Who You Are Book 2

Chapter 2 - Empathy (Part Two)

A-Qing seemed to have paused shortly before answering, "Y-yes."

Xiao XingChen, "Then, walk a bit slower. Don't be so fast. You wouldn't want to bump into someone again, would you?"

He didn't mention at all that he himself couldn't see either. Holding A-Qing's hand, he led her to the side of the road, "Walk here. There are less people."

Both his words and his actions were gentle yet careful. A-Qing reached out with hesitation, but in the end, she still snatched away the money pouch that hung by his waist, "Brother, A-Qing is very thankful of you!"

Xiao XingChen, "Not Brother. It's Daozhang."

A-Qing blinked, "But you're both Daozhang and Brother."

Xiao XingChen smiled, "Then, since you call me Brother, why don't you give back Brother's pouch?"

No matter how quick a street-roamer like A-Qing was, they wouldn't be able to fool the senses of a cultivator. Startled, she took her pole and sprinted as fast as she could.

Yet, not having run very far, Xiao XingChen grabbed the back of her collar with one hand and brought her back, "As I've already said, you shouldn't run so fast. What if you bump into someone again?"

...

A couple of the juniors laughed at the interaction, finding some sort of familiarity with it.

"I don't know why, but that interaction made me think I was seeing A-Die grabbing Baba for some reason. It gave me a sense of deja-vu," Lan Sizhui said.

"That does seem like something I would do, try to run away from Lan Zhan but he'd catch me anyway," Wei Ying stated.

"That's because I know how to sense your shamelessness when I need to," Lan Zhan told him.

"You are the only one I can get away with being shameless to, but karma comes for me later," Wei Ying said.

"You are lucky I am grown to tolerate it now...in fact, I enjoy your mischievous personality most," Lan Zhan admitted.

"I can be more mischievous if you want," Wei Ying told him.

"Mnn, behave right now though, watch the screen," Lan Zhan said in a gentle command. Wei Wuxian nodded as he turned his attention back to the screen, placing his head back on Lan Zhan's chest.

...

A-Qing struggled to escape his grasp. With a twitch of her lips, her upper teeth bit down on her lower lip. As he saw A-Qing, his eyes lit up at once. He stormed over as he cursed, "You little bitch. I've finally caught you. Give back my money!"

Simply cursing wasn't enough to relieve his anger. With a wave of his arm, his hand swung toward her face. A-Qing immediately looked down and closed her eyes. Yet, before the slap landed on her cheek, it was stopped halfway through.

Xiao XingChen, "Sir, please calm down for a moment. It's quite an impolite way to treat a young maiden, don't you think?"

A-Qing secretly peeked from behind her eyelids. The middle-aged man clearly used a lot of strength, yet his hand was held by Xiao XingChen's in a seemingly light way, unable to move an inch.

Although he was nervous, he accused stubbornly, "What is a blind guy like you doing here? Saving the damsel in distress? So the little bitch is your lover? Did you know that she's a thief? She stole my money! If you protect her, then you're also a thief!"

With him in one hand and A-Qing in the other, Xiao XingChen turned around, "Give the man his money back."

A-Qing fumbled out the small amount of money and passed it over. Xiao XingChen let go of the man, who counted the money. Everything was still there. Glancing at the blind cultivator again, the man knew that he'd be difficult to deal with, so he trudged awkwardly away.