The bell rang.
Its shrill sound cut through the classroom, and before the echo faded,
I was already packing my bag with trembling hands.
I needed to leave..fast.
If anyone saw my eyes right now, they would know I was seconds away from breaking.
How could he say that…?
Li Xue… you...!!
Am I really that bad?
My vision blurred. I blinked rapidly, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall.
But before I could escape, his voice sliced through the room like a blade.
"Damn it, Qin Yue!"
Li Xue slammed his hand on the desk.
"Cut off your innocent act! You knew Xiao Yin needs that scholarship, but you still...."
I froze.
My heart stilled.
Everyone in class turned to stare. I felt twenty pairs of eyes land on me at once, sharp and whispering.
"Boyfriend-girlfriend fight?"
"Ignore them, guys, they'll make up later.."
"Shut up!"
Li Xue snapped.
"She isn't my girlfriend. She just used the rumor to stay in the spotlight."
Something inside me cracked.
Used?
Spotlight?
My eyes burned so fiercely I thought I would cry right there.
I stood, fists trembling.
"Xue..what are you even talking about? I never..."
My words choked in my throat, trapped by humiliation.
I wanted to tell him the truth that I never denied the rumors because I thought they didn't matter between us. He knew me since childhood.
He should've known better.
But before I could speak, the whispers turned into giggles.
"She looks like she's faking tears."
"She's been clinging to him for years."
"Poor Li Xue, he finally snapped."
My patience snapped.
I raised my hand, not to slap him but to stop him to force him to listen just once.
But someone grabbed my wrist.
A delicate hand. Cold fingers.
Xiao Yin.
Her eyes were calm. Too calm.
Beside her, Li Xue smirked, as if he'd caught me red-handed.
"See, everyone? Look at her real face. She tried to hit me."
"No.!" I gasped. "I wasn't.."
The class erupted.
"So fake."
"Drama queen."
"Knew it."
"What a fall from grace."
My cheeks burned. My throat tightened. My eyes stung.
Then Xiao Yin...sweet, fragile, pitiful Xiao Yin....pushed me.
Hard.
I fell backward, crashing against the edge of a broken desk.
Pain shot up my arm. Gasps filled the room.
Then laughter.
Actual laughter.
My ears filled with buzzing.
My heart throbbed with humiliation so sharp it felt like drowning.
And just when I wished the floor would swallow me
Dhaammm!!!
A deafening crash shook the room.
A chair flew across the floor and shattered against the wall.
Silence slammed over the class.
And he walked in.
Black hair, streaked with electric blue.
A tattoo peeking from his neck.
Dark eyes burning like a storm.
Lin Yi.
The school's infamous delinquent.
The boy who never attended class.
The name teachers whispered like a curse.
He stood in the doorway, chest rising and falling, rage rolling off him like thunder.
"Look at that broken chair," he said, voice low and lethal.
Everyone stared.
He stepped forward, slow, dangerous, eyes sweeping the room before landing on me.
My breath caught. I was still on the floor, clutching my stinging hand.
His gaze softened for a fraction of a second.
Then hardened again.
"Next time…" He pointed at the shattered chair.
"…it'll be whoever hurts my girlfriend."
The class gasped.
Girlfriend?
Who??
My brain froze. My heart stuttered.
Li Xue looked like someone slapped him. "Wait..
what girlfriend!"
But Xiao Yin grabbed his sleeve sharply, stopping him for some reason I didn't understand.
Before I could ask anything, Lin Yi was already kneeling beside me. Without asking, he slid one arm under my knees, another behind my back
And lifted me.
Just like that.
In front of everyone.
I yelped softly, "Wh..what are you doing?! Put me down!"
My voice cracked from crying, making me sound more pathetic.
He ignored me. "You talk too much for someone bleeding."
"Bleeding?"
I looked down.
My palm…
Red.
A thin cut dripping from where I'd hit the desk.
I hadn't even noticed.
Lin Yi clicked his tongue.
"Your bloody hand begged me for help louder than your mouth....and.. I can't ignore blood, you know? "
"I never asked...I snapped weakly "I don't even know you except your name
bad boy"
"Good. Thanks me later."
"What ?....!"
He smirked. "A choco-mint ice cream."
My head spun.
Somewhere between humiliation and confusion,
I realized he was no longer carrying me in his arms
he was already walking through the corridor, straight toward the nursing room.
I barely processed anything as the noisy hallway blurred around us.
He kicked open the door.
"Yang Li, my girlfriend's injured."
The school nurse, Yang Li, sighed without looking up.
"What is it this time? Did you get into another fight..?"
She looked up.
Her brows flew up so high they nearly disappeared into her hairline.
"Oh my god."
She stared at me like she was seeing a unicorn.
"She's so pretty. How did you.. I mean...
what happened?"
My face burned.
I sputtered, "No! He's not.. We're not..it's just.."
Lin Yi raised a brow at me.
"She's shy. And angry at me. You know how girls are."
Yang Li laughed, shaking her head.
"Shut up, Lin Yi. Don't act over-smart with me, my son."
My son??
My jaw dropped.
He groaned. "Yes, yes, Mommy-ma'am."
I nearly died of embarrassment.
She cleaned my wound gently, still muttering about how cute I was, how troublesome boys were, how I should run while I still could.
I didn't know what to do.
I couldn't speak.
Couldn't think.
The whole scene felt surreal.
Lin Yi watched me quietly. Not smirking. Not teasing.
Just… watching.
With eyes too soft for someone like him.
When Yang Li finished, he thanked her and helped me stand. My knees wobbled slightly.
He didn't mention it.
---
By the time we left the room, I felt like the universe had decided today would be the worst and funniest day of my entire life.
My heart was still heavy with humiliation, but my head was spinning for an entirely new reason.
Lin Yi flagged a cab.
I insisted I could go alone.
He ignored me.
"You're small. People like you get lost easily."
"Hey! I'm not...small!"
He smirked. "okay .... pocket edition"
"Stop saying weird things!"
He opened the cab door and leaned slightly forward, black hair brushing his forehead, voice dropping to a playful whisper:
"You owe me ice cream. Remember that."
Before I could argue again, he closed the door.
The cab drove away.
I stared at him through the window
this boy who stormed into my disaster of a day like a tornado, shattered a chair, lifted me like I weighed nothing, and declared I was his girlfriend in front of everyone.
What.
The hell.
Just happened?
I let out a small, breathless laugh.
Today was hell.
And yet… a tiny part of me wondered:
Why did Lin Yi help me?
Why me?
Why now?
And why…
did Li Xue look terrified when Xiao Yin stopped him from speaking?
The cab turned the corner.
My heart beat strangely.
Nothing made sense.
But something told me
What a day..!!