A Night of Peril and Discovery

Tong Tong was on the verge of despair. Just a few days ago, she had divorced her husband. She could still recall the ugly expression on his face as he signed the divorce papers and the harsh words he spat out: “If I can’t have you, no one else will. I’ll destroy you. Haha—”

Today, her best friend had invited her over for a drink to drown her sorrows. Tong Tong hadn’t intended to drink, but unable to resist her friend’s persistent coaxing, she had a few glasses. She still remembered how her friend’s boyfriend had looked at her—naked, undisguised lust. Before she left, he had even offered to see her home, but of course she refused. He had cursed, “Aren’t you just a slut for everyone? Stop pretending to be so pure.”

Little did she know that after stepping out, she would run into this situation. Only now did she realize she didn’t have a single true friend. Men were indeed worthless.

Tong Tong felt her strength draining away. A stinky, sweat-soaked vest was stuffed into her mouth. No matter how she screamed, all that came out were muffled sobs. The man on top of her tore at her clothes with increasing force.

She was in utter despair. Two streams of tears silently slid down her face. A feeling of deathly sorrow spread through her body.

Suddenly, the man let out a scream and rolled to the ground. Before Tong Tong could react, she saw a young boy raise something in his hand and smash it hard against the man’s knee, then kick him in the groin. The man who had almost taken everything from her didn’t even have time for a second scream before fainting from pain. Then another boy, with a somewhat delicate and pretty face, rushed forward, swinging a baseball bat and striking the man fiercely.

Tong Tong stared blankly at the scene. Her mind hadn’t yet adjusted from such a drastic shift from despair to hope.

“Are you alright?”

The dim streetlight faintly illuminated the scene. Her black shirt was torn open, revealing the soft, white fullness of her chest, the deep cleavage fully exposed through the missing buttons. Qin An sighed softly, took off his jacket, and draped it over the woman. “Get up first,” he said gently.

Little Tyrant stared straight at Tong Tong’s chest, even comparing with his own hand, then patted his own chest and let out a deep sigh.

“Alright, Little Tyrant, let’s go!”

“That’s it?”

“What else do you want?”

“Fine.” Little Tyrant smacked his lips, seeming a bit dissatisfied.

“Hey—” Tong Tong let out a soft cry as she came to her senses.

She quickly looked up. The long alley was cold and empty. Where were the teenagers? Only then did she realize she hadn’t even said thank you, nor did she know the names of her saviors…

Tong Tong felt a special smell coming from the jacket on her.

On the silent street, under the yellowish streetlights, two desolate figures walked slowly.

“So cold…” Qin An regretted giving his jacket to that woman. Was it because he was afraid of being troubled by her ‘century-level weapon’?

Qin An rubbed his little hands vigorously, trying to warm them up. Little Tyrant noticed his discomfort, took off his own jacket, and draped it over Qin An. Even that seemed not enough, so he put his baseball cap on Qin An’s head as well.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” Little Tyrant gave a bright smile. But at that moment, in a brightly lit residential building nearby, an aunt opened her window, and without checking if anyone was below, poured out a basin of dirty water. Unlucky Little Tyrant took the full hit, while lucky Qin An didn’t get a single drop.

“Damn it, shit, hell…”

Little Tyrant launched into a stream of curses, scaring the aunt so much that she thought some street thugs were loitering near her home. She quickly shut the window.

“Do you want to go home first?” Qin An asked Little Tyrant, who was now soaked like a drowned rat.

“Absolutely not. If I go back like this, my mom will beat me to death.”

“But you’ll catch a cold like this.”

Little Tyrant looked at his dirty body, frowned, and took Qin An’s hand. “Let me take you to another nice place.”

Qin An lay by the lakeside, a blade of grass between his teeth. A campfire crackled beside him.

Who knew a simple outing would turn into this?

The lake was as bright as a polished mirror. Countless fireflies flickered, floating over the lush grass by the shore, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

Dark, dense forest surrounded them, deathly silent. Only this spot glowed with light, bathed in moonlight, like a paradise. Qin An had no idea how Little Tyrant had found it.

Little Tyrant’s clothes were drying by the fire. Qin An accidentally caught a glimpse of his underwear—it was pink. No mistake!

Little Tyrant emitted a scent that could be called ‘body odor’, though Qin An thought ‘sweat stink’ was more accurate! The suspicion in Qin An’s mind grew more plausible, but he never expected the answer to come so suddenly.

Just as Qin An was grumbling that Little Tyrant was taking too long in the bath, he heard something approaching.

