Chapter 7: No One Should Think of Bullying You

A man was sitting properly in a wicker chair.

Though his face showed no expression, the solemnity between his brows was frightening, and his sharp gaze seemed ready to burst forth at any moment. The widow Wu felt a chill creeping up her spine as she was stared at, her scalp tingling, and she couldn’t help but shiver.

“You… you little dead girl, I’m not feeling well today, so I won’t argue with you. Just you wait!” With that, the widow Wu stumbled to her feet and hastily fled.

After she left, He Xiangxiang asked, “Oh my gosh, Miaojiao, what just happened??”

He Miaojiao shook her head, her expression one of confusion. “I don’t know, maybe it’s really as you said, the heavens couldn’t stand it anymore!”

He Xiangxiang was extremely excited, stamping her feet. “That was so satisfying! I have to hurry back to tell my mother! That… Miaojiao, I’ll head home first, I’ll come find you to play another day!”

Once He Xiangxiang left, He Miaojiao turned her attention to the man. He seemed unfazed, with a calm and composed demeanor.

“Was that you just now, A Xun?” He Miaojiao asked as she sat beside him on a stone bench. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

“Mm.” The man did not hide it, nodding in acknowledgment.

“Wow, how did you do that? Didn’t you lose your memory?” He Miaojiao looked at him, her eyes filled with admiration and surprise.

“I don’t know, I just wanted to do it that way, and it worked.” 

The man truly didn’t understand. When he saw the widow Wu enter aggressively, he felt that the situation was dire and worried that He Miaojiao would be bullied, so he wanted to stand up to protect her at a critical moment. 

However, as he glanced at a few small stones by his feet, he picked them up and kept them for use. He didn’t understand why he did this. 

The moment the widow Wu left, A Xun was thinking about how to hit her; he didn’t even need to aim, directly using a hidden movement to shoot the stone at her.

As a result, he truly hit her exactly where he had expected.

“Oh my gosh, you’re amazing!” He Miaojiao clenched her small fist, her expression full of admiration, her eyes sparkling. “A Xun, can you teach me?”

“Sure.” The man picked up a small stone, held it on his fingertips, got into position, and explained as he demonstrated to He Miaojiao, “Place your fingers like this, put the stone here, and use your thumb to exert force to shoot it out.”

“Mm, mm, aim for that fruit on the tree over there; I want to eat it!” He Miaojiao pointed to a wild fruit on a tree outside the yard.

“Okay.” The man aimed for the fruit and shot the stone.

However, the stone didn’t fly very high or far; it arched in a soft parabola and landed softly on the ground.

“…” The demonstration failed, and the man felt a bit flustered, explaining, “A mistake, maybe it was too far.”

“It was too far, let’s try something closer!” He Miaojiao smiled and continued, “Just shoot anything in this yard!”

“Okay.” The man adjusted the stone in his long fingers, but he couldn’t find the feel from when he hit the widow Wu earlier.

He saw the little girl gazing at him with sparkling eyes full of admiration, not wanting to dampen her spirits; he gritted his teeth, aimed at a stone bowl on the stove, and flicked the stone.

This time he used enough force, but it was off-target; instead of hitting the bowl, it made a loud “pop” as it struck a water scoop beside it.

“Ah!” He Miaojiao hurried over to pick up the water scoop that had fallen to the ground, frowning slightly, pouting, “Why did you break my scoop…”

“…” The man replied, “Sorry, I’ll replace it later.”

Seeing A Xun’s guilty expression, He Miaojiao lightened up with a smile, comforting him, “It’s okay, it’s just a small hole on the edge; I can still use it. No need to replace it! But you have to compensate me! After you’re better, you can help me water the garden, okay?”

Seeing her playful and endearing demeanor, plus her infectious smile, the man felt his heart stirred and couldn’t help but smile slightly, saying, “Okay, I’ll do whatever you say.”

He Miaojiao thought about the harsh words the widow Wu had just hurled at her. Although she didn’t care much, it involved A Xun, so she still wanted to explain.

She adjusted her smile, her expression a bit apologetic, and said, “A Xun, what that widow Wu said just now was really unpleasant… don’t mind her; she was targeting me, not you.”

From their earlier conversation, the man had gleaned a lot of information. He knew that He Miaojiao was a poor girl, orphaned, and often mistreated by that woman.

“Miaojiao, I don’t mind her words, but I’m really worried about you. Does she come to bully you often?”

The man really wanted to do something for the girl; he couldn’t bear to see her get bullied.

He Miaojiao looked at A Xun’s concerned expression and felt warm inside. “Mm, she often bullies me, but I’m not afraid of her! Xiangxiang is helping me, and my uncle supports me. In our village, everyone is good; she just dares to curse but doesn’t dare to act out!”

“But she almost hit you earlier.” The man was even more worried. 

He thought if he hadn’t struck first, the slap would have landed.

That woman’s palm was rough, and the delicate skin of the little girl would have suffered.

“Well, she didn’t get to hit me. I won’t stand there and let her hit me; I can fight back! Plus, I have you helping me now!”

Even saying that, He Miaojiao thought for a moment. That widow Wu was tall and strong; if it came down to a fight, even with Xiangxiang helping, they might not be able to escape unscathed.

She was glad that he was there. “A Xun, thank you for helping me deal with her. I see she hasn’t dared to bother me since. What just happened was so satisfying; I’m so glad you were there!”

“Mm.” Knowing that the little girl wasn’t scared, the man felt relieved. He looked at her with gentle eyes and smiled slightly. “Miaojiao, from now on, if I’m around, no one should think of bullying you.”

Looking at his gentle smile, hearing his low, warm voice, and the words he said, He Miaojiao felt her heart race, as if something had surged in, and sensed her face heating up.

“You, you’ve been out here for a while, go back and lie down! I, I’m doing embroidery, I can’t chat anymore!” He Miaojiao felt as if she had turned into He Xiangxiang, her speech slightly halting.

The man just smiled again, “Okay.”