Extra Chapter 12:

Ares nodded, as if he would listen intently to whatever Lu Xiao said.

He looked so well-behaved, which was actually a little cute.

"You just came out here with me like that. Aren’t you afraid of what people will say?"

Lu Xiao was well aware that thanks to Su Da’s recent appearance, Ares had become the center of attention at school.

Now that he was getting involved with her, the gossip would be endless.

Ares shook his head. "I’m not afraid. It has nothing to do with you."

Lu Xiao raised an eyebrow. "How does it have nothing to do with me? You don’t mind rumors spreading about us?"

"I don’t mind." Ares’s reply was crisp, delivered without a hint of hesitation.

Lu Xiao found this even stranger. "Why don’t you mind rumors about us?"

"Because I can tell you don’t think like Su Da. You’re not her." Ares answered earnestly, as if afraid Lu Xiao wouldn’t believe him. "She probably doesn’t even truly like me. Maybe it’s just about the thrill of conquest for her. I don’t like that."

Although Ares didn’t specify what he disliked, Lu Xiao understood. Su Da’s "like" was tinged with showmanship and a desire for conquest, but it contained no love.

Her affection made Ares feel like a cheap object, not a person of flesh and blood.

There was no respect.

Lu Xiao felt that unless someone had masochistic tendencies, that kind of "like" would be truly hard to accept.

She chuckled. "You have a pretty high opinion of me. I’ll take it as a compliment."

After speaking, Lu Xiao glanced down at the time. "It’s getting late. You should head back for evening self-study. I have to go to work."

Ares froze for a moment, not realizing time had passed so quickly. He hurriedly glanced at the time. "Okay."

Ares’s voice sounded normal, but for some reason, Lu Xiao detected a hint of disappointment in it.

It was like a puppy being rejected by its owner.

’Something is really off with me tonight,’ Lu Xiao thought.

After a hasty farewell to Ares, Lu Xiao walked straight out of the school gates.

Perhaps her luck had just been terrible lately. As soon as Lu Xiao reached the mouth of an alley, she saw a boy sitting against the wall, head bowed, his hand dangling at his side, covered in blood.

Lu Xiao stood there, her brow furrowed. ’I seem to keep running into situations like this recently. Maybe I really should go to a temple and pray.’

’What is with all this?’

She looked around. The alley was usually deserted. If she just left him here, who knew when someone else would find him.

Lu Xiao sighed, walked over, and gently kicked his knee. "Hey, are you alive? I’ll call you an ambulance... Hey!"

Before she could finish, he keeled over and fell to the ground.

"You’ve got to be kidding me! Trying to pull a scam?" Lu Xiao was speechless. Instead of touching him, she quickly dialed for an ambulance.

Before long, the ambulance arrived. Lu Xiao had planned to leave as soon as they loaded him up, but just as she turned to go, a paramedic from the ambulance called out, "You can’t leave. You have to come with us."

"I don’t know him, I just... okay, fine!" Resigned, Lu Xiao got into the ambulance and sent a message to her boss at the coffee shop, asking for time off.

On the way to the hospital, Lu Xiao watched as the paramedic cleaned the unconscious boy’s wound. Only then did she realize his stomach had been sliced open. If he had been found any later, he would have bled to death.

’I really don’t know what this guy was thinking, not going to the hospital in this condition.’

Once at the hospital, he was immediately wheeled into the emergency room. Lu Xiao had no choice but to see her good deed through to the end and paid the fees upfront. As for contacting his family, that would have to wait until he woke up.

Lu Xiao sat on a chair outside the ER. She didn’t know how much time had passed before a nurse tapped her awake. "Miss, your friend is awake. You can go see him now."

Lu Xiao came to her senses, realizing she had fallen asleep. She nodded quickly, got up, and followed the nurse’s directions to find his bed. Sure enough, the boy was awake.

Seeing Lu Xiao, he spoke directly, "You’re the one who brought me here?"

Lu Xiao nodded. "Yeah, I happened to see you. You’re okay now. Do you need me to contact your family?"

"No need. How much did it cost? I’ll pay you back." He reached for the phone beside him. Seeing him struggle, Lu Xiao handed it to him and told him the amount.

After transferring the money to her, he said, "Thank you for saving me."

"You’re welcome. It was just a coincidence. Since you’re okay, I’ll be going. Try to be more careful next time something like this happens." Lu Xiao felt her good deed for the day was officially done.

Just as she was about to get up, he called out to her. "What’s your name? I’m C Luo."

"Lu Xiao." She gave him a small smile and turned to leave.

C Luo watched her retreating figure until she disappeared before looking away. "Lu Xiao."

’This girl has a lot of personality. She saved me but wasn’t the least bit curious about my situation. I didn’t see any fear in her eyes either.’

’She just treated me like any other stranger.’

’She didn’t even seem to care whether I’d thank her or not. How interesting.’

Lu Xiao, for her part, didn’t think much of the incident. She had simply come across an injured person by chance and helped them out. She couldn’t care less who he was or whether he would repay her kindness.

He had paid her back, so they were even.

But what Lu Xiao didn’t expect was that a week later, a group of guys on motorcycles was standing outside the school gates.

They were incredibly eye-catching.

As Lu Xiao came out of school, she immediately spotted C Luo standing in front of a motorcycle. He was wearing a biker jacket and was so conspicuous that it was hard not to notice him.

’I can’t believe he’s here.’ Just as Lu Xiao decided to pretend she hadn’t seen anything and walk away, he suddenly called her name. "Lu Xiao."

’Well, now everyone knows he’s here for me.’

Lu Xiao had no choice but to walk over. "You’re already out of the hospital?"

"And I have you to thank for that." C Luo handed Lu Xiao another helmet from his bike. "Do me the honor of letting me treat you to a meal."

"If I have dinner with you, can we consider this matter closed?"

"You call the shots. Get on." With that, C Luo swung a leg over the motorcycle first, then tilted his head, gesturing for Lu Xiao to join him.

Lu Xiao put on the helmet and got on his motorcycle.

The group of bikers then took off with a roar.

Ares stood at a window, taking in the entire scene. A faint worry flickered in his usually emotionless eyes.

At that moment, he felt as if a treasure he wanted to keep all to himself had just been discovered by someone else.

And he had no idea how to get his treasure back.

He even worried that the treasure might choose to stay with the other person, never to spare him another glance.

The mere thought of that possibility sent a wave of panic through Ares.

It was as if he was losing something, and he couldn’t bear the price of that loss.