Xu Zihao had said her name without a purpose in mind.
Lei Nuwa took a deep breath and finally responded to him reluctantly.
"Young Mast-"
"Call me Zihao." Lei Nuwa felt like coughing up blood again. She did not know why the men in her past lives that had helped contribute to her doom and misery were now circling around her like sharks in bloody water. She wanted to stay away from those that had stood against her, and instead they flocked to her.
"I don't think that's appropriate."
"I didn't ask you." Lei Nuwa glared upon hearing his arrogant tone. It reminded her of Liu Yichen– the way he carried himself like she was a bug underneath his boot. At the thought of Liu Yichen, the bruise on her face began to throb.
Xu Zihao saw her change in facial expression and his eyes fell onto the bruise.
"That guy really hit you hard, huh?" He said, thinking the culprit was the man who had fought her in the karate match.
Lei Nuwa was unsure if Xu Zihao knew about Liu Yichen's violent side towards her, but had to assume the worst: that he was on Liu Yichen's side.
"I won't tell anyone, so just leave me be. I don't want to get engaged to him, so you won't have to worry about me." Xu Zihao had a confused and pondering look on his face; Lei Nuwa took advantage of this and ran into the nearest alleyway, disappearing from sight. When she was sure he did not follow her, she walked back to her dorm as she frequently looked behind her.
Xu Zihao was not unintelligent. After hearing her retort, and seeing her strong desire to run away from him, he knew it had something to do with Liu Yichen.
'Could Liu Yichen really have done that? He has never even yelled at Qian Qian, let alone raise a hand to her. Is Lei Nuwa lying for attention? For revenge?' His thoughts were racing as he laid out the different possible explanations.
As he was thinking, his phone buzzed. He saw that it was from Qian Qian, and she was asking him for help with something about Liu Yichen. Xu Zihao threw his phone angrily, and sat down with his head in his hands. He felt as if everything inside of him was starting to break apart, that his mind was suddenly upside down.
When Xu Zihao closed his eyes, the memory of a pair of purple ones stared back at him.
***
When Lei Nuwa arrived at her room, she saw a small jar of cream on her desk. On it was a sticky note that had scratchy handwriting and a poorly drawn smiley face.
'here is the cream I took from da infirmary lol, for ur bruises. btw, i kno ur name now >:) ur welcome, lei nuwaaaa -lin cheng :)'
Lei Nuwa could not help but laugh at the endearing note. She had planned to crumple the paper up and return the jar, but instead she stuck the sticky note in one of her notebooks and opened the jar to apply it. After she was done, she slid the jar into her bedside drawer. As she began to get ready to sleep, Zhou Lan burst into her room.
"Nuwa, why are you holed up in your room? The food here is free! And it tastes good! This is practically a castle, come on! They have so many ice cream flavors. You are so small and skinny, you need to eat more. And that means I can also eat more!" Zhou Lan was loud by nature, but her excitement and enthusiasm was contagious. Lei Nuwa couldn't say no.
As they walked to the dining hall, a crowd began to form towards the center of the hall. It was a smaller girl being harassed by one of the upperclassmen boys. She cried, but no one made a move to help her– that is, until Zhou Lan saw.
"Hey! What kind of pussy fights girls, have your balls even dropped yet? Back off!" She had already yelled and started walking towards the scene before Lei Nuwa could hold her back. The boy harassing the girl turned to Zhou Lan with a perverted look on his face before shoving the small, crying girl away.
"Feisty, do you want me that bad? You can just ask nicely, baby." A mini Zhou Lan was beating herself up in her mind.
'Idiot, Zhou Lan! You can't fight!' She winced and tried to prepare for whatever the gross man had in mind.
Nothing happened.
Five seconds later, still nothing had happened. Zhou Lan peeked one eye open and saw Lei Nuwa run in front of her to block the man's swing, and then swiftly kick him between the legs. The man turned white and collapsed on the ground, groaning and wheezing. Tears fell out of his eyes, and his crying noises caused the crowd surrounding him to start laughing.
"You bitch! I'll fucking kill you!" Lei Nuwa was frustrated. She did not want to intervene, but she knew she couldn't abandon Zhou Lan.
Her plan of blending in the background and not making enemies was not working.
"Someone already called campus security. Stay put until they come." Lei Nuwa was tempted to give him one more kick, but instead walked over to Zhou Lan comforting the crying girl. She could feel the eyes of the crowd on her, and quickly ushered her friend and their companion into a spot with less exposure.
"Hic- th-thank you Sisters." She started sobbing more. Zhou Lan comforted her, holding her hands and brushing her hair back.
Lei Nuwa gave her an awkward pat on the head.
"Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?" Zhou Lan asked, her voice like a calming melody.
The girl shook her head and then gave the two girls a quick bow of her head. "No, thanks to you guys! You were so cool and strong…I am sorry to have inconvenienced you." She held her head down this time, looking ashamed and embarrassed.
"Oh, it's okay! Me and Nuwa do this all the time." Lei Nuwa swung her head towards Zhou Lan, her eyes wide at the girl's blatant lies. "Anyways, you should go on now! If he bothers you again, he will have to deal with us." Zhou Lan paused. "Well, he'd really only have to deal with Lei Nuwa. I stand aside and yell."
The smaller girl laughed. Finally relaxed, she soon had run away, most likely towards her dorms. Lei Nuwa turned to Zhou Lan and gave her a slap.
"Quit treating me like your personal mythical beast!" She scolded.
"Aiii, bad beast, bad beast!" Zhou Lan giggled. "Anyways, thank you for saving me back there. Sometimes I speak without thinking."
Lei Nuwa put on her most surprised face, sarcasm lacing her words: "What? No way."