Spring breeze grants me youth again

Chapter 5 The Power of the Lightning Ball

In front of a record store across from the convenience store, Ma Yurou was holding Chen Yao's arm, her eyes fixed on Zhou Huai and Sun Yichang, who were chatting and laughing side by side not far away.

"Yaoyao, I just told you I saw Zhou Huai and Sun Yichang hugging over at the library, but you didn't believe me. Now look, they're even drinking from the same bottle of water. They're definitely secretly dating."

She paused, then added with a pout, "I didn't expect him to be such a jerk. He was all over you bringing you lunch this afternoon, and then he turned around and was being so intimate with another girl."

"Sure enough, all handsome guys are no good. If he brings you food again tomorrow, don't accept it no matter what."

Ma Yurou is Chen Yao's deskmate and usually protects Chen Yao the most, unable to bear seeing her suffer any grievances. She is now convinced that Zhou Huai is a two-timing scumbag.

Chen Yao, standing to the side, remained silent the entire time, simply standing there blankly.

"Yaoyao, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Ma Yurou noticed that something was wrong with her, reached out and gently touched her, her face full of confusion.

Chen Yao then came to her senses and suppressed her unhappiness.

Not wanting Ma Yurou to see through her thoughts, she quickly took out her phone and pretended to answer a call.

"It's nothing, Xiaorou. My driver is already at the intersection ahead. I have to go now."

"Okay, see you at school tomorrow."

Ma Yurou didn't think much of it and waved goodbye to her.

Chen Yao nodded, turned around, and quickly crossed the road.

After watching Chen Yao leave, Ma Yurou turned back to look in the direction of Temple Street, wanting to see Zhou Huai and Sun Yichang again.

But the streets were bustling with people, and the two of them were nowhere to be seen. She pursed her lips and muttered something.

"Never mind, I'll go home too," he said, turning and leaving.

Temple Street gradually comes alive after 5:30 p.m., with all kinds of stalls set up along the street, offering a wide variety of snacks, drinks, and trinkets, all accompanied by shouts and laughter.

Pedestrians came and went in an endless stream, including students walking home from school and couples strolling hand in hand, most of them with smiles on their faces.

The Meijiale Shopping Mall is located at the very end of Temple Street. The two walked side by side, and Zhou Huai's eyes swept over the stalls on the street, his heart filled with nostalgia.

In the past, when he and Zhang Zhengyi came here, their hands would already be full of all kinds of snacks.

But he told Sun Yichang that he had no money in his pocket.

At this moment, one can only suppress one's cravings, smelling the aroma wafting in the air, and dare not linger too long.

After walking for a while, Zhou Huai noticed that Sun Yichang kept her head down, frequently checking her phone, and remained silent the whole time, looking absent-minded.

He couldn't help but stop and look at her.

"What's wrong, Fishball? You've been so distracted since earlier. Is something the matter?"

Sun Yichang looked up at Zhou Huai with a guilty expression.

"Zhou Huai, I'm sorry, my brother just texted me. He said he and my mom will be home soon, and I... I have to go back right away."

Zhou Huai's heart skipped a beat.

The original plan to deepen their relationship fell through, and a sense of disappointment inevitably arose in my heart, but I still smiled and waved my hand.

"It's okay, I'll come to your house for a meal again when I have the chance."

He knew that Sun Yichang's mother was a strong-willed businesswoman, and he had met her a few times at previous parent-teacher meetings.

If I were to rashly go along at this time, it would only cause trouble and be a losing proposition.

"Um."

Sun Yichang responded softly.

"Then I'll take you to the nearby bus stop first. There are too many people here, and I'm worried about you walking alone."

"it is good."

The distance from Temple Street to the nearest bus stop is only a little over 200 meters, but the two of them walked slowly for more than ten minutes.

Sun Yichang wasn't oblivious; she clearly sensed that Zhou Huai was completely different towards her today than before. The gentleness in his words and his unintentional closeness made her both happy and reluctant to part.

Soon, the bus slowly pulled into the station. Sun Yichang stepped onto the steps and looked back at Zhou Huai.

"Zhou Huai, I'll get in the car first."

"Okay, remember to text me when you get home."

Zhou Huai stood by the platform and gave instructions.

"I will."

"Fish balls, see you tomorrow."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

Zhou Huai stood there, waving at her, watching the No. 6 bus drive out of sight until it completely disappeared at the end of the road before turning around and walking back.

He wandered aimlessly, thinking about what he should do next.

Zhou Huai's first thought was naturally the college entrance examination, but ten years had passed, and he had forgotten most of the knowledge from his high school textbooks.

Although I have good learning abilities, there are only twenty days left, and I definitely won't have enough time to review everything. So I can only think of a backup plan first.

Even if he couldn't go to university, he wanted to stay in the same city as Sun Yichang, and the foundation for all of this was money.

Yes, I need to earn my first pot of gold. Let me think...

Just then, a faint cry for help came from the alley next door.

"Zhou Huai, Zhou Huai, save me!"

The familiar voice reached his ears, and Zhou Huai instantly snapped out of his daze, turning his head to look into the depths of the alley.

He saw Chen Yao surrounded by several thugs, forced to retreat continuously, even dropping her schoolbag on the ground.

Zhou Huai immediately strode forward and shouted sternly, "Stop!"

The leader of the blond thugs turned around upon hearing the sound. When he saw that it was Zhou Huai, he was not flustered at all. Instead, he showed a smug smile.

