Looking at An Mingji's bruised and soiled face, Gu Jin extended her quivering hand to gently wipe away the dirt at the corner of his eyes.
Unfortunately, her hand still inadvertently touched his wound despite how careful she was.
An Mingji sucked air through his teeth due to the pain. Knowing that Gu Jin, whom he called Sister Jin, was the only person who had ever cared for him, he fought back the pain and appeared pitiful as a result.
Gu Jin saw this and pulled her hand back. "Silly boy!"
It was as if she was talking about his current pigheadedness or his relentlessness in avenging her death in the future.
No matter what she meant, sympathy had already filled her voice.
Her intimate actions and the pity in her voice seemed strange to An Mingji.
This Sister Jin of his seldom talked to him in the past. She had only given him some corn crackers, grilled potatoes, carrots, and the like occasionally so that he would not starve to death.
Yet, her gentle demeanor now came as a pleasant surprise to An Mingji.
"Big Bastard and Little Bastard are a pair of bastards!"
"Little Bastard jinxed his dad and mom!"
"Big Bastard is parentless!"
The surroundings kids suddenly began to cause a ruckus.
An Mingji glared at them with a pair of frosty eyes when he heard those insulting words. His attention was on the rowdiest boy. Raising the rock in his hand, he charged at him with great intensity.
All of a sudden, someone pulled him back after he took two steps.
He looked back angrily and saw Gu Jin's gentle smile. "Are you trying to bite back the dog that bit you? Don't you think it's disgusting?" Gu Jin asked.
An Mingji had no idea what that meant, and he just looked confused.
Gu Jin crouched down and looked at the wild child who only reached her waist. She then pointed at those boys around them who were wearing old, patched clothes.
"Look at them. Don't they look like barking puppies?" she said, one word at a time.
An Mingji suddenly got her drift and nodded excitedly.
"So if a dog bites you once, you wouldn't bite it back, would you? How disgusting that would be! We humans don't do that to animals!"
Gu Jin brushed down An Mingji's tattered clothes and inadvertently touched his skinny body, which was covered in horrible bruises.
Her heart sank at the sight.
She was unapologetic about how she treated those boys. The harm that those boys had caused to her back then was not something a few words of apology could heal.
It was especially so when she saw the injuries that the wild child had sustained over the years from the bullying. She could not be friendly toward them. She just could not help herself.
She was no saint; she could not turn the other cheek.
An Mingji finally understood. His eyes brightened up, and he nodded even harder this time. "Right! We humans don't do that to animals!"
"Smart boy!" Gu Jin reached out to pat him on the head. He was intelligent and adorable.
Knowing that Gu Jing was insulting them, the boys were very unhappy.
"Big Bastard…"
One boy was about to hurl back words of insult when Gu Jin shot him a stern look. "Get the hell out of my sight!"
Her beautiful face was frosty, and her voice unforgiving. It was unlike the anger of a parent, but more like that of a dangerous existence.
Those boys had never known Gu Jin to be that way. She used to be meek when they bullied her previously.
Her reaction shocked them, and they fled in every direction.
An Mingji witnessed the scene and could not help but adore Gu Jin with his crystal-clear but wild eyes.