Aaaah—

I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die!

Why does it hurt so damn much?! Did my hand get its period cramps or something? It has to be! How else could it hurt this bad?! I’m about to cry!

When I saw Thug B pull a knife, I didn’t think—I just grabbed the blade. But I never expected the pain of a cut to sear straight to my bones.

Honestly, I don’t even know what face I was making when I spoke. Probably uglier than crying.

Fingertips connect straight to the heart. My hand screamed in agony, but I gritted my teeth and stayed silent.

...Wait. That’s kinda unordinary, right? Normal people don’t just catch blades barehanded.

“D-Damn brat!”

Thug B froze, stunned I’d grabbed his knife. Even Thug A gaped—my move had genuinely shocked them stupid.

I seized the gap. Kicked Thug B hard in the gut, then yanked my hand free. If I’d waited for him to react, he’d have torn my wound wider when pulling the blade back.

I put distance between us and the thugs, but Yao Xingyan and I were still trapped. A high wall blocked our backs.

This was bad.

If I’d known I’d get cornered too, I should’ve taken them down back at the dumpster.

Blood dripped from my wound, *drip-drip*, mixing with the rain on the ground.

Screw it. Even if Yao Xingyan thinks I’m some violent freak later—I was furious. These jerks pissed me off so much, I needed to beat them senseless to calm down.

Yao Xingyan stood behind me. I couldn’t see her face, but I felt her trembling hands clutching my sleeve.

No matter how icy she seemed normally, most girls would react the same in this situation, right?

*Mental note: Remember this later. Write it in my little notebook after this is over.*

—Wait. Screw the notebook! This was serious!

The thugs snapped out of their daze. They shifted into fighting stances, ready to finish me.

The rain poured harder. No one would pass by in this.

Visibility was trash. Who’d wander the streets in a downpour unless they were crazy—?

Huh?

Just as I braced to fight—

Maybe I hallucinated it. At the dead-end alley’s entrance, behind the thugs, a shadowy figure appeared.

Was that…?

“Xiao Hua? Is that really you?!”

Sis Mengmeng stood there, one hand holding a convenience store bag, the other an umbrella. She stared at me, shocked. “I saw you dragging a girl down the street and thought something was wrong…”

Oh no.

Of all people—*her*? And it wasn’t “thought something was wrong”—something *was* wrong! Showing up defenseless like this was basically handing them another hostage!

Sis Mengmeng’s eyes locked onto the thugs. Her confusion hardened into sharp focus.

“Hey, cutie! Mind your own business!”

“Or we’ll take you down too!”

“Oh?”

Maybe it was my imagination—but Sis Mengmeng’s gentle eyes turned razor-sharp. She reached into her convenience bag and pulled out—

A radish?

A huge, long daikon radish? *Why a radish?*

Before I could even process that thought, Sis Mengmeng moved. Like a rain spirit, she darted from the alley’s far end to ours.

I barely saw her through the downpour.

*Clang—*

The fruit knife slipped from Thug B’s hand, landing in the mud.

Then—

“Waaahhh—!”

The thugs howled, frantically rubbing their joints. Somehow, in the blink I missed, Sis Mengmeng had disarmed and dismantled them both.

So. Damn. Cool.

“Wanna try again?”

Sis Mengmeng smiled her warm, sisterly smile. Their answer was the sound of their retreating screams.

We were saved.

I felt Yao Xingyan relax behind me—then subtly step away. Ouch. Cold.

Sis Mengmeng tilted her umbrella over us. Only then did I notice—not a single raindrop touched her, despite her lightning-fast moves.

“Wow, Sis Mengmeng! I had no idea you were this strong!”

“Mm. My dad forced me to learn martial arts as a kid. For self-defense.”

“Huh? You know martial arts?”

“Not really! I was terrible at it. Tried swords, spears, staffs—never got the hang of any. But weirdly… whenever I hold a radish, all those moves just… click in my head.”

That backstory—how do I even—

“Guess it’s all about the grip,” Sis Mengmeng said matter-of-factly.

“…But radishes break easily, right?”

“No problem.” She patted the radish back in her bag. “Against trash like them? Even a broken radish—I’ve got this under control.”

Confident. And her weapon choice was gloriously bizarre. I’d never link “radish” and “weapon” in a million years.

“Ahaha…”

Sis Mengmeng’s gaze shifted to Yao Xingyan behind me.

“Is this your new girlfriend?”

Yao Xingyan looked utterly disheveled—Sis Mengmeng hadn’t even recognized her as their teacher.

“No way!” Yao Xingyan blurted before I could speak. She puffed out her cheeks and turned her face away.

Great. Crisis over, and she’s back to this. So ungrateful.

“Ah… just classmates… And Sis Mengmeng, don’t make it sound like I swap girlfriends often! I’ve never even dated anyone!” I stressed the last part. If Yao Xingyan got the wrong idea, my revenge plans would be ruined.

Sis Mengmeng watched us with a knowing half-smile. I couldn’t tell if she was misunderstanding exactly how I *didn’t* want her to.

“Oh! More importantly—” She looked at my bleeding hand. “Is your hand okay?”

“Huh?”

I’d been so stunned by her skills, I’d ignored the pain. But now—

*Agony.*

So much pain! I almost danced like the thugs had.

“Xiao Hua, hang in there…” She handed the umbrella to Yao Xingyan. “Could you hold this?”

Sis Mengmeng pulled white cloth strips from her bag and bandaged my hand swiftly.

“This’ll hold for now. I’ve got a first-aid kit at home—we’ll clean it properly there. You should both come.”

I didn’t object. The faster the pain stopped, the better.

“Well…” Yao Xingyan hesitated, looking ready to refuse.

“And in this rain? You’ll catch a cold if you don’t shower soon.” Sis Mengmeng tilted her head, smiling.

“W-Well… if that’s the case… I’ll… impose on you…”

Was Yao Xingyan… *blushing*? A first!

Catching me staring, she shot me a glare. Her mood swings were exhausting.

On the walk back, I—the injured one—was sandwiched between them under the small umbrella.

My arms kept brushing against something incredibly soft. Total accidental win.

To outsiders, I probably looked like I was winning at life. But I didn’t dare push my luck.

Just as I thought that—

“…Thank you. For saving me back there.”

Huh? I turned, surprised. But Yao Xingyan’s face looked perfectly normal.

*Of course—*

—*It was just my imagination, right?*