Chapter 12: Come to My House and Help Me Massage

Tang Xiao didn’t remember, but Gu Xiaoxi did.

The two had grown up together, and back in elementary school, there was an incident that Gu Xiaoxi would never forget.

One day, Gu Xiaoxi was being bullied by a group of troublemakers. Covered in dirt, she sat on the ground crying, her backpack torn apart, and her books scattered everywhere.

Tang Xiao happened to pass by and, without hesitation, jumped into the fight against the bullies.

Despite being outnumbered, Tang Xiao didn’t back down. He ended up bruised and battered, with a face full of cuts and bruises.

But in the scuffle, he bit off a piece of the ringleader’s hand.

Tang Xiao’s sheer determination and ferocity scared the bullies away.

From that day on, no one dared to bully Gu Xiaoxi again.

The event was long forgotten by Tang Xiao, but it remained vividly etched in Gu Xiaoxi’s memory.

That moment, when Tang Xiao stood up for her, was something she treasured deeply in her heart.

After that, Gu Xiaoxi developed a passion for sports.

Through relentless training, she excelled, eventually choosing martial arts as her focus in high school.

She also secretly trained in street fighting techniques that weren’t allowed at school, under the tutelage of a certain Master Chen.

Her motivation was simple and pure: That day, you protected me. From now on, I’ll protect you!

---

Tang Xiao asked curiously, “Does your school really teach those moves you used earlier?”

Normally, women don’t have a strength advantage over men.

However, as a provincial martial arts champion, Gu Xiaoxi’s strength, skill, and techniques far surpassed the average person.

Yet, what allowed her to subdue her opponents were the “unconventional” moves—eye gouging, groin kicks, knee strikes, and the like.

Gu Xiaoxi shrugged nonchalantly. “School forbids fighting, so how could they teach that? Those are my secret techniques.”

“Can you teach me? I’d like to learn,” Tang Xiao said.

He knew that getting stronger physically would take time, but these sneaky moves could be a shortcut, practical in a pinch.

“Don’t worry. Your master will teach you for sure,” Gu Xiaoxi replied, standing on her tiptoes to pat Tang Xiao’s head. “From now on, I’ll have your back.”

The scene was a bit comical, and Tang Xiao felt awkward.

In novels, isn’t it usually the guy patting the girl’s head? Why is it reversed for me?

Unwilling to back down, Tang Xiao patted Gu Xiaoxi’s head in return. “Forget it. I’ll have your back instead.”

“I said I’d protect you, so I’m protecting you,” Gu Xiaoxi declared firmly, ruffling Tang Xiao’s hair again.

“No way, I’m protecting you.”

The playful argument escalated into both of them pinching each other’s cheeks.

“Hahaha!”

They laughed, carefree and childishly happy.

---

Not long after, Tang Xiao returned home, tossing his backpack onto the bed.

“Grandma, I’m back!”

Deng Yinglan pulled Tang Xiao over, looking at him with concern. “How did you end up at the police station? Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing, Grandma. We’re fine.”

After checking him over thoroughly, Deng Yinglan finally relaxed. “As long as you’re okay.”

She sighed, “I’m getting old. I can’t take care of you like I used to.”

Although Tang Xiao was unharmed, Deng Yinglan had clearly been worried for a while.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. I can take care of myself. Look, I’ve gotten stronger.”

Tang Xiao flexed his arm, patting his bicep.

Lately, he had been exercising daily and eating well, and he had indeed bulked up a little.

His grandmother smiled with relief. “That’s true. You’re all grown up now. It’s time I gave you this.”

Deng Yinglan handed him a sealed envelope, which contained a thick stack of cash—two thousand yuan in total.

Tang Xiao quickly tried to refuse. “No need, Grandma. I still have enough money, and I’ve got my scholarship too.”

Deng Yinglan shook her head. “This money was always meant for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“This money was from your mother. She gave it to me back then. I didn’t spend it and planned to save it for you,” Deng Yinglan explained.

