Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The child frowned and looked a bit unhappy, as he jumped down from the chair and walked out through the door.
“Dog, why are you here?” Just like him, the child at the gate was an orphan who suddenly appeared in this village and lived in dilapidated houses at the periphery of the village. Both of them had lived here for five or six years, relying on occasional assistance from the kind villagers.
Yet despite their similar experiences, the two did not have much association, possibly due to incompatibility of character.
“I’ve told you to stop calling me Dog, my name is Jing Qi!” He frowned. He then remembered something and shook the sweet potato in his hand. “Mother Wang gave me a sweet potato, shall we share it?”
“I don’t need it.” The child shook his head.
Yet Jing Qi did not listen to his words and pressed the sweet potato into his hand. He had to take it.
“Eat it, eat it!” Jing Qi urged him, as he took a bite himself, and looked at him as he talked. “Our lives are connected. It is only normal that we help each other.” He chuckled, with a generous look on his face. He then rolled his eyes, thought of something and said with a cold “Hmph, this village is full of unkind people. Despite all the talk about protection from immortal families, their yearly good harvests and rich life, they hardly take care of both of us. Where is the grace of immortal families in that? Aren’t they just bullying us because of our young age?”
“…” The child was stunned. He took a look at the sweet potato in his hand and frowned subconsciously. He felt that there was something wrong with this talk, but couldn’t say exactly what.
Yet Jing Qi was becoming angrier as he talked. As if anxious for recognition, he patted his shoulder. “Wild kid, don’t you believe that one day I will be an extraordinary man, and then I will no longer need to rely on anyone. I will tread underfoot all these guys who have their noses in the air.”
The child was stunned, yet after a while he nodded, only hoping for him to leave soon.
“I knew that you are the only one who can understand me!” His expression was happy, as he laughed like a grown-up, “For your good faith, your brother I will take care of you in the future! Would you like to go out for an adventure with me?”
“Out of the village?” The child shook his head immediately. “Everyone says that it is dangerous out there, we shouldn’t go out of the village.”
“And you actually believe in this?” Jing Qi rolled his eyes, snorted and said, “Soon, it will be the inside of the village that would be dangerous. If you… eh, what is that smell?” He sniffed suddenly, and his eyes brightened as if he remembered something. “Oh yeah, I heard Mother Wang say that she gave you two salted fish, you must not know how to cook them? Let me help you.”
And without waiting for a response, he pushed the door open and walked straight in.
“Wait…” the child went chasing hurriedly.
Yet the other boy had already seen Shen Ying sitting inside, the unfinished feast in front of her.
He was completely stunned, apparently never expecting a sight like this. He looked straight at the table full of dishes and made some swallowing sounds.
The child chased over hurriedly, and his little face wrinkled in displeasure as he looked at the one who just burst in.
That child called Jing Qi struggled to control his longing look towards the food. He smiled at Shen Ying in a way that he thought to be polite, and said in an innocent voice, “Big sister… are you eating?” After that, his tummy made some grumbling sounds cooperatively.
Shen Ying’s eyes narrowed, as she replied, “Yeah!” And then, as if she had not seen his longing look, she continued to consume the dishes, making much louder noises than before.
There wasn’t much food on the table to begin with, and it was disappearing at an extremely fast speed right now, and only half a plate of sliced meat was left. Anxiety shone in Jing Qi’s eyes, but he was too shy to ask for it. He gave it a thought, turned to the child at the side and said with a smile, “Wild kid, who is this pretty big sister? Your lost family?”
The child looked up at Shen Ying, and then at the person speaking, before realizing that he had never asked who she was, and for a moment he did not know how to answer.
Yet Jing Qi thought the silence was an agreement and smiled even wider. “I’m happy for you for finding family. But aren’t you a bit lacking in generosity? I didn’t know that you are eating so well, and have come to send you sweet potato, worrying that you’d starve!” He laughed and patted his shoulder. “We are brothers, and I will not be excessively courteous with you.”
After that, without waiting for a response, he took a pair of chopsticks and went for the plate of sliced meat, as if he was finally unable to bear the hunger.
“Wait,” the child grew anxious and looked at Shen Ying instinctively.
Shen Ying didn’t move at first, yet as the chopsticks almost reached the dish, she suddenly moved to draw the bowl towards her. And then, she sucked all the food into her mouth right in front of him, not even leaving the gravy.
Only then did she put down the bowl, stroke her stomach and say, “I’m full!”
The child was speechless.
And so was Jing Qi.
In fact, his body was completely stiff, like he did not expect at all that she would be so shameless as to fight for food with a child. And she didn’t even leave the gravy. His face turned white, disbelief written all over it.
But the child at the side actually remembered something. He ran back to the kitchen, took something and handed it over to him. “Dog, you can take this.”
Unsurprisingly, those were the two salted fish. Jing Qi was stunned for a moment. An unprecedented sense of shame rose from the bottom of his heart, and with a rush of anger he slapped his hand away. “What do you mean by this? Are you treating me like a beggar?” Perhaps out of anger, his whole face was red, and his whole body trembled. “Wild kid, I did not think that you are just as selfish as those in the village. Did you think I care about your dishes?”
The child touched his own hand, which was growing red. He was not angry at first, yet he frowned now, and said in a serious manner, “All these belong to the big sister, and I can’t give them to you on her behalf. But the salted fish belongs to me.” After that, he gave over the fish once more.
“You…” The other child grew even angrier, as he looked at Shen Ying, as if he wanted to get angry at her but was somewhat fearful. He could only turn back again to stare at the child beside him, “So much for me thinking that you are different from others and wanting to help you! I did not expect that… Hmph, you will pay for your stupidity!” He seemed to have remembered something, blurted, turned around and went right out. Looking at him, you may have thought that he indeed had some great kindness going unappreciated.
And the child’s face was full of confusion, as if he did not know what just happened at all: he wasn’t wrong, the dishes were brought by the big sister and he only did the cooking. If Dog wanted to eat, of course he would have to ask the big sister for permission.
Just as he was thinking, a big hand fell on top of his head. The big sister who could magically produce a lot of ingredients suddenly reached out and smothered his hair, and her eyes looked straight into the depth of his eyes. He felt a warmth in the bottom of his heart, and a joy rose within him. Was the big sister comforting him? He subconsciously moved closer, hoping for the warmth to last longer.
Yet the big sister suddenly bowed down, smiled at him extremely beautifully, and the sweet voice sounded in his ears in the next instant. “Time to do the dishes!”
“…”
