Of course, Song Yu soon realized how stupid he'd been just now. His mouth opened and closed, then he quickly changed the topic, "Are you off work?"
"No." Xie Sui sat down across from him and shook his head, "Are you working on exercise questions?"
Song Yu held up his math textbook, "Yeah."
They'd already met twice and their relationship was no longer so awkward and stumbling. Song Yu complained, "I must've been really bored to attempt this. It's so troublesome. The more I do it, the sleepier I get."
"It's not troublesome. It's the factorials of A66, 6."
Xie Sui laughed briefly. His slender hand reached out to pick up a pen and a piece of paper. He wrote a formula on the paper and handed it to Song Yu, "The question just now."
Song Yu was really embarrassed. His ears grew red as he accepted it, "Thank you."
Fortunately, guests arrived at the milk tea shop again and Xie Sui went off to do his work.
Song Yu looked at his back figure as he poked the straw into the cup and took a sip of his lemonade. His mouth filled with the cold sourness of summer.
He was depressed in his heart. Did the main protagonist think that he was mentally retarded? Even a primary school student wouldn't do calculations that way.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he was.
It was almost evening.
Song Yu's test paper was finally finished in rough fits and starts through his various creative answering techniques.
If there were three long answers and one short one, he'd pick the shortest; if there were three short answers and one long one, he'd pick the longest.
He mainly finished it by copying, supplemented by confused muddling.
He had no culture and could only rely on others.
After finishing off the test paper, Song Yu felt that his soul had been distilled to a higher level.
Sometime in the middle, the store manager had asked Xie Sui to go buy some strawberries.
Inside the quiet and empty milk tea shop, a female shop assistant finally found an opportunity to lean in and chat with him enthusiastically.
"Little brother, can I ask? What's the relationship between you and Brother Xie?"
The female shop assistant's name was Xiao Xi, and she was very beautiful. Her eyes were big, and she'd put on a small amount of orange lipstick, making her appear pure and bright.
Song Yu had finished his test paper and was in a good mood. He replied casually, "A friend. When school starts, we might even be classmates!"
Xiao Xi smiled when she heard this, revealing two sweet dimples that made her seem very happy.
"That's great. It turns out that Brother Xie has friends."
She put the delicate gift box she had been holding the whole time on to the table and whispered, "Can I ask you to help me with something?"
Song Yu was shocked, "A confession? You should tell him this kind of thing yourself."
Xiao Xi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "No, Brother Xie doesn't even talk to me. How could I have the courage to confess to him?"
She bowed her head, and her hair swept down over her ears. She seemed to be revisiting a memory, "Last week, Brother Xie saved my life, and I always wanted to thank him. But, I'm a little scared of him, so I still haven't dared to tell him directly."
Song Yu was caught by surprise and suddenly felt that the name Xiao Xi seemed a little familiar.
Xiao Xi bit her lip and continued, "I wanted to ask if you could help me give this gift to him. Brother Xie might have forgotten about it already, but I really, really, really want to thank him."
It was as though she'd thought of something she feared; her eyes turned red and she sniffed, "I was walking alone at night that day and was almost snatched away by those gangsters. He was the one who saved me. Brother Xie is really a very, very good person."
Song Yu finally remembered this event.
In the original novel, Xie Sui had gotten into trouble with those gangsters during summer vacation and had broken his fingers because he saved a girl named Xiao Xi.
There was a complex mix of emotions brewing in Song Yu's heart. He gnawed at the straw for a moment, then shook his head at Xiao Xi and said, "Since you think that he's a very good person, why are you still afraid of him?"
Xiao Xi froze.
Song Yu's eyelashes quivered, "Why don't you thank him in person? Maybe he hasn't forgotten, maybe your thanks will make him happy for a long time. Maybe he's always been waiting for you."
Xiao Xi's expression was bewildered and confused.
Song Yu's words entered her ears one by one.
The girl's reddened eyes slowly became clear again and they gave off a firm light. She took the delicately wrapped gift box back into her hand, took a deep breath, got up, and bowed to Song Yu, "Thank you, I understand now."
Song Yu stirred up the lemon and lime slices in the cup with a thin straw.
He looked at the Xie Sui whose expression was stiff and blank after suddenly being given a gift at the door when he came back carrying the strawberries he'd been told to buy.
He couldn't help but bow his head and smile.
He'd transmigrated into this book and arrived at Xie Sui's side because he felt heartache for this simple and kind teenager and wanted to get rid of the misfortune from the original story, so he could live the way he should for someone his age.
It wasn't for the sake of obtaining his favor, nor was it because he wanted to become an indispensable, important person around him.
He wanted Xie Sui to see the tenderness and gentleness of the world. Not just... his own gentleness.
The milk tea shop closed at nine o'clock in the evening.
Song Yu asked the driver to wait for him at a street intersection.
Xiao Xi's cheeks still held a blush from when she'd given Xie Sui her gift, but she'd gained a lot of courage. Seeing that Song Yu was about to leave, she urged, "Brother Xie, you should go and send him off."
Xie Sui frowned briefly.
This place could be considered quite remote. There were only sporadic street lights on the street, and the road was dark and shadowed.
Song Yu thought of something, "Do you want to buy a cell phone?"
Xie Sui was still holding the gift in his hand. His expression was indifferent in the darkness, but a trace of anger had appeared at the bottom of his shaded eyes.
Song Yu's arrival had changed many things, and he didn't like the feeling of having things happen that were out of the ordinary.
"Hey, did you hear me?" Song Yu, who hadn't received a reply, asked his question again.
Xie Sui dropped his gaze and said lightly, "I'll buy one when I have enough money."
Song Yu stopped for a moment and asked, "There's an old cell phone in my house. Since it'll be thrown out anyway, I'll sell it to you for a hundred. Do you want it?"