It turned out that when the Tang family took Tang Xiao from Deng Yinglan’s care, they gave her 2,000 yuan.

Deng Yinglan didn’t want to take it at first, but Zhang Ping insisted, calling it a token of appreciation and even promising more in the future as a gesture of thanks.

However, since Tang Xiao was treated as insignificant in the Tang family, it was no surprise they completely disregarded Deng Yinglan, an outsider. The promised gestures of gratitude were soon forgotten.

But Deng Yinglan, honest and simple-hearted, had always treated Tang Xiao as her own grandson.

Her greatest wish was for Tang Xiao to have a good life, and she never cared about the Tang family’s promises. She didn’t spend a single cent of the money, keeping it all for Tang Xiao.

Earlier that day, when Tang Xiao had been taken to the police station, Deng Yinglan panicked, fearing something bad had happened to him.

She couldn’t fully understand what had happened over the phone, but she had even prepared her savings, just in case.

Now that she knew Tang Xiao was safe, she handed over the 2,000 yuan from the Tang family to him.

“This is the money they gave.”

Tang Xiao was irritated. “So the Tang family thinks they can settle things with just 2,000 yuan? That’s all my grandmother gets after raising me for years? Is this how they treat me and my grandma?”

Tang Xiao had never been greedy for the Tang family’s wealth, but their dismissive attitude toward his benefactor angered him deeply.

It was pure arrogance!

“Who needs their lousy money?” Tang Xiao didn’t care for anything from the Tang family.

Right then and there, he decided to return the money to them.

---

That afternoon, as students left school, Tang Xiao ran into Xin Ling at the school gate.

“Tang Xiao, wait up,” she called.

“Teacher, I have plans tonight,” Tang Xiao replied. He had intended to spend the evening studying.

Xin Ling tilted her head with a slight pout. “I’ve got a stiff neck again today. Can you help me with it? Otherwise, I won’t be able to teach tomorrow. Didn’t you promise to teach me some of your massage techniques?”

“Well…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a car. Whatever you need to do tonight, I’ll drive you there. And this stiff neck? It’s all your class’s fault anyway,” Xin Ling said, her tone carrying a trace of playful complaint.

Tang Xiao couldn’t help but feel she was acting coquettish—though he quickly dismissed the idea.

No way, my class teacher isn’t acting cute. That’s ridiculous.

“Alright,” he agreed. Helping her with a massage wasn’t too much trouble, and he had promised to teach her before.

Xin Ling beamed. “Great! Let’s go, to my place.”

“…What?” Tang Xiao blinked, puzzled.

“This way, my car’s parked here,” she said, leading him to a nearby shopping complex.

Her car wasn’t parked on school grounds but in the mall’s parking lot.

To his surprise, Xin Ling drove a BMW M4.

Tang Xiao wasn’t a car enthusiast, but even he could tell this was expensive.

Teacher Xin is loaded? Who’d have guessed?

He climbed into the back seat—only to find someone already there.

“Tang… Tang Xiao?”

“Xia Yuxi? Why are you here?”

To his shock, the school beauty Xia Yuxi was sitting in the car.

Blushing, Xia Yuxi stammered, “Teacher Xin asked me to come…”

“Move over,” Xin Ling said matter-of-factly. “You two are my top students. You need to interact more. Xia Yuxi has lots of questions to ask you about your studies. Why, is there a problem?”

“Well, no, that’s fine,” Tang Xiao replied, finding no reason to refuse.

After all, Xin Ling was their teacher, and her logic made sense.

As the car started moving, silence filled the interior.

Tang Xiao and Xia Yuxi sat in the back.

Xia Yuxi’s face was flushed, and her breathing seemed uneven.

From the rearview mirror, Xin Ling glanced at the two students, her lips curving into an amused smirk.

Hahaha! These two are so entertaining.