The Secret

In the evening, a doctor from a clinic on the street walked out of the tofu shop, instructing Bai Fang who accompanied him, "That Zhang San's injuries are not minor, but fortunately the wounds are many but not in fatal areas. Remember to give him medicine according to the prescribed formula. As long as he does not continue to be in a coma, he should be able to get up soon."

A powerless scribe who was kicked by three hooligans for half a day, his whole body covered in bruises. If he could still stand up, it would be too strange.

So it was reasonable that Zhang San 'fainted' for a while this morning.

Bai Fang and her daughter, along with Wang Xiaoer, had no choice but to move Zhang San to the tofu shop, then hurriedly invited the doctor to come and take a look.

There were only two rooms in the backyard of the tofu shop, one large and one small, belonging to Bai Fang and Bai Xiaoyu respectively, with a small hall in between. Wang Xiaoer and Bai Xiaoyu were sitting inside.

Wang Xiaoer sat bored on the old wooden chair with his hands resting on the slightly moldy wooden table, apparently due to the heavy moisture in the shop. His expression was indifferent.

Master went too far this time with his acting.

That expression, those screams, simply brilliant.

It seems my acting skills still fall far short when compared to Master's by a hundred thousand miles.

But there are some strange things.

Wang Xiaoer was confident he could fool an incompetent wandering doctor, but how did Master make it look like he was beaten all over by those three punks?

Can acting cause internal injuries?

Bang!

Wang Xiaoer hugged his head and cried out in pain, looking up at the angry Bai Xiaoyu, whose cheeks were puffed up cutely.

That's so cute... Wang Xiaoer thought.

Bai Xiaoyu was clearly oblivious to Wang Xiaoer's thoughts. She angrily said, "Your master is beaten like that! How can you still sit there so calm? Don't you even go in and see how your master is doing?!"

Wang Xiaoer quickly said, "Don't get me wrong, I'm very filial..."

But he thought inwardly: Come on, those three wimps? Give them a knife each and they still can't hurt my master one bit.

Wang Xiaoer then said, "You'd better take care of the bruise on your arm first. Does it feel better after applying the ointment?"

Compared to his master, the wound on Bai Xiaoyu's arm pained Wang Xiaoer even more.

But Bai Xiaoyu patted her arm and said boldly, "I'm fine! Let's see how your master is doing. Speaking of which, your master is just a poor scholar who can only paint, yet he dared to stand up against those bad guys. So brave! So cool!"

Bai Xiaoyu's eyes showed some admiration...

Wang Xiaoer was shocked.

Why does it seem that what I wanted to express and what Bai Xiaoyu understood are completely different?

It turns out that people's minds do not communicate.

What you see as foolish behavior, others may see as fearless bravery.

As Wang Xiaoer scratched his head, wondering what to do to portray his master as incompetent in front of Bai Xiaoyu.

Portray him badly. Very badly. Slander him.

Just as Wang Xiaoer was thinking, a cold voice came from the side, "Unexpectedly, your seemingly weak scholar master is a righteous man."

Wang Xiaoer turned back apprehensively to face the beautiful woman with some small injuries on her face, forcing out a smile.

Perhaps it was a man's inherent fear of his mother-in-law, or because Bai Fang usually behaved with indifference. Wang Xiaoer had hardly spoken a few sentences to her.

Although Wang Xiaoer always felt that there were some similarities between Bai Fang and his own mother, he still subconsciously feared this beautiful woman.

Bai Fang's voice was cold. She told the two children, "I'll go in and take a look. You two stay here and don't wander around. We'll report to the authorities later."

Bai Xiaoyu and Wang Xiaoer nodded without daring to say more.

...

...

Pushing open the door, Bai Fang carefully examined Zhang San who was wrapped in a lot of bandages and still "unconscious".

She gently touched Zhang San's forehead to check his temperature. Before leaving, the doctor had urged her to pay attention to whether the scholar had a fever after the injury, and to call the doctor back no matter how late it was if there was one.

Fortunately, Zhang San's temperature was normal, which reassured her a lot.

After all, it was not for her and her daughter that the scholar suffered such a beating.

Recalling Wang Xiaoer’s earlier words in the small hall...

A handsome scholar who didn't know martial arts, but liked to stand up against injustice, getting beaten black and blue every time.

Looking at the handsome scholar's face, Bai Fang was reminded of many things.

In her memories, there was such a person by her side many years ago as well.

She remembered this beautiful face had brought her a lot of trouble in the past, and the scholar in her memory, well-read as he was, should have been a smart person, yet he always rushed to the forefront like a fool whenever she encountered injustice.

His name was Lu Qingming.

As Bai Fang thought back, she somehow lost herself and stood there for a long time until the cold moon hung high in the night sky.

Bai Fang shook her head. She didn't want to think about those things anymore, and prepared to spend the night with her daughter tonight. But before leaving, she took a white cloth from the room and walked to a recess in the inner room.

There was a small table with a memorial tablet.

Facing the memorial tablet, Bai Fang whispered, "Father, it's been ten years since you passed away. Today, your daughter is being disrespectful, but it is only because I don't want your name to be revealed to others, lest it causes trouble."

As she spoke, Bai Fang covered the table with the white cloth.

Finally, Bai Fang kowtowed to the memorial tablet and pleaded earnestly, "Father used to often say that there are many more despicable people among the well-read. But today your daughter was saved by a scholar again. Father hates owing favors the most. If you have a spirit, please don't let this scholar sleep too long."

After saying this, Bai Fang still didn't feel at ease. She pushed the large wardrobe in the inner room to the corner to cover the memorial tablet. Coincidentally, the size of this wardrobe just perfectly concealed the corner, seemingly deliberately designed this way.

Seeing no problem, Bai Fang then left.

A long time later, Zhang San slowly opened his eyes.

Damn it!

Beaten up by three punks, I'm really regressing huh.

Zhang San was not too upset about it though. After all, shamelessness does have its advantages.

What really displeased Zhang San was that because of a very "weird" scene he saw in the crowd at that time, in order to stop Wang Xiaoer from taking action, he was now inexplicably involved with this Bai Fang.

Just like that time with Xie Wuyuan...

Every time it's you, Wang Xiaoer!

I will kill you sooner or later!

While sinisterly thinking so, Zhang San noiselessly got out of bed. Bai Fang's whispers earlier as well as the sounds of her pushing the wardrobe, he had heard them all clearly. Now, he headed straight for the memorial tablet inside the room.