Jiang Fan stepped in to smooth things over. "Ah Xiao, Zhou Wan really wanted to drink it herself."

Lu Xixiao looked at Zhou Wan again, his brows tightly furrowed. After a moment, he gripped Zhou Wan's arm and pulled her up. His voice was terrifyingly cold, on the verge of a full-blown rage.

"Let's go."

As they walked out of the private room, Lu Xixiao stopped, turned his head, and his gaze fell on the boy from before. "Next time you do this, don't blame me for not showing you any respect."

Then, with a "bang," Lu Xixiao slammed the door and left.

The boy felt rather wronged and said to Jiang Fan, "Hey, why is Brother Xiao mad at me? It's not like I forced Sister-in-law to drink."

Jiang Fan glanced at him. "Is that what he's angry about?"

"What else?"

"That comment you just made, about taking her home to 'get things done'," Jiang Fan said. "Did you forget why Ah Xiao went to 18th High School to corner Luo He?"

It was because those guys had run their mouths, saying shameless things to Zhou Wan.

The boy still felt it was unfair. "But what I said wasn't that out of line, right? Besides, we used to be like this all the time. We've said much worse things, and I've never seen Brother Xiao act like this."

"His previous girlfriends could handle those kinds of words, but Zhou Wan can't. Take a look at what kind of personalities those girls had, and then look at Zhou Wan's."

Jiang Fan paused, then added, "Besides, are Ah Xiao's feelings for Zhou Wan the same as for those other girls?"

*

Lu Xixiao gripped Zhou Wan's arm and strode forward.

At first, the pain in Zhou Wan's ankle was tolerable, but as they walked, it was pulled and aggravated, becoming more and more painful.

"It hurts." Her small face was scrunched up, her eyes red. "Lu Xixiao, my foot hurts."

Blinded by an inexplicable anger, Lu Xixiao finally remembered her foot injury. He stopped and looked at her.

A red cloud rose on the little girl's cheeks, her fine brows were knitted, and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes, splashing onto the ground.

Lu Xixiao was stunned. "What are you crying for?"

Zhou Wan knew he disliked girls who cried at the drop of a hat. She quickly wiped her tears, but then she remembered the phone call from earlier—she no longer needed to use Lu Xixiao's affection.

Tears fell again. She lowered her head and didn't wipe them away, letting them fall, patter, patter, onto the ground at her feet.

Lu Xixiao looked at her for a while, then leaned down slightly, his voice softening. "Does your foot hurt a lot?"

Zhou Wan nodded.

He squatted down and gently lifted Zhou Wan's pant leg.

From walking so fast, her ankle was red and hot.

He looked up at her and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

Zhou Wan shook her head.

Lu Xixiao turned around, slid a hand under Zhou Wan's knees, and easily lifted her onto his back.

There were a lot of people on the street at this hour, mostly young people.

Lu Xixiao was truly eye-catching. As he walked, he drew many girls to turn their heads and whisper about him.

Zhou Wan felt unwell. She rested her forehead on Lu Xixiao's shoulder, feeling as if her heart and lungs were being scorched. The alcohol, with its burning heat, surged up her throat, making her head feel muddled.

Lu Xixiao carried her through the noisy street and turned his head. "Stop crying."

Zhou Wan: "I'm not crying."

"Are you really drunk?"

"A little dizzy."

Lu Xixiao scoffed. "Why drink if you can't handle it?"

"Because I was a little sad." Because of the alcohol, her voice was drawn out, unusually slurred.

"Sad about what?" Lu Xixiao asked.

"Lu Xixiao," Zhou Wan sniffled. She thought she must really be drunk; in a sober state, she wouldn't have such a desire to confide in someone. "I did a very bad thing, but only now do I realize that it was all in vain."

Zhou Wan's voice was very soft, carrying a restrained sob and a hint of bitterness that was hard to detect, more like a sigh.

"It's like... I gave up everything for one thing, even at the cost of becoming a bad person, but in the end, I got nothing. I couldn't change anything. The only thing that changed was that I became bad... But I don't want to be bad..."

Lu Xixiao listened to the little girl on his back tell him these things intermittently.

He didn't know the specifics of what Zhou Wan was talking about, but he didn't ask.

He curled his lips emotionlessly and continued walking forward, saying coolly, "So what if you've become bad."

"Don't you hate bad people?"

Lu Xixiao laughed. "Don't tell me you think I'm a good person?"

"Mm." Zhou Wan nodded subconsciously, without hesitation. "You are a good person."

At least he was open and pure.

Lu Xixiao raised his eyebrows. "Then you're a bad judge of character."

"..."

Zhou Wan rested on his shoulder, turning her head to look at his well-defined profile.

She was drunk and didn't even realize how close they were now.

"Lu Xixiao," she said, lowering her head and rubbing her eyes hard with the back of her hand. "I'm so, so sad."

He adjusted his grip on her legs, hoisting her up a bit higher. After a long moment, he spoke in a low voice:

"Have you ever heard this saying—love me when I am dirty; don't love me when I am clean, for everyone loves me when I am clean."

His voice was very low, very deep.

Like the spine of the wind, steady and firm, it blew into Zhou Wan's heart and took root there.

"Zhou Wan."

Lu Xixiao looked at the green light ahead. "It's okay to be bad. Someone will love you that way anyway."

That was perhaps, in all the years Zhou Wan knew Lu Xixiao, looking back on their youth, the first time he had been so patient, so gentle with her.

Telling her that she didn't have to be sad, didn't have to be ashamed.

Someone will love all of you.

Not only loving you in all your splendor, but also loving you when you're covered in mud.