Chapter 21: I’m a Martial Artist, You Know

Hearing the voice, Anran quickly turned around to see Zhang Ning rubbing her eyes, her previously dazed expression gradually clearing. Relief washed over Anran—Zhang Ning was finally back to normal.

"Zhang Ning, are you okay?" Anran asked, her tone laced with concern.

"Anran, what just happened? Huh… why is my backpack on the ground?" Zhang Ning asked, her face filled with confusion.

Anran's expression mirrored her surprise. "Zhang Ning, don't you remember? We were surrounded by a group of people earlier."

"What? That happened? I… I can't recall any of it," Zhang Ning's face showed a mix of confusion and fear. She vaguely remembered encountering some people with Anran, but she couldn't remember their faces or what had happened afterward.

Seeing that Zhang Ning didn't seem to be lying and recalling her earlier dazed state, Anran quickly reassured her, "It was just a few troublemakers trying to pick on us. But I chased them off."

"I… I really can't remember any of it," Zhang Ning said, patting her head as if trying to jog her memory.

Anran smiled gently. "You're fine now. For a moment there, you were like a statue."

"I don't know what happened to me," Zhang Ning said, embarrassed. "Was I so scared that I froze? Anran, you won't look down on me for being so cowardly, right?"

"Of course not," Anran replied, her tone slightly exaggerated. "You actually stepped in front of me, shielding me and telling me to run. You're a very brave girl, Ning."

Hearing Anran's affectionate tone, Zhang Ning couldn't help but smile. It was the first time anyone had called her a "brave girl." Most of the girls in her class teased her for being timid, often mocking her for being too scared to even enter the church behind the school. Though they also whispered behind her back, saying that even if she dared to enter the church alone at night, she wouldn't get anemia because she wasn't "charming enough."

"Will they come after us again?" Zhang Ning asked, her voice tinged with unease. Though she couldn't remember what had happened, she still felt an inexplicable fear.

"Probably not," Anran replied. That group was so terrified of him—they wouldn't dare defy his wishes. Still, did this mean she owed him a favor? But even if that arrogant man hadn't shown up, she was confident she could have handled them on her own.

"Anran, thank you for protecting me," Zhang Ning said sincerely.

"If we're friends, you don't need to keep saying thank you!" Anran waved her hand dismissively. "The sun's about to set, so let's hurry home. Night falls quickly in Rosewood Town; it'll be hard to find our way otherwise."

"Okay," Zhang Ning replied softly, a sweet smile spreading across her face. She added silently in her heart: Thank you, really. Anran, my first friend.

Seeing Zhang Ning's radiant smile, Anran was momentarily taken aback. "Ning, I just realized something. Your smile is really comforting. You should smile more often."

Zhang Ning looked even more surprised than Anran. "Anran, don't tease me."

"I'm not teasing," Anran replied with a laugh. "Really, it feels like sunshine just washed over me."

Zhang Ning blushed, feeling shy. "Anran, you're the one who's full of sunshine."

Anran burst out laughing. "Me? Hahaha… I'm just a scatterbrain. That's what my martial arts master always says."

Martial arts master? Does she mean like an upperclassman? Zhang Ning wondered.

"Oh! By the way, what happened to those guys earlier?" Zhang Ning suddenly asked, realizing she'd almost forgotten the most important part. Would they come back to cause trouble?

"Them? I drove them off," Anran said casually. "So don't worry; they won't bother us again."

It seemed Zhang Ning really didn't remember anything. As for that man from the Maurice family, Anran decided it was best not to mention him. No need to scare Zhang Ning. Anran hadn't forgotten why Zhang Ning had been isolated in the first place.

"You drove them off?" Zhang Ning asked, astonished.

"Yeah, I'm a martial artist, you know. My family runs a martial arts school," Anran said matter-of-factly.

"Anran… fighting isn't good," Zhang Ning said nervously. Though she didn't know much about martial arts, she'd heard of martial arts schools.

Fighting… That was such an outsider's perspective.

"Relax! I don't just fight anyone," Anran said as she started walking. "Ning, you sound more fussy than my grandpa…"

The two chatted and laughed on their way home, and nothing else out of the ordinary happened. After parting ways with Zhang Ning, Anran returned home alone. As she stepped inside, the last rays of the setting sun dipped behind the horizon.