to heart. You know how Lejun is, like a walking firecracker. She doesn’t mean any harm."

Sun Bangyu nodded, expressing gratitude toward Huang Chengzi.

Yet, except for performances, making eye contact with others was an added burden for Sun Bangyu.

Even if she wanted to exchange a genuine look of thanks with Huang Chengzi, she couldn’t manage it.

Finally, Sun Bangyu pulled out her treasured pocket notebook, flipped to a specific page, and held it up to Sang Ning.

On that page, the words "Thank you" were written. Judging by the wear and tear on the paper, Sang Ning could tell this page had been flipped to countless times, practically a semi-permanent apology note.

After expressing her thanks and preparing to close the notebook and tuck it back into her pocket, Sang Ning seized her wrist and snatched the notebook away.

Sun Bangyu’s eyes instantly filled with panic, and in an unguarded moment, their gaze clashed with Sang Ning’s sharp and piercing stare.

When Sun Bangyu instinctively tried to evade, Sang Ning pinched her chin with two fingers, forcing her to look up at her: "Your handwritten ’thank you’ won’t cut it. Here’s your chance—say ’thank you’ to me out loud."

Deep down, Sun Bangyu resisted being forced; she wanted to shake her head, but Sang Ning’s other hand firmly locked her head still.

Sang Ning’s face darkened, her tone cold and harsh: "You opened your mouth to apologize to Wei Lejun, but it’s impossible to thank me out loud? What’s this supposed to mean? Do you think I’m less intimidating than Wei Lejun, so you can just push me around?"

Sang Ning deliberately phrased it this way to provoke Sun Bangyu into speaking.

Sun Bangyu didn’t actually have any issue communicating normally; the real issue was her closed-off heart, her refusal to connect with other people.