Chương 100: Sudden Crisis

The moment the door was pushed open, Ruby, who was lying on the sofa, peeked into the doorway, wanting to welcome her friend's return.

But when it saw the other figure standing in the doorway, it froze, then darted behind the sofa in a flash.

Ruby curled up into a ball, her two front paws tightly covering her mouth, her round eyes filled with astonishment and confusion—how could Xiao Li have brought that boy, whom she had only met a few times and who looked injured, home?

Lin Che naturally also saw Ruby, the contracted spirit who tried to come closer the moment the door opened, but immediately "fled away with her head in her hands" after seeing him.

He subtly raised the corners of his mouth, suppressing his laughter and pretending not to have seen anything, as he followed Luo Bingli into the living room, his gaze sweeping over the furnishings of the room without leaving a trace.

Luo Bingli's home was not large, but it was exceptionally tidy, or rather, too tidy, to the point that it exuded a coldness that was not quite in line with a girl of her age.

There was no familiar aroma of food in the air, nor the warm atmosphere of a typical home. Everything, from objects to furniture, was neatly arranged, but this very neatness made the place seem even more empty and lifeless.

Luo Bingli didn't notice the complex emotions that flashed across Lin Che's eyes. As soon as she entered the room, she casually threw her schoolbag aside and hurried towards the bedroom, where she began rummaging through the medicine box.

She turned to Lin Che and said, "Sit on the sofa for a while, I'll be right there."

Lin Che gave a soft "hmm" and sat down on the sofa as instructed, his gaze naturally falling on the old music box placed in the center of the coffee table in front of him.

The music box's paint was somewhat mottled, and its edges were rounded from long-term handling, yet it was wiped very clean. The way the object was cherished by its owner seemed out of place with the cold, hard atmosphere around it. Recalling the fleeting look of longing in the girl's eyes when she mentioned "grandmother," he already had some guesses about the music box's origin.

Footsteps came from behind him, interrupting Lin Che's thoughts. Luo Bingli, carrying a white medicine box, walked over quickly, sat down next to him, and her face still showed worry and tension.

She opened the medicine box, which was neatly filled with various commonly used medicines and instruments. She first carefully dipped a cotton swab in alcohol, and then said, "It might hurt a little, so please bear with it."

Lin Che nodded slightly, letting her carefully wipe the bruises on his cheeks and the cuts on the corners of his mouth with cotton swabs soaked in alcohol.

A slight stinging pain came from the wound, and Lin Che frowned slightly, but made no sound.

Neither of them spoke during the treatment of the wound; the only sounds in the room were the soft rustling of cotton swabs against skin and Luo Bingli's slightly rapid breathing.

Lin Che could clearly feel the girl's gentle and focused movements. Every movement she made seemed careful, as if she was afraid of hurting herself.

The faint fragrance emanating from her, mixed with the unique scent of disinfectant alcohol, lingered around his nose, bringing a strange sense of peace.

Finally, after carefully placing the last band-aid next to the wound on the corner of his mouth, Luo Bingli let out a soft sigh of relief, her tense nerves seeming to relax a little.

She put down the cotton swab in her hand, raised her head, and her clear eyes finally looked directly at Lin Che, filled with obvious inquiry and confusion.

"Now can you tell me what exactly happened?"

Lin Che paused for a moment, attempting to evade the question: "Could we—not say?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Bingli raised an eyebrow slightly and let out a soft snort tinged with displeasure: "Hmm?"

Seeing the worry and determination in her eyes, Lin Che smiled helplessly and raised his hands in surrender.

He sighed and asked, "Luo, do you remember—those thugs you taught a lesson to before?"

Luo Bingli nodded, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes. Then, as if she had thought of something, her eyes widened suddenly: "Could it be—" Lin Che confirmed her guess and calmly recounted the events briefly:

"Those scumbags aren't giving up. They want to cause you trouble again, and somehow they found out your approximate address and want to ambush you. So—I've already 'invited' them away."

Lin Che's voice was calm, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him, but Luo Bingli could not remain calm listening to his nonchalant narration.

Looking at the scars on his face, and thinking about how he had deliberately concealed the truth from her just now, not wanting her to worry, an indescribable feeling of gratitude and heartache instantly filled her chest.

"Why didn't you go find the police? Why did you go and fight them? Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"

Lin Che didn't answer the question directly, but instead asked, "Then why do you think I shouldn't just call the police?"

Luo Bingli was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously shook her head.

"Actually—that was what I originally planned to do too." Lin Che looked directly at the girl in front of him and smiled gently.

But when I found out that those vicious rumors about you circulating at school were also spread by them, I changed my mind.

rumor·-- These two words were like a needle, piercing Luo Bingli's heart unexpectedly.

Of course she knew about those rumors, although she had previously been used to shutting herself off and trying to ignore the voices and gazes of the outside world.

But when a girl in her class, with whom she usually got along, relayed those offensive and vulgar words to her.

Only then did she truly understand what those strange, speculative, and disdainful looks directed at her during that period really meant.

At that moment, she felt as if she were standing naked in the snow, being scrutinized by countless eyes, those gazes like sharp icicles, piercing her deeply.

She thought she was strong enough to not care about anyone's opinion, but when she learned about this, the pain was still unbearable.

And now, Lin Che is telling her that he has already solved the source of her pain?

