Chapter 113 (First Release)...

That wasn't an object at all, it was a person!

Caught peeping, Ning Wanwan froze.

She was afraid that this person would "expose" her, as a stranger, climbing the wall, which didn't seem like she was up to anything good.

But for some unknown reason, the white "object" did not speak directly. Instead, it withdrew its gaze and remained motionless, continuing to endure the malice of others.

Those surrounding the center were completely oblivious to what was happening, continuing their verbal and physical altercations, occasionally kicking and punching, as if they weren't afraid of causing serious injury.

Ning Wanwan pursed her lips, her feelings somewhat complicated and confused.

Even if you don't dare to resist... why not hide? Or is it that hiding would provoke even greater malice?

Given Ning Wanwan's status as an outsider fleeing famine, she couldn't even protect herself, let alone help others. She couldn't even enter the village, so she was powerless to do anything.

She suppressed her complex emotions and uncertainty, and continued to observe and gather information as much as possible.

Judging from the outline, Ning Wanwan felt that the "object" being beaten and teased by everyone in the middle was not an adult, but a child who was about eight or nine years old and had a head of striking white hair.

This puzzled her even more. What kind of intense malice could drive these teenagers to attack a child who was only eight or nine years old?

Thinking this, her gaze couldn't help but linger for a few seconds on the child's unusually pure white hair.

"Hey, what were you looking at just now?" The group of teenagers, tired of fighting and arguing, huddled together, laughing about something. One of them asked the white-haired boy in a fierce tone.

The white-haired child remained calm and motionless: "I didn't see anything."

"I didn't see anything, huh? I really hate your sour face. You're just a brat with no talent or ability, and you look so weird. What's so great about you? If it weren't for the village chief's family protecting you..." The other person got angrier and angrier as they spoke.

Then, finding it very offensive, he kicked the child again.

The white-haired child swayed a few times before falling to the ground, his snow-white cheeks and hair covered in dirt.

He remained motionless, his little face expressionless.

"How boring, speechless. I don't know what the village chief's family sees in him that makes them insist on keeping him in the village..."

"Yes, in my opinion, we should throw him out and let the monster eat him, so as not to waste our village's food."

They burst into unrestrained laughter, as if they were talking about something very interesting.

Hearing this from the wall, Ning Wanwan bit her lip, gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of talent and aptitude.

Just because they lack talent, should such young children be treated like this?

"Honestly, this is so annoying. Why don't we just kill him? No one will stand up for him anyway."

Seeing that the group was about to attack the child again, the child remained lying on the ground, motionless, seemingly resigned to his fate.

Ning Wanwan's heart leaped into her throat, and she dared not watch any longer.

Should they shout to stop them? But even if they did, it would probably be useless and would only put themselves and Anseil in danger...

Because it was obvious that the way the child was treated was something the whole village tacitly accepted.

Ning Wanwan moved her lips.

"stop!"

A loud voice suddenly rang out, like a ray of redemptive light, stopping the rude behavior of the teenage boys and girls.

Ning Wanwan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and looked in the direction of the sound.

Approaching them was a brown-haired, freckled boy who was a bit older than the group of unruly children. He had a furrowed brow, a commanding presence, and looked extremely angry.

"What you've done is absolutely outrageous! How could you treat him like that! He's a member of our village too!"

"No, he's not. He was just someone we picked up in our village," someone couldn't help but mutter in protest.

"Then he's one of our villagers now!" The brown-haired boy glared fiercely at the person who spoke.

Then the person who had spoken first mumbled something and stopped talking.

Clearly, the brown-haired boy was of higher status than the others, and it was thanks to his intervention that this collective evil was finally stopped.

Those people left sheepishly, but it was clear that they hadn't really let go of their malice towards the white-haired child. At least Ning Wanwan saw them secretly glare at the white-haired child several times before they left.

After they left, the brown-haired, freckled boy helped the child up from the ground, his expression both kind and helpless.

"Why did they bully you again? If this happens again, tell me and I won't let them do it again."

The white-haired child shook his head without saying a word.

However, the refusal was quite obvious.

The brown-haired, freckled boy's expression changed, looking somewhat unpleasant. He softened his tone and spoke a few words to the white-haired child, but received no response.

The brown-haired, freckled boy even felt as if he were talking to a stone, doing something futile and useless.

Being young, he couldn't hold back his temper any longer and strode away after a while.

Ning Wanwan watched as the farcical scene finally came to an end and everyone left, unsure whether she should breathe a sigh of relief.

There's no one here now, so there's no need to stay on the wall any longer.

However, she had only just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to climb down the wall to leave when she suddenly heard a childish yet incredibly calm voice.

