"No, Brother," the little girl sobbed. "Daddy is so scary, everyone is so scary, waaaah—!"
As if some long-suppressed emotion had suddenly erupted, the little girl burst into loud wails.
Ren Yi was stunned for a moment after hearing the girl's words, a sliver of unease creeping into his heart.
Did she see it? Is that why she came to find him, because he looked relatively normal?
Was the reason she had been staring at them earlier because he, Ren Man, and Dr. Lin all looked quite human?
At that moment, Ren Yi felt the surroundings grow quiet.
He looked up and found that the arguing had stopped. Ren Man, Dr. Lin, and the owner had turned around at some point and were staring straight at them.
No, everyone in the vicinity, standing in concentric circles, had become expressionless. They all twisted their heads at various angles, silently staring at them—or more accurately, at the little girl in front of Ren Yi.
Just as Ren Yi's scalp began to tingle, Dr. Lin was the first to break the silence.
"Let's see who's even worse at looking after children," he sneered.
The owner's beard flared out. "What do you want to do to her..."
"Move aside. I'm the community doctor." Dr. Lin walked straight toward the little girl.
The closer he got, the weaker the girl's crying became. The fear in her eyes rapidly faded as if it were being drained away, leaving only a dazed expression.
Meanwhile, Ren Man pulled Ren Yi up and gestured for him to move aside a bit.
"Brother?" Ren Yi looked at Ren Man with questioning eyes.
"His job," Ren Man explained flatly.
Dr. Lin crouched down to look the dazed little girl in the eye.
Snap.
He snapped his fingers.
The little girl shuddered and rubbed her eyes as if she had just woken up.
Dr. Lin ruffled the girl's hair. "All right, this big brother is done arguing with your daddy. Go home and rest; don't sleep in the store."
At that moment, the frozen crowd around them also retracted their gazes and dispersed as if nothing had happened.
Dr. Lin looked back at the owner. "Someone from the Alliance Parent-Child Education Association will be coming to talk to you later. Don't go running off these next few days."
The owner rushed forward to pick up the girl, examining her from head to toe before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
"I... I'm sorry."
"Tell that to the kid," Dr. Lin said, sounding somewhat impatient.
The owner blinked, then looked at Ren Yi behind Ren Man. "I'm sorry."
Before Ren Yi could respond, Ren Man was already pulling him toward the exit, with Dr. Lin following closely behind them.
Ren Yi realized that his older brother still seemed a bit angry.
Clatter. The sound of a rolling shutter door closing echoed behind them; the furniture store owner had shut his doors immediately after ushering out all the customers.
"What will happen to that owner?" Ren Yi asked, unable to help himself as he looked back at the closed shutter.
"He'll probably have to participate in one or two Instance training sessions. If he still doesn't pass, the little girl will likely need a 'mother,'" Dr. Lin explained as he caught up from behind.
His tone was light, and his attitude seemed somewhat... submissive.
"Still working?" Ren Man stopped and turned to look at Dr. Lin.
A somewhat stiff smile appeared on Dr. Lin's face, his tone carry a hint of fawning awkwardness. "Ah, haha, well, you know, this neighborhood is under my jurisdiction."
As he spoke, his eyes subconsciously flickered toward Ren Yi at Ren Man's side before quickly darting away.
Ren Man's gaze lingered on him for two seconds before he spoke again. "Are you finished?"
"Huh?" Dr. Lin was startled for a moment, but once he realized what was being asked, he nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! I'm done. The rest is just waiting for the Parent-Child Association to take over. I'll be going now, I'm going."
"Good." Ren Man's voice remained calm, yet Ren Yi keenly felt the air around them grow several degrees colder.
In the next second, Ren Man let go of Ren Yi's hand and gestured for him to step back. His tone was so steady it was almost cold. "I'm going to hit you."
Ren Yi realized belatedly that Ren Man's low mood this entire time hadn't been directed at the store owner, but at Dr. Lin.
Thud!
A dull sound rang out. Ren Yi's vision blurred, and when he looked again, Dr. Lin—who had been standing straight just a moment ago—had dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
"I was wrong, Big Brother! I just felt that something was wrong with a child over here; I really didn't know it was because someone left a mirror out for her to see! If I'd known, I never would have let our Xiao Yi near that area!"
Ren Man looked down at him, his brow slightly furrowed as if he were contemplating where to start the beating.
After a long pause, he turned back to look at Ren Yi.
"Give him a punch."
"Huh?" Ren Yi was stunned, his mouth hanging open as he subconsciously looked at his own hand. It was still a human hand, with five distinct fingers.
With his small frame, there was no way he could cause any real damage to a powerful Anomaly like Dr. Lin.
So, did his brother mean for it to be a symbolic gesture?
He turned back to look at Dr. Lin on the ground, who was already sobbing piteously with snot and tears streaming down his face.
But when he looked up at Ren Man, the latter was staring at him quietly, as if urging him to hurry up and do it.
Ren Yi hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and landed an ordinary punch on Dr. Lin's shoulder.
Ren Man watched the punch—which wouldn't have even hurt a normal person, let alone an Anomaly—and then kicked Dr. Lin away, looking satisfied.
"Get lost."
"Yes, Brother!" Dr. Lin stopped crying instantly as if he had received a royal pardon. He scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to brush the dust off his clothes, and bolted.
Ren Yi watched in dumbfounded amazement as Dr. Lin moved with incredible speed. A few afterimages flashed, and the man vanished around a corner.
He even suspected that Dr. Lin had used a speed that definitely wasn't human for that escape.
Ren Yi looked at Ren Man, feeling a sense of absurdity, as if they were playing house.
Between encountering a girl who could suddenly "see" and witnessing Dr. Lin's exaggerated reaction, questions were flooding his mind like a rising tide.
Ren Yi opened his mouth, about to ask his questions, when he saw Ren Man lower his head slightly. The corners of his mouth seemed to turn up just a bit—was he smiling?
"Do you know his name?" he asked Ren Yi.
Ren Yi blinked and subconsciously shook his head. He suddenly realized he had always called him "Dr. Lin" and had never thought to ask for his name.
After all, in human custom, it was standard to use the surname and profession for doctors and teachers.
"Lin Xinyan," Ren Man said directly, not intending to keep him in suspense.
"Lin Xinyan..." Ren Yi repeated the name softly and immediately fell silent.
If this "Xinyan" was the same as that "Heart Fiend."
He squeezed the fist he had just used to hit Dr. Lin, his face full of regret. "Brother, I messed up. If I'd known that was his name, I should have focused my punch better."
Rate on N.U.
