Coward

As it turned out, her sixth sense was amazingly accurate.

The originally empty and quiet two-story building was now bustling with activity. One could even hear harsh shouting and curses coming from the inside.

The two carpenters behind them were wearing puzzled expressions on their faces. They followed behind the two of them and stopped the carriage.

The small dilapidated door was now worse for wear due to the crowd squeezing through. Its appearance looked like a gust of wind could collapse it any moment.

After Xiaoguo was carried off the horse by Jiang Danhe, she went straight inside.

The originally empty room was now filled with people. There were men and women of all ages. Some were watching the commotion, and some were collecting debts. It was a lively scene.

Someone spotted Xiaoguo and suddenly shouted, “They’re back!”

There was a sudden silence in the air. Xiaoguo didn’t have to worry about how to make her way in, the crowd immediately made way for her.

Xiaoguo looked at the unobstructed path in front of her and spotted the sloppy bastard at the end of it.

Shu Botong seemed to have noticed Xiaoguo’s presence. He mustered up his courage and smiled at her a few times. Then, he continued to fiddle with the ‘treasure’ in his hand.

At this moment, Jiang Danhe had made his way over, and he gently stroked Xiaoguo’s back to soothe her.

Shu Botong was carefully counting the things in his hands. From snacks to clothes and shoes, they were all bought by him. They were indeed very precious to him.

Shu Botong didn’t say anything, but the crowd didn’t stay quiet for long. When they saw Xiaoguo appear, they immediately surrounded her and started complaining to her.

“You’re finally here. I’ve been waiting since last night. This person took something from my shop and refused to pay. Hurry up and pay me back.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Without a word, he took a pair of shoes from our shop and ran away. I’ve been waiting for a long time. Hurry up and settle the bill.”

“He’s still holding onto the fabrics from our shop. That piece he took is expensive. You’re his guardian, aren’t you? Hurry up and pay.”

“Also, he bought two taels of wine from our shop and hasn’t paid yet. Are you going…”

“Also, he brought two trays of meat buns. That’s a total of 35 copper coins…”

“And the joss paper, ingots, and candles at my shop. That’s a total of…”

“Sigh, there’s also our…”

“Quickly pay up! We’ve been waiting since this morning.”

“Look at him. He’s still holding my apples. They just arrived this morning. There are only a few of them, but he took them all. Hurry up and pay me!”

“That’s right. Hurry up and give us the money…”

There was a variety of food, drinks, and clothes. There were even offerings for worshiping ancestors, like incense, paper, ingots, and candles.

Xiaoguo’s head was hurting from all the noise. She really had to hand it to Shu Botong. How could he have done so much in such a short time?

Jiang Danhe could tell that Xiaoguo was getting impatient, so he called everyone out individually to explain things to them.

Seeing that someone was taking charge of this matter, the group followed him out. The onlookers also went out to watch the commotion. At this moment, only Xiaoguo and Shu Botong were left in the room.

Shu Botong sensed the strange atmosphere and hesitated for a moment as he touched the fabric. He pretended like all was well and continued to focus on counting the items in his hands.

He needed all these items. Since he had someone to take care of him now, it would be a waste not to make use of her. Since he had already given her the two-story house, it was only right for her to provide for him. It wasn’t like he was doing this all the time. It was just a one-off situation. There was not going to be a next time.

Xiaoguo let out a long sigh and said quietly, “There should be a limit to your crazy act.”

Shu Botong’s hand paused. It took him a moment to react. He looked at her with his eyes that were embedded in his dark face. He remained silent, as if he didn’t understand what she meant.

“Heh…” Xiaoguo sneered. She had really misjudged him. To hell with split personalities. She should have seen through it long ago. He was just pretending to be crazy.

“Unable to withstand public scrutiny, you pretend to be a lunatic and scam people for free food and wine, just to escape from reality. Do you really think that no one knows? You are the famed Shu Botong who is the eldest son of a scholarly family. The awe-inspiring Shu Botong from yesteryear. To think that this man could do such a shameless thing. It’s really an eye-opener.”

Shu Botong was still able to keep up his pretense initially, but upon hearing the later part of her words, he completely broke down.

Upon hearing Xiaoguo mention the two identities that he felt ashamed of, Shu Botong could no longer pretend. He had been avoiding his identities as eldest son and top scholar. Now that he had been exposed by this little woman, only he could truly understand his own feelings.

At this moment, Shu Botong’s eyes had turned red and his entire body was trembling. Those things that he had deliberately forgotten were replayed in front of him again. The exquisite and expensive brocade cloth he was holding had become twisted in his hands.

Seeing his reaction, Xiaoguo didn’t seem satisfied, so she continued, “Look at you now, dirty and unkempt, nothing like the impressive figure you once were. I can only imagine that period when your career and family were doing well. In the blink of an eye, you have fallen from the high pedestal into muck and mire. How did you feel?”

“Stop it!!”

Shu Botong’s eyes were bloodshot, looking like he would bite Xiaoguo if she continued.

Xiaoguo wasn’t afraid of him. She sneered and said, “Don’t you dare lay a finger on me. Try me.”

Putting aside the fact that he still had to rely on her to survive, Jiang Danhe was still outside. If he dared to touch her, he would definitely have to bear the consequences.

Even if Xiaoguo gave him extra courage, he wouldn’t have the guts to touch her.

Shu Botong clenched his fists and panted heavily. His dark face had turned red from anger and embarrassment.

Everything he didn’t want to face had been brought up so casually by her. How could she do this?

This was the first time that Xiaoguo was showing him the intimidating side of her. She slowly approached him, and carefully scrutinized him from head to toe.

For some reason, Shu Botong suddenly felt a little fearful of her. He was used to being sized up like this, but why did Xiaoguo’s gaze make him feel so embarrassed that he felt like hiding away.

Seeing him gradually lower his head, Xiaoguo felt helpless and a little sad.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…” Xiaoguo couldn’t help but smack her lips. She said almost coldly, “It’s not easy to beg for food with a scholar’s identity. Do you think you can feel at ease just because you’ve changed into someone else? Shu Botong, how long are you going to keep running away?”

“If you can’t even look at yourself, what’s the point of living?”

With that, Xiaoguo turned around to leave. If he really had a split personality, he would be worthy of her sympathy. But pretending to be crazy and hiding from the world was really despicable.

Shu Botong, who was pretending to be crazy, had probably deceived himself as well. At this moment, he already believed that he was a lunatic.

“You don’t know anything!”

Shu Botong finally said the words a second before she stepped out. She didn’t know anything. She didn’t deserve to talk to him like that. She didn’t know anything!

Xiaoguo stopped in her tracks and snorted without looking back. She said, “Hmph, it’s true that I don’t know anything. Who would understand the thoughts of a coward?”

Shu Botong seemed to have been hit by the word coward. He ran out with all the items in his arms.

When making his way out, he had to pass by Xiaoguo. There was still a trace of reason in him, therefore he did not touch her. Even though the other party had said a lot of hurtful things that he could not accept, he still carefully avoided her before running away.

At this moment, Jiang Danhe walked over as he had finished dealing with the group of people.

Xiaoguo retracted her gaze and looked at him gently. “How much did you pay?”

Jiang Danhe made a number with one hand. Xiaoguo sighed. Of course, she knew that the sum he paid was definitely not counted in coins. Just for that piece of fabric, it had to be calculated in taels.