The atmosphere around them turned terrifying the moment the young girl lifted her head and met his gaze. Yan Feng stood there, his hand involuntarily tightening, even as the sound of bones creaking echoed in his ears, he had no intention of stopping.

Until... a pitiful cry rang out.

"It hurts, it hurts!!! Brother!! Brother, I was wrong! I won't dare again... Please let me go... sob sob sob..."

Only then did he come to his senses, hurriedly releasing his grip, only to see the girl's wrist already bruised from his unconscious hold...

This was going to be a bit tricky...

Yan Feng wanted to say something, but the girl didn't give him the chance. Taking advantage of his hesitation, she dashed away without a trace.

She was probably scared. It's just as well she ran. If she had drunk too much soda and ended up with osteoporosis or something, it wouldn't be good if he accidentally hurt her...

Yan Feng sighed, turning his attention back to Chen Xi in front of him. After a long internal debate, he spoke as gently as possible:

"Let's... go home first..."

...

The alley wasn't far from their home, so he decided to walk back, leading the way for the young girl, and also taking the opportunity to talk to Chen Xi about what had just happened.

How should he start the conversation...

"I didn't."

A soft voice came from behind him. Yan Feng turned around, puzzled, "What did you just say?"

The young girl clutched the hem of her skirt, remained silent for a few seconds, then turned her head to the side, "I didn't flirt with her boyfriend..."

"Oh, is that all!" Yan Feng shook his head, smiling wryly, then said, "I wasn't thinking about that just now, I was thinking about something else..."

With that, he sighed lightly, his expression slightly serious, "Little Xi, I'm giving you two choices now."

A shadow flickered in the girl's eyes.

"First, I'll pay for us to transfer to another school, away from those who bully you." The man spoke eloquently, trying to maintain a calm tone:

"Second, after school tomorrow, you come with me to confront that girl. This might take a few tries, I'll talk to them, and you just follow behind."

The girl blinked, seemingly confused.

Yan Feng, thinking he looked quite cool, rubbed his nose and asked, "So? Which of the two options do you want?"

He was met with an awkward silence.

Chen Xi stood there, looking at the man in front of her until he felt uncomfortable, then slowly spoke:

"I was the one who asked them to meet."

Yan Feng was stunned, eyes wide, mouth agape, taking a long time to recover, he asked incredulously:

"You asked them to meet!?"

"Yes," the girl nodded, her expression still calm, "I just wanted to talk to her alone, to avoid further trouble, but she seemed to misunderstand it as a provocation."

"And what about you?" Yan Feng immediately worried, "They wanted to hit you just now, what if you got hurt!? What if you keep getting bullied!?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Xi shook her head, confidently saying, "I won't get hurt, and even if I do, they'll definitely be hurt worse."

"How is that possible!? There are several of them, how can you..."

Before Yan Feng could finish, he saw the girl pull out a small stun baton from her sleeve, the conductive metal at the tip glinting menacingly in the sunset, sending chills down one's spine.

The girl skillfully put it away, then looked at the dumbfounded man, speaking in the calmest tone about the most shocking thing:

"I deliberately led them into that dark alley, no surveillance, even if I stunned them, there'd be no evidence."

Yan Feng gulped hard, his lips moved, hesitating for a long time before he managed a dry laugh:

"Uh... that's... that's good... at least you have a good sense of self-defense..."

They resumed their journey home, walking side by side on a large bridge, their shadows stretching out beneath them, the setting sun painting the sky a blood-red hue.

"So why did you suddenly appear?"

The girl suddenly asked. Yan Feng scratched his head, his expression slightly complicated, "There happened to be a bus stop there, and I saw what looked like a student being bullied, so I acted on impulse to help."

Chen Xi listened, then turned her head, staring at him intently, as if searching for any sign of deceit on his handsome face.

Fortunately, there was none.

At least it meant he wasn't following her.

The girl's guard lowered a bit, but it was still there, unable to be completely erased.

A year of wandering had exposed her to the darker sides of human nature that her peers hadn't seen. The reason she remained intact was due to this vigilance, so she never let her guard down easily.

Another silence fell between them.

This time, Yan Feng spoke first.

"I'm not against those things..."

"What things?" Chen Xi asked, puzzled.

"College... campus romance," Yan Feng said, looking ahead as he walked, pausing for a moment, then advised, "You'll grow up eventually, just remember to cherish yourself, don't follow in your mother's footsteps, getting involved too early..."

His words trailed off, probably because he didn't want to use his sister as a negative example, so he only mentioned part of it, not going into detail.

But Chen Xi didn't focus on that, instead, she said something seemingly out of nowhere:

"I don't have a boyfriend."

Yan Feng frowned, trying to understand the meaning behind her words, feeling like the young girl was explaining to an old father that she wasn't dating some punk. He simply walked ahead, smiling as he remarked:

"It's okay, you'll find someone you like eventually, maybe sooner than you think!"

Chen Xi remained silent, obediently following behind.

"Do you really like her?" The girl asked again.

Yan Feng knew who she was referring to, he just didn't expect her to bring up Bai Xi at this moment.

He looked at the stone bridge he had crossed countless times, his vision blurring, as if the woman appeared before him again, wiping the tears from his eyes, holding his small hand, walking home together against the sunset...

His eyes grew moist, he was indeed, as she once said, a sentimental and tearful little boy.

Yan Feng sniffed quietly, then waved his hand, stopping at the bridge's end, turning to look at the long river flowing beside them, smiling faintly, he said:

"That's all in the past now..."

Chen Xi said nothing, just turned with him to look at the river beside them, the setting sun pulling their shadows towards home, urging their steps.

Suddenly, the girl stepped back, their positions shifted, and their shadows nestled together, one large, one small, one blurred, one clear.