The day was utter chaos. In the very end, the wail of police sirens tore through the darkening sky, finally separating the two groups of people scuffling together.

Zhou Wan witnessed Lu Xixiao fighting with her own eyes.

She finally understood why even someone like Luo He was afraid of him.

He wouldn't listen to any persuasion, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was reckless, completely irrational, seemingly unable to feel the pain of his own injuries.

The police car drove away with a group of people, finally putting an end to the farce.

Zhou Wan was among them, as a bystander who knew what had happened.

She sat next to Lu Xixiao, turning her head to study him cautiously. His brow bone was bleeding, his tall, handsome nose was cut, and the knuckles on the back of his hand were scraped and bleeding.

Zhou Wan reached out, trying to take his hand.

But Lu Xixiao quickly pulled his hand away, turned his head to look out the window, his face cold, not uttering a single word.

Zhou Wan pressed her lips together and asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

He didn't speak.

Zhou Wan bit her lip and silently, stubbornly reached for his hand again. Lu Xixiao dodged it again, but he finally turned his head to look at her, the anger in his eyes still simmering.

"Zhou Wan, you're fucking something else."

She lowered her head, not knowing what to say. The rims of her eyes grew hot, and a stinging sensation rushed to her nose.

She inexplicably felt like crying, but she didn't want to shed tears in this environment.

She sniffled.

"What the hell are you crying for," Lu Xixiao said coldly.

Zhou Wan clenched her jaw, forcing the sob in her throat back down.

Lu Xixiao: "Cat got your tongue? You get bullied and don't come to me, and you even fucking wanted to help that group cover for it. You're really something else. Why don't you just go with them?"

Zhou Wan's head sank lower and lower.

"I just didn't want you to fight with them," she mumbled.

"Then why didn't you run? Are your legs just for show? Haven't I told you to stay far away?"

"You have," she said in a small voice, but then, unable to stop herself from retorting after being scolded, she added, "There were a lot of them, I couldn't run. Then he pushed me, and I twisted my ankle. It hurts a little."

Lu Xixiao paused, then reached out and yanked up her school uniform pant leg.

His movements were rough, pulling the fabric straight up to her knee, revealing a pale, slender calf. Her ankle was black and blue, already severely swollen.

Lu Xixiao stared for a moment, then couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.

Jiang Fan, sitting in the front seat, watched the two of them through the rearview mirror.

If Ah Xiao weren't in such a rage, he wouldn't dare try to rashly intervene, but who wouldn't feel their heart soften at Zhou Wan's pitiful state? Only Ah Xiao could look at a face like that and not only offer no comfort but have the heart to scold her.

More importantly, this was the first time Jiang Fan had ever seen Lu Xixiao act like this.

He'd had many girlfriends, and if Luo He had bullied any of his exes, Lu Xixiao would definitely have gotten even.

So, Lu Xixiao fighting for Zhou Wan wasn't that shocking. What was shocking was that he was willing to waste so much breath lecturing a girl.

Seeing the injury on Zhou Wan's foot made Lu Xixiao even more furious, but he couldn't find a way to vent this anger.

It rampaged inside his chest, burning him until his organs ached.

Police Station.

The police told them to recount what happened during the fight. Lu Xixiao couldn't be bothered to speak. Luo He, with his bruised and swollen face, was holding his tongue out of spite. Both sides were stubborn, so the police could only look at Zhou Wan. "You talk."

Zhou Wan paused, then recounted everything that had happened since the end of the first half, from start to finish.

Including the unspeakable things those guys from the 18th High School had said.

Anyone would be angry after hearing it, let alone when it came from the girl before them, whose voice was gentle, who looked so thin and frail, with red-rimmed eyes, looking so pitiful and wronged.

The more the police listened, the more they felt that Luo He and his group were real scumbags.

And Lu Xixiao hadn't known any of this.

He had hit Luo He just from seeing the cut on Zhou Wan's forehead. Now he learned her ankle was sprained and that she had been humiliated like that.

He abruptly stood up and threw another punch at Luo He. Both sides erupted again, and it took several police officers to barely manage to drag Lu Xixiao back to his seat.

He rarely showed his anger so openly. His chest heaved, his gaze so cold it was murderous. "Luo He, this isn't over. Just you watch, I'll fucking kill you."

The police officer slammed the table hard. "This is the Police Station! Try making another sound and I'll detain all of you!"

Zhou Wan quickly tugged on Lu Xixiao's sleeve, shaking it to signal him not to be impulsive.

