I often have a lot of dreams.
In my dream, I live like a princess with a handsome prince by my side. No matter what danger there is, he will stand in front of me to block all the wind and rain for me and protect me.
In reality, I was an ugly duckling, with nothing and I was all alone. Later, a nerd named Shu Nian came into my life as a mocker, and made me feel that I was no longer alone and that I finally had a friend.
I had doubts and felt depressed, but I never thought that one day he would hold my hand and say to me, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
He let go of my hand so quickly that his body temperature didn't remain on my hand.
"Are these the two people?" Xia Nuo asked me.
I nodded, because Shanuo didn't remember what happened after he lost consciousness, so he didn't remember what these two people looked like.
"You little brat, you're here again today!" The yellow-haired man spat, glared at me viciously, and fixed his eyes on Shu Nian's face. "I've been asking around for so many days before I found out that this girl lives nearby. I didn't expect to run into you three! If you don't want to cause trouble, leave quickly. If you're slow, don't blame me for taking care of you too!"
"Really? Who knows who will be beaten!" Shu Nian said calmly, stepping forward step by step, "I forgot to tell you that day that I don't need help. Because I am a black belt in Taekwondo, and I have learned a little Wing Chun, and I also know a little bit of karate."
The two men looked at each other, but they had sticks in their hands, and facing Shu Nian who was unarmed, Xia Nuo whose arm was injured, and me who was cowering on the side, the desire for revenge prevailed. They raised their sticks and quickly hit Shu Nian.
"Shu Nian!" I couldn't help but shout, and Xia Nuo walked past me at this time.
He was not walking fast, which gave me a very strange feeling. I suddenly realized that the Xia Nuo in front of me might not be the Xia Nuo I was familiar with.
"Xiano!" I called out to him.
Xia Nuo looked back at me with sharp eyes. He smiled at me like a devil.
Then he said nothing and walked over to join the battle.
Although his left hand could not move, his movements were very neat. Shu Nian was originally fighting two people alone, but now that Xia Nuo came over, Shu Nian suddenly felt a little more relaxed.
I stood there, suddenly not knowing what to do.
What should I do? At this time... I need help, help!
No, call the police!
I woke up suddenly, looked around, and found a telephone booth not far from the roadside.
I turned around and ran towards the phone booth, but the two men seemed to have discovered my intention. One of them got anxious and threw the stick in his hand at me.
Seeing the stick was about to hit me, I fell to one side in panic. Then I heard a "click" and felt a sharp pain in my ankle.
I lost my balance and fell heavily to the ground.
"You're looking for death!" Shu Nian shouted coldly, grabbed the arm of the man who threw the stick, and twisted it back with force. With a "crack", the man screamed like a pig being slaughtered, and no one knew whether his arm was dislocated or broken.
"Guys who hit girls are terrible."
Shanuo kicked out, hitting the other man in the stomach.
With this kick, the man actually slid back three steps.
"Get out of here! If you appear in front of me again, I promise to make you half paralyzed!" Xia Nuo roared.
His tone was so cold that it seemed to penetrate into one's bones. The two men looked horrified and ran away in disgrace, looking at Shu Nian and Xia Nuo without saying a word.
Shu Nian walked towards me, looked down at me, and smiled mockingly: "Little Butterfly, you can dodge the stick to the point of spraining your foot. How stupid are you?"
Xia Nuo stood there without moving, just looked at me quietly for a while, then smiled brightly.
It was the same face, smiling, but this smile gave people a chilling feeling: "The trouble is solved. Hey, you are pretty good at fighting."
"You're not that great." Shu Nian was not polite at all, "Otherwise, trouble wouldn't have come to me again. You can go now, we don't need you here anymore. Finally, I'll tell you one thing, don't covet other people's things. There are some things that you will never have the chance to take away, and I won't give you the chance."
"Okay then, goodbye, both of you! Bai Xiaodie, I will go to watch you dance on the day of the celebration." Xia Nuo blinked at me, as if there was some unspeakable secret between him and me.
I didn't want to talk to him because in my mind, this was not Shano.
Xia Nuo didn't insist on sending me back, but went home directly. I looked at Shu Nian, not quite understanding what Shu Nian said to Xia Nuo at the end. But from his look, it seemed that he didn't intend to tell me, so I didn't ask any more questions.
Shu Nian stretched out a hand in front of me and asked, "Can you stand up?"
I nodded and stood up from the ground, but my left foot had just been sprained and it hurt a lot with the slightest movement.
He looked at my face twisted in pain and muttered impatiently, "Who asked you to meddle in other people's business? If you want to go to the phone booth to call the police, why don't you just stand there and don't move? Little Butterfly, if you are so stupid, don't use your brain! It's okay if you don't think. Thinking will definitely make the situation worse ."
