I’ll Hold Your Hand And Promise You A Lifetime - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Photo Incident (4)

After dinner, Yue Xi went out to a convenience store and bought Yi Luo’s favorite peach-flavored lollipops. Then she headed to Yi Luo’s house.

“Aunt Yu, good evening,” Yue Xi greeted Yu Xiaohua politely at the door.

“Hello, hello. Luo’er’s in her room,” Ms. Yu Xiaohua said, looking Yue Xi up and down. “Wow, you’ve gotten so tall! You weren’t this tall the last time I saw you. Got a secret?”

“I just love sports—always running and jumping around,” Yue Xi replied with a smile.

“Then you need to talk to my daughter too. She should exercise more instead of staying cooped up at home all the time, never growing taller,” Yu Xiaohua said enviously, looking at Yue Xi’s tall, slim figure. Such a shame though—an orphaned child.

“Sure. I’ll go find her now,” Yue Xi said with a smile. She knocked on Yi Luo’s door. “Yi Luo, it’s me.”

“Come in. It’s not locked.”

Yue Xi turned the handle gently and saw Yi Luo sitting at her desk in beige loungewear, reading a book. She closed the door behind her and walked in.

“Does your arm still hurt?” Yue Xi asked as she approached, pulling out a lollipop. “Here.”

“It’s fine now. Ah, peach flavor!” Yi Luo happily unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth. “You always get me.”

“Of course I do.” Seeing Yi Luo happy made Yue Xi happy too. She flopped down onto the bed behind her.

“Hey, you’re not mad anymore, right?” Yi Luo turned around and crossed her legs to face Yuexi.

“No, I’m not. That’s why I came to check on you. What really happened with your injury?”

“I texted her and asked to talk at the school gate after class. She didn’t look too pleased when she showed up. I tried to explain, but she got impatient and pushed me. I lost my balance and hit a bike behind me.”

“Besides your arm, where else did you get hurt?” Yuexi’s anger flared up again.

Yi Luo pouted and pointed at her leg, looking a little aggrieved.

“I see. And you still tried to talk to her,” Yue Xi said, gently flicking Yi Luo’s nose.

“Hmph,” Yi Luo wrinkled her nose and rubbed it. “Don’t flatten it.”

“Haha, look at you.”

“What?”

“Too cute!” Yue Xi pinched Yi Luo’s soft cheeks. “Be careful when you sleep. Don’t roll onto your arm and wake up in pain—don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Yi Luo leaned back, her face instantly turning red—not clear whether from the pinch or something else.

“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. Get back to your book—I’m heading home.” Yue Xi pulled her hand back.

“Okay.”

“Bye,” Yue Xi waved her hand in front of Yi Luo’s dazed eyes. “Hey!”

“Oh… bye.”

“Go to bed early. You look like your soul’s about to float out.”

“Mm.” Yi Luo thought, it’s not because I’m tired.

“I’m off.” Yue Xi left as quietly as she had come.

While Yi Luo was still daydreaming in her room, Yue Xi said goodbye to Yu Xiaohua at the door, closing it behind her. If Yi Luo had known she wouldn’t see Yue Xi standing tall and full of life like this again for a long time, she surely would have said or done something more that night.

Yue Xi checked her watch. Exactly 9 PM—neither too early nor too late.
“Zhou Yaxuan, come out. It’s time for us to settle this.”

“I was wondering when you’d come,” Zhou Yaxuan’s voice came through the phone, completely changed, with noisy background sounds.

“Say the place.”

“Straightforward, huh. The open lot behind the school—you know the one?”

“Got it.” Yue Xi hung up and called a taxi.

Zhou Yaxuan took a swig of alcohol and whispered something to the tattooed guy beside her, then the two of them left the bar.

“Took you long enough. Not bringing backup, are you?” Zhou Yaxuan finally arrived after Yue Xi had waited ten minutes.

“What—eager to rush home and cuddle your Yiluo?” Zhou Yaxuan leaned on the tattooed guy, heavy makeup smeared across her face, followed by Wang Liwei and a group of people carrying weapons.

“Leave others out of this. She got hurt because of you today.”

“Aww, heartbroken? Just coax her more in bed then,” Zhou Yaxuan said nastily.

“I’m not as filthy as you,” Yue Xi said with disdain.

“No matter how filthy I am, at least it’s with a man. Unlike you—chasing after a girl.”

“You—!” Yue Xi clenched her teeth. “Didn’t think you’d stoop this low.”

“Still so arrogant when you’re about to die? I’ll be real with you—I just can’t stand a lesbian like you acting all high and mighty.” Zhou Yaxuan lit a cigarette, her lackey quickly providing a lighter.

Yue Xi coldly scanned the people around her. “You really are a great actress.”

“If I didn’t act, how could I fool you two idiots? Pathetic.”

“Why?”

“No reason. You’re just dumb. Watching you two play lovey-dovey was disgusting.”

“Yi Luo and I are just friends. When we were friends, I always treated you with respect—I never wronged you.”

