Unraveled

Serves You Right

The group of boys slouched together had been curious who this woman was here to pick up.

When they heard it was Yuan Ye, they all began shooting glances back and forth, eyes full of amusement and nosy speculation as they looked between Gu Quan and Yuan Ye.

Hearing his name, Yuan Ye finally opened his eyes.

The officer asked, "And what's your relationship with him?"

Gu Quan paused for a moment, then answered,

"Girlfriend."

In a situation like this, calling herself just a "friend" would make it sound even more ambiguous. Better to just say girlfriend.

One of the boys, hair bleached yellow, immediately whistled and jeered:

"Yo, kid, didn't expect this! Your girl's a real catch. Where'd you snag her? Ain't no one like that in our school…"

Yuan Ye's face darkened. That kind of talk was disrespectful toward Gu Quan. He was just about to tell them to watch their mouths when Gu Quan, hands in her pockets, turned to face the five punks directly.

Her eyes were cold, and in them was unmistakable disdain—like she was staring at a heap of unclassifiable trash.

Her tone didn't ripple in the slightest as she said to the yellow-haired one,

"And what kind of trash are you, to be passing judgment on me?"

Their sloppy clothes, scuffed black sneakers, teeth yellowed and crooked, bruises all over their faces—Gu Quan didn't need to dig deeper. At a glance she could tell they were nothing more than idle street thugs.

Yellow-hair's temper flared. He jumped to his feet, looming over her with his size, jabbing a finger at her face and snarling:

"b***h, who do you think you are? Keeping some boy-toy is all you've got? Got money, huh? That boy-toy of yours beat us up good. Nobody's leaving tonight till we get injury reports—then you'll be paying up!"

Gu Quan rolled her eyes. Standing so close, the reek of his breath made her stomach turn. She stepped lazily to the side, voice light as air:

"Five of you against one, and you still got your asses handed to you? Pathetic. Go get your medical reports if you want—I'd be delighted to pay for that kind of embarrassment."

At some point, Yuan Ye had walked up behind her. The corner of his mouth curved faintly as he nudged the tip of her shoe with his. Gu Quan turned her head, only to see him leaning down, murmuring softly:

"Jiejie… you're only running your mouth like this because you know you won't be the one footing the bill, aren't you?"

His hair was a mess, blood smeared at the corner of his lips, one eye swollen red, his black coat crumpled, the white sweater underneath stained and filthy.

Gu Quan looked at him flatly, at the sorry state he was in.

"Serves you right."

Yuan Ye let out a laugh, split lips pulling wider. Of course—that was exactly what he'd expected her to say.

The officer rapped his knuckles on the desk, cutting them off.

"Enough noise. Come sign here."

Gu Quan signed her name.

"You can take him now," the officer said. On their way out, he added, "Looks like you're older than your boyfriend. Tell him not to stir up trouble. Raising hell in the middle of the night just wastes police resources."

He then turned to the punks.

"And the rest of you—if no one comes for you, sit your asses down and behave."

Gu Quan didn't reply, just turned and walked out. Yuan Ye followed behind.

The moment they stepped outside, icy wind and falling snow slapped against their faces. Gu Quan's legs were bare save for thin tights beneath her plaid skirt, and the cold bit into her skin. She pulled out her phone to call a ride.

Behind her, Yuan Ye brushed the tiny snowflakes from her hair, breath fogging in the air like white smoke. His voice was low:

"Gu Quan, you might as well see it through. Let me crash at your place tonight?"

At this hour, the school dorms had long since locked up.