A tender voice caught the attention of Liu Sandao and Bai Suxiang.
In a corner of the park, on a bench, lay a person dressed in red.
"None of your business, you... Beat it!"
The man said, glaring fiercely at the child.
The child, startled by the outburst, clearly became frightened and dejected. Likely separated from his parents, there was no adult in sight.
Bai Suxiang saw this and quickly approached.
"How can you be like this? He's just a child." Bai Suxiang said, slowly pulling the child's arm. "There, there, don't be scared! Sister is here. You were right!"
Seeing someone come to his aid, the child's tear-filled eyes could no longer hold back.
"Wuwuwu!"
He felt utterly wronged.
"Little brother, don't cry. We're doing a public service activity, and it's the right thing to do! This uncle just doesn't understand."
Bai Suxiang comforted him.
The person who had been lying down lifted his neck to look, then continued to lie back down.
"Sir, we are currently engaged in a public service activity. We hope you can participate and help us maintain our environment!"
Bai Suxiang prepared to patiently persuade the man in red.
The man in red had intended to lie on the bench and pretend to sleep. Hearing someone speak, he immediately turned his body away, muttering, "Go away, go away, I don't have time!"
How can you wake someone who is pretending to sleep?
Seeing his strong resistance, Bai Suxiang did not insist further.
"Little brother, why are you alone? Where are your parents?"
Bai Suxiang asked, holding the boy's shoulders.
"They went over there. I was planning to finish picking up trash here before I met them."
"Okay, shall sister help you pick it up?"
"Okay!"
The boy said, and then resumed picking up scattered trash.
This was merely a corner of the park, and to be honest, not many people were usually seen there. Yet, there were always discarded scraps of paper, plastic bags, and other litter scattered around.
It had been about half an hour since they started, and their plastic bags were nearly full.
After finishing picking up the trash, the boy disappeared in another direction of the slope, and Bai Suxiang, with Liu Sandao, headed up the slope.
Because the slope was quite steep, they had to walk with their bodies bent forward.
Bai Suxiang was particularly diligent, making sure to collect even the scraps of paper hidden deep within the grass.
Liu Sandao was not as diligent. As he picked up trash, he used his magic to create small gusts of wind. Bai Suxiang's bag was full, while his was only a little more than a third full.
The top of the slope was a dead end, a cliff ahead. They had no choice but to slowly retreat to their original spot.
As they came back down, the man in red was sitting on the bench, smoking. At his feet, there were now two or three more cigarette butts.
Bai Suxiang walked over and picked up the cigarette butts from the ground.
"What's the point of picking it up? I'll just throw it again! I think what you're doing is useless! The park already has cleaners, what need is there for your damn public service."
"Hmph, you're just putting on a show. If you're so capable, why don't you replace the sanitation workers."
Before Bai Suxiang could say anything, he seemed to think his words were very reasonable.
He took a deep drag of his cigarette, swirled it in his mouth a few times, and leisurely exhaled smoke rings.
What can you say to someone like this about public service?
He didn't understand, nor did he care about such things.
Liu Sandao actually didn't understand either, and even agreed with what the man was saying. He had never understood the meaning of these public service activities in the human world.
Aside from sounding good and perfect, none of them were truly implementable.
But what was even more unbearable to Liu Sandao was that this man, knowing others were painstakingly picking up the trash he casually discarded, acted with complete peace of mind:
You do your thing, I'll do mine! As for the environment, it has little to do with me.
Surprisingly, Bai Suxiang said nothing this time. She picked up the cigarette butts and left.
However, just as Bai Suxiang turned to leave, and Liu Sandao followed to leave, the man in red made another move. Su Dan Novels Network.
His cigarette was not finished, and there was still about a finger's length of it left, yet he was about to throw it away.
"I'll just throw it on purpose, let's see if you can pick it up every single time!"
He mused to himself, a smug smile on his lips.
"Anyway, there are many people picking up cigarette butts today, someone will always come to pick them up. To give you something to do, I'll smoke a few more."
Thinking this, he held the cigarette butt between his thumb, index, and middle fingers, preparing to flick it away.
"Pop!"
With a muffled sound, the cigarette butt left his fingers.
He immediately took out his cigarette case, ready for another.
"Hiss hiss!"
He couldn't help but frown, feeling a slight burning sensation beneath him. The hand holding the cigarette case immediately tightened.
Feeling the pain originating from beneath his buttocks, he immediately stood up.
But it still burned, and there was a faint smell of scorching.
Due to his long-term smoking, he was not very sensitive to the smell of scorching, but he could not ignore the pain in his backside.
At this moment, smoke began to rise from the pocket of his seven-quarter pants.
"Oh, dear! When did this cigarette butt fall into my pocket!"
He cried out, frantically patting his pocket with his hand.
But the cigarette butt was inside his pocket, and patting was useless. Moreover, it was now showing signs of igniting.
This was Liu Sandao's small punishment for him, decided the moment he made his move.
The cigarette butt could not be removed, and with smoke rising from his backside, it was about to catch fire. If it burned, he would certainly be scalded.
The man in red was now panicked, completely panicked.
"Help! Help! Come and save me!"
He shouted and ran.
Hearing the cries for help, many people immediately rushed over.
"Quick, quick! Throw water on him!"
Someone suggested.
Someone then quickly poured the water from their bottled drinks onto him, onto the burning spot.
"Thank you, thank you!" He said gratefully.
Before he could finish speaking, he still felt a burning sensation in his backside.
"Oh, oh, oh, it's burning again!"
"Ouch, no wonder! Oh my goodness! What should we do?"
The man in red was utterly bewildered. How could such a small cigarette butt be so stubborn?
Liu Sandao had used a minor spell. He didn't intend to burn him, just to teach him a lesson.
"Quick, take off your pants, it'll be fine!"
"Yes, yes, take off your pants quickly!"
Someone quickly agreed.
The man in red, after all, was a man in his late forties or early fifties. While he didn't care much about face, to take off his pants in broad daylight in front of so many people was truly embarrassing.
"Hurry and take them off! There's smoke again!"
A voice reminded him.
The man in red was completely flustered, no longer caring about his dignity. Saving his life was paramount!
He quickly took off his pants and threw them on the ground. He was wearing red briefs underneath, which indeed made the women around them turn away awkwardly.
"Excuse me, excuse me!"