An Unexpected Kindness

“Yage, your meals are so rich, and the dishes are different every day. Did your mother make them?”

Qin Yage shook her head. “It’s me…”

The little girl named Dongfang Kelian patted Qin Yage on the shoulder, a strange smile on her face. “So you made them yourself. Ya Ya, you’re too perfect—cute and capable. In a few years, those idiots will definitely be buzzing around you all day. You need to learn how to shoo away flies!”

“Uh… well…”

“It’s okay. I’ll protect you from now on. I won’t let those stinky men take you away, because Yage, you’re just too adorable.” Dongfang Kelian was precocious; saying such things didn’t make her blush or her heart race. In a corner of the world Qin An knew nothing about, a quiet seed of affection had been planted. Whether it would bloom was still unknown.

What’s big brother’s is little sister’s, and what’s little sister’s is still little sister’s. Big brother surely wouldn’t mind such a small matter. She wondered what time he had gotten up to make breakfast. It seemed he went running early with that vixen Wang. How infuriating.

Qin Yage buried her head in her meal, as if taking out her anger on the food. What made her most angry was her brother. Tonight, he had to organize the library. She heard the teacher had ordered it and he couldn’t refuse. And he had even used five lollipops as a bribe, asking her to go home first. Lollipops or her brother—what a difficult choice!

After school, Qin An arrived at the library as scheduled. The school library was small, with few new books; most were yellowed old tomes.

The class monitor, Huang Jiajun, who was supposed to clean the library with Qin An, was absent. This was about what Qin An had expected. After all, when did Miss Huang ever have time for library work? She was always busy submitting reports and complaints!

Qin An picked up a feather duster and began to tidy the library. First, he dusted everything, then moved and sorted the books. By the time he was panting from exhaustion, the library was in order. Of course, the teacher wouldn’t make him work for nothing; he gave Qin An great privileges, like borrowing many books at once. There weren’t really any good books in this tiny library, but Qin An still grabbed a few Japanese manga to take home.

Just as Qin An was about to lock the library door, he heard a cry for help: “Help!”

Following the sound, he found under a big tree a sack squirming like a maggot. Qin An crouched down. If he didn’t untie it soon, the person inside might suffocate.

The first thing he saw was a yellow shirt, then her face. Wasn’t this the busybody Huang Jiajun?

“Cough… cough…” Bruised and battered, Huang Jiajun crawled slowly out of the sack, clutching innocent blades of grass, grinding her teeth. “Those bastards, sooner or later I’ll make them pay.”

Huang Jiajun’s pretty little face was only a bit dirty, but other parts weren’t so lucky; her hands and feet were black and blue in many places.

“Right, I need to go tell the teacher first.” Huang Jiajun struggled with all her might to get up from the ground.

Qin An thought the class monitor would be grateful to him, maybe not offering her body, but at least giving some reward for saving her life—like not causing him trouble anymore, or exempting him from homework checks.

Huang Jiajun used a Herculean effort to stand, but she wobbled as she walked. With a stumble, she let out an “Ah!” and fell forward.

Qin An wasn’t about to let her fall flat on her face. He caught her just in time, neither taking advantage of her nor letting her take advantage of him.

Huang Jiajun was so angry she could have ground her silver teeth to dust, looking like an injured tigress.

“Qin An, go tell the teacher quickly! Chen Dayong, Li Qing… and others… they beat me up.”

Huang Jiajun listed off a few of the school’s rich delinquents, many from families with power equal to or slightly less than the Huang family. It seemed her usual behavior had finally caught up with her, but she didn’t seem to realize it.

“It’s useless.”

“What’s useless? If I tell the teacher, he’ll punish them for sure.”

It appeared Comrade Huang Jiajun still didn’t understand how unreliable the teachers could be. Comrade Qin An felt it necessary to teach her a lesson.

“Forget it, if you won’t go, I will! Get out of my way!”

“Go ahead!” Qin An let go of her hands. Good intentions, no reward—why bother?

“Ah!”

Without Qin An’s support, Huang Jiajun lost her balance and fell flat on her face.

“Why didn’t you hold me up!”

“Didn’t you tell me to get out of the way?”

