On Monday morning, before the morning reading bell had even rung, Su Nuonuo had already arrived.
Her home was not far, so she usually arrived earlier than the boarding students.
The moment she stepped into the classroom, her gaze collided with Lu Zhiye’s.
By the window seat, the boy sat upright with a straight back. His school uniform jacket was zipped all the way up, and his fingertips idly spun a pen.
Morning light slanted across his features, softening the usual sharpness and hostility, lending him a somewhat refreshing air.
In the past, he had never arrived this early—at most, he would come in right before the bell. But today, even his textbooks were already neatly placed on the desk.
Su Nuonuo’s steps paused slightly, a soft warmth spreading in her heart.
Just as she walked to her seat, Su Xiaoyu leaned over, poking her arm with an elbow and raising her brows suggestively while lowering her voice, “Nice going, Nuonuo. Two days over the weekend and you’ve already got him wrapped around your finger? Look at the big school bully—he’s breaking precedent by coming early just to wait for you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Zhiye in the back row’s ears flushed red. His hand holding the pen paused for a moment. Pretending to flip a book, his eyes, however, subtly glanced forward from the corner of his vision.
Su Nuonuo’s cheeks warmed slightly. She had not hidden the fact that she had spent the weekend with Lu Zhiye from Su Xiaoyu.
Thinking about how she had spent those two days with him, a sly smile curled at her lips as she said softly, “Not yet.”
After a brief pause, she glanced at the boy behind her, the end of her sentence carrying a hint of proud sweetness: “But it’s probably soon.”
Lu Zhiye’s motion of flipping the page suddenly froze. The sound of rustling pages rang out sharply, and the redness on his ears deepened.
It was obvious he had heard everything.
Su Nuonuo had not controlled her volume well. Realizing that Lu Zhiye might have heard her, she immediately turned her head to look at the boy whose ears had turned red all the way down to his neck, and she couldn’t help but curve her eyes into a smile.
Morning light fell into her smiling eyes, making them sparkle. She playfully winked at him before quickly looking away again, her face full of excitement.
After school in the evening, Su Nuonuo once again took the shortcut through the alley.
Just as she reached halfway, she was blocked by three off-campus thugs with brightly dyed hair.
She recognized them at a glance—they were from a nearby vocational school—and her heart suddenly tightened.
Last time, she had Lu Zhiye with her, so she had not been afraid. But this time she was alone, and she was not sure whether Lu Zhiye would appear again like he did before.
The narrow path stretched long and confined, with a residential wall on one side and a small river on the other. Nearby were several wooden benches. In the morning, this place was lively, often filled with joggers and people exercising.
This route had always been safe, and she had walked it for years. Yet facing these people now, her heart began to panic.
The leader, a blond-haired thug, reached out to hook a strand of her hair, spewing vulgar remarks as he harassed her. His hand even tried to brush against her arm while the others laughed and blocked her way, forcing her to step backward repeatedly.
It was exactly the same as in her previous life.
Just as she panicked and tried to reach for her phone, Lu Zhiye suddenly stood in front of her.
He had appeared—just like in her previous life.
Perhaps he had run over; his jacket hood sat slightly askew. Standing before the three of them, he held his back straight, his features darkened with a fierce and rarely seen cold hostility, firmly shielding her from those dirty hands.
The little hooligans had not expected Lu Zhiye to show up again, but they were not flustered, since the girl in front of them would normally stop him.
What disappointed them, however, was that they could no longer take advantage of the “No. 1 High School beauty” in front of them.
Su Nuonuo was also confused. In her previous life, Lu Zhiye had also fought these thugs and beaten them into submission, after which they never came to harass her again.
But this time, the thugs had already appeared once before. She was afraid that Lu Zhiye would get hurt, so she had forcibly stopped him last time and not allowed him to fight.
Unexpectedly, the thugs had appeared again.
