Chapter 33

The wooden stick landed heavily on Shen Shuyu’s right back, in full view of everyone.

Already slender, her right scapula took the blow with no buffer. An indescribable pain exploded outward.

Shen Shuyu’s silvery pupils sharply contracted. Her voice seemed to fail her; she opened her mouth but no sound came out.

Her pale little face scrunched up, as if all her features were contorted together.

In the next second, sensations of numbness, swelling, and pain surged from all directions, converging on this single fragile scapula.

Wave after wave of agony marched along her nerves, screaming in her brain.

Protectively holding Yu Mo, Shen Shuyu felt all her strength drain away in an instant.

She was on the verge of collapsing.

Shen Shuyu finally understood why, in her past life, Yu Mo had always rushed in front of her without a second thought.

It was pure instinct, never pre-calculating the damage she’d sustain from the blow.

Because she didn’t want her to get hurt, she willingly traded her own body.

This time, she hadn’t hidden behind her; she had stood before her.

And finally protected her, just once.

“Shen Shuyu!”

This was the first time Shen Shuyu had heard Yu Mo call her name in this life.

She stared dazedly into Yu Mo’s eyes. In those reddish-brown irises burned the flames of fury.

Yu Mo’s arm wrapped tightly around Shen Shuyu’s waist, preventing her from falling.

Her other hand shot out and grabbed the stick the blond man was still holding.

With a twist of her wrist, she wrested against him while simultaneously delivering a sharp side kick with her long leg. Her heavy combat boot landed squarely on the blond man’s groin.

Clean, sharp, and forceful.

“Ah, f—!” The blond man instantly crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony like a worm.

“You little bitch, looking for death?!” Seeing another one of his brothers taken down by Yu Mo, the leading man grabbed a weapon, ready to fight.

Just then, Feng Ruoyu and Zhou Qin arrived. Zhou Qin hurled several large cups of freshly bought, scalding coffee at the thugs. “Yu Mo! Wei Lai! Run!”

The cool evening wind whistled past Shen Shuyu’s ears as the six girls fled for their lives through the busy streets.

Newly emerged green leaves were caught up in the wind stirred by their passage. Hot on their heels were the men from the plaza.

The three-way intersection Yu Mo had been hoping to see appeared in her line of sight.

Five differentiated, low-grade Alpha thugs together were naturally more troublesome than six undifferentiated girls.

But if the simple-minded, physically unimpressive low-grade Alpha group could be scattered, the situation would instantly flip, allowing the six to escape.

Yu Mo glanced back at the thugs relentlessly pursuing them and called to Wei Lai and Feng Ruoyu beside her, “We’ll split into three groups. Whoever shakes these idiots first, report safety in the group chat.”

“Got it!” Wei Lai grabbed Li Qingqing, and Feng Ruoyu grabbed Zhou Qin. They each darted down one of the side alleyways.

Yu Mo took Shen Shuyu and weaved through the rough, flagstone-paved alleys, looking back at their pursuers.

The man she’d punched and two underlings were chasing their group, meaning Wei Lai and Feng Ruoyu each only had one thug to deal with.

Yu Mo couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Shaking these three clumsy thugs wouldn’t be hard.

But…

“Huff… huff…” Shen Shuyu’s heavy breathing reached Yu Mo’s ears.

From the moment they started fleeing the plaza, Shen Shuyu had been right beside her.

Two equally long, pale hands were tightly clasped together, never separating.

“Can you still go on?” Yu Mo looked at Shen Shuyu, whose cheeks were flushed a faint rosy hue. Remembering the blow Shen Shuyu had taken for her, she felt a pang of distress.

Shen Shuyu swallowed hard. The cold, harsh air scraped her throat, and the taste of iron welled up from deep within, filling her mouth.

The desperate flight had thrown Shen Shuyu’s usually excellent stamina into disarray, and the blow to her back continued to tear at her nerves relentlessly.

Shen Shuyu felt she was truly at her limit.

She desperately wanted to stop, to rest.

But the thugs were still behind them.

She didn’t want to be a burden to Yu Mo.

Under her disheveled long hair, a pair of stubborn, determined eyes looked firmly at Yu Mo.

Shen Shuyu nodded. “I can.”

Watching her, Yu Mo pressed her wind-chapped lips together, as if she had something to say.

Shen Shuyu waited, but Yu Mo only glanced back at the approaching thugs and continued running without a word.

The area Yu Mo and Shen Shuyu were in was a historical old street, its crisscrossing alleyways preserving the look of centuries past.

Green stone and white tile rushed past Shen Shuyu’s vision, a disorienting sense of time travel weaving through her chaotic mind.

Suddenly, Shen Shuyu was yanked sharply to the side.

She thought she was going to fall, but a strong arm wrapped around her waist.

Yu Mo held her close, pulling her into a secluded, dilapidated alleyway.

Old, faded red brick walls flanked them, damp earth underfoot, the distinct scent of soil mixed with decay rising up.

But amidst this smell was another, familiar scent.

