Little Brat

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Su Hao had grown a little taller again, from the height of a three-year-old to that of a three-and-a-half-year-old.

Su Hao found this utterly unreasonable. Over the past year or so, he had paid great attention to balanced, varied nutrition. No matter what, he should have grown taller and sturdier!

"Where did all the meat I ate this year go?"

He even suspected that the "Strongest Toddler Nutrition Formula in History" recorded in Marble Space was a scam, but surely the words "expert recommended" written beneath it could not be wrong, right?

Su Hao put those thoughts away and glanced at Wu Yuntian, who sat beside him. Ever since Su Hao had told him half a year ago that he wanted to learn martial arts, Wu Yuntian had been leaving early and returning late every day. Who knew what he had been busy with? Every night when he returned, he barely exchanged a few words with Su Hao before wolfing down his food and going straight to sleep.

That evening, after eating, Wu Yuntian was about to rise and leave when Su Hao hurriedly said, "Father, didn't you promise to teach me martial arts? Half a year has passed already. When do we start?"

Wu Yuntian paused, as though he had only just remembered such a thing, then looked at his son and said unhurriedly, "That? Then we'll start tomorrow. Meet me at the threshing ground early tomorrow morning."

"Mm!" Su Hao nodded hard, the firelight making his eyes shine brighter and brighter.

Early the next morning, Su Hao arrived at the threshing ground Small Village used to dry grain. He did not see his father, but he did see a little girl of around four leading two little boys toward him. Her twin ponytails bounced with every step, and her delicate features, along with her round, bright eyes, showed that she was a beauty in the making. The two little boys looked at least five, a full head taller than her, fat and sturdy, yet they followed her lead like two little lackeys.

The moment Su Hao saw those three little brats, his temples began to throb faintly. He hated little brats more than anything.

The girl was called He Qingqing, the daughter of Tea Mountain Outpost's top authority—the daughter of He Jianyong, captain of Tea Mountain Outpost's garrison squad. Captain He held enormous prestige in this little patch of land and could make decisions with a single word. One could imagine just how special his daughter's status was. No one would refuse to give such a little girl a bit of face. More importantly, He Qingqing herself was sweet and adorable, with a glib tongue. In this little village, she was adored by everyone and practically carried to the skies.

Before adults, He Qingqing acted like an obedient little girl. But among the other little brats, she played the role of the big sister.

The two lackeys behind her were also sons of Tea Mountain Outpost soldiers. The taller snot-nosed one was Lu Hongtao, while the fair and chubby one was Li Cunzhi. Who knew what ghostly scheme those two were cooking up? They circled around He Qingqing every day and obeyed her every word, looking like a pair of simps. Were they trying to cultivate childhood sweethearts or something?

With those two specimens, Su Hao reckoned that in a few years, they would end up drawing water with a bamboo basket—nothing but emptiness.

"Xiangwu, what are you doing? Come on, let's go catch fish in the stream!" He Qingqing walked up to Su Hao, wearing an absurdly worldly-wise expression for such a tiny child.

Su Hao immediately shook his head. "Not going. Take care, no need for me to see you off!"

Hands on her hips, He Qingqing snapped, "Wu Xiangwu, you dare refuse me? Believe it or not, I'll have Snot Tao and Little Fatty beat you up?"

Snot-nose Lu Hongtao and Little Fatty Li Cunzhi immediately stepped forward, their eyes brimming with provocation and eagerness. Wu Xiangwu was a slippery little fellow—they had never beaten him up before. They were really looking forward to it.

Su Hao's mouth twitched. With a fearless look on his face, he said, "Lady Qing Qing, I'm not refusing you. I simply never play with idiots. If you want me to play with you, you first need to prove that you aren't idiots."

The three were so angered by Su Hao's words that flames seemed to shoot from their heads. Snot Tao and Little Fatty were about to step forward and show Su Hao a little color, but He Qingqing stopped them. Wrinkling her cute little nose, she retorted, "I'm not an idiot!"

The two little lackeys immediately chimed in.

"We're not idiots either!" "Me neither!"

Su Hao nodded approvingly. "I can tell. But how about proving it? Did you figure out the question I asked you yesterday?"

He Qingqing immediately declared proudly, "Of course! How could such a simple question possibly stump me?"

Su Hao looked unconvinced. "Really? Then I'll ask again. What's five plus seven?"

He Qingqing rushed to answer, "Twelve, it equals twelve. Right?" After saying that, she folded her arms smugly and waited for Su Hao to praise her.

Su Hao stared at her in surprise, clicking his tongue as he praised, "Oh my, oh my, not bad, Lady Qing Qing."

"Of course! Now that I've proven I'm not an idiot, come on, play with us!" He Qingqing hurriedly invited him. She desperately wanted Su Hao to join her ranks and become her clever little strategist lackey.

Su Hao shook his head again. "Although you got the answer right, too much time has passed. That doesn't count."

He Qingqing's eyes widened until they were round as saucers. "Why doesn't it count? Then what do we do?"

"The old rules. I'll give you another question. If you can answer it, you'll prove you aren't idiots, and I'll play with you."

He Qingqing said hesitantly, "You can't make it too hard."

Su Hao nodded.

He Qingqing added another condition. "It can't be an arithmetic question."

Su Hao nodded again.

Then, wrinkling her nose with a nervous look on her face, He Qingqing said, "Then ask away!"

"Listen carefully. The questions I ask are all very simple. You know the answers." Seeing the three listen with rapt attention, Su Hao cleared his throat. "Tell me, what kind of person, when sick, cannot see a physician?"

He Qingqing's eyes rolled, and she immediately answered with confidence, "Easy, I know this one. A bad person! If a bad person gets sick, the physician won't treat them."

To her surprise, Su Hao shook his head. "Wrong, but you're not far from the right answer."

"Wrong? Then what is it?"

"You have to think it through yourself."

He Qingqing turned to Snot Tao and Little Fatty. "You two answer."

Little Fatty hemmed and hawed, unable to squeeze out a single word after a long while. Snot Tao only kept sucking up his snot.

"You two idiots." He Qingqing stomped her feet in anger. She guessed several more answers, all rejected by Su Hao, until she was so anxious she nearly cried. At last, she shot Su Hao a vicious glare.

"Wu Xiangwu, just you wait. I'll definitely figure it out." After throwing down that threat, she left.

The two little lackeys were instantly stunned. "Qing Qing, aren't we going fish-catching?"

He Qingqing replied, "Not going. Only idiots go catch fish."

Snot Tao immediately lost all sense of direction and turned to ask Little Fatty, "Little Fatty, are we still going to catch fish?"

After calling Snot Tao an "idiot," Little Fatty chased after He Qingqing, shouting, "Qing Qing, wait for me! I'll think about it with you."

Snot Tao turned and glared fiercely at Su Hao, then ran after He Qingqing as well, shouting, "Me too, me too!"

"Hoo... They've finally left!" For Su Hao, dealing with little brats was harder than dealing with a research paper. If his younger brother Luo Chaoxin had dared to bother him like this in his previous life, he would have thrown hands. But now, with his skinny arms and thin legs, he could not win a fight. If he could use his fists, he would never waste words.

A moment later, Wu Yuntian suddenly appeared beside Su Hao and asked curiously, "What kind of person, when sick, cannot see a physician?"

Su Hao's face immediately darkened with black lines. This was a question meant to fool children—what was this old man joining in the fun for?