Chapter 56: After Class, Come Into My Arms (54)

"Hey, are you mute or something? Lost your tongue?" The man’s face was dark with anger.

A Si had no intention of responding to him. She pondered, if she kicked him, would he die? How much force would it take to shut him up without killing him?

Every word that spilled from the man’s mouth was more vile than the last, nothing but curses.

"I'll tell you one more time, stop acting so full of yourself! Speak to me!"

At last, A Si lifted her head, her damp eyes fixed on the man.

The look sent a shiver through him.

"Oh," she replied, proving she wasn't mute.

She edged toward the side of the road, deciding it was better to walk across the scattered trash.

"Stop right there!"

By now, a crowd had gathered around, eager for a show.

Many in the crowd eyed A Si with lascivious glances. She was so small and soft, so easy to bully.

"What’s so great about Lu Yu's mother, huh? She was just a whore, the same as her! If she wants to sell herself, she’s just like her mother!"

"I offer money and she doesn’t want it. She provokes me, and when she does, she gets herself killed! Someone like her deserved what she got!"

The more he spoke, the more vicious he became, as if Lu Yu had murdered his entire family.

Every ugly word was thrown at Lu Yu.

A Si stopped and looked at him.

"You curse him."

"I never even cursed him," she said in a small, sorrowful voice.

The man shouted, self-righteous, "So what if I did—ah!"

Suddenly, a fist struck him in the face.

He clutched his cheek, astonished. He glanced around—everyone was watching.

Fury flared in him; he clenched his teeth and lunged at A Si, intent on teaching her a lesson.

The little girl stood by the roadside, her head slightly lifted, looking utterly defenseless.

As the man charged, everyone thought the girl was about to be beaten.

But she merely shifted aside.

The man, caught off guard, slipped on a rotten tomato someone had thrown earlier and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

The sound alone made people wince.

A Si crouched, her clean little hand grasping the man’s filthy arm.

With a gentle twist, there was a sharp crack.

"You—you—let go!"

"Apologize to him," she said.

"Let go… it hurts!"

A Si bowed her head, her expression cold and clear.

"Apologize to Lu Yu."

She twisted his arm again, and the man immediately begged for mercy.

"I was wrong, I shouldn’t have cursed him! I’m worthless!"

His arm was smeared with mud from the fall. A Si’s pale, delicate hand gripped it, now marked with dirty smudges.

"Don’t ever insult him again," she said, releasing her grip only after hearing his repeated pleas.

She stood up.

At her feet lay the hefty man, sprawled in the dirt.

Around her, the crowd still watched eagerly.

The sky was dim and overcast, the narrow alley growing darker and damper, the stench of rot thick in the air.

A Si lowered her head, drew a tissue from her pocket, and meticulously wiped each of her fingers clean.

In a soft, aggrieved voice, she declared, "No one is allowed to insult him."

Only A Si knew how much it pained her to hear others speak that way about Little White.

She didn’t care how much others cursed her.

She was a deity, a magnanimous one, above the quarrels of mortals.

But not when it came to Little White. No one could bully him—not even herself.