Red-hair’s leg was kicked hard, causing him to buckle in pain and nearly fall to his knees. Yet his head was firmly pressed down by that person, making it impossible to slide down even if he wanted to. He could only endure the pain.

Red-hair shouted in agony: “Fuck! What are you guys standing around for?!”

“…Damn it!”

“Hit him!”

The two people with red brought exchanged glances before charging forward together.

Lin Zhexia was almost paralyzed by the chaotic scene before her.

Although she had fought when she was young, the fight in front of her was completely different from those childish scuffles. The scene was chaotic; she knew she couldn’t stop the fight at this point. The only thing she could do was not to get in Chi Yao’s way.

Lin Zhexia held Chen Lin’s hand, pulling her backward.

Chen Lin: “Should we call the police…”

Lin Zhexia had initially thought of calling the police, too, but Chi Yao was fighting several of them alone and somehow had the upper hand.

The young man’s movements were sharp, without a single wasted motion. He took off his backpack and tossed it aside, one arm firmly locking Red-hair’s neck, immobilizing him—someone tried to attack from behind, but couldn’t find an opening, and instead was hit hard by Chi Yao’s bent elbow striking backward.

This blow landed squarely on the person’s chest, forcing him to stumble back several steps.

As another person lunged forward, Chi Yao had already released his hold on Red-hair’s neck. He pushed Red-hair forward with the back of his hand, causing him to collide directly with the oncoming attacker, the two crashing into each other.

Watching this scene, Chen Lin momentarily forgot about calling the police: “This situation looks…”

Lin Zhexia said, “It doesn’t look like they’re beating him up; it looks like he’s beating them up.”

“…”

“So about calling the police, maybe let’s wait and see.”

After all, calling the police would escalate the situation and might affect Chi Yao.

The fight ended faster than they had imagined. Within a few minutes, only Chi Yao remained standing.

“Let’s go,” Chi Yao said after finishing the fight. “I’ll take you to the bus stop.”

Lin Zhexia responded with a dazed “Oh.”

However, no one expected Red-hair to attempt one last act of defiance. Just as Lin Zhexia took a couple of steps following Chi Yao, he suddenly sprang up from the ground.

Lin Zhexia was completely unprepared.

In that instant, she felt Chi Yao’s hand reach out, gently cradling the back of her head, pulling her against his chest.

Her nose brushed against his collar. The young man’s clothes carried a faint scent of laundry detergent, along with the clean smell of sunlight.

This move by Chi Yao quickly created distance between Red-hair and Lin Zhexia. Not only did Red-hair miss his target, but he also received another kick.

Lin Zhexia, pressed against Chi Yao’s chest, could hear the slight vibration of his ribcage as he spoke.

The young man’s voice was excessively cold: “…You enjoy getting beaten up that much?”

Red-hair didn’t dare to approach again.

The bus stop was just ahead, and a bus was pulling in.

Chi Yao followed Lin Zhexia onto the bus, accompanying her to take Chen Lin home.

The three remained silent throughout the journey.

When they reached the entrance of the residential complex, Chen Lin finally recovered from the earlier scene: “Thank you. If it weren’t for you two, I wouldn’t have known what to do.”

Lin Zhexia: “It’s fine, but you should talk to the teacher about this tomorrow. See if there’s a way to find out who those people were, to avoid future trouble.”

Chen Lin nodded: “I’ll head in now. You two be careful on your way back.”

By this time, it was getting dark.

After seeing Chen Lin off, only Lin Zhexia and Chi Yao remained, walking side by side back home.

Lin Zhexia tried to liven the atmosphere: “The way you fought just now was very heroic.”

Chi Yao didn’t respond.

Lin Zhexia continued: “Taking on three at once is like chopping cabbage. They couldn’t even fight back.”

Chi Yao remained silent.

Lin Zhexia: “And you’re so smart, you understood my message despite all my typos. Big boss of No. 2 High, why aren’t you saying anything?”

This time, Chi Yao simply walked past her, moving ahead.

“…”

Lin Zhexia finally realized Chi Yao was angry.

“I’ve already praised you for being handsome,” Lin Zhexia quickened her pace to catch up, tentatively saying, “Should I praise you some more?”

Chi Yao stopped, turning to look at her.

The streetlight cast shadows on him from behind, shrouding his entire figure in shadow.

Chi Yao rarely swore, but half a curse escaped: “You fu… Do you know how dangerous it was?”

Lin Zhexia didn’t know what to say.

Chi Yao gave a cold laugh, reciting the flimsy excuse Lin Zhexia had given him earlier: “Have other good friends.”

“Your good friend is something else, dragging you into danger, knowing the risk. And you’re impressive too, one dares to drag and one dares to go.”

“…”

“If you hadn’t had time to message me, if I hadn’t seen my phone, if I hadn’t happened to be nearby, what were you planning to do?”

“…”

“Last time you could run away, what about this time?”

“……”

Lin Zhexia: “Little brother, I didn’t think that far ahead.”

Although she knew Chi Yao was now angry at Chen Lin because he was worried about her, she still wanted to explain: “She didn’t drag me there. I thought nothing would happen. I didn’t expect an online argument to lead to this.”

