Chapter 64: New Kid King of the Neighborhood

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: New Kid King of the Neighborhood

Nan Yi clutched his backpack and went to the local children’s playground.

The place was bustling with people—adults sat around chatting, while kids had taken over the sandbox and the slide.

Having had his fill of fun that morning, Nan Yi decided he was nothing like these silly, dirty kids.

He just planned to find a clean, quiet spot to sit for a bit, complete the task his mother had given him, and then go home.

Little did he know, from the moment he set foot in the playground, many eyes had already fallen on him.

A group of people were whispering amongst themselves:

"That’s him, right?"

"Yeah, that’s him. I think his name is... Nan Yi?"

"I wouldn’t have guessed. He looks so well-behaved."

"..."

Nan Yi, who had been cupping his little face in his hands while gazing at the greenery in the distance, sharply sensed the commotion and whipped his head around!

...The group of people immediately pretended nothing had happened and resumed their idle chatter.

Nan Yi’s brow furrowed. He was a little annoyed.

’If I’d sensed any malice in their stares, I would’ve gotten up and left already!’

Nan Yi pressed his lips into a thin line, an icy aura radiating from him.

From a distance, he looked like a small, unapproachable iceberg.

Still, a few girls mustered up the courage to approach him:

"H-Hello, do you remember us?"

Nan Yi thought, ’Oh, it’s them. The ones who invited me to play house, then got scared off by Wang Zhixing.’

’What, are they going to mock me now, just like Wang Zhixing?’

—Having endured cold shoulders and disdain since childhood, Nan Yi never hesitated to assume the worst of others.

But what happened next was not what he expected.

The girls held hands, glanced at one another, and said in unison:

"We’re sorry!"

Nan Yi froze on the spot.

Then he heard the girls continue to explain that they shouldn’t have run away, that their teachers and elders had taught them that helping others is a virtue.

Nan Yi cut right to the quick:

"What if you had helped me and gotten beaten up too?"

The girls all shivered, hesitating for a long moment before answering:

"We... We’d try not to cry!"

Nan Yi wrinkled his nose. ’What a bunch of idiots.’

But the arms clutching his backpack loosened considerably.

Children are always perceptive. Noticing that Nan Yi was no longer as hostile as before, their suppressed curiosity bubbled to the surface:

"Was that beautiful fairy who protected you this morning your sister?"

"She’s my mom!"

Nan Yi bit out the words "my mom," looking as fierce as a small beast protecting its territory.

The girls flinched, hastily saying they understood.

Then they continued, "Your mom is really pretty! She’s the most beautiful fairy I’ve ever seen!"

This time, Nan Yi’s expression softened considerably, and his hands, which had been clutching his backpack, finally relaxed completely.

He asked, "Want some snacks?"

Nan Yi’s logic was simple: ’If you praise my mom, then we’re friends who can share snacks.’

...He had completely forgotten his earlier vow to eat all the snacks himself, not leaving so much as a crumb for anyone else.

The girls didn’t refuse Nan Yi’s offer.

After all, it’s in a child’s nature to love treats.

They watched curiously as Nan Yi pulled a huge food container from his backpack and lifted the lid.

In an instant, a rich aroma—a tapestry woven from flour, butter, eggs, and sugar—erupted and rolled out like a wave.

It was no exaggeration to say that the entire playground was now filled with the scent of the pastries Nan Zhi had made by hand!

Innumerable gazes were drawn toward the scent!

Nan Yi, his attention completely captivated by the pastries in the container, failed to notice this detail at first.

He lovingly scanned each one—

Though the container was large, the pastries were arranged methodically according to their preparation: sweet, savory, fried, steamed, and so on.

There was a dazzling variety, beautifully arranged in layers of color that mesmerized the eye.

There were peach crisps, egg yolk pastries, snowflake cakes, cloud slice cakes, shredded radish pancakes, fried spring rolls...

’And which one was the most delicious?’

Nan Yi couldn’t decide.

As far as he was concerned, every single one was delicious! Incredibly delicious!

The girls standing before Nan Yi were utterly stunned.

Their families were upper-middle-class, so they’d had plenty of cakes and desserts, but nothing had ever made them drool with craving like this box of Chinese pastries.

They were so overwhelmed by the offer that they even started to stammer:

"You’re not really going to give us some, are you... SLURP... That wouldn’t be right... SLURP... My mom told me not to take food from strangers... SLURP..."

With great difficulty, Nan Yi picked out a peach crisp and offered it to them.

"Want one?"

"...Yes."

Their mouths said no, but their bodies were honest.

Once the girls had the peach crisps in hand, they turned to find their mothers standing not far away.

The girls said, "We didn’t mean to take it, but it smelled so good..."

Their mothers gulped. "Sweetie, can Mommy have a little bite of that peach crisp?"

The girls dazedly handed over their treats, not yet realizing what they had just lost.

In the blink of an eye, the entire playground was in an uproar over the box of pastries in Nan Yi’s hands!

Nearly every child swarmed over, all of them drooling at Nan Yi’s food container—

"Can I have a bite?"

"It smells amazing! What shop did you buy these at?"

"Don’t push! Anyone who pushes doesn’t get any!"

"..."

Nan Yi huffed. ’I wouldn’t give you any even if you didn’t push.’

He lifted his chin, a clear note of smug pride in his voice:

"My mom made these herself!"

Pairs of innocent, clear eyes lit up:

"Wow! Your mom is so cool!"

"I heard your mom is a fairy. Is it true she’s super pretty?"

"Really? Why don’t I have a mom like that? Waaah!"

"Hey, I know you! You’re the kid who beat up Wang Zhixing and his friends."

"So that’s him! So cool! You’re a hero!"

"..."

In the blink of an eye, even the adults had joined in on showering him with praise:

"I heard you’re the one who dealt with Wang Zhixing and his mother, little guy? That’s amazing!"

"Thanks for helping us deal with our neighborhood’s menace!"

"You did a fantastic job!"

"..."

Nan Yi went from feeling giddy about the praise for his mother to being flustered by the praise for himself.

Usually, no matter where he went, both children and adults kept their distance. He rarely received such direct compliments.

That was why Nan Yi was used to seeing the world as a dark and treacherous jungle, where fighting tooth and nail was his only rule for survival.

’So... why was all the world’s kindness and warmth suddenly rushing toward me now?’

—What Nan Yi didn’t know was that people hadn’t disliked or excluded him before. They had simply found the child fierce and hard to approach, so they kept their distance.

So, when he finally lowered his guard, all the kindness he had pushed away naturally drew close once more.

Even Nan Yi, whose heart was usually as hard as iron, felt giddy.

’You praised my mom? Okay, you get a fried spring roll as a reward.’

’You said I was cool? Hmm, you get a cloud slice cake.’

...

For a while, the entire children’s playground was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Everyone who had a taste had the exact same thought—

’How can Chinese pastries this delicious exist in the world?!’