Shen Chuyun stepped out of the crowd. In his hand was a thick tree branch, on which there was still a faint trace of red blood.
He looked disgusted. At such a young age, one could already see the obvious resistance on his face.
"Good - for - nothing girl! What are you doing here? Do you deliberately want to embarrass me!"
Shen Chuyun had been taught by his mother to beat and scold Shen Qing. He never called her elder sister but always referred to her as the "good - for - nothing girl".
Especially after the kids in the village knew that Shen Qing had been betrothed to the old lame man at the village entrance, the ridicule, big and small, had never stopped. This made him loathe Shen Qing even more.
Shen Qing sniffled. Not wanting to argue with the other kids, she said in a low voice, "It's going to rain. Mother told me to call you home."
The surrounding kids' eyes fell on Shen Qing, filled with ridicule, sympathy, or a desire to watch a show. All these looks made Shen Qing feel extremely uncomfortable.
Shen Chuyun looked at Shen Qing impatiently. "Can't you speak louder? I can't even hear what you're saying!"
"Alright, stop being an eyesore. You go back first. I'll go home after I'm done here."
After saying that, he turned around, raised the wooden stick, and whipped the little boy who was lying on the ground, curled up.
The other kids also mocked, "Come on, wife of the lame man. Hurry up and get out of here!"
"That's right! You already smell like that old lame man. It's so disgusting. Don't come near us!"
The boys' malicious words kept hitting Shen Qing. The other girls also disliked Shen Qing for being about to marry the old lame man. They truly despised her from the bottom of their hearts.
Children's feelings are very pure, whether it's goodness or evil.
So, when they develop ill - will towards someone, it's just pure malice.
Shen Qing's eyes were red. She wanted to refute that she wasn't the old lame man's wife, but she was afraid that if she said the wrong thing, Shen Chuyun would tell their mother, and she would get beaten again.
She shuffled her feet and didn't dare to go home first. Instead, she walked to the side, planning to wait for Shen Chuyun to finish and go back with him.
Seeing Shen Qing lingering around, Shen Chuyun glared at her disgustedly and then continued what he was doing.
A group of them surrounded a thin and small boy, scolding and beating him. Shen Qing knew that this boy had just moved to Xiaolin Village.
His parents were both crazy. His father often had fits and would beat his wife and son. As time passed, the kids in the village knew that he had no one to rely on, so they would gang up to bully him.
This boy's name was Li Xian.
Shen Qing didn't meet Li Xian often. It was either when Li Xian was being beaten or when she was on her way to pick matsutake mushrooms.
Li Xian's pupils were a light amber color. The kids thought that Li Xian was a monster in disguise and beat him under the guise of justice.
Seeing Li Xian beaten black and blue by Shen Chuyun's thick wooden stick, Shen Qing felt a bit不忍.
"Brother, stop beating him. He's already injured. If you keep beating him, he might die."
Seeing that Li Xian didn't cry out in pain, Shen Chuyun lost interest. He threw the wooden stick hard at Li Xian, then walked over and pushed Shen Qing to the ground. "What? Do you want to save him?"
"Mother is right. You're just a little slut. You want to stick to every boy you see. You're just as unlucky as this little monster!"
After saying that, Shen Chuyun ignored the fallen Shen Qing and ran straight home.
When the other kids saw Shen Chuyun leave, they lost their fun and gradually went home one by one.
Shen Qing grimaced as she picked out the small stones from her palm. Then she stood up, walked up to Li Xian, hesitated for a moment, and still helped him up.
"How are you? Are you okay?"
"My brother has been spoiled by mother. He hurt you. As his elder sister, I'm sorry for him. Let me take you home."
Li Xian remained silent. When Shen Qing helped him up, she found that Li Xian was actually a head taller than her.
Because of their injuries, both of them walked unsteadily. Li Xian seemed to be deflating as he leaned most of his body weight on Shen Qing.
Fortunately, Shen Qing often went up the mountain and was quite strong, so she could barely support Li Xian and walk forward.
Along the way, the rain was pattering down. Their bodies were covered with water droplets, and their clothes were getting wet.
Shen Qing's clothes were originally hand - me - downs and were much too big. After getting wet, they became even heavier.
"Can't you stand up straight and walk? You're too heavy. I can hardly walk anymore."
Shen Qing's voice still had the childishness of a child. Because of her grievance, the tip of her nose was red, and there was a bit of a sob in her tone.
Li Xian straightened up awkwardly. Knowing that his behavior just now was a bit childish, he said awkwardly, "Your brother has bullied me more than once. As his elder sister, you have to atone for his sins."
Shen Qing looked at Li Xian in surprise. "I didn't know you could talk. Your voice is so nice. I thought you were mute."
It was no wonder Shen Qing thought so. Since Li Xian moved to the village, whether he was beaten or ridiculed, he never said a word. So the people in the village all thought he was a little mute.
"Of course I can talk. I just don't want to talk to them."
Shen Qing suddenly became a bit curious. "Then why do you want to talk to me?"
Li Xian's amber eyes looked at Shen Qing. The bruises on her body, the blue and purple marks, were exactly the same as those on his.
"We... are the same kind..."
Shen Qing tilted her head. "The same kind?"
Li Xian pointed at the bruises on both of them, with a bit of self - mockery on his lips. "We're both unloved by our parents and often bullied. Aren't we the same kind?"
Shen Qing suddenly understood. She looked up into Li Xian's eyes.
Those light - colored eyes seemed familiar, making Shen Qing feel as if she had seen these beautiful eyes a long time ago.
"Have we met before?"
Li Xian shook his head in confusion. "I just moved here. Where could I have met you?"
Shen Qing pouted and didn't respond anymore.
Since it was Shen Chuyun who injured Li Xian, Shen Qing first took Li Xian back to his home.
Although Li Xian's parents were not normal, they had built a nice house. At least the roof didn't leak, and there was a small open space in front of the house with some small vegetable seedlings planted. There was also a chicken coop beside it with some chicks.
When they got home, Li Xian's body suddenly tensed up. He nervously looked into the house. When he heard the familiar arguing sound from inside, his lips tightened.
"I don't want to go home."
"They're arguing again. If I go in now, I'll get beaten."
Shen Qing understood Li Xian's situation. She turned to him and said, "In that case, come to my home first. With our parents around, Shen Chuyun won't dare to beat you."
Li Xian thought for a while and nodded.
But when they were almost at Shen Qing's home, from a distance, Shen Qing saw her father carrying a wine flask, staggering drunk towards home.
Shen Qing instantly became nervous.
"Forget it. I'll get beaten if I go home too. Let's just elope."