Song Qingchun closed her eyes and gritted her teeth to brace for impact. She felt the force of the wind on her left cheek, and it was quickly followed by a resounding slap.
The crisp sound was unusually sharp and jarring in the quiet bathroom. Song Qingchun's heart practically stopped beating when she heard the sound.
She stood there in shock for half a minute with her eyes closed before she instinctually reached for her left face. In her life, she couldn't even remember three times when she had been given a stern lecture, much less physical altercation. However, she was thus slapped in the face by Tang Nuan.
Her face stung from the sound alone…
An indescribable feeling of anger and humiliation coursed through Song Qingchun's body from the top of her head to the sole of her feet. Her chest rose and fell from heavy breathing. Her eyes whipped open and with fury burning in her eyes; she lifted her hand and aimed it at Tang Nuan's face to counter attack. "Tang Nuan, you…"
Before Song Qingchun finished cursing, her whole body froze like this was a video and someone had hit the pause button.
She stared directly at Tang Nuan, who also appeared to be in shock. After a while, she blinked continuously and squinted to make sure she wasn't mistaken. With confusion and awe, she turned around to look in the mirror.
Song Qingchun lowered the hand that covered her left face to reveal a perfectly fair and clean cheek. Most importantly, it was free from the sign of being hit, while Tang Nuan, who stood beside her, had a clear print of a five-fingered palm on her right cheek. She probably used the strength of her whole body to deliver that slap, and it clearly showed from the palm print that was starting to bruise.
Song Qingchun's widened eyes flitted between her own face and Tang Nuan's through the mirror alternatively. After many such back and forth, her brain was finally starting to churn.
Who can tell me what just happened? Wasn't Tang Nuan coming for me? How come the slap is on her face and not mine? Am I dreaming?
Song Qingchun could not help but use her hand to rub her left face. She did not feel any pain, and this meant that she really wasn't attacked.
There was no one else in the bathroom, and she was certain she did not have the time to counter earlier, so… the slap on Tang Nuan's face came from Tang Nuan herself?
But even if she was suddenly afraid that her slap on Song Qingchun's face might land her in hot waters and wanted to stop, there was no reason for her to slap herself, right?
Furthermore, Song Qingchun was certain no one was going to say anything even if Tang Nuan really did assault her.
Just how addled must her mind have been to switch the direction of her powerful slap mid-motion and direct it at her own face instead?
Could it be that Tang Nuan is mentally ill? But she looks so normal… Or this is what they mean by 'karma is always watching'?
Many different thoughts crossed Song Qingchun's mind, but none of them could help her understand why Tang Nuan would slap herself when she was obviously in the middle of slapping her.
Tang Nuan stood there for about two minutes before raising her hand to touch her own face. As she did so, a gut-wrenching pain shot through her body, and her face winced involuntarily as she turned to face the mirror.