Chen Er'ya looked up and saw the other person, her eyes smiling, and she said proudly,
"Yes, Donghua, my brother is here to pick me up today."
"Oh~"
The little girl nodded.
"Er'ya, your brother is picking you up, why isn't he taking you by carriage? Why do you have to walk home? Is it because your family doesn't have a carriage?"
Hmm!
The first half of the sentence was fine, but the latter half of the little girl's words made Chen Ping'an's eyes flash.
He looked up and saw the expression on the little girl's Face.
On the little girl's tender Face, there was a faint hint of arrogance and mockery.
It was not the innocent childish words Chen Ping'an had imagined; it seemed she was deliberately trying to embarrass Chen Er'ya.
"Yes, my family doesn't have a carriage. But I think walking home with my brother is pretty good. What? Donghua, you don't have a brother to pick you up, are you envious of me?"
Chen Er'ya said with a smile.
Her words were full of strong defiance.
"You!"
The little girl's Face changed.
"Just a wild girl from the countryside like you, am I envious of you? That's hilarious."
"You're flustered!"
Chen Er'ya smiled slightly, revealing a row of white teeth.
Just as the little girl in the carriage was about to retort, a woman appeared inside the carriage window.
"Two of you, children are ignorant, please don't take offense."
The woman looked at the two outside the carriage and said with a forced smile.
Chen Er'ya's smile remained unchanged.
"I've seen many ill-mannered people, I don't take offense."
"You..."
The little girl looked indignant and wanted to say something, but the woman beside her pulled her into her arms.
"Watch your mouth, be careful what you say!"
The woman snorted lightly, then turned to look at Chen Ping'an.
"Control your child!"
Chen Ping'an glanced at the woman.
"No need to bother!"
The woman had met with a rebuff and didn't want to argue further with them, so she left with two remarks: "Country bumpkins are just country bumpkins!"
"A wild child with a mother but no upbringing!"
The carriage then passed them, leaving behind some dust.
Chen Ping'an watched the carriage leave, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes. He shifted his gaze to a shadow not far away and made a gesture.
Chen Er'ya saw that her brother didn't speak and thought Chen Ping'an was angry.
"Brother~ don't be angry."
Chen Ping'an was startled; this Xiao Yatou was comforting him in return.
"You, girl..."
Chen Ping'an patted Chen Er'ya's head.
"Brother isn't angry. They said that about you, that you don't have a carriage to ride in, aren't you angry?"
Chen Er'ya said, "No, I'm not. The academy is a place for studying, not for comparing who has a carriage or not. Brother, let me tell you, the teacher praised me for being smart before, Donghua was so jealous of me!"
Looking at the Xiao Yatou's optimistic demeanor, Chen Ping'an couldn't help but laugh and said, "So that's how it is."
"Oh, right, Brother, there's something I want to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Next time, outside, can you please not call me Nannan anymore?"
Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "What's wrong?"
"I'm already attending the academy to study, so you can't call me by my nickname anymore. If others hear it, I'll lose a lot of Face."
"The Xiao Yatou has grown up, huh? Alright, I understand."
"......"
The siblings walked on the way home, the moonlight stretching their shadows long, long...
......
"Mother, why did you stop me just now?"
In the carriage, the little girl called Donghua looked at the woman unhappily.
"Donghua, your father is also a person of some standing. If we argue with them outside Cangsong Academy, even though there aren't many people watching, there are a few. Whether we win or lose the argument, we will lose Face."
"Mother, but I'm not reconciled. She's just a newcomer, but many classmates in the academy like to play with her! And she was praised by the teacher in class. Why?"
"She's just from an ordinary family. You'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with her later; there's no need to lose Face now. Next time in the academy, you can do this..."
The woman was about to teach the little girl Donghua some underhanded tricks when the carriage suddenly stopped. Due to inertia, both of them leaned forward involuntarily.
"What's wrong?"
After steadying herself, the woman lifted the curtain with a displeased expression, about to question, when she saw several men standing in front of the carriage, surprisingly holding knives.
"Madam, this..."
The coachman looked nervous.
The woman was equally nervous, but thinking that this was in Southern City Alley, her heart settled slightly.
"Gentlemen, I am a family member of the owner of Laifu Restaurant. Please give us some Face and clear the way."
Laifu Restaurant was quite famous in Southern City Alley. It was considered a relatively high-end restaurant, and most of those who could afford to dine there were of considerable status. To be able to open such a restaurant in Southern City Alley and maintain this profit, for ordinary people, its owner was considered someone who had connections in both the underworld and the legitimate world, with extensive influence.
"Oh! Laifu Restaurant, what a grand display of power!"
The speaker was a young man. Compared to the few people behind him, his build was slender. However, from his standing position, he appeared to be the leader among them.
"Do it!"
The young man waved his hand, and the two men behind him immediately rushed forward.
"Please spare my life, brave sirs, please spare my life..."
The coachman was just an ordinary person; he had never seen such a scene. Seeing the two men approaching menacingly, he immediately covered his head and begged for mercy.
The woman's forced calm expression instantly turned into extreme panic.
"No, no... don't mess around... this is Southern City Alley..."
The woman spoke incoherently.
The two burly men paid no attention to what she was saying. They stepped forward and kicked the coachman directly off the carriage, then grabbed the woman by her hair.
The two men's strength was extraordinary; they showed no mercy at all. The woman's hair was pulled taut, her scalp almost tearing.
"Ah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."
The woman shrieked.
"Ah!"
Another shriek, and the little girl's hair was also grabbed. At this moment, her Face was full of panic, with no trace of the arrogance and mockery she had shown earlier.
"Boss!"
After controlling the big and small figures, the two burly men looked at the young man, awaiting further instructions.
The coachman was rolling on the ground, clutching his stomach. The burly man's kick was extraordinary, leaving him unable to get up.
The young man leaped onto the carriage in two steps, looking at the woman with a cold sneer.
"Do you know what's going on?"
The young man gently patted the woman's cheek.
The woman's eyes were filled with terror, her scalp felt like it was tearing, she wanted to shake her head, but she couldn't move at all.
"No... I don't know."
"You don't know?"
Slap!
The young man slapped the woman across the Face.
Instantly, a red palm print appeared on the woman's cheek.
The woman cried and howled in pain.
"Quiet!"
Slap!
Another slap on the other side of her Face.
"Do you know now?"
The woman's wails grew louder.
"Still don't know?"
Slap!
The young man showed no mercy.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
One slap after another, until her Face was swollen high.
Seeing that if he continued, she would be beaten to death, the young man shifted his gaze to the little girl.
At this moment, the little girl had already been scared senseless.
Slap!
The young man stepped forward and slapped her.
The little girl's cheek instantly swelled up. This was still due to the young man holding back; otherwise, her teeth would probably have been knocked out.
Slap!
Another slap, making a perfectly symmetrical red palm print on each side.
At this moment, a commotion came from a distance.
"Boss, someone's coming!" the burly man warned.
"Hmm."
Their movements were not small, clearly attracting the attention of the night patrol Yamen Runner.
Before leaving, the young man spat on the woman's Face.
"When you're out and about, watch your words! Some people, you can't afford to offend!"
"Withdraw!"
Whoosh!
With a movement of their bodies, the few people successively exited the carriage and quickly disappeared around the street corner.
By the time the Zhenfu Division night patrol Yamen Runner arrived, they only saw the two people inside the carriage, who had lost control of their bladder and had swollen Faces.
