Chapter 21: Onset

Xia Zhinian opened his eyes wide and his heart thumped. He bent his elbow and pushed it hard against the stomach of the person behind him, then moved his feet to retreat.

But the person behind him was obviously a skilled fighter. He dodged and reached out with his strong arm to grab Xia Zhinian's shoulder. With his other hand, he took something and tried to stuff it into Xia Zhinian's mouth.

What is this!

Xia Zhinian felt a chill in his scalp and his heart raced. He slammed back and quickly twisted his body to strike at the person's throat. With his other hand, he quickly took something out of his pocket.

The person reacted fast. He leaned back slightly and forced the thing into Xia Zhinian's mouth, covering it to prevent him from spitting.

Xia Zhinian: "!!!"

He was shocked. He clenched the thing in his hand and fiercely rubbed it against the person's neck.

"Heh." The person lowered his head and chuckled softly. A familiar voice sounded from above.

Xia Zhinian was stunned for two seconds. A sweet sensation spread in his mouth. The sharp ballpoint pen in his palm missed the point slightly, scraped the skin, and pierced into the wall, leaving a small hole on it.

The boy leaned against the wall, one hand on his waist, the other hand touching the stinging side of his neck. He saw a few strands of blood on his fingertips and smiled lightly, his tone casual.

"Classmate Xia, you're quite fierce in a fight."

"You... Yan Ci?"

Xia Zhinian looked up incredulously at the person, stunned for a moment. He widened his apricot eyes and looked at his bleeding neck. "What are you doing here?"

Yan Ci wore a black jacket, showing a bit of his school uniform at the collar. He smiled faintly, his voice slightly cold. "Of course I came to see how the brave little friend who broke into the gang's den alone planned to get out in one piece."

The dark jacket made Yan Ci's skin look even paler. He lowered his eyes and looked at the boy, his eyes deep. He said softly, "Your moves look like someone taught you, but you lack strength and accuracy. Classmate Xia, you've only watched but never practiced, right?"

Xia Zhinian: "..."

Yan Ci's voice softened a bit. "Didn't I say I would help you get revenge?"

Xia Zhinian licked the candy in his mouth, looked away from him, and turned his head to try to retreat. His voice was clear, his tone stiff.

"It has nothing to do with you."

How could the protagonist shou help the villain get revenge?

Yan Ci's eyes darkened slightly. He didn't let go of his waist and curled his lips into a menacing smile. "The gangsters don't care about reason or relationship, Classmate Xia. Do you think you can appease their anger by giving them money after beating them?"

"Or do you plan to let them beat you up again and think... it's not a big deal?"

Xia Zhinian was forced to lean on Yan Ci's chest. He twisted his head and lowered his apricot eyes. "...I have a way to solve it."

The original owner never stopped giving money, but he hit someone and had no money on his card. He couldn't ask his parents for money, so he couldn't pay them and couldn't leave peacefully.

When he returned to the Xia family, they would find out what happened and easily deal with the gangsters, quietly.

This way, he wouldn't affect the plot or break the original owner's character.

Xia Zhinian moved back a bit, but was stopped by the hand on his waist. He touched the bruise from the morning and whimpered softly. "It hurts, Yan Ci, let me go."

Yan Ci tugged at his mouth. "Your solution is to come and get beaten? I fed you candy, but what if more people come and feed you something else? How would you solve that?"

He stared at Xia Zhinian, his eyes pitch black. "This is not your style, Classmate Xia... oh, wait--"

He suddenly stopped, as if he thought of something.

His gaze fell on the boy with some scrutiny, his voice lowered. "It's not like the style of Classmate Xia in this period of time."

Xia Zhinian: "!!"

Xia Zhinian was startled. He curled his fingertips and pursed his lips. His voice was calm. "Your actions lately are also not like your previous style."

"Oh..."

Yan Ci's tone was slow and casual. He looked at him nonchalantly. "I just remembered that Classmate Xia recently... seems to have become much more eloquent."

Xia Zhinian: "...You might as well say that you pay more attention to me than before."

"That's true." Yan Ci smiled faintly. "For example, I also noticed that the self-criticism you handed in had no traces of correction or erasure, and not a single typo."

Xia Zhinian: "...???"

He was confused. "What are you trying to say?"

Yan Ci smiled gently, his eyes slightly heavy. "Nothing, just a bit surprised."

Xia Zhinian: "..."

The black sesame glutinous rice ball was too sharp.

Too hard to deal with.

Xia Zhinian had a headache and didn't want to continue the topic. He turned his head and pouted listlessly. "Are you done being surprised? I want to go back when you're done."

He reached out to push the arm around his waist. Yan Ci didn't let go. He chuckled softly, but his tone sounded sad. "Classmate Xia, you're so heartless."

He sighed. "I kindly solved this nest of gangsters for you, found out that you came this way, and hurried over again, afraid that there might be some who escaped. You hit me, scratched my neck, and now you want to leave me."

Xia Zhinian: "..."

Jiu Min!

Xia Zhinian's temples throbbed. He paused, lifted his apricot eyes and looked at the wound on his neck that had been bleeding for a long time. He pursed his lips and whispered. "Your neck... I'm sorry."