“You… all of you bully me!” Huang Jiajun’s nose stung and her eyes swelled. Today was just terrible. She had planned to report to the homeroom teacher about those bad guys lifting girls’ skirts and even forcibly kissing a girl, but the old man had avoided her. Then she had planned to go organize the library, but instead got ambushed here. Those bastards had no idea how to treat a lady. Luckily, she had protected her face, or she wouldn’t dare show it tomorrow, and her father would scold her harshly at home.

And then there was this idiot, who wouldn’t cooperate with her at all. In front of that An Qi, he was like a lapdog. Hmph!

Suddenly, Huang Jiajun glanced at Qin An and saw him opening his old schoolbag, as if looking for something. Seeing his travel-worn appearance, she paused. Today, they were supposed to clean the library together. She didn’t need to think to know he had done it all alone. The normally over-responsible Huang Jiajun felt a twinge of guilt.

Qin An’s bag contained gauze, alcohol, liniment, ointment, cotton—basically a medicine kit. Whenever the Little Tyrant got hurt, he treated her immediately. Qin An had become a full-time nanny.

He didn’t expect to use it twice in one day. Qin An sighed inwardly. In his previous life as a killer, he had suffered no shortage of injuries, and he was more than qualified as a surgeon.

Qin An rolled up Huang Jiajun’s pant leg. She asked timidly, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not after your body. Just treating your wounds. It wouldn’t be good if they got infected.”

“Ah… it hurts!” Huang Jiajun whimpered. Spoiled and pampered, she had never endured such pain. At first, she thought Qin An was getting revenge, but then a cool sensation spread over her wounds, and she realized she had misunderstood him again.

Watching this little boy bow his head and apply medicine to her, Huang Jiajun felt a strange sensation. She couldn’t name it, but her eyes grew moist, and she wanted to cry.

This was the first time someone had been so good to her. Not her father, not her brother, not even the servants—everyone seemed to be just going through the motions, busy with their own affairs. No one had ever treated her like this, except her deceased mother…

“I’ll make those guys pay!” Huang Jiajun had just snapped out of that touching scene when she was engulfed by the flames of revenge.

“You still want revenge? I think you should forget it.”

“What!” Huang Jiajun seemed to have heard something that almost never happened in this world. Forget it? Was she joking? There was no way she would let this slide. They could be vicious to flowers, so why couldn’t she be vicious to grass? And were they even grass? A pile of scum.

“How do you plan to get revenge?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet. I’ll plan slowly when I get home.”

“Start planning now.”

“Well…”

“Don’t tell me it’s another tattletale report to the homeroom teacher!”

Caught, Huang Jiajun’s pretty face flushed, and she said defiantly, “So what if it is!”

“Do you think that method works? Don’t you see that the next day they’re still bouncing around, acting like rich brats? And you keep tattling to the homeroom teacher. He’s afraid of the Huang family’s power, but he’s also scared of the other families. You’re putting him in a difficult position. I think he fears you just as much as he fears those delinquents.”

“…”

“You act like a crusader against delinquents, bullying families weaker than the Huangs. Aren’t you just another bully yourself? You’re just hiding behind a ‘good person’ facade. Stop tattling so much. It makes you hated. Many people in the class are only smiling at you out of fear of the Huang family’s influence. Without the Huangs, you’d have been dead hundreds or thousands of times by now.”

“You…”

Though angry, Huang Jiajun had nothing to say.

“And those guys who attacked you this time—their families have power comparable to the Huangs. Together, they’re enough to make the Huangs back off. Even your dad would probably have a headache for a while.” Qin An didn’t spell it out. He didn’t want to hurt the little girl’s feelings too much.

These were things Huang Jiajun had never considered. She just thought those people were too hateful. She had become class monitor and captain of the Young Pioneers; it was her duty to correct the school’s atmosphere.

“Then… what should I do?” Huang Jiajun asked shyly. It was the first time she had ever asked someone for advice.

“Ah… be gentle.”

“If you want your classmates to respect you, you don’t have to use force or tattle. Smile more at them. When you have free time, ask about their difficulties. For example, if someone’s family is struggling, you can organize a charity donation in the class, or lend them some money.”

“Can’t I just give them money directly?”

“Poor people have pride too. If you throw a wad of cash at them, they won’t thank you; they’ll resent you, thinking you’re insulting them.”

“I see.”

