Chapter Eighty-Eight: An Apology

With a swift pull, he caught Jiang Muting in his arms just in time; without that embrace, she might have fallen straight into the water.

At his waist, she felt the warmth of his palm, a heat that seemed to seep through the thin fabric of her clothes and spread to every corner of her body.

The instant Wen Yichen drew her close, Jiang Muting instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist, gripping his jacket with both small hands as though letting go would send her plunging into the pond.

The air fell abruptly silent. Still half-shaken, Jiang Muting felt the pain in her ankle flare again and again, mercilessly pricking at her tears until a sheen of moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes. Yet she said nothing. Lowering her head, she rested it against Wen Yichen’s chest, her slight body trembling in little spasms from the pain.

Her cry had naturally drawn everyone’s attention. Yin Luize and the others turned in unison, and when they saw the scene before them, they were all momentarily stunned.

“Zhou Yao, that’s too much.”

The next second, Wen Yichen’s voice cut coldly through the air, shattering the silence into pieces.

He fixed Zhou Yao with a hard stare, the chill in his eyes so sharp it seemed capable of slicing her to shreds.

Though Wen Yichen was usually quiet and spoke with cool detachment, he had never given off such a terrifying feeling. His words left everyone present frozen in place, including Zhou Yao and Xia Manman.

And of course, Yin Luize, who everyone regarded as the school tyrant, was stunned as well. Mouth slightly open, he took quick little steps to the diagonally rear of Gu Nianxi, bent down a little, and tapped her shoulder carefully. “Boss, what happened?”

“Zhou Yao just pushed Little Warm a bit. Little Warm twisted her ankle and almost fell into the water.” Gu Nianxi softly explained what had just happened to Yin Luize.

That shove from Zhou Yao had struck squarely at Wen Yichen’s bottom line. No one had ever seen him like this, not even Bai Xu, who had played with him for years.

Xia Manman stood dazed to one side, clearly still unable to recover. She knew Wen Yichen would protect Jiang Muting, but she had not expected it to be to this extent.

“I-I didn’t mean to,” Zhou Yao said helplessly, looking at Wen Yichen with a timid voice. In the past, she had only thought Yin Luize was the dangerous one, the kind of person no one could afford to provoke. Now she realized she had been wrong. In this class, Wen Yichen was also someone you could not cross.

Wen Yichen stared at her. After a few seconds, he finally spat out two icy words: “Apologize.”

Each syllable landed with force, striking Zhou Yao like a hammer blow and making her tremble.

Once again, silence fell.

Wen Yichen was waiting for Zhou Yao to apologize, but Zhou Yao was so frightened she could not get a single word out.

Seeing that the atmosphere was turning ugly, Jiang Muting slowly loosened her grip on Wen Yichen’s clothes. The moisture still clung faintly at the corners of her eyes. After a brief silence, she finally spoke in a soft voice. “Forget it.”

But as soon as Jiang Muting said that, the anger in Wen Yichen seemed to deepen even further. At last, his patience broke through its limit. “Zhou Yao, are you deaf? I told you to apologize to Jiang Muting.”

His tone was hard and sharp, as though if Zhou Yao still refused to apologize, he might very well strike her.

Seeing that the matter was about to escalate, Jiang Muting gently lifted a hand and carefully tugged at Wen Yichen’s sleeve. “Let it go. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Zhou Yao glanced at Jiang Muting, then lowered her eyes and said unwillingly, “I’m sorry.”

“Apologizing to the ants on the ground?” Wen Yichen asked coldly.

By now, the pressure around Wen Yichen had grown so heavy that no one dared intervene. Even Yin Luize stood to the side, watching in a daze.

A moment later, Yin Luize gathered the surprise from his face and composed himself. Following Wen Yichen’s words, he said, “Zhou Yao, is it really that hard to say a proper sorry?”

He looked at her with frosty eyes, and the formidable presence between his brows made Zhou Yao shudder involuntarily.

Seeing that Zhou Yao still gave no response, Yin Luize asked again, “What, you think pushing someone means you did nothing wrong?”

“Jiang Muting,” Zhou Yao finally lifted her eyes and looked at the girl before her. Though she still had a thousand unwillingnesses in her heart, she forced herself to endure it. After all, offending two people at once would only make her future life even harder. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

Jiang Muting had never been a domineering person by nature. Seeing Zhou Yao in such a state, something indescribable rose in her heart. “It’s—”

“Let’s go.”

Before Jiang Muting could finish saying it was nothing, Wen Yichen had cut in first. As he spoke, he raised an arm and gently drew her shoulders into his embrace, while his other hand steadied her arm. Then he supported her step by step as they moved forward.

The pain in her foot continued unabated. With every step, Jiang Muting could feel that fierce ache surge through her. Limping beside Wen Yichen and being supported by such a tall boy, she could not help feeling a little embarrassed.

“Does it still hurt?” Wen Yichen asked softly by her ear.

“A little.” Jiang Muting lifted her eyes to him and forced out a light smile.

In truth, the pain in her ankle was far more than a little. Each step felt like walking on the edge of a blade, impossible to bear.

She had meant to produce a relaxed smile, but the pain had twisted it into something bitter instead.

Her acting was rather clumsy; Wen Yichen saw through the lie at a glance.

“You say it’s nothing, yet your face has already turned into a bitter gourd,” he murmured helplessly.

“Huh?”

What Wen Yichen had just said, Jiang Muting had not really heard clearly. She looked at him in confusion. “What did you say about a gourd?”

“Nothing about a gourd.”

Seeing her like that, Wen Yichen could not help but laugh. The next second, he released his hand from her shoulders, took two steps forward, and then crouched down in front of her.

His sudden movement startled Jiang Muting badly. She looked around in all directions before asking in surprise, “Wen Yichen, what are you doing? Get up!”

She knew exactly what he meant to do. He was planning to carry her on his back. But this was a spring outing organized by the school, with so many classmates and teachers around. Was it really all right for her to openly climb onto his back like that?