Proud senior schoolgirl was tender and sweet, we fell in love

Thinking they were here to collect a debt, they weren't panicky at all.

Then, the man who had his phone smashed and got hit, who usually sold milk tea at a stall next to Granny's, came forward and accused them of hitting him and smashing his phone.

In the end, he declared, "I'm going to report this. I don't owe them any money."

So, at that moment, that group of men went to give their statements first.

The police, seeing each one in school uniforms and the elderly lady's advanced age, quietly reassured them without saying much.

They just asked them to call their parents and said they could leave after giving their statements.

Xie Xiao glanced at Lin Yu, who was softly speaking with Granny.

Lin Yu's expression wasn't too good, indicating the situation looked grim...

Xie Xiao sighed, then turned his head to Luo Yanran, "Are you okay?"

There was a flush on Luo Yanran's face. Xie Xiao was startled for a moment before he noticed that they were still holding hands.

Luo Yanran didn't pull away.

The weather in early spring was still quite cold at night.

But they could feel the warmth of each other's palms.

The originally tense mood seemed suddenly soothed.

Xie Xiao heard Luo Yanran say softly, "I'm fine."

Yet she still did not withdraw her hand.

Xie Xiao tightened his grip slightly, "Thank you for today, along with Senior Liu Ou, but don't be so impulsive next time."

Luo Yanran responded directly, "If it hadn't been for Granny, Liu Ou and I would have just called the police directly instead of stepping forward ourselves. We know our limits."

Although hearing her say this, Xie Xiao still sighed, "Don't do it again, no matter who it is. There are so many people nearby..."

"But with so many people nearby, no one was willing to intervene," Luo Yanran said softly. "This kind of thing... it's complex, everyone is afraid of attracting trouble."

After all, they were earnest vendors trying to make a living. No one wanted to incite trouble with these hooligans.

If trouble arose, it was hard to shake off, and they would come disturbing every few days, making it impossible to do business.

Xie Xiao frowned slightly, knowing she was right.

But they were lucky this time. These thugs had come to collect a debt and hadn't intended to hurt anyone.

Had they encountered less scrupulous ones, it would've been difficult to say what might've happened to two such delicate young girls.

Liu Ou had already finished her call by then.

Her expression wasn't very positive, but she still came over and smiled at them, "We can leave soon."

Luo Yanran seemed unsurprised, just stretching out her other hand and holding Liu Ou's briefly, "Thank your uncle for us."

Xie Xiao was a bit surprised when he heard this.

He could guess that Liu Ou's family background was probably not simple.

Sure enough, before the person Xie Qingxiao had called could arrive, an officer came out of the police station office.

Pulling a junior officer aside, he took a few minutes to take their statements.

Then they were allowed to leave early.

Only the elderly lady had to stay.

After all, the gang of hooligans had claimed that Granny's family owed them money and hadn't paid it.

If Granny had to stay, Lin Yu was definitely going to stay as well.

Looking visibly disturbed, he told the three of them, "Thank you, I'll treat you to dinner later. You go ahead."

Without thinking, Xie Xiao said, "I'll stay with you and Granny."

Then hesitated slightly as he looked at Luo Yanran next to him, "You..."

"I'm fine. I sent a message to the driver; he will be here soon," Luo Yanran replied without hesitation.

But in the end, Xie Xiao couldn't stay.

Lin Yu, looking weary, said, "I just want some quiet. Thanks, brother, you can go. I'll let you know I'm safe later. There's nothing happening at the police station."

In the end, Xie Xiao, Luo Yanran, and Liu Ou ended up getting in Luo's car together.

The driver asked concernedly about many things.

Luo Yanran didn't want to say much, only managing to say, "Thank you, Uncle Wang, I'm a bit tired too."

Sure enough, the driver kept his mouth shut.

He only glanced at Xie Xiao through the rearview mirror—he seemed to recall that the young man had been holding their young lady's hand when they came out.

He wasn't sure if he had seen it correctly.

They didn't talk all the way.

Liu Ou was the first to reach her house, and she left the car expressionlessly after saying goodbye to the others.

Although Xie Xiao's hand wasn't holding Luo Yanran's any longer, they were still touching.

Xie Xiao hesitated before asking, "Senior Liu Ou?"

"Hmm, her family has some connections. Both her parents are civil servants," Luo Yanran said, without elaborating further.

But a phone call had them quickly leaving, and the attitudes of the police station staff improved a lot—those were not ordinary civil servants.

Xie Xiao, however, didn't ask further.

He was still thinking about whether Lin Yu had encountered debt collectors in his past life?

He couldn't quite remember, but it might be because he'd fallen out with Lin Yu last time and hadn't noticed it?

Indeed, Lin Yu had seemed in poor shape during their senior year of high school, looking much thinner...

Xie Xiao sighed. Having a friend like himself, Lin Yu was really unlucky.

When it was time to get off, Xie Xiao said, "Let me know when you get home."

He initially wanted to pat her head but then refrained due to the driver's presence.

Luo Yanran turned her head to look at Xie Xiao still standing there.

She pursed her lips.

Too much had happened tonight.

Her heartbeat was still fast at this moment. She couldn't tell if it was because she had just stood in front of her grandmother or because she had been tightly holding hands with Xie Xiao.

She gently held the hand that had just been clasping Xie Xiao's, feeling as if his warmth was still present.

"Luoluo, that boy just now..." Uncle Wang couldn't help but ask softly.

Luo Yanran's face was somewhat obscured in the dark car, showing no trace of emotion, "He's just a classmate who was there to help."

Uncle Wang opened his mouth.

He wanted to say more.

But remembering Luo Yanran's temperament, he eventually sighed and only said, "This young classmate is quite handsome."

Luo Yanran slightly curved her lips, "Yes, very handsome."

The quite handsome classmate, Xie Xiao, first told Xie Qingxiao briefly about the situation when he got home.

Xie Qingxiao was silent for a while before sighing, "I thought you said you didn't need anyone to pick you up because something happened. As for Lin Yu's situation, if he doesn't want to talk about it, don't force him. Every family has its own difficult scripture that can't be read easily, you should help him more..."

Xie Xiao felt warm inside. That was just like his parents.

If it were other parents, they would probably tell him to stay away from Lin Yu.

But his parents would always say, "Help more, don't force."

It was such parents that had cultivated Xie Xiao's typically unagitated personality.

But that was the old Xie Xiao. Later, Xie Xiao realized that being overly considerate wasn't always good.

He didn't intend to force Lin Yu, but he was determined to find out exactly how much money Lin Yu's family owed.

And then see if he could help him pay it off.

After finishing the call with Xie Qingxiao, Xie Xiao wrote down two sets of numbers on the scratch paper beside him.

Then he stared at them.

At that moment, his phone vibrated with a message from Luo Yanran.

"I'm home."

Xie Xiao had just picked up the phone to reply.

Another message came through.

"I'm going to take a shower, can we video call later?"

"My cat wants to see you."

I want to see you.