He was perfectly fine one second while comforting people, but when Shen Suqing and other strong men from the village came looking for him carrying hoes, sickles, and torches, Zhan Xinjia suddenly felt weak and collapsed.

Su Yun caught the little girl who suddenly fainted in her arms with a puzzled look on her face. She was so frightened that her voice cracked.

"Little Sister Azhi?!"

Nestled in Sister Su's warm and fragrant embrace, Zhan Xinjia trembled as she stretched out a hand, raised her index finger, and then eagerly pointed to her wide-open mouth with that same finger.

Like a fledgling bird eagerly awaiting its mother's feeding.

Hungry!

My stomach was empty, and I cried out.

Too hungry to speak, Zhan Xinjia pouted, tears welling up in her eyes, her gaze misty with a soft fog, looking utterly aggrieved.

Su Yun felt both heartache and confusion, and could only frantically hug the little girl in her arms tighter and tighter.

"Little sister Azhi, what's wrong?"

Not only Su Yun, but the other villagers who came to find her were also stunned.

What's wrong with this child?!

The experienced Shen Suqing immediately turned around and asked.

"Who brought food?"

Although it sounds hard to understand, it seems like his child is starving to death...

That's normal, since Ah Zhi usually eats many bowls of rice in one meal. He only fed her half a bowl of porridge with a spoon because he was worried that her stomach wouldn't be able to handle being hungry for too long.

Upon hearing this, the villagers erupted like boiling oil in a pan. Immediately, everyone lowered their heads and rummaged through their pockets, enthusiastically exchanging words.

"I have half a leftover steamed bun here."

"I brought two carrot cakes to feed the chickens!!"

"Everyone move aside! Let me feed them first!! I still have a piece of chestnut cake I bought from the county!!!"

The girl in the pink dress who said this was the one who had passed by earlier.

She boldly pulled out the oil paper package, and like a shining hero, with a resolute look in her eyes, she strode confidently toward the little girl.

Under Zhan Xinjia's intense gaze, the girl with the pink powder slowly revealed a loving smile like that of an old mother, and carefully fed the little girl pieces of chestnut cake, which she had broken into pieces, into her wide-open mouth.

"Eat, you can eat anything, eat as much as you want, is that enough, child!"

With her cheeks bulging, Zhan Xinjia chewed the sweet and soft chestnut cake with great effort, tears welling up in her eyes. At this moment, the girl with the pink face was simply a goddess descended to earth in her eyes.

It was a false alarm after all.

Taking the little cripple who had almost starved to death from Su Jun's arms, Shen Suqing endured the pain from the arrow wound as he picked Azhi up and carried him down the mountain with a stern face and without saying a word.

As he walked, Chen Suqing's molars ground together with a grinding sound.

How could there be such a worrying child who just disappeared the moment you let go of them!

He went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and she was nowhere to be found in the yard. She was harder to catch than a loach in a pond, harder to catch than a mad dog with epilepsy, and harder to control than a pig during the New Year!

Realizing that Lord Shen was furious and knew she was in the wrong, Zhan Xinjia could only timidly bury her face in his arms, secretly grabbing a handful of his long hair that was hanging down in front of him and holding it in her palm. She began to play dead, feeling guilty.

Zhan Xinjia didn't dare to say a word the whole way, for fear of adding fuel to the fire.

Once inside the courtyard, she was placed on a rattan chair padded with soft pillows. Unable to continue pretending to be dead, Zhan Xinjia raised her head and tugged at the young man's clothes, blinking her eyes innocently and weakly.

"Young Master Shen, you once said that it is of utmost importance to admit one's mistakes and correct them, so you should forgive me now. Besides, even those murderers can turn over a new leaf after laying down their weapons, so you can't say you won't even give me a chance, can you?"

"Chance?"

Shen Suqing was so angry he almost laughed.

"It's a great virtue to admit your mistakes and correct them, but have you corrected them? Is that what you call admitting your mistakes and correcting them? Every time you do it again, you do it again."

"But! I didn't sneak out to play in the mud! I went up the mountain because I was worried about Sister Su. Doesn't that show that I'm a kind, upright, and caring child? You're scolding me; you should be praising me!"