Her head was buried in the crook of Yu Mo’s neck, the clean scent of soap filling Shen Shuyu’s nostrils.

Beneath it, a faint, barely perceptible milky scent lingered.

Though missing the sea salt caramel note, it still brought Shen Shuyu peace.

“Dammit, where did those two little bitches go?” one man spat viciously, seeing the empty alley ahead.

Hearing the man’s voice, Shen Shuyu’s barely calmed heart began hammering wildly again.

The cramped alley was unventilated; the oppressive air intensified the pain in her scapula.

Shen Shuyu’s hands unconsciously clutched the hem of Yu Mo’s clothes.

Slender fingers twisted the thin fabric, the knuckles turning white from the pressure.

Then, Shen Shuyu felt a warmth settle on the back of her head.

Yu Mo’s hand gently threaded through Shen Shuyu’s seaweed-soft hair, soothingly stroking a few times.

Yu Mo looked down at Shen Shuyu held in her arms.

Her pale face showed only a patch of drunken redness from the cold wind, her thick lashes trembling slightly.

She looked somewhat lost, her cherry-pink lips slightly parted, her breaths irregular, no pattern to their length.

She was nestled against Yu Mo like a terrified, shrinking rabbit.

In Yu Mo’s memory, Shen Shuyu had never experienced such a desperate escape.

Even during the few attacks in their adult years, Shen Shuyu had always been safely escorted home under Yu Mo’s protection.

Besides, she was only sixteen now.

Still so young and inexperienced.

She must be scared.

Perhaps because it was her first time being needed and leaned on by Shen Shuyu this way, Yu Mo gently stroked the back of Shen Shuyu’s head and murmured reassuringly, “Don’t be afraid. They can’t see us here.”

For Shen Shuyu, this warmth from Yu Mo, this tone of voice, was the most effective painkiller at that moment.

Shen Shuyu slightly relaxed her taut body and carefully rested her head on Yu Mo’s shoulder.

In an instant, a surreal, electric sensation coursed through Shen Shuyu’s body.

She was truly embracing Yu Mo again.

“Boss, did they go that way?” one man asked, standing near the alley where Yu Mo and Shen Shuyu were hiding but pointing towards a wider, brighter alley on the other side.

This alley was flanked by two-story rural buildings, easily mistaken for a particularly thick courtyard wall.

As Yu Mo expected, the three thugs didn’t notice it.

“Let’s go! Damn, when I catch those girls, I’ll show them!” The man waved his men towards the wrong alley.

As the thugs’ footsteps faded, absolute quiet returned.

Yu Mo let out a soft breath and released her arm from around Shen Shuyu. “Alright, it’s fine now.”

Shen Shuyu felt the warmth and presence of Yu Mo being withdrawn without hesitation.

She yearned for it, yet had to separate voluntarily.

“Should I hail you a cab home, or do you want to call your family’s driver to pick you up?” Yu Mo asked, hands in pockets, her voice devoid of emotion.

Shen Shuyu looked up at Yu Mo’s retreating figure towards the alley entrance.

Yu Mo had drawn a clear dividing line between them again.

The intimate contact just moments ago was like a magnificent firework—a brilliant spark that vanished in an instant.

The cooled night sky was still pitch black, just like Yu Mo’s indifferent attitude towards her now.

Shen Shuyu remained standing where she was.

Unwilling to accept this end, unable to let it go.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Mo, noticing Shen Shuyu wasn’t following, turned back to look.

She met Shen Shuyu’s slightly reddened eyes in the dim alley.

“Yu Mo, it hurts so much.” Shen Shuyu clutched her right shoulder, a small furrow creasing her smooth, silken forehead.

Shen Shuyu stood there, old dilapidated houses at her back.

Her figure was thin, solitary, and alone.

Her silvery eyes were strikingly visible in the darkness, filled with vulnerability.

A tiny crack split open in the hardness of Yu Mo’s heart.

It was the injury Shen Shuyu had just suffered for her.

The person who, in the previous life, had always hidden behind her and come out unscathed, had this life stood before her and taken that blow.

No matter how much resentment Yu Mo held towards Shen Shuyu, seeing this Shen Shuyu, in this life, throw herself into harm’s way like that, she was moved.

The truth was, anyone would be moved by such a gesture, wouldn’t they?

Hands still in her pockets, Yu Mo considered for a moment and asked, “Then how about I take you back to my place to apply medicine? My home is quite close. Or I can take you to a hospital nearby, or…”

“Your home is fine.” Before Yu Mo could finish, Shen Shuyu decisively chose the first option.

Cut off mid-sentence, Yu Mo looked at her with mild displeasure.

No point arguing with an injured person, she thought, and said no more. She merely gestured with a wave. “Then let’s go.”

“Yes.” Shen Shuyu was delighted. That rare smile Yu Mo saw only occasionally graced her face again.

She stepped out of the alley and walked to Yu Mo’s side.

By the roadside, delicate flowers bloomed brightly towards the last rays of sunlight.

Frail, yet resilient.