After seeing Grandma Zhou, both Pei Chuan and Bei Yao returned to the neighborhood. It happened to be the monthly break, and Bei Yao had just come home.

As soon as she reached the neighborhood entrance, she saw her younger brother Bei Jun squatting with several small children, digging for earthworms.

The children were digging enthusiastically. When Bei Jun’s eyes caught sight of her, those black bright eyes immediately lit up. His little hands were very dirty. He stood up and flew into Bei Yao’s embrace, saying crisply: “Sister!”

Bei Yao crouched down and gently hugged him.

Little Bei Jun nuzzled his head in her arms.

Anyone could see his fondness and attachment to his sister.

Then little Bei Jun saw the older brother beside his sister.

Pei Chuan had a cold face, looking at him coldly. Bei Jun shrank into Bei Yao’s arms. His courage was originally quite large, but at this moment he didn’t dare make a sound.

Pei Chuan’s eyes fell on that small blackened hand resting on Bei Yao’s shoulder.

Bei Yao sensed her brother’s fear. Although Bei Jun was only four years old, his courage wasn’t small. Then she saw Bei Jun timidly looking at Pei Chuan.

Bei Yao said: “This is Brother Pei Chuan. Did Xiao Jun forget?”

Bei Jun’s little mouth stayed tightly closed, refusing to greet him.

Pei Chuan didn’t look at the siblings and went upstairs.

He had never hugged Bei Yao, not even once. Yet when he was small, he had received such tenderness. Unfortunately, after growing up, even though she was innocent, she understood the distinction between males and females and would keep her distance from him. Just like the boundary line he had drawn before—when she was little with her hair in a bun, she would inadvertently cross the line, but after growing up, she observed the boundaries between them.

Little Bei Jun lightly tattled in his sister’s ear: “I don’t like him.”

Bei Yao laughed and asked her brother: “Then who do you like?”

“Brother Huzi.”

Bei Yao smiled until her almond eyes curved: “Yes, Brother Pei Chuan is so fierce.”

“Is Sister also afraid of him?”

“Mm.”

“Brother Huzi is still better. He plays with us.”

Bei Yao thought to herself, Pei Chuan really had no natural affinity with children. When he was small, he had no playmates. After growing up, children didn’t like him either. Bei Jun didn’t know this Brother Pei Chuan. Out of a child’s instinct, he could tell this brother had an extremely terrible temper.

~

Zhao Zhilan had reported to the police a few days ago. The police searched but never found the dog that had frightened her daughter and son again.

Although it wasn’t the season when rapeseed flowers bloomed, as a mother, Zhao Zhilan’s heart remained worried. These past few days she personally picked up and dropped off her son every day. After a long time without seeing that dog, she finally felt at ease.

Four-year-old Bei Jun held a small sword every day, wanting to conquer heaven and earth.

When Zhao Zhilan cooked and Bei Yao did homework, he would go climb the several mulberry trees outside the neighborhood with his little companions.

The mulberry trees were already very old. The neighborhood was also very old. Their age far exceeded that of the several children.

Bei Jun was the smallest. Watching several boys aged seven or eight climb up, his small arms and legs were still struggling.

One boy laughed: “Hahaha Bei Jun, stop climbing. Just watch from below.”

Bei Jun felt extremely wronged: “I want to play with you all!”

“You play with your sword.”

The laughter abruptly stopped.

A boy in the tree looked in horror at the black dog charging over from the distance: “That dog!”

Bei Jun held his small sword and immediately burst into frightened tears. It was the dog he and his sister had seen that day. It barked frantically as it rushed over. Bei Jun couldn’t even hold his toy sword steady.

The wild dog pounced. The children all cried in fright.

However, no one in the tree dared to save this younger brother.

Everyone was extremely afraid. They’d heard wild dogs would bite children’s bodies to pieces.

Through his tear-blurred vision, Bei Jun was lifted up by a powerful, cold embrace.

