An unexpected "helping hand"
The bell rang for Tuesday morning reading a long time ago. Xu Yanchi sat in her seat, her fingertips repeatedly tracing the edge of her textbook. The words on the pages were clear, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the alleyway yesterday—when Xiao Fuzhou stood in front of her, his white shirt sleeves rolled up, the veins on his wrists bulging from the force, and the undeniable authority in his cold eyes as he looked at the thugs. As she thought about it, her cheeks quietly warmed up.
"Yanchi, you don't look too good." Xue Su leaned closer and secretly handed her a cup of hot strawberry milk from her schoolbag. She looked at her cautiously, "Chi Bao, don't worry. If something like this happens again, remember to tell your parents and teachers. Should I talk to the teacher for you after class?" Xu Yanchi pursed her lips, seemingly hesitant. Yesterday, her mother, Song Shi, was busy with work and didn't come home. Xu Yanchi had thought of texting her mother, Song Shi, but put her phone down after thinking about it. She didn't dare to easily tell the teacher; they weren't even from the same school, so what could they do? Should she call the police? But they hadn't physically harmed Xu Yanchi; at most, she'd just get a few words of criticism from the police and be back. After a long while, Xu Yanchi finally found her voice: "No need, they didn't do anything to me." Without waiting for Xue Su's reply, she stood up and walked towards the corridor.
As soon as the bell rang, she walked empty-handed into the corridor, wanting only to feel the cool breeze and clear her chaotic mind. The wind in the corridor carried the coolness of spring, which felt much more comfortable on her burning cheeks. She walked slowly along the wall, her steps light, and the warm breeze made her hair look especially beautiful.
She closed her eyes, savoring this precious moment, seemingly forgetting yesterday's unpleasantness. Completely unaware, a boy emerged from the next classroom. He wore a loose-fitting school uniform, the top two buttons undone, his hair slightly disheveled, wisps of hair obscuring his eyebrows. Xu Yanchi raised her eyes, but instead of quickly looking away like the other students, he stared intently at her face with a hint of inquiry, making her inexplicably flustered. Xu Yanchi quickly averted her gaze, turning to return to the classroom, her steps quickening.
"Hey, wait a minute!" The boy suddenly called out to her, walking quickly over with a silver fountain pen in his hand—the pen cap had a small "wild goose" engraved on it, the very one her mother had given her. "Is this yours? I just picked it up at the bottom of the stairs. You were in such a hurry that you didn't even notice it fell."
Xu Yanchi paused, then checked her pockets; they were empty. She took the pen, her fingertips tracing the familiar engraving, and simply said, "Thank you." Her voice was soft and emotionless.
"It's nothing, I just happened to see you." The boy raised an eyebrow, a faint smile curving his lips. His gaze moved from her hand holding the pen to her face, and he asked with a smile, "What's your name? I was too shy to ask."
Xu Yanchi gripped her pen tightly, her fingers tightening slightly, not intending to answer. But the boy was still looking at her, his eyes filled with expectation. She hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Xu Yanchi." After saying that, she turned her face away and looked towards the end of the corridor.
The boy ignored her coldness, put his hands behind his head, and swayed slightly: "Hey, classmate, don't go. I really like you. Um, let's get to know each other. My name is Wang Zhitao. I'm from Class 8 next door. Want to be friends?" As he spoke, he walked forward on his own, trying to grab Xu Yanchi's arm.
Xu Yanchi hurriedly dodged, but the force caused her to lose her balance and sway towards the ground. Wang Zhitao reached out his hand, looking at Xu Yanchi expectantly, as if offering a hand. Xu Yanchi didn't take his hand, gave him a cold look, dusted herself off, and quickened her pace towards the classroom. She felt a little unhappy. As she reached the door, she vaguely sensed a gaze behind her, but didn't turn around. She went straight back to her seat, put her pen at the bottom of her pencil case, as if she wanted to hide the conversation from her.
Over the next few days, Xu Yanchi kept running into Wang Zhitao at school. When getting food in the cafeteria, he offered to let her go first in line, but she only whispered "No need" and went to another line. When she didn't have enough money for water at the convenience store, he came over to help, but she shook her head and turned away. She sprained her ankle in PE class, and when he tried to help her, she waved him off and walked slowly on her own; in the end, Xue Su had to come and help her. No matter what Wang Zhitao said or did, she remained indifferent, rarely responding, preferring to keep her distance from people she wasn't very familiar with.
On Friday after school, Xu Yanchi remembered Xiao Fuzhou's instructions and took the long way around, taking the main road where there were more people. But when she got to the quiet bus stop, three vocational high school thugs with dyed blue hair suddenly emerged from behind a tree—the same group from the alleyway last time, holding wooden sticks and blocking her way with fierce eyes.
"Little sister, you're pretty good at dodging, aren't you?" The tall man blew a smoke ring, the smoke making her frown. "That kid saved you last time, where is he this time? With no one protecting you, let's see if you're still so arrogant!"
Xu Yanchi panicked and turned to run, but the blond-haired thug grabbed her backpack strap. She struggled fiercely, scattering her books all over the ground and rolling her pen into the grass. "Let me go!" she shouted, but there were no pedestrians around, and her voice was quickly carried away by the wind. The thug's fists landed on her back and arms, causing her to cry out in pain. She could only curl up on the ground, protecting her head with her arms.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached, and Wang Zhitao's voice rang out: "What are you doing! Stop!"
