Part 3The Villain Gets the Girl

Julian successfully integrated into the class. He was beautiful, kind, and had a great personality. Everyone liked him.

Even I had to admit, he was a good guy.

No wonder Chloe, usually so picky, liked him so much.

Without my interference this time, their relationship would probably progress faster.

And it did.

In just a few days, the way Julian looked at Chloe changed noticeably.

Julian wasn't great at math, so Mr. Davis asked Chloe, his desk mate, to help tutor him.

During that time, besides breaks, Chloe would stay late after school to tutor Julian in math.

For several days, our walk home changed from the two of us to just me.

I tried desperately to ignore the strange feeling in my heart.

Studying until midnight every day, waking up at 5:30 AM sharp, washing up, breakfast, school.

Being extremely busy seemed to make me forget the loss.

Until a week later at dismissal, Chloe rarely rejected Julian's tutoring request, quickly packed her bag, and ran to me.

"Let's go! Got my allowance today, treating you to hotpot."

I looked at her blankly.

"Don't you need to tutor him today?"

Almost the instant the words left my mouth, I regretted it.

What does it matter to me what she does? I sounded jealous.

But Chloe didn't mind at all, still smiling at me.

"I don't have to tutor him every day. I taught him what he needed. From now on, I can walk home with you every day again."

Seeing her smiling eyes, I was stunned for a moment.

"O-okay. I'm on cleaning duty today, wait for me a sec."

Chloe wordlessly helped me with most of the work, grabbed her bag, and left the classroom with me.

On the way, we happily discussed ordering two plates of beef brisket and a plate of shrimp paste.

Just out of the school gate, we passed a secluded alley.

It was the route Chloe and I took to school every day. Usually quiet.

But today, from a distance, I heard voices and a boy crying.

Exchanging a glance with Chloe, we simultaneously quickened our pace.

At the alley entrance, we saw several hooligans surrounding a boy in our uniform.

It was Julian.

Seeing them getting handsy, Chloe charged straight in.

She grabbed the wrist of a blond punk trying to touch him.

"Ah! Hurt! Are you crazy? Let go of me!"

Amidst the blond's wailing, the others quickly surrounded me and Chloe.

"Yo, another handsome guy? How about you play with us sisters, and we'll let you go?"

One of them scanned me up and down, whistling flirtatiously.

Chloe grabbed her collar and lifted her up.

The others moved to help, but I kicked out.

To prevent us from being bullied, our parents sent us to learn kickboxing from a young age.

We weren't pros, but dealing with a few punks was more than enough.

Soon, we had them on the ground.

Except one didn't fight fair, pulling a knife and slashing my arm.

Chloe's eyes turned red with rage. She picked that person up to punch them again, but I stopped her.

That night, accompanied by Chloe and Julian, I went to the hospital to get stitched up.

On the way, Julian kept thanking us.

He was thanking both of us, but the way he looked at Chloe held something different.

Admiration, and worship.

In the end, we didn't get hotpot.

The doctor said my wound wasn't serious but I needed to eat bland food.

Chloe and I got home after 8 PM.

My mom nagged me for an hour about the wound on my arm.