Lin Yuchan was stunned for a moment.

Just a guardian. What was there to be pretentious about?

Su Minguan’s expression remained normal, even smiling at her. But there was no longer any teasing intent in his smile; instead, there was a cold, distant detachment.

She suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

“I… I don’t like their rules. That’s discrimination. It’s bullying.” She said in one breath, “I won’t ask anyone to be my guardian.”

Su Minguan turned his head slightly, smiled faintly, expressing understanding.

“Not trusting anyone lightly is also correct. Watch the steps.”

Lin Yuchan feared he would misunderstand even more, so she ran a few steps to catch up, trying to sound relaxed while smiling: “How could I not trust you? Among all the people I trust, you’re steadily ranked second!”

Su Minguan’s face darkened, his voice becoming three parts gloomier as he asked: “Who’s first?”

Lin Yuchan pursed her lips in a smile, turned her finger around, and pointed at the tip of her nose.

Su Minguan was stunned, his gaze slowly softening, then couldn’t help coughing and laughing softly while cursing with a mild expletive.

“Really?”

Since it wasn’t a trust issue, it was about fighting for dignity. This girl seemed to have a stone lodged in her chest – no matter how urgent or angry she got, even if she was burning with fury all over, even if she was beaten black and blue by others, this stone could never be burned away or crushed, stuck in her heart, making it impossible for her to get past this uncomfortable feeling.

He wanted to help her. Couldn’t help but say another familiar phrase: “You don’t have to be so stubborn…”

“I just can’t stand their high and mighty attitude!”

Lin Yuchan suddenly became agitated. The sullen anger she had forcibly suppressed in her chest suddenly boiled over like a pot coming to a boil, creating a belly full of gunpowder that shot up to the sky, then fell back down, crackling red all over the river.

“If they look down on women, then kick me out! What’s with the fake sympathy!” She lowered her voice, speaking angrily: “Moreover, if they were strictly following rules, that would be fine – I’d respect them as real men. But don’t you remember just now, when you stepped forward to say a word for me, that foreign manager backed down, from ‘male relatives’ to ‘anyone can be a guardian,’ showing there’s plenty of room for maneuvering. Why not accommodate further? Simply because my deposit isn’t enough – a few hundred pounds is nothing, not worth them making an exception for. If I took out one thousand, ten thousand pounds, their attitude would probably soften again – that’s right, I must earn ten thousand pounds in the future, throw that money at them, make them slap their faces, kneel and beg me to open an account!”

She walked rapidly, lost in her fantasy, venting through nonsense: “…Then I’ll turn and leave, saying oh dear, so sorry, I’ve already deposited money at another bank, we women are just so fickle, just so hysterical…”

This power fantasy wasn’t satisfying at all to create, and suddenly became melancholy. Though she knew this was the normal state of society and she needn’t take it to heart, Manager Macaulay’s flashy and malicious smile lingered in her mind like a ghost that wouldn’t go away.

People of flesh and blood – how could they remain rational at all times? If an ignorant, illiterate person shouted at her, “You girl, what do you know?” she would laugh it off. But today, being collectively gaslighted by all the “respectable people” in the entire bank lobby made her start to doubt herself – am I really that hysterical?

As she spoke, her voice choked up, and she coughed violently, covering her mouth with her elbow.

Her pufferfish-like, strange behavior had already attracted considerable attention. Some people looked sideways. Seeing her dressed in men’s clothing, they thought she was a fragile youth and laughed even more.

“Look at that little male prostitute…”

Su Minguan bit his lip, quickly scanned around, then suddenly pulled her aside into a small, verdant pavilion. A “Foreigners Only” wooden sign flashed behind him.

A lush green park, with railings separating it from the dust and noise of the street, was temporarily unguarded. He dragged her into a corner of the pavilion, looking at her sternly, planning to scold her lightly to help her sober up.

