Xia Chuan’s icy gaze swept over the thugs through the strands of hair falling across his forehead.

“Well, well. If it isn’t that kid who passed by earlier?” The gang leader sneered, utterly unafraid. *Sixteen of us against one? You came here just to get beaten?* “Wanna play hero for a pretty girl? Too bad she ran off. Only this useless trash is left.”

Xia Chuan stayed silent, eyes fixed on them.

“Real calm, huh?” The leader’s voice turned sharp. “She’s gone, but you’re staying right here. Get him!” He waved his men forward, irritation flashing in his eyes.

As the thugs charged, Xia Chuan did the unthinkable—he ran again.

The leader glanced at the unconscious Liu Ziyang sprawled nearby. *Nothing left here.* He signaled his men to give chase.

Xia Chuan sprinted ahead, the gang close behind. He hadn’t fled out of fear—he could’ve taken them. But with Liu Ziyang unconscious back there, fighting risked them using him as a hostage. A tactical retreat was smarter. *They won’t carry him while chasing me.* He deliberately slowed his pace, letting them believe they could catch him.

Soon, they cornered him in a dead-end alley.

*Got you now, brat. Damn, I’m tired.* The leader grinned, unaware Xia Chuan had already drained their stamina.

“Hah… hah… not… running anymore?” The leader panted, doubled over.

Xia Chuan turned, face unreadable.

“You dared to act tough earlier?” The leader snarled, fury replacing his usual caution. That girl’s escape still burned in his throat. “I’ll break you!”

“Attack!”

As his men rushed forward, Xia Chuan stood motionless, calculating. *Sixteen thugs. Five armed with pipes and bats—real threats. Take out the closest armed one first.* His eyes locked onto the bat-wielding thug leading the charge.

Just as they closed in, Xia Chuan lunged—not away, but straight at them.

*Suicide?* the leader thought.

In a blur, Xia Chuan was on the bat-wielder. Too close to react. Xia Chuan’s foot shot up—a brutal kick to the groin. No restraint. No mercy. *Crack.* The thug crumpled, howling, the bat clattering to the ground. Xia Chuan snatched it mid-fall. Before the man could recover, the bat swung down. He collapsed, unconscious.

The alley fell silent. The remaining thugs instinctively stepped back. The leader gaped. *This wasn’t supposed to happen.*

Xia Chuan leveled the bat at the leader. “Next.”

Rage warred with fear in the leader’s eyes. *Sixteen against one—I can’t back down!* “You hurt my brother?! You’re dead!” He roared, sending his men forward again.

Xia Chuan didn’t flinch. As the first thug swung a punch, Xia Chuan struck—bat cracking against knuckles. *Snap.* The thug screamed, clutching his broken hand. Xia Chuan kicked him aside.

More surged in. Three reached him at once. The dead-end alley was no accident: narrow walls prevented encirclement, forcing them into a rotation. Only three could reach him at once.

He swung the bat. One thug dropped. Fists slammed into Xia Chuan’s ribs—he grunted but kept swinging. He took every blow, conserving energy to knock out attackers. One by one, they fell.

Fourteen.

Fifteen.

The leader stared, trembling. “Please…!”

Xia Chuan silenced him with a single swing. He dropped the bat, pain flooding his battered body. His clothes hung in tatters. *No time.* He turned toward the alley where he’d left Liu Ziyang.

A rustle behind him. Too late.

*Thwack!* A pipe smashed into his back. The leader loomed, grinning. “Didn’t see that coming, huh?”

Pain exploded, but Xia Chuan twisted, driving a kick into the leader’s gut. As the man stumbled back, Xia Chuan grabbed the discarded bat. Ignoring the fire in his arms, he hurled it. The bat arced perfectly—*thud*—connecting with the leader’s temple. He crumpled.

Xia Chuan nudged the body with his foot. No reaction. Only then did he let the pain crash over him. Gritting his teeth, he staggered back toward the first alley.

Dusk had fallen. Summer’s last light bled at the horizon, deepening the alley’s shadows. Figures moved in the gloom—not thugs, but Liu Yixia and police officers.

“Let us take him to the hospital, miss,” an officer urged.

“I’ll take him myself.” Liu Yixia’s voice was flat, drained of warmth.

“Let them help,” Xia Chuan called out, wincing. “You can’t carry him alone.”

Liu Yixia turned. Her eyes—cold, empty—locked onto him. “Why did you run earlier?”

“I had a kid to protect, I needed to—”

“Save your lies.” Her voice cut like glass. “What kid? Did you kidnap one?” It cracked, raw and trembling.

Xia Chuan had never seen her like this—no warmth, only glacial fury. Words died in his throat.

*He admits it.* The sight of Liu Ziyang’s bruised face flashed in her mind. *If he’d stayed, Senior wouldn’t be hurt.* Her control snapped. “You admit it! If you’d been there, Senior wouldn’t be like this! Xia Chuan… how could someone so cowardly ever like me? I’ll never like you. Who could love someone like you? Were you jealous of Senior? After all these years… I never knew you were this despicable!” Her words tumbled out, jagged and broken. Hatred burned in her chest.

Xia Chuan stood frozen. *Was I wrong?*

Silence stretched. Liu Yixia’s breath hitched. Her mask of ice returned, brittle. “I’m sorry. I lost control.” She looked away. “But… we shouldn’t be friends anymore.” She bent to lift Liu Ziyang.

*Friends no more?*

The words cut into Xia Chuan’s heart like a knife twisting deep. Something inside him was cracking, shattering.

*So we can’t even be friends anymore?*

He could’ve just told Liu Yixia everything—every single detail. *Yeah. Just tell her. At least we’d still be friends after that.*

But some invisible force sealed his lips shut.

Xia Chuan already knew exactly how Liu Yixia saw him: her prejudice, her distrust, the way she’d never truly believed in him. If she hated him this much… wouldn’t his leaving be best for her?

So he offered no explanation. His voice came out flat, icy:

"Fine. Then let’s not be friends anymore."

The coldness startled Liu Yixia. In her memory, Xia Chuan’s voice had always been warm, bright. Instinctively, she turned back to look at him.

Most emotions live in the eyes—but Xia Chuan’s bangs shadowed his completely. With her partial night blindness, all she could make out from this distance was a face as expressionless as a mask. No sadness. No anger. Just stillness. Like a statue. Like a stranger.

Liu Yixia shook her head slightly, silently.

Even the watching officers exchanged quiet sighs.

Liu Yixia heaved Liu Ziyang onto her back with every ounce of strength she had, then took a staggering step forward.

Xia Chuan watched her slowly disappear down the alley. He didn’t move to help.

*How could he? What right did he have?*

Liu Yixia had never wanted his explanation. Her night-blind eyes hadn’t seen his wounds—and even if she had, her prejudice would’ve dismissed them. She didn’t glance back once as she left.

*"I could never like you…"*

*"Someone like you… who could ever like you?"*

*"You’re just disgusting…"*

Her words echoed. Xia Chuan’s grief hardened into anger, slow and sharp.

*What did I do wrong?*

*I did nothing wrong! Why—why treat me like this?!*

*I saved you. And what did I get?*

*Nothing.*

*I deserve to be hated. Everything I do is wrong.*

Something inside him was crumbling.

Finally, the cold mask slipped. That calm had been a lie all along. How could he stay calm? He’d just lost the person he thought mattered most. What was left of him now?

He felt like a discarded puppy—lost, broken.

He tried to stand tall, to look strong. But his spine wouldn’t straighten.

Like a puppet with its strings cut.

——————————————————————————————————

Night fell slowly, darkness swallowing the last trace of light in the sky.