LinGu didn't expect my sudden move. He took a direct punch from me, staggered, nearly falling flat on the ground. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. The handsome face clearly bore the mark of my punch.
I still clenched my fists, half a meter away from LinGu, staring at him intently.
LinGu raised his hand, wiped the blood from his mouth, glanced at the three girls, then at Wu Yaoyao in the distance, his gaze flickered.
"How dare you punch him!"
The girl who got slapped twice by me also yelled out when she saw my sudden punch, about to rush up.
"Xiaoxue, stop."
Seeing the girl's action, LinGu lightly spoke to stop her. His unnatural tone, unknown whether it’s due to guilt or the punch I threw.
"President, this is——"
The girl called Xiaoxue by LinGu stopped when she heard his words. She stared at me with a resentful gaze, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Wu Yaoyao, with a hand on her slapped face, coldly stared at LinGu. The girl named Xiaoxue glared at me furiously. The other two girls just stood there, watching everything with a dazed expression.
The atmosphere quieted down.
The wind in the Fishing Harbour Park was just gently flowing, and the sunset light shone through the palm trees, casting dappled light on the pavilion.
It seemed everyone was waiting for me to speak.
The fist I used to punch LinGu in the face stung slightly, probably due to the exertion.
"Leave."
I looked at LinGu, slowly relaxing my clenched hand, and gently said these words.
Looking at his swollen and bruised face, that punch should have sufficed.
"Thank you." LinGu, who had remained in place during the whole time, let out a slight breath when he heard me. He gave me a nod before turning towards the three girls with a bitter smile, "Let's go."
"Why? This is not President's fault, we acted on our own," said the girl named Xiaoxue, trembling as she watched LinGu.
LinGu met Xiaoxue's gaze. His eyes flickered, lacking their usual confidence. After a moment, he finally spoke.
"Let's go."
....
"Idiot, don't move."
Not far from the Fishing Harbour Park on a bench in front of a small shop, I gently applied a nearly freezing bottle of mineral water to Wu Yaoyao's cheek. But because this idiot occasionally glanced at me and giggled, interrupting my action several times.
"Mm, hehe."
Wu Yaoyao obediently sat by my side, staying still but kept giggling.
"What are you laughing at?"
I couldn't stand the intermittent giggling, stopped my action and looked at her helplessly.
The last traces of sunset were still visible, and the number of nearby residents coming to the Fishing Harbour Park with fans to catch the cool breeze was gradually increasing. The sea breeze gently swirled, blending the scent of the sea into the deep summer air.
"Won't tell you, hehe."
Wu Yaoyao turned her head, facing me. Her shining teeth made her laugh dazzling.
"If you keep moving, the palm print on your face won't disappear. Let's see how you explain at home."
I snorted, ignoring her cute smile, and pressed the mineral water bottle against her cheek.
"Do I look ugly now?"
"Mm-hmm, super ugly." I nodded.
Upon hearing my response, Wu Yaoyao seemed a little flustered. She sat upright like a Boy Scout, her serious expression making me laugh.
"BaiQiao."
"What."
"How did you know I was being bullied there?" Wu Yaoyao sat straight and asked curiously while letting me tend to her face.
"Let me think..." Because my hand was a little cold from the icy water bottle, I switched hands and pretended to ponder, "Just passing by?"
Upon hearing my words, Wu Yaoyao pouted, lightly punched my thigh, "Be serious, we're not even on your way home.""Made it up." Finding it hard to fool her, this was all I could say.
"How did you think of it?" Wu Yaoyao was a bit puzzled. The look on her face seems to say, "You thought of this too?"
I paused my face-cleaning motions, twisted open a bottle of mineral water for a sip, before looking at the curious Wu Yaoyao and began explaining slowly.
"This LinGu is a handsome guy, big spender, right?"
"Big spender, yes. Handsome, not so much." Wu Yaoyao scoffed, dismissively.
This woman loves to contradict me.
"Alright, a big spender. He's a celebrity at Municipal High School No. 2, the president of the Kyudo Club. Why, in such a heavily attended performance competition, would he go and touch a girl's hand? Why do you think?"
"Perverted." Wu Yaoyao nodded, seemingly confident in her assumption.
"No, even the most perverted person wouldn't dare do such a thing to another school Kyudo Club's president, especially not in such a large gathering." I refuted against Wu Yaoyao's statement, and continued, "There's only one possibility; this person is incredibly arrogant."
"Arrogant?"
"Mhm." I nodded, "Blindly confident in himself. He thinks his charm works on every girl. But you, you slapped him."
"What? That's disgusting." Wu Yaoyao's face looked as if she'd just seen an insect.
"He couldn't possibly let you off the hook after being publicly slapped. You said that I chatted with him just to infuriate you. But actually, he came to me to find out where you live. After learning that you reside in the North of the city, he found a chance to relay this information to those three girls when they least expected it."
"I unintentionally overheard their conversation when LinGu told those girls not to bother you. Initially, I thought his conscience spoke to him, however, I later found out it wasn't the case. This was merely a sophisticated form of provocation. When someone passively told you this, your resentment could only increase. Those three girls had no idea they were being played by LinGu."
"This LinGu...how could he be so manipulative?" Listening to my explanation, Wu Yaoyao finally got it. "So, when I was bullied, LinGu, who carefully plotted this all, must've been there. Either he saw me getting beaten, satisfying his anger, or he was planning to play the hero, saving the damsel in distress, thereby redeeming his pride."
"He wanted both." I shook my head, "He was prepared to watch you get hurt before making an appearance. But he didn't expect that. I would come."
