Jun Yelan ran along the school, his clothes and hair ruffled by the wind, sweat dripping from his forehead, oblivious to it all.
His mind held only one thought: Lan Yan must be alright!
He passed a nearby alley and heard screams coming from within. He stopped. "Lan Yan." He turned and walked into the alley, seeing Lan Yan with a student under her foot, while Lan Yan herself was unharmed.
Lan Yan turned to look at Jun Yelan, a faint smile on her lips. "Jun Yelan, you're here. Let me tell you, these little shrimps dared to mess with me. I kicked them all away with one foot."
Jun Yelan, still in shock, walked over and hugged Lan Yan tightly. His eyes trembled. He had almost thought he had lost Lan Yan, and his heart felt clenched.
"Jun Yelan, are you worried about me? I'm really fine." Lan Yan patted Jun Yelan's back to comfort him. She had intended to finish this quickly, but these people were too troublesome.
Jun Yelan didn't speak but tightened his arms around Lan Yan. He had felt indifferent when he was targeted before, believing he could handle it.
But now, these audacious individuals, failing to get revenge on him, had set their sights on Lan Yan. Lan Yan was suffering all this because of him. How could he not be touched, not be worried!
"It's my fault for not protecting you well enough."
Lan Yan was startled. She raised her head from Jun Yelan's embrace and met his sorrowful eyes. "Jun Yelan, you rushed here, and that itself is protecting me. You've always been good; it's these people who are not."
She turned to look at the students around them, snorted, and raised her fist.
The students were beaten to the ground, their strength to resist almost gone. Only Ming You leaned against the wall, clutching his cheek and shouting, "Good for you, Jun Yelan, daring to treat me like this!"
"My father is the most famous wealthy merchant in town. He donates money to the school every year."
"Yes, Brother Ming comes from the Ming family, with immense wealth. Their possessions are all made of gold, things you probably haven't even seen," said Student Lu, wincing from the pain in his mouth.
Upon hearing "Ming family," Jun Yelan's palms clenched, and a fierce glint appeared in his eyes. "Is that so? It seems my wife didn't hit hard enough. You all deserve another beating."
He directly grabbed Ming You's collar, lifting him off the ground, and tightened his grip, choking him.
Ming You immediately gasped for air and choked out, "Let go."
"What, you can't handle this now!" Jun Yelan sneered, a terrifying smile on his lips. If it weren't for the Ming family, he wouldn't have gone through what he did, and his mother wouldn't have died so young.
He thought of those nightmares, and his grip intensified, Ming You's face turning red as he was about to pass out.
Seeing that Jun Yelan was acting strangely, Lan Yan stepped forward, grasped his wrist, and said gently, "Jun Yelan, don't ruin yourself for him. I'm here with you."
Jun Yelan looked at Lan Yan, at her worried eyes, and slowly loosened his grip, allowing Lan Yan to hold his hand.
Lan Yan held Jun Yelan's hand, rubbing it and blowing on it to warm his cold fingers. "Jun Yelan, my hands used to be like this too, but I learned not to be, always keeping hot water for myself."
"I don't have hot water now, but my hands have warmth," she said, smiling brightly at the man before her.
Jun Yelan's hands truly grew warmer, and so did his scarred heart. He squeezed Lan Yan's hand back, hiding them in his wide sleeves, as if this way they would never be separated.
"Okay. If you get cold in the future, tell me, and I'll hold you."
"Mhm," Lan Yan nodded with a smile and looked at Ming You, who had already slumped to the ground. "What about these people?"
Jun Yelan's eyes turned cold. "Send them where they belong." He spotted patrolling officers outside the alley and promptly explained the situation, bringing the officers over.
Seeing this, Lan Yan also said pitifully, "Officer, a group of them bullied me, a weak woman. If my fiancé hadn't arrived in time, I don't know what would have happened to me."
She feigned weakness and threw herself into Jun Yelan's embrace, a tear in the corner of her eye, making her appear even more tragic.
Jun Yelan stroked Lan Yan's back, comforting her gently, then looked at the officers. "Sir, my fiancée is terribly frightened. Please give us an explanation and severely punish these villains."
The students on the ground: Who is the villain here! They were almost beaten to death!
Ming You, still scared, had a puddle of water beneath him and couldn't speak for a long time. He had seen the look in Jun Yelan's eyes – it was murderous! What was Jun Yelan's background?
Student Lu had already fainted, and the other students didn't know what to say.
The officers looked around for a while, made up their minds, and called out, "You people, stand up and come with us." It was astonishing that these were students, bullying a young girl here.
They also said to Jun Yelan, "This young lady is crying from fright. You should take her away quickly."
"Thank you, officers." Jun Yelan gently touched Lan Yan's head, his voice incredibly tender. "Yan'er, let's go." He led Lan Yan out of the alley.
Lan Yan glanced back at the alley and made a funny face before returning to Jun Yelan's embrace.
The students: Helpless. They were led away by the officers.
Jun Yelan took Lan Yan to the market and sat at a noodle stall, ordering some food.
"Wow, Jun Yelan, how did you know I was hungry?" Lan Yan looked at the steaming bowl of noodles before her and started eating immediately. "This is delicious."
Jun Yelan sat beside her, watching Lan Yan's leisurely demeanor, a faint smile on his lips. He had actually brought Lan Yan here to apologize; it was all his fault.
Lan Yan noticed he wasn't eating and pushed the noodle bowl towards him. "Whatever it is, we can talk about it after we've eaten." Seeing Jun Yelan still hesitate, she picked up a noodle and said, "If you don't eat, I'll eat it all."
As she spoke, Jun Yelan lowered his head, grabbed her wrist, and bit into the noodle she was holding.
A warmth spread from her wrist, and the chopsticks had been used by her. Lan Yan's face flushed. From her angle, she could see Jun Yelan's long eyelashes, the slightly upturned corners of his eyes, and his proud nose.
She usually watched him from afar, but now, being so close, she felt uncomfortable.
Jun Yelan chewed the noodle in his mouth and noticed the change in Lan Yan's expression, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He smiled and said, "Eat."
"Okay." Lan Yan lowered her head and continued eating. The beating of her heart accelerated, making it difficult to calm down. After she finished a bowl of noodles and two steamed buns, with a candied hawthorn stick still in her hand, she finally began to return to normal.
Jun Yelan held snacks in both hands, following Lan Yan's side with a doting expression. He felt that this was what he wanted.
Meanwhile, after Ming You was taken away, he was brought home through the intervention of his family.
He lay on his bed, beating the mattress furiously and shouting, "Jun Yelan, I will never let you off! I'll make sure you lose your first place this time!"