Chapter 3: Is Xiao Fu Bao Disliked? The Whole City Loves Me With Their Lives
Chapter 3: Feng Xuanrui
Suisui blinked her eyes hard, and when her vision cleared, she realized that the figure ahead was indeed a person.
The one who fell was a young boy. Although the hillside wasn't very steep, the fall was still painful enough. After falling, the boy groaned a few times and then began to curse, "What a lousy mountain path! Blocking my way? I'll have it flattened when I get back!"
"And this stupid rock? It hurt my foot! I'll have it crushed when I get back!"
The boy continued to curse as he tried to stand up, but the excruciating pain knocked him down again.
Tears welled up in the boy's eyes as he tried to maintain his composure, but the pain was too much to bear. Then, he noticed Suisui, who was staring at him with her big, watery eyes.
The boy swallowed the curses he was about to shout and tried to straighten his face, pretending he was okay.
Feng Xuanrui thought, "I'm a man; a little injury can't bring me down, right?" His eyes, round and full of tears, told another story.
Feng Xuanrui thought the pain wouldn't defeat him, but it certainly could make him cry!
"Ow ow! Is my foot broken?" Feng Xuanrui looked at Suisui, then at his foot again. It didn't look different, so why did it hurt so much?
Suisui was thrilled when she realized it was a person, and the system was equally relieved. It had been worried sick! It had almost filed multiple complaints to the main system. "Couldn't they provide some protection? My young ward is so little!"
Feng Xuanrui's smooth actions startled Suisui. But being so young and without anyone teaching her about the differences between boys and girls, she didn't know it was inappropriate to stare. When she saw the boy's injured foot, Suisui's eyes widened in concern. She wanted to speak, but her mouth was still gagged, so she could only lower her head in frustration.
They were no more than three meters apart, and Feng Xuanrui, with his sharp eyes, noticed Suisui's every move from the corner of his eye. At first, he didn't plan to pay her any mind.
But then, he thought... he was lost, separated from his servants, and had no idea where he was. He needed a local to help him find his way.
With this thought, Feng Xuanrui raised his chin arrogantly and asked, "Are you from around here?"
"Local? What does that mean?" Suisui didn't understand and looked at Feng Xuanrui with a confused expression.
Her response annoyed Feng Xuanrui. He instinctively lifted his foot to kick, only to hit the injured one.
The pain curled him up like a shrimp, but it brought him closer to Suisui. And then, Feng Xuanrui smelled something on Suisui.
She had spent the whole morning in a chicken coop, so the smell was... indescribable. Suisui, who usually slept in the woodshed or a doghouse, was used to it and didn't find it offensive. But for the pampered young master of a princely family, this smell was a direct assault on his senses!
Feng Xuanrui instinctively recoiled. Then, noticing the ropes tied around Suisui, the gag in her mouth, and her blood-stained face, his expression softened with a hint of sympathy.
Suisui, still looking at him with those clear, bright eyes, was as pure as a calm, crystal-clear lake. Feng Xuanrui, feeling strangely compelled by this gaze, reached out and removed the gag from her mouth.
Realizing what he'd done, Feng Xuanrui immediately started shaking his hand in disgust, "Ah! What a filthy thing! How can you smell so bad? Are you a little beggar?"
The little lord, who had never seen real suffering, assumed that only a beggar could smell like this.
Hearing him say that, Suisui thought for a moment. Her uncle's family didn't want her anymore, so she'd soon be wandering on her own—almost like a beggar. She obediently nodded, "Yes, I am, brother."
The word "brother" came out soft and sweet, like a cloud of sweetness floating through the heart.
The words of mockery Feng Xuanrui had planned to say were swallowed back down. He sat there awkwardly, wanting to speak but not finding the right words. Especially when looking into Suisui's pure eyes, he was at a loss for words. Finally, all he could manage was a muttered, "No wonder you smell so bad."
After he spoke, he noticed that Suisui was still tied up. Dragging his injured foot, he managed to maneuver himself closer to Suisui. Under her surprised gaze, he began to untie the rope. Not being familiar with ropes, Feng Xuanrui got his hands pricked by the small thorns on the hemp, making him roll his eyes in frustration, thinking, "What kind of heartless person would tie up a child like a pig and leave them here?"
If they didn't want her, he would take her!
He knew how desperately his family longed for a daughter. Especially his father, who would light up like a Christmas tree at the mention of a cute little girl. His grandmother even considered calling in a shaman to help.
Once the ropes were undone, Feng Xuanrui noticed the crisscrossing scars on Suisui's exposed skin. Some were fresh, clearly made in the last few days.
Seeing this, Feng Xuanrui's eyes reddened with anger, and he yelled, "Who did this?"
"Who dared to hurt such a cute little girl?" he thought, his fury boiling over.
Feng Xuanrui's outburst frightened Suisui, who instinctively shrank back, her voice trembling with fear as she answered, "My uncle and aunt."
"Uncle? And your parents? Didn't they care?" Feng Xuanrui's anger surged.
"I don't have parents," Suisui whispered, lowering her head.
The curses on the tip of Feng Xuanrui's tongue died. He felt like an angry rooster with nowhere to vent his rage, so he stomped his foot—only to hurt himself again.
"Ow ow!" The pain shot through him as his injured foot collided with a rock, making him yelp.
Suisui, startled, crawled over to him on her knees, anxiously asking, "Brother, what's wrong?"
"Are you hurt, brother?"
"Suisui will make it better; don't cry, brother."
The soft, sweet "brother" soothed all of Feng Xuanrui's pain.
At that moment, he began to understand his father's obsession. Who wouldn't want a sweet, caring little sister?
But...
Feng Xuanrui gently touched Suisui's dry, brittle, unevenly cut hair, as if a dog had chewed on it, and said with a heavy tone, "Suisui, you’d be perfect if you smelled nicer."
**"Brother arrived before the Grim Reaper."**
—Suisui's Journal
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