Lian tilted his head like a confused puppy. "Isn't staying home a million times better than wandering around?"
"If I stay home, it messes up Mom's earnings…" Maisie rolled her eyes, but there was no real annoyance in it.
Lian still didn't get it. "What kind of business does your mom do that you being home ruins her money?"
Then he saw tears suddenly shining in Maisie's eyes again.
"Oh no… anything but the tears… is there anything scarier in the universe than a girl's tears?!"
Ten minutes later, a brand-new "couple" appeared on the beach, though they were only pretending.
Lian had officially become the world's biggest pushover.
He ran all the way to the nearest 24-hour convenience store, spent his own pocket money on ice-cold drinks, sweet snacks, chips, chocolates, basically everything that looked yummy and jogged back panting, respectfully offering everything to the fearsome "Maisie" he couldn't beat, couldn't offend, and definitely couldn't escape from.
But this fearsome girl currently had red, puffy eyes and was talking between tiny hiccupping sobs.
Lian's heart melted into a puddle. He sat down beside her like an obedient little puppy and listened quietly while she poured out her family's whole sad story.
"…Dad got disabled not long ago. Mom lost her factory job."
"I already know that part," Lian said gently. "Doesn't your mom run a small shop now? Why can't you just stay home? Uh… sorry, my mom asked the school about your family the other day and told me everything."
Maisie didn't get angry. She just looked even sadder.
"That little shop isn't even ours. A kind neighbor lets Mom help out so she can earn a tiny bit at the end of the month. I have school fees, Dad has hospital bills, Mom has no other way to make money… so she has to… she has to…"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Lian wasn't exactly innocent-minded. The moment she said "has to," he understood perfectly.
"Oh… ohhh… I get it now. So when your mom has… clients… it's not good for you to be home. That's why you go out running and training every night. It all makes sense!"
Maisie wiped her nose and nodded, finally stopping the sobs.
Then she flopped backward onto the sand, stretching out like a happy starfish, arms and legs wide.
"I have to stay out super late every day. Sometimes if a client books the whole night, I just find a quiet park bench or sleep on the roof near our building."
Lian suddenly felt like the biggest idiot on the planet.
"I thought you hated me because you saw me with my girlfriend that night and hated that kind of thing…"
"Idiot," Maisie said softly, almost fondly. "I don't hate it. Some of the clients are actually really nice. A few of them, after hearing about our situation, would give Mom extra money. When I was little, some even secretly gave me pocket money. Now that I'm older, Mom says it's not appropriate anymore, so they stopped."
Her eyes sparkled under the streetlights, and Lian found himself completely mesmerized.
"Then why have you been chasing me and beating me up every single day like it's your full-time job?"
Maisie's voice suddenly became light and cheeky.
"Because I was bored!"
Lian almost fell over sideways.
"WHAT?!"
"I just didn't like you from the very beginning," Maisie said, turning her head and flashing a huge, happy grin. "How could such a beautiful, perfect woman fall for a guy like you? I felt so sorry for her! And then you went and flirted with me on the first day. So I decided, fine, I'm gonna beat you up whenever I feel like it!"
"When did I ever flirt with you?!"
"What did you say to me right after school that first day?"
Lian thought hard, then suddenly slapped his own forehead so hard it echoed.
"Oh… right… I asked if you ever go to the bathroom…"
Maisie burst out laughing.
"See? Totally your fault for having such a big mouth! But you know what? You're actually pretty fun. I've fought tons of boys since I was little, but you're the first one who never, ever hits back. You even said you'd never hit a girl. It made me mad, you acting all noble and perfect. So I wanted to see how long you could keep it up!"
Lian hung his head dramatically. "And if I never hit back…?"
"Then I'd keep hitting you forever!" Maisie said cheerfully. "A free punching bag delivered to my door, who would say no to that?"
"You're absolutely ruthless… I'm officially terrified of you," Lian said through gritted teeth, half joking, half serious.
"Exactly! I know you go running every night, and I'm always out wandering anyway, so I figured, why not chase you down and beat you up? Gives me something fun to do, way less boring!"
She laughed wildly, throwing her head back.
The next second her laughter turned into a high-pitched scream, because Lian suddenly pounced on her like a playful tiger.
"W-what are you doing?!"
Maisie was genuinely panicked now.
She had always known deep down that Lian was letting her win, so she had never really held back. But if he actually decided to do something now, she knew she wouldn't stand a chance.
"You've been chasing me for days just because you were bored?!" Lian's eyes were practically shooting sparks.
"I never hit girls because I believe women are precious and should be cherished and protected! Guys who use girls as punching bags are total trash! But now I realize, some girls really, really don't deserve to be cherished at all!"
Maisie squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the worst.
After a long, dramatic pause, nothing happened.
She cautiously opened one eye and saw Lian sitting a little distance away, calmly sipping his drink with a tiny smirk.
"You're… not going to hit me?" she asked carefully.