While everyone was asleep, the two quietly got up, put on their shoes, and tiptoed out.

The faint light of the waning moon fell gently on the ground, illuminating the path ahead.

Wang Laizi's house is located on the outermost edge of the village. The area around the house is dirty and messy, but there are piles of sacks, making it easy to spot.

As is customary, once he gets something good, he goes to the next village to find his cronies, so he probably hasn't returned yet.

Liu Huan and his companion squatted down on the road he always took home. Soon they saw a drunkard carrying a bottle of liquor, staggering over.

As soon as the man got close, Shi Tou pushed him down, put a sack over his head, and Liu Huan started hitting him with a stick.

"Hey, who, who dares to hit me?"

People who have been drinking feel dizzy and weak, and can only mutter curses.

After the beating was nearly over, the two dropped the sack and started running away; after all, they had taken the sack and stick from his house.

The stone ran too fast, and Liu Huan couldn't keep up and fell.

Shi Tou squatted down, picked her up, and ran until they reached the vicinity of the Su family's house before stopping.

Liu Huan felt heartbroken hearing him panting heavily. "Shi Tou, put me down. I can walk by myself."

Shi Tou lifted her up a little, "It's okay, you're not heavy. It's dark at night, you'll cry if you fall."

Liu Huan didn't refute him, but lowered her face to his head, "Shi Tou, you're so good." As long as he was by her side, she felt a strange sense of security, just like she knew that Shi Tou would definitely avenge her.

Stone tilted his head and nuzzled against her: "So you have to be good and not be naughty."

Okay~

The two quietly went to their room, took off their shoes, and went back to sleep, enjoying a peaceful night without any dreams.

The next day, while Liu Huan was still in bed, she heard Su's mother say, "He must have been drinking, otherwise how could he have fallen into the ditch?"

Startled, she jumped back to her senses, her sleepiness vanished, and she ran out without even putting on her shoes. "Mom, who fell into the ditch?"

Su's mother: "Why are you in such a hurry? Go put your shoes on. We were talking about Wang Laizi. He was found in the ditch this morning, and there was a sack of his next to him. I guess he was going to steal something from someone and threw it in there."

Liu Huan froze. How could this be? They only beat him up; they didn't push him.

Liu Huan's heart pounded, and she nervously knocked on the crack in the door: "Then... is the person dead?"

"They say he's not dead, but he can't move; he's probably paralyzed."

Liu Huan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, as long as he didn't die last night, it doesn't matter when he dies.

Shi Tou came out of the kitchen, frowned when he saw that she wasn't wearing shoes, found some shoes for her, and put them on. "Remember to put on your shoes when you get up. How many times have I told you?"

Seeing that Shi Tou had no expression, Liu Huan thought he was amazing; his mental fortitude was far superior to hers, who was only in her twenties.

Last night, after they finished fighting and ran away, Wang Laizi took a long time to get up. He took off the burlap sack from his head and kept cursing. After cursing enough, he lost his footing on the way back and fell into a ditch. He fell asleep, but luckily he landed on a rock, otherwise he would have been dead.

Later I learned that Wang Laizi was really paralyzed, and his mouth was crooked.

Wang Laizi's mother kept insisting that her son had been murdered, and that no one in the village would listen to him. Even if he had been murdered, she said it was his own fault, as he was a petty thief and everyone hated him.

Of course, that's a story for another time.

Since it was a school break and Wang Laizi was paralyzed again, the family felt at ease and went up the mountain.

When they met villagers on the road, they would say they were going to chop firewood, deliberately avoiding people, afraid that others would see them.

Liu Huan had already collected enough stones that day, so today she picked whatever she liked: "Stones, over here, this one is huge."

Stone followed behind her, carrying a basket on his back. "You're here. Don't you want these smaller ones?"

“Go ahead and pick it up,” Liu Huan said matter-of-factly.

Without realizing it, I started humming a song: "The little girl picking mushrooms, carrying a big basket on her back, barefoot in the early morning, walks through the woods and hills."

Because he was afraid they would hear him, he deliberately spoke unclearly and off-key, making it sound strange.

Xiao Shi is her loyal fan. He put down the mushrooms and started clapping: "Huanhuan is so amazing."

