Su Xinghui had actually noticed Ling Xi long ago. Looking at her skinny, pale-faced cheap sister, she haughtily raised her chin.
See? Even after leaving the Second Branch, she was living better than Su Lingxi—eating well, living well, doted on by Wang Guiqiu, and even the village kids liked to flock around her!
Meanwhile, Su Lingxi had nothing at all and was so miserable she had to go up the mountain to find her own food.
With that thought, she felt much more balanced, and greeted Ling Xi with a smile: “Xiao Xi, what are you doing here? Second Uncle and Second Aunt dote on you so much—would they really let you come up the mountain?”
Ling Xi smiled back. “What, is North Mountain contracted to Second Sister? No one else is allowed up here?”
Even though she was a transmigrator, Su Xinghui knew some things shouldn’t be said carelessly in this era. She bit her lip aggrievedly. “Xiao Xi, how could you think that? Second Sister was just worried about you.”
“Treating a kind heart like a donkey’s liver and lungs!” a dark-skinned half-grown boy snarled. “Su Sanya, what good does it do you going up the mountain? You can’t even catch a rabbit!”
Ling Xi recognized him—Wang Tieniu from the neighbor’s family, the same age as Su Xinghui, not tall but sturdy, one of Su Xinghui’s most loyal lackeys. In her memories, he had always bullied the original owner, thinking she was a sickly burden dragging Su Xinghui down, and had often scared her to tears.
Maomao knew her little friend was timid and was just about to stand up for her when she saw Ling Xi’s lips curl mockingly as she tossed out, “So what if you can beat a rabbit? You still couldn’t catch one, could you?”
With that, she even cast a glance at the other’s empty hands.
“You—I!” Wang Tieniu’s face grew even darker. “I can’t catch one, but Huihui can!”
Ling Xi snorted. “What does her catching one have to do with you? Even if she’s not blood-related, Su Xinghui’s surname is Su now—what’s it got to do with a Wang like you? What, is she going to marry into your old Wang family?”
At those words, Wang Tieniu’s ears instantly turned red, and his whole face flushed black-red. He stole a shy glance at Su Xinghui.
Hearing Ling Xi bring up her origins, Su Xinghui’s expression twisted, and she felt utterly revolted by Wang Tieniu’s gaze, her whole body radiating rejection. “Xiao Xi, what are you saying? Of course I’m closer to you!”
She was going to get into university and marry a rich and handsome man someday—how could someone like Wang Tieniu ever be worthy of her?
Sooner or later, she would trample all these people underfoot!
Ling Xi had deliberately said it to disgust her, and seeing her swallowing her misery with no way to speak up, Ling Xi felt great. With a scoff, she led Maomao on up the mountain.
Watching that unremarkable back, Su Xinghui suddenly felt a pang of unease, as if something had changed.
She hated this feeling of things slipping out of her control. She had said she was leaving, yet her feet unconsciously followed behind Ling Xi.
Seeing her follow Ling Xi, her little lackeys naturally didn’t leave either, trailing after one by one.
Maomao already found Su Xinghui annoying, and after the incident with Wang Tieniu just now, she showed them all no good face. “What are you all following us for? Weren’t you done catching things?”
She had seen the wild pheasant and eggs in Su Xinghui’s back-basket.
“Can’t we catch more just because we already caught some? What kind of rule is that?” Su Xinghui smiled gently.
Wang Tieniu’s little brother, Wang Xiaoniu, was anxious to get home for dinner and said bluntly, “Didn’t Sister Huihui just say she was heading back? Why are you still oo—”
Before he could finish, his brother clapped a hand over his mouth.
But Ling Xi still heard it, and gave Su Xinghui a half-smiling glance before continuing on her way.
She didn’t really care about them. This mountain wasn’t hers—whoever wanted to come could come. It wasn’t like she could tie them up, could she?
But Su Xinghui felt stifled by that glance, and once she turned away, he glared viciously at her back through gritted teeth.
