Of course, Song Yu soon realized what a dumbass he had just been. He twitched his lips and changed the subject. "Are you off work?"
"No." Sitting across from him, Xie Sui shook his head, then asked, "Are you doing practice problems?"
Song Yu raised the math book in his hand. "Yeah."
Having met twice already, they were no longer quite so awkward and reserved around each other. Song Yu complained, "I'm only doing this because I'm bored out of my mind. It's such a pain. The more I do, the sleepier I get."
"It's actually not complicated. A₆⁶, six factorial."
Xie Sui smiled, picked up a pen with his slender hand, and pulled out a sheet of paper. He wrote a formula on it and handed it to Song Yu. "For that problem just now."
Song Yu was mortified. His ears reddened as he took it. "Thanks."
Luckily, customers came into the bubble tea shop just then, and Xie Sui went to serve them.
Watching his retreating figure, Song Yu poked a thin straw into his cup and took a sip of lemonade, filling his mouth with the cool tartness of summer.
He felt glum. Would the protagonist think he was an idiot? Even an elementary school kid wouldn't have calculated it that way.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.
By late afternoon.
Song Yu finally stumbled his way through the test paper, making full use of his test-taking techniques.
When three answers were long and one short, pick the shortest; when three were short and one long, pick the longest.
Rely mainly on copying, with guessing as backup.
I might know nothing, but writing "solution" would get me anywhere.
Having finished the paper, Song Yu felt as though even his soul had been elevated.
At one point, the manager sent Xie Sui out to buy some strawberries.
In the quiet bubble tea shop, a female employee finally found her chance and enthusiastically came over to chat him up.
"Hey, cutie, can I ask how you know Brother Xie?"
The girl's name was Xiao Xi. She was quite pretty, with big eyes and a little orange lipstick, looking both innocent and striking.
In a good mood after finishing his paper, Song Yu answered casually, "We're friends. Once school starts, we might even be classmates!"
Xiao Xi smiled at that, revealing two sweet dimples. She seemed very happy.
"That's great. So Brother Xie does have friends."
She set the exquisite gift box she had been holding on the table and asked softly, "Could I ask you a favor?"
Song Yu paused. "A love confession? You should really tell him yourself."
Xiao Xi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "No. Brother Xie barely even talks to me. How would I have the nerve to confess to him?"
She lowered her head, the hair beside her ears falling forward, seemingly lost in her memories. "Brother Xie saved my life last week. I've wanted to thank him ever since. But I'm a little scared of him, so I still haven't dared say it."
Song Yu froze, suddenly feeling that the name Xiao Xi sounded familiar.
Biting her lip, Xiao Xi continued, "I wanted to ask you to give him this present for me. Brother Xie might have forgotten already, but I really, really am so grateful to him."
As though recalling something frightening, her eyes reddened, and she sniffled. "I was walking alone at night that day, and that gang of thugs almost dragged me away. He saved me. Brother Xie really is such a wonderful person."
Song Yu finally remembered.
In the original novel, the reason Xie Sui got mixed up with those thugs over summer break and had his fingers broken was that he had saved this girl named Xiao Xi.
With mixed feelings, Song Yu bit his straw and thought for a moment, then shook his head at Xiao Xi. "If you think he's such a wonderful person, why are you still afraid of him?"
Xiao Xi froze.
Song Yu's eyelashes trembled slightly. "Why not thank him yourself? Maybe he hasn't forgotten. Maybe your thanks will make him happy for a long time. Maybe he's been waiting for you."
Xiao Xi looked bewildered and at a loss.
Every word Song Yu said reached her ears.
The girl's slightly reddened eyes slowly cleared again, shining with determination. She took the carefully wrapped gift box back into her hands, drew a deep breath, stood up, and bowed to Song Yu. "Thank you. I understand now."
Song Yu stirred the lemon slices and little limes in his cup with his thin straw.
He watched Xie Sui return with the strawberries, only to suddenly receive a gift at the door, his expression stiff.
He couldn't help lowering his head with a smile.
He had transmigrated into this book and come to Xie Sui's side because his heart ached for this kind, innocent boy. He wanted to help him escape the misfortunes of the original story and live the way someone his age should.
It wasn't to win his affection, nor to become someone important and indispensable to him.
He wanted Xie Sui to see the gentleness in this world. Not just... his gentleness alone.
The bubble tea shop closed at nine.
As usual, Song Yu told the driver to wait for him at the intersection at the end of the street.
Xiao Xi was still blushing after giving her present, but she had also grown much bolder. Seeing Song Yu about to leave, she even urged, "Brother Xie, go see him off."
Xie Sui frowned slightly.
The area really was rather out of the way. Only a few scattered streetlights stood along the pitch-dark street.
Song Yu remembered something. "Do you want to buy a phone?"
Xie Sui carried the gift in his hand. His expression was indifferent in the darkness, but a trace of viciousness rose in his pitch-black eyes.
