“Careful!” Gu Beiyan and Chu Qi both reached out at the same time, grabbing Yuanyuan’s arms to stop her from falling flat on her face. The little girl, shocked and on the verge of tears, blinked for a moment before sniffling, her voice filled with gratitude, “Wow, thank you, Qi Qi! If it weren’t for you, my face would’ve turned all flat!”

Gu Beiyan, feeling left out, protested, “Why didn’t you thank me? I helped too!”

Yuanyuan tilted her head, thinking seriously for a long time, then bit her lip before asking, “Oh, thank you. But… what’s your name again?”

Gu Beiyan: You didn’t even remember my name?!

“Hey, can’t you watch where you’re going?” Chu Qi, hands on her hips, scolded the two boys who had bumped into Yuanyuan. “You almost knocked her over!”

“So what? It’s no big deal,” the two boys shrugged, laughing as they tried to walk away.

Still smarting from his earlier embarrassment, Gu Beiyan seized the chance to redeem himself. He rushed forward and grabbed one of the boys by his collar, dramatically shouting like a TV drama hero, “Apologize! Apologize to Yuanyuan!”

“Pfft, apologize my foot!” The boy swung a punch straight toward Gu Beiyan’s face, aiming right for his eye.

In that instant, Yuanyuan, clutching a book, quickly stepped in between them, using the book as a shield. The punch landed squarely on the book, saving Gu Beiyan’s eye from taking a direct hit. The impact wasn’t pleasant, but it was far better than getting punched in the face.

“No fighting!” Yuanyuan, terrified but still brave, stammered as she stood her ground. “F-fighting is wrong!”

“Who do you think you are to lecture me? Do you even know who my dad is?” The boy sneered, swaggering off with his chest puffed out, as if the whole world should bow to him.

Yuanyuan blinked, confused. “I know, your dad is… your dad?”

Ah, thought the boy. Listening to you is like listening to… well, you.

His lip twitched as he tugged on the nametag pinned to his chest. “Look, now do you understand?”

Whenever he was out with his father, people would recognize the name immediately and fall over themselves to show respect. The boy had learned to expect the same reaction.

“What’s that?” Yuanyuan squinted at the nametag, unable to read. “Is that your name?”

Oh, right. She’s only three. There’s no way she can read it.

Clearing his throat, the boy declared grandly, “I’m Wen Zifei. My father is Wen Xiaohan.”

“Wen Zifei? Like… a mosquito flying?” Yuanyuan’s eyes widened as she glanced around, searching the air. “Where? I don’t see any mosquitoes.”

“I said Wen Zifei! Not ‘mosquito flying’!” Wen Zifei’s face turned red with frustration, and he nearly choked in anger at her misunderstanding.

As he fumed, other kids around them struggled to hold back their laughter, leaving him even more flustered.

“Yuanyuan, huh? I’ll remember you. Just you wait!” Wen Zifei, face flushed with humiliation, spat his warning before stomping off.

The three remaining kids stood there, momentarily stunned. Yuanyuan, as if suddenly remembering something, turned to Gu Beiyan, concerned, “Are you okay?”

Gu Beiyan, still feeling the tingling from where the book had absorbed the punch, winced slightly but nodded. “I’m… I’m fine. Thanks to you, my eye’s okay.” His face flushed a deep red as he gazed at Yuanyuan, his eyes filled with gratitude. “You—you’re my hero!”

Chu Qi raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Let me guess, your next line is going to be, ‘I owe you my life, and I’ll repay you by… marrying you’?”