Those naive and innocent years flew by in a flash

  "Tian Tian, stop right there!" This was the first thing Tian Tian heard as she stepped into the school gate. She turned around and gazed coldly at the boy who came running towards her. When he stopped in front of her, he was already panting heavily, bending over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air, his back shaking up and down, drenched in sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water. Looking at Tian Tian's calm and collected expression, his upper and lower teeth couldn't help but chatter with anger, "Was it you who did it?!"

  "What did you say?" Tian Tian asked.

  "Those naughty boys on the bus, and that sudden motorcycle, was it you!" Peng Sze's forehead burst with fine veins like thin earthworms, he couldn't control his anger at this moment.

  "It's me." Tian Tian's tone was still light and calm.

  "Why?!" Although Peng Sze had long guessed it would be her, in his heart, there was still a thread of hope, hoping she would say no, after all, she was as pure and flawless as jade in his mind, he didn't want any imperfections to tarnish her precious image.

  "What reason is needed?" she retorted, "Wanting to fix someone up is only about whether I'm willing or not, there's no why."

  "You should pay the price for what you've done." Peng Sze said, grasping her frail shoulders with force, his fingernails digging into her skin as he bellowed.

  "Oh?" Tian Tian didn't try to shake off his hand, remaining still and letting him grasp her, but her tone was stronger than ever before, cold and arrogant. "What price do you need me to pay?"

  Peng Sizhe's other hand tightened around her wrist, his face close to hers, enunciating each word: "I want you to accompany me, from now on, only serving me, if I say go east, you'll die going east."

  "Daydreaming, are you!" Tian Tian sneered, "Who do you think you are? A stinky little brat who still reeks of his mother's milk."

  "Peng Sze had always been a young master who was pampered and spoiled since he was a child, where would anyone dare to scold him? At this moment, hearing himself being humiliated, his anger surpassed his infatuation with the girl, and in a fit of rage, he stretched out his hand to grab Tian Tian's neck."

  However, his hand did not listen to his command. He was pushed aside by a considerable force and stumbled backwards, barely managing to steady himself. Turning around, he saw the source of the force - Tian Cheng was glaring at him furiously, "Try touching my sister again!" A strange courage emerged from the childish voice as he stared down Peng Sze, who was half a head taller than him.

  "Tian Cheng, huh," Peng Sicheng stood up straight, his hands tucked into his pockets, looking down at Tian Cheng with ease. "You're the boy who looks like a girl that my cousin always talks about, Tian Tuan's younger brother." He emphasized the word "girl" as he spoke, his tone filled with undisguised disdain for Tian Cheng.

  "You're just a girl!" Tian Cheng shouted with wide eyes, his cheeks puffed up, and he was about to hit the boy who deserved it. He had just clenched his fist when Tian Tian suddenly stopped him, grasping his hand and shaking her head, "Xiao Cheng, you just had surgery."

  "Sister, no one can bully you, no one is allowed to. Xiao Cheng will protect you with his life." His solemn words were like a boulder, deeply embedded in Tian Tian's heart.

  No matter what, she was so happy that she seemed to see Tanaka growing up with a strong and responsible appearance. At that time, he had a handsome face, a sturdy figure, and vowed to protect her behind him. She couldn't help but feel delighted, only that he was still young, not even eight years old, how could she let his weak body stand in front of her?

  Then she opened her mouth and said to Tian Cheng, "You go back to the classroom first, I can handle things here."

  "I won't. I want to stay with my sister." Tian Cheng said stubbornly, the tenacity in his bones fully displayed at this moment, he pulled his hand out of Tian Tian's palm and grasped it back, as if to give Tian Tian some strength.

  "Tian Tian, I'm asking you, are you going to agree or not." Peng Sicheng repeated, his face relaxed, as if he was certain she would agree.