"Who are you"

Ning Wanwan was startled and coughed a few times because she couldn't catch her breath. Before she could catch her breath, she quickly looked down toward the source of the sound.

Right in the corner of this wall, there stood a little boy with white hair.

No one knows when, but he had quietly arrived at the foot of the wall.

At that moment, he was looking up at her with his small face upturned, expressionless, his eyes cold and calm.

Ning Wanwan couldn't help but gasp.

To be fair, this white-haired little boy is quite handsome.

Her delicate, snow-white face, pale pink lips, and short, pure white hair like falling snow, along with her snow-white skin, made her look like she was made of snow and jade, exuding an otherworldly, clean, and cold aura.

Even though the child was wearing drab clothes and his face and hair were covered in dirt from what had just happened, there was no denying that he looked extremely clean.

It's like a cold weapon, originally spotless, but accidentally gets dirty. However, as long as you wipe it clean with a cloth, it will return to its original clear and transparent appearance.

Because of the distance between them before, Ning Wanwan hadn't noticed, but now that they were closer, she saw that the other person had a pair of inorganic, light-colored, cool, silver-gray pupils.

Ning Wanwan stared blankly into those eyes, somewhat stunned, and an inappropriate thought flashed through her mind.

—This child has such a strong inhuman quality about him.

Even when interacting with Ansel, whose thought process was sometimes rather strange, Ning Wanwan never felt this way.

Being looked at by such a pair of indifferent eyes, as if everything was just a shallow reflection, Ning Wanwan felt a chill as if she were immersed in icy snow water.

Under the gaze of the white-haired boy, she suddenly came to her senses and realized that she had unknowingly broken out in a cold sweat.

"Who are you?" The girl didn't respond, so the white-haired boy asked again, but he didn't show any impatience, or rather, his expression didn't change at all.

His tone was almost identical to the first time, as if it had been copied and pasted, or as if it were a pre-programmed machine.

"I……"

Ning Wanwan subconsciously tried to avoid the little boy's gaze, which seemed to reflect her entire being clearly in his pupils.

She composed herself, her lips parted slightly, and she whispered, "My name is Ning Wanwan."

"Oh." The little boy with white hair, as white as jade, nodded.

"Hello, my name is Xiaozhou."

He said it very politely.

If you ignore his unchanging expression.

Ning Wanwan: "Xiao Zhou... hello."

Then the two fell silent.

Ning Wanwan didn't know what to say, nor did she have anything to say; she just wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible. As for Xiao Zhou…

He didn't speak or leave, his head tilted back, his delicate and cute face expressionless, just staring at Ning Wanwan.

He seemed to be observing her very carefully, yet he also seemed to be simply watching her.

“You’re not from the village,” he said definitively, his tone flat.

Ning Wanwan couldn't bring herself to deny it: "Um, I'm not..."

At the same time, she also became more aware of a terrible fact—even an eight or nine-year-old child who seemed to not communicate with others and was discriminated against and bullied in the village could tell at a glance that he was not from this village, let alone others.

Trying to sneak into the village is absolutely not feasible.

Thinking of this, Ning Wanwan couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly, a hint of worry appearing on her face.

There was silence for a moment. After a while, Ning Wanwan suddenly remembered something, looked down, and found that the little boy was still under the wall.

Ning Wanwan: "..."

Ning Wanwan remained in one position, almost stiff, and she pursed her lips, trying to suppress the inexplicable embarrassment that welled up inside her.

So, what should I say next? Say goodbye and then quickly climb down the wall?

Why are you staring at her? Is there something wrong with her?

"Wanwan, who are you talking to?" Ansel's voice came from under the other wall.

Ning Wanwan turned her head, instinctively opening her mouth to answer, when she heard Xiao Zhou's clear, cold voice, like ice and snow: "You didn't come alone."

Ning Wanwan didn't understand why he asked this: "No, I have companions..."

Xiao Zhou fell silent again, his empty, light silver-gray pupils staring straight at her, lost in thought.

Ning Wanwan: "..."

To be honest, Ning Wanwan was really a little scared of this child.

The intense, cold, and inhuman feeling he evoked made it impossible for Ning Wanwan to connect him with the pitiful child who had just been bullied by a group of people.

Under the child's gaze, Ning Wanwan shrank back slightly, feeling a sense of fear and retreat.

"I...I'll go down first..."

"Wanwan, who are you talking to?"

At some point, Ansel, who hadn't received a response from Ning Wanwan, actually climbed up the wall.

At this moment, he was straddling the edge of the wall with one leg, like a curious cat, craning his neck to follow Ning Wanwan's gaze and looking down.

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:23:02 on March 6, 2024 and 12:17:13 on March 8, 2024!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Spring (10 bottles); 63196485; and Xiu Shen Yang Xin (1 bottle).

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!