She did not know whether it was because she had stopped him from fighting last time that had emboldened them to come back, or whether Lu Zhiye was destined to have a confrontation with them.
Before she could think further, Lu Zhiye had already moved.
His fist slammed heavily into the blond thug’s face. The dull sound of bone striking bone was harsh, his movements both ruthless and swift.
Completely ignoring the fact that the other three rushed at him together, he relied on sheer stubborn determination to face them all alone.
Thudding impacts of fists and kicks rang out continuously, each sound making Su Nuonuo’s eardrums ache.
Only after the last thug clutching his face stumbled away did Lu Zhiye finally steady himself, his chest rising and falling violently.
Although he was skilled in fighting, two fists could not contend with six hands, and he had also been distracted by occasionally checking on Su Nuonuo.
Thus, he was still injured.
He raised his hand to roughly wipe away the blood at the corner of his lips. A striking red cut had split the area near his brow bone.
Blood trickled down along his jawline and dripped onto the clean collar of his jacket, making his already unruly face look both wild and disheveled.
Only his eyes remained dark and heavy, the ferocity undiminished, still fixed firmly on the direction where the thugs had fled.
“Lu Zhiye…”
Su Nuonuo’s voice trembled uncontrollably. The moment she called his name, tears fell without warning.
Scenes from her previous life suddenly surged into her mind…
In a burning house, thick smoke billowed. He held her tightly in his arms, his back scorched black by the flames, yet he endured the searing pain and used all his strength to push her outward, shouting, “Nuonuo, run!”
In the end, he was burned alive in that fire.
That was a pain carved into her very bones—an irreparable regret she could never atone for in her lifetime.
In this life, she could not bear to see him injured at all. It felt as though a piece of her heart had been violently carved out, leaving her breathless with pain.
Su Nuonuo stumbled forward, hastily rummaging through the side pocket of her backpack for wet wipes and iodine swabs.
Her hands trembled so badly that she could not even tear open the packaging. Tears fell like broken beads onto the back of his hand, startling Lu Zhiye.
She stood on tiptoe, carefully reaching out to wipe the blood at the corner of his eye, her voice hoarse and choked as she asked, “Lu Zhiye… does it hurt?”
The moment she asked, her tears flowed even more fiercely, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
She cried so hard she could barely breathe, her nose red, her entire face turning into a tear-streaked mess—miserable and pitiful.
Lu Zhiye stood frozen in place, the hostility in his body dispersing almost instantly, leaving only confusion.
It was just minor external injuries. In the past, he had taken far worse hits in fights without even furrowing his brows.
So why was she crying like this today?
As if she were the one who had been beaten.
He awkwardly turned his head away, avoiding her tear-filled gaze. A faint blush quietly crept onto his ears. His tone was stiff, yet carried an unintentional softness: “…Stop crying. You look ugly.”
After treating his wounds, Su Nuonuo seemed to think of something. Looking at his reddened ears, her sobbing softened slightly as she asked in a small voice, “Did you come here again to enjoy the scenery?”
Last time, he had appeared here saying he was just passing by to see the scenery.
Back then, she might have believed him. But after this time, how could she still believe such nonsense?
It was clearly just stubbornness. At night, what scenery could there possibly be?
Clearly, it was him secretly walking this route countless times to escort her home.
Lu Zhiye’s body stiffened abruptly, his throat rolling.
A wave of embarrassment surged within him, his ears turning so red it seemed they might drip blood. He turned his head to stare at the weeds by the wall, pressing his lips together in silence, refusing to admit it despite everything.
Looking at his expression, Su Nuonuo felt both sour and soft-hearted. Tears still lingered in her eyes, but she gently curved her lips and chose not to press further.
After a moment, Lu Zhiye finally forced out a sentence. His voice was deep and hoarse, his expression more serious than before, though his tone carried unmistakable worry and sincerity: “Don’t take this path anymore in the future.”
If she got discovered, could he still secretly escort her home?