"Out of pity."
Lin Yu slowly released this answer that mattered greatly to Tang Manman.
Pity?
She pondered Lin Yu's answer silently.
After a moment, Tang Manman softly asked again, "Is there no other reason?"
Lin Yu gave a slight shake of his head but then mumbled as if in a dream, "I also wanted you to live happily."
"To not be bullied by bad people."
After Lin Yu's dreamlike words, silence fell in the room so profound you could hear a pin drop.
Tang Manman sat beside Lin Yu, processing his half-coherent phrases over and over. Her fair skin flushed in waves of crimson, turning redder by the moment, almost alarmingly so.
As if she had a fever.
And indeed, her thoughts were as feverish.
To live happily?
Not be bullied?
What does that mean?
Is this a confession?
It didn't seem like it.
Was it just a classmate's concern?
Neither.
Such seemingly solemn words were too intimate.
It sounded more like...
What a father might say to his daughter.
Despite understanding Lin Yu's words as a form of affection unrelated to romance, Tang Manman couldn't control the emotions surging within her.
It was as if those words flipped a peculiar switch within her.
Her cheeks burned as if scorched, her heart thumped painfully in her chest.
Those phrases entrapped her along with the memories of being saved by Lin Yu repeatedly. Tang Manman found herself breathing heavily, an unusual emotion that dissipated by noon today enveloped her once again.
And this time, its return was overwhelming, leaving Tang Manman utterly defenseless.
"Why did you pretend to scare me this afternoon?"
Her face nearly bleeding with blush, Tang Manman asked the question foremost in her mind in a tiny voice.
"Because..."
Lin Yu, half-asleep and half-awake, was about to reveal his inner thoughts when he suddenly sensed something off.
Tang Manman's question, for Lin Yu, was like asking a sleepy person for their bank PIN—touching the most sensitive spot in his heart.
Finally, at this moment, his nearly stalled brain kicked into gear, flashing the critical words across his mind, connecting the dots. He started to think.
Afternoon?
Pretend?
Scared me?
The slow churning of his thoughts eventually shaped into a name Lin Yu found all too familiar.
Tang Manman!
Lin Yu snapped awake as if realizing in his drowsiness that he'd left the stove on. As he attempted to sit up, the sharp pain forced him to lay back down.
Where is this?
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Tang Manman, why are you here?!
Lin Yu looked around in panic, particularly his gaze towards Tang Manman filled with more dread than facing the Scorpio gang's chasers.
"What pretend?"
"What scare you?"
"I wasn't pretending!"
"I warn you, Tang Manman, I'm not a good person."
Lin Yu responded with a ferocity, hoping she'd react like she did at noon—scared like a startled deer, fleeing far from him.
But his hopes were dashed;
Tang Manman didn't run, nor did her face show any fear. Instead, concern and urgency filled her flushed face as she pleaded, "Don't panic, just calm down."
"You're still very weak. You need to rest!"
"I'm not panicking!"
Lin Yu felt even more uneasy, increasingly desperate to revert Tang Manman to her state of aversion from earlier in the day.
"Tang Manman, you're not afraid of me?"
"You better leave now!"
"Or don't blame me for what happens next!"
"I, I just can't move now."
"Otherwise, I'd definitely be a hooligan to you!"
Lin Yu's breathing was ragged, his tone agitated as he glared at Tang Manman with a gaze as fierce as a predator's.
Beneath this menacing facade was a plea almost akin to begging.
Tang Manman, please!
Return to being annoyed at me, will you?
I promise I'll never bother you again, alright?
"Alright, alright, be a hooligan. I'm so afraid of you, okay?"
"Just calm down!"
Tang Manman's concern was solely for Lin Yu's wellbeing, echoing his words in an attempt to pacify his agitation.
Unaware of the ambiguity of her words until she saw Lin Yu's shock, she clamped her mouth shut, her face and neck turning a vivid pink as if every blush she had ever held back was making up for lost time.
For a moment, the intimacy of her words rendered Tang Manman brain-dead.
Lin Yu felt similarly, pondering despondently that his life was over.
How could things turn out this way?
Did Tang Manman's affection rise to such terrifying levels?
Was his feared ending from the comics unavoidable?
Destined to be a relationship wrecker, a bull-headed villain?
In despair, he considered a dramatic exit.
But as Lin Yu wallowed, he realized something he'd overlooked.
Where am I, actually?
Disregarding grief, Lin Yu looked around, concluding he was in an unfamiliar room.
Where is this?
Following this question, another significant inquiry surfaced in his mind: How did I end up here?
Unable to answer due to the intense pain from slight movements, Lin Yu turned to Tang Manman, flushed and flustered, and asked:
"Where is this?"
"How did I end up here?"