"Ha, Hu Liena, and you trash with no name, I thought you weren't coming back!"
At the orphanage gate, Zhuo Bufan, flanked by a group of people, blocked the entrance. With teeth exposed to the wind and one swollen cheek, he sneered at the young boy carrying Hu Liena back, his tone hostile.
Although they arrived together, the children accompanying Zhuo Bufan looked at Wang Zhong with guilt and self-recrimination.
They didn't want to come, but Zhuo Bufan threatened to beat them if they refused.
"Let me down."
Hu Liena, sensing something was wrong, whispered softly into the boy's ear.
"Mhm."
Setting Hu Liena down, the boy glanced at Zhuo Bufan, his expression blank. He then took Hu Liena's hand and walked inside.
Frowning slightly, Hu Liena gently tugged at the boy's arm, her eyes blinking. When her gaze swept over Zhuo Bufan, it was filled with wariness.
Her expression clearly conveyed: "He looks so aggressive, clearly intending to fight. Why are you still going inside?"
The boy shrugged, smiling indifferently, and continued to lead her along as if nothing had happened.
"Still the same, you're still the same!"
Zhuo Bufan's chubby face turned red with anger, his eyes reddening as he snarled through gritted teeth.
"You interfere in my business again and again, disobey me time and time again, do you want to die!"
Zhuo Bufan's roar was laced with an obvious threat.
"Tsk, you dare!"
"I don't mind breaking your nose again."
The boy's calm words made Zhuo Bufan's face turn exceptionally unpleasant.
When the boy first entered the orphanage, Zhuo Bufan had sought trouble. But who knew that this quiet and reclusive fellow would be so ruthless, nearly smashing him to death with a rock.
Ever since that incident, this nameless fellow had been constantly at odds with him. Zhuo Bufan had once been the undisputed king of the orphanage, doing as he pleased.
But now, no matter what he did, there was always this ghost-like figure watching. Hu Liena was like this, and so were the others!
It was unbearable, utterly unbearable!
"Fine, you've got guts!"
"I can't deal with you, but I can deal with Hu Liena!"
"Go, grab her..."
Seeing Zhuo Bufan point at her, Hu Liena's small face darkened instantly. Her slender fingers turned white with tension, and her body trembled with rage.
This human garbage had not only stalked her but had also attacked her when she was off guard, leaving her covered in bruises. Now, he was specifically targeting her!
"Do you really think I'm a defenseless little lamb for anyone to bully?"
Hu Liena gritted her teeth, her bite nearly shattering. She reached into her clothes and clutched the dagger hidden within.
This was the only thing she carried with her after her family was destroyed!
But before she could even draw the dagger, the boy's fist had already landed on Zhuo Bufan's face.
He knocked Zhuo Bufan down with a single punch, then straddled him, one hand on his neck, the other balled into a fist, pounding relentlessly onto his face.
"You really think you're someone!"
"You don't even know your own worth!"
The boy roared furiously. Dealing with him was one thing, but this guy was now targeting his people, something he absolutely could not tolerate.
"If you're unhappy with me, have issues with me, or can't stand me, then come at me directly."
"But if you touch anyone around me who shows me kindness, I'll shatter one of your bones!"
The boy's furious shouts made everyone's scalps tingle.
"You hit Hu Liena six times today, right!"
"Then consider these six ribs gone."
The boy's small palm pressed down on Zhuo Bufan's ribs. Under everyone's terrified gazes, he pressed down hard.
With chilling sounds of bones cracking, Zhuo Bufan's ribs caved in on the spot.
The children who had been called by Zhuo Bufan stared wide-eyed at the scene. Although they were accomplices, they felt no fear, no dread. Instead, their faces showed a hint of relief and a faint smile of satisfaction.
The piercing screams startled the children in the yard, who all ran out. Some adults who were in the yard also rushed out without delay.
"Little fellow, what are you doing!"
A hurried and anxious voice rang out. A tall, thin middle-aged man with a smudge of dirt on his face rushed out. Seeing the scene at the gate, he became flustered.
"Me?"
"Uncle Ge, I'm hitting someone!"
The boy's innocent voice made the middle-aged man, addressed as Uncle Ge, freeze for a moment.
"No, I mean, why are you hitting him."
Uncle Ge didn't stop as he approached the boy, picking him up from on top of Zhuo Bufan and placing him aside. He looked at the severely beaten Zhuo Bufan, his tone indignant.
These kids were such a handful.
"He's very annoying."
"So I wanted to hit him!" the boy replied matter-of-factly.
Hearing this, Uncle Ge's face darkened. He was incredibly exasperated.
"Little fellow, hitting people is wrong."
"If you dislike him, just don't play with him. Why do you have to hit him?"
Uncle Ge placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, trying his best to impart some reasoning.
The boy in front of him had always been well-behaved, quiet, and exceptionally disciplined and neat in his habits. He rarely caused worry. It could be said that before Hu Liena, that exquisitely carved little girl, arrived, he was a good child beloved by every adult in the orphanage.
"I wanted to, but this guy kept lingering around me, chattering in my ear, it was so annoying."
"I told him several times, but he wouldn't listen. So I had to hit him."
The boy held his head with both hands, tilted his small face up, and said this to Uncle Ge with a smile.
Hearing this, Uncle Ge sighed helplessly. He ruffled the boy's head, unsure of what else to say.
He knew very well that this little fellow truly cherished quietness, even excessively so.
Often, he would stay alone somewhere, thinking or doing his own things.
And Zhuo Bufan, at times, was excessively mischievous and played without any regard for boundaries.
Uncle Ge thought to himself, "He must have really angered this little guy. Otherwise, given his quiet and peaceful nature, why would he have hit so hard?"
"You, you! Uncle Ge can understand you, but with such a heavy hand, you'll be in trouble when the院长 returns."
Uncle Ge nodded the boy's little head, scolding him in this manner.
After chiding him for a while, he walked over to Zhuo Bufan and gently helped him up, leading him towards the yard.
He had initially intended to carry Zhuo Bufan, but the boy was too plump to lift, so he could only support him.
"Playing nice, who can't do that!"
A triumphant expression bloomed on his small face. The boy turned to Hu Liena, grinned, and made a peace sign, making her beam with joy.
They smiled at each other, and as the boy looked at her radiant face, a sense of warmth blossomed in his heart. He couldn't help but think,
"I think I've made a friend!"