He picked up the wooden stick he had dropped on the ground earlier, afraid of scaring Chen Yao, and slowly walked forward.

"You brat, it's you! What a stroke of luck! I've been searching high and low, only to have it fall right under my nose!"

Huang Mao glared fiercely at Zhou Huai.

Although he's a scoundrel, he'll find a way to get things done once he's paid.

They didn't catch up with him at the Chengnan Police Station, but he kept an eye on him and came looking for him when he found out that Zhou Huai had gone in the direction of Miaojie.

Unexpectedly, I ran into Chen Yao, who looked like she had just broken up with her boyfriend, in this alley, so I shamelessly came over to chat her up.

"Stop talking nonsense, come at me all at once, you bunch of trash."

Zhou Huai's eyes were icy cold.

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out the famous sword, Dianguangwan, from his system space and held it in his hand.

"Hahaha! Look at this kid, is he out of his mind? He got a plastic toy knife from somewhere and dares to make us all attack him, he's really overestimating himself."

Upon seeing this, Huang Mao burst into laughter, almost dropping the wooden stick in his hand.

The other thugs followed suit, completely disregarding Zhou Huai.

"Zhou Huai, run! Don't worry about me. There are too many of them; you can't beat them."

Chen Yao quickly picked up her schoolbag from the ground and threw it hard at Huang Mao, while shouting loudly, trying to get him to leave immediately.

Huang Mao was hit by the schoolbag, cried out in pain, and instantly became furious. He turned around abruptly and glared fiercely at Chen Yao.

"You brat, how dare you hit me!"

But before he could finish speaking, Zhou Huai made his move.

He gripped the famous sword, Dianguangwan, and swiftly stepped forward, precisely slashing at the back of Huang Mao's neck. With that one strike, Huang Mao's eyes rolled back, and he immediately fainted, collapsing to the ground.

"You little brat, how dare you ambush our boss! Brothers, let's get him and kill him!"

Seeing this, the purple-haired thug next to him was both shocked and furious. He brandished his wooden stick and charged at Zhou Huai first.

But it was no use. The high-performance radar built into the famous sword, Dianguangwan, had already automatically detected the incoming attack and activated the blocking mode.

Zhou Huai didn't even need to think to easily block the purple-haired man's attack and then automatically counterattack.

In the blink of an eye, Purple Hair also fainted and collapsed to the ground.

The remaining five thugs, though surprised, were blinded by rage and charged at Zhou Huai with their sticks raised.

In just a few seconds, all seven thugs were knocked unconscious, lying sprawled on the ground, motionless.

[Congratulations, host, on completing the mission. You are rewarded with one lottery draw.]

[Host has perfectly completed the mission; bonus reward: one chance to draw a prize.]

Zhou Huai bent down to pick up Chen Yao's schoolbag that had fallen to the ground, brushed off the dust, and walked over to Chen Yao, who was still standing there in a daze.

"Let's go, Chen Yao."

Chen Yao finally snapped out of her shock, looked at the thug lying unconscious on the ground, and then at Zhou Huai, who had a calm expression, her eyes filled with admiration.

"Oh... okay, Zhou Huai, you're amazing, they..."

"Don't worry, it's just an unsharpened toy knife. I just knocked them out."

Zhou Huai quickly explained.

He deliberately shook the famous sword, Dianguangmaru, in his hand, and then pretended to put it into his schoolbag.

Then Zhou Huai asked another question.

"By the way, why did you end up in such a remote alley? Isn't your home in the city? This place is far from your home."

Chen Yao's cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, whispering, "I...I'm lost."

She was originally going home, but when she passed Temple Street, she couldn't help but ask the driver to stop so she could come in alone.

Unexpectedly, after wandering around for a long time, not only did they not find Zhou Huai, but they also got lost because they were unfamiliar with the roads and stumbled into this alley.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huai couldn't help but chuckle. He thought Chen Yao looked rather adorable at that moment.

"You're making fun of them!"

Seeing this, Chen Yao pouted slightly, her cheeks turning even redder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Zhou Huai quickly suppressed his smile and asked seriously.

"Haven't you been to Temple Street before? How come you got lost?"

"I came here once with Xiaorou during winter break."

Chen Yao spoke softly, then looked up at Zhou Huai.

"Zhou Huai, thank you for what you did earlier."

"We're all classmates, and besides, you've been... there's no need to be so polite."

Zhou Huai waved his hand casually.

Upon hearing his words, Chen Yao's eyes dimmed slightly, and she lowered her head, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

"Just classmates?"

Zhou Huai didn't hear clearly.

"What did you say? It's too noisy in Temple Street, I didn't hear you."

"No...it's nothing."

Chen Yao quickly shook her head to hide her disappointment and changed the subject.

"Zhou Huai, what conflict did you have with those thugs earlier? Why were they causing you trouble?"

Zhou Huai looked at her, chuckled softly, and said with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

"It's all because of you."

"Because of me?"

Chen Yao stared wide-eyed, pointing at herself with her index finger, her face filled with disbelief.

"But this is the first time I've ever met them."

"I was just kidding, how can I blame you for something like this?"

Zhou Huai briefly explained his recent feud with Li Wenwei.

After hearing this, Chen Yao felt very guilty.

"I'm sorry, it's all because of me that I've caused you so much trouble. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to deliver food to me anymore."

After saying that, afraid that Zhou Huai would see the disappointment in her eyes, she quickly turned her head and looked at the crowd on the street.