The red-haired girl immediately stepped back, tears welling up in her eyes.
”No answer?” Duan Jiaxu chuckled. “Seems quite intimidating, doesn’t it?”
On the way out of the alley…
Sang Yan with his hands in his pockets, followed behind Duan Jiaxu, and casually said, “Bro, you’ve really got a knack for scaring people lately. I’m almost scared just by looking at you.”
Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow: “Is that so?” “Have you heard of that idiom?” Sang Yan continued, “A hidden watermelon knife beneath a smile.”
”…”
”Also,” Sang Yan remembered something and snorted, “How did my sister become your Kiddo? According to your logic, aren’t you basically my dad?”
Duan Jiaxu replied casually, “Sure.”
”…”
”I don’t mind.”
”Get lost.”
The two of them walked out of the alley and saw Chen Junwen and Sang Zhi standing side by side near a small stall not far away. The two figures, one big and one small, were holding a string of bright red strawberry candies.
Sang Zhi’s gaze occasionally turned toward the alley’s entrance, and she quickly spotted the two of them. With a mouthful of strawberry, her cheeks puffed up like balloons, making it hard for her to speak.
Chen Junwen was the first to speak, his voice firing off like a machine gun, “Met them?”
Sang Yan made an affirmative sound.
Chen Junwen’s voice continued in rapid succession, “So what did you guys do? Intimidate them? How did you intimidate them? Come on, tell us! I’m curious!”
”I said I only kill ten people in a month,” Sang Yan lazily remarked, “My quota for this month is already used up. I’ll come back to kill them next month.”
”…” Chen Junwen was speechless. “Who are you trying to fool?”
”You.”
Chen Junwen was exasperated by Sang Yan’s response. He rolled his eyes and turned to Duan Jiaxu, attempting to get an answer from him, “Lao Xu, can’t you satisfy my curiosity a bit?”
”Hmm?” Duan Jiaxu let out a leisurely chuckle. “Why should I satisfy you?”
”…” Chen Junwen almost choked, pointing at the string of candied hawthorns in his hand, “A kid is still present, and you’re talking like that! Have you no shame?!”
Listening to their conversation, Sang Zhi didn’t say anything, silently pondering what “talking like that” meant. Was it something inappropriate? But the previous conversation didn’t seem explicit at all. It was quite a normal exchange, wasn’t it? However, she did agree with Chen Junwen’s comment about “no shame.”
Sang Zhi felt a bit melancholic for some reason. Why did he talk like that to everyone? He didn’t seem to care about the content, just the tone, and he always seemed shameless. Talking to him was like talking to a lover.
Upon hearing the word “kid,” Duan Jiaxu finally looked down at Sang Zhi, a faint curve forming at the corner of his lips. He casually asked, “Kiddo, how do you manage to eat like that?”
Sang Zhi: “?”
He chuckled and said, “Like a pufferfish.”
Sang Zhi immediately swallowed what was in her mouth and licked the sugar residue on her lips. She whispered, “You’re the one who’s like a pufferfish.”
”Like this?” Duan Jiaxu pointed at the candy-coated strawberries in her hand, half-jokingly, “So, how about you give me a bite?”
”…”
”You can have mine.” Chen Junwen couldn’t bear it anymore and inserted, “Can you stop fooling the little kid? I’m starting to feel guilty. You’re really good at scamming for food and drinks.”
Sang Yan glanced over: “Don’t bother, she won’t give you any.”
As if he hadn’t heard, Duan Jiaxu didn’t respond to their remarks.
In the next moment, Sang Zhi indeed shook her head: “Nope.”
Immediately, she lowered her head and took out five yuan from her pocket and stuffed it into his hand with ease. “Go buy yourself a skewer.”
”…”
Duan Jiaxu was taken aback.
This was clearly beyond Sang Yan’s expectations either. He put his phone back in his pocket and stared at Sang Zhi for several seconds, his tone cool, “Why didn’t you buy me one?”
Sang Zhi glanced at him, then patted her pocket innocently. “But I only have five yuan left.”
Meaning, I don’t have money to give you.
Sang Yan remained silent for a couple of seconds, then chuckled in exasperation, “Fine, well played.”
Duan Jiaxu looked at the money in his hand and chuckled softly, soon giving it back to her, “I was just teasing you. I don’t like these. Go buy something for your brother with it.”
Sang Zhi nodded and handed the money back to Sang Yan.
Since Duan Jiaxu didn’t want it, she settled for giving it to him instead. From Sang Yan’s perspective, he had become a garbage can for Duan Jiaxu’s rejected items.
Sang Yan took a deep breath, took the money, and stuffed it into his pocket, saying, “Let’s go home.”
Sang Zhi blinked: “Why aren’t you going to buy some?”
”I don’t feel like eating.”
”Then give me the money back.”
”No.”
Sang Zhi became displeased. “Aren’t you just trying to trick me out of my money?”
”Trick?” Sang Yan pulled out the five yuan bill from his pocket, along with the twenty yuan he had just taken back from the girl with red hair. “Don’t mention this five yuan, I even took back twenty yuan from you.”
”Oh.” Sang Zhi paused, “You got it back?”
”Stop the crap.”
”Then give it to me.”
Sang Yan tugged at his lips, no longer teasing her, and returned the money to her. “Someone so young is already this pragmatic. You’re so concerned about money. You’ll learn someday…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Sang Zhi, who had just been “very pragmatic,” taking the money he gave her and promptly handing it over to Duan Jiaxu, accompanied by a docile and pleasing remark, “Brother, here you go.”
”…”
Sang Yan: ???
Peek-Aboo 
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