Ling Xi carefully observed the patterns of the vegetation and the traces of gnawing and trampling, picking out the paths animals traveled, and set up a few simple traps along the way.
Having witnessed the changes of the world and the development of humanity—even having spent a few years in primitive society with stone spears and stone pots—simple hunting traps were hardly a challenge for her.
Su Xinghui, however, paid those traps no mind. As if a few ratty ropes and sticks could catch game? What an idiot, just as expected!
Wang Tieniu wanted to sabotage them, but who knew Ling Xi seemed to have eyes in the back of her head—she stared straight at the leg he was lifting to kick a trap. “What, you can’t catch anything yourself and you don’t want others to either? So young, yet so petty.”
“You’re lying! I never touched anything!” Not wanting to lose face in front of Huihui, Wang Tieniu loudly denied it.
Ling Xi shrugged indifferently. As long as he didn’t wreck her traps, he could say whatever he liked.
As the group of little kids walked along, Ling Xi suddenly went “Huh,” pushed aside the grass in front of her, and found a nest of pheasant eggs.
Not big, but there were six or seven of them.
She had chosen the path with the heaviest traces of wild animal activity, so finding something wasn’t surprising. Just as she was about to put the pheasant eggs into her back basket, Wang Tieniu suddenly rushed out and shoved her down.
This body was frail to begin with, and the shove knocked the wind out of Ling Xi, leaving her unable to get up for a long while.
“Wang Tieniu, what are you doing!” Maomao hurried over to help her up.
Wang Tieniu declared self-righteously, “These are Huihui’s pheasant eggs. What right does she have to take them?”
Maomao: “Xiao Xi found them herself. Are you blind?!”
Seeing Ling Xi’s deathly pale little face, she yelled until her voice cracked.
“Su Sanya is nothing but a jinx. Without Huihui, you think she could have found those pheasant eggs?” Wang Tieniu refused to back down. “Huihui led us here, so the eggs belong to Huihui!”
Ling Xi coughed a couple of times before she could catch her breath. This time she was truly furious, her eyes carrying a cold sharpness beyond her years. “You think Su Xinghui is a hen, laying eggs wherever she goes?”
“You jinx! How dare you talk about Huihui like that? Huihui was blessed enough to find this place, so the pheasant eggs should naturally be hers!”
Ling Xi stood up with a cold laugh and advanced on him step by step. “Who taught you to say ‘jinx’? This kind of feudal superstition deserves re-education! Maomao’s right here—when we get back, I’ll have her report to Third Grandpa that someone’s been spreading feudal superstition.”
Just hearing the word “report” terrified Wang Tieniu, and being pinned by Ling Xi’s fierce glare, he thought of those stinking intellectuals in the cattle shed who didn’t get enough to eat or wear and still had to do hard labor. He was like a chicken grabbed by the neck, his thick lips trembling.
Little Wang Niu, even more frightened, hugged his leg and burst out crying, “Don’t, waaah… don’t report my brother!”
Paying no attention to those two kids who were about to wet their pants, Ling Xi’s gaze swept over the others. “I found these pheasant eggs. You all insisted on following me, but if you want to touch my things—not a chance.”
Having delivered those last words with ringing finality, she looked at Su Xinghui. “Second Sister, wouldn’t you say?”
Su Xinghui’s face burned with embarrassment, but in front of so many people she could only force an awkward smile and agree: “Of course whatever Xiaoxi finds belongs to Xiaoxi. Second Sister already has so much—I won’t fight you for it.”
She patted her back basket ostentatiously, putting on an air of generosity.
She had expected to see envy or jealousy in Ling Xi’s eyes, but when she looked over, she saw only faint mockery, making her feel like a ridiculous clown.
Having suffered this silent loss, Su Xinghui watched helplessly as Ling Xi picked up the egg and put it in her basket, thinking through gritted teeth: She had to catch more things—she absolutely could not be outdone by Su Lingxi!
The moment this thought appeared, a rustling sound came from the woods…