Using Marriage as Bait : Extra 8
Extra 8
Probably because the person was too good-looking, Xiao Wantang stared at him a little longer than usual. However, she quickly realized it wasn’t polite to keep staring, so she looked away and asked, “Why did they hit you?”
The boy acted as if he didn’t hear her. He glanced at her briefly, then lowered his head again.
“I’m talking to you! Why aren’t you answering?”
The boy slowly stood up and walked away from her. Feeling ignored, Xiao Wantang got a bit upset. She quickly ran to block his path, her chubby face putting on a deliberately serious expression. She said, “I just helped you, and you haven’t even thanked me.”
The boy didn’t spare her a glance and simply walked around her.
Zhang Minmin came over and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go back, Tangtang. The teacher is probably looking for us.”
Xiao Wantang pouted, feeling unhappy. She said, “Mom says it’s impolite not to say thank you when someone helps you.”
Zhang Minmin thought for a moment and said, “Maybe he’s mute.”
“Mute?”
“My mom says mute people can’t talk. There’s a mute person in my mom’s hometown who can’t talk.”
Xiao Wantang nodded. Oh, so he was mute? That sounded kind of pitiful. Alright, she decided to forgive him.
Kids had short memories. They quickly forgot about the incident after Xiao Wantang and Zhang Minmin returned. However, a group of older middle-class kids came looking for them.
Several boys stood in front of Tangtang. One taller boy asked, “Was it you who tricked us by saying the teacher was coming?”
Xiao Wantang was an honest child. Her mother had taught her not to lie. Even though the boys didn’t seem friendly, she admitted, “Yes, it was me. You were bullying someone with so many of you against one. You’re bad guys, and the teacher should know about it.”
The boy gave Xiao Wantang a push, and the soft little girl fell to the ground with a thud. The boy hadn’t expected her to fall so easily and was stunned.
Although Zhang Minmin was timid, seeing Tangtang bullied made her want to protect her friend. She rushed over, hugging Tangtang, and cried while saying, “Don’t bully her! Stop bullying her!”
The boys, being kids themselves, panicked when someone started crying. Tangtang, however, wasn’t scared at all. She got up, dusted herself off, and, with one arm around the crying Zhang Minmin, put on a fierce face and said to the boys, “If you dare bully me, I’ll tell my brother. He’s in first grade and super strong. He’ll beat you up so bad you won’t be able to get up.”
The boys, already scared, became even more so at the mention of an older brother. They quickly ran off.
After the boys left, Zhang Minmin noticed Xiao Wantang’s hand was scraped and bleeding a bit. Zhang Minmin’s tears welled up again.
“Tangtang’s hurt! Wahh!”
Xiao Wantang hid her hand behind her back and said nonchalantly, “It’s nothing, just a scratch.”
Being cheerful and optimistic, Xiao Wantang soon forgot about it—until she spotted her brother while playing games.
The teacher had taken them outside to play on the elementary school field. Xiao Wantang noticed her brother playing soccer on the field. Suddenly remembering her injury, she felt a wave of grievance.
She stopped playing and ran over to the soccer field.
Lu Chengmao heard a familiar voice and turned to see a little figure he recognized waving at him from outside the soccer field. The boy wiped the sweat from his forehead and ran toward his sister.
He was wearing a soccer jersey with the number "8" on it. The six- or seven-year-old boy's features had matured significantly compared to when he was younger. Although his face still retained the innocence of a child, his well-defined features already hinted at his handsome appearance.
Seeing her brother running toward her, Xiao Wantang’s unnoticed wound suddenly seemed to hurt more, and she felt even more upset.
When Lu Chengmao reached her, he was met with her red face and pouting lips, looking like she was about to cry.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Xiao Wantang held out her chubby hand, palm up, to show him the scrape. Seeing the red wound, Lu Chengmao’s expression darkened, showing a seriousness reminiscent of their father. “What happened?”
In front of her brother, Xiao Wantang was just a little child. Now that she was hurt, she wanted her brother's comfort.
“They pushed me.” Then she burst into tears and stretched her arms out. “Brother, hug me.”
Lu Chengmao, sweaty from playing soccer, said, “But I’m all sweaty.”
“Brother, hug me!” she demanded.
Her tearful insistence melted him, and he hugged her. Seeing her tears, he instinctively reached to wipe them but remembered his hands were dirty. He wiped his hands on his shirt before using the back of his hand to dry her tears.
“Who pushed you? Take me to them.”
Holding her brother’s hand, Xiao Wantang led him to the middle-class classroom. She scanned the room and pointed at a boy. “It’s him. He pushed me.”