Song Yu's arrival had changed many things, and he disliked this feeling of things veering off course.
"Hey, are you listening to me?" Getting no response, Song Yu asked again.
Xie Sui lowered his eyes and said flatly, "I'll buy one once I've saved enough."
Song Yu paused, then asked, "I have an old phone at home. It's going to get thrown out anyway. I'll sell it to you for a hundred. Want it?"
A hundred yuan was practically giving it away.
Xie Sui's eyes were ice-cold. Growing increasingly irritated, he ran his tongue along the base of his teeth and smiled.
"Sure."
Xie Sui agreed so readily that Song Yu was stunned. He had thought that, with Xie Sui's current sensitive, self-conscious personality, he would have to spend some time persuading him with things like, "I'll just throw it out if you don't use it."
"Great, then. I'll bring it tomorrow and go with you to get a SIM card."
Song Yu was a little excited. This way, he could contact Xie Sui directly by phone.
He was about to say more when a whistle suddenly sounded straight ahead, followed by a young man's thuggish voice.
"Well, well, if it isn't our big hero! I've been looking for you for ages, and now you've delivered yourself right to me."
Song Yu turned to look ahead.
Several thugs squatting beneath a streetlight smoking, with dyed yellow hair and leather jackets, ground out their cigarette butts underfoot and approached them with vicious expressions. More precisely, they approached Xie Sui.
Their leader was a sallow, scrawny young man with a hideous scar on his face. Staring at Xie Sui, he sneered. "You got lucky last time, brat. This time, all my guys are here. Even if you don't die tonight, you're losing an arm."
There were about seven or eight of them, each carrying something, all exuding a reckless viciousness. The chains on their clothes reflected the light, their eyes utterly venomous.
Song Yu thought, Well, damn. Here comes a major plot point from the original novel. Revenge has come knocking. He regretted not bringing bodyguards today.
In the darkness, Xie Sui gave a cold twitch of his lips. His refined face held even more viciousness and ruthlessness than theirs. Perfect. He was unbearably irritated right now, and these people had come to let him vent.
He reached out and caught Song Yu's wrist, his voice low and icy. "This is my trouble. You go first."
How could Song Yu leave him behind? If he left him alone, Xie Sui would lose his hand.
Song Yu pulled him behind him, his expression cold. "Shut up. I'll handle this."
Xie Sui: "..."
The thug leading them, whose hair was dyed burgundy, laughed.
Song Yu dressed just like those well-behaved kids and was even holding a math book. Clean-cut and delicate-looking, he had absolutely no intimidating presence.
The thug spat on the ground, stepped forward, and grabbed Song Yu's collar. "Stay out of things that aren't your business, or you'll get yourself in trouble. But you've already stuck your nose in, so consider yourself unlucky, little chicken. I love beating up bookworms. Best if I knock them stupid."
He grinned and swung his arm, seemingly about to slam Song Yu into a utility pole.
Xie Sui's expression turned cold.
But the next second, a scream rang through the street, and the one thrown to the ground was actually the red-haired thug!
In a flash, Song Yu reversed the hold and kicked him down in one fluid motion. The boy's light brown hair swept across his brows and eyes, his seemingly gentle, docile features revealing a sharp edge.
Clutching his stomach on the ground, the redhead looked up with wide eyes and raged, "You're asking to die!"
"Let's see who dies first."
Song Yu sneered, rolled up his math book, stepped on the redhead's arm, and struck him over the head with it. Every blow used all his strength.
The others watched, dumbstruck.
Even Xie Sui, who had remained unruffled through so many years of upheaval, was stunned by this kid for several seconds.
The redhead howled under the blows and tried to struggle, but Song Yu was frighteningly strong. Humiliated and furious, he turned back and roared, "You're still standing there watching?! Get your weapons and beat him to death!"
His lackeys remembered that they had brought weapons and instantly swarmed forward with iron rods and knives.
"You're done for, brat! You dared mess with our Azure Dragon Gang!"
"Even kneeling and calling us Daddy won't save you tonight!"
Song Yu took his foot off the redhead, entered a few numbers into his phone, and gave the thugs an icy smile while waiting for the call to connect.
"Calling you Daddy?"
He patted the redhead's face with his math book and sneered. "Do your homework before you hit the streets. From the south side to the north, ask around and find out who's Daddy."
"..."
The thugs had never heard such arrogant words. Their faces went livid with anger! Fuck, how could anyone be this cocky?!
As for Xie Sui, this kid genuinely made him laugh.
The irritation in his heart slowly dissipated with the gentle night breeze. Perhaps Song Yu had brought many uncertainties, but he had also brought him many new experiences.
At least they weren't ones he disliked.
The redhead was so furious he wanted to leap up on the spot. "You're calling for backup? It won't help! Tonight, either you die or I live!"
Song Yu was already on the phone. "Hello, Uncle Ma? Drive on in. There are a few delinquents blocking traffic here. You might as well run them over while you're at it."