You Up for It?
Wang Yue saw the worry on Xu Hongdou's face and knew she was kindhearted—she was afraid Xie Zhiyuan would get beaten again. He smiled and tried to smooth things over. "All right, Zhiyao. Xiao Yuan isn't an unreasonable kid. You can't keep beating him; that's no way to solve things."
When Xu Hongdou heard me say that, she quickly nodded in agreement. With a stern little face, she said earnestly, "Exactly. I've already forgiven him, so you're not allowed to hit him again."
Hearing both Xu Hongdou and Wang Yue say that, Xie Zhiyao felt as if they'd mistaken him for the sort of person who would beat up his own family. He felt terribly wronged.
Although he and Xie Zhiyuan didn't have the same mother, they did have the same father. He certainly didn't want to be saddled with that accusation, especially in front of Xu Hongdou. He hurriedly gave an awkward laugh and explained, "I didn't hit him."
But Xie Zhiyao's words clearly weren't very convincing. After all, the scene of him chasing Xie Zhiyuan with a slipper and hitting him had left quite an impression.
Xie Zhiyao could tell that Wang Yue and Xu Hongdou didn't really believe him. Xu Hongdou's look of disdain, especially, and the way she seemed to think he wasn't even trying to make his lie convincing made him feel particularly aggrieved.
After all, weren't all the village kids raised this way? His own father had brought him up the same way. Why was he suddenly being treated like a monster just for giving his brother a little smack?
So, unwilling to let it go, he quickly appealed to Xie Zhiyuan. "I really didn't hit him. Xiao Yuan, did I hit you?"
Xie Zhiyuan didn't realize his older brother