“Crunch, crunch—”

The sound of footsteps on dry twigs and leaves.

Qin An warily looked around and saw pairs of ruby-like eyes emerging from the darkness.

“Ah—” Little Tyrant screamed. Qin An’s heart leaped into his throat. He grabbed a burning branch from the fire.

Little Tyrant ran out of the lake, dripping wet, heading toward the campfire.

Qin An stood dumbfounded, watching Little Tyrant run. The bandages on his chest came loose from the violent movement, revealing—a chest. And not just any chest, but one with a slight swell. His gaze moved downward, to that forbidden place…

But Qin An had no time to think. Little Tyrant hid behind him, her body trembling with fear. Now, tentatively, he could be called ‘she’.

With low growls, ferocious wolves emerged from the darkness one by one, their cold, sinister eyes fixed on the two.

Qin An slightly crouched, ready to fight. Little Tyrant stared at the approaching wolves and stammered, “Wolves? How can there be wolves?”

“Escaped from the zoo.” Qin An suddenly remembered a news report he had casually seen.

What rotten luck. Qin An felt his fortune had hit rock bottom. Everything happened to him.

First a pervert, now real wolves—and hungry ones at that, with 100% added ferocity.

About two meters in front of them, the eight wolves seemed to sense a great threat. They assumed attack postures, baring their fangs and slowly advancing with more caution.

“Xiao Anzi, you run. I’ll… hold them off… sob…” she said, then started crying softly. “I saw this kind of wolf at the zoo before. Back then, it killed a person!”

Qin An didn’t speak. He lowered his body further, holding the torch in front of him. The wolves stopped abruptly about a meter away, emitting extremely dangerous signals. Thick, transparent saliva dripped from their mouths, forming ever-widening puddles on the ground.

Animals are far more sensitive to danger than humans. Perhaps intimidated by Qin An’s killing intent, or perhaps instinctively afraid of fire, the two humans and eight wolves faced off.

“Close your eyes quickly.” Little Tyrant hastily shut her eyes, her eyelashes still trembling slightly, tears gathered in the corners. She had an inexplicable trust in Qin An, but her body never stopped shaking. It was the first time she felt death so close.

In a calm tone, Qin An extended his right hand toward the wolf’s nose. The wolf, despite its growling, actually stepped back half a step. Qin An swung the torch in his left hand, sparks flying, and the wolves retreated another half step.

The wolves’ blood-red eyes fixed on Qin An. His gaze was cold and icy, like a frozen abyss, devoid of any vitality—a terrifying chasm that could devour all souls and hope.

Qin An had no kingly aura, but the murderous intent he emitted was tangible, cold enough to freeze the air, sending chills. The wolves felt it too.

Time ticked by.

The atmosphere was taut like a bowstring about to snap.

The wolves growled a few times, then suddenly became fierce, as if ready to fight to the death. Qin An’s fierceness intensified. With a whimper, the wolves turned and fled, ultimately not daring to confront him head-on. Only after they disappeared into the darkness did Qin An let out a long sigh and collapse limply to the ground. “Thank goodness, they finally ran away.”

“Why did they run?”

Little Tyrant’s legs were still trembling, her eyes full of disbelief.

Qin An turned his head and said, “Probably because they ate their fill somewhere else. Or maybe they thought we tasted bad.”

“You’re the one who tastes bad!” she retorted in a coquettish voice, her expression at that moment indescribably charming.

Qin An scanned her body again: wheat-colored skin, a half-loli figure, but still young with plenty of room to grow.

“Xiao Anzi, you pervert.”

Xiao Anzi got hit on the head, and his jacket and cap fell off.

Under the brilliant starlight, she turned and ran to a swing further away and sat down.

Qin An followed and gently pushed the swing.

A cool breeze blew. The girl’s hair swayed with the swing. Her two slender legs were more captivating than the moonlight, tracing beautiful arcs in the air.

Seeing that Qin An remained silent, quietly pushing her, she finally turned to glance at him.

Qin An smiled and continued to push gently.

After a while, she kicked her legs and frowned at Qin An.

Qin An grinned. “Hello, I’m Qin An. Qin of the Qin state, An of peace. Male, thirteen years old.”

She smiled playfully. “Hello to you too. I’m Wang Luoran. Wang of prince, Luo of jade pendant, Ran of ‘then’. Female, also thirteen years old.”

Many years later, would that boy called Xiao Anzi still remember the neighbor girl who was even more handsome and dashing than any boy?