SC Chapter24

The sun came out after the rain, and the weather improved with each passing day.

Since the day Xiao Ning slammed the table for his son, the chubby boys had looked at Xiao Yuan with eyes full of envy and admiration. In the children’s eyes, the stern Uncle Xiao Ning, whose hand could shatter a table and whose strength could lift a tripod, was truly remarkable. The children still liked to gather around Xiao Yuan, but they no longer dared to reach out and pinch his round cheeks.

Compared to the minor conflicts among children that come and go quickly, adults are only happy to put gossip on their lips and chew it over and over with others. For instance, the young man Xiao Ning, who sells flatbreads, adopted Xiao Yuan as his son, and for instance, Shen Yunjie’s belly, which grew bigger day by day, all became the after-dinner gossip of neighbors near and far. Some people were jealous that Xiao Ning just happened to gain a gentle and considerate beauty, while others envied Shen Yunjie for being able to rely on a handsome and capable flatbread seller.

No matter how others gossiped, Xiao Ning just minded his own business. After resting quietly for more than a month, Shen Yunjie refused to stay in bed any longer and often stood beside Xiao Ning to help. Those who came and went to buy flatbreads could all see this couple; one kneading the dough, one cooking the flatbreads. The one kneading the dough had a handsome appearance, and the one cooking the flatbreads had an elegant and refined bearing. Even if flour stuck to their bodies and oil dropped on them, they still looked as beautiful as a scene. Naturally, more and more people gathered to buy flatbreads, and the business also became quite prosperous.

Every day before evening approached, Xiao Ning would take the cloth from Shen Yunjie’s hand, wipe his hands and face clean, and then go pick up Xiao Yuan from the academy. At this time, it was usually Shen Yunjie who watched the stall himself.

No sooner had Xiao Ning left than business came, several burly loafers with weeds between their teeth swaggered over and leaned on the stall. The small, palm-sized stall creaked under the weight and looked like it was about to collapse. Shen Yunjie couldn’t help but frown.

“Gege just wants the flatbreads in the oven; we want as many as there are.” The leader of the men brazenly sized up Shen Yunjie. Everyone said the flatbread seller, that Xiao, kept a beauty at home, but seeing him now, they realized he was even more stunning than they had imagined.

These few were notorious ruffians in the city. Seeing this, the neighbors quickly avoided the scene, and no one dared to step forward and court disaster. Shen Yunjie swept a glance over this pile of riffraff in front of him and said nothing, only waiting for the flatbreads in the oven to be cooked before speaking.

How could the ruffians be idle? They eagerly pressed forward, wishing they could press their faces onto Shen Yunjie’s body, and flirted indecently, saying, “Where exactly did you, beauty, come from? Are the people where you’re from all born so delicate and pretty?”

Shen Yunjie stepped back slightly, lowered his gaze, and said nothing. The more silent he remained, the more energized this group of ruffians became. Sure that his nature was gentle and easily bullied, the words they spoke became more and more offensive.

Using the tongs, he took the steaming hot flatbreads out to cool. Shen Yunjie only focused on picking up the oil paper and wrapping the flatbreads well and said, “Ten copper coins.”

That ruffian pretended to reach out to take them but intentionally moved his hand away slightly when Shen Yunjie let go while watching five flatbreads roll onto the ground. “Hey, why didn’t you hold them properly?” The ruffian shouted, hitting the stall.

Shen Yunjie said calmly, “Wait for the next batch.”

The ruffian pointed at the flatbreads on the ground and said, “We brothers won’t make trouble for you, and there’s no need to wait for the next batch. Just come and help us pick them up.”

Shen Yunjie looked at the time of day, thinking that his young master and Xiao Yuan would probably be back soon, and these people blocking the spot were truly vexing; it would unnecessarily upset his young master. After a moment of hesitation, Shen Yunjie finally came out from behind the stall to help these ruffians pick up the flatbreads. His body was now inconvenient, and squatting down was also somewhat strenuous. The snow-white hem of his clothes piled up on the ground, blooming like a Qionghua flower, wrapping his slender, frail body, making one feel sorry for him.

The ground was mostly clean. Shen Yunjie held the still-warm flatbreads in his palms, struggled to his feet, and handed them to the people. But how could the ruffians still have flatbreads in their eyes? They reached out, grabbed Shen Yunjie’s pale, thin wrist, and were about to pull him into their arms.

Shen Yunjie’s face sank. He backhanded and clasped the ruffian’s pulse point, but only when flexing his fingers did he recall that his core was now exhausted, and where would he find the strength to deal with these scoundrels? While he was momentarily stunned, he was already groped several times around the waist and hips by a few people. Shen Yunjie gritted his teeth, shielded his belly, and tried to retreat.

Not trying to dodge would have been fine, but in the ruffians’ eyes, the beauty was like a frightened rabbit, frail and helpless. “Let go, my young master is about to return.” Shen Yunjie struggled to move back as he supported his belly, but in his heart, he was thinking that there was a small knife behind the stall, and if he killed someone with it, wouldn’t that just cause more trouble for his young master?

A few ruffians surrounded him and took the opportunity to stroke the beauty’s face. Shen Yunjie was stunned. Any humility he showed before his young master was his own free will, but no one had ever dared to insult and slight him so brazenly. When he reacted, the extreme anger rushed to his heart, unexpectedly triggering the poison in his body. The silver needle sealing his heart immediately stabbed painfully, and his vision blurred in waves.

The ruffians watched the beauty’s face go deathly pale and break out in cold sweat, as if he were having an attack and about to faint. For a moment, the few people were also stunned. Teasing someone else’s wife was one thing; causing a death was another.

“What are you doing!” A loud shout came. The ruffians saw someone coming, exchanged glances, and took the opportunity to toss the swaying beauty to the newcomer.

Shen Yunjie felt his waist tighten and was being held by someone. The last thing he saw was the face of his neighbor, Zhao Sheng.