Xiao Wu was not a particularly beautiful or dazzling girl, but her smile radiated sunshine and her personality was straightforward. She was a typical girl next-door brimming with compassion for the weak, but not in a holier-than-thou way.
She could be said to be humble compared to most of the beauties in the novel, but Zeno thought that her gentleness would bring a warmth to Xi Wei that the poisonous beauty of the others could not match.
In order to help the playful Xiao Wu, Zeno planned to act accordingly. Regrettably, he was now too weak; even a small amount of activity left him burnt out.
Xiao Wu found the baby's actions confusing, and helplessly asked Xi Wei, "What happened?"
Xi Wei did not return her gaze. Keeping a respectful position, he replied in a humble tone, "Nothing, the child had a high fever that has gone down for now. Miss does not have to worry."
His speech was somewhat careless, and it seemed that he did not care that a high fever could have serious implications at this age. It seemed like Xi Wei was saying that if he lives, he lives—if he dies, he dies.
Xiao Wu, who was excited to play with Zeno, and suddenly heard such an irresponsible answer, could not help but berate Xi Wei, "Hey, this is your house's child, even though it has a fever, you didn't give it medicine. You even forgot, you're not worried at all!"
Xi Wei seemed frightened by her, retreating back two steps with Zeno tightly clutched to his chest, his thin frame shaking.
Xiao Wu saw that the expressionless boy was fearful of her words, so with thoughts of being like her favourite heroes, she decided she would take care of Zeno herself.
Who could know that trying to go against the little beggar, who was completely submissive until now, would be like trying to swallow a big pill. Despite pulling until she was red in the face, Xiao Wu could not take the baby away.
Watching his protagonist face off against the girl, Zeno could only put his small face on Xi Wei's chest, desperately rubbing back and forth, his tiny hands clutching the protagonist's collar. He let his tears fall unreservedly, howling with his mouth wide open. Every action expressed his unwillingness to part with the boy.
The commotion resulting from the children's tug-of-war over the screaming baby naturally caught the attention of the warriors left guarding the door. Three warriors rushed in, nervously glancing around the living room.
They were momentarily dumbfounded by the situation after quickly assessing things. The guards completely ignored the obvious bullying by Xiao Wu and quickly surrounded Xi Wei with fierce looks.
Xiao Wu was in a fit of anger, but still remembered her principles. Not wanting to bully the weak, she waved off the guards before they become violent. Looking at the stubborn baby buried in that cold-blooded guy's chest, desperately crying, she could only grind her teeth in hate.
Zeno struggled for half a day, hoping that Xiao Wu would like them. In the future he wanted her to take the 'stepmother' identity alongside the protagonist, but the result was only half successful.
Because of Xi Wei's words, Xiao Wu seemed to hate him. Zeno cried, there was no use if Xiao Wu liked me but hated the protagonist ah.
He really deserved to be his protagonist—able to draw such a high hate value with only a few words.
After sending out the warriors, Xiao Wu noticed that Zeno's face was abnormally flushed. Despite her anger, she knew that the baby with the cold-blooded little beggar was not evil. Her sense of justice would not allow her to ignore him. She could not stand idly by.
The little girl pouted, then padded over to the fireside cupboard and rummaged around, muttering from time to time, "I remember it should be in this ah, why is it missing?"
Xi Wei bowed his head, causing his uncombed hair to block his eyes. His clenched fist next to Zeno revealed his inner turmoil. Only in front of this little baby who should know no better would this cautious young beggar relax his vigilance.
Zeno watched the scene between the protagonist and this younger sister through the eyes of an adult. He naturally understood that the protagonist was retreating in order to advance. His clever protagonist had determined Xiao Wu's disposition through only brief conversations with Xi Lun and today's short period of contact. He knew that this little girl could not ignore another's misfortune, so he deliberately said something indifferent to anger her—the end goal was to provoke her into giving them medicine of her own volition.
