"Aren't you going home yet?" Xiao Ge came back after dinner, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder lazily, ready to leave school. He never attended evening self-study.
"No, not going home," I said, my eyes fixed on the screen.
"Oh." Xiao Ge took a look at me. He always seemed indifferent to everything. He walked a few steps, bent down to pick up a scrap of writing paper on the ground, and crumpled it into a ball. Then he turned around and made a shooting motion, throwing the paper ball at me, which hit me right on the forehead.
I snapped out of my nervous state and turned to look at him. The moment our eyes met, the nonchalant expression on his face disappeared. I could clearly see the extreme fear on my own face reflected in his eyes.
"What's going on?" Under his questioning, I showed him the private messages and briefly explained the current situation.
Xiao Ge put down his schoolbag, folded his arms, and looked up at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle. "Don't be afraid. After the evening self-study, you go home as usual. I'll follow you quietly, and you'll be safe."
"Alone?" I asked.
Xiao Ge frowned. "We need to draw them out. If we can't catch them, there'll be more trouble in the future." He thought for a moment and then stood up and walked out.
"Where are you going?"
Xiao Ge gave a devilish smile. "It's still early. I need to make some arrangements."
After the evening self-study ended, Xiao Ge still hadn't returned. He just sent me a message saying everything was ready and told me to leave first. I set foot on the way home, feeling extremely nervous. My family lived in a temporary shed next to the garbage station, and it was a single, isolated unit. There were no pedestrians on the road after the evening self-study.
At the edge of the streetlight, I saw three adults squatting by the roadside from a distance. As I approached, they stood up and sized me up silently. I lowered my head and walked as fast as I could, and the thing I feared most happened - they started following me. I gripped the straps of my schoolbag tightly, then suddenly took off running. The three men behind me also started chasing after me.
My heart pounding wildly, I suddenly crashed into someone's arms. More than a dozen tough - looking guys lined up in a row, with a tall and handsome boy leading the way at the front. They made a domineering entrance.
Under the streetlight, Xiao Ge smoothed back his messy hair. "Just three of them? I thought there'd be thirty."
The scene felt strangely familiar, and I couldn't help but exclaim, "Genji!" This guy had even styled his hair with hair oil on purpose to cosplay Shun Oguri's character from *Crows Zero*.
"Weren't you guys looking to make a video? I'll give you a good show today!" With a wave of his hand, the toughs from the nearby blocks rushed forward.
In the chaos, Xiao Ge escorted me home. Maybe it was the suspension bridge effect, but my heart was pounding even louder when I was alone with him.
"This is your home?" Xiao Ge looked around. "I've got the location memorized. I'll come and walk you to school tomorrow too."