A different side

Lei Nuwa had been kicked out of her room by the Yang family for the day. She had gone out of her room for food, and was caught by Yang Lianqi. She sent her daughter out of the house in the unbearable heat thinking Nuwa would have no place to go.

If Yang Lianqi knew where she was going, she would have coughed up blood. After texting Fengge, she had donned an inconspicuous outfit and a trucker hat to make her eyes less visible. She met him at an outdoor cafe– he was already seated when she arrived.

"Can you teleport? How do you get to places so quickly?" While she sounded critical, you could hear the affection in her voice.

"My desire to see you gave me inhuman speed."

"Tsk, you're too much of a sweet talker." Fengge flashed a smile at her, his eyes twinkling. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke up again. "It's good we met today. We need to talk about something."

Lei Nuwa could not help but feel concerned. "Okay, say it."

"School is starting soon. I am going to school abroad–I can't protect you. We need a plan." Lei Nuwa couldn't help but laugh. She had been through school four times over– his concern was cute and unneeded.

Zhang Fengge gave her a dark look. "I'm being serious. You're going to school with your sister, that asshole Liu and his worshiper. Even Xu Zihao, he bothered you too, right? They'll most likely torment you."

Lei Nuwa did not usually show physical affection, but his care for her moved her. She reached across the table to where his hands rested, and she lightly grasped them.

"I will be fine. This is my life; before you and after you doesn't change everything. You have done more for me than anyone else in any of my lives." The phrase had left her mouth before she could stop it. "Ahem. Please don't worry about me, focus on your studies. It's not like we won't ever see each other again."

Zhang Fengge had flipped his head up in surprise at her wording. He flashbacked to the oracle– how he had no lives before this one. He felt deeply unsettled, but buried it.

"Nuwa…"

"I will be fine. Just don't forget me." She winked and said playfully.

Zhang Fengge laughed, unsure of what the future held.

***

"Yichen look!! Isn't that Lei Nuwa?" Shi Qian tugged on Liu Yichen's sleeve. He turned towards the direction Qian was pointing to, and soon became full of anger.

'That slut! Embarrassing me by dating other guys while being engaged.' Liu Yichen thought, hsi fist balling up and hitting the table hard. If Lei Nuwa had heard his thinking, she would have puked up blood.

He motioned for Shi Qian to stand up, and began to walk towards the table. When he arrived directly beside Lei Nuwa, he lifted his hand to slap her. He was stopped by a taller boy who had grabbed his wrist. As he looked at the face of the man defending Nuwa, ready to kill them, suddenly he froze.

"Zhang?" His voice was weak and uneven. His face had grown pale, and Nuwa could hear Shi Qian gasp behind him.

"Liu Yichen, you are really more pathetic than I thought. You would hit a woman in public? Your fiance? And you brought a whore with you… Nuwa, should I break his arm?" His voice was unusually cold and bloodthirsty. Lei Nuwa was surprised– she had never seen this part of him before. Liu Yichen had grown red at Fengge's words, but his arm was still in a vice grip.

"Fengge, don't go to prison for him." Nuwa had said, rolling her eyes.

Shi Qian interjected. "How could you call Mr. Zhang so informally? You are embarrassing Brother Yichen." Fengge and Nuwa stared at each other for a second before they started laughing. Shi Qian turned red.

"You– Yichen's prostitute. Who said you could refer to me by any of my names?" Fengge had wanted to slap her too. However, instead he pushed Liu Yichen away from him and to the ground. Yichen fell with a groan, and Shi Qian ran up to him in an exaggerated display of concern.

He grabbed Lei Nuwa's hand and led her away from the scene. He did not see Xu Zihao's figure at the table that Liu Yichen and Shi Qian were sitting at, nor did he see the look on his face. He did not know why he felt so strange at seeing Lei Nuwa with Zhang Fengge. Was it because he had insulted Shi Qian? Because he hurt Liu Yichen? Even Zihao was not stupid enough to believe those excuses. He sighed and finally walked up to help Liu Yichen off of the ground.

"I will kill that bastard. And we are going to the Yang's; I will not let Lei Nuwa run about with any random man she sees." Yichen had said through gritted teeth.

"Forget it, Yichen. That Zhang boy is just as much a weirdo as her, no one even knows who they are. You have plenty of time to bend her into shape once school starts." Zihao had suddenly felt incredibly angry at Nuwa. Unsure as to why, he shook the thought off and went to Shi Qian.

"Qian, are you okay? Did that bastard touch you?" He held her by the arms, and wiped her tears. Shi Qian smiled at him.

"Yes, ZiZi, I am fine. I only wish that bitch Nuwa would quit trying to ruin me and Yichen's lives." She looked genuinely wronged, which only further justified the resentment Zihao began to feel against the girl with purple eyes.

He could not help but remember their moment in the kitchen– her scars, her tears, her strength. He felt as if Lei Nuwa would end up tearing him in half, scattering his soul into millions of pieces. This inner conflict scared him. His feelings about Lei Nuwa seemed to battle the love he had for Shi Qian, and it was not something that he could process.

He walked away from the cafe with Yichen and Qian. As he watched their interlocked hands, the way she smiled at him, he wondered if he was destined to be the second man in his life; always the backup, the silent defense. He stared at the area where Lei Nuwa had been sitting. He saw that she had ordered a drink, but had left it amidst the chaos. It was matcha– one of his favorites. He smirked and walked back to take the drink. No one could work out what he was thinking underneath that expression, nor would they ever be able to.