Chapter 97 Li Leshan, are you crazy? "Why—can't I protect…"

"Where are you going?" Cao Fan asked nervously, afraid that Jiang Yueming would disappear from his sight. "Where are you going after school?"

He was entrusted with an important task, and Lao Liu told him that Jiang Yueming's attitude in admitting his mistake was very poor, almost as if he hadn't admitted it at all. If it weren't for the strong support from above (actually, it was Lao Liu who strongly supported him), he would definitely have had to go home to reflect on his actions this time, and might even have been placed on probation at the school.

So Lao Liu told him to keep an eye on Jiang Yueming and make sure he didn't cause any more trouble. Fortunately, the boy's checkup didn't reveal any major problems, just that he was photographed.

“Go home? Where else can I go?” Jiang Yueming said irritably. Shi Gao wanted to go but couldn’t, because Li Leshan had told him not to go.

“Oh,” Cao Fan quickly replied, “Oh, okay then.”

He really wanted to go home obediently; he didn't have the time to go back to the school gate and wait for that idiot from earlier that day, even though Jiang Yueming wouldn't mind giving him another beating. Just thinking about that guy made him feel annoyed, prickly and unhappy.

Jiang Yueming, carrying his schoolbag, was the subject of gossip as he walked. Although the voices were soft, they all reached his ears. He figured the whole school had probably seen him fight during the day, so gossip was inevitable. Since Jiang Yueming dared to fight, he wasn't afraid of the gossip. He was willing to take responsibility for his actions.

My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket.

Jiang Yueming took it out to look at the information.

Li Leshan: I'm at the gate of your school.

Lele?!

Jiang Yueming's eyes widened slightly. He cleared his throat and quickly put his phone in his pocket. While running, he straightened his school uniform collar, slowing down as he approached the school gate to tidy his bangs.

After all, it's a date, so your hairstyle can't be messed up.

I don't know why, but I feel a little nervous.

"Lele!" Jiang Yueming looked around. The blue uniform of Shishi High School stood out among the uniform red uniforms. He could spot her at a glance. He didn't care about anything else and rushed to Li Leshan, his tone still a little excited.

"What brings you here?" Jiang Yueming asked with a smile.

Li Leshan's expression remained unchanged; there was no joy in his eyes, clearly indicating that he wasn't there because he missed him. His cold gaze fixed on Jiang Yueming sent a chill down Jiang Yueming's spine.

"The fight during the day, right?" Jiang Yueming forced a smile, but his heart sank instantly. "I knew it... you've hardly ever been to the Three Highs."

"Just for this?" Jiang Yueming asked, as if it were a trivial matter. In fact, Jiang Yueming didn't care much about it; he had already started the fight, but he hadn't expected Li Leshan to make a special trip for him.

That idiot, he seems to have a lot of face, huh?

"Just for this?" Li Leshan frowned. "Why did you fight?"

“I don’t like him.” Jiang Yueming wanted to come up with an excuse, but looking at Li Leshan, she knew he wouldn’t believe her, so she could only say, “Actually, you know everything, right? You even know about this matter, and you’ve heard about the details, right?”

For example, what did the man say?

For example, she was standing up for him.

Li Leshan remained silent for a while.

Jiang Yueming gave in, her tone softening a bit, "Okay, I know what you're going to say. Lele, I was wrong, I promise I won't hit you again next time, okay? Look, he hit me too."

Jiang Yueming's tone was pitiful, and she finally managed to find a small bruise on her hand. Strictly speaking, it was because she accidentally punched the ground and missed when she was beating that idiot. After all, that bastard was far from being able to hit Jiang Yueming.

“He said it,” Li Leshan gestured, his expression somewhat serious. “Can’t you just pretend you didn’t hear it?”

"What?" Jiang Yueming understood what Li Leshan said. He took a step back, puzzled. "Why should I pretend I didn't hear anything?! He said that to you, and you're telling me to just put up with it?"

"Yes, you can endure it." Jiang Yueming gritted her teeth, suppressing her anger. "You can swallow your grievances, but I can't! I can't swallow your grievances!"

He could tolerate that idiot talking about Jiang Yueming himself. But he just couldn't stand it when people talked about Li Leshan like that!

"Why don't you understand how I feel?" Jiang Yueming's voice trembled. "Why are you joining them in criticizing me? Wasn't I standing up for you? Wasn't I doing this for your own good?"

He just didn't understand, he just couldn't comprehend why no one was on his side. Why wasn't even Li Leshan on his side?!

“Stand up for me,” Li Leshan repeated his words, nudging Jiang Yueming’s shoulder. “Did I ever tell you not to stand up for me?”

"Did I ever tell you not to stand in front of me?!" Li Leshan's eyes reddened.

Jiang Yueming felt his breath catch in his throat, almost unable to breathe. He didn't know what he had done wrong. Had he done something wrong? He had fought, but that guy deserved it! He hadn't told Li Leshan, but the news had still reached his ears! Was all his anger simply because he had stood up for him?!