I felt a little aggrieved, because no matter how you look at it, this matter has nothing to do with me. I didn't provoke anyone, but trouble still came to me.
He turned around, bent down and said, "Come up, I'll carry you to see a doctor. Your bone is sprained, just twist it back."
"No, I can walk." I didn't want him to carry me because I didn't want to get myself into more trouble.
But in the end, Shu Nian still carried me on his back. Even though I said no, he ignored it.
This place is only ten minutes' walk from the nearest hospital, so it's not very far.
However, the festival will be held in a few days. If I sprain my foot at this time, will I still be able to attend the festival? If I can't attend, they will definitely say that I am a coward who doesn't even have the courage to stand on the stage and dance!
"Little Butterfly." Suddenly, Shu Nian called me.
"Hmm?" My thoughts were interrupted and I responded after coming to my senses.
"It's better not to attend the Autumn Festival." He suddenly said.
"Why not attend?" I was stunned. I didn't expect that the person who asked me not to attend the celebration would be Shu Nian.
Didn't he say that Luo Yuxin hates me because I'm terrible? If I don't participate, won't Luo Yuxin look down on me even more?
I don't want her to look down on me.
"Because you dance so ugly." He said with a mocking smile, "If you dance, you will definitely be laughed at. Besides, I don't want Shanuo to see you dance again."
"But Shanuo said I danced very well!" Disappointment and frustration surged up at the same time.
I originally thought that I had tried my best to dance, and even if it wasn't that great, it wouldn't be too bad. However, Shu Nian said that my dancing terrible.
"He lied to you, believe me! It just so happens that you sprained your foot and can't participate. Luo Yuxin doesn't want to look down on you because of this." Shu Nian said again.
I didn't answer him, feeling a little confused.
After arriving at the hospital, I found a doctor who helped me twist my dislocated ankle back in place. The pain immediately eased a lot, and I no longer felt any obvious pain in my ankle unless I exerted force.
By the time we came out of the hospital, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening.
It was late, and I was very hungry because I hadn't eaten dinner since I was practicing dancing. I couldn't help but suggest, "Shu Nian, why don't we have a midnight snack before going back? Since you carried me all the way, I'll be generous and treat you to a meal!"
"Okay." Shu Nian didn't bother to be polite with me and followed me directly into the snack street.
After walking around for a while, we decided to have beef ramen.
After I finished a bowl of noodles, my body warmed up and I felt less confused.
I looked at Shu Nian and said, "I don't know why you want me not to attend the celebration. I know I'm always so cowardly and have no ambition, but I want to... I want to give it a try. This time, I want to make myself a little braver."
Shu Nian didn't say anything, just ate his noodles slowly. I continued, "When I was a child, my mother told me that caterpillars would turn into white butterflies one day. And you always called me a little butterfly, so I want to try to become a real little butterfly instead of a caterpillar."
"Whether you participate or not, what others say has no bearing on it. Do whatever you want!" Shu Nian put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and stood up. "Let's go home. It's late."
"Yeah." I nodded and stood up, but my ankle still hurt a little when I walked.
Shu Nian held my arm and helped me move forward.
I quickly refused: "No, I can leave."
"Can we crawl forward like a snail?" He smiled sarcastically. "Let's go. This way we can get home faster."
I shut up and said no more, but he carried me forward and we did move a lot faster.
It was not far from home, and soon I saw the door. Shu Nian let me go. After saying goodbye to him, I took out the key from my schoolbag and opened the door.
When I turned around, I saw Shu Nian had already walked several steps, but there was one more person in my sight.
Although I could only see the person's side and he quickly disappeared behind the dark flower bed, I still recognized him. It was Luo Yuxin.
Why is she here?
Did she see Shu Nian helping me home?
Looking at it from that angle, could she have misunderstood something?
I entered the house and closed the door. The lights in the living room were still on, and the TV was on. Aunt Chen was watching TV while applying a facial mask. I opened and closed the door, but her gaze did not change. I was like air, and in her eyes, I had no sense of existence at all.
But I'm used to it. This is not the first day she has treated me like this.
I changed into slippers, walked past her, and was about to go upstairs when I ran into Shen Xiaoxi coming downstairs with a teacup. She was slightly stunned when she saw me, then turned away and continued to walk downstairs .
I stepped aside to let her go first, and when she reached my next step I moved up.
But at this moment, I heard her say in a very low voice that only the two of us could hear: "Shameless third party."
My body froze and I turned my head quickly. She had already gone downstairs as if nothing had happened, turned a corner and disappeared.