The person following behind rushed over. “Big Brother, are you alright?”

He supported the fallen man’s arm and looked at Lin Hao with a ferocious expression. “Young lady, your donkey injured someone, yet you still sit on it completely unmoved?”

This person forgot, however, that it wasn’t only Lin Hao who saw his vicious appearance—Lin Xiaohua saw it too.

Lin Xiaohua was frightened, and combined with her instinctive protective reaction, her donkey lips pulled back as she bit down on this person.

A miserable scream of “Oww!” rang out.

Lin Hao’s mouth twitched hearing it, understanding this was a genuine injury. The earlier person who had collapsed with a scream—his acting wasn’t even as convincing as hers.

Lin Xiaohua was still in a state of great insecurity. Having bitten this one, she went to bite the earlier person.

That earlier person wasn’t actually injured. Seeing the donkey mouth coming toward him, unable to think about anything else, he scrambled up and ran.

The person who’d been bitten saw this and his eyes nearly split with rage. He shouted, “Goudan, wait for me!” In his rush to escape, he was bitten again by Lin Xiaohua.

Lin Hao frowned.

Hadn’t he just called him Big Brother?

The two ran extremely fast and soon disappeared from Lin Hao’s view.

Sensing multiple gazes watching the spectacle, Lin Hao patted Lin Xiaohua. “Let’s go.”

In a nearby alley convenient for concealing one’s form, the Crown Prince slowly looked toward Wang Gui.

“This is the heroic rescue you arranged for me?”

There was “beauty” alright, but where was his hero’s entrance opportunity?

Wang Gui was on the verge of tears. “It’s all this servant’s poor planning. Your Highness, please forgive me.”

He hadn’t expected those two to be so useless—they hadn’t even gotten to harass Second Miss Lin before being bitten by a donkey.

“This servant thought to avoid leaving traces and had people find two idlers to put on a show. Who knew they’d be such wastes…”

The Crown Prince glared fiercely at Wang Gui and swept his sleeves as he returned to the palace.

This small incident didn’t affect Lin Hao’s mood. She rewarded Lin Xiaohua with a bean cake, not forgetting to remind her, “Lin Xiaohua, you mustn’t develop a habit of biting everyone you see.”

Those two were obviously attempting insurance fraud and deserved to be bitten by a donkey. However, looking at it this way, this area was rather chaotic.

Lin Hao dismounted and led Lin Xiaohua toward a tea stall.

Having been out for a while, she was somewhat parched.

Subtle footsteps approached. Lin Hao lowered her eyes and saw a thin, filthy hand quietly reaching toward the purse at her waist.

She turned her head to look at the hand’s owner.

It was a beggar child with disheveled hair and a dirt-covered face.

The beggar child was startled at being discovered, then quickly grabbed for the purse hanging at Lin Hao’s waist.

Lin Hao’s attention was entirely focused on observing the beggar child. In a moment of inattention, the purse was yanked free.

Having succeeded, the beggar child took off running.

Lin Hao’s lips curved into a smile.

It was A’Xing!

Who would have thought that after searching for several days without finding him, today he would appear before her of his own accord.

Lin Hao mounted Lin Xiaohua to chase after him.

A’Xing was clearly extremely familiar with this area. Seeing the young lady whose purse he’d stolen riding a donkey in pursuit, he specifically took winding, circuitous routes.

Lin Hao, fearing he’d escape, followed closely behind.

As time passed, A’Xing began to struggle. Gritting his teeth, he ducked into a narrow, long alley.

This was a dead-end alley.

A’Xing ran to the end with his head down, then turned to glance at Lin Hao.

Lin Hao, riding Lin Xiaohua, slowed her pace.

A’Xing leaped up and climbed the surrounding wall like an agile monkey. Having run himself tired and shaken off the danger, he simply sat on top of the wall to rest.

Lin Hao was both amused and exasperated.

She’d actually been robbed by A’Xing.

In their first meeting in the previous life, A’Xing had helped her. In their first meeting in this life, A’Xing had robbed her…

People and events truly could change at any time.

