"Qing Lin?"
Upon hearing those two words, Xiao Se was taken aback. His gaze shifted to the girl's wrist, which was still fair despite being covered in grime. Sure enough, a few green... scales grew there.
Just as Qing Lin was about to properly thank him, she suddenly raised her little face. Seeing Xiao Se's fixed gaze, she followed his line of sight down to her own forearm. Her delicate face instantly turned deathly pale. Her small hands tried to tug at her clothes, attempting to cover the scales on her elbow, but her clothing was too tattered to conceal them completely. Left with no choice, she pulled up the sack beneath her and carefully slipped it over herself, crouching down with only her little head exposed. Her petite body trembled without pause.
"I-I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to scare you. Please don't hit me." Qing Lin clutched the mouth of the sack with trembling hands, her timid voice carrying an anxious sob as she desperately pleaded.
Xiao Se smiled and shook his head. His large hand gently stroked her little head as he said softly, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Everyone is born equal, so there's no need for you to feel inferior. Besides, these green scales aren't scary."
At those words, Qing Lin's frightened expression froze. Since the day she had been born, almost no one besides her mother had ever cared for her. Even those who did would recoil once they learned she was half Snake-Person. What followed was endless abuse, ridicule, and even venomous hatred.
Those who were slightly better simply ignored her completely. In others' eyes, she was the bastard spawn of a Snake-Person and a human, an outcast.
After her mother passed away, she had no family left in this world. Living