Bai Long Qiang looked down at the girl in front of him. His eyes scanned over her wet clothes and the tears in her eyes, but neither one was enough to make him take a step back.
"But—" she said, her quivering voice soft as she wrapped her arms around herself.
The rest of the girls from the locker room quickly scurried away, hugging the walls to get away from Bai Long Qiang as fast as they could.
"You think I am joking," he said slowly, tilting his head to the side. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he ever saw in her.
She hastily shook her head, her look of panic quickly being replaced with terror.
"No," she assured him. "I don't think you are joking. I just don't understand."
Bai Long Qiang raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. As much as he wanted to follow Wang Tian Mu, he needed to nip this in the bud. Or maybe he should just remove the whole plant. That was a possibility, too.
"She is nothing… a kid." He could see her confusion, but the fact that she knew Wang Tian Mu was still a child, and yet she still did it was what worried him the most.
"She is a kid," he agreed. "And my grandfather asked me to look after her. Does that look like I looked after her?" He pointed to the drying slime on the floor as proof that he had not fulfilled his duties.
"So, this is only because your grandfather asked you to?" Her shoulders dropped in relief.
Bai Long Qiang shook his head, not able to understand how her brain worked. "I look after her because I want to. The fact that grandfather wants me to, too, makes it easier."
"Easier?"
Bai Long Qiang only smirked. He couldn't figure out why he was so drawn to a child. It wasn't sexual or anything like that. It was like he had found a treasure, and he didn't want anyone else to discover it.
She was…
He shook his head as his brain formed a word that he didn't agree with. She wasn't his. Just someone that he wanted to protect until his dying day.
Yeah, that wasn't much better.
"Leave her alone," he said, his tone not inviting an argument.
He was debating his next move when Ye Mei Hui reached out a hand to touch his chest. A feeling of… sickness… came over him at her touch, and he flung the offending appendage off of him. "You don't touch me," he growled, his temper starting to take over.
He couldn't lose it here. He couldn't.
"Disappear," he bit out before he strolled away, his long legs eating up the distance.
He was too late to be able to check on Wang Tian Mu, but he had her phone number. He could at least send her a message that he had taken care of it.
Well, he hadn't yet.
For the next step, he would have to consult one of his friends.
----
"Tang Tang!" screeched Mom as soon as she saw me. Flinging open the door to the car, she sprinted out of the passenger seat and rushed toward me.
If I was feeling vulnerable after the locker room, that alone would have reassured me. But I wasn't feeling vulnerable. In fact, I really didn't care about it other than the fact that I would have a lot of work to redo.
If it was pathetic that a 15-year-old was picking on a 6-year-old, it would be even worse for a 25-year-old to strike back against a 15-year-old.
"I'm fine, Mom," I assured her, holding up my hand to stop her from hugging me and getting herself dirty. "I don't suppose you have a towel or blanket in the car? I don't want to make any more of a mess."
"Fuck the mess. Things can be cleaned. Are you sure you are okay?" hissed Mom, her hands hovering over my face and body as if she were trying to figure out where I was injured.
"Fine, I promise," I said again. I just wanted to get out of here before Bai Long Qiang showed up. I wasn't going to be dealing with his fussing on top of everything else. "I don't suppose we can get going? I am getting a bit cold."
As if to emphasize my words, the wind picked up, and I shivered as my wet body tried to warm me up.
Mom let out a squeak of dismay and hurried me into the car.
"We are technically supposed to have dinner tonight with your grandparents, but I'll reschedule it," explained Mom as she got into the passenger seat. She pulled out her phone, but I stopped her.
I might not be able to do anything about Ye Mei Hui, but that didn't mean I couldn't bring out the big guns.
"No," I said as my teeth started to chatter. Dad turned up the heat as he pulled out of the school's parking lot. "Grandma and Grandpa are closer to here than our house. We can go there, and I'll take a shower before dinner. Besides, I don't want to disappoint them by not showing."
Mom spun around in her seat and seriously looked at me. I raised my chin and met her gaze.
"Of course, Sweetie," said Mom, a smile forming on her face. "We need to get you warmed as fast as possible, and your grandparents live closer. I don't suppose you know the name of the person who did it?"
"I don't," I answered with a shake of my head. But that didn't stop the two of us from smiling at each other.
The best knife to use was always someone else's.
And Mom's parents were the biggest knife in my toolbox right now.
I was sure that they knew that Bai Long Qiang was watching out for me. In fact, they even said they had asked him too. It wouldn't take them any time at all for them to find out who did this, and I wouldn't have to say a single word.
Leaning back in my seat, I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of both the car and Mom's love.