A’Xing rested briefly, then stood up and glanced at Lin Hao again before turning to jump to the other side of the wall.

“Wait a moment.” The young lady’s clear voice rang out.

A’Xing’s form paused. Instinctively turning his head, his eyes widened involuntarily.

The young lady leaped from the donkey’s back and easily jumped onto the wall.

A’Xing’s expression changed and he was about to jump down when his arm was grabbed.

This pull caused him to lose his balance and topple backward.

Lin Hao, holding A’Xing’s arm, landed back on the ground, her other hand reaching out to catch the person about to hit the ground.

With the momentum, A’Xing sat down hard. Looking up, he saw a curious donkey face leaning close.

Lin Hao, fearing Lin Xiaohua would bite someone, quickly called out, “Lin Xiaohua!”

The young man sitting on the ground said dazedly, “My name is A’Xing.”

Lin Hao pushed Lin Xiaohua’s donkey face away and crouched down to stare at A’Xing.

It really was A’Xing.

A’Xing suddenly reached out to push Lin Hao.

Lin Hao’s hands were quick and her eyes sharp as she grabbed his wrist, her delicate brows furrowing. “Why are you pushing people for no reason? Don’t you know men and women shouldn’t touch?”

A’Xing’s gaze fell on the hand the young lady was using to grip his wrist, and he pressed his lips into a tight line.

“Get up first before we talk.” Lin Hao released his hand and stood up.

A’Xing climbed up expressionlessly, then suddenly charged toward the alley entrance.

A hand reached out and grabbed his clothing from behind.

Lin Hao circled around to face him, her pretty face showing displeasure. “Can you talk properly? Does running solve problems?”

A’Xing looked at Lin Hao warily. “What exactly do you want?”

Lin Hao raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who robbed me, yet you’re asking me what I want?”

She paused, deliberately teasing him. “Robbery in broad daylight—I should report you to the authorities—”

“Don’t!” Fear appeared in A’Xing’s eyes as he held out the purse. “Here, take it.”

Lin Hao didn’t accept it. Smiling, she asked, “First tell me, why did you steal my purse?”

A’Xing frowned, clearly unwilling to say more to Lin Hao. But he couldn’t escape, and this wretched girl was threatening to report him to the authorities, so he could only yield.

“Your purse has money in it.”

Lin Hao’s mouth twitched. “I’m asking why you’re stealing my money?”

A’Xing’s eyes shifted away as he said lightly, “I’m short of money.”

“Being short of money means you should steal?” Lin Hao put away her smile and became serious. “This isn’t right. What if you stole from a poor person—what if you took someone’s life-saving money? What if you stole from a wealthy person—with all those household servants and bodyguards, what if they beat you to death? This kind of robbery is wrong to others and even more wrong to yourself. Most wrong of all is to your family…”

Listening to the young lady prattle on endlessly, veins popped on A’Xing’s forehead as he clenched his fists.

Why was this wretched girl so long-winded? He really wanted to shut her mouth!

Finally, after enduring a quarter-hour of Lin Hao’s scolding, A’Xing couldn’t take it anymore. Through gritted teeth, he said, “My younger brother is sick! I need to buy medicine and fetch a physician!”

Lin Hao stopped talking. Looking at A’Xing, she said with complete naturalness, “Then take me to see him.”

A’Xing’s entire body tensed upon hearing this. Looking at Lin Hao as if facing a terrible flood or savage beast, he asked, “What do you want to do?”

Lin Hao found this somewhat amusing. “I don’t eat people—what are you so nervous about? I just want to verify whether what you said is true or not. If it’s true—”

“What then?” A’Xing blurted out.

Lin Hao pointed at the purse A’Xing was gripping tightly. “Then I’ll give you the money in that purse, and I won’t report you to the authorities either.”

A’Xing’s face showed suspicion, clearly unable to trust Lin Hao’s words.

Lin Hao’s pretty face turned stern. “Then I’ll take you to report to the authorities right now.”

A’Xing bit his lip and finally yielded helplessly. “I’ll take you there.”

Lin Hao led Lin Xiaohua, her lips curving into a smile. “Let’s go then.”