“It’s easy to get into the girls’ circle because you have common topics, but they might not welcome you now. Take it slow, be approachable, and occasionally give small gifts.”

“Like LV bags?”

“Are you stupid? I said small gifts. Preferably something worth a couple of yuan, no more than ten. Otherwise, they’ll think you’re showing off, and they’ll only distance themselves more.”

“As for those rich brats—come on, what they do isn’t even real delinquency. They just play pranks every day. They’re still in the larval stage. If you keep pushing them, they’ll eventually become true delinquents.”

“Oh!” Huang Jiajun suddenly understood. She had been doing everything wrong. But Qin An was amazing. He no longer seemed like the guy who just daydreamed; he felt like her father, or even more capable.

Qin An showed an expression of “the child can be taught.” “Finally, you have money. During holidays, you can organize class trips. I think even the teachers would be willing.”

“Alright, leave the rest to your family doctor.” Qin An clapped his hands and stood up, adding band-aids to her more serious injuries.

“That’s it?” Huang Jiajun felt a bit unsatisfied. She suddenly wondered why she hadn’t been hurt more, but such a stupid thought made her chuckle despite herself.

“Call your family to pick you up!” Seeing Huang Jiajun still sitting blankly on the ground, Qin An felt a sense of frustration. Maybe that “child can be taught” feeling was just an illusion.

Cell phones were still high-end items back then, but for a young lady like Huang Jiajun, they were ordinary goods.

“My phone’s dead. But they should be at the gate to pick me up now,” Huang Jiajun said, glancing at the sun, which was half-hidden. She didn’t bother to check if the phone was really dead.

“Oh. When it gets dark, they’ll probably come looking for you. I’ll go now. Bye, class monitor.”

“You… damn it, Qin An, get back here!” Huang Jiajun was on the verge of tears again. Was being with her that unbearable?

“What else, class monitor? I’m a busy man too. I just finished cleaning the library, and now I have to go home and cook.”

“Carry me on your back. Can’t you see I can’t walk?”

“As the saying goes, ‘propriety dictates that men and women maintain physical distance.’ Class monitor, that wouldn’t be appropriate.” Qin An politely refused.

“If you don’t carry me, tomorrow I’ll go to school and spread the word that you bully girls and are a beast in human clothing.”

Qin An felt a headache coming on. He should have minded his own business and let her get herself killed.

Huang Jiajun wasn’t heavy. With his months of training, Qin An managed easily.

Feeling the boy’s body warmth, Huang Jiajun felt shy. As a class monitor, she felt like she was breaking the rules she herself enforced.

“Miss, what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine. Let’s go home first.”

“Yes, miss.”

“Thank you for today, Qin An.”

“Just a small favor. If you really want to thank me, just don’t throw chalk at me in class and don’t tattle on me to the homeroom teacher.”

Huang Jiajun smiled radiantly. For a moment, her charm made Qin An’s mind go blank, but he quickly recovered. He wasn’t a pervert who liked twelve- or thirteen-year-old girls. It was just that Huang Jiajun usually wore a cold expression, as if everyone owed her money. Now, she suddenly broke into a smile, especially with her two dimples. Her eyes were crystal clear and pure, her small nose slightly upturned like a mischievous little girl’s, and the smile at the corners of her lips seemed like an unending bud, silently exuding an intoxicating fragrance. The contrast gave Qin An a fleeting glimpse of beauty.

“Those dimples are really cute.”

Just a simple sentence made Huang Jiajun’s face flush red. She quickly ducked into the car, inhaling deeply, clutching her chest to calm down. Then she touched the things on her face that only appeared when she smiled—what people called a “flawed beauty.” Because of them, Huang Jiajun usually remained expressionless. On one hand, it was for the dignity of the class monitor; on the other, she didn’t want to be isolated. After all, few people had dimples. Children always wanted to conform—they wanted what others had, and when they had something others didn’t, they felt left out.

Did he mean she should smile more? Huang Jiajun forced another stiff smile, looked at herself in the mirror, and was instantly overwhelmed by embarrassment. Her face was probably hot enough to boil an egg.

The bodyguard looked at the unusual young miss, puzzled. Was she sick? But he didn’t dare say anything; he was just an employee.

As Qin An watched the black BMW disappear from sight, he felt a weight on his back and a pain in his neck. Some creature had wrapped around his body like an octopus.