Zoe Young smiled gratefully, not considering at all that this put Mia Waters in a very dangerous situation. Soon, Ethan Xavier let out the word that if he didn’t get twenty people to beat Mia Waters until he was looking for his teeth on the ground, he’d write his own surname backwards.

Mia Waters came to school as usual, and when Zoe Young mentioned Ethan Xavier’s declaration, he just smiled.

Actually, he wasn’t completely calm. Zoe Young could tell, but he still forced himself to act tough, hiding his fear behind a careless smile.

She suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.

During free activity in PE class, Zoe Young saw from afar that Mia Waters was surrounded by a group of unfamiliar boys, while the other boys from Class Six stood at a distance, watching as if it had nothing to do with them, all looking timid and withdrawn. Blood rushed to her head, and Zoe Young sprinted into the crowd, easily found Mia Waters, and stood in front of him to shield him.

The leader, Ethan Xavier, crossed his arms, squinted his eyes, cocked his mouth, and even tried to look like a gangster with a toothpick dangling from the corner of his mouth.

“This has nothing to do with you, get out of the way. I have to teach him a lesson today, let him learn not to get in my way!”

Whenever someone needs protecting, Zoe Young always has endless courage. In that moment, her mind even wandered off, thinking of Seiya with his meridians shattered from a beating, and how every time he thought of family and friends, his cosmos would explode. The protagonist’s strength always comes from love and the desire to protect others, doesn’t it?

She smiled excitedly. Zoe Young, see, you really are destined to be the protagonist.

“Ethan Xavier, I’m telling you, if you keep making trouble for no reason, I won’t let you off!”

“Oh? And how exactly won’t you let me off?” Ethan Xavier replied, grinning lewdly, and his lackeys all laughed along, making the atmosphere oddly harmonious.

“Mia Waters is my best friend. If you so much as touch a hair on his head, I’ll, I’ll…” Zoe Young searched her mind for a threat but couldn’t find the words, so she shouted with all her might, “I’ll tell the teacher on you!”

There was three seconds of silence.

Then the lackeys burst out laughing, shaking the heavens with their mirth. Zoe Young turned around and saw that even Mia Waters, in the middle of the crisis, had a helpless look that said, “Don’t say you know me.”

Ethan Xavier, however, stared at her with an oddly appreciative expression and a strange smile. Zoe Young suddenly remembered the confession he’d made a year and a half ago, holding her hand with deep affection.

“Will you be my Shancai?” Ethan Xavier asked, eyes shining.

Everyone was looking at her.

Zoe Young enunciated each word: “Shan, you, laolao!”

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12. The Only One I Want to Protect Is You

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The moment Ethan Xavier’s expression changed, a figure broke through the crowd and rushed to the center, standing between Zoe Young and Ethan Xavier.

At the critical moment, the hero saves the beauty—something many people never experience in a lifetime. Zoe Young didn’t even realize how lucky she was.

Benny pushed Ethan Xavier’s shoulder with his left hand and grabbed Zoe Young’s wrist with his right, calmly saying, “Do me a favor, cool off, don’t be impulsive!”

Like Hua Ze Lei stepping in front of Dao Ming Si to protect Shancai in front of everyone. Realizing this, Ethan Xavier got extremely excited—what a rare opportunity! Even if he wasn’t angry, he had to act like he was!

Without another word, he threw a punch. Benny, caught off guard, flew back and crashed into one of the lackeys.

What happened next had nothing to do with Zoe Young. She and Mia Waters gradually slipped out of the crowd. Not all the lackeys were Ethan Xavier’s followers; quite a few were friends with Benny, so they all looked at each other, unsure whether to step in. The one-on-one fight quickly turned into a wrestling match, with both of them rolling on the ground, grabbing each other’s necks.

Just like a TV drama.

Only then did Zoe Young realize that the boy who used to be bullied in the compound for being gentle and polite, the one she had to protect, had grown into a teenager who knew how to fight. He still looked pale and frail, but when he threw a punch, there was no hesitation—sharp, fierce, and with a whooshing wind.