The sudden appearance of the two had already caught the attention of the kindergarten kids, and the boy who had pushed Lu Wantang naturally noticed them as well.
The boy had been playing around with a few other boys, holding a glow stick in his hand. But the moment he saw the little girl he had pushed earlier and Lu Chengmao, who was clearly much taller than him, standing beside her, the smile on his face vanished instantly, and he timidly lowered the glow stick he had raised above his head.
“You, come here,” Lu Chengmao said.
Despite being only six or seven, he had inherited his father’s commanding presence, which was enough to intimidate younger kids.
The boy hesitated, then walked over with his head down. “Did you push my sister?” Lu Chengmiao demanded.
The boy, unwilling to lose face, defended himself. “She tricked us by saying the teacher was coming, so I pushed her.”
With her brother backing her up, Xiao Wantang wasn’t afraid at all. She quickly retorted, “It was clearly you all ganging up on someone first.” Scanning the classroom, she spotted the familiar boy, pointed in his direction, and said to Lu Chengmao, “Brother, they were bullying him. So many of them against just one—I saw it with my own eyes. That’s why I said the teacher was coming.”
The boy Xiao Watang mentioned looked up briefly, then went back to scribbling on his paper as if the conversation had nothing to do with him.
Lu Chengmiao showed the boy Xiao Wantang’s injured palm. “No matter what, you shouldn’t have hurt her.”
The boy, trying to keep his composure, began crying. “You’re bullying me! I’m telling the teacher!”
“Shut up!”
Lu Chengmao snapped, and the boy immediately quieted down.
Lu Chengmang continued, “Don't try that with me. Do you think I'll be afraid to deal with you just because you're crying?”
The little boy was quite self-aware; he knew he couldn't win against the "big friend" in front of him. Although he often liked to show off and bully others, he was also afraid of being beaten up.
He quickly wiped his tears and admitted defeat. Lowering his head, he quietly said to Lu Wantang, “I'm sorry for pushing you.”
Lu Chengmao turned to his sister and asked, “He apologized to you. Have you forgiven him? If not, it's okay. No matter how he bullies you, your brother will get back at him.”
Xiao Wantang wasn't the type of girl who liked to hold grudges. She thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “Mm, I've forgiven him.”
Since his sister had forgiven him, Lu Chengmao didn't say anything more. He gave the boy a cold look and said, “You'd better behave yourself. This time, my sister forgave you, so I'll let it go. But if you dare bully her again, I won't go easy on you.”
The little boy shrank back, his body trembling. He muttered, “I-I understand.”
Only then did Lu Chengmao take his sister and leave.
After Lu Chengmao left, the little boy felt embarrassed and took out his frustration by smashing the glow stick against the doorframe a few times. This scared all the other children in the class into silence.
However, one boy slowly walked up to him.
The glow stick had broken, and the little boy gritted his teeth, panting. When he suddenly saw the person in front of him, he shook his fist and said, “Get lost! Do you want to get beaten up, Jiang Zhouming?”
The boy named Jiang Zhouming was the one Lu Wantang had seen being surrounded and beaten by a group of children earlier. He stood expressionless in front of the little boy, and to everyone's surprise, he suddenly raised his foot and kicked the boy in the stomach. The boy was sent stumbling backward and hit his head against the wall, causing blood to spill out. The other children were immediately frightened and burst into tears, some even running to tell the teacher.
Jiang Zhouming remained standing in front of him, expressionless and cold-eyed. The little boy, who had never expected the person he had been bullying to fight back, was shocked. The boy who had just been acting so tough with the glow stick now seemed either frightened by Jiang Zhouming's expression or in pain from the kick. He immediately burst into tears.
The Lu siblings, who had already left, were unaware of what had happened afterward. Lu Chengmao took his sister to the small convenience store and bought a band-aid for her. Seeing the lollipops on the counter, he remembered his sister loved sweets and decided to buy one for her as well.
After paying, Lu Chengmao unwrapped the candy and handed it to his sister. Lu Wantang happily took it, saying, “Thank you, brother.”
As she ate the candy, Lu Chengmao asked her to extend her hand. He carefully applied the band-aid to her wound.
“Let's just put a band-aid on it for now. When we get home, Mom can take care of it.”
“Okay.”
Afterward, Lu Chengmao took his sister back to the classroom.
“Go inside. Mom will come to pick you up soon.”
Just before leaving, Xiao Wantang suddenly hugged him tightly. Lu Chengmao looked down at her small head and asked, “Is there anything else?”
Xiao Wantang smiled at her brother. “I really like you, brother. Do you like me a lot too?”
Lu Chengmao smiled and gently ruffled her hair. He quickly agreed, “Mm, brother will like you a lot.”
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