The yellow-haired punk couldn’t break free and still spoke foully, “Didn’t expect you to have such a temper. I just like people like you—”

He stopped halfway through his sentence because the person in front of him suddenly smiled slightly.

It was not a normal smile, but a cold, chilling one. He merely lifted one side of his lips slightly, yet already brought an inexplicable sense of oppression.

The yellow-haired punk swallowed hard, feeling a chill run through his heart in that instant.

“If you, like the others, frowned and avoided me the moment you saw me,” Jiang Lu said in a low voice, “I wouldn’t have bothered to deal with you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Lu twisted the other party’s wrist. A crisp crack echoed from the yellow-haired punk’s wrist, and before his scream fully escaped his throat, Jiang Lu kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying half a meter away.

Jiang Lu did not hold back at all. The yellow-haired punk lay on the ground, clutching his stomach and trembling. His companions, seeing this, immediately rushed forward together, fists swinging.

It was five or six people ganging up on one. Qi An’an’s heart leaped to her throat. She had seen clearly just now that although Jiang Lu was half a head taller than the yellow-haired punk, he wasn’t as burly. Taking down one opponent was already impressive, but how could he possibly handle so many?

However, Qi An’an worried too much. Jiang Lu fought silently but ruthlessly. Although outnumbered, he showed no sign of falling behind. Even when fists landed on him, he seemed to feel no pain, striking back with even fiercer strength.

In such a fierce fight, his expression remained blank, his eyes calm and unshaken, like a madman utterly at ease in the chaos.

Qi An’an suddenly felt a pang of sorrow.

The novel had spared no effort in describing a beautiful boy, only to slowly tear him apart. From a sensible, innocent child who harbored innate tenderness and hope for the world, he gradually withdrew into cold indifference, becoming ruthless and vengeful, deceiving himself amid a love riddled with scars.

But it was fine. She was there now. She would not drag him into darkness. She would work hard to bring him the sunlight that was rightfully his.

He should have a life unshackled by birth and a love rooted in unwavering trust.

“Jiang Lu! Behind you!” Qi An’an had just felt relieved seeing Jiang Lu handle the fight so easily when, to her horror, she spotted the yellow-haired punk crawling up amid the chaos. He grabbed a sharp-edged rock and was aiming to smash it against the back of Jiang Lu’s head!

But just before Qi An’an could finish her warning, Jiang Lu swiftly ducked and dodged, spinning around to land a solid hook punch to the yellow-haired punk’s jaw.

He had sensed it all along.

Qi An’an looked at the groaning figures sprawled across the ground, then at Jiang Lu, the only one still standing.

For once, Jiang Lu was looking back at her. His indifferent pupils showed no emotion, yet Qi An’an immediately grew nervous.

Holy crap, her cub was looking into her eyes! For three whole seconds! This was the ultimate highlight of a book fan’s life!

Among all the greetings flashing through her mind— ‘Are you okay?’, ‘Did you get hurt?’, ‘Just ignore what they said, it’s like dogs barking’— Qi An’an couldn’t pick one. They all sounded either too weak or too polite. None could convey her real feelings.

“Why are you holding that?” Jiang Lu spoke first, his gaze landing on the brick in Qi An’an’s hand.

The girl’s hands were slender and delicate, soft like lily petals. Clumsily holding a thick brick, she looked completely out of place.

Qi An’an hurried to explain, afraid he’d misunderstand, “I saw they were bullying you, so I wanted to help. I just didn’t expect……” I didn’t expect you to be so good at fighting, making me look so stupid.

Jiang Lu made no comment. He had heard her warning him about the attack from behind just now. Holding the brick, she probably hadn’t intended to hit him.

Then she……

A flicker of hesitation crossed Jiang Lu’s eyes, barely detectable, but he quickly gave a light chuckle. “You’ve got some tricks. Picked up a prop to act with? I should be honored, huh?”

Dang it, he still misunderstood. Qi An’an almost cried. She could only blame the original owner’s terrible reputation. No matter what she said, it would always be taken the wrong way.

“No, I really just……”

But Jiang Lu clearly had no interest in talking further. He withdrew his gaze lazily and said, “I’m not that particular. Don’t think I won’t hit women. I’ll say it one last time, get lost.”

Qi An’an pouted slightly. Nonsense, you’re actually very particular. You never hit women. She had read ahead, and how she had wished he would beat up the villainess. Yet he never did.

She was silently complaining when, all of a sudden, the sound of police sirens grew louder, approaching their direction.

Jiang Lu had already lifted his foot to leave but paused slightly when he saw the approaching police cars. He cast a complicated look at Qi An’an. “You called the cops?”

Crap. This was getting worse and worse. Qi An’an hadn’t anticipated this development. She mumbled, “It was me…… I mean, they had so many people, I was afraid you’d suffer……”

In her imagination, her poor, pitiful cub would have been pinned to the ground and beaten. Of course, there was also a good chance she would have been pinned down too.

Qi An’an felt miserable. Every time she tried to do something to leave a good impression on him, it completely backfired. The gaping hole between them wasn’t repaired. Instead, she had clumsily poked another one into it.

He would definitely say something cold and ruthless again.

Yet this time, Jiang Lu said nothing. He lowered his eyes, hiding all his emotions.

