"have no idea."

Huo Mingchen looked at the sky outside before continuing, "The rain was too heavy at the time, and they were trapped in a big tree. Unfortunately, I couldn't save all three of them by myself."

"..."

One person can't save three people?

If she hadn't known that she had once saved half a village, she probably would have believed Huo Mingchen's lies.

Seeing her expression, Huo Mingchen assumed she was unhappy: "I know those three people are your family, but they are too heartless. It's better to get rid of them to prevent future troubles."

He disliked dragging things out and was not one to be soft-hearted. Moreover, after witnessing how badly Cheng Shanshan had been bullied, he felt no sympathy for the three of them.

Cheng Shanshan smiled faintly: "Brother Huo, you're joking. I'm not as kind as you think. My family consists of just me and my mother, and now there's Brother Huo. There's no one else in the family."

"……I?"

Huo Mingchen was stunned for a moment.

He found it hard to believe that he had been categorized as family.

Cheng Shanshan looked at Huo Mingchen with extremely sincere eyes: "When I went to look for you that day, I decided in my heart that if you were safe, I would definitely keep you here and face what comes next together. I wonder if Brother Huo would be willing?"

Huo Mingchen didn't agree immediately, but considered it for a moment: "Of course I'm willing, and if you don't mind, I'll naturally like it too..."

"How could I possibly dislike it!" Cheng Shanshan immediately interrupted Huo Mingchen, beaming, "From now on, you're my brother!"

"Your brother?"

Disappointment was clearly visible in Huo Mingchen's eyes.

The smile on his face vanished, replaced by an unusual coldness: "I have no interest in being your brother. I'll leave once the rain stops." With that, he turned and went to the door, saying in a low voice, "Until then, I'll keep watch over this place for you. Don't worry."

Looking at Huo Mingchen's tall figure, Cheng Shanshan was extremely disappointed.

In the evening, Bai shredded the chicken from the stewed chicken soup into strips, then made a spicy cold dish with seasonings. She also made five scallion pancakes and cooked a pot of white porridge.

The three of them sat together and had their first meal together.

After dinner, Cheng Shanshan tidied up the room where clutter was stored and made it available for Huo Mingchen to live in.

Just thinking about how decisively he rejected her during the day made her feel a little heartbroken. Seeing that she was unhappy, Bai asked in a low voice, "Shanshan, it seems like you and Xiao Huo had a fight. He kept secretly watching you during dinner tonight, as if he wanted to say something but held back."

Cheng Shanshan was a little surprised: "Really?"

"Yes, I have."

Bai sighed: "You're a smart girl sometimes, but other times you seem a bit dim-witted. Can't you tell he doesn't want to be your brother?"

If I don't want to be the older brother, do I have to be the older sister?

Just as Cheng Shanshan was about to ask that question, she suddenly heard some voices coming from the doorway. However, this time it wasn't a man but an old woman: "Shanshan, could you open the door for me and let me hide inside?"

"Sister Shanshan, it's me, Wang Xiaodong. It's raining so hard outside, I'm freezing! Please let my grandmother and me in."

"Yes, yes, it's just the two of us, mother and child. Please have pity on the old woman and the child!"

Upon hearing this, Bai immediately said, "That's Granny Wang and her grandson's voice." She usually treated the mother and son quite well, so her first instinct was to go to the door and let them in.

But Cheng Shanshan grabbed her arm: "Mother, things aren't that simple!" She walked to the door with a cold face and her eyes were filled with icy intent.

Previously, no one outside knew who she was, but now that they can call her by name and have two elderly people and a child come over, it's obvious that it was planned.

At that moment, Huo Mingchen also picked up his weapon, and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Don't pity those people."

Cheng Shanshan also picked up the utensils: "What is compassion? Can you eat it?"

Those outside were getting anxious when they heard no movement from inside. The boy, Wang Xiaodong, cried out in distress, "Uncle, uncle, what am I going to do if the people inside don't open the door? I'm going to freeze to death if I wait any longer!"

Immediately, someone lowered their voice and scolded, "Shut up! Just knock on the door, don't say anything else."

The sound came out.

Even the Bai family knew they were setting a trap.

"But……"

Wang Xiaodong really wanted to cry.

Seeing her grandson like this, Granny Wang felt heartbroken: "Sister Bai, I've helped you so much all the time, you can't be so heartless. In this day and age, please have pity on me and the child, okay? I beg you."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shanshan narrowed her eyes slightly and responded to the people outside for the first time: "You'd better get lost, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

The people outside finally got a response and couldn't help but curse angrily: "This cave isn't yours! Why are you occupying it all by yourself? I'm telling you, you'd better get out of the way right now, or we won't be polite!"

"Let's see who dares to try!"

Huo Mingchen's voice was incredibly intimidating.

Those outside thought that only Cheng Shanshan and Bai Shi were inside, but they were surprised to find Huo Mingchen there as well.

However, they quickly realized what was going on and mocked, "So it's that rough fellow Huo! I've heard you two have a thing going on, but I didn't expect it to be true."

"That's right, Cheng Shanshan is really something. She had an ambiguous relationship with Lin Sheng before, and now she's hooked up with this guy surnamed Huo. She really takes all kinds of people!"

Hearing these increasingly offensive words, Huo Mingchen made a move to leave, but Cheng Shanshan grabbed his hand: "Brother Huo, don't listen to their provocation. Let them say whatever they want. We just won't open the door or go out."

She has everything she wants now, and the cave is a natural protective shield.

She would absolutely not leave this place until the torrential rain and floods ended.

After a while, the people outside seemed to have run out of steam and left temporarily. Cheng Shanshan looked around before speaking, "How did they suddenly guess it was me?"

Huo Mingchen explained, "There are two possibilities. One is that they carefully investigated the whereabouts of the villagers and guessed it was you. The other is that someone saw you come up the mountain before."

"Um."

Both are possible.

However, Cheng Shanshan was indifferent to knowing who she was. She turned to Bai Shi and said, "Mother, just pretend you don't hear about what's going on here. Just leave it to Brother Huo and me."

"good."

Bai responded.

At this moment, Huo Mingchen looked at her: "Why do you seem to know something all along?" He asked her about hoarding various goods and even asking her to renovate the cave.