A hundred yuan, it was no different from simply giving it away.
The bottom of Xie Sui's eyes were filled with coldness, and his heart was filled with increasing irritation. He licked the base of his teeth with his tongue and laughed shortly.
"Sure."
Xie Sui had agreed so readily that it left Song Yu stunned. He'd thought that with Xie Sui's current sensitive nature and inferiority complex, it would take a lot of effort to persuade him, saying things like 'if you don't use it, I'll toss it out' and so on.
"Okay then, I'll bring it to you tomorrow, then go with you to get a phone card."
Song Yu was a little excited. This way, he would be able to contact Xie Sui directly through his cell phone.
He still wanted to say something else, but a whistle rang out from up ahead and a stream of youth-filled words floated over.
"Oh, isn't this our great hero! Laozi has been looking for you for a long time, but you just sent yourself to our door."
Song Yu turned his head and looked over.
There were a few thugs illuminated under the streetlights. One of the gangsters, who had bleached hair and a leather jacket, ground out the butt of his cigarette with his foot and walked toward them with a grim expression on his face. To be precise, he was headed toward Xie Sui.
The youth standing at the front was pale and thin with a ferocious scar on his face. He stared at Xie Sui and sneered, "Brat, you were lucky last time. This time, I've got all my people with me, and even if you don't die tonight, you'll still have your arm broken for me."
There were about seven or eight of them, and they all held weapons in their hands. Their bodies gave off a fierce aura, the chains on their clothing flashed against the light, and their eyes were vicious.
Song Yu: Oh ho, a big plot point from the original novel was coming, and these people who'd been looking for revenge found their way here. He was a little regretful that he hadn't brought his bodyguard with him today.
The corner of Xie Sui's lips turned down coldly as he stood there in the dark. His fierce and cruel expression was even more intense than this group of gangsters. What great timing; he was feeling incredibly irritated right now. This group of people's arrival meant that he could vent his anger.
He reached out his hand to tug on Song Yu's wrist, his voice low and cold, "This is my problem. You go ahead first."
How could Song Yu leave him behind? If he left him on his own, Xie Sui's hand would be done for.
Song Yu pulled him back behind him. His expression was cold, "Shut up. I'll deal with it."
Xie Sui: "......"
The red-headed gangster at the front laughed out loud.
Song Yu dressed and looked like a good boy, and he was still holding his math book in his arms. He appeared clean and elegant, not even remotely looking like a threat.
The gangster spat on the ground, stepped forward, and grabbed Song Yu by the collar, "Don't concern yourself with things you shouldn't be involved in. Be careful you don't bring trouble onto yourself. But, since you've already stepped in, you should just admit to your own bad luck, little chick. Laozi likes to beat up nerds the most, and it would be best if I made you stupid."
He grinned and shifted his arm. It looked as though he was about to push Song Yu up against a utility pole.
Xie Sui's expression turned cold.
However, in the next second, a scream echoed through the street. The one who ended up knocked to the ground was actually the red-headed gangster!
Within the time it took for an electric spark to jump, Song Yu had reversed the situation and landed a kick all in one go. The teenager's brown tinted hair brushed across his forehead, a fierce expression twisting his well-behaved and gentle features.
Red Hair was on the ground covering his stomach. He raised his head and glared, "You're looking to die!"
"We'll see who dies first."
Song Yu sneered, rolled up the math book in his hand, stepped on Red Hair's arm, and smashed the book at his head. Every hit landed hard.
The people around them were all staring open mouthed at the scene.
Even Xie Sui, who'd been calm and poised for so many years, was left stunned for a few seconds by this child.
Red Hair was still yelling and attempting to struggle, but Song Yu was scarily strong. He was extremely humiliated and angry, and turned back to roar at the rest of his group, "Are you all still standing there and watching the fun?! Grab this guy and kill him for me!"
The little followers all came back to their senses and rushed over. They remembered that they had companions, and instantly swarmed over with iron bars and knives.
"Brat, you're finished. You dared to offend our Green Dragon Gang!"
"It's no use even if you kneel down and call daddy tonight!"
Song Yu released the foot that was stepping on Red Hair and punched in a few numbers on his cell phone. While waiting for the call to connect, he shot the group of gangsters a cold smile.
"You want to call for daddy?"
He held up the math book and patted Red Hair's face with it, sneering, "Do your homework first before coming out to hang on the streets. The north and south of the city all share the same streets, you should go and ask about who the real daddy is."
"......"
These gangsters had never heard such crazy words, and they were so angry their faces were about to turn green! Damn it, how could anyone dare to be this arrogant!
As for Xie Sui, he was really amused into laughter by this child.
The irritation in his heart also dissipated slowly along with the gentle night breeze. Perhaps Song Yu had brought in a lot of variables, but it had also given him many new experiences.
At the very least, he didn't detest the feeling.
Red Hair was so angry he wished he could jump up on the spot, "Who are you calling? It's useless even if you call people over! Tonight, either you die or I live!"
Song Yu was already on the phone, "Hey, Uncle Ma, drive the car over. There are a few bad youths here blocking traffic, you can just run them over on the way over."
—-
Butter's Thoughts:
SY: Uncle Ma, can you come swat a fly for me?
xiin: i love the way SY bullies the bullies ^_^
also, regarding update schedule – there's a definite chapter every Friday. Monday releases are dependent on whether there are ko-fi sponsored chapters or i'm far enough ahead on my other projects~ one of them is wrapping up soon though so i should be able to speed things up a little next month! (no guarantees though, i've been trying to build up a stockpile and it hasn't happened yet x_x)
1xiin – reference to a 'method' for picking answers in multiple choice questions... basically guessing