For an eleven-year-old child to have such a mind was really great. However, Zeno knew that the scar-faced man would never let anyone hurt his precious daughter, and he would never allow himself to be cheated. Although the protagonist should not have to worry for his life due to his halo, his body was still weak and vulnerable. Even if he wanted to run, in this snow-bound Ye Sa City, where could he possibly go?
After being treated by the Elf Queen, Zeno did not feel his life was in danger. After all, medical treatment by magic was not something ordinary people could enjoy.
Zeno opened his little mouth as if he was coughing, while counting the chances of their own survival. His expression was a bit dull and funny. This, coupled with the mud on his cheek, made for a truly pleasant picture.
After searching for half a day, Xiao Wu finally shouted excitedly, "Found it!"
Knowing that she had found what he needed, Xi Wei could not help but go to the hearth haltingly, trying to maintain a calm heart and body.
Xiao Wu bounced to where they are, holding some crystal clear things, "Look, it's xue nu!"
Everything seemed to be in control. Xiao Wu saw the kind of funny-looking Zeno and giggled, no longer worried about the 'bad guy' holding onto him.
Xu Nue was about the size of an adult's thumb, and adding it to boiled water and then drinking it gave the strongest healing effect. Xiao Wu has had a weak physique since she was born and was required to take this medicine year round.
Consequently, she was perfectly aware of how to administer the medication. She threw it into some more hot water added to the bowl that had held the compressed biscuits. Then, she took the bowl and held it up to Zeno's mouth, as if to have him drink from it.
Simple-minded Xiao Wu actually wanted to feed the baby in this novel manner.
However, after weighing the pros and cons, Zeno felt that he must not drink this bowl of medicine. It could lead to the protagonist falling into the scar-faced man's clutches, and his own death. Zeno refused to open his mouth to drink the medicine, shaking his head like a rattle. Xiao Wu tried to follow his mouth with the bowl, but inevitably ended up splashing a small amount.
Xiao Wu was confused. He opened his mouth fine when that cold-blooded guy fed him the compressed biscuits. Xue nu tastes sweet, so much more delicious than the compressed biscuits. Why was this little bastard refusing to open his mouth!
She tried even harder, looking like she may spill even more, her neat scorpion braid now in chaos. Suddenly her wrist was grabbed, and Xiao Wu felt a brief moment of pain before involuntarily loosing her grip. Before she even realized it, Xi Wei had seamlessly taken the bowl.
Xi Wei raised the bowl back up to Zeno's lips. He did not entice or coax like Xiao Wu, but concisely said one word, "Drink."
Zeno, who had refused to drink, watched his expressionless face, and his firm determination began to waver.
If he drinks it, they will have to face the consequences. If he won't drink it, it would be so cruel towards Xi Wei who was working tirelessly to help him. In the end I'm still his biggest fan—I can't refuse him.
Xiao Wu watched Xi Wei's gruff tone and actions while rubbing her wrist. Was this a joke? She found it hard to believe that while she was gently coaxing the baby refused to drink, and yet this insincere beggar thought this approach would work.
Unfortunately, contrary to her expectations, Zeno quickly gave way under the gaze of the protagonist. True, he was afraid the protagonist may suffer, but he also feared that if he did not listen, then Xi Wei may actually discard him. Despite feeling a small injustice was done to him, he was strangely happy to compromise.
As he slowly drank down the medicine, Xi Wei's tense facial muscles finally began to relax.
Xiao Wu was angry to the point of internal injuries, so she squatted off to the side and ignored these two.
Xi Lun met with some difficulties when he went to settle the previous matter, and the first thing he saw when he returned was his baby girl in low spirits. He used the poker to arrange the fire and asked straightforwardly, "What happened to my baby Xiao Wu?"
Xiao Wu smiled and replied, "Nothing, Baba you go buy some more xue nu and come back, this little baby is sick. He just had one, but it's not enough, we don't have anymore at home."
