Chapter 37: Unite Against the Outsiders First

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Unite Against the Outsiders First

As annoying as the chubby little kid was, he was still just a child.

Seeing his miserable cries, someone grabbed a stick and brought it down on the black dog’s head. The blow was a little heavy.

The black dog yelped in pain and released its jaw. It collapsed to the ground, unable to get up, whimpering incessantly.

The chubby little kid wasn’t much better off, clutching his leg and bawling his eyes out.

Fu Chao stood protectively in front of Nan Zhi and Nan Yi. He turned his head slightly and said,

"Don’t go over there. This has nothing to do with you."

"Do I look that kind-hearted?"

Nan Zhi replied nonchalantly.

She didn’t have an ounce of guilt.

Fu Chao’s eyes widened in surprise at first, but then he couldn’t help but laugh.

’No, no.’

’A kid is hurt. How can I be laughing?’

A snort escaped him.

Nan Zhi glanced at him.

"Is your face cramping up?"

One moment he was laughing, the next he was holding it in. The muscles in his face were practically tying themselves in knots.

Fu Chao got his expression under control.

"It’s nothing."

"So, you believe me now?"

’Nan Zhi recalled how cold and fierce Fu Chao had been when he’d questioned her earlier. She’d thought he was about to cut ties completely with the "vicious mother" and never see her again.’

’Yet in the blink of an eye, he had run over to help them.’

’Just what is he thinking?’

Nan Zhi mused with great interest.

Fu Chao said seriously,

"Let’s present a united front."

Nan Zhi wanted to laugh.

’So that made her and Fu Chao the "insiders"?’

She suddenly glanced to the side.

"Tsk. And here come the ’outsiders’ now."

Her voice arrived before she did.

From a distance, the Lei Family couple saw their stall surrounded by a crowd. When they heard their precious son’s miserable screams and the black dog’s whimpering, their hearts sank. They knew something was wrong.

"Which goddamned bastard is bullying my son and beating my dog!"

The owner, Zhao Shumei, shoved her way through the crowd and charged in, looking absolutely murderous.

She didn’t spot Nan Zhi or Nan Yi at first. Instead, her eyes landed on the man holding the stick.

Zhao Shumei’s eyes narrowed.

"You son of a bitch! How dare you hit my dog!"

The man she was yelling at was not pleased. He slammed the stick on the ground.

"Your dog was biting your own son! I was trying to help, and this is the thanks I get? Fine, fine! No wonder you raise a dog that bites people indiscriminately. It must have learned it from its owner!"

Zhao Shumei was simple-minded. All she heard was that she was being compared to a dog. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to throw a punch.

It was her husband, Lei Yougang, who grabbed her.

Lei Yougang looked simple and honest, not at all like his shrewish and aggressive wife.

He first helped his son, Lei Xiaopang, up and asked him what had happened.

Now that he had backup, Lei Xiaopang immediately started crying and tattling.

"They bullied me!"

Lei Yougang and Zhao Shumei looked over at the same time, and their expressions instantly shifted.

They had clearly recognized Nan Zhi and Nan Yi!

Zhao Shumei blurted out,

"What are you two doing here?!"

Nan Zhi stepped out from behind Fu Chao, her gaze falling impassively on the couple—

She had beautiful, gentle, almond-shaped eyes that sparkled like tranquil spring water when she smiled.

Nan Yi had inherited her eyes.

But right now, they were filled with an all-encompassing, bone-chilling cold.

The sharp, cold light in her gaze seemed ready to slowly dissect the couple’s blackened hearts.

"Are you responsible for the injuries on my child?"

The couple jumped in fright when they saw the kitchen cleaver in Nan Zhi’s hand.

But Zhao Shumei quickly decided Nan Zhi was just bluffing and started yelling,

"So what if we are! Your kid’s the one who was careless and picked on my dog! What? You think you’re gonna kill us with a cleaver? Go on, then! Do it! Try it!"