When Benny was sitting on top of Ethan Xavier, punching him over and over, the lackeys finally stepped in to pull him off. Ethan Xavier’s face was bruised and bloody, but he still cursed stubbornly, while Benny remained silent the whole time.

“Nice, huh? This is how you treat your brother? You’ve really got guts…”

Benny smiled, “Who’s your brother?”

Zoe Young was dumbfounded, and after a while had to admit that the way Benny turned and walked away was pretty cool.

She whispered to Mia Waters, “Let’s go, hurry back to class.”

A wise man doesn’t fight when the odds are against him, and Mia Waters didn’t insist. He nodded and was about to leave, but suddenly turned back and asked, “Zoe, what about you?

Aren’t you going back to class?”

Zoe Young smiled, “I’m going to check if Benny is hurt.”

“Benny?”

She turned back, beaming, “Yes, Benny.”

“Hey!”

There was a big hole in the fence between the athletic fields of the Vocational School and No. 13 Middle School, so everyone often slipped through, running back and forth between the two fields. The Vocational School’s field had a wide set of bleachers; Benny was sitting in the highest corner, not sure what he was looking at. When he heard Zoe Young calling, he gave a slight smile.

Then he grimaced in pain.

He must have been hurt.

“Aren’t you going to the infirmary?” Zoe Young sat down next to him.

“It’ll be fine in a couple of days, no need.”

“Well, thank you.”

Benny smiled a little, “No need to thank me, it’s what I should do.”

Zoe Young shook her head and asked, half knowingly, “Why should you?”

Benny was stunned for a moment, then after a while slowly asked, “Zoe, were you mad at me when I ignored you before?”

Even though the Benny in front of her felt unfamiliar, the sense of closeness made Zoe Young feel completely at ease, with no need to hide her joy or cover up her sadness.

If you can speak your mind freely in front of someone, you should cherish them, because with them, you can be yourself.

“I wasn’t mad, just really sad. I felt like you’d changed, that you didn’t remember anything from when we were kids.”

Benny tilted his head, “I really don’t remember.”

“How could that be?” Zoe Young tugged at his sleeve, “Do you remember there was a big, tall, dark guy in the yard called Xiao Hai who always bullied people, and there was Yueyue, and Dandan, and… we always used to sneak into the backyard of the One-Armed Hero to steal stones, spending all afternoon just to find a pretty one…”

Benny shrugged, “I really don’t remember much. In my memory, everyone in that compound looked the same.”

Benny’s lazy, indifferent tone made the hope that had just flared up in Zoe Young’s heart die out again.

Zoe Young looked up. The afternoon sun outlined a beautiful golden edge around Benny’s fuzzy short hair, and the bruise at the corner of his mouth gave him a young, unfamiliar look. She felt confused—she remembered the person in front of her so clearly, but couldn’t recognize him. And he could recognize her, but didn’t remember the past.

But then Benny suddenly added, “I only remember you.”

“Hm?”

“You haven’t changed at all since you were a kid. Just like I imagined, you’ve become a really, really good girl,” he said, then thought for a moment and added, “The best girl I know.”

Benny and Zoe Young had the same habit: when they truly wanted to praise someone, they always ran out of words and could only keep repeating “good.”

You’ve become a really, really good girl.

“Then why did you ignore me?”

Why did you ignore me? That’s the kind of question only a child would ask, not caring about pride or appearances.

As they grew up, everyone gradually learned to protect themselves—leaving before others could distance themselves, acting indifferent when others were cold, and loudly claiming they never wanted what they couldn’t have.

Benny reached out and grabbed Zoe Young’s ponytail, just like when they were kids.

“Because I’d only bring you trouble. I’m not a good student; it’s better if you stay away from me.

“Keep working hard, keep being as outstanding as you are now, or even better. I’ll just watch from afar. You have no idea how happy I am for you, really.”

Zoe Young felt a lump in her throat. She shook her head and quickly asked what she thought was the most important question.

“Why… why not be a good student?”

Benny answered casually, “Because it’s easier to be a bad student. Why should I be a good student?”