The youth shouted: “Damn it, shut up.”

Bei Jun was frightened into silence.

Because he had to hold him, Pei Chuan frowned tightly.

He held Bei Jun with one hand and placed him in the tree.

The dog had already bitten his leg.

Bei Jun hugged the tree trunk and looked down.

That youth was bare-chested, his brows and eyes cold. Punch after punch, he struck the wild dog’s head. Then pressed it down and smashed it against the rocks.

It was crazed, fearless of death, struggling fiercely. In the children’s crying, the youth’s eyes were cold and fierce. The wild dog gradually fell silent. Twitching, it collapsed beneath the tree.

Not far from the neighborhood, the dog’s barking and the children’s loud crying attracted the adults.

Bei Yao ran downstairs and saw several adults gathered there.

Pei Chuan sat on the ground with bent knees, his hands full of blood, the wild dog’s corpse lying beside him.

Her younger brother in the tree was crying his heart out.

Zhao Zhilan still had oil on her hands. Seeing the situation, how could she not guess what had happened? She was so frightened her liver and gallbladder felt torn. She lifted little Bei Jun down from the tree.

The parents of the several children all received their children this way.

That dog most likely had rabies.

Several adults were scared out of their minds checking the children’s bodies.

Bai Yutong came down to watch the excitement. Seeing her stepbrother sitting on the ground, his expression as cold as ice frozen in December.

The dog’s corpse was grotesque, its eyes not closed, exposing menacing teeth.

For that instant, Bai Yutong was frightened. Was this even a person? Could a person beat a wild dog until its brain matter splattered?

His hands were covered in blood. He sat there, motionless.

Several dog tooth marks on his pant leg. Yet everyone was checking the children. Not one person went to help him up.

Bei Yao’s heart felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over it. She pushed through the crowd and ran over.

Her almond eyes filled with tears as she went to help him up: “Pei Chuan.”

He looked at her silently.

How many years had it been since she last cried for him?

His hands were covered in filthy blood.

The scene from that childhood spring outing when he killed the snake reappeared in her mind—those innocent eyes avoiding him like a serpent or scorpion.

He gently pushed Bei Yao away with his elbow, his heart feeling empty.

So even after growing up, having money, having deeper schemes, he still couldn’t be a hero. He could only be an anomaly.

The surrounding crying stopped for an instant. Pei Chuan pushed away Bei Yao’s support and climbed up from the ground himself.

But he fell back down.

Only then did everyone realize—this youth’s calf had been badly bitten.

Silent and soundless.

He wasn’t a normal person, so he would lose his balance. He tried twice in embarrassment, never looking at Bei Yao. Finally on the third try, he gritted his teeth and stood up.

The people around were all watching him, yet he looked at no one. Carrying his last shred of dignity, dragging that ruined residual limb, he walked toward his home.

He passed Bai Yutong, his body carrying late September’s chill and the smell of blood. Bai Yutong stepped back, looking at him in shock and fear.

He walked away.

Bei Yao crouched on the ground, burying her face in her knees. Her body trembled, tears flowing endlessly.

~

For the first time, Bei Yao so deeply realized that some things were not Pei Chuan’s fault.

She was sad that after over ten years of companionship, Pei Chuan still hadn’t become a good person. But she had forgotten that over these ten years, people’s hearts had never changed. He no longer had parents who would heartachingly call out “Son, are you alright?”

The neighbors around who watched him grow up all knew he was an oddity with an unsociable personality. He had saved their children, yet not one person dared to help him up.

The police came. Later, after examination, it was indeed a dog carrying the virus.

Zhao Zhilan was terrified. She busied herself wanting to take Bei Jun for a physical examination. After all, when the incident occurred, only Bei Jun stood at the base of the tree.

She was both a strong and fragile mother. Usually kind, but when this kind of thing happened, her instinct was still to fear losing the son she’d carried for ten months. To the extent that she couldn’t attend to anyone else.