  However, what he didn't know was that as long as Tian Cheng was involved, things would become severe in her eyes and extend to infinite magnification. In her eyes, Tian Cheng was a person more important than her own life, and no one could bully him under her nose. She squatted down, supporting Tian Cheng's arms with a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Hurry up and run, go find Teacher Zhao, or we'll both get beaten." After finishing speaking, she looked at Tian Cheng with a firm gaze until he nodded hesitantly.

  Then she stood up, speaking slowly and word by word, "You want me to be a cow and a horse? Well, I'll tell you, it's impossible!" As she spoke, she suddenly punched Peng Sze's face with lightning speed, and the subsequent punches fell on Peng Sze like raindrops. Peng Sze had no ability to defend himself, and he was no match for Tian Tian, who had been independent since childhood and took care of herself. Moreover, in elementary school, boys did not have much physical advantage over girls.

  Tian Tian turned around and looked at Tian Cheng, who was still standing in the same place, and shouted loudly: "Hurry up, are you waiting for them to come and beat you up?" His eyes pierced through Tian Cheng and glanced at a group of thugs-like boys rushing over from afar.

  Tian Heng still stood in place, motionless, hesitating and wavering. Tian Tiantian grew anxious, "Hurry up! Do you want to get beaten? I don't!" Tian Heng had no choice but to put down Tian Tiantian and ran towards the office building, constantly looking back and saying, "Sister, wait for me, wait for me, I'll be right back." He anxiously wiped away tears as he ran.

  Years later, when he recalled this thrilling scene, his first feeling was shame, and then it was the happiness that spread from his chest like the fragrance of wisteria, which had been with him since he was a child. He had always aspired to protect Tian Tian, and seeing her smile made him happy, while seeing her cry made him sad. He devoted all his life's determination to this beautiful woman, condensing it into an eternal monument that would never fade. He kept running forward, ignoring the boy who was closely following behind him, a boy who seemed incredibly tall to him. He could still hear the dull sound of being hit by a stick on his back, but he didn't seem to feel it. He didn't look back; his mind was filled with Tian Tian's smile, so beautiful and pure.

  Tian Tian noticed that Tian Cheng had already run far away, still clutching Peng Sze's collar. Until the group of social youths violently pushed her away and pinned her to the ground. Peng Sze struggled to get up, his face red with rage as he glared at Tian Tian who was being subdued. Her hair was disheveled but it didn't affect her beauty, especially those clear and untamed eyes that made him feel a thread of panic in his heart. "You dare hit me?" he panted.

  "It's you who hit me." Tian Tian still had that calm tone, but at this moment, the surrounding area was already packed with onlookers. She stared at those faces with different expressions, as if despising a satirical cartoon. There were people gloating over her misfortune, others indignantly clenching their fists, some daring to be angry but not daring to speak out, and even those who were taking photos of the commotion, yet no one dared to step forward to stop her. Her face was as pale as paper, but in her heart, there had never been a moment more peaceful than this.

  She felt like a lone boat, drifting on the vast river, empty and desolate everywhere, without any ripples in the water. She drifted aimlessly, with no starting point or ending point. Even when Peng Si Ze's dirty foot stepped on her white school uniform, she didn't react at all. Because she knew that resisting now was useless, it was better to be obedient and sensible. She even closed her eyes, as if taking a short nap in the warm sunlight of the afternoon.

  Peng Sze Tse was furious at her ignoring him, he stomped his foot on her abdomen, she opened her eyes with a look of annoyance, as if he had disturbed her beautiful dream. "Hey, I'm talking to you, are you going to respond or not? Can't you see the situation?"

  Tian Tian smiled and said "hehe", but didn't give any answer.

  "What are you smiling at?" Peng Sze was taken aback by her smile, and in the softness of that smile, he saw countless sharp glints in her eyes like a knife-sharp sword piercing his heart, making him feel somewhat chilled to the bone.

  "Nothing, just look at your face, it's really ugly..." After that, she curled up the corner of her mouth and drew a perfect arc.

