Could it be that he was retaliated against

"I see."

Tang's mother let out a relieved sigh. It seemed things hadn’t reached the worst possible outcome yet.

However, judging by Manman’s state, it was clear she had developed special feelings for that male classmate, which worried Tang Xin deeply as a mother.

She absolutely wouldn’t allow her daughter to start dating during the critical final year of high school, lest she lose focus on her studies, see her grades drop, and end up failing to get into a good university—dooming her to a hard life like her own.

On top of that, Tang Xin wasn’t sure how to face that boy, Yu Kai.

He was Manman’s childhood friend—well-behaved, obedient, and an excellent student.

Since starting high school, he often helped out at her barbecue stall in his free time. Though he never accepted anything in return, his intentions were obvious: he had a crush on Manman.

Tang Xin had always seen him as a future son-in-law, but now that Tang Manman had taken a liking to someone else, how was she supposed to explain it to him?

The thought made her chest tighten with unease.

Suddenly, a question flashed in her mind. She turned to Tang Manman, who was hanging her head low, her ears flushed red, and asked hesitantly:

"Manman, you said you were bullied at school. Did Yu Kai not know about it?"

Yu Kai and Manman were in the same class. Logically, if Manman was being bullied, he couldn’t have missed it.

And if he knew, why would he let someone else play the hero?

At the mention of Yu Kai, the blush on Tang Manman’s face faded, replaced by teary, reddened eyes.

"Didn’t know? How could he not know?"

"He was standing right there, watching!"

"How could he not know!"

The buried grievances in her heart surged out at once. Wiping her tears, Tang Manman sobbed:

"He knew!"

"He was just standing there while I was being bullied!"

"Huh?" Tang's mother gasped in shock, clearly unprepared for such an answer.

"How could that be?"

"He was there while you were bullied?"

"And did nothing?" she pressed, disbelief in her voice.

Tang Manman sniffled. Despite the inexplicable ache in her chest, she answered truthfully:

"No... after I called for his help, he stepped in to defend me, but the bullies beat him back."

"Well, there you have it!" Tang's mother exhaled in relief, giving her daughter a reproachful look.

"Yu Kai did want to help you—he just couldn’t."

"At least he stood up for you in the end, didn’t he?"

Tang Manman didn’t reply, only shaking her head stubbornly. She didn’t know how to explain the situation to her mother.

Yu Kai had been hiding in the crowd the whole time, silently watching everything unfold without daring to step forward.

It was only after she pleaded for help that he could no longer stay hidden.

If she hadn’t spotted him, he would’ve kept hiding!

And that feeling of being abandoned by her last hope just before falling into despair—Tang Manman never wanted to experience it again.

Seeing her daughter trapped in this stubborn mindset, Tang's mother sighed softly. She sat beside Tang Manman, pulling her into a gentle embrace, and spoke in a soothing tone:

"Manman, you can’t blame Yu Kai for this."

"Everyone feels scared when facing bad people—that’s completely normal."

"And in the end, he did stand up for you, didn’t he?"

"Put yourself in his shoes. If someone you liked was surrounded by bullies, would you, all alone, rush in without hesitation?"

"Wouldn’t you also hesitate for a long time—"

Before she could finish, Tang Manman suddenly raised her voice, breaking from her usual gentle demeanor:

"Of course I would!"

Her gaze was firm as memories of that night resurfaced.

Hadn’t Lin Yu also been chased and bullied by bad people that night?

Hadn’t she, alone, bravely saved him?

...

...

As she recalled further, Tang Manman suddenly remembered that she, too, had hesitated for a long time on the opposite side of the street before finally making up her mind to bring Lin Yu to safety.

Could it be...

that she was just like Yu Kai?

Or...

was this how most people in the world would act?

The light in her tear-filled eyes dimmed. Her mind was a tangled mess, like a knotted pair of earphones—too chaotic to sort anything out.

Watching her daughter swing between agitation and dejection, Tang's mother was at a loss.

Teenage girls’ emotions were the hardest to decipher. Giving up, she simply set one firm rule:

"Tang Manman, I don’t care how you feel about Yu Kai or that boy who helped you. I have one demand."

"You absolutely cannot start dating right now."

"Understood?"

"You’re in your most crucial year—senior high. All your energy must go into studying."

"Who you like is your business, but it waits until after the college entrance exams!"

"If I catch you dating before then, you’re in big trouble!"

She put on a stern face, lightly tapping Tang Manman’s smooth forehead with her finger as a warning.

Tang Manman pouted, unhappy with her mother’s tone.

She hadn’t done anything wrong.

Why did her mother make it sound like she was one step away from skipping school and eloping like some rebellious kid?

"Understood?!"

When her daughter stayed silent, Tang's mother tapped her forehead again, this time with a bit more force.

"I get it," Tang Manman mumbled, sulking.

Satisfied, Tang's mother relaxed. She stood up, about to gather her things and head out to the stall, when a thought struck her.

Wait.

What was the original topic between me and Manman again?

Remembering the nickname, she sat back down beside Tang Manman, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Manman, does that boy who helped you... like you?"

"No," Tang Manman answered without hesitation, shaking her head.

What a joke—who would treat someone they liked like that?

Lin Yu didn’t just seem uninterested in her; he almost acted like he disliked her.

The thought brought an inexplicable pang of hurt.

If he disliked her, why had he helped her over and over?

"He doesn’t like you?"

"Then why didn’t he stop your classmates from calling you those names? Why didn’t he clarify things?"

Tang's mother remained skeptical. Unlike these high school kids who hadn’t yet entered society, she wasn’t so easily fooled. This could very well be a classic case of playing hard to get—a trick to ensnare naive girls like Manman!

"Mom~"

Tang Manman looked at Tang's mother speechlessly, her beautiful eyes filled with helplessness and resentment at not being trusted.

"Alright, alright. Mom will only ask one last question," Tang's mother said, holding up one finger and speaking in a half - coaxing, half - pleading tone.

"Just one last one!"

Tang Manman gave Tang's mother a helpless look and said, "Because he got injured on the very night he saved me. He didn't come to school until yesterday. He has no idea what happened at school. How could he stop others?"

"Got injured on the night he saved you?"

"How did he get injured?"

"How serious was the injury?" Tang's mother asked in surprise.

Listening to her mother firing off questions one after another like a machine gun, Tang Manman got a bit annoyed.

Wasn't it agreed that the previous question was the last one?

How come there are so many more questions all of a sudden?

Tang Manman was fuming. Just as she was about to give her mother a dissatisfied look, the next question from Tang's mother left her completely stunned.

"Could he have been retaliated against?"