Ding Yebai's expression turned cold. He said to Fu Hui, each word clipped and deliberate, "Stay away from her."
Fu Hui was a little annoyed. He looked helplessly at Ding Yebai. "Who are you? I'm talking to the person I like. What's it got to do with you?"
Ding Yebai grew angry. He immediately stepped forward and grabbed Fu Hui by the collar. "You call that liking someone? Liking someone means protecting her and cherishing the most vulnerable, sensitive part of her heart—not grabbing hold of her wounds and taking advantage of her weakness like you did, or even making her feel worse because of it!!!"
With that, he shoved Fu Hui backward, then naturally turned around and positioned himself in front of Yang Zhi.
Yang Zhi's gaze had never left him from the moment he arrived. She kept staring at him, feeling inexplicably safe.
Fu Hui staggered back several steps from the shove. He wasn't an unreasonable person, and after hearing Ding Yebai's words, he truly fell into deep thought.
Ding Yebai said, "You clearly know how much Yang Zhi cares about her mother, yet you still said those things. You're hurting a woman at her most vulnerable point. Do you even count as a man?!"
With that, he reached one arm behind him, naturally took hold of Yang Zhi's wrist, and led her toward his home.
As for Fu Hui, he stood there dumbly, deeply reflecting on himself. In the end, he was only trying to balance things with the rationality in his heart.
He reflected while feeling puzzled.
What exactly was that boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen to Yang Zhi...?
Meanwhile,
Ding Yebai and Yang Zhi walked side by side along the street. He had already let go of her arm, but he was now feeling a faint trace of nervousness.
Yang Zhi thought for a while before speaking. "Speaking of which, did you really come out just because you were hungry?"
Ding Yebai said, "Of course not. Look at the time."
Yang Zhi glanced at her watch, and a flash of panic immediately crossed her calm eyes. "Sorry, I didn't notice the time. I can't believe half an hour has already passed."
Ding Yebai glanced at her from the corner of his eye, keeping his gaze ahead as he said flatly, "It's fine. I was worried that something might have happened to you on the way, so I came out to take a look."
"Worried... about me?" Yang Zhi slowly turned her head and stared blankly at Ding Yebai.
When Ding Yebai noticed her looking at him from the corner of his eye, he immediately straightened up and said with a serious expression, "Yes, worried. After all, you're a girl."
Yang Zhi felt a little embarrassed. She scratched her cheek with a finger and said softly, "The way you put it, do I not look like a girl?"
"No." Ding Yebai immediately denied it.
His tone remained icy, but in truth, he very much wanted to gently tell Yang Zhi, You really are the gentlest woman I've ever met. Whether it's your voice, personality, or appearance, you're the person who best embodies the graceful beauty of a woman from a water town in my eyes.
After that, the two continued walking forward in silence.
About five minutes later,
"Um..." Ding Yebai had both hands in his pockets. He looked up at the bright moon in the sky and said slowly, "Sister Yang Zhi, when do you... miss your mother the most?"
Yang Zhi froze for a moment. "Hm?"
Ding Yebai said, "Um... I just suddenly wanted to ask. Your mother is very important to you, right?" He paused, then pointed at the bright full moon. "Anyway, whenever I see a full moon, I really miss my dad. My old man is often away from home, so I miss him quite a lot."
The moon was a vessel for longing.
Yang Zhi followed the direction he pointed and looked over. Her pupils unconsciously softened. After a long while, she let out a deep breath and said, "Every moment."
Ding Yebai said, "What?"
Yang Zhi said, "There's no 'most.' I miss my mother every moment."
That was right. In Ding Yebai's eyes, when Yang Zhi said those words, her voice was filled with sorrow down to the dust. It seemed as if her tears might burst forth at any moment.
He was actually afraid of girls crying because he found it troublesome. But at that moment, all he felt was heartache. He began to worry that Yang Zhi might cry, and he sympathized with what she had said.
He thought she was so pitiful.
Those feelings grew stronger and stronger, driving him to reach out toward Yang Zhi without thinking.
Yang Zhi lowered her eyes to look at it, somewhat bewildered.
Then Ding Yebai snapped his fingers, and a red rose appeared in his hand with a smooth little whoosh.
It was a very amusing magic trick.
At that moment, Yang Zhi's eyes lit up.
Ding Yebai held the rose out to her. "Don't cry."
Yang Zhi accepted the rose and smiled especially gently. "I didn't cry. No wonder Grandma and Qiqi like your magic tricks."
Ding Yebai raised one eyebrow and looked at her in confusion.
"Because magic is surprising, but looking at you makes people feel happy."
She smiled sweetly, breathtakingly beautiful.
Ding Yebai's heart trembled with excitement. How could he possibly feel nothing when looking at someone so beautiful?
After a while, he pulled his baseball cap lower, forcibly suppressing his nervous and bashful expression.
As he walked forward, he said, "Thank you... I'll take that as a compliment. All right, hurry up, or we won't have much time left."
Yang Zhi jogged after him with the rose in hand. "Don't just take it as one. I really was complimenting you. Also, thank you for coming to help me out."
Ding Yebai said, "It's fine."
Yang Zhi said, "..."
She had a quiet personality, so she didn't say anything more afterward. But at one point, she suddenly remembered what Sister Lin had said earlier.
[You have to believe that someone will always be willing to stand up for you.]
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