Xing Qiu… flew back?

I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but when I took a closer look—no, I wasn’t mistaken. Xing Qiu had indeed been sent flying, his back slamming against the wall, while Lin Ke’er collapsed beside him. The four men who had been pummeling me froze in shock, staring in disbelief at Xing Qiu’s airborne return.

"My meal still isn’t here?" Houzi grumbled as he sauntered into the room, then casually planted a foot on Xing Qiu’s head.

A surge of relief overwhelmed me—I nearly wept with joy. "Houzi!"

The four men sprang into action, ready to charge at him. Houzi raised a hand, stopping them in their tracks. "Wait, let’s talk."

They hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances.

"Zuo Fei, how about covering my meals for a week?"

"Deal!" I shouted without hesitation.

"Then go on—get them!" Xing Qiu rasped weakly.

At last, the four men snapped out of their stupor and lunged. Houzi delivered another swift kick to Xing Qiu’s head before dashing forward to engage them. No matter how skilled he was, even Houzi couldn’t take down four men in an instant. I scrambled to my feet, grabbed a teapot from the table, and hurled scalding water at them. The boiling liquid sent all four men shrieking in agony—along with Houzi.

"You idiot! Stop making things worse and go save Lin Ke’er!" he bellowed.

I didn’t waste another second. I rushed to Lin Ke’er’s side and found her eyes open—she hadn’t lost consciousness after all, just completely drained of strength.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I’m fine. Let’s get out of here," she whispered.

I stole a glance at Xing Qiu, now lying unconscious on the floor, then scooped Lin Ke’er into my arms and bolted for the exit. Houzi followed close behind, the four men giving chase.

"Why the hell are you still running after us?" Houzi barked. "Your boss is dead from my kick!"

The four men skidded to a halt, then hurried back to check on Xing Qiu. We seized the opportunity and dashed out of the restaurant.

Houzi shot me a look. "Find a hotel. Let her drink plenty of water, and she’ll recover soon enough."

We hailed a taxi. I bundled Lin Ke’er inside and climbed in after her.

Houzi leaned against the window. "The moment I heard you were with Xing Qiu, I knew something was wrong, so I rushed over. Remember this—stay the hell away from the Ninth Prince’s people. Each one is more treacherous than the last." He patted my shoulder. "Alright, I’m off to play some games."

I clenched my fists, burning with resentment. Just yesterday, I thought Houzi was too harsh. Now, I realized he wasn’t wrong at all—every single one of the Ninth Prince’s lackeys was rotten to the core. If not for Houzi, Lin Ke’er and I would have been doomed.

Suddenly, a thought struck me. "Houzi, you haven’t eaten yet, right? Here, take five bucks—"

Before I could finish, Houzi waved me off. "What do you take me for? I’m not gonna keep mooching off you. Go on, get outta here."

I watched his retreating figure, my heart swelling with gratitude. Of course, that feeling might have been even stronger if I hadn’t noticed the bag of steamed dumplings he was carrying.

"Driver, take us to a hotel—one far away from here." I didn’t want to risk the Ninth Prince tracking us down.

When we arrived, I checked us into a room and laid Lin Ke’er gently on the bed. Filling a paper cup with purified water, I helped her drink. She still had no strength in her limbs, but her mind was sharp, her eyes wide and alert.

Since she was lying down, drinking was difficult. She coughed and sputtered a few times, nearly choking. Left with no other choice, I lifted her into my arms, letting her lean against my chest as I continued to feed her water.

After three or four cups, I noticed her face was growing flushed.

"What’s wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. Am I still not better?"

"It’ll take time. Drink a little more."

We were so close that our faces nearly touched. She smelled incredibly fragrant, a delicate scent that lingered between us. After a while, I felt her body tremble slightly.

I sighed. "Come on, are you seriously scared of me? I’m not Xing Qiu—I wouldn’t take advantage of you. We sat next to each other for a whole year, don’t you know me by now? Just relax."

"It’s not that…" Her voice was barely a whisper, softer than the hum of a mosquito.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Then keep drinking."

But she pressed her lips together, refusing.

I frowned. "What is it now?"

Her face turned even redder, and her trembling worsened.

A sudden realization struck me. "Wait… do you need to pee?"

She remained silent, but the way her body shook gave me the answer.

Without hesitation, I scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom, placing her on the toilet. Holding her shoulders firmly, I reassured her, "Lin Ke’er, you know me. You don’t have to worry—I won’t take advantage of you. I’ll close my eyes, help you with your clothes, and that’s it. Don’t overthink it, alright?"

A faint murmur escaped her lips.

I crouched down, closed my eyes, and reached out. Since she had no strength, her upper body slumped forward, her chest pressing against my face.

I was, after all, a young man with blood running hot in his veins. There was no way I wouldn’t react to this.

Fortunately, she was wearing a skirt. My hands carefully traced along her thighs, searching for the edge of her underwear. Slowly, I helped her slide it down.

The sound of liquid splashing echoed through the small space. Our breathing grew heavy. It lasted over a minute—clearly, she had been holding it in for far too long.

Cautiously, I asked, "Do you need me to…?"

"No need…" she whispered.

"Alright." I gently pulled her underwear back up and carried her back to bed. The entire time, I remained hunched over—my body’s reaction was far too obvious.

I didn’t dare look at her. Grabbing a cup, I gulped down some water.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Trying to calm myself down." I drained the entire cup.

Lin Ke’er gave a soft chuckle. "Pour me some too. I need to calm down as well."

