"For you, mademoiselle!" A blond boy suddenly stepped in front of Li Yue from the side, stopping her in her tracks. He extended his hand and offered her a beautiful red rose.
She raised an eyebrow when she saw the flower, then lifted her gaze to look at the boy. He was facing the school building, so she could only see his side profile. His features were a mix of Chinese and Italian heritage. He flashed her a smile, looking like a typical playboy in his flashy attire.
Her expression remained impassive as she blinked at him, stepped aside and walked away. Seeing her dismissive behavior, his smile faltered, but he didn't get discouraged and quickly followed her.
"Hey! What's your name? Are you a new transfer student? Where are you going?" He asked her a bunch of questions while walking beside her; however, she didn't reply.
Right at that moment, Puff came flying towards her, "Yue! Yue!" It called out to her excitedly. "You wouldn't believe what I saw just now."
As soon as it reached near her, it began gossiping, "Li Xiang is fighting with some boys in the old ground behind school. Although he's quite injured but-" Before it could even finish its words, Puff realized that Li Yue had changed her direction and was now on her way to the old ground.
Both Puff and the blond boy trailed after her as she ran towards the back of the school's building. "Can you mimic a teacher?" Suddenly Li Yue asked the blond boy.
Startled by the unexpected question, he stammered, "Wha- what?" his expression turned to one of confusion.
"Can you? Or not?" She, however, didn't care and pressed further while looking at him.
He nervously nodded his head, "Ye- Yeah! I'm one of the best at mimicking teachers in-" as he was proudly explaining, she suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, behind a nearby wall.
She then peered her head out to look at the old ground from their hidden spot. The blond boy followed her lead, his eyes widening in shock at the scene before them.
Li Xiang was injured badly, his face bruised and swollen. The five boys surrounding him seemed to be taking advantage of his exhausted state.
Two of them were holding onto his arms, while the third had his arms wrapped around his neck to stop him from fighting against the fourth one who was blowing punches at him in the stomach. The fifth boy just stood nearby, occasionally hitting Li Xiang.
Seeing that, the blond boy gasped, "Oh Lord! That's awful! Let's get a teach-" he started, his voice raised in alarm. But Li Yue was quick to react, and pulled him away.
"Shh!" She gestured, urging him to keep quiet. "That'll be too late! Play along with me," she whispered, meanwhile glancing back at the ground to check on the situation.
Then, with a deep breath, she shouted, "Teacher! Teacher! I saw a few students fighting at the old ground behind school!"
The five boys panicked and immediately let Li Xiang go as they heard her. They looked around the grounds to find the student who had seen them and was going to report to a teacher.
Li Yue nudged the blond boy with her elbow, frowning and glaring at him as she signaled him to speak. He nervously glanced at her before starting, "Are you sure? How many of them?" he asked loudly, mimicking one of the teachers.
"Yes, sir, I saw it with my own eyes. Five boys were beating a boy really badly," she responded.
Hearing that, the boys turned pale. Scared of being caught by the teacher, they quickly ran away from there, leaving the injured Li Xiang standing alone.
He tried to move, but his injuries were too severe, and he slumped down onto the ground, unable to walk any further. He just laid there helplessly, and closed his eyes.
~~~~~
Once the boys were gone, Li Yue stepped forward, with the blond boy in tow. They stopped near Li Xiang, who sensed their presence and opened his eyes, expecting to see a teacher. But he was startled to find his younger sister instead.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, with a deep frown and struggled to sit up. However, she just gazed at him without a word. Her eyes narrowed into thin slits as if contemplating something.
Then, she turned to the blond boy, "Carry him," she said with her finger pointed at Li Xiang. His eyes widened in surprise, and he exchanged a stunned glance with Li Xiang.
Seeing no response, she raised an eyebrow, and hummed, "Hm?" as if asking the blond boy if he had any issues with her orders. His gaze snapped back to her, and he hesitated before taking a step forward.
Li Xiang, embarrassed by his weakened state, burst into outrage. "What? No! You don't need to meddle in this. Just go back to your class and leave me alone!" His face flushed and he glared at Li Yue, clearly disliking the idea.
~~~~~
As they walked, the blond boy enthusiastically said, "That was so cool! I've never done anything like this before." He looked ahead at Li Yue while carrying Li Xiang on his back. "By the way, My name's Liu Zong. What about you?"
This time, she didn't ignore his question and nonchalantly replied, "Li Yue."
"Li Yue?" he repeated her name in a low voice, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her. "What a coincidence! Your name's the same as the topper in 11th grade. But there's no way you're her, right? I mean, just look at you." He paused briefly. "You are a total stunner, but she.... she's famous for being a nerd."
He then glanced at Li Xiang, who was asleep, and asked playfully, "Say, how did you find out about this guy? The old ground is so far that no one heard a thing, but you.... do you have some kind of superpower?"
Li Yue just gave him a bored look and said, "Put him there!" She pointed at an empty bed in the infirmary, where they had arrived during Liu Zong's nonstop chatter.
~~~~~
After settling Li Xiang down and informing the teacher, they left the infirmary. "Do you have a laptop?" she asked out of nowhere.
Liu Zong frowned as he nodded in response. "Give it to me!" she said while extending her hand.