“Wait a second… You’re not wearing makeup right now? Completely bare-faced?”
“Ah? Should a student like me be wearing makeup?”
“…You don’t even know how to put on makeup?”
“Should I?”
“Then that means skincare too?”
“What’s there to take care of? Just wipe your face a couple times with a towel dipped in cold water and you’re done.”
“You! Just go ahead and waste the best years of your life like that!”
“Ah? Not wearing makeup or doing skincare is wasting the best years of your life? That makes no sense at all. Besides, what does this have to do with you, uncle?”
Watching the two of them argue more and more fiercely, the scene growing louder and louder, the circle of onlookers growing larger and larger, Yan Yanyan, who was stuck between the two of them, wanted to cry but had no tears.
I’m so stupid, really. I only knew that Classmate Siji might be a little-sister complex, but I never knew his reaction could be this big once his little sister was brought up.
Now there are more and more people watching.
I’ve even spotted two Taogu students in the crowd holding up their phones and filming this.
If this spreads to school… what on earth is our bento trio going to turn into? (crying voice)
And the most important thing was… Yan Yanyan glanced at Xu Runhui, who was legally and reasonably wrapping her arms around Zhong Siji’s waist while shouting, “Classmate Siji, don’t be impulsive! Fighting is wrong~~,” and nearly ground her teeth to pieces. How is it that your reaction is this fast when it comes to this?
Please! Anyone will do! I’m begging you! Hurry up and save me! At the very least, pull that Xu Runhui girl’s hands off Classmate Siji’s waist ahhhhhhh!!!
Whether by coincidence or by fate, it was as if God had heard her plea.
The gears of destiny began to slowly turn.
Behind the circle of onlookers…
“Tsk! I can’t see the target anymore… A-Yu!”
“What is it, Young Miss?”
“Target lost. Grab my feet and lift me up. I need to continue observing.”
“Young Miss… this is a public place.”
“Execute the order! Corporal!”
“Yes… Young Miss.”
“Very good! Corporal, the organization will remember your contribution.”
“Young Miss, can you please hurry up a little? I feel like the people around us are all looking at me, and also…”
“Also what?”
“Also, Young Miss, have you gained a little weight lately~~? I can’t hold on!”
“Damn it, at least lower your voice if you can’t hold on… Ow!”
“Ah!” “Ugh!” “Damn!” “Eh!” “Ha!?” “Shit!”
In an instant, a chain reaction of furious shouts from people who felt a strong shove from behind rose one after another, ultimately pointing toward the center of the crowd.
Xiao Yi, female, ten years old this year, a fourth-grader in elementary school, lived near the Feizikelan supermarket.
After buying her favorite strawberry ice cream from the ice cream shop on her way home from school, she would habitually wander around inside the supermarket a little, planning what snacks she would buy the next time she went shopping with her parents.
Naturally, she was also drawn in by the argument between Zhong Siji and the middle-aged man.
Because of her small frame, she had even squeezed her way to the very front row.
“That uncle is right. This big brother is really good-looking, but the hairstyle he’s keeping is ugly as hell. In the future I definitely don’t want to find a boyfriend who looks this fierce and keeps a short crew cut with not a single bit of manliness.”
Xiao Yi licked her beloved ice cream while making her own judgment on who was right or wrong in the dispute, completely failing to notice that the collapse of the dominoes was about to threaten her as well… “This big brother is really scary… Wuwah!”
Even though the force of the impact that reached her had already lessened a great deal, who could blame her for being just a child?
Caught completely off guard, Xiao Yi staggered and fell forward.
Although she tried her hardest to keep herself from falling, she still couldn’t control her body.
Just as she thought she was about to make intimate contact with the supermarket floor, something solid stopped her from falling any further.
Slap! The ice cream in her hand also smashed onto this solid object with a corresponding sound.
Xiao Yi subconsciously gave it a squeeze. This texture felt like a person’s thigh.
Had some kind-hearted person caught her?