Before he could speak, she suddenly looked up. In her bewilderment, there was still unconcealed anger, her wet eyes black and crystal clear, her thin shoulders trembling slightly, like a small bird with ruffled feathers, its wings beaten ragged by wind and rain, making one want to cup it in their palms and gently breathe warm air on it.

All his prepared words couldn’t come out. With a gentle pull, she fell into his arms. He placed one hand lightly behind her head, removed her uncomfortable hat, letting her forehead rest against his shoulder.

Not daring to go further, this was enough for comfort. A wisp of cool breeze dispersed that sudden burst of chaotic energy.

Su Minguan steadied his mind, released her, and reorganized his opening words.

“I once lost my family and fortune. When I first entered society, having lost my status as a wealthy merchant’s son, I discovered I was nothing, bullied everywhere, and cried for a long time, too.”

His chest grew warm again as the little girl lingered instead of leaving, and turned the tables by tightly hugging his waist, finding a comfortable spot on his shoulder, her body shaking as she began to sob softly.

“You don’t need to mention past events, I know… sob…” She suppressed her crying voice, her nose buried in his chest, waves of hot breath: “I understand, I won’t say anymore, it’ll be fine in a while… I always need to vent… and there’s no punching bag for me to bully… if only you had hugged me earlier…”

Su Minguan’s entire body tensed. His left hand held a ridiculous black hat, his right hand carried over a thousand taels in bank notes, remaining perfectly still as she nuzzled against him, as if suffering from sleep paralysis, unable to move a single hair.

What did she mean by “if only you had hugged me earlier”?

Fighting alone, how much grievance had she endured? Too proud to tell him about it, yet all she hoped for was a straightforward hug?

His five senses were sharp, hearing footsteps and shouting just inches away. Sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, falling on her crystal-clear half-face, bringing exquisite coolness, like a piece of jade.

Feeling something uncontrollable in his chest, his heart began to race in protest, beating right next to her ear.

He finally broke free from the paralysis, suddenly put her hat back on, and gently pushed with his palm.

She staggered back a few steps and stood properly.

Looking down, there were several suspicious wet spots on his robe’s chest. The lapels rose and fell slightly, still carrying the warm breath she had exhaled.

Lin Yuchan wiped her eyes, not quite daring to look up.

The blockage in her chest finally loosened somewhat and rolled away on its own.

Looking back at that golden, magnificent bank lobby, she only felt the decor was nice and that slicked-back hair was greasy.

Intense emotions come and go quickly. It’s rather the slow, steady soft knife that gradually squeezes into one’s heart, and once it’s settled, it can’t be shaken off.

Lin Yuchan finally saw clearly where she was and didn’t dare act recklessly anymore, not daring to let her figure leave the pavilion’s edge.

She seemed to hear passersby outside stirring up trouble: “The foreigner is bullying the little male prostitute!”

The pavilion was separated from the road by railings covered with vine leaves, through which only silhouettes could be vaguely seen.

The nosy passersby probably took Su Minguan for a foreigner and her for a male prostitute…

Fortunately, none dared approach for a closer look.

Even less dared she move now – better to wait until the onlookers had their fill and left.

She heard prolonged silence from across. Su Minguan remained motionless, his handsome features taut, staring straight at her with unfathomably deep eyes. His chest rose and fell slightly with suppressed heavy breathing.

She felt she should explain, coughed once, and said sheepishly: “Don’t take it to heart. You don’t need to take responsibility.”

Su Minguan had been forcefully maintaining a poker face, but upon hearing this, he exploded, gripping her chin, his sharp eyes dark and heavy with somewhat sinister fire, glaring at her fiercely.

Again with “you don’t need to take responsibility” – she was treating it as a catchphrase!

He asked coldly: “How many people have you said this to?”

Lin Yuchan was bewildered: “Huh?”

“Taking advantage, then walking away, afterward dropping this line – Miss Lin, may I ask what number victim I am?”

Lin Yuchan hastily explained: “No, no, I’m not that thoroughly wicked, I…”

Halfway through her explanation, she suddenly became confused. Had this script gotten the genders wrong?

