Bruise

Winters in the south are always particularly brief.

At this time when the snow hasn't even fully melted up north, City S has already turned emerald green.

Tender, eye-catching wildflowers dot the entire city like stars, proclaiming the vitality of spring.

The sun is not harsh, the breeze is just right.

In such a lovely season, the young students at S University have all emerged from their dormitories.

Come to think of it.

How does that line from the nature documentary go?

Spring has arrived, all things come back to life, the air is filled with the scent of hormones, and the animals have entered their mating season...

Ahem!

Getting off track.

Sun He stood by the artificial lake at S University. Watching the men and women strolling around campus, he also felt the urge to mate...

Bah!

He also wanted a partner!

After a winter break of dedicated study, he had mastered a set of attire supposedly guaranteed to be a killer on campus.

For this, he specifically cut off the dyed-blond hair that had only been somewhat dominant in middle and high school, switching instead to a full sports student outfit.

Especially those white high-top cotton socks—he had spent a long time carefully selecting them online, deliberately choosing ones with a black checkmark, afraid others wouldn't recognize him as an "athletic star."

Looking down at his excellent outfit, Sun He nodded with satisfaction.

He pretended to be nonchalant as he started doing some exercises, but in reality, he was sneakily glancing around, hoping to see if any senior or junior female students had noticed him, making it easier to make a move.

But soon, he couldn't maintain his facade of cool indifference anymore.

He unconsciously stopped his movements, slowly straightened up, his shocked gaze following a pink electric scooter as it glided past.

Isn't that senior Tao Yaoyao, a third-year student?

Who's that blond guy riding behind her?!

I thought the blond hair meta was only strong until high school graduation?

What's the meaning of this?

Secretly buffing the meta, is that it?

Coach!

I want to dye my hair back!

...

...

Sitting behind Tao Yaoyao, Lin Yu held his helmet, his body upright and leaning back slightly to keep a bit of distance between himself and Tao Yaoyao.

The pink little e-scooter moved forward at a steady speed, creating a breeze that blew backward.

The gentle wind carried Tao Yaoyao's scent toward Lin Yu. Lin Yu lightly sniffed the faint fragrance at the tip of his nose, finding it strangely familiar.

It seemed like he had smelled it somewhere before.

Lin Yu didn't think too much of it; his interactions with Tao Yaoyao weren't just once or twice, so feeling her scent was a tiny bit familiar was normal.

Sniffing Tao Yaoyao's pleasant fragrance, Lin Yu's auto-aim activated uncontrollably.

From this position, Lin Yu naturally couldn't see much, and Tao Yaoyao was dressed conservatively, in long pants and a long-sleeved top.

Clearly different from those female students who, as soon as the temperature rose a bit, seemed eager to deck themselves out in short skirts and stockings.

Lin Yu glanced at her fair neck and then looked away...

...

???

Lin Yu frowned, momentarily doubting his eyesight. He looked back at Tao Yaoyao's neck, but this time he saw nothing.

The reason he saw nothing was that after passing the earlier windy spot, there was no wind here now.

When Lin Yu took that first glance,

wind had blown into Tao Yaoyao's clothes, puffing up her collar wide open. Besides the graceful curve of her neck, Lin Yu had also seen snow-white skin deeper within.

On that large expanse of soft, tender skin, Lin Yu had caught a glimpse of a striking purplish bruise tinged with a faint blue-green.

That color was all too familiar to Lin Yu.

After all, not long ago, he himself had been covered in bruises just like that. They had only recently faded; how could he not remember?

What happened to Tao Yaoyao?

Was she bullied?

That blue-purple bruise had a strange shape, not looking like something caused by an accidental bump.

Moreover, being on her back made it seem even more like an injury inflicted by someone.

Driven by curiosity, Lin Yu stretched his neck, trying to get a clear look at whether that unusual color was indeed a bruise from being hit.

For the rest of the journey, they never encountered another gust of wind strong enough to billow Tao Yaoyao's clothes. Lin Yu could only try to see the secret beneath Tao Yaoyao's clothes by constantly adjusting his position.

Lin Yu stretched his neck, inching closer and closer to Tao Yaoyao. Just as he was about to catch another glimpse of that patch of skin, the electric scooter came to an abrupt stop.

Caught off guard, Lin Yu bumped right into Tao Yaoyao's back.

After stopping the scooter, Tao Yaoyao quickly put down the kickstand, then hopped off in a flash, tightly clutching the collar of her top with both hands, looking at Lin Yu with a mix of shyness, a hint of resentment, and annoyance.

Only then did Lin Yu notice her face was flushed to a degree that made one seriously wonder if she was running a high fever.

No wonder.

Earlier, when he was sneaking looks, he kept feeling her skin was turning pinker...

...

Wait!

Is now the time to think about that?

Lin Yu knew he had been misunderstood and intended to explain, but in the rush of the moment, he didn't know how to begin.

Because the logic of the matter itself was problematic.

If he hadn't been sneaking looks at her, how would he have known there was a mark on her back that looked like a bruise...

Tao Yaoyao clutched her collar, took a few deep breaths, and calmed down.

But to Lin Yu's surprise, she didn't seem overly angry; in fact, she seemed somewhat unable to look directly at him.

"You, you ride in front and take me," Tao Yaoyao said, holding her collar.

"Oh, okay."

Seeing that Tao Yaoyao wasn't pursuing the matter, Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief and naturally didn't dare say more. He promptly got off the scooter and gave the back seat to Tao Yaoyao.

After making sure Tao Yaoyao was seated securely, Lin Yu twisted the scooter's throttle and, following Tao Yaoyao's directions, headed toward the Martial Arts Society.

Arriving at the Martial Arts Society, Lin Yu parked the scooter steadily. Tao Yaoyao got off the back seat. Seizing the chance, Lin Yu stole a glance at her.

Her expression was slightly cold, and the usual polite slight smile was gone from the corners of her lips.

She simply straightened her clothes and said to Lin Yu,

"Let's go."

"Oh, okay."