Chapter 4: Where Did This Little Cutie Come From?
1336 Words
It was already half past eight when school ended that evening, and the campus immediately erupted in noise.
Su Yueyue, carrying her little backpack, obediently followed behind Bai Lichen.
The girl lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought, completely unaware that the boy in front had suddenly stopped in his tracks.
As she was in a daze, she bumped right into the boy's straight back, instinctively letting out a soft exclamation.
"Sorry, Brother!" Su Yueyue hurriedly apologized.
Bai Lichen turned around, frowned slightly, and wore an expression tinged with distaste. "Stay away from me."
The girl blinked, then obediently took two steps back.
Bai Lichen: "..." What I meant by 'stay away from me' is that I don't want you following me around!
Such a little fool, Bai Lichen thought.
"Go home first. I have something to do," Bai Lichen said, turning back to continue walking.
But the little girl still followed him without any intention of leaving.
"Go home," Bai Lichen ordered coldly.
Su Yueyue looked a bit conflicted. She furrowed her delicate brows and said, "I’m not really familiar with the way home..."
It was her first day attending school, and Aunt Qin had told her to follow Bai Lichen home.
The boy sighed in exasperation. So it turns out she doesn’t even know the way back?
"Fine, just follow me," he said.
Su Yueyue smiled in relief and continued to follow him, her footsteps obedient and docile.
They walked for a long time, and finally, they arrived at a rather secluded alley.
There were few streetlights, and the place was quite dark.
The alley was narrow, even dimmer than the outside.
Su Yueyue felt a little scared. When she saw Bai Lichen enter the alley, she hesitated for a moment before following him.
After walking through the alley, they reached a riverbank, where a few boys were standing. They had dyed hair in various colors, looking like typical troublemakers.
"Hey, little beauty!" one of the boys called out.
"You're really pretty!" another one added.
...
The boys’ gazes immediately locked onto Su Yueyue.
The girl felt a little scared and instinctively shrank behind Bai Lichen. Her delicate fingers gently tugged at the hem of his shirt.
"Brother!" one of the boys, with red-dyed hair, shouted as soon as he saw Bai Lichen, rushing over eagerly. "Brother, you’re finally here!"
Only then did the other boys notice Bai Lichen, and their faces instantly paled, their eyes filled with fear.
Bai Lichen was a well-known figure at school—the notorious boss of the three high schools. He was tough and ruthless. If anyone accidentally provoked him, they would undoubtedly be beaten so badly their own father wouldn't recognize them.
"s**t! Is he really Bai Lichen's younger brother?!"
"Today’s our unlucky day! We thought the kid was just talking nonsense!"
Bai Lichen slightly shifted to the side to avoid the oncoming boy with the red hair, his expression full of disdain.
But since he was his younger brother, Bai Lichen glanced coldly at the group of boys and said in a chilling voice, "Aren’t you guys leaving yet?"
As soon as his words dropped, the boys scattered in all directions, running away as fast as they could.
Bai Lichen turned around, only to find his younger brother, Bai Haoxuan, staring curiously at the little girl standing quietly to the side.
"Brother, where did this little cutie come from?" Bai Haoxuan leaned forward, his hands mischievously pinching the girl’s soft cheeks.
He pinched and then sighed, "Brother, her face is so soft!!"
Su Yueyue widened her eyes as she looked at the boy with red hair in front of her. He was handsome, though still youthful, and had a playful look on his face.
Her face was being pinched, but she didn’t dare resist too much. She cast a pleading look toward Bai Lichen.
"Let go," Bai Lichen said as he lightly kicked his brother in the rear.
"Ah!" Bai Haoxuan quickly released his grip, turning around with a startled expression. "Brother, what are you doing?!"
"When did you dye your hair red again?" Bai Lichen frowned and pulled Su Yueyue, whose face was now slightly pink, behind him, glaring at his younger brother in disdain.
"I’ve always had red hair, okay?" Bai Haoxuan muttered, somewhat irritated.
"I saw you just a few days ago, and it was still green. What? Are you trying to be a traffic light or something?"
But Bai Haoxuan ignored his brother’s teasing and instead asked, "Brother, who’s this little cutie? Why’s she always following you around? Is she your new lackey?"
Bai Lichen didn’t want to waste time explaining and simply turned to leave, with Su Yueyue following closely behind.
But Bai Haoxuan didn’t let up. He trailed beside them, inspecting Su Yueyue curiously.
"Your taste has really gone downhill, huh? She’s cute and all, but she’s useless!" Bai Haoxuan shook his head and then turned to look at Bai Lichen, trying to butter him up. "How about you give her to me?"
"She’s the daughter of one of Mom’s friends and is staying with us for now," Bai Lichen explained without looking at him.
"Ah, I see." Bai Haoxuan circled around Su Yueyue, grinning. "What’s your name?"
"…Su Yueyue," the girl answered honestly.
"Su Yueyue…" Bai Haoxuan repeated her name, then smiled and added, "I’ll call you Su Su. How old are you, Su Su?"
"16."
"When’s your birthday?" Bai Haoxuan asked, still very interested.
Bai Lichen cast a puzzled glance at his younger brother, unsure why he was asking these questions.
"September," Su Yueyue answered softly.
"I’m in June! Su Su, call me Second Brother!" Bai Haoxuan said, his face lighting up with excitement.
Now Bai Lichen understood what his brother had been waiting for.
"Second Brother," Su Yueyue said obediently.
"Hey!" Bai Haoxuan grinned like a child who’d just received candy. "Come on, Su Su, Second Brother will carry your backpack for you."
"Su Su, Second Brother will buy you something tasty. Why don’t you follow Second Brother from now on?"
"Second Brother, maybe I’ll carry my own backpack…" Su Yueyue responded hesitantly.
Bai Lichen: "…" How did my little brother become like some kind of pyramid scheme recruiter?
When they returned home, Qin Yixue had just come down from upstairs.
She was slightly surprised when she saw Bai Haoxuan.
"Bai Haoxuan, you know how to come home now? What’s that on your head? Go dye it back to normal tomorrow, got it?!"
Qin Yixue was a little confused. She had two sons—one was cold and aloof like a fairy, and the other insisted on turning himself into a trendy young man. It was irritating to look at.
"Ah, Mom, I just stayed at a friend’s house for a few days. I’ll dye it back in a few days," Bai Haoxuan said as he casually tossed his backpack onto the sofa, then grabbed another small backpack and handed it to the girl.
"Su Su, here’s your backpack."
"Thank you, Second Brother," the girl said quietly.
After sending her sons off, Qin Yixue pulled Su Yueyue aside, sitting her down. She took out a phone from the box on the coffee table and handed it to her.
"Yueyue, I got you a phone. I’ve already saved some contacts. It’ll be easier to reach you if anything comes up," Qin Yixue said.
The girl was a bit surprised and quickly refused, "Auntie, I can’t accept this. I really won’t need it…"
"How could you not need it? Just take it as a welcome gift from Auntie," Qin Yixue insisted, shoving the phone into Su Yueyue’s hand. "Plus, I have something I need your help with!"
Seeing the girl hesitate, Qin Yixue added, "If you don’t accept it, then I’ll think you don’t want to help me."
After a moment of hesitation, Su Yueyue finally accepted the phone. "Thank you, Auntie... What would you like me to help with?"
Qin Yixue smiled and said, "I want you to..."
- Writer
