I'm So Charming

That smile clearly said, Do you really think we'd listen to you?

Watching the smiles on the two women's faces, Deng Tianxin felt a chill crawl down his back.

He knew that smile all too well. It was the very same expression Bibi Dong wore whenever she was about to teach him a lesson.

It was gentle and amiable, seemingly harmless to humans and animals alike, but the next second she'd pin him across her lap and spank him until he howled like a wolf.

Deng Tianxin instinctively took half a step back. His heel struck the edge of the bed, and he plopped right back down on it, his little legs dangling over the side and swinging twice. He looked both pitiful and helpless.

"You... What are you going to do?" Deng Tianxin's voice wavered despite himself.

He braced both little hands against the bed and leaned back slightly, like a small animal cornered with nowhere to run.

"I'm warning you, I'm the personal disciple of the Saintess of Spirit Hall. If you dare force me, when my teacher gets back..."

"What will happen when your teacher gets back?" Liu Erlong bent over and planted both hands on the edge of the bed, trapping him between herself and the mattress.

Liu Erlong smiled brightly. "Didn't you say you were going to spank her? Why are you using her name to scare people now?"

Deng Tianxin opened his mouth, then realized he really had contradicted himself. He steeled himself, shut his mouth, and said nothing.

The more he said, the more mistakes he'd make. Better to play dead than give them something to tease him about.

Seeing his tiny face set in such grim resignation, Tang Yuehua's heart softened after all.

She gently tapped Liu Erlong's shoulder to signal that she should stop teasing the child, then sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to draw Deng Tianxin into her arms.

Tang Yuehua's voice was as gentle as a spring breeze in March. "All right, all right. We won't tease you anymore. Miss Erlong and I aren't trying to make things difficult for you. It's just that you're a little boy traveling such a long way all by yourself, and we really can't stop worrying. How about this? We'll escort you to the gates of Spirit City and then leave. We won't go inside, and we won't let anyone from Spirit Hall see us. How does that sound?"

Deng Tianxin poked half his head out from her embrace and eyed Tang Yuehua's exceedingly gentle face suspiciously.

To be honest, he trusted this older sister just a tiny bit more than Liu Erlong. After all, Tang Yuehua really was more dependable than Liu Erlong in both word and deed.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't so simple. One woman was playing the good cop, the other the bad, and their coordination was flawless. They were obviously setting a trap for him.

"You're really only taking me to the city gate?" Deng Tianxin asked warily.

"Really." Tang Yuehua nodded with a smile.

"You won't go inside?"

"We won't."

"You won't show yourselves in front of anyone from Spirit Hall, either?"

"Absolutely not."

Deng Tianxin stared at her for several seconds, then turned to look at Liu Erlong.

Liu Erlong shrugged, wearing an expression that said, I don't mind either way. I'm following you regardless.

He sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to win against these two today.

He couldn't even beat Liu Erlong on her own. With Tang Yuehua there to counter his force with gentleness, his resistance was like tossing a pebble into a lake—it wouldn't even make a splash.

"Fine, fine." Deng Tianxin drooped his head in resignation, his voice full of helplessness, as if everything were already lost. "Take me, then. But we agreed: once we reach the city gate, you have to leave. If either of you dares to go inside, I'll... I'll..."

"What will you do?" Liu Erlong asked with interest.

"I'll cry and make you watch!" Deng Tianxin said fiercely.

Liu Erlong and Tang Yuehua froze for a moment, then one burst into laughter, slapping her thigh, while the other bent over, covering her mouth as she laughed.

A little rascal threatening them with tears was probably the most powerless threat either of them had ever heard in her life.

"What are you laughing at?" Their laughter completely drained the little bit of bravado Deng Tianxin had managed to muster.

Then, flustered and angry, he sprang up from the bed and planted his hands on his hips. Standing on the edge of the bed, he was just barely half a head taller than the two women sitting down.

Deng Tianxin took a deep breath, raised his chin, and put on a look of disdain for the world. His voice brimmed with heartfelt exasperation. "Alas, I really am too charming. Even two older sisters have fallen head over heels for me and insist on following me back to Spirit Hall. But I suppose it's no surprise. I'm so adorable and so talented that you couldn't find another like me anywhere on the Douluo Continent."

As he spoke, he even shook his head with great solemnity and reached up to touch the dragon horns on his head, putting on an air of deep distress. His little face was unbearably smug.

Liu Erlong's laughter abruptly stopped.

She stared at Deng Tianxin's smug little face for two seconds, then slowly turned to exchange a glance with Tang Yuehua.

Deng Tianxin didn't catch that look, but its message was clear: The little rascal is asking for it again.

"Yuehua," Liu Erlong said, flexing her fingers until they cracked softly, "I think our little Tianxin has a bit of a misunderstanding about himself. Someone ought to set him straight."

"I think so, too." Tang Yuehua rose gracefully, the same composed, gentle smile still on her lips.

But her fingers had already discreetly pinched the lace at her sleeve, as if she were seriously considering what angle to use so she wouldn't hurt his hand.

The smile on Deng Tianxin's face instantly froze. He instinctively stepped back, forgetting that he was standing on the edge of the bed. His heel found nothing, and he started to fall backward.

Quick as a flash, Liu Erlong grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back from the brink of falling. Then she scooped him into her arms, and a long, slender finger poked his chubby cheek.

"Too charming, are you?"

"They've fallen head over heels for you, have they?"

"You're one of a kind on the whole continent, are you?"

With every question, she poked him once, not too hard, but just enough to leave a little dimple in his cheek.

Tang Yuehua joined in at once, reaching over with her index finger to attack from the other side. They poked him from both sides, treating his cheeks like some kind of novel musical instrument until he squealed.

"I was wrong! I was wrong, all right?" Attacked from both sides, Deng Tianxin had no room to struggle. He could only wriggle into Liu Erlong's arms as hard as he could.

Halfway through, he suddenly realized that these arms belonged to the enemy, too. He scrambled to climb back out, but Liu Erlong promptly pinned him in place.

"Too late," Liu Erlong and Tang Yuehua said in unison.

Pinned in Liu Erlong's arms, Deng Tianxin took several pokes to each cheek. He gave up struggling and flopped across her lap like a salted fish resigned to its fate.

He gazed up at the ceiling, his eyes reflecting a world-weary wisdom far beyond his years. With a long, anguished sigh, he wore his regret plain as day on his face.