NOVPUBOne person, one cow, and one fishing rod swayed gently as they walked toward the private school in Shanghe Village.
Along the way, everyone they encountered smiled at their amusing combination. Whenever Zhu Ping'an met someone he recognized, he greeted them with "Uncle" and "Auntie." When he came across unfamiliar faces, he also greeted them with a silly smile.
Lower River Village and Upper River Village are situated on opposite sides of the Qingxi River—Upper River Village is upstream, while Lower River Village is downstream. Because the river flows in an S-shape, Upper River Village lies within the semicircle on the right side of the river, while Lower River Village is on the left side.
Both villages have a similar layout, nestled between the mountains and water, boasting beautiful scenery. There are mountains in front of the villages and water behind them, with dense trees on the mountains and rich fish and shrimp in the water. The simplicity of thatched cottages and fences complements the tranquility of the green mountains and clear waters.
A wooden bridge connects the two villages, sturdy and far from the shoddy modern constructions. Below the bridge, the clear stream flows gently, with a few carp splashing in pursuit of each other, resembling an ink wash painting.
Zhu Ping'an led the yellow cow across the wooden bridge, and not far away was the small hillside where the private school of Upper River Village was located.
The small hillside is an extension of the larger mountain behind the village, with more than ten acres of sloping land covered in trees, flowers, and thick greenery. The school was vaguely visible behind the bamboo grove on the hillside, with sounds of reading faintly heard in the air.
The air is fresh, the scenery beautiful, truly a perfect place for studying… or grazing cows.
For someone with short legs, getting on and off the cow was quite a challenge. However, the old cow was quite intelligent; when Zhu Ping'an tugged on the reins and said he wanted to get off, the old yellow cow would actually lower itself to allow its young master to dismount.
This cow's intelligence was truly impressive.
After getting down, Zhu Ping'an rewarded the old yellow cow with all the grass from the fishing rod and then slowly led it toward the hillside. The cow's reins were long enough for Zhu Ping'an to tie it to a small tree before preparing to check out the private school in Upper River Village.
At that moment, a sweet and crisp voice, like that of a lark, rang out. Although the voice was pleasant, the tone was quite haughty, and the words were rather sharp.
"Hey, you little poor thing! Who told you to graze the cow here?"
Zhu Ping'an turned around and saw a little girl in a pink ancient outfit, dressed in a cross-collared skirt, glaring at him with wide eyes, hands on her hips, shouting at him, her shoulders trembling with effort.
Well, how should he put it? Despite her small size, this little girl already showed the potential to be a troublemaker.
To describe her in one sentence: when a nation is about to perish, there must be a loli.
This was the second time he had seen this little girl, and he still felt it was a pity—sharp-tongued, money-loving, and scheming loli, such a pretty face wasted.
Behind the scheming little girl was a small red horse, likely the one her wealthy father had bought for her at the market yesterday, and she had come to take care of it.
Zhu Ping'an didn't have much fondness for this scheming, money-hungry, sharp-tongued little girl. He had no thoughts about things like pushing her over, watching goldfish, lollipops, or any other such ideas—he was certainly not a loli enthusiast.
"What's up, ugly girl?"
Zhu Ping'an glanced at her lazily and said this.
As soon as he finished speaking, the scheming little girl was so furious that her teeth chattered with a "clack-clack" sound. Her inky black eyes were wide open, glaring at Zhu Ping'an with a furious intensity, as if her little universe was about to explode. It felt like she could pounce on him and take a bite at any moment.
"Do you think I'm ugly?" The scheming little girl walked over, gritting her teeth, determined to clear her name.
Anyone would get angry after being called "ugly girl" twice in a row, especially a spoiled little girl who had been pampered by her parents and brothers since childhood. She was raised with a golden key and sweet nothings.
"Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?" Zhu Ping'an asked, not bothered by the little girl's anger, as he crossed his arms.
"Start with a lie," the scheming little girl replied, her pride swelling so much that her eyes nearly reached the top of her head.
Her haughtiness was so provoking that it made one want to tease her.
"Ugly," Zhu Ping'an said crisply, articulating each word clearly and succinctly.
However, the little girl's expression softened slightly at his words, realizing that the little poor guy was speaking a lie. They had just agreed that the antonym of "ugly" was "pretty." Hmph, even though this little brat was flattering her now, she wouldn't forgive him. She was determined to teach him a good lesson.
The little brat looked down, huh.
Thus, the scheming little girl became even more arrogant, her eyes practically soaring into the sky. Even if you admitted your mistake and said I was pretty, I still wouldn't forgive you.
"Then tell the truth," the scheming little girl commanded, as if Zhu Ping'an were her servant.
"The truth is, you are exceptionally ugly," Zhu Ping'an emphasized "exceptionally ugly," maintaining a serious expression while saying it.
Ugly was a lie; exceptionally ugly was the truth.
The words "exceptionally ugly" echoed in the scheming little girl's ears like an echo.
With that insufferable little brat's serious and mocking expression in front of her, the scheming little girl completely broke down.
Tears streamed out in anger.
Wuwu, no one had ever bullied her like this before! Scum, good-for-nothing, little poor brat—she mentally slapped all the worst names she could think of onto this little brat's forehead.
Uh, am I going a bit too far? Just as Zhu Ping'an was pondering whether his behavior was excessive toward a little girl, he caught a flash of light in his peripheral vision.
Zhu Ping'an quickly dodged, only to realize it was a slap coming from the devious little loli. If he hadn't moved just now, the slap would have landed on his face.
The missed slap from the devious little loli completely erased any lingering sympathy Zhu Ping'an had for her in his heart.
Willful, unreasonable, rude, and rough—how could there be such a little loli? She's truly a disgrace to the loli community.
"Why did you dodge?!" The devious little loli stomped her foot in anger, arrogantly demanding an answer. It was as if Zhu Ping'an dodging was an unforgivable sin.
"If I tried to slap you, would you dodge?" Zhu Ping'an looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.
"Do you know who my father is, and yet you dare to dodge?" The devious little loli glared at Zhu Ping'an with tear-filled eyes, staring straight at him, clenching her fists tightly, and shouting impulsively in a fit of rage.
What a bossy, unreasonable brat! And she has the bad habit of bullying others by flaunting her family's power!
"Who your father is—shouldn't you ask your mother about that?" Zhu Ping'an ignored the little loli's fury and calmly replied.
The devious little loli didn't immediately understand this sentence, since it was a joke from modern society. However, as clever as she was, she figured out the meaning in the next moment.
Her expression showed that she understood.
"You bastard!" The devious little loli's face turned ashen, her anger on the verge of exploding, and her shoulders shook violently. Her voice gradually distorted as her eyes reddened with despair. Even though she tried to hold back, tears still streamed down her face.
In the blink of an eye, the tears fell down to her chin.
Uh, it seems like I went too far, huh? Zhu Ping'an began to reflect on himself again. Is this how it always goes in TV dramas too? Even if a woman is bad, just because she's pretty and sheds a few tears, it always makes people forget her wrongs and soften their hearts.
