Chapter 53: Sunny

The rain had lessened, but it was still falling.

The bullying youths stared in horror at their companion, who was groaning in pain under someone’s foot, and were momentarily stunned into silence.

The boy who had been stepping on Lu You now had his head pressed firmly to the ground, unable to lift it even an inch.

His pale face was covered in bloodshot veins, twisted and savage.

Filthy rainwater slid across it, flowing into his mouth and nose.

Blue veins surfaced on Mo Yuan’s neck, her eyes almost completely stained blood-red.

The force in her foot seemed intent on embedding the boy’s head into the ground.

Looking at the terrified, panicked faces around her, she gritted her teeth, desperately restraining the impulse to execute them on the spot.

“Scram.”

The furious voice was like the tolling of the death knell.

After clearly hearing the word, the boys scrambled away, running for their lives.

Seeing his companions scatter like rats, the boy pinned underfoot grew even more terrified.

The heavy pressure on his face told him instinctively that this enraged girl would really kill him.

A few seconds later, the foot on his face was unexpectedly removed.

The boy scrambled to his feet and fled the scene in a sorry state.

Mo Yuan bent down and helped the soaking wet Lu You to his feet, pulling him into her embrace with immense heartache.

Her movements were as careful as if she were holding a fragile, beautiful piece of jade.

The boy could no longer hold back his sobs.

He clung tightly to Mo Yuan’s neck, rested his head on her shoulder, and freely vented the grievances and pain that had accumulated over the years.

In his wailing cries, tears streamed ceaselessly from the corners of his eyes, soaking Mo Yuan’s shoulder.

Her white clothes had already been stained with filth during their embrace.

Mo Yuan said nothing.

She held the umbrella with one hand and Lu You with the other, gently and intimately stroking his frail back, quietly waiting for the boy to stop crying.

This was the first time Lu You had ever cried so heartbreakingly.

His hysterical sobs were loud, mingling with the sound of the rain as they flowed into Mo Yuan’s ears, making her heart ache even more for him.

He cried for a long time, as if trying to release a decade’s worth of sorrow, only stopping when he had almost exhausted his last ounce of strength.

“Can you still walk?”

“Do you want me to carry you?”

After the sobs subsided, Mo Yuan wiped the boy’s tear-streaked face and asked kindly.

Lu You didn’t speak.

Looking at the gentle smile on Mo Yuan’s face, he shook his head slightly and, for the first time, took the initiative to hold his sister’s hand.

Having finally broken through the door the boy was unwilling to open, waves of warmth spread through Mo Yuan’s heart.

She squeezed Lu You’s small hand tightly in return and led him on the path home.

Along the way, the two were silent, but a warm current originating from the other flowed through both their hearts.

Lu You kept his head down, feeling the warmth from his sister’s soft, fair hand.

From his only relative, he once again felt the sensation of home.

His sister’s umbrella was held steady, providing a great sense of security.

Unlike him, it didn’t wobble, but firmly shielded his small body.

Not another drop of rain fell on him.

Mo Yuan’s shoulders, however, were completely soaked—one side wet from his recent tears, the other from the current rain.

As they walked at a slow pace, the rain gradually subsided until it stopped.

Pedestrians on the road put away their umbrellas.

Droplets of water left by the downpour slid from the eaves one by one, making soft pitter-patter sounds as they hit the ground.

The dark clouds that had covered the sky were driven away, and the sun revealed its brilliant, smiling face from behind them.

A halo of light sketched a dreamlike outline before Lu You’s eyes.

The shallow puddles on the ground reflected his and his sister’s faces.

The sky had cleared after the rain.

The bright sunlight cast a golden filter over his sister’s exquisite side profile.

Damp strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, and a droplet of water traced a path down her face, past her earlobe, and landed on her shoulder.

Mo Yuan seemed to notice that Lu You was staring at her and turned to give him a sweet smile that rippled like spring water.

“What’s wrong?”

“Am I so pretty that I’ve mesmerized you, Xiao You?”

“No… it’s not…”

The boy turned his head away, blushing, denying it in a way that contradicted his heart.

“So, you think I’m not pretty then, Xiao You?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“You’re… very pretty.”

“Extremely pretty.”

His sister, who was already beautiful, was now devastatingly so.

Whether in her usual state or now, the sight of her was breathtaking.

Lu You finally couldn’t deny it.

“Then, in the future, do you want to marry me, Xiao You, and be my other half?”

“I… Sister… we…”

Lu You’s already flushed face became even redder with shyness.

He turned away and stammered for a long time, unable to form a single complete, clear sentence.

“Just kidding.”

“You really are easy to embarrass, Xiao You.”

“Let’s hurry home.”

“Take a bath, change your clothes, and I’ll make you something delicious tonight.”

That night was the most soundly and peacefully Lu You had slept in years.

It was also the first time he had ever willingly snuggled into his sister’s arms.

For some reason, the home that contained only the two of them made him feel incredibly at ease from that moment on, just as his sister had told him before:

“Don’t worry.”

“Wherever I am is your home, Xiao You.”

“I will protect you from now on.”

The next morning, Lu You was called to the head teacher’s office.

The bullies were there with their parents.

The group seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

The moment they saw Lu You enter, they immediately began to apologize profusely in humble, servile tones.

With their sincere, begging words and pleading expressions, they were on the verge of kneeling.

Lu You saw various emotions in their eyes: fear, nervousness, apology, unwillingness, regret…

Surrounded by such gazes, he was at a loss for what to do, until the head teacher handed him a phone.

His sister’s soft yet firm voice came from it.

“You can choose whether or not to forgive them, Xiao You.”

“No matter what you choose, I will support you and help you.”

“Just follow your heart.”

The scrapes on his body no longer hurt, but the wound in his heart still ached faintly.

“Sister… I… I don’t want to…”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Leave the rest to me.”

The voices in the room stopped.

A dead silence spread.

Lu You returned the phone to the head teacher and, ignoring the looks of utter despair on everyone’s faces, silently walked out.

In the next class, Lu You saw a new teacher in the classroom.

Upon entering, the teacher announced to the students that the head teacher had been replaced and several students had withdrawn from the school.

From then on, no more rumors about Lu You ever circulated in the class.

But he still had no friends.

He became a ghost, someone who was always forced by others to the side of the road, who always sat on the edge of his chair, who always kept his head down to avoid eye contact.

“Has it been taken care of?”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

“They won’t appear again… You… why don’t you just have the young master transfer to another school?”

“The drier the environment, the more a plant understands the value of water, and the more it will cherish the only source that nourishes it.”

‘A flower carefully cultivated for many years.’

‘I protected him so cautiously, I couldn’t even bear to pick him myself.’

‘I can accept him being tempered by the wind and rain, but if anyone dares to touch him, to harm him, they must pay the price—a painful, unforgettable price.’