Give Me Another Smile

The sky had already gone dark when Tang Yu left the faculty office. Apart from a few boarding students, nobody else could be seen walking on the campus.

This was the first time Tang Yu was going home at such a late hour, so she couldn't help but hasten her footsteps out of insecurity.

The street lights had already come on at this time, and most street stalls had already packed up for the day. With the current cold weather, there were also very few people out and wandering about.

Tang Yu pursed her lips and kept her head low as she advanced, the insecurity in her heart becoming increasingly apparent.

Suddenly, an unnatural gust of wind came from behind. Tang Yu subconsciously tried to scream, but something covered her mouth before she could do so.

Tang Yu struggled to break away from the hand holding her mouth and nose shut. Unfortunately, not only did she fail to accomplish her goal, but she even had her arms pulled back and crossed behind her. Then, the powerful force restraining her arms dragged her into the nearby alley where the street lights did not reach.

Tang Yu was forced against the cold wall. She couldn't see the person behind her, but from the rustling movements she could hear, she could tell that her assailant wasn't alone.

"Keep quiet. I'll let you go once I collect some pocket money," a young male voice came from behind Tang Yu. In addition to the verbal warning, the other party slammed her head against the wall to get his point across.

They're only a bunch of little delinquents. Everything will be fine so long as I give them the money, Tang Yu thought, trying to divert her attention away from the searing pain coming from her forehead. There was no doubt that her skin had gotten scraped.

After the school bag she carried got pulled away, she could hear the sound of a zipper being pulled, followed by textbooks hitting the dirty ground.

After one of the delinquents searched Tang Yu's bag for a while, he said in disappointment, "Boss, there's no money."

The person pinning Tang Yu against the wall clicked his tongue. Then, he said, "Dammit. Search her pockets."

Immediately, someone stepped forward to lay their hands on Tang Yu. Before Tang Yu could try to put up a struggle, she suddenly heard wailing coming from behind her.

Tang Yu was pushed to the alley's entrance amidst the ensuing chaos, the debris under her feet causing her to trip and fall. She got a little dizzy after the fall, so she failed to get a clear look at what was going on in the alley. However, she could hear the muffled sound of flesh getting struck and pained cries coming from the alley.

Tang Yu took deep breaths as she shook her head, trying to shake the dizziness away. Then, when her vision gradually cleared up, she saw a pair of black high-top shoes making their way to her.

Realizing it was too late to escape, Tang Yu subconsciously curled up her body and covered her head with her hands. However, the beating she expected to receive did not arrive. Instead, a large and warm hand covered her chilled hands.

"Don't be scared. I'm here now."

History always had a striking way of repeating itself. Tang Yu looked at the girl kneeling before her in disbelief. Then, she glanced at the several delinquents lying in the alley while bitterly moaning.

"They…" Tang Yu struggled for words when she saw the scene before her.

Yin Zhao-an did not answer Tang Yu immediately. Instead, she helped Tang Yu up before returning to the alley herself to collect Tang Yu's scattered books. While doing so, she also made sure to glare at the little delinquents from time to time, frightening them to the point where they backed off to a corner to continue their moaning there.

"They're fine. They'll just be feeling pain for a few days," Yin Zhao-an said as she patted the dust off Tang Yu's school bag. Then, after slinging the bag over her shoulder, she continued, "Tang-Tang, wait for me here for a moment. I forgot to tell them something."

"...Oh, okay," Tang Yu dazedly nodded. Then, just as Yin Zhao-an was about to return to the alley, Tang Yu worriedly said, "Be careful."

With her back facing Tang Yu, Yin Zhao-an gestured an "OK" before returning into the lightless alley.

While letting the nearby street light stretch out her lonely shadow, Tang Yu nudged the tip of her shoes against the ground and stuck her hands into her pockets. At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder when Yin Zhao-an had become so good at fighting. As far as she could remember, Yin Zhao-an would rarely ever come out unscathed after getting into a fight during their previous life.

Yet, in this life, Yin Zhao-an had changed to a point where she could come out unscathed even when going up against several people simultaneously.

Speaking of which, she's still keeping her hair short…

Tang Yu remembered that during their previous life, Yin Zhao-an had received a scar on her forehead because of a fight during middle school. Because of that scar, Yin Zhao-an chose to grow out her hair and would always cover her forehead with her bangs. Now, though, Yin Zhao-an neither had a scar on her forehead nor did she grow out her hair.

While Tang Yu was lost in her thoughts…

"You guys best not let me catch you setting your sights on her again. Otherwise, I'll give you all a beating every time I see you," Yin Zhao-an threatened while flexing her wrists.

These little delinquents were different from organized gangsters. They were merely middle and high school dropouts or truants. The most they dared to do was solitary target students.

Originally, they thought they had found themselves a fat sheep when they saw Tang Yu's attire. However, not only did they fail to get a single penny out of her, but they even ended up coming across a protective wolf because of her.

For the leader of the delinquents, this was the first time he had come across someone so skilled at fighting. The way Yin Zhao-an fought was completely different from the crude manner he and his cohorts fought. So, after running some thoughts through his mind, he suddenly looked Yin Zhao-an in the eye and shouted:

"Boss!"

Yin Zhao-an: ?!

The other delinquents: ?!

Ignoring the shocked looks his underlings were giving him, the leader of the delinquents looked at Yin Zhao-an reverentially as he said, "Boss! Can you accept me as your underling? I'm not trying to pull anything! I just think the way you fight is very cool!"

After hearing their leader's words, the other delinquents couldn't help but reveal complicated expressions. At the same time, they couldn't help but wonder if their leader had been beaten silly to make such a decision.

Meanwhile, Yin Zhao-an's mouth twitched in exasperation. Was she going to have to accept another group of underlings?