Bei Jun was scared badly, sobbing on the sofa.

Only Bei Yao, with tear stains on her face, didn’t come over to hold him this time.

Zhao Zhilan hurriedly went out to find the children’s youngest uncle—their youngest uncle was a doctor.

Bei Jun cried: “Sister, hug me.”

Bei Yao didn’t move.

“Sister, hug me.” Unwilling to give up, he reached out his hand again. Bei Yao harshly struck that hand away.

Bei Jun was dumbfounded.

In all his years, Zhao Zhilan would scold him, Bei Licai would scold him, but Bei Yao had never said a harsh word to him. Yet this was the first time Sister had hit him.

Then he saw Bei Yao crying even more sadly than him.

The sixteen-year-old girl sobbed incoherently.

Bei Jun panicked. He went over and hugged his sister, crying together with her. Even though he didn’t understand why Sister had hit him.

Bei Yao pushed him away. She choked out: “I protected him for so many years, but the first time he was hurt this badly was because of you.”

Bei Jun didn’t understand, crying loudly.

Bei Yao said: “He wouldn’t have come originally.”

She knew he was bad, he was cold-blooded. If that child wasn’t Bei Jun, he wouldn’t have gone to save him.

The prosthetic leg beneath the torn pants was exposed before everyone. His fig leaf was ripped away, his last shred of dignity crushed. She was even thinking—would he die? Everyone knew the danger of a dog carrying the virus, yet only Pei Chuan, who was hurt the worst, had no one asking after him.

Bei Yao wiped away her tears and reluctantly called her father to come home.

She walked downstairs, her footsteps weak.

That window across from hers—unlike her room’s window with its year-round greenery and gentle floral fragrance—his gray curtain shut out the world’s sunlight.

~

Pei Chuan removed his prosthetic leg, closed his eyes, and lay on the bed.

He didn’t go wash his hands. Facing Cao Li’s horrified gaze, he returned to his room and closed the door.

Before long, Bai Yutong came back. Her voice trembling, she asked: “Mom, where is he?”

Cao Li untied her apron: “In his room. What happened downstairs?”

“I’m not clear either. He seems to have been bitten by a wild dog. That dog was huge, and he beat the wild dog to death. You know what? The dog’s brain matter was smashed out by him. He’s a psychopath. What if one day he…”

“Shut up!” Cao Li also discovered her own voice was trembling. She forced herself to remain calm, yet thought of her stepson’s pants that had been bitten through with several holes.

Wouldn’t—wouldn’t he contract some disease?

Even though Cao Li was scheming and loved ‘household battles,’ when it came to this kind of matter concerning human life, her legs still felt weak.

The mother and daughter both didn’t dare knock on that tightly closed door. Cao Li could only call Pei Haobin, who was still at work.

Bai Yutong’s teeth chattered: “Too terrifying. I don’t want to stay together with him. I want to go out.”

Cao Li pinched her hard and lowered her voice: “If your Uncle Pei comes back and sees you like this, do you still want to live well in the Pei family? Go drink the northwest wind then. If you’re going to be stupid, don’t drag me, your mother, down with you!”

Bai Yutong didn’t dare make a sound.

The doorbell rang.

Bai Yutong was ordered to open the door.

She saw a pair of tear-filled eyes. The girl outside the door carried early autumn’s desolation. That small face possessed a moving beauty that Bai Yutong had gnashed her teeth over countless times in hatred.

Yet this beautiful face ultimately belonged to a girl not yet sixteen, her eyes crying red.

Bai Yutong was stunned, almost forgetting her fear.

Bei Yao never came to their home. This was the first time since Bai Yutong and her mother had moved over.

Bai Yutong thought in disbelief—this girl, the most beautiful she’d seen in her entire life, couldn’t possibly be here for her crippled, half-dead, uncared-for stepbrother, could she?