Not the male lead's voice. Lin Yan looked towards the sound and was momentarily stunned.
The boy over there had slightly long, messy hair, with bangs just covering his eyes. His face, carrying a hint of fierceness, wore a half-smile. He was dressed in the same school uniform as Lin Yan, leaning against the wall with one hand in his pocket, while the other held a baseball bat.
A few "sha ma te" youngsters also looked towards the boy. Upon recognizing him, they paused slightly.
Then, the red-haired leader slowly retracted his hand.
"Yo, here comes a hero to save the damsel. What, is she your sweetheart?" the man taunted. "Even if she's your sweetheart, she's going to have a few drinks with us today!"
He then looked back at Lin Yan, "Beautiful girl, you seem quite popular. Someone's sticking up for you even in such a secluded place! But he's a fool, coming alone to save you. Aren't you afraid you won't save the beauty and end up getting yourself into trouble!"
"Yeah, it's your honor, beauty, to accompany our boss. This kind of pretty boy, our boss can beat ten of him!" chimed in a lackey beside him.
"System, who is he?" Lin Yan didn't pay much attention to the people in front of her. While she couldn't handle these few momentarily, she believed they didn't actually intend to harm her. After all, when this boy appeared earlier, the way the leader in front of her had frozen made her realize that the person who should have appeared wasn't the one in front of her.
"His name is Ye Hao. He's a minor antagonist in campus novels, the kind of school bully you find in such stories!" the system introduced Ye Hao's situation simply.
"Is that so? It seems you don't recognize me. No wonder you dare to block students from our Ting High here!" Ye Hao straightened his body and slowly walked towards the group of boys.
"Such courage!" the red-haired leader signaled with his eyes for two people to keep an eye on Lin Yan, while he himself led his men to confront Ye Hao.
Lin Yan was suddenly left with only two people beside her. Her tightly clenched fists relaxed slightly. She didn't take these two ruffians seriously, especially since, while guarding her, most of their attention was focused on the standoff on the other side.
However, Lin Yan was a little curious. Wasn't the male lead nearby earlier? Why hadn't he appeared yet? Had Ye Hao's appearance disrupted his plans, or was he waiting for a better moment?
"Kid, I'll teach you a lesson today. People should know their place; don't try to be a hero if you don't have the ability!"
The red-haired leader made a gesture, and the remaining few surrounded Ye Hao. The somewhat narrow alley suddenly felt crowded.
"You're not qualified to be my dad!" Ye Hao casually tossed the baseball bat in his hand but didn't make a move. "What? Scared?" He pointed the baseball bat at the red-haired leader, his smile arrogant and mocking.
"Kid, see if your dad is scared!" The red-haired leader directly clenched his fist and punched towards Ye Hao.
The lackeys beside him also charged forward, some even picking up bricks from the ground. These few quickly overwhelmed Ye Hao.
Lin Yan also moved at this time, throwing her schoolbag at the face of the ruffian on her left, then kicking the critical spot of the ruffian on her right. She was grateful for this body's dance experience; its flexibility and suppleness were quite good, allowing her to take down these two with skillful force.
"Ah!" The ruffian who was kicked in the vital area let out a scream and hunched over. The other ruffian's face was also knocked to the side.
This scream made Ye Hao, who was focused on the confrontation, pause for a moment. Then, a shiver of cold rose in his heart. But in that moment of hesitation, a ruffian pulled a small knife from his pocket and stabbed towards Ye Hao.
"Be careful!" Lin Yan cried out worriedly. She then dodged the punch from the ruffian on her left and extended her leg to trip this ruffian. She followed up with a kick to the ruffian's chest.
Ye Hao reacted immediately, but it was still a step too late. The sleeve of his school uniform was sliced open, and a bloody gash appeared at the tear. He immediately used his bat to knock down the person blocking him and then struck the small knife from the ruffian's hand. Another swing of the bat sent this ruffian to the ground.
Perhaps because of the injury, Ye Hao's ferocity was ignited. In a short while, all six or seven ruffians were lying on the ground, groaning.
Lin Yan also moved past them, walking to Ye Hao's side. "You're hurt?!" Lin Yan asked with concern, the bright red blood stinging her eyes.
"It's nothing, just a minor injury!" Ye Hao said nonchalantly. Then, he casually took a few steps forward, subtly shielding Lin Yan behind him.
Lin Yan noticed his movement but didn't do anything, content to stand behind and to his side.
"Even minor injuries need attention. Who knows if his knife was clean," Lin Yan said, slightly annoyed by his dismissive attitude. "You should still get it bandaged at the hospital!"
"Hmm... then I'll listen to you. But what about these guys?" Ye Hao gestured with his chin towards the group on the ground.
"We were wrong, please be magnanimous and let us go!" Hearing about their fate, the red-haired leader forced himself to sit up and beg for mercy. "Beautiful girl, I'll return your money, all of it." He took out all the money in his pockets and placed it on the ground in front of him.
"Yeah, classmate, please let us off! We really just wanted to scare this beautiful girl, we didn't mean any harm!" the other ruffians pleaded in unison.
"Let it go, they were just taking money to do someone's bidding. They've already suffered this much, so let it be!" Lin Yan thought that no matter how they were dealt with, it would inevitably escalate. She didn't want to alert her parents yet, as she was still a minor. Moreover, these people were connected to the male lead, and Lin Yan didn't want to clash with him right now.
"Then you're lucky. Scram!" Ye Hao kicked the red-haired leader.
Upon hearing this, the red-haired group immediately scrambled to their feet. "Thank you! Thank you!" The ruffians repeatedly expressed their gratitude and quickly fled from the other side of the alley.
After they ran off, Ye Hao squatted down and picked up the money from the ground.
"Do you want this money?" he asked, handing it towards Lin Yan.
"Don't give it to me, it's dirty. It can be your medical expenses! Let's go to the hospital now!" Lin Yan said, turning to leave.
"No need, it's just a small injury, it'll be fine in two days!" Ye Hao flexed his arm.
"Are you going or not? If you don't, I'm going home!" Lin Yan turned and looked up at Ye Hao.
"Going! Going! Going! I'll go!" Ye Hao immediately followed Lin Yan's steps.
"Um... Lin... Classmate Lin Yan, my name is Ye Hao," Ye Hao introduced himself somewhat shyly.
"I know, the boss of Ting High!" Lin Yan said indifferently.
Ye Hao immediately felt even more embarrassed. He used to think it was fine when others called him that, but for some reason, hearing it from Lin Yan's mouth felt so awkward!
"Um, Classmate Lin Yan, how did you know these people were hired?" Ye Hao quickly changed the subject.