Then she really ought to thank them properly…
“Thank you…”
Xiao Yi straightened her body while looking up, wanting to see clearly just who the kind-hearted person who had saved her was.
But when she saw who it was, she subconsciously blurted out the evaluation that had been in her heart: “Scary big brother?”
So she had actually fallen against that big brother with the fierce-looking face.
And even worse… because of the impact, her ice cream had “slap”ed into a sticky mess and gotten onto his pants.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Scary big brother, I didn’t mean to… Ah! No, no, big brother, I didn’t mean to! I didn’t mean to smear the pants onto the ice cream… Ah! No, no! That’s not what I meant… Waaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Out of fear, Xiao Yi burst into loud sobs.
The sudden change on the scene caused the originally noisy surroundings to fall silent all at once.
Zhong Siji and the middle-aged man forgot about their argument.
Yan Yanyan stood there in a daze. Xu Runhui, for her part, let go of the arms that had been wrapped around Zhong Siji’s waist.
The onlookers said not a single word, and that was only natural.
After all, this had nothing to do with them in the first place.
Some of them had even already begun imagining in their hearts just how this boy, who was so rough he didn’t even seem like a boy, was going to discipline this little brat.
But what none of them—or rather, what none of the people present—had expected was that the boy neither blamed nor scolded her.
He simply crouched down gently and, without the slightest bit of disgust, wiped away the little girl’s tears.
“You’re not hurt, right? I’m sorry, little one. Did big brother scare you?”
“Eh?” Xiao Yi could hardly believe her own ears. “It was… big brother who scared me? No, no, it was all me. I didn’t stand steady and bumped into big brother.”
“Eh~~~ And here I thought it was this terrifying face of mine that scared the little one into falling.”
Xiao Yi’s face instantly turned bright red. “Big brother isn’t scary. That was just me talking nonsense… Big brother… is good-looking. And I’m sorry for getting your pants dirty…”
“Ah, you’re talking about this.”
Zhong Siji looked down at the stain on his leg. The sticky sensation had already seeped through the fabric and made contact with his skin.
Although it made him feel a little uncomfortable, he still reached out and patted the little girl’s head, smiling as he said, “I’m sorry. Big brother’s pants ate your ice cream. How about big brother buys you another one?”
That peerlessly beautiful face and a pure smile like an angel’s finally became a little too much for the little girl to bear.
She could only say with a flushed face, “N-no need. Thank you, big brother,” before shyly running out of the crowd.
“Ah, she ran off. Don’t you want to go eat ice cream together?”
Zhong Siji subconsciously pouted a little, which actually drew a soft wave of “oh”s from the surrounding crowd.
“…I apologize to you, kid.”
The middle-aged man, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up to Zhong Siji out of the blue.
“Ah? Uncle, what kind of wind is blowing now?”
“…”
The middle-aged man paid no attention to Zhong Siji’s tone and continued, “You might have more manliness than any other man.”
Yan Yanyan and Xu Runhui, who had watched the entire thing, silently nodded.
Seeing that the two of them were no longer arguing, the onlookers also lost interest and dispersed.
“Ah? What are you suddenly saying? That’s a little disgusting. Let me say this first—because you talked about my little sister, I have no intention of apologizing to you. If you still want to make an issue out of me bumping into you, we can settle it officially.”
“Sigh. I’ll also apologize to your little sister. As for whether you forgive me or not, that’s up to you. Take this. When you want to change, come find me.”
The uncle handed Zhong Siji a small paper card. Zhong Siji couldn’t exactly refuse to give him any face at all, so he accepted it along the way.
The middle-aged man said nothing more and simply turned and left.
“…What a strange person.”
Zhong Siji accepted the business card and complained.
Beside him, Xu Runhui and Yan Yanyan couldn’t help privately thinking, You’re not much better yourself.
“Fashion… Trend… Xu Zhiyang?”
Zhong Siji lifted his head, only to find that the man’s figure was already nowhere to be seen.
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