“Alright, but we’ve got a deal: you have to protect me, make sure I don’t get hurt. Got it?”
Lu Shuangshuang looked into He Bin’s eyes, then curled her finger and flicked his forehead with a soft thump.
“Hahaha, you silly boy, why are you so spaced out?”
“Ah—”
Lu Shuangshuang’s joy turned to misfortune. Losing her balance, the bike started tipping to the other side.
Quick as a flash, He Bin steadied the bike seat with one hand and grabbed Lu Shuangshuang’s arm with the other.
Lu Shuangshuang reacted swiftly too, using He Bin’s support to steady herself.
“Not bad, kid. Come on, big sister will treat you to some shaved ice. Or would you rather have soda or an ice cream bar?” Lu Shuangshuang patted He Bin’s shoulder.
“Anything’s fine.”
“Then let’s go with soda. Shaved ice is a bit too cold.”
Passing by a supply and marketing cooperative, Lu Shuangshuang went in and came out with two bottles of soda. She also bought an ice cream bar for He Bin.
“Here, the clerk said this is the newest kind. Try it and see if it’s good.”
He Bin took it. “You’re not having any?”
Lu Shuangshuang waved a hand. “No, too cold for me.”
“So, is it good?” Her big eyes sparkled as she watched him take a bite.
Feeling a bit self-conscious under her gaze, He Bin nodded. “Yeah, it’s good.”
“Then I’ll buy this kind next time.”
Lu Shuangshuang took a sip of her soda. “Ah, refreshing!”
But the next second, her face fell into a grimace.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s… it’s nothing.” Lu Shuangshuang’s face flushed slightly red.
He Bin guessed the reason. He took off his own shirt, turned his back, and handed it to her. “Tie it around to cover up.”
“You… how did you…” Biting her lower lip, Lu Shuangshuang took the shirt. Her entire face was now beet red.
He Bin wasn’t faring much better, the redness creeping up to his neck.
“Alright then, let’s… let’s go.” Lu Shuangshuang didn’t dare look at He Bin.
He Bin grunted in agreement. He walked around to her other side and swung his leg over his bike. “If you’re not feeling comfortable, maybe I should give you a ride?”
“But what about my bike?” Lu Shuangshuang really didn’t feel like riding it herself now.
“I’ll push it.”
He Bin steered his own handlebars with one hand and steadied Lu Shuangshuang’s bike with the other.
Lu Shuangshuang sat on the rear rack, looking up at He Bin’s broad shoulders and back.
Spotting a scar, she reached out and poked it. “Silly boy, how’d you get this? Got into a fight?”
He Bin stiffened slightly, his voice dropping in a warning. “Stop messing around.”
“Hmph! So touchy. What’s the big deal? Touch it and it’ll crumble to gold dust?”
She deliberately ran her hand over his back, poking here and there, finally giving his waist a little jab.
He Bin’s body shuddered. Startled, Lu Shuangshuang quickly wrapped her arms around his waist. “Silly boy, ride properly!”
“Let go!” He Bin growled through clenched teeth.
“Xiao Xiang, are you okay? Why are you so hot?”
Lu Shuangshuang actually listened this time and quickly let go. She touched her own forehead, her voice filled with concern. “Could it be that wound got infected? Do you have a fever?”
“No.”
He Bin sighed inwardly, really wanting to tell her that if she just kept her distance, he wouldn’t feel so hot.
Even though it was just two soft arms around him, it felt like a chain locking around his waist.
When she let go, he felt strangely empty.
He Bin wondered if he might actually be sick.
“Xiao Xiang, if you’re not feeling well, take medicine if you need to, see a doctor if you need to. I’ll cover the cost, okay?”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m really fine.”
He Bin sounded impatient. “Can you just be quiet for a bit? So noisy!”
Lu Shuangshuang puffed out her cheeks and mimed punching the air toward He Bin.
Seeing it all in their shadows on the ground, He Bin couldn’t help but smile.
Belatedly realizing he actually found Lu Shuangshuang… cute, he felt a wave of unease.
Like a bolt from the blue—how could he possibly think Lu Shuangshuang was cute?
Not only that, he also thought she was very pretty!
Oh no. He really must be running a fever.
For the rest of the journey, He Bin remained silent.
Surprisingly, Lu Shuangshuang was quiet too. She was thinking about what kind of return gift she should give to Kang Zhixin.
Kang Zhixin had sent her such a “big gift”; it would be too impolite not to reciprocate.
To avoid misunderstandings, He Bin only took Lu Shuangshuang to the entrance of the residential compound.
“Xiao Xiang, what time are you heading back to the martial arts school tomorrow?”
Lu Shuangshuang reached out to ruffle his hair, but He Bin dodged and even shot her a glare.
“Stingy.” Lu Shuangshuang wasn’t angry at all; in fact, she seemed quite pleased.
“Seven.”
“Can you wait for me here at five then?”
“Yeah.”
“This shirt…” Lu Shuangshuang glanced down at He Bin’s short-sleeved shirt tied around her waist. “I’ll wash it clean and give it back to you tomorrow.”
“You can’t see it like this, just give it to me.” He Bin reached out his hand. “I’ll wash it when I get back.”
“You shouldn’t touch cold water.”
He Bin said this very softly, but Lu Shuangshuang still heard it. She smiled, lowering her head to untie the shirt and hand it back to him.
He Bin crumpled it up and stuffed it into his bag. “Be careful getting in.”
“You head back safely.” Lu Shuangshuang waved at him. “Xiao Xiang, see you tomorrow.”
Only when Lu Shuangshuang’s figure was almost out of sight did He Bin quietly reply, “Okay. See you tomorrow.”
The next day, after breakfast, Lu Shuangshuang and Feng Wan arrived at the Yue family home.
Feng Wan and Wan Jiayin were heading to the compound’s auditorium to rehearse a choir performance for National Day.
After seeing the two elders off, Lu Shuangshuang pulled Ye Zhiqiu under the grape arbor, her eyes welling up. “Zhiqiu… sob… I almost never got to see you again.”
“What happened?”
Lu Shuangshuang fumed. “That jerk Kang Zhixin actually hired someone on a motorcycle to hit me!”
“She resents you for taking her position as the lead understudy. She sprained her ankle and wanted to make sure you couldn’t dance either.”
Kang Zhixin’s motives were easy to guess. She wasn’t scheming like Shen Liya; she was just purely malicious.
“She sprained her own ankle, but she blames me. How ridiculous.”
Lu Shuangshuang rolled her eyes. “Zhiqiu, how do you think I should return the ‘favor’?”
“I want to get back at her, but I don’t want to harm anyone like she did.”
“Using your words, I don’t want to dirty my hands over someone like her.”
Ye Zhiqiu looked at Lu Shuangshuang. “You shouldn’t have let that guy go at the time. You should have taken him straight to the police station. Handle it openly, let the regimental leaders know. Then Kang Zhixin wouldn’t have a hope of staying in the song and dance troupe.”
“I didn’t think of that at the time. I was completely terrified. And when I found out it was Kang Zhixin, I was just too angry.”
“If it weren’t for Xiao Xiang, I definitely would have been hit.”
“Xiao Xiang?”
Lu Shuangshuang told Ye Zhiqiu all the details about the previous day. “Zhiqiu, I’m so envious of you, having two such good younger brothers.”
“I’m not greedy, really. Having just one would be enough for me.”
“If that little beast Lu Xu were even half as good as Xiao Xiang, I’d be satisfied.”
Lu Shuangshuang sighed. “It seems like in this life, apart from my aunt, I probably won’t have any other real family.”
