Chapter 72: Third Brother Takes Action

Maybe it wasn’t that Third Brother had changed, but that she was getting to know him all over again.

Juanjuan lowered her eyes slightly, her little head turning as she tried to make sense of this feeling.

It was like…

Grown-ups said lying was something bad kids did. But even though Brother Dachui sometimes lied to his mother, he wasn’t a bad kid.

Third Brother used to say some really scary things in his heart, but in the past couple of weeks, he hadn’t hit her, hadn’t bullied her. He gave her candy, gave money to the family.

And now… he was going to fight the bad guys all by himself.

“Th-Third Brother…”

Bai Yun’an heard the hesitant voice of his little sister and immediately looked down at her.

Under his gaze, Juanjuan nervously swallowed, then gave him a small smile without saying anything more.

Bai Yun’an was completely baffled: 【Wait, what’s with this sudden smile?】

But when he saw the Favorability Points slowly tick up to 15 in the void, he decided not to question it anymore.

At first, he’d tried to figure out the pattern. Now he’d given up entirely. Bai Yun’an had come to realize—

He really couldn’t understand what went on in a kid’s mind.

Sure, he’d been a kid once, but a kid from the apocalypse and a kid from ancient times—how could they be the same?

And boys and girls—did they even think the same way?

Since he couldn’t figure it out anyway, he might as well just go with the flow!

“Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!”

Wang Dachui cleared his throat with great flair, drawing the Bai siblings’ attention to the copybook in front of him.

“Come on, all of you. Read with me: ‘Heaven and Earth are mysterious and yellow, the universe vast and wild.’”

Bai Yunqi: 【Ha! You think I’m reading along with you? Who knows if what you’re teaching is even right.】

Bai Yunxing: …

He had actually studied before and knew that in those eight characters, Little Chui had already made a mistake.

Bai Yun’an, meanwhile, was busy bargaining with the System.

【System, Favorability’s at 15 now. Lend me some powers! Just five percent of what I had before the apocalypse!】

Juanjuan said, “Brother Dachui, I think that character should be ‘hong,’ not ‘gong,’ right?”

Wang Dachui: …

That… might be true. But how did Juanjuan know that?

“I heard it when Uncle was teaching you before. I remembered it.”

Juanjuan smiled as she explained to Wang Dachui, “Then Uncle saw I picked it up quickly, and since you kept running off instead of studying, he started teaching me instead.”

What a coincidence—Uncle Wang appreciated talent, and Juanjuan was bright and eager to learn.

Wang Dachui, who always skipped class to wander around outside: …

Wait a minute, Juanjuan, is it really okay for you to say that?

You’re making me lose face here!

So when Dachui’s mother walked in—

She saw her son sprawled across the table like he’d lost the will to live, while the little girl from the Bai family next door was seriously teaching him how to read.

Dachui’s mother could hardly bear to look.

She knew it!

Uncle Wang had once mentioned, just in passing, that if Juanjuan had been born a boy, with her smarts, she’d definitely have had a shot at making something of herself through study.

She knew Juanjuan was clever, but still thought her own Dachui was the best.

Juanjuan, who had been teaching Dachui how to read, immediately lowered her head nervously when she saw Aunt Wang push open the door.

She knew Aunt Wang didn’t really like her, and that her former parents hadn’t treated Dachui’s family well at all.

So it made sense that Aunt Wang didn’t like her.

But this time, Dachui’s mother didn’t show any displeasure or disdain. She simply said softly:

“It’s fine. It’s good for you to teach Dachui. Saves him from not learning anything.”

Juanjuan looked at her in surprise.

Only to see Dachui’s mother turn and leave, even thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

“My stomach hurts a bit. I’m going to the latrine.”

Bai Yun’an suddenly clutched his stomach and spoke up, then walked out.

Juanjuan opened her mouth, but in the end didn’t say anything. She just watched her Third Brother.

She didn’t know what she should do now.

Third Brother was probably going to confront someone—deal with the people who’d come looking for trouble last night.

But she also knew that Third Brother wasn’t the same as before. The Third Brother now… seemed really, really powerful.

In the end, the child could only lower her gaze in silence.

Because during her brief moment of hesitation, Third Brother had already left.

Juanjuan kept her head down, and in that moment, she even felt a bit resentful of her ability to hear her parents and brothers whispering.

If she couldn’t hear them, she wouldn’t have to know that her parents and brothers had been replaced. She could keep lying to herself, pretending they had simply changed for the better, not that they had died.

She wouldn’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing, or accidentally letting something slip.

She wouldn’t have to face so many unfamiliar, incomprehensible things. No more headaches.

“Juanjuan?”

Second Brother’s voice came gently, tentatively.

Juanjuan looked up and saw him watching her. “What’s wrong? Not happy?”

Bai Yunxing hadn’t spent much time around children either, but compared to Bai Yunqi, who was focused on cultivation, and Bai Yun’an, who came from the apocalypse, he had at least a bit more experience.

He wasn’t that old himself—just sixteen—and he had a younger cousin back home.

He could tell when a child was upset.

Juanjuan gave him a small smile and shook her head.

Seeing that she didn’t want to talk, Bai Yunxing could only guess. “It’s okay. Girls can study too! There are even female officials in court now. If you like reading, maybe you could become one someday.”

Juanjuan nodded. “Okay!”

A child as sensitive, precocious, and used to surviving in such a harsh household was already well-practiced at hiding her thoughts.

Dachui also noticed that Juanjuan seemed a little down. He didn’t know why, but he was sure it had to be because of studying!

After all, Dachui himself hated studying more than anything.

“Let’s go play for a bit! We’ll study later! Give your brain a break!”

Dachui was a man of action. He grabbed Juanjuan’s hand and dashed out into the courtyard.

Bai Yunqi couldn’t be bothered to play with kids.

Bai Yunxing didn’t really fit in with them either.

So the two of them just squatted off to the side, watching Dachui and Juanjuan play.

Suddenly, Bai Yunqi thought of someone.

“Where’s Third Brother? Has he been taking a dump this whole time?”

…

Two kilometers outside the entrance of Niantao Village.

High up in a lush, sprawling tree.

Bai Yun’an sat alone on a thick branch. It was a great spot—he could see far into the distance from up there.

As long as he didn’t start yelling or shaking the tree like crazy, no one would notice him.

Bai Yun’an wasn’t in a rush. On the way here, he’d carried a bamboo basket on his back and run into several village aunties.

He told them he was out foraging for wild greens.

In this village, if one person knew, it meant everyone knew. Wang Dachui’s family wouldn’t come looking for him, so there was no need to worry.

All he had to do was lie here, and head back around lunchtime.

Bai Yun’an wasn’t sure if anyone from Zhenxiu Restaurant would come today, or if it would be another nighttime visit.

But he liked to stay ahead of the game.

If someone from Zhenxiu Restaurant showed up during the day, that would be ideal.