Chapter 42: The Counterattack — Little Wolf Pup

No one knew how long Lu Yuanbao had been pinned to the muddy ground. His whole body was filthy, and his small frame was pressed down so tightly that he couldn’t move a muscle.

But he hadn’t given up — not even close. Even as his face flushed red from the strain, and his entire body was restrained with only his fingers free to move, he still refused to let himself be bullied like this.

This was a lesson Lu Yuanbao had learned in his short life:
If you let someone bully you once, they’ll do it again and again.

So —
He had to fight back!

Even if it hurt, even if he had to grit his teeth, he had to resist!

Summoning all his strength — every last ounce of it — Lu Yuanbao struggled with all his might. In the chaos, his fingers scraped into the cold, wet dirt beneath him, clutching a fistful in his palm.

Then, with all the power he could muster, he hurled the dirt into the older boy’s face!

“AAAH—!”

The clump of dirt hit the older boy right in the eyes. He let out a sharp scream and instantly let go to rub his eyes in pain, releasing the pressure he had been applying to Lu Yuanbao.

Without the older boy’s weight, the remaining pressure from the other, younger boy was no longer enough to restrain the now-enraged Lu Yuanbao.

Still lying on the ground, Lu Yuanbao suddenly kicked out hard with one leg —
Bang!
His foot landed squarely on the younger boy’s knee.

Caught off guard, the boy stumbled backward and tripped over his own feet, landing on his backside with a thud.

But Lu Yuanbao wasn’t done yet.

What he wanted wasn’t just to break free —
He wanted revenge!
A full-on counterattack!
An overwhelming reversal!

As soon as he kicked the younger boy away, he launched himself at the older boy with the full force of his small body.

The older boy was still too busy rubbing the dirt from his eyes and didn’t notice Lu Yuanbao’s sudden move. In the blink of an eye, he was tackled to the ground by the smaller child.

Lu Yuanbao, now like a flipped tiger, had turned the entire situation on its head. He straddled the older boy, sitting on his chest with his full weight, pressing down so hard the boy couldn’t move. Then he copied what the older boy had done earlier — grabbed him by the collar and yanked fiercely, cutting off his air.

---

Chu Yue arrived just in time to see this exact scene.

She had seen it all —
From Lu Yuanbao being pinned down in the dirt…
To his calm, calculated counterattack.

Her eyes lit up with surprise.

Lu Yuanbao was usually so quiet and obedient around her — almost too well-behaved — as if he had hidden away his little wolf claws.

But in the face of danger,
He was still that fierce little wolf pup.

Fierce.
Tough.
Resilient.

Chu Yue loved kids like that.

People always said nephews take after their uncles.
And clearly, this one did — Lu Yuanbao really did show some shades of Lu Zhanlin.

With her worries gone, Chu Yue didn’t step forward to break up the fight. Instead, she stood off to the side, watching with interest.

Even when Xia Xiaolan tried to rush over to help, Chu Yue secretly grabbed her wrist and held her back.

Xia Xiaolan looked at her, confused and unsure why Chu Yue — who had clearly arrived — wasn’t helping Lu Yuanbao.

Chu Yue’s heart was at ease.

But someone else was getting anxious.

“Tieniu! Tiedan! Are you two okay?!”

The voice crying out in panic belonged to Zheng Yue’e, the mother of the two boys — the older and younger ones.

The older one was named Zhao Tieniu, and the younger one was Zhao Tiedan. Their father was Zhao Wenwu, the company commander of the 3rd Company, 2nd Regiment.

Because the brothers were always together, and because they were both mischievous little terrors, they constantly caused trouble around the compound.

One moment they were breaking someone’s window, the next they were stealing someone else’s eggs.
They never stopped.

Zheng Yue’e spoiled the two boys rotten. She often said,
“Boys need to be wild when they’re young — that’s how they grow up to be something.”

Complete nonsense.

Just a moment ago, when Lu Yuanbao was being bullied, Zheng Yue’e had just stood by watching the drama unfold. She never stepped in to stop her two sons. Now that her own child was getting beaten, suddenly she was panicking.

“Let go, let go! You little stray nobody wants — let go of my Tieniu!”

Chu Yue narrowed her eyes dangerously, a surge of anger flaring in her chest. The moment Zheng Yue’e rushed over, Chu Yue grabbed her arm, blocking her path.

“Don’t go over there.”

“You—!”

Zheng Yue’e was startled. Her eyelids twitched when she saw the cold look on Chu Yue’s face, but she still couldn’t help worrying about her two sons.

“What are you doing?! Let me go! My son is being beaten by your kid!”

“So what if he is?”
Chu Yue shot back coldly, her tone laced with mockery.
“When your two boys were bullying Yuanbao just now, how come you weren’t anxious then? Didn’t see you rushing over. So what — only my child is allowed to get hit, but yours are made of gold and can’t be touched?”

Zheng Yue’e was left speechless by Chu Yue’s retort. Her face turned awkward, and though she knew she was in the wrong, she still stubbornly muttered:

“Th-that’s just kids roughhousing. It’s normal! What child doesn’t get into little fights?”

What a ridiculous excuse.

Chu Yue’s lips curled into a cold sneer.

“Oh~ So it’s just kids being kids, huh? Then let them settle it themselves. What’s an adult like you interfering for? Stay out of it!”

The words dropped like a heavy stone.

Chu Yue didn’t give Zheng Yue’e any face. Her grip on the woman’s arm was tight and unyielding.

Zheng Yue’e, a typical northeastern woman, had a bigger build than the more petite Chu Yue from the south. But no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t break free from Chu Yue’s iron-like grasp.

Her arm was being squeezed so hard, it was going numb with pain.

—

Meanwhile, on the other side of the yard, the fight among the three kids was still going.

Little Lu Yuanbao, despite being younger than Zhao Tieniu, had him pinned firmly under him. Even though Zhao Tieniu tried a few times to fight back, Yuanbao never let him succeed.

As for Zhao Tiedan, the younger one, he’d never seen his older brother beaten down like this before. He was so frightened, his legs went weak — he collapsed to the ground crying loudly.

Both situations — adult and child — were completely under Chu Yue’s control.

And Lu Yuanbao, stubborn by nature, refused to let go. He held on tightly.

“Uuuu… mmph… let go… let me go… mmph… I said let go…”

Zhao Tieniu, with his throat being gripped, felt pain all over. He gasped out the words with difficulty, all the arrogance drained from his face.

Zheng Yue’e, seeing both her kids — one crying, one struggling in pain — had no choice but to swallow her pride and beg:

“Chu Tongzhi, it’s my fault. My kids were wrong. Please let go. I apologize to you! My Tieniu can’t even breathe now…”

Chu Yue’s voice turned cold:

“So you admit your kids were wrong? Will you apologize to Yuanbao?”

“Yes! I admit it! Of course we’ll apologize! I’ll make both of them apologize!”
Zheng Yue’e nodded frantically, ready to agree to anything.

Only then did Chu Yue finally let go.

As soon as Zheng Yue’e regained her freedom, she bolted toward her children.

But Chu Yue was faster.

She came to Lu Yuanbao’s side, knelt down, leaned in gently, and softly called his name:

“Yuanbao.”

But Yuanbao had completely shut himself inside his emotions, almost totally disconnected from his surroundings.

Chu Yue understood this all too well. So she opened her arms and pulled his tense, rigid body tightly into a hug, speaking softly into his ear:

“Yuanbao, it’s me. I’m back.”