The yellow-haired punk and his gang were repeat offenders. The policemen recognized them at once and stormed over furiously. “You guys again?! How many times this year already?! Can’t stay out of trouble, huh?!”

As soon as the police arrived, they were scolded. The yellow-haired punk and his gang immediately erupted like a pot of boiling water. “We were the ones beaten! We are the victims! It was him……”

One of them pointed at Jiang Lu, but the moment his gaze met Jiang Lu’s indifferent eyes, his voice grew noticeably quieter.

Even though they had been beaten to the ground, Jiang Lu’s demeanor was far too good. His school uniform was neat and spotless, and he looked like the very embodiment of a model student.

The police officer, half skeptical, walked over to question him, “What exactly happened here?”

Qi An’an quickly waved her phone and rushed to complain, “Officer, I recorded a video. They were the ones who started it.”

She had originally started recording just in case, capturing everything from the moment the yellow-haired punk and his gang insulted Jiang Lu. When the fight broke out and she realized Jiang Lu wasn’t losing at all, she stopped recording the rest.

While showing the footage to the officer, Qi An’an explained, “Officer, they said really awful things. My classmate has been learning Taekwondo since primary school. Of course he had to teach them a lesson. He never causes trouble on his own……”

Standing nearby, Jiang Lu’s gaze lingered on Qi An’an for a long moment, a faint frown forming between his brows.

For the first time, he looked at this girl seriously. He had only heard her mentioned in passing when she had just transferred, knowing that she was not ugly— quite the opposite, actually. She was considered delicate and pretty. But her aura had always seemed gloomy, carrying a sense of arrogance and contempt.

It was also during those early days that she had confessed to him with an ambiguous smile, praising his looks. Ever since, he had been filled with disgust and revulsion toward her.

He hated most when others complimented his appearance.

But today, Qi An’an was completely different from the image he had in mind. There was no arrogance and no condescension, only a certain clumsy childishness. Her eyes were clear, bright, and pure. How skilled would someone have to be to fake such eyes? Eyes that one could see straight through to the bottom— utterly free of impurity.

But then, what exactly was her aim?

Jiang Lu thought indifferently that he had nothing worth scheming for. He possessed only a flamboyant, decadent beauty, and nothing more that could warrant even a second glance.

Even the most beautiful face would lose its luster after a while. When she grew tired of it, she would leave. By then, seeing that she had not been overly disgusting in her behavior, he wouldn’t make trouble for her either.

……

The situation afterward went smoothly. Since the yellow-haired punk and his gang were repeat offenders with a string of prior offenses, and it was indeed they who had provoked the incident, the police officers gave them a stern talking-to before letting Jiang Lu and Qi An’an go back to school.

On their way, Jiang Lu walked very fast. Qi An’an, with her shorter legs, had to trot to keep up with him.

Although this time Jiang Lu didn’t tell her to leave, he didn’t answer a single one of her questions— whether it was “Do you walk this way to school every day?”, “Can I go to school with you from now on?”, or “Can we go home together after school?”

It wasn’t until they neared the classroom door that Jiang Lu finally slowed down, turned his head, and asked, “You want to go in with me?”

His tone was slow, carrying a faint, mocking undertone.

Qi An’an didn’t quite understand his train of thought. They were already at the door. If they didn’t go in together, was she supposed to wait outside and go in later?

She nodded dumbly. “Go in together. What’s the problem?”

Jiang Lu simply threw out a “Suit yourself”, and then walked into the classroom.

They were one class period late. It was now the break between the first and second periods, and most students were already in their seats, some waiting for the next class to begin. The originally noisy classroom suddenly fell silent for a moment the instant Jiang Lu walked through the door, as if someone had hit the pause button, before the murmuring noises resumed.

“Why are those two together?”

“Some people are just desperate to latch onto a sugar mommy…… Must run in the family……”

“Qi An’an just transferred here. No one has warned her yet, huh?”

“Rich people might just be into this kind of thing— filling their harems.”

As Jiang Lu walked past, everyone kept their heads down, occasionally muttering under their breath. He kept his gaze straight ahead, seemingly unaffected. But as Qi An’an followed behind, the whispered discussions slipped into her ears— and into her heart.

In the novel, when Qi An’an had just transferred, her rich, aloof attitude hadn’t earned her any favors. Only after treating her classmates to food and drinks a few times did she slowly gain some popularity. Later, when she cruelly bullied Jiang Lu, some people even stepped on him silently to curry favor with her.

At this moment, Qi An’an nearly exploded on the spot— not because she herself had been insulted, but because she felt heartache for her little cub.

What nonsense! They had only walked into the classroom together, and people already started spinning such disgusting rumors.

She even saw, as Jiang Lu returned to his seat, that his deskmate frowned deeply and scooted her chair away in obvious disgust. The girl’s disdainful expression was so blatant and she didn’t even bother to hide it, as if she didn’t care how it might make Jiang Lu feel.

If Qi An’an didn’t do something now, she would be unworthy of her glorious identity as a devoted mother fan.

Qi An’an slammed her hand on a desk and pointed directly at the boys gossiping nearby.

“You guys! What are you mumbling about? You’re not toddlers anymore! Don’t you have basic comprehension skills? Is your brain stuffed with garbage? If you’re filthy inside, you see filth everywhere!”