Shouldn’t she be the one having a fit?

Who was it just now who inexplicably pulled her into his arms, making her think she’d found a harbor for her tears?

Besides, he’d taken advantage of her quite a few times, too!

Her expression grew calm as she counted methodically: “A certain person sucked my fingers, coaxed me to carry and hold him, even tricked me into face-to-face contact, and… and secretly watched me sleep, but never explained any of it!”

Did he think she was stupid?

With each item she counted, Su Minguan’s face darkened another shade, his eyes flickering bright and dim, his lips pressed tighter, forming a beautiful peaked curve.

Finally, those tightly closed lips hummed out a few words: “So what?”

A thoroughly insufferable “I’m just double-standard, are you just noticing?” expression.

Lin Yuchan very considerately patted his shoulder. Due to their height difference, the patting was somewhat difficult, requiring her to lift her arm upward, the motion resembling a beckoning cat.

She smiled: “I know those were all accidents on your part. Don’t worry, don’t put too much pressure on yourself… By the way, you don’t plan to take responsibility, right?”

She deliberately used reverse psychology, expecting him to fly into a rage, glare at her as this thoroughly wicked little vixen, then say fiercely, word by word: “I. Will. Not. Take. Responsibility.”

Then she could continue playing around with him under her minor status.

Her plan was pretty good, but Su Minguan didn’t get angry. His gaze grew gentle as he looked at her, his eyes showing a strange, melancholy feeling she’d never seen before.

He said softly, “I’m sorry. Those things were me being too willful. I won’t do them anymore.”

After a pause, he suddenly added: “That firearms knowledge – I’ve taught you about enough. Practice dry-firing on your own when you get the chance. No need to spend time traveling so far.”

Then he walked out of the pavilion, beckoning to her, his tone back to normal.

“Let’s go. Someone’s coming.”

Lin Yuchan was greatly surprised and caught up in a few steps.

“I didn’t mean that… I said it was fine…”

She just wanted a hug, and could see he enjoyed hugging her too. To accommodate ancient sensibilities, she had tirelessly clarified that this wouldn’t cause serious consequences, trying to put his mind at ease – truly caring about everything. Besides, he wasn’t someone rigidly bound by old ways…

But she got a cold face and various forms of denial in return.

Su Minguan weighed her bundle and said amiably, “You need to get a safe with a Western lock. I know where to find one. I’ll take you to buy it.”

Those ten minutes seemed to have been thrown by him into a cosmic black hole – emotionally, nothing showed.

Lin Yuchan quickened her pace to keep up, walking obediently beside him.

His series of reactions just now had been too strange. Lin Yuchan had been with him for a long time and had always been quite candid herself. Each had their unconventional ways, and she went with the flow, not imposing any moral shackles on herself.

But it seemed that, without her knowing when it started, he had been intentionally or unintentionally maintaining some subtle boundary with her, trying hard to control any transgressive actions or words.

Whenever he failed to control himself, he would rather damage their goodwill than simply and roughly push their friendship boat back to the starting line.

Her childish “minor warning” had been unnecessary. No wonder he ignored it.

After a carriage thundered past, she dodged the mud splashed by its wheels, naturally leaning toward his side.

She asked gently: “Are you hiding something from me?”

She weighed their friendship and felt it was worth asking.

The secrets he kept bottled up were no fewer than hers, probably more. How many hugs did he need?

After saying this, she returned to keeping an arm’s distance from him, focusing on the road while asking with a smile: “Is it far?”

“Not far.” Su Minguan pointed to an intersection, then turned to look at her, saying coolly: “Yes. Quite a few. Don’t want to talk about them.”

Lin Yuchan: “…”

Not giving her any face.

A cunning merchant skilled at reading people’s hearts wouldn’t be so blunt. A Hongmen boss governing several provinces wouldn’t be so impersonal.

She smiled bitterly. At least he wasn’t treating her as a customer to be fleeced or a subordinate.

She stopped pressing and smiled, following him into “Western Furniture Specialists.”