  "It seems that you won't agree unless I teach you a lesson." Peng Sze pointed at Tian Tian on the floor, ready to command the group of young people.

  "Stop it!" The lazy voice reached Tian Tian's ears, she opened her eyes and glanced at the boy who was fighting for justice, from head to toe, after sizing him up, she closed her eyes again, no one noticed that the tense muscles on her face finally relaxed.

  That young man gazed at Tian Tian's gentle smile on the floor, and this girl was really not worried about her situation. He had his arms around his chest, standing leisurely and relaxed, his figure prominently standing out among the crowd, tall and straight, with a delicate face, a pair of eyebrows like a sword floating in the air, looking noble and refined. "I said, stop it, didn't you hear? Ah Hong." His eyes turned to one of the social youths who was holding Tian Tian.

  The young man named Ahong's face darkened, and he said in a low voice to the other young men, "Let go, let go, all of you let go!" They almost simultaneously released Tian Tian from the floor, then stood up in a row, lowering their heads, looking like they were waiting for orders from their master.

  "Who are you?" Peng Sze asked, "And you two, who let you go! I paid for it!"

  "We can return your money intact," Ah Hong said coldly. "Looking for death is nothing to celebrate."

  "You... you... all of you..." Peng Sze jumped up anxiously.

  "Aren't you leaving yet?" The young man still had that nonchalant expression, his head slightly tilted to one side, kindly reminding him.

  Peng Sze followed the gaze and saw Teacher Zhao and Tian Cheng almost running towards him, Peng Sze's nerves tightened and he was about to run away, but before he could even think about Tian Tian agreeing to his conditions, his foot was suddenly tripped and he fell to the ground. Just in time, Teacher Zhao pushed through the crowd and strode to the center of the commotion, picking up Peng Sze like a chicken, "Causing trouble at the school gate, violating school rules, damaging the school's image, one major demerit, write a 3,000-word self-criticism. At such a young age, you've already learned how to bully girls, without any heroic spirit. And you all," Teacher Zhao yelled at the surrounding students, "what are you looking at? Just know how to join in on the excitement, be more proactive in your studies, and teachers will have fewer worries. Disperse, disperse!" The students quickly scattered and disappeared without a trace.

  "You can't even get up, are you waiting for me to pull you up?" The young man said gloomily.

  Tian Tian had to crawl up from the floor, gave a glance at the young man with an attitude of having nothing to do with him. She also patted off the dust on her body, walked to Tian Cheng's side, touched his head and said with concern, "Just now, little Cheng was hit once on the back, does it hurt?"

  Tian Heng's eyes reddened as she nodded vigorously, "It hurts, Xiao Heng's heart aches even more, heart aching for her sister."

  "Silly, isn't everything all right?" Tian Tian's eyes were filled with doting affection, as if beautiful dew drops were blooming in her eyes. Those sparkling eyes were so delicate and transparent that they made people want to treasure them, cradle them in the palm of their hand, and protect them for a lifetime.

  "Sister's hair is all messy." Tian Cheng tiptoed and gently stroked Tian Tian's hair, as if caressing a treasure worth a city. "Xiao Cheng came late," he said, hanging his head in shame like a child who had done something wrong.

  "Xiao Cheng arrived just in time and saved her sister." Tian Tian comforted.

  "Hmph." The young man beside her let out a cold snort, who knew who had actually saved her.

  Tian Tian noticed someone else's presence and said to Tian Cheng, "Xiao Cheng hurry up to class, or you'll be late."

  Tian Heng thoughtfully looked at the tall and slender boy in front of him and nodded.

  "Let's go, sit in the cafe for a while." The young man didn't look at Tian Tian, and walked straight ahead, brushing past her shoulder as if he were a proud monarch.

  Tian Tian did not refuse and did not say much, just followed his footsteps and walked forward together.

  Digression

  Just finished class, chatting and laughing with classmates, feeling time flies so fast. Back home, open the computer to update a chapter, thinking that we all need to strive hard. Come on, we are still young.