“But I…” Jiang Yueming felt a little wronged, “I just wanted to protect you…”

"No need!" Li Leshan signed rapidly. "You can't protect me forever!"

"Why can't I?!" Jiang Yueming shouted with almost all her might, "Why can't I protect you for the rest of my life!"

“Is a lifetime long? How long is it? Why can’t I protect you for a lifetime?” Jiang Yueming’s eyes reddened, and her voice choked with sobs.

Why couldn't he protect Li Leshan for the rest of his life? Even when he didn't understand what love was, when he was so young, even when he didn't understand anything, he knew that he would protect Li Leshan in the future.

So he overcame his fear of the dark and desperately wanted to study and go to school with Li Leshan!

If this protection had a time limit, even if twelve-year-old Jiang Yueming were standing here today, he would answer without hesitation: a lifetime. He would protect Li Leshan for a lifetime!

"You... never thought about spending your whole life with me?" Jiang Yueming's smile was somewhat forced; he didn't even realize he was smiling at that moment.

"No, that's not it!" Li Leshan quickly explained. "I didn't mean that!"

He pressed his hand on Jiang Yueming's shoulder with a slight tremor, then gently pressed his forehead against Jiang Yueming's chest.

They were so close that Jiang Yueming could feel Li Leshan's body trembling slightly.

Jiang Yueming's heart tightened. He looked at Li Leshan with a worried expression, only to see the man raise his hand.

“I don’t care… I don’t care what others say.” Li Leshan’s hands trembled slightly. He had heard enough of this over the years; he had become numb and rigid. If he cared about what others said about him, he would have to worry about these words every day. He couldn’t keep up with them, and he wouldn’t have lived to this day.

"But I care!" Jiang Yueming looked at the weariness in Li Leshan's eyes and felt as if a piece of her heart was missing.

A dull pain suddenly flashed in Li Leshan's eyes. He was silent for a moment, then closed his eyes, as if he had made up his mind.

"Go and apologize to him."

"A settlement can lead to the removal of the punishment."

Jiang Yueming wished he were blind. That way he wouldn't be able to see what Li Leshan was doing in sign language, and he wouldn't know what Li Leshan was saying. But he wasn't blind; he saw it clearly and understood it perfectly.

"You...you want me to go apologize to him?" Jiang Yueming scoffed, somewhat amused by his own anger.

Li Leshan nodded.

"Li Leshan," Jiang Yueming hadn't called him by his full name in a long time. He was used to calling him Lele, so he was a little unaccustomed to the fact that he would call him "Li Leshan" so directly. "Are you crazy?"

Upon hearing this address, Li Leshan trembled slightly. He stood there with his head down for a moment, then raised his hand without hesitation, "Then I'll go find it."

Watching the boy's tall but somewhat thin back, Jiang Yueming stood there for a long while. He felt his heart pounding so hard it was about to burst out of his chest; anger, resentment, confusion—a whole host of emotions surged through his mind, almost threatening to engulf him. He had no energy left to think about what to do next.

But should Li Leshan go and apologize to the person who bullied him and spoke ill of him?

Absolutely not!

His body reacted before his brain. Jiang Yueming quickly caught up with Li Leshan, grabbed Li Leshan's wrist, gritted his teeth, and spoke with resentment and anger, but he finally gave in to Li Leshan, "Okay... I understand."

Li Leshan turned to look at him, and his gaze pierced Jiang Yueming's heart, causing him intense pain—a mixture of heartache, helplessness, exhaustion, and an indescribable agony. Seeing Li Leshan's expression, he felt utterly helpless.

He suddenly hugged Li Leshan tightly, burying his head in the crook of his shoulder, his voice muffled, seemingly tinged with suppressed sobs, "I'm sorry... I didn't... I didn't listen to you. I clearly said I would listen."

“Lele, I really,” Jiang Yueming’s voice broke, her heart feeling like it was shattering, “I didn’t mean to make you sad, and I didn’t mean to make you angry. I just didn’t want anyone to bully you. You’re so good, why do they have the right to bully you? I hate them, I hate your father the most, I hate him so much I feel like I’m dying, I hate him so much I don’t know what to do… My heart really hurts so much. I will endure it, I will be obedient, I won’t go to him.”

"I will do even better, I..."

He felt a sharp pain in his throat; the words were stuck in his throat, he couldn't swallow them or spit them out, they were sore and painful.

In a daze, Li Leshan gently pushed him away a little.

The next second, Li Leshan lowered his head.

The kiss was wet and salty, mixed with the taste of tears. It came without warning, awkwardly, stiffly, and even with a slight stinging pain.

Jiang Yueming's mind went blank. He could clearly feel the trembling on Li Leshan's lips and smell the faint scent of soap on him. The kiss was like a branding iron, leaving a painful mark on his heart.

The world was silent, save for the frantic pounding of my heart in my chest, a sharp, throbbing pain. Each pound was intense and persistent.

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Author's Note: Our Yueming is just a little puppy who only listens to Lele [poor thing]