We each drank three glasses of water, our complexions gradually returning to normal.

I turned on the television in an attempt to dispel the awkwardness, but for a long while, neither of us spoke. Eventually, Lin Ke’er’s phone rang. I retrieved it from her bag, glanced at the screen, and said, “Zhang Xuan.”

Lin Ke’er froze for a moment.

“Tell her everything,” I said, answering the call and putting it on speaker before placing the phone in front of her.

“Ke’er, have you seen Xing Qiu?” Zhang Xuan’s voice was laced with urgency and panic. “I haven’t heard from him all afternoon!”

I thought Lin Ke’er would blurt out the truth without hesitation, but to my surprise, she remained silent. I shot her a look, urging her to speak.

“No, I haven’t seen him.”

Her answer caught me completely off guard.

“Alright… I’ll keep looking for him,” Zhang Xuan said, disappointment evident in her voice before she hung up.

“Why didn’t you tell her?” I asked, puzzled.

Lin Ke’er pressed her lips together, saying nothing.

“Are you afraid of hurting her?”

“Mm.” She hesitated for a long while before speaking. “Zhang Xuan loves Xing Qiu—so much that it’s ingrained in her very bones. I’m afraid that if I tell her, she won’t be able to handle the blow… If he could change because of this, that would be best…”

“How is that possible? Xing Qiu is absolute scum—give him a hundred chances, and he still wouldn’t change! Yesterday, he touched your leg, and you said it wasn’t the first time! By hiding this from Zhang Xuan, you’re only enabling him—that’s why he dared to drug you today! Lin Ke’er, you’ve truly disappointed me. You may have grown more beautiful, more confident, but inside, you’re still just as naive! If you really cared about Zhang Xuan, you’d help her get rid of that bastard!”

Perhaps my tone was too harsh, because Lin Ke’er’s eyes shimmered with tears before they finally spilled over.

“Hey, don’t cry,” I panicked, reaching out to wipe them away.

But that only made her sob harder. I had never dealt with this kind of situation before, and now I was utterly at a loss.

“You’re right,” she choked out between sniffles. “I’ve only changed on the outside, but inside, I’m still the same… I act strong, but I’m always afraid—afraid of this, afraid of that. I thought if I became pretty, no one would bully me anymore, but look at me now… nothing’s changed.”

She cried even harder, to the point where bubbles of snot formed at her nose. I wanted to laugh, but this was clearly not the time.

I grabbed a tissue to wipe her face, then pulled her into a hug. “Becoming beautiful was just the first step. Becoming confident was the second. The third step is becoming strong. You’ve already taken two steps—you're doing great. Now, let’s take the third.”

I picked up her phone, dialed Zhang Xuan’s number, and put it on speaker, holding it near her lips.

“Tell Zhang Xuan that her boyfriend is a piece of trash.”

But, unfortunately, the call didn’t go through. The line was busy—over and over again.

“Every time Xing Qiu disappears, Zhang Xuan calls every single person she knows,” Lin Ke’er murmured.

“Then we’ll try again later.” I sighed, setting the phone aside.

We continued chatting, and I asked, “How did you become so pretty? Did you go to Korea for plastic surgery?”

“Of course not! Here, feel for yourself—it’s all natural.”

I already knew she hadn’t had any work done. Her facial features hadn’t changed—she had just been too plain and awkward before for anyone to truly notice her beauty. But still, I played along.

I traced my fingers over her face, from her brows to her eyes, down the bridge of her nose, across her lips, and finally to her chin. “Hmm… seems like the real deal.” Then, I let my hand drift lower.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?” Lin Ke’er swatted at me, suspicion in her gaze.

I grinned mischievously. “Just kidding.” I withdrew my hand and picked up the phone again, dialing Zhang Xuan’s number once more.

This time, the call finally connected.

“Zhang Xuan, I need to tell you something!” Lin Ke’er said hurriedly.

“I have something to tell you too! But we have military training soon—let’s meet at the cafeteria entrance at six,” Zhang Xuan replied before hanging up.

“That works,” I said, putting the phone down. “This kind of thing is better discussed in person anyway.”

“Come on, let’s drink some more water.”

Another fifteen minutes passed, and after downing another four or five glasses, Lin Ke’er finally had to go to the restroom again.

Wait—why did I say “finally”? Had I been waiting for this moment?

This time, we had mastered the process. I carried her into the bathroom, shut my eyes, and took care of everything…

When we emerged, both of our faces were burning—this time, even worse than before.

“This never leaves this room,” Lin Ke’er declared, lying on the bed with unwavering determination.

“Of course,” I muttered. “It’s not like I’d go around bragging about getting peed on.”

“You’re still talking about it?!” She grabbed the nearest cup and hurled it at me.

I caught it midair and beamed. “Hey, you can move now!”

“Huh?” She blinked, then slowly raised her hands, flexing her fingers like an elderly patient doing rehabilitation exercises.

I held her hands, helping her stand. Step by step, I guided her forward.

“My hands and feet feel stronger, but my body still feels numb,” she said, taking slow, deliberate steps.

“Keep drinking water—it’ll help.”

We walked side by side, close enough that I could catch whiffs of her delicate fragrance. The atmosphere between us was intoxicatingly ambiguous, as if the very air carried an unspoken promise.

Before I knew it, we had reached the door. I deliberately took a larger step forward, and just as I predicted, Lin Ke’er stumbled into my arms.

With my back pressed against the door, I tilted my head downward, searching for her lips.