Chapter 135: Disciplining the Boys
The two little ones exchanged a glance, shrank their necks, and turned to run. But before they could take two steps, Wen Yao grabbed one in each hand and dragged them right back.
“Stand still.” Her brows knitted as her voice unconsciously rose.
Wen Daotou had never seen his sister like this. He froze on the spot, completely forgetting how to react. Jin Xiuyi didn’t even dare move a muscle.
“Sister Yao Yao…” Seeing both of them too afraid to speak, Jin Xiuyi weakly broke the silence.
Wen Yao’s brows remained tightly furrowed as she simply stared at Wen Daotou.
After a while, Wen Daotou finally lowered his head, his eyes darting around nervously but still saying nothing.
Wen Yao let go of their collars, looking down at them with a sneer. “You’ve got some nerve now, huh? Learning how to bully others?”
Jin Xiuyi immediately tried to explain, “Sister Yao Yao, we… we didn’t bully him…” But those last few words sounded completely unconvincing.
Wen Yao crossed her arms and stared at them. “Really?”
Jin Xiuyi twisted his fingers and glanced guiltily at Wen Daotou before giving a soft “Mm.”
“Then what’s with Xie Anyi’s clothes?” Wen Yao asked suddenly.
Even though Xie Anyi had tried his best to brush off the dirt on himself, the torn part of his clothing was still clearly visible. And judging by the look he gave these two before he left—wary, almost scared—Wen Yao didn’t believe for a second that these two little devils hadn’t done something.
Seeing that there was no hiding it anymore, both boys hung their heads, admitting their guilt without a word.
“Well?” Wen Yao found a small stool and sat down in front of them, waiting patiently for an explanation.
The two looked at each other, pulling and nudging at one another.
“Big Sister… don’t be mad, okay? We won’t bully him again,” Wen Daotou mumbled, biting his lip, eyes full of grievance.
Wen Yao actually chuckled. Oh, now you’re the one feeling wronged?
“I asked why you bullied him. What did you do today? How did his clothes get torn?” she asked.
“We didn’t do much, just played around the village… Tie Niu and the others said they were going to raid a bird’s nest, and then…” Jin Xiuyi’s voice got quieter and quieter. In truth, they hadn’t done much. They just teased Xie Anyi a little, baited him, and he took the challenge seriously. He insisted on climbing the tree himself—and then fell.
After listening to their explanation, Wen Yao didn’t even know what to say. That Xie Anyi… wasn’t he supposed to be clever in the original story? How was he this dense as a child? Two mocking words and he just snapped and charged up a tree?
A pampered little young master trying to match the rough-and-tumble village boys—what was he thinking?
Wen Yao turned to Wen Daotou and asked, “Do you remember how Li Erhu and the others used to bully you? And how they bullied our family?”
Wen Daotou hung his head even lower.
“Then how are you any different from Li Erhu now?” Wen Yao’s voice softened but grew heavier.
“You two bullied Xie Anyi at school, then brought him to Manager Qiu’s place for extra lessons. What, you think that makes up for your bullying? That now he has to be grateful to you?” Her words were calm, but full of gravity. “You’re just kids, but you’re already learning the ways of schoolyard bullying?”
Wen Daotou muttered, “But… he didn’t say he was upset. I brought him to godfather’s place… and his dad seemed happy about it.”
“And did you ask Xie Anyi if he was happy?” Wen Yao countered. “Just because his father was pleased, doesn’t mean he was.”
The two froze. Wasn’t that what Xie Anyi wanted most?
Wen Yao sighed. “Can’t you see? He’s not enjoying this. He wants to be friends with you, admires your friendship, but what do you two do? You tease him, play tricks on him, then toss him a bone and expect everything to be fine. How are you any different from those who bully and manipulate others for amusement?
If someone treated you the same way, would you be happy? Would you forgive them just because they tossed you a candy afterward?”
The two little boys stared at her in stunned silence.
“I wouldn’t,” Wen Daotou muttered after a long pause, biting his lip.
“I wouldn’t either,” Jin Xiuyi said after thinking it over, shaking his head.
Wen Yao spread her hands. “So there you have it. If it were you in his place, would it feel fair? Does he deserve to be treated like that?”
They were silent again. Wen Yao continued, “Take today for example. Maybe Xie Anyi just wanted to try what village kids do. But your taunts made him feel like if he didn’t, he’d be looked down on by you. He felt forced to prove himself.
But what if, instead of mocking him, you encouraged him? Or when he fell, you offered a hand instead of standing by and laughing—wouldn’t that have been better?”
The two kids genuinely put themselves in Xie Anyi’s shoes. If it were them falling out of a tree, and their peers laughed instead of helping… that would feel awful.
As they thought about it, sorrow crept onto their faces.
Wen Yao could tell they understood now.
Ah, still just kids after all. In the original story, their futures all diverged—turned against each other, fought over a woman, tore each other apart. But right now, they were still just children. Blank slates, untouched by the so-called heroine and the twisted hands of fate.
Everything was still salvageable.
With that, Wen Yao stood up, patted the dust from her hands, and took one in each hand as they walked back home. “Xie Anyi’s actually pretty pitiful. His father is obsessed with grooming his older brother. Keeping Anyi around is just a way to pressure his mother into handing over money.”
The boys looked up at her in disbelief.
“Really? His dad’s that terrible?”
If that was true, then Xie Anyi was truly unlucky.
Wen Yao glanced down at them and said, “Don’t believe me? Ask him yourselves tomorrow. See what his dad says when he goes with Daotou to Qiu Shifu’s classes.”
The two boys exchanged a look and made up their minds to ask Xie Anyi at school tomorrow.
Seeing they’d truly taken her words to heart, Wen Yao finally let out a breath of relief. In this life, with their whole family involved, she didn’t expect the three boys from the original book to become best friends—but she hoped at least they wouldn’t repeat their past, end up turning on each other, and all go down in flames.
She wasn’t worried about Jin Xiuyi and Wen Daotou—they were already thick as thieves. The only concern was Xie Anyi. He was so young, yet already showing signs of a people-pleasing personality. No wonder in the original story he was so twisted about the heroine… and even the male lead.
Sigh. What a mess.