Lu Xixiao shot her an irritated glance and shook her hand off, but thankfully he didn't continue making a scene. He pressed the bridge of his nose and leaned back in his chair, frustrated and weary.

Half an hour later, after Zhou Wan finished recounting the entire process and the police finished their admonishment, they each signed a written pledge, and the matter was finally over.

The moment he walked out of the Police Station, Lu Xixiao lit a cigarette.

His craving had hit.

He took a hard drag, then exhaled. The cold night wind blew against him, and the suffocating feeling in his chest finally eased.

"Ah Xiao, are we still going to get something to eat?" Jiang Fan asked.

"Eat my ass," Lu Xixiao said impatiently. He paused for a few seconds, then tilted his head toward Zhou Wan beside him. "I'll take her home first."

So Jiang Fan and the others left first, and Lu Xixiao called a taxi.

The taxi arrived quickly and stopped outside. Zhou Wan silently endured the increasingly unbearable pain in her ankle, limping as she followed Lu Xixiao into the car.

She didn't know where the car was going.

And she didn't dare to ask.

It wasn't until the surrounding buildings became more and more familiar that the car stopped at the noodle shop next to the Arcade.

Lu Xixiao was the first to pull open the door and get out.

Zhou Wan's leg was hurting more and more. She struggled to bend over, bracing her hands firmly on the seatback.

Lu Xixiao stood to the side, watching her for a moment. He hadn't intended to help her, but the longer he watched, the more irritated he became. He tsked, threw away his cigarette, and strode over to her. Leaning halfway into the car, he lifted her straight out.

After carrying her out of the car, he didn't put her down, but carried her directly into the noodle shop and placed her on a chair.

His face was expressionless the entire time, terrifyingly cold.

Uncle Kang, who was cooking noodles, exclaimed, "Aiyo, what happened here?"

Zhou Wan gave him a faint smile. "I sprained my ankle."

"Is it serious?"

"It's fine."

"What would you like to eat?"

Lu Xixiao said, "Two bowls of Three Delicacies Noodles."

The noodles were served quickly. Zhou Wan lowered her head and focused on eating. Across from her, Lu Xixiao suddenly put down his chopsticks and walked out of the noodle shop without a word.

Zhou Wan froze.

Uncle Kang asked with a smile, "Are you two having a fight?"

"I don't know."

Zhou Wan said in a small voice. She had no idea what Lu Xixiao was angry about, or how long he'd been angry.

"Young men are hot-blooded and have quite a temper, but you can't be like that with a young lady," Uncle Kang said with a smile.

A short while later, Lu Xixiao returned with a bag in his hand.

He stuck out his leg, hooked Zhou Wan's chair to turn her sideways, then squatted down and pulled up her pant leg.

Zhou Wan flinched her leg back, but after a glance from Lu Xixiao, she didn't dare move again. Her ankle rested in his palm.

Seeing her injury again, Lu Xixiao's brows furrowed tightly. He bit the cap off a bottle of disinfectant, spat it to the side, and poured it directly onto her ankle.

A stinging pain seeped in through the scrapes, spreading through her nerves to her entire body.

Zhou Wan's whole body trembled. She bit her lower lip hard, not making a sound.

Lu Xixiao deftly finished disinfecting her wound, then placed an ice pack on her ankle and secured it with gauze.

He looked up and saw a deep mark on Zhou Wan's lower lip where she had bitten it. The rims of her eyes were bright red as she held back her tears.

"You don't say anything when you're bullied, and you don't say anything when it hurts?" Lu Xixiao said flatly.

Zhou Wan lowered her head and said softly, "It's bearable."

Lu Xixiao scoffed, not bothering with her anymore. He sat back down across from her, but his noodles had become swollen and mushy. Lu Xixiao stirred them a few times, then tossed his chopsticks down.

Zhou Wan said, "Let's order a new bowl."

"Let's go," he said, getting up.

Zhou Wan quickly followed.

Outside the noodle shop, Lu Xixiao stood at the entrance. Hearing her footsteps behind him, he glanced over his shoulder and squatted down. "Get on."

Zhou Wan's steps faltered.

Her intuition told her it was best not to go against Lu Xixiao's wishes right now.

She slowly moved behind him, then slowly and cautiously leaned onto his back.

Lu Xixiao looped his arms under the bend of her knees and effortlessly lifted her onto his back.

Zhou Wan kept her chest slightly back, controlling the distance, not leaning completely against his back. But even so, the distance was too close; she could clearly smell the scent of tobacco on him.

The wind whistled through the bare tree branches.

Lu Xixiao's shadow was stretched long.