Nan Zhi’s expression remained flat as she took another half-step forward, her aura overwhelmingly menacing.

Zhao Shumei instinctively flinched back.

Realizing what she’d done, she felt humiliated and grabbed her husband’s arm.

Lei Yougang, being tall and broad, stepped in front of his wife.

Seeing this, Fu Chao immediately rushed forward, shouting sharply,

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

He was tall and well-built from years of working out. On top of that, for family reasons, he had studied Sanda and MMA since he was a child.

In terms of sheer presence, he wasn’t about to lose to anyone!

The atmosphere grew tense, a stalemate.

Zhao Shumei peeked out from behind her husband and started speaking in a snide, passive-aggressive tone.

"Oh, I thought you were a single mom? Where’d you pick up this boy toy? I knew a woman with a pretty face like yours couldn’t be trusted! You’re not here to just sell fried rice, are you? Chasing men all the way out here! Aren’t you afraid your son will grow up to be just like you... AHH!"

Nan Zhi paid her words no mind.

She’d heard things a thousand times nastier and more vicious. These insults hardly even registered.

But she hated the buzzing of a fly in her ear, so she simply lifted her hand and threw.

Amidst a chorus of screams and gasps, the cleaver flew from her hand—

It skimmed past the sign reading "Husband and Wife Fried Rice,"

grazed past the couple’s terrified faces,

and finally embedded itself in the wooden chopping block behind them!

Pinpoint accuracy!

It sank deep into the wood!

The bright blade quivered with a HUM.

CRACK.

The paper sign split in two.

"AHHH!!!"

Zhao Shumei let out another piercing shriek, her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

Lei Yougang wasn’t much better off, his face a ghastly shade.

As for their son, Lei Xiaopang, all the swagger was gone from him. A faint smell of urine began to emanate from his clothes.

He had... pissed himself in fear!

The stench hit Fu Chao, and he quickly snapped his gaping mouth shut.

He tugged on Nan Zhi’s sleeve.

"You! You... that was so dangerous!"

Nan Zhi replied unhurriedly with a less-than-sincere apology,

"Oops. My hand slipped."

Who would believe that?

Whispers broke out among the crowd.

Nan Zhi paid them no mind. She looked down and met Nan Yi’s brightly shining eyes.

It was the first time she had ever seen Nan Yi so full of life and energy. It was as if every strand of his hair was cheering.

Their little spat from earlier that day had vanished without a trace.

Nan Yi stammered, "S-so cool!"

Nan Zhi raised an eyebrow, lowered her voice, and for once, played along.

"I can do it with my eyes closed. Believe it or not?"

"I believe you! Of course I do!"

In that moment, to Nan Yi, Nan Zhi was the most amazing person in the world!

Not even the much bigger and stronger Uncle Fu Chao could compare!

Seeing the sheer adoration in the little guy’s eyes, Fu Chao felt a complex mix of emotions.

In the end, all he could manage to say was,

"Don’t be a bad influence on the kid."

Nan Zhi just tsked.

Not far away, a still-shaken Zhao Shumei was hugging her son and had started wailing.

"Oh god, oh god, it’s murder! Someone call the police!"

Someone in the crowd shouted,

"The police are here!"

Two uniformed police officers pushed their way through the crowd.

Listening to the fragmented, excited accounts from the onlookers, the officers’ faces paled.

Someone had pulled a knife...

This was a major case!

The older of the two officers barked,

"Who used the knife?"

Zhao Shumei shot to her feet and pointed at Nan Zhi!

But the officers’ gazes landed on Fu Chao, and their eyebrows shot up.

"You?"

Fu Chao hesitated.

But Nan Zhi stepped forward on her own.

"It was me."

The officers, who had been all bluster and authority, took one look at this delicate, fragile-looking "assailant," and their entire demeanor shifted.

They scolded sternly,

"...Why would you file a false police report!"