Xi Lun was very surprised to hear this. He did not think that while he went out for a short time, Xi Wei would so quickly manage to receive and use the xue nu.
Zeno's heart raced. They were finished; they do not have anywhere to run under the sun, they will be directly captured in this home. He did not know how this underground type of person would deal with this affront.
Subconsciously he glanced at Xi Wei, who was very calm. He even headed over to the couch near the fireplace in order to dry Zeno's wet swaddling cloths.
Xi Lun stroked his chin, observing Xi Wei once again from head to toe. Zeno found his actions a little creepy and did not know how to move.
Xi Lun finally saw enough. He hummed loudly, and then spoke, "Boy, you're certainly capable, but I hate that you violated our agreement. You did not complete the task I assigned, and yet you still took your reward. Do you think I will just let you go?"
Xi Wei finally raised his head, looked straight at Xi Lun without yielding and said, "I just took the deposit."
Xi Lun found that this son of Jasmine could always surprise him, but he also asked, "You mean you have confidence to succeed? If not, I believe you know my methods, it seems you are very sure? "
Xiao Wu was a little puzzled, so she questioned, "Baba what are you talking about, do you want him to help you do something bad?"
Xi Lun's face twisted for a moment; in Xiao Wu's eyes he already firmly has the 'bad guy' label. He could not explain, his cool façade collapsed into a pitiful expression as he whined, "Xiao Wu baby, Baba really doesn't do bad things, you have to believe Baba."
Xiao Wu simply ignored him and kept asking what they were talking about. Of course, Xi Lun could not admit that he asked the boy to make Xiao Wu blacken—he was not born yesterday.
Uncharacteristically, Xi Wei spoke without prompting, "Miss is really stupid, Mr. Xi Lun asked me to teach Miss how to become clever."
Xiao Wu's fiery temper was ignited by his offensive words, "How can I be stupid? Everyone says that Xiao Wu is the smartest girl and in the future I will be able to become a true warrior of justice and overthrow all evil power!"
Xi Wei ignored her refutation and continued his train of thought, "A lady couldn't be considered smart if she can't carry out such a simple matter as feeding water to a baby."
This statement was a direct assault on the center of Xiao Wu's heart. She had not even had a moment to recover from the previous blow. In the midst of this, she knew she could not refute his words. Feeling wronged to tears, she stubbornly bit her lip to stop from crying out loud.
Zeno was unobtrusively dazzled by this turn of events. He never knew that his own protagonist could be so poisonous!
Eventually, Xiao Wu ran out of the room and slammed the door. She could not deny a word, everything that Xi Wei said is true! Although his words were a distorted version of the truth, and they were far too black and white to properly describe the situation, Xiao Wu obviously could not assess the situation so deeply.
Xi Lun watched his baby girl being bullied. Despite being terribly distressed, he saw her show a hostile face for the first time and he did not want to stop.
Men were always so contradictory.
Only three people remained in the room after Xiao Wu stormed out. Xi Wei reverted to silence, as if that poisonous tongue was never released.
Xi Lun opened his mouth wordlessly several times, but he did not know what to say. However, in the end, he could not help but want revenge for his baby girl. "Is this your solution?"
Xi Wei nodded without any stress.
Xi Lun shook his head, "Xiao Wu still has her same strong sense of justice."
Xi Wei countered, "She now hates me."
The subtext was that you did not say she had to hate everyone, so it was successful.
Zeno's heart was bitter. It was now completely impossible between Xiao Wu and the protagonist. Of course, this little sister had not been completely blackened—only towards the protagonist—but it was foreseeable that after further encounters to 'improve' her the blackening will progress ah!
Unless the novel suddenly followed the 'enemies becoming lovers' route, the kind Xiao Wu had no chance of being with the protagonist. She was no longer the best candidate for the Department of Healing.
This was really a sad story.