Zhan Xinjia started raising her voice at him with a sense of righteous indignation.

Shen Suqing was so exasperated by her silly child's unreasonable demands that she was speechless.

He gave up trying to reason with her.

He pulled out a chair opposite her and sat down, resting his elbows on the table and rubbing his forehead in pain.

Zhan Xinjia was somewhat apprehensive.

"Master Xiao Shen...?"

He remained silent, only showing anger.

Zhan Xinjia gently kicked his knee with the tip of her shoe, softened her voice, and tried to act coquettishly.

"Young Master Shen, please say something!"

He remained silent, staring intently at the black mud stain that had appeared on his knees.

Seeing him sitting upright and unmoved, Zhan Xinjia sighed inwardly.

It seems we have no choice but to resort to that tactic...

After gathering her emotions, the little girl's reddened eyes instantly filled with tears. She sniffed, looked at him pitifully with teary eyes, and then burst into tears, feeling wronged.

"Young Master Shen, my leg hurts so much..."

As soon as she finished speaking, the restless young man immediately got up and moved closer to her.

He disregarded his status and image, kneeling on one knee, his fingers gently pressing on her knee, his movements careful. When he looked up at her, the heartache in his eyes was almost overflowing.

His tone was full of worry.

"Where does it hurt? Your knee, your calf, or your ankle?"

As he spoke, he pressed down all the way down.

As he gently massaged the little girl's bandaged leg, Shen Suqing's expression darkened as if he had thought of something.

"You dare to run around everywhere even though you're still limping. If we don't keep an eye on you, you'll be running to the heavens one day."

In his opinion, she would only behave if she were locked up sooner or later.

The discomfort in Zhan Xinjia's sore knees was relieved by the gentle massage of the young man's warm hands. Zhan Xinjia swung her calves, feeling sweet and warm inside, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

She said that Lord Shen is the easiest person in the world to coax!

"I wouldn't do that. Even if I were to go to heaven, I would definitely take Lord Shen with me."

After all, I'm Lord Shen's personal slingshot! What would I do without Lord Shen? How could I live without Lord Shen? Only Lord Shen could take such good care of me!

"Oh."

Too lazy to listen to her coquettishness, he gave a cold and indifferent snort.

His red and burning ear tips betrayed that his inner world was not as calm as he outwardly concealed.

Even though he knew she was just saying things to comfort him, he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart. He felt incredibly pleased and content, as if she had placed his heart in a jar of sugar water, bubbling with sweetness.

This dazzling array of persuasive words left him completely bewildered and disoriented.

After carefully examining her legs and confirming that there was no blood seeping out, Shen Suqing, whose anger had mostly subsided, finally released her.

Realizing too late that touching a girl's leg was very impolite and improper, Shen Suqing stood up abruptly in a panic, hiding the hand that had touched her behind her back as if trying to cover her ears.

He unconsciously rubbed his fingertips together, as if the warmth and fragrance of her body still lingered on them.

Shen Suqing's breathing suddenly quickened, and he rushed out the door.

"Hey, Master Shen? Where are you going so late?"

Zhan Xinjia tilted her head in confusion, completely baffled as to why Master Shen was acting so startled today.

Not long after, he came in again, carrying a tray, looking chilly.

On top were some seasonal vegetables, freshly stir-fried garlic and cured meat, thick white fish soup, and a large bowl of rice.

"Let's eat first."

He handed over the chopsticks, his face cold and his voice sharp.

Zhan Xinjia secretly smiled to herself.

She used to argue and quarrel with her mother at home. Although they would give each other the silent treatment, her mother would eventually pretend to be relaxed and call her to eat.

The phrase "eat first" seems to be a way for parents all over the world to subtly show weakness and compromise with their children.

He filled her bowl with food, then paused, as if remembering something, and his expression softened.

"The Dragon Boat Festival is just a few days away. According to village custom, we'll set up a stage and invite people to perform. Uh, what... do you want to hear?"

Zhan Xinjia bit her chopsticks, her eyes sparkling.

Why did you ask that, Master Shen? Could it be that he's the one performing in the opera?!