A complex and overwhelming emotion instantly overwhelmed her: gratitude, bitterness, grievance, and the warmth of being cherished.

Her eyes welled up with tears, her vision blurred, and her voice trembled slightly as she said, "... Thank you."

Seeing her on the verge of tears, Lin Che's heart softened, and he gave her a gentle smile.

He reached out and instinctively reached out to stroke her hair, as if comforting a wronged little animal. This action was almost an instinct for Xingshuang.

The moment her palm touched the soft strands of hair, Luo Bingli's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and Lin Che also snapped back to his senses, thinking to himself, "Oh no!"

He had subconsciously assumed Xing Shuang's identity and made a gesture that seemed overly intimate to "Lin Che".

Is this action too much for Luo Bingli right now? Will it make her feel uncomfortable and resistant again?

A pang of regret flashed through his mind, and he was about to awkwardly withdraw his hand when he was surprised to find that Luo Bingli did not dodge away as he had expected, nor did she show any expression of disgust or rejection.

She simply lowered her head slightly, letting his hand rest on the top of her head, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

Luo Bingli's feelings at this moment were indeed extremely complicated. She enjoyed this sudden yet incredibly gentle care, but subconsciously wanted to resist this intimacy.

Ever since that night when she clearly sensed Yuqing's deep and unique feelings for the person in front of her, she had been reminding herself to keep her distance and not get too close.

She didn't want to, and was unwilling to, hurt her only friend because of the strange feelings that were quietly growing in her heart.

The desire to suppress and avoid the feelings stemming from friendship and her own experiences made her afraid to accept this aggressive kindness.

But at the same time, faced with the undisguised, pure concern and protection in Lin Che's eyes, she couldn't truly push him away.

That warmth, like the winter sun, made her long-frozen heart yearn for and rely on it.

Meanwhile, Lin Che, looking at the girl's slightly red ears and lowered eyelids, felt an indescribable worry in his heart.

His explanation just now didn't actually tell us everything.

At first, he wanted to use the bluff of "already notifying the police" to scare off the group of thugs, and at the same time, he wanted to confirm whether those rumors were actually spread by this group of people.

But to his surprise, the blond thug who was leading the group seemed very determined.

He hesitated only slightly before telling himself not to meddle and to get lost, arrogantly saying that they "just wanted to scare that girl."

This confident attitude immediately alerted Lin Che to something amiss, but he had no reason to back down.

Fortunately, although the group of thugs looked menacing, they were ultimately just a mob with no real sense of "loyalty".

After a few exchanges, the underlings scattered like birds and beasts, and Lin Che successfully captured the leader, a blond-haired man, and forced him to reveal the truth—that both the previous rumors and this provocation were orchestrated by someone who paid them to do it.

When Lin Che pressed for details about who was behind it all, the blond-haired man only gave a vague answer: a middle-aged man in a respectable suit. He couldn't get any more information from him.

His earlier contemplation in the corner of the park was because of this matter.

Why would anyone pay these scumbags to use such despicable means to target a helpless girl like Luo Bingli?

He had no clue about the answer to this question, yet it was like a poisonous thorn deeply embedded in his heart, making him unable to ignore the slow passage of time. After staying at Luo Bingli's house for a while longer, seeing that it was getting late, Lin Che got up to say goodbye.

"Luo, you should get some rest. I'm going back now. I'll come see you again next time with a gift."

The blush on Luo Bingli's face hadn't completely faded yet, but she nodded gently: "I'll take you."

The two walked out of the house side by side and returned to the small park they had visited before. The sun had completely sunk below the horizon, leaving only a brilliant sunset glow on the sky.

"That's enough." Lin Che stopped and turned to look at Luo Bingli with a gentle smile.

"You should go back now. It's getting dark, and it's not safe for you to be alone."

"Mm." Luo Bingli responded, but did not turn around immediately. She looked at Lin Che, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just pursed her lips slightly.

Just as the two turned around, preparing to leave in opposite directions, a cold, oppressive, and heart-pounding energy wave suddenly erupted from not far away, like an invisible giant wave that instantly swept across the entire park.

Lin Che and Luo Bingli's expressions changed drastically at the same time. They stopped in their tracks and turned their heads sharply to look at the source of the energy fluctuations.

Above an open space deep in the park, the once calm night sky began to distort violently, as if a lake had been struck by a stone.

Dark purple cracks appeared out of nowhere and rapidly expanded, forming a huge, menacing vortex that exuded an ominous aura.

Meanwhile, atop a skyscraper, Jingjue stood with his hands behind his back, the hem of his black trench coat fluttering wildly in the night wind.

He slightly raised his head, as if he could see through the many barriers and "look" down at the city and the rapidly forming illusory bubble below, a cold and cruel smile curving his lips.

"Although creating such a commotion and attracting unnecessary attention was not my intention—"

"However, since that 'mysterious' crescent moon could even defeat my meticulously crafted independent mirror image, which is comparable to a portion of 'my' power..."

"Then, she will inevitably pose a huge and immeasurable threat to my future plans, and I don't like this potential risk."

"so-" He slowly opened his arms, his posture elegant yet arrogant, as if embracing the whole world.

"The stage is now set up, my dear crescent moon—please shine brightly in this final performance!"

"Like a firework that is brief and dazzling, then... completely faded away!"