Xu Yanchi opened his eyes and saw Wang Zhitao riding his bicycle towards him. Before the bicycle had even stopped, he jumped off, grabbed a mop handle from the roadside, and waved it at the thug: "Try touching her again! I've already called the police!" His face was flushed red, his bangs were ruffled by the wind, but his eyes were firm.
The thugs hesitated for a moment. The taller one tried to step forward, but was blocked by the mop handle. "Damn it, another busybody!" he spat, glanced at the surveillance camera in the distance, and cursed, "Let's go! This girl's lucky!" With that, the group disappeared into the alleyway, carrying their sticks.
Wang Zhitao quickly threw down the mop handle, squatted down to help her, and asked anxiously, "How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?" He reached out to touch the bruises on her arm, but she instinctively dodged away.
Xu Yanchi endured the pain, slowly sat up, looked down at the scattered books, and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Thank you." Her tone remained indifferent.
Wang Zhitao ignored her evasive movements, silently helping her pick up her books, finding the pen in the grass, wiping it clean with his sleeve, and handing it to her. He looked at the bruises on her arm, frowned, and casually asked, "Did you get into some trouble? Why did they beat you so badly?"
Xu Yanchi gripped the pen, her fingertips turning white, and shook her head. "I don't know. They stopped me last time too." She didn't say much, just slowly tidying up the notes on the ground. She paused, then continued, "Did you really call the police?" Wang Zhitao smiled at her. "What? Are you planning to get beaten up again?" Xu Yanchi shook her head. Wang Zhitao added, "I didn't call the police. I was just bluffing. I just happened to be passing by, and I didn't have my phone." Xu Yanchi nodded, wanting to say thank you, but a wave of pain surged through her body. She cried out in pain, and Wang Zhitao hurriedly supported her arm, asking with concern, "How about I take you home? It's so late, it's not safe for you. Remember to tell your parents, or you can call the police."
Xu Yanchi hesitated for a moment, wanting to refuse his offer to take her home. But the pain in her arm made her too weak to walk any further. She nodded without saying a word, letting Wang Zhitao help her onto his bicycle. The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them. Looking at his hand supporting her arm, a complicated feeling welled up inside her. Could it be that she had misunderstood him? In any case, she felt she couldn't get too close to him. She rode her bicycle listlessly, casually making small talk with Wang Zhitao.
Ignoring the pain, Xu Yanchi's memory of being beaten was still vivid. Wang Zhitao quickly grabbed her, but Xu Yanchi shook her head. She didn't pay much attention to Wang Zhitao, slowly withdrawing her hand. She whispered a thank you to him. Wang Zhitao hesitated, opening his mouth to speak, "Yanchi, don't take it to heart. You must tell your parents about this. They're not easy to mess with; you'd better be careful in the future." Xu Yanchi nodded, saying nothing more. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, like tiny sparks of light adorning countless stars, seemingly containing a vast galaxy. Wang Zhitao stared, somewhat stunned. After a long while, he followed Xu Yanchi's gaze and saw Xiao Fuzhou, pushing a bicycle, his body covered in wounds, slowly approaching. He pursed his lips, gently wiping away the dried blood that slowly trickled down his face. Xu Yanchi felt as if a knife had stabbed her heart; her chest ached terribly. When she was being beaten by the thugs at the alley entrance, she endured the excruciating pain, taking all the blows without crying. She just sat there silently, letting their bodies be riddled with wounds. But now, seeing Xiao Fuzhou, the pain receded like a tide, replaced by heartache at the sight of his injuries. Wang Zhitao was also stunned by Xiao Fuzhou's appearance and hurriedly ran to his side.
"Xiao Fuzhou? Are you alright?" Wang Zhitao asked with concern. Xiao Fuzhou didn't speak, only nodded slightly. Xu Yanchi watched from a distance, hesitating whether to come over, but unable to bear seeing Xiao Fuzhou injured up close. In the end, she gritted her teeth; this might be the only chance to improve their relationship. Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she heard her heart screaming, "Don't forget your injury, and how did he get his injuries?" Just then, Xiao Fuzhou was already calling her name: "Xu... Yanchi?" He leaned forward and waved to Xu Yanchi. Xu Yanchi smiled sweetly and hurried towards Xiao Fuzhou, her schoolbag bouncing with each small step, like her beating heart.
Xu Yanchi ran to Xiao Fuzhou's side and asked casually, "Xiao Fuzhou, how did you get injured? Did you get into a fight?" She immediately shut her mouth; wasn't it a bit too obvious to be concerned about someone's private affairs? She wondered if Xiao Fuzhou had noticed. She clutched her sleeve, trying to hide her unease.
Xiao Fuzhou sighed helplessly and said, word by word, "Beat up a few blind dogs." Xu Yanchi was stunned upon hearing this, as were Wang Zhitao, because in their minds, Xiao Fuzhou had always been a model student. But considering that he had helped Xu Yanchi resolve the crisis on the first day, it wasn't hard to understand. Thinking this, Xu Yanchi felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from her heart. However, looking at the wounds on Xiao Fuzhou's body, she felt a dull taste in her mouth and gradually lowered her head. The twilight stretched their shadows long, like an ink painting, leaving behind a rich tapestry of their presence.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