In the past, when Chi Yao was angry, she could coax him out of it after a few attempts.

But this time was different. She talked the whole way, but Chi Yao barely responded to her.

“Chi Yao, Chi Yao, look, the reflection of that streetlight looks like a star.”

“That little dog across the street is so cute, kind of like He Yang’s old pet, Little White.”

“I’ve noticed even your hair strands look handsome. Walking behind you, I feel like you’re as handsome as a painting right now.”

As they approached home, Lin Zhexia reached out and tugged at the strap of his backpack: “Chi Yao, talk to me!”

“Don’t be like this, not talking,” Lin Zhexia said. “Even though normally when you talk, I often want to poison you mute.”

Chi Yao couldn’t hold back this time, laughing despite his anger: “So you want to poison me mute.”

Lin Zhexia said softly: “Just occasionally, sometimes.”

Due to taking Chen Lin home, she returned more than an hour later than usual.

Lin He reheated the food: “Why so late today?”

Lin Zhexia put down her backpack, finding an excuse: “Chi Yao and I went to the bookstore for a while, so we came back late.”

Wei Ping: “Next time you’re coming home late, let your mom know. She was very worried about you.”

Lin Zhexia responded softly.

She hurriedly shoveled food into her mouth, then asked Lin He: “Mom, where’s our first aid kit?”

Lin He: “In the cabinet under the coffee table. What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No,” Lin Zhexia said. “It’s Chi Yao who has a… a bit of a cold. I’m going to take him some medicine.”

She had just recalled the earlier scene.

Although Chi Yao had beaten those people, had he been injured anywhere?

Fighting often leads to scrapes, and those punches—his hands must hurt, right?

Her thoughts drifted to Chi Yao’s hands, and she had to admit that if those hands were scarred, it would be a shame.

After finishing her meal, she grabbed the first aid kit and ran to the building across from hers.

Before ringing the doorbell, she thought for a moment. Given Chi Yao’s personality, he might not open the door since he was still angry.

So she used her key to open the door, saying before pushing it open: “Ahem, uh, I’m coming in, okay?”

After entering, she found no one in the room and no sound from the bathroom.

She lingered at the entrance for a while before seeing Chi Yao emerge from the bedroom, freshly showered.

Having changed out of his school uniform, he looked closer to the image of “someone who fights after school,” much like those antagonistic characters from movies who don’t study well and act arrogantly in school.

“What do you want?”

“I came to see if you were injured,” Lin Zhexia said, holding the first aid kit. “Show me your hands.”

Chi Yao, his hair half-dry, leaned against the doorframe, asking flatly: “Would I get injured? Even if there were three more of them, I wouldn’t get hurt.”

Lin Zhexia: “I can already see the wound on your hand.”

“…”

“Stop pretending,” she couldn’t help saying. “There’s no one else here.”

Chi Yao had a wound about four to five centimeters long on his hand, along the bone of his finger. After showering, it had turned a purplish-red. He hadn’t noticed when he got it.

Afraid he would continue pretending nothing was wrong, Lin Zhexia forcibly sat him down on the sofa: “I know, it’s just a small injury, beneath your concern, not even worth your attention, but let’s disinfect it anyway.”

As she spoke, one hand gripped his wrist.

Chi Yao lowered his eyes, glancing at their almost overlapping hands, without saying a word.

Lin Zhexia opened the first aid kit, taking out cotton swabs and iodine.

“If you,” Lin Zhexia said slowly, “feel pain.”

Chi Yao: “What, can I beat you up to distract myself?”

Lin Zhexia: “No, then you’ll just have to endure it.”

This was the first time she had examined Chi Yao’s hand so carefully.

Perhaps from nervousness.

Unconsciously, she held her breath cautiously.

Her fingertips occasionally brushed against his. Boys naturally seemed to have a higher body temperature than girls. She felt the warmth from Chi Yao’s hand gradually transferring to hers.

The atmosphere was a bit strange.

As she applied the medicine, Lin Zhexia thought to herself, Isn’t it too quiet?

She was about to say something, hadn’t even cleared her throat, when Chi Yao’s door was pushed open.

“Holy shit,” He Yang stood shocked at the doorway, shouting, “I swear I was going to knock, but the door wasn’t closed, and it just opened when I touched it.”

His loud voice rang out, and then the three of them stared at each other.

He saw his “Brother Yao” sitting on the sofa, with his “Sister Xia” crouching, her nose nearly touching his hand, the two of them very close.

“…What are you two doing?”

Lin Zhexia, holding the cotton swab, stood up abruptly with a hint of inexplicable guilt: “Applying medicine. His hand got scraped.”

“Oh,” He Yang didn’t think much of it. He plopped down on the sofa, squeezing next to Chi Yao, saying, “I’m here to escape. Midterm results are out, and my mom is chasing me with a beating.”

“I told her that even though I ranked 23rd, there are still more than ten people behind me. She asked why I always compare myself with those below me.”

“If I don’t compare with those below me, where would I get the confidence to continue studying?”