"I'm the best!" Liu Huan shook her head proudly, then shook it again.

Seeing that her tail was about to show, Stone kindly reminded her, "Watch the road, little one..."

Before I could finish speaking, the person... was gone... had fallen down the slope...

"Huanhuan!" Shi Tou threw down his basket and slid down in that direction.

He quickly helped her up, still dazed from the fall, asking, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Liu Huan shook her head, looking at a red fruit in her hand. She had accidentally grabbed it when she came down, and it had become wilted after a winter.

Liu Huan shook her bewildered head. This...this is a chili pepper?

It looks similar, but I'm not sure, since it doesn't look much like the chili pepper from my previous life.

Stone didn't see what was in her hand clearly, but seeing that her head was covered in withered leaves, he patiently removed them from her hand. Holding her hand, he said irritably, "You just said you'd be good last night, and you've forgotten again today. Come on, I'll take you upstairs."

Liu Huan nodded perfunctorily, focusing all her attention on the chili peppers.

To confirm whether it was chili pepper, she quickly put it in her mouth, and the spiciness instantly made her face turn bright red.

Stone, unaware that she had put something in her mouth, reached out and slapped the rest out of her hand, yelling, "You put everything in your mouth? Are you crazy? Spit it out!"

After saying that, he reached into her mouth with his hand and scooped out the little bit she had bitten off.

Liu Huan's eyes welled up with tears from the spiciness, which confirmed one thing: spiciness really is a form of pain.

To avoid being scolded by the stone, she pitifully cried out, "Stone, it hurts!"

Stone looked anxious and didn't know what to do: "You put everything in your mouth, who else would feel pain if not you? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

Liu Huan shook her head with tears streaming down her face, "No."

Xiao Shi saw Liu Huan fall earlier, and now he slid down as well. "Huanhuan, what did you eat? I want to eat too."

Stone slapped him on the head angrily: "Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating!"

Xiao Shi scratched his head, confused. "What's wrong with me now?"

Stone picked up the fallen fruit from the ground. "Luckily, you ate a spicy fruit. If it had been another kind, I..."

Liu Huan swallowed hard, her mouth watering, and then suddenly realized, "So this is called a spicy fruit..."

Now that we know each other, things will be much easier.

Xiao Shi leaned closer and asked, "What is spicy fruit? Is it delicious?"

Having two gluttonous cats at home is really a burden for the older brother: "If it's not food, don't join in the fun, don't learn from Huanhuan, she wants to put everything in her mouth."

Xiao Shi: "Oh~"

When Shi Tou called Liu Huan to go up, she stopped and just stood there, asking, "What else do you want?"

"I want the spicy fruit; I want to take it home and play with it."

Kids are easy to expose if you explain too much; it's better to just act unreasonably and stumble upon something unexpected.

Stone patiently coaxed her, "What's so fun about that? Go up and pick mushrooms. The big ones will all be picked in a bit."

Liu Huan shook off his hand and turned her back: "I don't want it, I just want the spicy fruit."

Seeing that she was getting angry, Shi Tou clenched his fists and said, "Liu Huan, do you believe I'll beat you up?"

Liu Huan opened her mouth and started crying, "Mom, Shi Tou is going to hit me, waaaaaah!"

They had heard the commotion upstairs long ago, but Su's mother didn't have time to care: "Shitou, just pick it for her if she wants it. It's no big deal. Don't make her cry."

Liu Huan then chuckled and pulled him along, saying, "Stone, let me pick it for you~"

Stone grabbed her chubby cheeks with both hands and said through gritted teeth, "I really owe you something."

After saying that, he turned around and went over there to pick spicy fruit for her.

Xiao Shi squatted down on the ground, picked up a small, entirely red fruit, and asked, "Huanhuan, can we eat this?"

Liu Huan initially accepted the fruit perfunctorily, but was still startled when she saw what it looked like.

"Hey buddy, where did you come from?"

Xiao Shi pointed to the seedlings on the ground that he had almost pulled bare, "Here, let me see if this is the spicy fruit you were talking about, but this one looks so small."

Liu Huan suddenly knelt on the ground, startling Xiao Shi. "Huanhuan, are you alright?"