“Respect? Who wanted your respect?” Zhou Yaxuan sneered, puffing out smoke. “And you call that friendship? The way you two are glued together every day is nauseating. Anyway, let’s end this. You first, then her.”

“Wait,” Yue Xi stepped closer, “this is between you and me. Leave her out of it.”

“Still protecting her, huh? Fine, if you kneel and knock your head three times while saying I’m disgusting, maybe I’ll let her go. I don’t even really hate her.”

“You are disgusting.” Yue Xi smirked. “You’re truly disgusting. I could say it a hundred times.”

“You—!” Zhou Yaxuan threw her cigarette away and swung a slap at Yuexi.

Yue Xi calmly caught her hand. “You’re disgusting. Don’t touch me.” She even mockingly blew on her fingers afterward.

“Get her!” the tattooed man shouted. His fist flew toward Yue Xi, and the crowd swarmed in.

At first, Yue Xi handled them easily. She only defended, trying not to hurt anyone—just wear them out. She forgot, though, how ruthless Zhou Yaxuan was. This time, she had come prepared.

Grabbing an empty bottle, Zhou Yaxuan smashed it over Yue Xi’s head from behind. The bottle shattered instantly. Yue Xi’s vision blurred from the pain. She touched her head—throbbing and swelling—but kept her guard up.

Seeing her still standing, Zhou Yaxuan grabbed another bottle and smashed it again, then kicked Yue Xi hard in the stomach, sending her flying.

Yue Xi pushed herself up, staggering, then fought back. She kneed one guy in the stomach, pummeled another’s gut, and swept a third off his feet. In moments, six or seven people were on the ground. She wiped bl00d from her face, ignoring it, and swept her cold eyes over the rest. “Who’s next?”

“Not bad. You’ve got some fight in you,” Zhou Yaxuan now wielded a metal pipe. “Let’s see how long you last.” She struck the back of Yue Xi’s knee.

Yue Xi groaned, sweat breaking out from the pain, and fell to one knee, clutching her leg.

“Ooh, this pose looks like a proposal,” Wang Liwei said, weighing a brick in her hand.

“Wrong person to kneel to,” the tattooed man smirked and struck Yuexi’s ribs with a loud crack. “Didn’t want to kneel earlier—too late now.”

Seeing Yue Xi no longer able to fight back, they rained down blows and kicks. Yue Xi clenched her teeth, refusing to make a sound.

“Alright, I’m sweating like a pig. Tough little brat,” the tattooed man said, watching Yue Xi twitch on the ground. “Let’s go before we kill her. The cops are strict lately—I’m not going back in.”

“Yeah,” Zhou Yaxuan said, flexing her sore arm. “I’m tired too.”

“Let me blow on it for you, babe,” the tattooed man said, trying to fawn over her.

“Ugh, gross.” Zhou Yaxuan pushed him away, then gave Yue Xi another savage kick in the stomach. Yue Xi winced but said, “You said you’d keep your word.”

Zhou Yaxuan squatted down and grabbed her hair. “Of course not. You didn’t kneel.”

“You’re so disgusting… ha… cough cough…” Yue Xi laughed weakly.

“Psycho.”
“She’s nuts.”
“Still has the nerve to talk.”

The gang cursed and walked off.

Yue Xi lay there, forcing her eyes open. Trembling, she pulled out her phone—thankfully not smashed.

“Sis… I’m… behind the school…” her voice was faint, but determined. “Come… get me…”

Ning Ran hung up without a word, grabbed her keys, and bolted out the door.

“What happened to Xiao Xi?” Sarah saw Ning Ran’s panic and immediately sensed something was wrong. I should’ve let Ningran deal with it. Yue Xi wouldn’t have ended up like this. How could I not have seen it coming? This stubborn child…

Sarah stomped her foot and ran out after her.

“Scarface, it’s Ning Ran,” Ning Ran barked into her phone as she sped through the streets. “Find out who started a fight near CH High School tonight. I want everyone involved tracked down—don’t let a single one get away. I’m going to skin them.” She hung up, seething.

She parked at the school gate. She and Sarah ran through the dark, eyes searching.

Under the faint glow of a streetlamp, they saw a figure limping slowly, dragging a leg. Ning Ran’s eyes reddened instantly.

“Yue Xi!” she cried out.

Yue Xi heard her and stumbled a few steps forward before collapsing completely.

Ning Ran ran to her, dropped to her knees, and gathered Yue Xi’s bruised and bloodied body into her arms, holding her tightly. She wanted to cry, but no tears came.

Sarah crouched beside her, covering her mouth with one hand, gently wiping Yue Xi’s bloody face with the other, tears streaming down.

Ning Ran was the first to regain composure. Her voice was hoarse. “S-Sarah, help me get her on my back. We—we need to get to the hospital.”

Sarah had never seen Yue Xi so limp and lifeless. She pushed her tears aside and nodded, helping Ning Ran lift her.