Lin Zhexia packed up the first aid kit, nodding: “That does make some sense.”

He Yang: “Right?”

He turned to look at Chi Yao, hoping for his agreement.

“Never been outside the top three,” Chi Yao said. “Wouldn’t know.”

He Yang: “…”

He Yang decided to change the subject: “How did your hand get like this, such a long cut?”

Chi Yao only said, “Ran into some trouble.”

He Yang was shocked: “You fucking got into a fight?”

“And it was one against three,” Lin Zhexia added. “I encountered some thugs after school. Don’t tell anyone about this.”

Many things that couldn’t be shared with parents could be freely discussed among peers.

He Yang naturally understood this principle: “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. But my Brother Yao fighting one against three—badass.”

Lin Zhexia didn’t have time to continue chatting with them; she still needed to get home to finish her homework.

After Lin Zhexia left, He Yang casually played with the game console on Chi Yao’s coffee table.

He played for a while and chatted with Chi Yao: “Really, one against three?”

Chi Yao: “No.”

He Yang: “When you say it like that, it must be true.”

He Yang played games for a while. Chi Yao went to the refrigerator for water, asking him, “Want some?”

“Yes.”

As he reached out to take the mineral water bottle, he glimpsed Chi Yao’s thin T-shirt. Thinking about the fight they had just discussed, he suddenly recalled something from the past that he hadn’t been able to remember.

The words “fight” acted like a thread, connecting that incident he couldn’t recall before.

He remembered what had happened before he caught Chi Yao exercising.

It was probably when they were eleven or twelve years old.

Somehow, a group of vocational high school students began hanging around their neighborhood.

One evening, they went together to the small shop to buy snacks. Just after leaving the residential area, they were cornered by several tall, burly vocational school students.

“Little kids,” the group reeked of cigarettes, one of them tapped He Yang’s head, saying, “how about giving your pocket money to big brother?”

To them at that time, these guys looked like giants who could knock them across the street with a single punch.

Fortunately, Lin Zhexia had been quick-witted, shouting to an unfamiliar auntie across the street: “Mom!”

Then they managed to escape during those few moments of confusion.

They were also lucky that there were many people near the residential area; otherwise, shouting “Mom” any number of times wouldn’t have helped.

Although he had no proof, he always felt that these two events might be connected-

After returning home, Lin Zhexia started on her homework. As she wrote, she realized something was off.

Chi Yao’s angry words, “Last time you could run away”—what “last time” was he referring to?

She thought for a while, but because there had been so many incidents between her and Chi Yao, she couldn’t recall.

Forget it.

She quickly gave up thinking about it.

Maybe there was such an occasion.

While doing her homework, Lin Zhexia received several messages from Chen Lin.

Chen Lin: I’m so sorry QAQ!

Chen Lin: I feel bad about involving you and Chi Yao.

Chen Lin: Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Chen Lin: I’ve deleted my forum account. From today on, I’ll study hard and turn over a new leaf.

Lin Zhexia replied with a “pat head” emoji.

After replying, she put her phone aside, wanting to concentrate on her assignment, but she couldn’t help recalling the scene of Chi Yao fighting.

But what made that scene linger in her mind wasn’t the “fight” itself.

Many conversations gradually surfaced in her ears.

These words started with “Do you know Chi Yao?”

“He’s very famous.”

“Wondering who caused such a commotion—oh, Chi Yao? Never mind then.”

“He was already famous at school before.”

“…”

Time seemed to flash and shuttle back and forth before her eyes.

There were memories from many years ago.

“His health was poor, going to the hospital every few days…”

“He couldn’t hold a ball.”

“He was always sick, couldn’t play with us.”

“…”

Then, the sickly boy she once protected behind her gradually overlapped with today’s Chi Yao, who protected her during the fight.

Lin Zhexia put down her pen, resting her chin on her sleeve. She could still smell that clean scent of laundry detergent from the hurried evening, lingering at the tip of her nose, refusing to dissipate.

Only then did she suddenly realize that since school started, the Chi Yao others saw was somewhat different from the Chi Yao she had always known.

This difference stemmed from her being too familiar with him, which ironically prevented her from noticing his changes.

That’s why she found the forum descriptions confusing.

That’s why she couldn’t empathize.

It was because the Chi Yao she knew as a child was very different from now.

…

So she only now discovered that Chi Yao was no longer the “sickly boy” she had grown accustomed to.

Only today did she come to know him anew.

A strange yet familiar new Chi Yao.

Before bed that night, she couldn’t resist clicking on the cat’s head profile picture.

[You patted ‘Chi Dog’]

Lin Zhexia wanted to ask, “Are you still angry?”

But Chi Yao misunderstood the meaning of this pat.

Chi Dog: Can’t sleep?

Lin Zhexia hesitantly replied: …Mm.

After a while, he sent a message:

Even if you dream of six thugs, I could beat them all.

Lin Zhexia realized he thought she couldn’t sleep because she was scared from the day’s events, afraid of having nightmares.

She held her phone, turning over in bed.

She typed back: What if I dream of sixty?

This time, the other side took a moment to reply:

Then you can experience-

What it feels like to be beaten to death