Chapter 37: After Class, Come Into My Arms (35)

Asi glanced at him, her eyes filled with the kind of look reserved for fools.

“You—what’s with that look in your eyes!” Lu Zhouyuan widened his eyes, wanting to step forward but held back by fear.

Asi pressed her lips together, clearly unwilling to acknowledge him, and walked ahead at a leisurely pace.

Lu Zhouyuan, unwilling to give up, waved his hand. Only when his buddies gathered by his side did he regain his confidence. He blocked Asi’s path again, his voice menacing, “Don’t think I’m afraid of you just because you’re strong!”

Asi remained silent.

He really does seem like an idiot, she thought. What should I do? I have no desire to deal with him at all.

Lu Zhouyuan continued, “Do you know why I can’t stand Lu Yu? Because he almost killed me! That guy’s a complete lunatic—when he gets angry, he could kill anyone! You saw him hitting people at lunch today, didn’t you? It was terrifying!”

He remembered when he was a child, saying in passing that Lu Yu’s mother was a tramp. In an instant, Lu Yu had pinned him to the ground and beat him within an inch of his life. That was the first time he realized what a madman looked like—a madman named Lu Yu.

“Oh? Then why are you here? Aren’t you afraid of me?” A cold voice echoed.

Lu Zhouyuan looked up to see Lu Yu standing behind him.

The alley was already dark, with not a sliver of sunlight, only shifting shadows cast by the wind-tossed branches. The boy’s face was ghostly pale, and his jet-black eyes looked as though they could devour someone whole. Just one glance sent a chill through the body.

“Lu Yu, are you saying I’m lying? Can you honestly say you didn’t almost beat me to death? You were what, ten years old then?”

The alley was not deserted. Because Lu Yu lived there, those hiding inside their homes strained their ears, listening intently.

So that’s how it was—

Lu Yu had killed at ten years old! How terrifying!

They shivered, huddling together, silently praying for having ever bullied a murderer like Lu Yu—what a reckless thing to do.

“So what?” The reply was utterly indifferent.

Lu Yu looked at Asi. In his dark eyes flashed a moment of struggle; he wanted to soften his tone and call out to her. But he remembered the harmony he’d just witnessed between Asi and Lu Zhouyuan, how even that blockhead had managed to make her laugh from time to time. Jealousy burned in Lu Yu’s chest, a fire so intense it threatened to consume him, leaving him trembling with a destructive, uncontrollable darkness.

“Asi,” he called.

“Come here.”

His voice was devoid of emotion, yet beneath it, one could hear the tremor, the hurt.

Obediently, Asi walked to Lu Yu’s side, the black-and-white pleats of her skirt swaying with her steps—lovely, though not as captivating as the gentle warmth in her gaze.

“Are you afraid of me?” he asked.

As expected, Asi shook her head.

He knew it. Half the anger in his heart dissipated. He couldn’t help but soften his voice, which sounded all the more charming for it.

“I won’t hit you,” he murmured. No matter how angry I am, I’d never lay a finger on you.

He raised his hand and gently ruffled her hair. The moment his palm touched her head, Asi instinctively squinted her eyes in pleasure.

It felt so nice.

“You can’t beat me anyway,” she mumbled softly.

“No, I can’t beat you,” he replied, but his tone was half-hearted.

Displeased, Asi brushed his hand off her head and pressed her lips together. She was only telling the truth—she hadn’t lied—yet his response lacked sincerity.

She decided to ignore him.

Yet she stole a glance at the gentle, slightly aggrieved look on the boy’s face.

Oh well, he looked so pitiful.

Just for a minute, she thought.