Bibi Dong Doubts Life

"I said," Deng Tianxin enunciated, his voice milky and childish yet exceptionally earnest, "when I grow up, I'll marry you."

Bibi Dong felt she must have failed to check her horoscope before heading out today.

First, she encountered a little bandit trying to rob her, then she was inexplicably called "Mom," then she broke up with her boyfriend, and now this little bandit was actually proposing to her face-to-face.

And he was only six years old.

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Bibi Dong's voice carried a calm like the stillness before a storm.

"I do," Deng Tianxin nodded, his little expression too serious to be a joke. "Auntie, you're so pretty and you fight so well; marrying you definitely wouldn't be a loss. Besides, you said it yourself just now—you're single now."

Bibi Dong closed her eyes.

She had encountered many troublesome opponents, but never had anyone made her feel such a strong, visceral urge to reach out and strangle them.

More importantly, the person in question was just a child.

"Deng Tianxin," Bibi Dong opened her eyes, revealing a textbook-perfect, gentle smile, "if you dare say one more word, I will hang you from a tree for the night."

Deng Tianxin immediately covered his mouth with both small hands, secretly thinking that this woman really couldn't take a joke.

The world was finally quiet.

For the rest of the journey, Deng Tianxin didn't say another word, though he used those dark, glistening eyes to steal glances at Bibi Dong every now and then, his gaze filled with the sentiment: I have something to say, but I'm afraid of being hung from a tree.

Bibi Dong noticed his gaze but chose to ignore it.

The two walked one after the other for about half an hour until the woods ahead gradually thinned, revealing the silhouette of a small village.

Iron Ox Village was not large, consisting of only a few dozen households. The houses were built of wood and mud, scattered crookedly along both sides of a dirt road.

At the entrance of the village stood an old locust tree, under which sat a few elderly people soaking in the sun.

"We're here, we're here!" As soon as Deng Tianxin saw the village, he forgot Bibi Dong's warning, letting his short legs fly as he ran toward the village, shouting, "Uncle Village Chief! Uncle Village Chief!"

Bibi Dong followed at a leisurely pace, her gaze sweeping over the dilapidated little village.

Her brows furrowed slightly.

This place was too poor.

The dirt road at the village entrance was riddled with potholes, several houses had broken door panels, and the fields on the outskirts were half-abandoned and overgrown with weeds.

Although she had grown up in Spirit Hall surrounded by luxury, she hadn't been sheltered from the existence of the poor.

Still, a village decayed to this extent was somewhat unexpected.

A man who looked to be in his fifties walked out from the village. He wore coarse cloth clothes patched in several places, and the wrinkles on his face were as deep as knife carvings, yet when he saw Deng Tianxin, those wrinkles all bunched into a smile.

"Little Tianxin? Why are you back?" The man crouched down, catching the running Deng Tianxin, then looked up and saw Bibi Dong following behind.

His smile stiffened instantly.

Bibi Dong's temperament and attire were completely out of place in this small village; anyone with eyes could tell she was no ordinary person.

"This is..." The Village Chief stood up, wiping his hands on his clothes in a flustered manner.

"She is my—"

"I am his creditor," Bibi Dong cut off Deng Tianxin's words, saying expressionlessly.

Deng Tianxin's little face fell instantly, and he looked up at Bibi Dong with resentment: "Auntie, why are you like this?"

The Village Chief was stunned, looking from Bibi Dong to Deng Tianxin with a troubled expression: "Did Little Tianxin go and cause trouble again? This child is very mischievous; if he offended you, let me apologize on his behalf..."

"No, no!" Deng Tianxin hurriedly waved his hands. "Uncle Village Chief, don't listen to her nonsense. She's not my creditor, she's my friend!"

Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow: "Friend?"

"Yes!" Deng Tianxin puffed out his small chest and said righteously, "I did her a favor, and now she's taking me to Spirit Hall to live, so I came back to say goodbye to you!"

The Village Chief froze, looking down at Deng Tianxin with disbelief: "You... helped her?"

"Mm-hmm," Deng Tianxin nodded vigorously. "I helped her see her ex-boyfriend's true colors and helped her get out of an unhealthy relationship. She's much more relaxed now, right, Auntie?"

He turned his head and flashed a brilliant smile at Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong's mouth twitched.

Taken literally, there was absolutely nothing wrong with what this little brat said.

Yet, she felt like something was fundamentally off.

After hearing this, the Village Chief was even more confused. He looked at Deng Tianxin and then at Bibi Dong, asking tentatively, "Young lady, what Little Tianxin said... is it true?"

Bibi Dong was silent for two seconds.

She could choose to deny it, or she could spill all the rotten things this little brat had done today and ruin his reputation.

But as she looked at Deng Tianxin's upturned little face and those bright, sparkling eyes, the words on the tip of her tongue changed for some reason.

"...I suppose so."

The Village Chief let out a long sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face: "That's good, that's good. I thought he had caused trouble again. This child has had a hard life; he's been here for a year, and I've always been worried about him. If someone can take him away, that would be for the best."

Bibi Dong keenly caught the information in the Village Chief's words: "You are not his father?"

"How could I be his father?" The Village Chief waved his hands and sighed. "This child suddenly appeared at the village entrance a year ago. I don't know where he came from. I felt sorry for him, so I took him in. When I asked where his parents were, he wouldn't say, and if I asked too much, he would cry, so I stopped asking."

Bibi Dong looked down at Deng Tianxin.

Deng Tianxin was squatting on the ground, drawing circles with a small stick and pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

"He has lived in the village for a year just like this?" Bibi Dong asked.

"Yes," the village chief nodded, a hint of pity in his eyes. "The village is poor and couldn't offer him anything good, so we just shared whatever food we had. Although this child is a bit mischievous, he never took a free ride. He often helped out around the village, scrambling to chop wood and fetch water, and the adults couldn't stop him even if they tried."

Bibi Dong recalled the scene earlier today where Deng Tianxin had blocked her path with a wooden stick to rob her.

It seemed this little brat hadn't just started robbing people today; he had a tradition of it.

"Uncle Village Chief!" Deng Tianxin suddenly jumped up from the ground, pulled a small cloth pouch from his bosom, and shoved it into the village chief's hands. "These are for you."

The village chief opened the pouch and saw, to his shock, over a dozen silver soul coins shimmering in the sunlight.

"Where... where did these come from?!" The village chief's voice went up an octave. "Did you steal these from someone?"