Outside the restaurant’s window, the sky darkened.

The waiter served the pasta and steak. Qu Xiao nodded at her, her eyes clear as the corners of her lips curved up.

“Moreover, I love my husband very much.”

“We are not only married for business reasons. We both have feelings for each other. He is also the reason why I want to return to school.”

Qu Xiao rejected Zhan Rui’s confession apologetically, trying to minimize the hurt that she caused him.

Across the dining table, Zhan Rui was frowning as he held his knife and fork. His youthful facial features looked a little sad, as if he was trying hard to suppress his emotions.

After a long while, he suddenly raised his head and stared at Qu Xiao. His gaze was intense as he spoke with determination, “You can reject me, but I also have the right to pursue you. I will not give up. I will show you that I am serious in pursuing you!”

Qu Xiao took a sip of warm water. She was frightened by his words and choked until she started coughing.

...

In the evening, Qu Xiao rejected Zhan Rui’s request to send her home. She carried her bag and walked towards the direction of the subway station. When she passed by that familiar alley, she suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from behind, it made her feel uneasy.

“Yo! Little girl, why aren’t you with Yao En today?”

“I finally caught you alone.”

A gangster from the school next door walked out from the shadows with a club in his hand. His forehead was still bruised from the fight that day. Both entrances to the left and right alleys were blocked by the other gangsters. It was obvious that they were deliberately waiting for Qu Xiao here!

Qu Xiao knew that she could not beat them, so she looked for escape routes around her and asked while stalling for time, “Why don’t you look for Yao En instead?”

“You’re one of his people. If I catch you, he’ll come looking for me himself!”

The gangster stared at Qu Xiao with a mischievous smile. He waved his hand to signal for his followers to slowly approach, gradually encircling Qu Xiao in the middle.

Qu Xiao grabbed her school bag. Her eyes quickly swept across the surrounding ground, trying to find an item that could be used for self-defense.

She saw a brick in the corner and threw her school bag at the gangsters. She took the opportunity when they raised their hands to block her and rushed over.

When Qu Xiao’s palm touched the brick, the next second, some of the gangsters grabbed her hair and started to pull on it.

“Fuck! How dare you come into my territory and behave like this?”

Zhou Ce propped himself on the low wall and jumped out. He landed steadily in front of Qu Xiao and kicked away the lackeys as he cursed angrily.

Qu Xiao turned her head in surprise. “Why are you here?”

Zhou Ce held her elbow and Qu Xiao stood up.

The two of them faced the gangsters from the neighboring school back to back, with a fighting stance.

Zhou Ce was very well known as the biggest school bully in the school. The moment they saw Zhou Ce, they couldn’t help but feel a little afraid of him.

The originally arrogant crowd was now a little hesitant. They looked at each other’s expressions and no one dared to rashly start a fight.

“How confident are you?”

Qu Xiao asked softly. Zhou Ce’s gaze swept across the group opposite him, and he suddenly raised his thin lips and said, “I’m not confident.”

“Hide behind me and find an opportunity to run away!”

Zhou Ce rushed toward the gangsters with a wooden stick in his hand. Qu Xiao felt a headache coming on. She found an opportunity to point in the direction of the alley entrance and shouted loudly, “The police are here! Run quickly!” Her voice was very loud, it frightened the gangsters and caused them to panic for a moment.

Qu Xiao hurriedly pulled Zhou Ce’s arm and tried to run away in the opposite direction.

The leader of the gangsters saw them trying to escape and hit them with a wooden stick. Zhou Ce turned around to block Qu Xiao’s back and took a hit. He cursed vulgarities as he turned around and kicked him to the ground, giving him a few vicious punches.

Zhou Ce rode on the gangster’s body and twisted his neck, threatening him fiercely

“Remember! I, Zhou Ce am the protector of Qu Xiao. If you dare to provoke her in the future, I will beat all of you until you can’t get up!”

The lackeys were afraid of Zhou Ce and did not dare to get close. They just stood nearby and waited for an opportunity to attack.

Zhou Ce looked at the gangsters who were lying on the ground and could not get up. He pulled Qu Xiao and said, “Let’s go!”

A few minutes later, Qu Xiao and Zhou Ce had arrived at a safe place. Both of them were in a sorry state.

Qu Xiao looked at the wounds on Zhou Ce’s shoulder and forehead. She took out iodine lotion from her school bag and sterilized it for him. The pain from his wounds made Zhou Ce suck in a breath of cold air. Qu Xiao sighed and said, “Don’t you guys have anything else to do besides fighting every day?”

Zhou Ce silently rubbed the tip of his nose and did not answer.

After a long while, Zhou Ce raised his beautiful eyes and stared at Qu Xiao as he said seriously.

“Don’t worry. In the future, they won’t dare to come and cause trouble with you. If anyone bullies you, bring up my name.”