"Those... gangsters? Where are they?"

Yan Ci smiled and accepted his apology. His voice was casual. "I don't know, but I guess they won't show up again. Classmate Xia, you can rest assured."

Xia Zhinian: "..."

He hesitated for a moment and said thank you softly.

Although he didn't know what the protagonist shou was up to, he paid too much attention to him and didn't do anything bad. On the contrary, he helped him a lot.

Yan Ci tilted his head and smiled with a hint of joy.

It was getting dark. After leaving the abandoned building, Xia Zhinian thought he would part ways with Yan Ci.

But Yan Ci casually took off the jacket he bought on the roadside and threw it into the trash can, revealing the clean and tidy school uniform inside. He effortlessly stuffed him into the car waiting on the side of the road.

"You're staying at my dorm tonight."

Xia Zhinian: "??"

Yan Ci: "I just talked to Aunt Jiang, you're not going back tonight."

"The reason is, Classmate Xia came to me for tutoring, and we worked so hard that we forgot about sleep. Aunt Jiang was very happy about it."

Yan Ci looked at him with a clear and handsome smile on his face.

Xia Zhinian: "..."

He took back what he just said about "Yan Ci not doing anything bad".

The black sesame glutinous rice ball was black-hearted through and through.

The sky was dark, the dormitory lights were on, and the curtains were tightly drawn. Yan Ci sat on one side and lifted his head slightly. He put the ointment in his hand into Xia Zhinian's hand, his voice clear.

"First disinfect, then apply the medicine. Classmate Xia, start."

Xia Zhinian stood in front of him, holding the medicine in his hand. His expression was blank for a second, and he looked at him with his apricot eyes.

He glanced at the wound on his neck stained with blood and whispered. "I-I don't know how to do it. How about... I find someone else to do it?"

He was a villain, applying medicine to the protagonist shou. That wasn't appropriate, was it?

Chu Qingjian seemed to be staying in the dormitory today.

He couldn't miss any opportunity to promote the relationship between the gong and the shou.

Yan Ci stared at him for a while, then smiled politely, his lips curved. A small scar dragged at the corner of his eye.

"Okay, Classmate Xia, who do you want to find?"

Xia Zhinian's eyes lit up. He bit his lip. "That, Chu--"

Yan Ci smiled and interrupted. "Classmate Xia, think carefully before you say it. If you say something wrong, I might get unhappy."

Xia Zhinian: "..."

He opened his mouth, stuttered, and closed it again.

The hair on his head drooped. He resignedly picked up the iodine bottle, used tweezers to take out a cotton ball, and leaned down to get close to Yan Ci's neck.

Yan Ci sat on the stool, Xia Zhinian stood up. It wasn't easy to get close to his neck, and he didn't have the courage to let Yan Ci stand up. He leaned over and looked at Yan Ci's neck with his round apricot eyes.

The pen tip was sharp. It scraped his neck and left a three-centimeter-long cut. Blood seeped out of his pale skin.

It wasn't deep, but it was close to the artery.

He pressed the iodine ball on it. The powerful artery pulsated slightly, making the iodine ball unstable.

Xia Zhinian got closer and tried to steady his hand. He wiped the wound.

They were very close now. Yan Ci lowered his eyes and saw the apricot eyes shining with light as they focused on his wound. There was even a breath of air sweeping over his neck.

Yan Ci lifted his eyelashes slightly and tilted his head. He smiled softly.

The little glutinous rice cake was quite amusing.

He only had a sudden impulse to bring him back. He couldn't explain why, but... he really wanted to do that.

Yan Ci gave Xia Zhinian a bottle of medicated oil and told him to rub the bruises on his body, but he felt pain and only touched them briefly. Yan Ci glanced at him and didn't say anything.

In the middle of the night, Xia Zhinian lay on Yan Ci's bed with his clothes on. He curled up on his side, his slender fingers slightly curled. He was half asleep with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard some noise.

...A rustling sound.

He was in the black sesame glutinous rice ball's dormitory, so he didn't dare to sleep too soundly. He opened his eyes groggily and saw the person lying on the empty mattress opposite him sitting up.

The boy's back lines were tense, his right hand clenched his wrist, his fingertips tightened, and he scratched it involuntarily.

The scene in front of him was very familiar, very similar to that day in the cellar. Xia Zhinian woke up completely, sat up, and looked over with wide eyes.

"Yan Ci?"

The boy's voice was soft, with a bit of sleepiness.

Yan Ci suddenly looked up. His dark eyes stared at him motionlessly under the dim light of the night lamp, like a beast that had locked onto its prey, extremely dangerous and deep.

Xia Zhinian was startled. His heart slammed against his chest, his fingertips clenched, and he retreated back with a wary and panicked look like a small animal.

He paused, looked at the light that was on, and hesitated. "...Yan Ci, are you... uncomfortable?"

Isn't there light?

Yan Ci's narrow eyes were deep. He stared at the nervous boy on the bed. The force on his wrist tightened a little bit, as if he was hesitating and struggling.

Should he...